Good Friday morning on a holiday weekend --
We have some BREAKING NEWS.
You almost cannot make this up.
Save Austin Now launched our Outside Audit charter amendment effort in late November 2025 after we helped lead the defeat of Prop Q. Two months later, the City announced its own audit ordinance.
Yesterday, the City of Austin selected a Pennsylvania firm as the audit vendor.
See our press release below for more details.
For Immediate Release
July 3, 2026
City of Austin Selects Out of State Vendor for City-Run Audit That Forfeited Right to Do Business in Texas
State Revoked Vendor’s Right to Do Business in Texas in Feb. 2024 for Nonpayment of Taxes
AUSTIN, TX — Nonpartisan organization Save Austin Now PAC is calling on the City of Austin to provide transparent details on how an out-of-state vendor was chosen to conduct a city-run audit when that same vendor had its right to do business in Texas revoked in February 2024 due to nonpayment of taxes.
Public Works, LLC, was announced as the chosen vendor for the audit authorized by a city ordinance in recent months. That vendor is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
On February 23, 2024, their business registration in Texas was revoked by the Texas Secretary of State for nonpayment of taxes.
Vendors conducting business in Texas must be registered with the Texas Secretary of State, and through the Comptroller’s office, they must either pay Franchise taxes or certify that they are under the annual revenue threshold.
“Is this an example of how efficient and effective the City of Austin is vetting who to entrust with such an important job?” said Bill Aleshire, a local attorney and former Travis County Judge who drafted Save Austin Now’s Charter amendment language requiring regular, external audits of the entire city budget. “In evaluating the 25 proposers, was experience in conducting performance/efficiency reviews with TEXAS cities given a higher priority than those with experience in say, Massachusetts? How much will the consultant be paid, and has the consultant agreed contractually to find more cost savings for taxpayers than their services cost? Neutral net cost is required in the Charter Amendment.”
Save Austin Now’s charter amendment was certified by the city on June 20 and will be placed on the November 2026 ballot.
“We support any effort that finds efficiencies in the city budget, but the city-run audit is off to a bad start,” said Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak. “It’s bad enough that virtually no effort was made by city leaders to find efficiencies before seeking a 20.2% city property tax increase through Prop Q, which was overwhelmingly defeated by voters last year. Now we see the city has selected an out-of-state firm that was so careless and irresponsible that their registration to do business in Texas was revoked almost 18 months ago. When Houston made a similar effort, they selected a nationally-credible audit firm, Ernst & Young, rather than a firm that is a tax delinquent in Texas.”
More information about Save Austin Now can be found at SaveAustinNow.com.
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As we have said before, WE HAVE ONLY BEGUN TO FIGHT!
THANK YOU.
-Save Austin Now PAC
Pol. ad. paid for by Save Austin Now PAC. Leland Bickers, Treasurer. SaveAustinNowPAC.com
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