A look back: Austin’s year in review

With 2024 drawing to close, it’s time to look back on the local headlines that dominated the news (or held a special place in our hyperlocal hearts) before looking forward to the year ahead. Happy News Year!

WE HAVE A CONTRACT

After going more than a year without a contract in place, City Council approved a long-term labor contract for police that will cost an estimated $218 million when all is said and done. The contract, which was approved in a 10-1 vote, was seen as a key tool in helping to solve ongoing issues with recruiting and retaining officers by advocates. However, in a quirk of timing, most of those who spoke against the contract during public hearings (which is to say: most of those who spoke at public hearings) focused on the hard-to-parse language on personnel files that were determined illegally secret by the court weeks earlier and whether the contract would protect their transparency. 

HOME ADDITIONS

City Council technically approved the first phase of the HOME initiative in December 2023, but its implementation and expansion took place throughout 2024, cementing this Council’s dedication to making the development of housing in the city an easier and quicker process. And, this year, the same speed and agreement was seen on any changes to the code that could be considered pro-housing. Although the myriad changes, which are intended to allow for denser, taller development on smaller lots throughout the city, were met with the usual resistance from those who worry they went too far too quickly, Council members were not deterred. And, looking at the results of November’s election, they won’t back away from reforming the Land Development Code anytime soon.

LOCAL ELECTIONS

Although the local elections this November didn’t produce any huge shocks, they did usher in new Council members for districts 6, 7 and 10. They also apparently endorsed the pro-development stance embraced by the current dais – especially in the mayoral race, which saw Mayor Kirk Watson face off against a much more developmentally cautious crew and manage an outright win. In a more general sense, we always look forward to the changes that fresh blood bring to City Hall, but we’re not expecting a dramatic shift this January.

NEW TOP BRASS 

This year saw City Council making decisions on half of the executive appointments it has control over, deciding on both a new chief of police and a city manager. City Council appointed T.C. Broadnax in March, who came down from Dallas to take over for interim City Manager Jesús Garza. Unlike Garza, Broadnax has managed to keep a fairly low profile, even while bringing a police contract forward for approval and making a number of key appointments to flesh out his team. Council also appointed Lisa Davis in August as the city’s second woman to hold the position of Austin Police Department’s chief of police. So far, the appointment and her tenure have been fairly low-key, despite taking on the job during a tumultuous time for the department.

WATER FORWARD AND ENERGY, TOO

Although both plans were sent back to the drawing board for revisions, the city managed to enshrine long-term energy and water plans with a conservation bent this year. Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 was adopted in December after a delay to address concerns about a proposed natural gas plant. That plant is no longer part of the plan, which is intended to serve as a road map for the utility, and Council sought repeated assurance that proposed “peaker plants” to address additional demand would not move forward without more discussion as well as adding amendments that ask Austin Energy to report on emissions reduction and meeting city climate goals. The Water Forward and drought contingency plans were also adopted after further addressing criticism that the initial drafts were not aggressive enough in addressing climate change and conservation concerns.

FRESH PRESERVES

This may be recency bias, but we’re still reeling from Council’s decisive action to override the wishes of real estate developer Eureka Holdings to preserve the building at 1500 E. 12th St. that it has allowed to fall into disrepair. Council, like most Texans, tends to hold property rights in the highest esteem and the development-friendly nature of this particular dais doesn’t have a strong preservation agenda. Further, the almost-silent vote followed an impassioned speech in favor of demolition from the District 1 Council member whose district includes the building. As the last vote of the year, it was certainly an interesting note to leave things on, and we’re looking forward to more surprises and robust public participation like what surrounded the preservation effort in 2025.

YOU CAN FIGHT CITY HALL

OK, there are always a lot of lawsuits flying around City Hall, and for a lot of people these aren’t even the most interesting suits that concern local news and politics. But we were struck by the effectiveness of several suits this year that managed to change the rules of public information policy, public comment and funding for a major development as well as stop a whole Charter election, despite the apparent will of City Council. Meanwhile, the fight over Project Connect will continue into the new year.

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