Court Members Board & Committee Assignments

Please see the below message from Judge Brown: 

Dear Commissioners,  
 
Happy 2021! We want to kick off the year by renewing our commitment in service to the community through the organizations on which we serve. This includes reviewing our membership roles in the various regional Boards and Commissions on which we participate as a function of the Travis County Commissioners Court. 
 
At tomorrow’s work session we will engage in a robust discussion of our interests and priorities, with the goal of coming to agreement about participation. Then we could bring these appointments for a vote to the Court at the January 19 regularly held Commissioners Court voting session. To help get the conversation going, I wanted to share the committees and boards on which I am interested in serving.  
 
Internal Committees 

• Oversight Committee – Justice Planning 
• Oversight Committee – Health & Human Services  

Boards & Commissions 

• Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) Clean Air Coalition 
• Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) 
• Community Advancement Network (CAN) 
• Bail Bond Board 
• Juvenile Board 
• Corporations 

 
To help facilitate our conversation during work session, please feel free to share below your interests below. I am excited to get this conversation started and look forward to working with you in service to all Travis County residents.  
 
Best, 
Andy 

All - I’m eager to kick off our work together and I look forward to learning from y’all and the County staff.  I wish I could serve on most all the committees as I so strongly believe in “systems level” thinking… everything is connected.  We see that with social determinants of health, with justice reform, with location of roads, subdivisions and water.  I also have a strong respect for each of you, my colleagues -- your on-going service, your expertise and your constituent needs, so I want to honor your interests as I think about where I might have the most to offer. 

Y’all have recently appointed me to (#1) CAMPO and (#2) CAPCOG General Assembly and CAPCOG elected me to the (#3) CAPCOG Executive Committee. 
We all serve on  Corporations, so I'll call that ( #4).
I am willing to represent us on the (#5) Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) Board as much of downtown Austin is in Precinct 3 and the DAA is laser focused on ending unsheltered homelessness, which is a commitment I share. 

I’m interested in serving on the (#6) EXPO Center committee as we continue to explore partnerships to benefit families in East Austin, support Rodeo Austin and make the most of our public assets.
When it comes to oversight committees, I envision stepping into our openings on:
·          (#7) Emergency Services – makes sense with so many ESDs in P3 and  my commitment to wildfire prevention and response
·          (# Veterans – I’m somewhat familiar with VA Services from my work connecting hundred of Vets to housing, healthcare and jobs

I support elevating our sustainability work by elevating the Green Steering Committee to a Court subcommittee and I would like to serve on this committee.  So this makes #9!

I strongly suggest we establish a Commissioner Taskforce to Address Homelessness.  I hope y’all agree and that one of you will join me.  This is different than a focus on affordable housing but instead, we will focus on how we can partner across the community and align our County work to reduce unsheltered homelessness now, and prevent more people from becoming homeless in the days and months ahead.  We will need staff briefings from multiple departments as we shape our approach.  For example, HHS contracts with many non-profit service providers to plan and implement strategies that connect people to housing and support services.  Justice Planning coordinates efforts to divert people with mental illness from the criminal justice system and many of these folks are also experiencing homelessness.  PBO, thru the Affordable Housing Finance Corporation advances building deeply affordable housing, the Housing Authority of Travis County partners with HUD to receive rent vouchers for veterans and others experiencing homelessness, manages grants for supportive housing and can be a vehicle for adding more deeply affordable, service-enriched housing. And lastly, the justice reform efforts underway will be most successful when folks who have been cycling thru our courts, hospitals, jails and shelters have stable housing.  Many of our Travis County neighbors, business leaders, justice advocates, philanthropists and fellow elected officials are focused on reducing homelessness and I believe strongly that we must advance this work.  This would be my 10th subcommittee. 

Thursday, we did talk of forming a housing subcommittee.  I have heard staff say that the County doesn’t really have any staff positions dedicated to affordable housing even though we have folks working on many related components and partnerships across departments.  Perhaps we explore this thru our existing committees in the months ahead and see what exactly we need to do.

Lastly, I’m willing to be a substitute representative on the Juvenile Board.  I have represented young people involved in the juvenile court and most recently steered a partnership with juvenile probation to identif y  youth experiencing un-safe or no housing.   I can also step-in when needed with the Community Action Network as I have participated with CAN throughout my work with ECHO.   And it goes without saying, that I'll be participating with many groups in the western parts of Travis County focusing on jobs, transportation,  green space and safety.

Looking forward to a good year.

Sincerely,  Ann