The Resource Management Commission on Tuesday voted 9-1 to recommend that the City of Austin amend its code to allow volunteer board and commission members to receive official city communications at a personal email address if they explicitly opt in.

Commissioner Silverstein moved the recommendation and Vice Chair Robbins seconded. Silverstein said the item reflected changes made after earlier feedback from Commissioner Geary and that the revision would permit a commissioner to “explicitly opt in to add the use of a personal email address,” including the use of an alias that forwards to a personal account for city business.

The measure grew out of a similar proposal the Electric Utility Commission advanced earlier this year. Nikki Heff, staff liaison for the EUC, told the Resource Management Commission that the EUC’s recommendation was forwarded to mayor and council offices as part of the regular backup distribution; she said the city council has not acted on it.

Supporters on the commission said allowing an opt-in personal email address would help volunteer members keep up with a large volume of city email without forcing personal address sharing. Vice Chair Robbins noted that, in his view, personal email addresses are redacted in public information requests and that accommodating alternative address options could ease communication burdens for volunteers.

Commissioner Gary opposed the recommendation, citing cybersecurity and litigation concerns. “My vote is still gonna be no because of cybersecurity issues and so much that's going on in this country in regards to keeping our privacy,” Gary said. He said litigation processes can lead to searches of phones and personal emails and that volunteers should be able to separate personal devices from commission business.

Votes at a glance
- Approval of minutes from the Sept. 16 RMC meeting: motion by Commissioner Silverstein, second by Commissioner Lukey; result: approved (yes 9; no 0; abstain 1 — Commissioner Gary).
- Recommendation to amend city code to permit personal email use for volunteer board/commission communications (opt-in): motion by Commissioner Silverstein, second by Vice Chair Robbins; result: recommendation carries (yes 9; no 1 — Commissioner Gary; abstain 0).
- Adoption of the Resource Management Commission 2026 meeting schedule: motion moved (mover not specified in transcript), second by Commissioner Farmer; result: adopted (yes 10).

Why it matters: The change would alter how volunteer commissioners receive official communications from the city and raises trade-offs between easing volunteer access to information and preserving privacy and litigation protections for personal devices and accounts. The commission’s recommendation now moves to mayor and council offices as part of the standard backup distribution; council members may use the recommendation as backup to a council resolution or for informational purposes.

Next steps: The recommendation will be available to mayor and council offices for their review; the city council must take any final action to change city code.