Austin Monitor

The Austin City Council this week will vote on an amendment to the contract with the firm handling the design of Water Treatment Plant 4. The $27 million addition for Carollo Engineers is going to the Council without a recommendation from the Water and Wastewater Commission, which reviewed the proposal last week but split over […]

Despite a good month of sales tax collections in January, the city is not on target for its yearly projections—which called for 7.6 percent growth in revenues this year—according to a memo to the Council from city Chief Financial Officer Leslie Browder.   Budget Officer Greg Canally reports that actual sales taxes collections have grown […]

The City of Austin will put out an RFQ for firms interested in designing the new Central Library next month. Staffers expect several firms to apply to be the design consultant on the project, and after a review process hope to present a short list of five firms for Council consideration this October.   Council […]

Supporters of the proposed commuter line from Austin to San Antonio (Austin-San Antonio Inter-Municipal Commuter Rail district) asked CAMPO Board Members Monday night to include their project in its request for federal highway funds through the Surface Transportation Program – Metropolitan Mobility program.   “Our request for STP-MM funds is motivated by a joint meeting […]

When you look at those two cars sitting in your driveway, it is easy to become concerned days about how you are going to pay for the oil and gasoline it takes to run them. Now, imagine having thousands of vehicles to keep on the road, and you get a sense of how hard record […]

Austin Fire Chief J.J. Adame will have 45 days to improve his performance as the department’s leader, after city management and Adame agree on an improvement plan—perhaps as early as Friday.   While many of the details leading up to that conclusion are being withheld, the Assistant City Manager over Public Safety did meet briefly […]

The Better Austin Today Political Action Committee issued its endorsements in the upcoming City Council races on Tuesday. The group formed by leaders of several different environmental, neighborhood, and small business groups is backing Jason Meeker in Place 1 and Laura Morrison in Place 4, but did not issue an endorsement in the Place 3 […]

Regardless of what they think privately, Travis County Commissioners failed Tuesday to give Pct. 1 Commissioner Ron Davis any assistance in his quest to prevent the City of Austin from building a landfill in his precinct. Davis’ motion to review Travis County’s landfill ordinance did not even get a second.   Mayor Pro Tem Betty […]

Place 1 City Council challengers Jason Meeker and Allen Demling ganged up on incumbent Council Member Lee Leffingwell Monday, putting out serial press releases about the possibility that Leffingwell will decide to resign early to run for Mayor in 2009.   Leffingwell has said in the past that he would consider running for Mayor when […]

With support for a landfill on the city’s Webberville tract waning, the Council will likely postpone a resolution on this week’s agenda directing city staff to complete environmental studies for the project.   Council Members Jennifer Kim and Lee Leffingwell said Monday that Mayor Pro Tem Betty Dunkerley plans to withdraw the resolution stating the […]

Mindy Montford picked up the support of former rival Rick Reed on Monday in the runoff for Travis County District Attorney. Reed, a former prosecutor who was one of the original four candidates in the Democratic Party primary earlier this month, said he had always planned to back Montford if his campaign was un-successful.   […]

The City of Austin is struggling with paying its firefighters exactly what it owes them because of a complicated payroll system, federal laws, collective bargaining and a computer program not created to deal with the firefighters’ standard 53-hour workweek, according to an internal audit.   Council Member Mike Martinez, a former firefighter, said, “We’ve been […]