Former Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has dipped his toes back into the region’s political scene by endorsing Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford for Travis County sheriff. In a note circulated by the Radford campaign on Wednesday, Leffingwell cited the candidate’s Dove Springs provenance as well as his professional experience in Austin’s western suburb. “Under his […]
Caleb Pritchard
Posted inWhispers
Davis wades into Rosewood Courts controversy
Travis County Commissioner Ron Davis opined Tuesday on an issue causing some political dyspepsia at the city of Austin. What was otherwise the Commissioners Court’s official introduction to Patrick Howard, the new interim executive director of the Housing Authority of Travis County, became an opportunity for Davis to hold forth on the Rosewood Courts controversy. […]
Posted inBudget
Travis County reduces proposed tax rate
Crucial new data has given Travis County’s budget writers a little extra leeway to lower the proposed property tax rate in the next fiscal year. A Planning and Budget Office staff presentation before the Commissioners Court on Tuesday revealed that the Travis Central Appraisal District beat expectations by estimating the net taxable land value in […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 9.1.15
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 4. Consider and take appropriate action on amendment to the Mass Gathering Permit to include definition of “residence.” (Judge Eckhardt) Monitor’s […]
Posted inWhispers
Drunk tank proposal chugs along
An intergovernmental working group is gradually bringing more clarity to the once-blurry proposal for Austin’s first drunk tank. On Tuesday, Roger Jefferies, county executive for the Travis County Justice & Public Safety Department, gave the Commissioners Court an update on the group’s progress. Jefferies said that the consensus is leaning toward the idea of recommending […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Commissioners weigh first mass-gathering case after revisions
The Travis County Commissioners Court postponed action on Tuesday on what County Judge Sarah Eckhardt dubbed the “maiden voyage” of a new mass-gathering permit policy. Before the commissioners was an application to approve a permit for the 2016 edition of Euphoria Music & Camping Festival to be held at Carson Creek Ranch. The public hearing […]
Posted inTravis County
Affordable housing project loses momentum
A proposed affordable housing project in northern Travis County is facing stiffening political headwinds thanks to tenacious lobbying from neighbors whose efforts have brought county commissioners to the brink of yanking their support for the project. Acting in their capacity as the Travis County Housing Finance Corporation, the commissioners last Tuesday discussed backing out of […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 8.25.15
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 2. Receive comments regarding the issuance of a Mass Gathering Permit for the Euphoria Music & Camping Festival to be held […]
Posted inTravis County
Commissioners set courthouse bond election
Travis County’s largest bond proposition in recent memory has officially graduated from the Commissioners Court to the much more challenging court of public opinion. In a historic moment that capped off years of planning, the commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to send the $287.3 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond question to voters this […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 8.18.15
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. Items of interest include: 1. Receive comments regarding the establishment of a Travis County Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #1 for the […]
Posted inTravis County
Aging courthouse loses pace with growing county
As Travis County commissioners march forward with a plan to replace the aging Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, denizens of that historic building are pulling no punches in their description of it. “It’s awful. It’s terrible. It’s undignified,” was the way Judge Darlene Byrne described it to the Austin Monitor and other members of the press […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
County approves mass-gathering permit compromise
Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday approved controversial revisions to the mass-gathering permitting process following a nearly two-hour hearing that featured more than a dozen speakers from the community. However, the commissioner who offered the compromise that helped guide the changes to a unanimous vote warned that this would not be the last chapter in this […]