AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Raising the city's minimum wage, renovations to a northwest Austin "homeless hotel", and the potential for restrictions on the sale of guns to those under the age of 21 are among the 117 items that Austin City Council members will consider Thursday.
Thursday's meeting is the council's final regularly scheduled meeting ahead of a five-week summer break, with council not scheduled to meet again until July 28 - just ahead of the annual budget cycle.
Among the items council members will consider is a proposal that would seek to raise the minimum wage for city employees from $15 an hour to $22 an hour. At that hourly rate, full-time city employees would earn an annual salary of just over $45,000. According to a city estimate, the increase could cost the city anywhere between $18.2 million and $22.8 million.
Roughly 18% of the city's budgeted positions are currently vacant.
Council Members Ann Kitchen, Chito Vela, Kathie Tovo and Pio Renteria have co-sponsored the resolution, which is sponsored by Vanessa Fuentes. According to a post from Mayor Steve Adler on the council's message board, a number of speakers had signed up to address the council on item #50 even before Tuesday's work session.
Also on Thursday's agenda is a resolution that will direct City Manager Spencer Cronk to explore all possible ways to reduce or block the sale of AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles to those under the age of 21. It's a topic punctuated by the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, New York, along with last week's one-year anniversary of a deadly mass shooting on Sixth Street.
Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Alter is sponsoring the measure, along with co-sponsors Tovo, Pool, Ellis, and Mayor Adler.
"We are seeking reasonable gun safety legislation to restrict the purchase of AR-15 and similar semi-automatic rifles because our state leaders have failed to address the urgent threat of gun violence in our state," said Alter in a press release. "It is incomprehensible that an 18 year old cannot purchase alcohol, tobacco, or a handgun (if nonmilitary) legally in Texas, but an 18 year old can purchase an AR-15 or similar semi-automatic rifle in our city and endanger the lives of our neighbors."
A separate resolution put forth by District 8 council member Paige Ellis would call on the Biden administration, Congress, and the state of Texas to take actions to reduce the proliferation of gun violence.
Thursday morning's meeting gets underway at 10 a.m. at City Hall.