Austin Monitor

County Judge Sam Biscoe spent his first meeting as chair of CAMPO’s Transportation Policy Board in the way he’s likely to spend many more meetings: figuring out how to shuffle money around various projects to handle shifting funds.   The revenue picture for CAMPO 2035 continues to shift more funding from federal and state sources […]

For Council Member Randi Shade there is little doubt that the proposed relocation of Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc.’s corporate headquarters from Bethesda, Md. to Austin is a positive development.   Shade and Council Member Bill Spelman both say that the city’s Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office (EGRSO) appears to have done a good job […]

On Jan. 28, the Homeless Housing and Services Program (HHSP) will make recommendations to City Council on how to spend the nearly $2 million the city has been allocated by the State Legislature to combat homelessness. On Tuesday, Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Director David Lurie and Community Based Resources Manager Susan Gehring went […]

There was little doubt Thursday that City Council action on the proposed Downtown Density Bonus Program will be delayed beyond Jan. 28, the date it was due for consideration. The question now is how much time Council members will give the Planning Commission to come up with a recommendation.   Council Members heard a lengthy […]

A couple intent on converting a bungalow home into a bed-and-breakfast inn on East Cesar Chavez Boulevard agreed Tuesday to delay the Planning Commission vote on their conditional use permit for two weeks in order to negotiate further with neighbors.   Owners Kathy Setzer and George Reynolds called the East Side Inn their dream. The […]

TXI, the controversial proposed mining operation in Eastern Travis County, faces a delay of perhaps a few more weeks — and possibly much longer — as the US Army Corps of Engineers  (USACE) looks at the project. Ryan Metz, an environmental consultant who lives near the site, prepared a sheaf of information for the Corps […]

South Austin Democrats, the first of the city’s big Democratic clubs to weigh in on the upcoming elections, voted last night to endorse incumbent Commissioner Margaret Gomez over challenger Raul Alvarez in the Precinct 4 race. Amy Everhart, the organization’s treasurer, told In Fact Daily that the race between Gomez and Alvarez was the closest […]

City leaders may have figured out a way to pay for more firefighters, at least in the short-term, without incurring much of a long-term financial liability. That is the aim of a resolution on this week’s City Council agenda directing the city manager to apply for a SAFER grant and conduct a fiscal analysis.   […]

How do you get the average Austin resident involved in something as seemingly opaque and nebulous as the Comprehensive Plan? The City of Austin, recognizing that it isn’t always realistic to expect residents to show up at official Comprehensive Plan meetings, usually on weekday evenings, has developed an alternative: meeting in a box.   The […]

Although sales tax revenues fell 11.6 percent across the state, Austin collections fell only 6 percent for November, 2009, according to Austin CFO Leslie Browder. That is a decrease of about $700,000.   The city received $10.2 million this month on November revenues, compared to $10.9 million for the same month last year, Browder said in […]

Talk to Schiller Liao and he’ll tell you that one of the inconveniences facing Asian business representatives visiting Austin is having to travel all the way to Dallas or Houston to receive services from their governments. One possible solution to this problem: attracting foreign consulates from Asian countries to relocate their offices to the capital […]

Council Member Bill Spelman said Monday that he would vote against the firefighters contract when it comes up for a Council vote on Thursday. It’s an equity issue, he said, since other city employees—trash collectors and street repair crews, for example—are being paid below what they get in other Texas cities.   “Austin firefighters are […]