Jason Baskin - Austin City Councilman

10/07/2026

Thank you for hosting tonight’s candidate forum and the opportunity to discuss important local issues!

10/06/2026

Austin City Council Update – October 5, 2026

A good night at City Hall with a lot of focus on Austin’s future. A few highlights:

➡️ ERIC ELLIS OFFICIALLY HIRED AS CITY ADMINISTRATOR!

Council unanimously officially approved Eric Ellis’s agreement to become our next City Administrator, and I’m incredibly excited to have him joining our team later this month.

We went through a thorough search process that looked at candidates from across the region, state and country, and Eric really stood out. He brings strong experience leading a fast-growing community, a collaborative leadership style, and — most importantly — a genuine excitement about Austin and the opportunities in front of us.

Hiring a City Administrator is one of the most important decisions a City Council makes. I feel very good about where we landed and am excited to get to work with Eric as we continue moving Austin forward.

➡️ RECOGNIZING PEOPLE WHO MAKE AUSTIN BETTER

We had a chance to recognize several people who make a difference in our community.

Longtime Austin firefighter Chris Grunewald was officially pinned in his role as Fire Inspector, Mark Bliese received the October Step Up Award for his service to Austin, and we recognized the winner of the City Council Art Award from the ArtWorks Festival.

One of my favorite parts of these meetings is getting to recognize people who put so much time and energy into making Austin a better place.

➡️ KEEPING THE MOMENTUM GOING ON HOUSING

Housing was a major focus both during our work session and the regular meeting.

Council approved an updated comprehensive housing study in partnership with the Austin HRA. Our last study was completed in 2017, and it became an important tool for demonstrating Austin’s housing demand and attracting developers. That work helped lead to projects like The Mill on Main and the Nature’s Ridge single-family housing development — adding homes, bringing private investment into Austin and expanding our tax base.

We’ve made significant progress since then. Now the question is: What does Austin need next?

Refreshing the study will give us current data on the types of housing, price points and opportunities where demand exists today — information we can take directly to developers.

The goal is simple: accelerate the next generation of housing development, continue growing our community and expand our tax base.

➡️ INVESTING IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Council also approved the move to encrypted radios for the Austin Police and Fire Departments.

Our current system is largely unencrypted, meaning police and fire radio traffic can be heard through readily available scanner apps, which creates officer safety issues (we have examples of dangerous criminals literally using the police scanner to track police efforts to arrest them) and also creates challenges communicating with neighboring agencies that have already moved to encrypted systems.

This is an important investment that improves safety for our police officers and firefighters, strengthens communication with neighboring agencies and replaces equipment that is getting further into its useful life.

➡️ CANDIDATE FORUM TOMORROW NIGHT

Finally, a reminder that there will be a candidate forum for Austin City Council and Mower County Commissioner candidates tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Action Building.

Local government has a direct impact on our community, and this is a great opportunity to hear directly from the people asking to represent you. I’d encourage everyone who can to attend, learn more about the candidates and stay engaged in our local elections.

Lots happening and plenty more work ahead. Between new leadership, continued housing growth and investments in the core services our community depends on, I continue to feel very good about the direction Austin is headed.

As always, please reach out with questions or thoughts!

09/28/2026

Welcome and congratulations!!!!

09/23/2026

Austin is so proud of the Hormel Institute and how it helps our community to show up statewide (and beyond!)

09/23/2026

Wonderful to have the Hormel Institute host President Cunningham and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents in Austin.

As a proud U of MN alum, it was special to help show off our community and the incredible, world-class work that is being done here.

09/21/2026

AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL UPDATE — SEPTEMBER 21, 2026
Tonight was an important night for Austin. Here are three key highlights from tonight’s City Council meeting:

A NEW CITY ADMINISTRATOR!
The City Council voted unanimously tonight to offer the role to Eric Ellis as Austin’s next City Administrator—and I could not be more excited about this decision.

After a competitive process that evaluated leaders from across the region, state, and country, Eric emerged as the clear choice. Simply put, he is an A+ candidate with the experience, energy, and leadership ability to help move Austin forward.

Eric previously served as City Manager of Vineyard, Utah, one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. During his time there, he managed an $85 million municipal budget and helped guide significant residential and commercial growth, major infrastructure investments, and the development of a new walkable, mixed-use city center. He also helped advance a $400 million Huntsman Cancer Institute research and treatment facility while building strong partnerships with developers, businesses, elected officials, and regional organizations.

Before becoming City Manager, Eric led the Utah Lake Commission and Utah Lake Authority. In those roles, he brought together numerous cities, counties, state agencies, legislators, businesses, and community organizations to tackle complicated regional challenges. He helped increase organizational funding more than tenfold through grants, partnerships, and legislative appropriations—bringing significant additional resources to the communities he served.

Just as importantly, Eric has a strong record of building effective teams. Those who worked directly with him described him as honest, approachable, calm under pressure, and an excellent communicator. They credited him with improving employee morale, developing department leaders, holding people accountable without micromanaging, and supporting professional staff so they could focus on serving the public.

Eric and his family recently relocated to southeastern Minnesota after his wife accepted a position with Mayo Clinic. That move created a tremendous opportunity for Austin. He is genuinely excited about our community’s momentum and believes Austin has the potential to become an even stronger, truly world-class community.

His formal references were exceptional, and local leaders I know in Utah who previously worked with Eric have shared similarly glowing assessments of his character and leadership. Eric understands financial stewardship, organizational accountability, economic development, infrastructure, and the importance of creating a workplace where talented employees can succeed. We are fortunate to have him, and I believe he will be an outstanding partner for the Council, City employees, local businesses, and community organizations as we work together to shape Austin’s next chapter.

Please join me in welcoming Eric and his family to Austin!

POLICE PROMOTIONS
There was a wonderful pinning ceremony for three members of the Austin Police Department who recently earned promotions:
• Mark Walski — Lieutenant
• Jessy Betts — Lieutenant
• Josh Bradley — Sergeant

These promotions recognize years of service, professional growth, leadership, and commitment to protecting our community. Strong internal leadership is essential to the long-term success of any organization, and we are fortunate to have experienced officers ready to accept these greater responsibilities.

Congratulations to Lieutenant Walski, Lieutenant Betts, and Sergeant Bradley on their well-earned promotions. Thank you to them—and to the entire Austin Police Department—for their continued service to our community.

2027 TAX LEVY AND BUDGET PROCESS
The Council approved the preliminary 2027 property tax levy tonight. The proposed levy is a 7.5% increase, substantially lower than increases of many previous years (which I had voted against) and largely in line with the expansion of the tax base through housing and business expansion. This was one of the smoothest and most strategic budget processes we’ve had in my time on Council.

This is an important—but not final—step in developing next year’s City budget. The preliminary levy establishes the maximum amount the City can collect, but it can still be reduced as we continue working through department budgets, priorities, investments, and opportunities for savings.

There is additional work ahead before the final budget and levy are adopted on December 21. The City’s Truth in Taxation hearing will be held on December 7 at 6:00 p.m.

As a longtime fiscal conservative, I remain committed to carefully evaluating both the investments our community needs and the impact those decisions have on taxpayers. A responsible budget is about more than reaching a number—it is about setting clear priorities, delivering essential services effectively, supporting Austin’s continued growth, and ensuring every dollar is used wisely.
I will continue providing updates as this process moves forward.

09/15/2026

09/11/2026

25 years and still remember like it was yesterday. Powerful and moving tonight

09/08/2026

AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL UPDATE — SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

Tonight’s City Council meeting was highlighted by an important leadership transition, a celebration of what makes Austin a welcoming community, continued progress toward selecting our next City Administrator, and more work on the City’s 2027 budget.

🚒 CHIEF JOSH KUNZE OFFICIALLY SWORN IN
Congratulations to Josh Kunze, who was officially sworn in and pinned tonight as Austin’s new Fire Chief!
Josh becomes just the 9th Fire Chief in Austin’s history — a pretty remarkable distinction given the long history of our department.
I’m incredibly excited about the leadership Josh will bring to the Austin Fire Department. We have an outstanding team of firefighters serving our community, and I’m confident Josh is the right leader to help build on that strong foundation.
Congratulations, Chief Kunze!

🤝 WELCOMING WEEK
Tonight we also officially proclaimed September 10–19 as Welcoming Week in Austin.
This year’s theme is “Stories We Share: The Courage to Connect.” Welcoming Week is celebrated in communities across the country and focuses on building connections and a sense of belonging among neighbors of different backgrounds and experiences.
Austin is at its best when people feel connected to their community and have opportunities to participate and contribute. Welcoming Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the many people, cultures, traditions and stories that make Austin the community it is.

🏛️ CITY ADMINISTRATOR SEARCH MOVES TO FINAL ROUND
We also received an important update on the search for Austin’s next City Administrator.
Our interview committee recently completed first-round interviews with five candidates and recommended three finalists to advance to the final stage of the process.
Most encouraging to me is the quality of the candidate pool we have attracted. This is an incredibly important leadership position for our community, and I’m excited about the caliber of people interested in leading our organization.
Finalist activities and interviews are scheduled for September 16–17, including opportunities for the Council, department leaders and community stakeholders to interact with the candidates before a final selection is made.
There is still important work ahead, but I’m very encouraged by where we are in the process and excited about the opportunity to select a strong leader for Austin’s future.

💰 2027 BUDGET DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE
Following tonight’s meeting, we continued our work on the City’s 2027 budget. The current preliminary proposal calls for a 7.5% increase in the city tax levy, but we are still working through the numbers and the budget will continue to be refined before final adoption later this year.

Just as important as the number is what we are prioritizing with those dollars. The proposed budget emphasizes maintaining lean operations with no new full-time positions, strengthening public safety, strategically using our fund balance, planning responsibly for future City facility needs, and targeting existing resources toward improvements in service and efficiency.

As a longtime fiscal conservative, I remain committed to making sure we are thoughtful about how we invest taxpayer dollars. Growing the tax base is important, but it isn’t a substitute for fiscal discipline. We still need to challenge ourselves to operate efficiently, prioritize carefully and recognize the impact our decisions have on residents and businesses.

There is still work to do, and I’ll continue pushing for a budget that balances smart, long-term investments with responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

08/28/2026

Welcome to Austin Dunham’s Sports!