Rondella Hawkins is the City’s Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs Officer. Her office has direct responsibility over utility rights-of-way franchise agreements and license agreements with telecommunications and wireless providers.  She serves as the City’s single point of contact for the Google Fiber and AT&T Fiber deployment projects.  Her office is responsible for private gas and electric utility ratemaking to ensure rate increases are just and reasonable. She is also responsible for the collecting and accounting of the City’s utility franchise and license fees as well as collections of monies due to the City on behalf of other City departments. She is responsible for implementing the City's Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan to ensure that all Austin residents have the information technology capacity needed for civic and cultural participation, employment, and access to essential services.  Her office also manages a technology grant program as well as contracts to operate public access computer training centers. She oversees the administration of the public access television management contract and coordinates with other Austin educational and government channels. Her office provides staff support to the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission.  Her office administers the City’s credit access program (CAB) which includes the registration and oversight of CABs that provide payday loans and/or auto title loans to consumers.She is actively engaged on legislative and policy issues related to broadband communications, maintaining local rights-of-way authority, and digital inclusion. She serves as Vice President of the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (TATOA). Rondella is a former Board member of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and was selected as NATOA’s 2010 Member of the Year and she received the NATOA Life Member award in 2014.