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Council will face tough budget decisions on parks, animal services and homelessness
City Council is anticipating a tight budget ahead and will have to balance funding for the Parks and Recreation Department as well as the Austin Animal Center, the Homeless Strategy Office and Human Resources. The Austin Animal Center is over…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Jul 26, 2024
Cap Metro stops shift to all-electric bus fleet
Capital Metro is slamming the brakes on an ambitious goal of transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet, citing problems with the range of battery-electric buses. Austin voters were promised a transit system with exclusively electric vehicles when they authorized a…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 26, 2024
Parks board to ask Council to explain why it bypassed public input on a Lady Bird Lake boat rental concession
Members of the Parks and Recreation Board said Monday they will ask City Council to reexamine a 2019 ordinance that circumvented public input to allow an adventure excursion company to operate a boating concession on Lady Bird Lake. The request…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Jul 26, 2024
Audit committee wants to keep a close eye on upcoming bond packages
The City Council Audit and Finance Committee wants staff to deliver quarterly updates to all relevant City Council committees on all projects being considered for Austin’s next bond package – mainly related to climate change and the effects of severe…
Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 26, 2024
Staff lays out public safety budget choices for City Council
Looking ahead to a tough budget year, City Council will have to choose between spending on firefighters, emergency medical services, parks maintenance, homeless outreach and improving animal services, among others. Wednesday’s budget presentation did nothing to alleviate budget concerns, with…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Jul 25, 2024
Council OKs bond money to preserve Museum of Human Achievement arts space
City Council has allocated $5.1 million of bond money to the Rally Austin economic development entity, which is expected to use some of the money to purchase and preserve the Museum of Human Achievement (MoHA) arts space in East Austin.…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 25, 2024
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Downtown Austin safety team increases patrol in response to APD staffing shortage
Austin has been grappling with a serious police understaffing problem, making patrolling the downtown area harder. In an effort to fill that gap, the Downtown Austin Alliance created a new safety team to hit the streets. The DAA, a nonprofit…
Police • By Lucciana Choueiry, KUT News • Jul 25, 2024
The Austin area will see cooler temperatures this week. But it's not as 'crazy' as you think.
Temperatures in Central Texas will trend below average with highs only in the 80s in most areas this week, according to the National Weather Service. Normally, high temperatures this time of year range in the high 90s. The cooler weather is…
Environment • By Kailey Hunt, KUT • Jul 24, 2024
At Council Member Alison Alter's urging, city commission may have input on natural gas matters
Members of the city’s Resource Management Commission have been trying for months to find out how they can weigh in on the current rate case for Texas Gas Service. They have passed a number of resolutions seeking to have input…
Resources • By Jo Clifton • Jul 24, 2024
Audit cites lack of progress on homelessness strategies issued five-plus years ago
A new report from the Office of the City Auditor has found the city is still working toward accomplishing five recommendations to address homelessness that were suggested at least five years ago. The report, which was issued earlier this month,…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 24, 2024
Parks board recommends beefing up funding for city parks maintenance
With increasing challenges in maintaining grounds within Austin’s busy parks system, the Parks and Recreation Board voted Monday to recommend that City Council allocate an additional $2.62 million to the Parks and Recreation Department budget for the new fiscal year.…
Budget • By Amy Smith • Jul 24, 2024
Regional EPA grant will go toward mitigating I-35 construction traffic and pollution
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $47.9 million grant to a coalition of transportation organizations in the Austin region that could go toward mitigating the worst environmental effects of Interstate 35’s inevitable expansion. The city of Austin will…
