Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk has published an end of year review summarizing the City's work throughout 2021 and emphasizing the unity the community has shown while facing unprecedented adversity. The Review highlights how the City collaborated across multiple focus areas including the COVID-19 response and vaccine mass distribution efforts, Winter Storm Uri, homelessness, and reimagining public safety, while also continuing to make steady progress in advancing the City Council's strategic priorities. View the City of Austin's Year in Review 2021 "We have continued to serve our residents, neighbors, and each other with grace and distinction, and for that I am eternally grateful and excited to share this lookback at all we accomplished together in 2021," writes Cronk in the introduction to the review. While the City faced another year of challenges, "our organization and community have collectively shown that we can perform in the face of the greatest adversity and rise to any challenge, big or small," Cronk writes. 2021 Year in Review: Highlights COVID-19 - 68% of Austin/Travis County residents over the age of 5 are fully vaccinated; 77% have received one dose.
- Austin Public Health (APH) administered a total of 355,607 vaccine doses since vaccines became available on Dec. 18, 2020.
- Since Jan. 1, Austin/Travis County area experienced 122,277 reported confirmed COVID-19 cases.
- The Regional Infusion Center provided 3,957 infusions of the monoclonal antibody treatment to treat COVID-19 infections and prevent over-extending our local hospital system stretched to capacity.
Winter Storm Uri The City and Travis County jointly: - Distributed 120,000 shelf-stable meals and five million bottles of water.
- Responded to nearly 2,500 water main breaks at homes and more than 700 traffic accidents.
- Answered more 911 calls than ever before for five consecutive days.
- Assisted hospitals, long-term care facilities, dialysis centers and other community lifelines in remaining open to care for the community.
- Provided meals and sheltered more than 1,000 people in dozens of locations.
- Established a medical shelter to help those who needed power for medical equipment or other medical treatments.
- Sustained COVID-19 operations including the Alternate Care Site, multiple Isolation Facilities and Protective Lodges.
Homelessness - Successfully moved more than 1,200 people into housing and out of homelessness in partnership with community service providers.
- Acquired three former hotel properties to serve as short-term bridge shelters and for conversion to permanent supportive housing for people exiting homelessness.
- Integral Care committed to expand the Homeless Outreach Street Team (HOST), which will soon add additional mental health clinicians to support its outreach efforts.
Reimagining Public Safety - Advanced progress on a variety of community centered public safety strategies, including 9-1-1 mental health first response, a new family violence shelter, permanent supportive housing services, and the Office of Violence Prevention.
- The RPS City-Community Task Force presented recommendations on public safety reforms, many of which will be funded in the FY22 approved budget, including the recommendations on anti-displacement initiatives, the community health worker program, an ongoing guaranteed income pilot project, and the Office of Violence Prevention.
- Began pilot session of the reimagined Austin Police Department academy, which incorporates additional community engagement programming, anti-racism training, a newly designed course on the history of policing, regular physical fitness training, and more effective implementation of adult learning strategies. The reimagined academy also includes a formal process of community and civilian input into training content to ensure that issues of racial equity and procedural justice are reflected in all aspects of cadet training.
As a City and community, 2021 brought unforeseen challenges. Through innovation and collaboration, our collective efforts are proof of our dedication to building a more inclusive, more resilient community for us all to live, work, and play. Click here to view the entire City Manager's Year in Review. | 
