Petition or not, Austin’s Mayor Steve Adler said what the Political Action Committee Unconventional Austin is asking for won’t work.
The PAC wants a public vote on any expansion spending on the Austin Convention Center that runs past $20-million. Alder said, “We’re elected to make decisions and we can’t have every decision City Council makes be put to a public vote.”
The petition also wants to limit how much Hotel Occupancy Tax dollars are dedicated to the Convention Center. Adler believed that legally cannot work, and noted this is also spreading some misinformation, that the city can spend HOT taxes on whatever they want. Adler explained the Texas Legislature makes that call, not council.
Adler said the city uses the Convention Center as a tool to drive more money to other City projects like arts and historic preservation. and could use 30{2a63e07d84fe12ceff3a79b3b7d16ceb8565bd2470b26c53e2419132d99be4c6} of Hotel Occupancy Taxes for various projects, but that can only happen after an expansion.
(Photo:Shutterstock/RoschetzkyProductions)
