Austin Monitor

New City Manager Marc Ott held a reception for more than a hundred city employees Tuesday to get to know the men and women he will be working with on a day-to-day basis. Ott made some public remarks in the Council chambers to reassure any city staffers nervous about the arrival of a new manager […]

The local inhabitants are not too happy about it, but the City of Austin is likely to move into the Webberville neighborhood area in a big way over the next few years. City staff briefed the Austin City Council last week about possible uses for the 3,000-acre site in eastern Travis County that is owned […]

Members of the City Council pulled off a surprise farewell presentation for out-going City Manager Toby Futrell Thursday evening. While Futrell has avoided any public tributes or parties in her honor, the Council did arrange for two well-known Austin musicians to perform “Happy Trails” during the live music portion of Thursday’s Council meeting, which was […]

In the long-running debate over the design for a new water tower in the Robert Mueller neighborhood, finances triumphed over aesthetics on Thursday as the City Council approved the less-expensive option for the project.   “All of us want to have as good a design as possible on all of these pieces of infrastructure that […]

Members of the Planning Commission could not reach a decision Tuesday night on whether to support a request from the developers of the planned Villa Muse film studios and mixed-use complex to release their project from the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction. The commission split 4-4 on the request, sending the item on to the City Council […]

Today is the last day Toby Futrell will sit on the dais. After nearly six years of presiding over honors and retirements for others, Austin’s most popular city manager in decades says she wants no fanfare or parting ceremony.   As she approached her last days as Austin’s city manager, Futrell told In Fact Daily, […]

The City Council could vote today to schedule a public hearing on Feb. 28 to take input on whether to put single-member districts on the ballot in May. The Council could also vote to request a briefing at that meeting from a representative of the Charter Revision Committee that studied the issue and from consultant […]

Paul Hilgers, who has worked for more than 10 years as a passionate advocate for affordable housing, is leaving his job as director of Neighborhood Housing and Community Development for the City of Austin to become deputy general manager of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative.   He will join Juan Garza, who took over duties as […]

The Austin Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new study on Monday of the beneficial effects a new medical school at the University of Texas could have on the Central Texas region. The study, conducted by The Perryman Group, predicted the school would contribute $2.4 billion each year to the local economy, generate 19,000 new jobs, […]

Paul Hilgers, director of Neighborhood Housing and Community Development, for the City of Austin, is resigning his position to become deputy general manager of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC).   Hilgers announced his resignation in a memo to City Manager Toby Futrell today. He told In Fact Daily he would start his new job at […]

District Attorney Candidate Rick Reed filed two ethics complaints Thursday with the Texas Ethics Commission against fellow DA candidate Rosemary Lehmberg for posting campaign signs without the proper disclaimer information on them.   Reed’s complaint alleges that Lehmberg printed and distributed a number of 4 X 8-foot signs that did not state that the message […]

In an interview Friday morning, Austin Mayor Will Wynn said he would recommend to his City Council colleagues that they reject an offer by NRG Energy that Austin participate in construction and operation of two 1350 megawatt nuclear units at the South Texas Nuclear Project (STP).   NRG estimated the construction only cost of the […]