Austin Monitor

On what City Council members once thought was a settled issue, players are lining up once again to joust over the city’s planned Water Treatment Plant 4. With a current price tag of some $508 million—or maybe more—the construction of the plant represents significant opportunities for local contractors. But groups like the Save Our Springs […]

The Transportation Department briefed the Comprehensive Planning and Transportation Council Committee on their aggressive schedule for the Strategic Mobility Plan, and raised some doubts as to whether Austin would be well positioned to receive any of the Federal Government’s stimulus money.   Gordon Derr, Assistant Director of the city’s Transportation Department, brought Council Members Laura […]

In what Chief Appraiser Patrick Brown called “an unfortunate mistake,” Travis Central Appraisal District has erroneously certified the tax rolls for some 140 Travis County taxing entities. In fact, property owners are protesting too many appraisals to certify the results.   In a letter to Mayor Lee Leffingwell on Wednesday, Brown asked him to “disregard” […]

On Tuesday, Travis County Commissioners received the latest revenue estimates from County Auditor Susan Spataro and her colleague Blain Keith. The latest projections include the certified tax rolls from the Travis Central Appraisal District, and show the county in a slightly better financial position than expected.   The county’s General Fund is projected at $449.86 […]

A city staff member was busy vacuuming up the shattered remains of the front door to City Hall last night as the Historic Landmark Commission finished around 11: 30 p.m. The initial story is that someone threw a large piece of concrete through the building’s front door, which had one staffer joking that it must […]

Police are planning to review video tapes showing activity at City Hall and the Austin Police Department headquarters last night to identify the person or persons who threw large chunks of concrete at both buildings, according to Corporal Scott Perry at APD. Perry said the concrete destroyed an 8X4-foot window at the police headquarters on […]

The city’s water utility is approaching its 35th year of advocating for a new water treatment plant in the Lake Travis area, but continues to run into opposition from some Council members and others who say they are not convinced it is necessary.   Austin Water Utility Director Greg Meszaros on Thursday once again outlined […]

While three Council Members feel that the Council has already devoted enough attention to analyzing factors spurring the Austin Water Utility to proceed with construction of Water Treatment Plant 4, four others say they need answers to some important questions before making a decision.   Some of those questions should be answered today. This morning, […]

Members of the Austin Police Association overwhelmingly approved a change to their contract with the City of Austin yesterday, allowing the city to save more than $4.1 million in wages for FY 2010. APA President Wayne Vincent said he was very pleased with the vote. He said 83 percent of officers participating approved the deal […]

Members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) have approved a resolution calling on the City of Austin to adopt single-member districts by the end of 2009 or face a federal lawsuit.   Mayor Lee Leffingwell received notice of the decision from local LULAC Director Marcelo Tafoya on Tuesday. According to Tafoya’s advisory, […]

City Manager Marc Ott and his budget staff presented their proposed 2009-2010 budget to Council Members this morning, which included recommendations to increase the property tax rate, and force city employees to take unpaid furloughs and forgo their longevity pay.    The City Manager was faced with reducing April’s $645 million forecast budget for the […]

After a series of meetings between Hispanic leaders angry about the repeated use of a derogatory term on last week’s “Todd and Don Show” and representatives of Emmis Austin Radio, KLBJ590 announced Monday that it had cancelled the morning talk program.   In addition, Don Pryor, who used the word “wetback” 34 times during last […]