Citing a much-delayed cost-of-living adjustment, Council members on Thursday bumped Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk’s salary from $350,000 to just over $388,000. The move represents an 11 percent increase in pay and the first change to Cronk’s base salary since late 2018. Council members characterized this raise as in line with pay bumps city employees […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inElections
Austin is holding runoff elections for mayor and City Council. Why don’t people vote in these races?
Beto O’Rourke. Sure, you’ve heard of him. Greg Abbott? Duh. Herschel Walker. You’ve probably heard of him, too. (If you haven’t, here you are.) But what about Celia Israel? Ryan Alter? Linda Guerrero? Walking out of a coffee shop in North Austin on Monday, Paige Henney conceded those last three names may be less familiar – even […]
Posted inHousing
Austin’s program to sell homes to people affected by gentrification off to slow start
The city of Austin has not yet sold one of the two dozen homes it began marketing six months ago to low-income families affected by displacement and the influx of wealth into neighborhoods. This is the city’s first attempt at using its long-touted “preference policy,” approved by City Council members in 2018. Policies like these – […]
Posted inElections
Israel and Watson will head to December runoff in the race to elect Austin’s next mayor
Lee esta historia en español More than half of Austin voters could not agree on one candidate to be the city’s next mayor, so voters will return to the polls in a month to determine the winner. Celia Israel had 40% of the vote and Kirk Watson had 35%, according to unofficial results. Because both […]
Posted inHousing
Homes in Austin’s white neighborhoods are valued much higher than ones in communities of color
People of color in Austin can expect their homes to be worth nearly three times less than homes owned by white residents, according to a new report. Researchers with Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois-Chicago found that, while the average appraised value of a home in a white neighborhood in Austin is $873,758, […]
Posted inHousing
$1,700, $2,900, $3,200 a month? What’s the real cost of rent in Austin?
The rent in Austin is too damn high. But how high? Recently, Axios published data showing the median rent in Austin is a whopping $2,930 per month. (That includes rental homes of all sizes.) Another report from Bloomberg published in July, and which cites data from Rent.com, says a one-bedroom in Austin goes for $3,257 a month. […]
Posted inCity Council
Amid rising housing costs, Austin increases (slightly) park fees charged to builders
Following a conversation that pitted the amount of parkland in Austin against housing affordability, City Council members on Thursday voted against doubling park fees charged to residential developers. Instead, they opted to raise these fees by 10 percent. The vote was 10 to 1, with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting against. “I know there are […]
Posted inHousing
Mobile home park residents facing eviction in South Austin can stay a bit longer, judge rules
Roughly a dozen families living at a mobile home park in South Austin who received 60-day notices to leave will be able to stay for the time being after a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday. Residents of the Congress Mobile Home Park off South Congress Avenue were told this summer their leases […]
Posted inHousing
Neighbors protested housing for homeless Austinites. Then, they (sort of) changed their stance.
Austin’s Planning Commission meets every other Tuesday in the cavernous chambers of City Hall. Members assemble virtually and in person to hear requests and pleas from the public about what should be built in the city. Plot by plot, these volunteers vote yea or nay to changes that will shape Austin. On a night in […]
Posted inBudget
Austin officials are deciding what property tax bills will look like. Here are some terms to know.
Later this week, the Austin City Council is expected to adopt its budget for the coming fiscal year, which includes how it plans to tax property owners. Some institutions that collect property taxes, like the Austin Independent School District, have already adopted their budgets. If you own property, this will affect how much you owe […]
Posted inHousing
Austin builders are starting a lot of new homes. Finishing them is not so simple.
Alexandra Spurlock bought a new three-bedroom home in Hutto, about a half-hour drive north of downtown Austin. When she signed the papers last summer, the home was nothing more than a plot of dirt. The builder said the house would be move-in ready by February. Now it’s July 2022, and the house is still not […]
Posted inParks
Austin struggled to hire summer employees. Then, it failed to pay some on time.
At least 34 employees with Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, including some who care for children as part of city-run summer camps, went as long as a month without pay because of a clerical error. At least one employee’s paycheck was nearly five weeks late and he had trouble paying his car payment, KUT confirmed through […]