Austin Monitor

The Board of Adjustment decided during its final meeting of 2007 to allow the new owner of a small property in East Austin to deviate from the city’s minimum standard setback requirement—in accordance with the published goals of the East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan. Brandon Testa is planning to build a new home on a […]

CAMPO Chair Sen. Kirk Watson still is undecided whether to try to amend the organization’s three-year Transportation Improvement Plan given the grave situation of transportation finances across the state.   The Texas Department of Transportation has announced wide cuts from its state budget, cuts that likely will trickle down to the region’s road projects. Watson, like many […]

City Council has voted unanimously to create a new organization to own and manage parking garages downtown. The City Manager will also study the possibility of consolidating existing city-owned parking garages into the Austin Parking Enterprise.   The organizational structure for the Austin Parking Enterprise is still to be determined. “You basically have two options,” […]

San Antonio Deputy City Manager Jelynne Burley and Ft. Worth Assistant City Manager Marc Ott will be back in Austin next week for another round of interviews, now that they’ve been named the two finalists for the position of City Manager. In addition to another closed-door session with members of the City Council, the two […]

After interviewing the seven candidates for City Manager in executive session on Wednesday, the City Council voted to recess its special called meeting until sometime after 10am today. That will give Council Members some time think about which of the candidates should advance to the finalist stage.   They expect to make that decision today. […]

Two members of the Charter Revision Committee have sent a minority report to the City Council, urging the members not to place a single-member district proposal on the May ballot. The majority of the commission had endorsed a seventh public referendum on changing the at-large system. However, Committee Members Betty Baker, who was not present […]

The Austin City Council surprised a number of observers Thursday by naming Marc Ott and Jelynne Burley as the only finalists in the competition to take over from City Manager Toby Futrell as City Manager. Neither Laura Huffman nor Rudy Garza made the cut. The Council intends to have a public meet-and-greet for the candidates on […]

Although they may not agree on the details of many issues, the approximately 40 citizens who squeezed themselves behind the microphones in the City Hall media room Tuesday could heartily agree on one thing: “What brings us together is a shared view that City Hall has lost its way,” said Hope Morrison, a leader with […]

City Manager Toby Futrell Monday named Roger Duncan as interim General Manager of Austin Energy. Duncan, 60, has served as Deputy General Manager since August 2004.   He will assume the duties of Juan Garza, who is leaving Austin Energy to become General Manager of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative at the beginning of February.   […]

Outgoing Travis County DA Ronnie Earle endorseed his First Assistant on Monday, giving his nod to the staffer in the race with the most tenure in the DA’s office. Lehmberg, who has been a prosecutor for 31 years, is facing co-workers Mindy Montford, Gary Cobb, and Rick Reed in the Democratic primary. With no Republican […]

Two members of Austin’s Charter Revision Committee—which unexpectedly voted on the issue in late December—plan to issue a minority report opposing putting the question of single-member districts on the May ballot. Committee member Betty Baker said Sunday that she and committee member Roxanne Evans were working on the dissenting report, which she expects to be […]

City Manager Toby Futrell has named Roger Duncan as interim General Manager of Austin Energy. Duncan will assume the duties of Juan Garza, who is leaving Austin Energy to become General Manager of the Pedernales Electric Co-Op at the end of the month.   Futrell said a national search to permanently fill the Austin Energy […]