Scott Johnson, a local resident who said he helped create one of Austin's utility-bill donation funds, urged Austin Energy staff to promote the three donation options available to customers on utility bills.

"My name is Scott Johnson. I'm very involved in the utility bill funds that are on the city of Austin's Austin Water, Austin Energy, ARR bill," Johnson said during public communication. He said he developed the initial concept for what became the Parks and Libraries Fund and that the City Council approved a separate fund he described as the homeless student assistance fund at the end of 2022; that fund appeared on the utility bill in February 2023, he said.

Johnson asked the commission and staff to encourage broader promotion of all three funds—he named the Parks and Libraries Fund, the customer assistance program, and the homeless student assistance fund—so that customers using online bill-pay or rounding-up features can more easily donate. He said the customer assistance program receives a substantial portion of its dollars directly from Austin Energy and that the Parks and Libraries Fund receives a nonprofit grant that helps families afford summer programs.

Johnson also provided fundraising figures from the prior fiscal year: "So last year, fiscal year, raised 43,000, and about 21 or 22,000 of that goes to AISD to help in emergency situations to pay for food needs, clothing needs, and emergency shelter needs," he said. He expressed concern that the number of donors to these funds has decreased from earlier peaks and said he is working with Austin Energy staff including Carrie Overtine to increase donor participation.

Johnson concluded by offering to answer questions; the transcript records no follow-up public questions during the meeting.

Commissioners did not take formal action on the public comment during the meeting but later scheduled staff briefings and suggested communications on related topics for future meetings.