Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the inevitable bad news about sales taxes on Friday, with revenues falling as a result of business closures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The April sales tax report shows revenues fell 9.3 percent, with most of the revenues coming from sales made in March. Hegar is expected to share even worse news Wednesday, when the rest of March’s sales are announced. The news on oil prices was also bad, as oil and gas production companies “slashed capital spending in response to the crash” in the price of oil, Hegar noted. Austin collected more than $18.4 million for the current period, up from more than $17.8 million in 2019. Expect the next round of payments to be significantly lower, however, because of the cancellation of SXSW and other activities. Overall, motor vehicle sales and rental taxes were down 45 percent this year compared to April 2019, the largest monthly drop in data going back to 1983. The Hotel Occupancy Tax, which Austin collects for a number of tourism-related activities, was $24 million, down 63 percent over last year. Alcoholic beverage tax collections, specifically related to mixed drinks, were down 55 percent because of the closure of bars and restaurants. However, excise taxes on beer went up 16 percent over last year, while excise taxes on wine were up 9 percent over 2019. So just as you thought, people have not stopped drinking just because the bars are closed.

The Downtown Austin Alliance is determined to make the best of things. So this year the alliance will be observing Cinco de Mayo – that’s tomorrow, May 5 – with a festive day of virtual activities, including Frida Friday‘s online mercado, a happy hour and live musical performances. “Cinco with Republic Square,” as the event is dubbed, will “celebrate Austin’s Mexican heritage, Austin’s original Mexican and Tejano community developed around Republic Square, but also promote local Tex-Mex and Mexican food restaurants offering takeout.” Sounds pretty yummy to us. Find a full schedule of events here.

There’s no time like the present to think about the future. At least, that seems to be the philosophy of the Austin Independent School District. The AISD Board of Trustees will be holding a “virtual listening session” focused on the district’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, and students, staff and community members are invited to participate. The listening session will be livestreamed on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m. on the district’s Facebook page and on AISD.TV. Those who cannot attend will be able to view a recording of the meeting later. Instructions for making comments will be posted on the AISD website.

Just prior to a statewide loosening of stay-at-home restrictions designed to slow the spread of Covid-19, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order allowing Texans to receive unemployment benefits for “certain reasons.” The expanded reasons that allow one to turn down work and claim unemployment are:

• At high risk: People 65 years or older are at a higher risk for getting very sick from Covid-19.
• Household member at high risk: People 65 years or older are at a higher risk of getting very sick from Covid-19.
• Diagnosed with Covid-19: The individual has tested positive for Covid-19 by a source authorized by the state of Texas and is not recovered.
• Family member with Covid-19: Anybody in the household has tested positive for Covid-19 by a source authorized by the state of Texas and is not recovered and 14 days have not yet passed.
• Quarantined: Individual is currently in 14-day quarantine due to close contact exposure to Covid-19.
• Child care: Child’s school or daycare closed and no alternatives are available.

“As the Lone Star State begins the process of safely and strategically opening the economy, our top priority is protecting the health and safety of all Texans – especially those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19,” Abbott said in a statement to the press. “This flexibility in the unemployment benefit process will help ensure that Texans with certain health and safety concerns will not be penalized for choosing not to return to work.”

The city parks department’s long-range plan, Our Parks, Our Future, has garnered an Award for Excellence in Sustainability from the American Planning Association’s Sustainable Communities Division. The coveted award – PARD is one of only eight winners nationally – “recognizes extraordinary projects, plans, policies, individuals, and organizations whose work is dedicated to supporting sustainable communities,” according to a news release. PARD’s award-winning plan “recommends adding new parkland acres, increasing natural areas, incorporating stormwater infrastructure, growing the number of community gardens in parks, prioritizing park development along waterways, and conserving parkland in the eastern part of Austin. The plan also addressed social equity by prioritizing projects in areas with elevated poverty and disability rates, less walking access to parks, and a higher percentage of people of color.” Parks Director Kimberly McNeeley said the department is honored “to implement the community’s vision for environmental sustainability.”

The city is now accepting applications for its Heritage Grant Program, through July 10. The grants are intended to help preserve historic buildings, sites or districts that promote tourism in the city. According to an announcement, the grants will be awarded to “heritage capital projects” that actively preserve physical spaces in the city and “site-specific heritage tourism projects” that educate and “enhance the understanding of significant historic places/events or provide new insight or new perspectives on well-documented places/events tied to a historic site.” More information about the program and eligibility requirements can be found on the city’s website.

Works from the city’s Art in Public Places program may be seen and enjoyed all over Austin: in libraries and public parks, police stations and rec centers, the airport and convention center, and many other public places. Now AIPP is looking for an artist – or a team of artists – to create an artwork with a budget of $34,000, that “inspires imagination and represents the diverse cultures of the Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park community,” according to the announcement. Local artists who are at least 18 years old are welcome to apply, although the selection committee is particularly interested in individuals who are “familiar with the history and heritage of the Georgian Acres community and artists able to interact with the community in languages other than English.” Learn more and apply here by 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 25. AIPP Project Manager Alex Irrera can answer any questions at alex.irrera@austintexas.gov or (512)974-7860.

Mayor Steve Adler announced on the City Council Message Board Tuesday that Council needed to have an executive session to talk about “personnel issues related to the Lisa Tatum report” and “legal issues related to the recent APD officer-involved shooting.” (The Tatum report investigated allegations of racism in the Austin Police Department.) Adler’s colleagues responded that they would prefer to meet this Friday rather than next Tuesday because of the “critical and time-sensitive nature of the subject,” as Council Member Kathie Tovo put it. But the posting for this Friday’s 3 p.m. executive session makes no mention of police matters. Instead, Council is to discuss “the employment, duties and evaluation of the city manager.” Under the city charter, the city manager is responsible for hiring and firing the police chief, as well as almost all other city employees. April is not the usual time for Council to evaluate the city manager; that is usually done during the summer. However, although City Council is not legally allowed to fire Chief Brian Manley, Council members are allowed to express their opinions and let the manager take it from there. It has been a rough couple of weeks for Manley and it doesn’t look like things are about to get better. Council is also scheduled to discuss legal issues related to the city’s response to Covid-19.

Code 4, an Austin-based safety management and emergency services company that normally provides services for large public events and festivals has launched a new service. The company has started to provide public safety agencies and businesses with preventive cleaning and contamination response as governments and businesses try to cope with Covid-19. One of its first new jobs was decontaminating a bus used by the Travis County Sheriff’s Department. Company spokesperson Trey Hicks told the Austin Monitor that Code 4 “has recently brought on six new hires who have been professionally trained for Covid-19 decontamination and are now working in the field. … These new hires are all local residents and event staff including full-time venue managers and gig economy workers behind some of Austin’s most iconic and beloved festivals and events.” The company has hired biohazard expert Robin Hall of Austin Fire and Flood to serve as director of the company’s decontamination program. In addition, the company’s medical director John B. Marshall has added duties, including providing medical clearances and advising those doing decontamination work. Scott Davidson, president of Code 4, has been named a member of the Opening Central Texas for Business Task Force and serves on that group’s events committee.

One of the most enduring and popular parts of the annual South by Southwest festival is the Faces of Austin short film series, a showcase of original work by Austin-area filmmakers. Every March, the filmmakers – and the community – get to see the selected shorts premiered at SXSW. This year … not. But thanks to the city’s Cultural Arts Division, ATXN and the Austin Film Society, you can enjoy Faces of Austin in the comfort and safety of your own living room via YouTube. We adored “Nana” and “Puppy Love,” but watch them all and make up your own mind. Each of the 12 shorts is 10 minutes or less. This year’s guest judge for Faces of Austin was writer/director Andrew Bujalski.

Last week we told you about the [Re]verse Pitch contest finals; today, you’ll learn the exciting conclusion – who won! There were two winners, LoFi Recycling Systems and Terra Helmets, each of whom won a $10,000 grand prize to turn their pitches into reality. Samantha Panger and Destin Douglas of LoFi Recycling Systems “will repurpose vinyl record scraps made of PVC from Gold Rush Vinyl, a local company, into indoor pots and planters,” according to the press release. Panger noted, “PVC is difficult to recycle and can be hazardous to aquatic ecosystems down the road. We will be able to use and shape this material into pots and planters; it’s a new and exciting way to recycle plastic waste. We want to keep PVC from ever ending up in a landfill, and turn it into something useful.” Aadhikesh Boopalam, Seniru Kottegoda and Collin McCloskey of Terra Helmets “will repurpose a variety of materials including decorator fabric samples,” vinyl record scraps and plastic sandals into shareable helmets. Said McCloskey, “With the local and national rise in use of electric scooters, and an increase in reported head injuries, we created Terra Helmets as a way to help our community. Using byproduct materials from local businesses and turning them into helmets allows us to keep ‘waste’ out of the landfill, and foster a safe community. We’re protecting the earth while protecting your head.” You may watch a video of the Fifth Annual [Re]verse Finalist Pitch competition here.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Council Member Ann Kitchen mentioned that she had a “cabinet meeting” in the afternoon. Wondering what that meant, the Austin Monitor asked Kitchen’s aide, Ken Craig. Craig said that since the Covid-19 crisis sent everyone home from City Hall, staff members were not available to meet with Council members in their offices, as they have been in the past. In addition, the staffers are all incredibly busy with different aspects of the Covid-19 crisis. So in response, some Council members have put together informal committees, interest groups that have two or three Council members on them, that meet with staff (presumably by Zoom) to discuss various policy issues. Topics to date of these cabinet meetings include social services, economic recovery, legislative affairs, and the fiscal health of businesses and individuals.

This has been corrected.