Watson embraces audit

Below is what I wrote to someone last night about the comprehensive "audit" of city government being pushed by Save Austin Now:

I'll be somewhat surprised (but not shocked) to see serious pushback from staff or City Council. Frankly it seems right up Watson's alley. "The people have spoken," Watson makes a big deal about hiring a consultant, they publish a report. They make some changes that don't really save much money. That's the most likely outcome. 

And lo and behold, an email titled, "Performance Enhancement" from Hizzoner in my inbox this morning:

As Austin Mayor, my goal is to deliver the best city services possible and to do it living within our means. I put Austin’s affordability first.

So, I’m initiating a process for the City of Austin to have an institutionalized program for an independent, collaborative citywide review of service delivery to achieve greater accountability, improve efficiency, and better assure we get the best value from our government.

Since returning to the mayor’s office, I’ve championed such a review. And I’ve been pleased with the evaluations that have been done in individual departments.

I should have turned this into a bet on Kalshi.