Audit shows city of Austin’s weather plans not meeting residents’ needs

AUSTIN, Texas – An audit of the Metropolis of Austin’s chilly climate and warmth administration plans reveals town shouldn’t be assembly residents’ wants. The audit discovered town has beforehand did not open chilly climate shelters when it ought to have. 

Particularly, town did not open warming shelters on 4 separate days earlier this yr when temperatures had been under freezing. On two of these nights, temperatures had been forecasted to be within the 20s. 

The report additionally says town’s chilly and heat climate plans are outdated. Whereas the plans are presupposed to be reviewed and up to date yearly, the final time the plans had been up to date was again in November 2019. 

The audit concluded that with out updates town has struggled to employees in a single day shelters with skilled workers and will not be capable of meet residents’ wants sooner or later. 

The town responded to the audit with a press release blaming COVID-19 on a disruption in chilly climate shelter operations and a scarcity of help in comparison with earlier years. 

The assertion reads: “Following the arrival of COVID-19, Austin’s community of community-operated Chilly Climate Shelters for folks experiencing homelessness was disrupted and not in a position to present the help it had in earlier years. The Metropolis responded by adapting to fill within the gaps, leaning on Metropolis services and workers to offer the required help for our unhoused inhabitants.

“Even so, through the chilly climate occasions of just about a yr in the past, the Metropolis efficiently sheltered greater than 2,000 folks over 17 nights.

“As a part of a plan to handle among the challenges highlighted by the Auditor, the FY23 price range included new funding to contract with a third-party supplier for normal Chilly Climate Shelter actions. Final month, Council accredited a contract with the Austin Space City League to offer shelter operations throughout future chilly climate activation intervals. This winter, AAUL will help Metropolis of Austin Chilly Climate Shelter actions, with a plan to imagine full duty through the 2023/2024 winter season. Within the meantime, the Metropolis has up to date its plans to clarify when shelters might be activated.”

The town says other than shelters, residents can use public libraries, recreation facilities and 6 pilot resilience hubs to heat up, if wanted throughout common enterprise hours.