Travis County is the first jurisdiction in Texas to participate in a program that seems to hit the sweet spot between the business community and environmentalists. The Texas Legislature voted in 2013 to allow cities and counties to enact their own versions of the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as PACE. This year, the […]
Caleb Pritchard
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 6.30.15
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: 3. Consider and take appropriate action regarding response to flooding in and around Travis County. (This item […]
Posted inAustin
Eagerness for tax relief hits a ceiling
Austin officials are considering tax relief for the elderly and disabled as one way to combat the rising cost of living in Central Texas, but some are not entirely happy with the idea. Both the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Austin City Council Audit and Finance Committee have endorsed raising the homestead exemption rate for residents […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County shops for tools to blunt courthouse bonds
Travis County will host a forum for developers to explore options for a second, privately built tower on the block that would also be home to the proposed $292 million Civil & Family Courts Complex. The Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday to schedule the forum to span July 8 and 9 with an optional third […]
Posted inWhispers
Courthouse campaign launches
The campaign to sell voters on Travis County’s proposed $291.6 million Civil and Family Courts Complex officially launched on Monday. A press conference was held at the Women’s Community Center in downtown Austin, a backdrop befitting the opening arguments for the project. While there is overwhelming agreement in the county that the current civil courthouse is overcrowded and inadequate […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County 6.23.15
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: 4. Consider and take appropriate action regarding response to flooding in and around Travis County, including: Contract […]
Posted inWhispers
It’s official
Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday made the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse the official historic courthouse of the county. The largely ceremonial vote came almost 10 years to the day after a previous Commissioners Court voted to rename the building after the civil rights icon. However, according to the resolution, it also confers on the building’s legally […]
Posted inWhispers
Travis County recommits to sharing data with TCAD
Two weeks after declining to throw its weight behind Austin City Council’s commercial property tax appraisal challenge, the Travis County Commissioners Court signaled Tuesday that the issue is still on its radar. During their regular voting session, the commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a resolution reaffirming the county’s commitment to share any real estate sales price […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 6.16.15
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: 14. Discuss property tax rate considerations for the development of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget. (Commissioner Gómez) […]
Posted inTravis County
Legislature clouds future of jailhouse video-visitation policy
Before the end of their 2015 session, the 84th Texas Legislature passed a bill that could add a new wrinkle to the standoff between the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Sheriff’s Office over the jailhouse video-visitation program. HB 549 amends current state law to require the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to adopt new […]
Posted inCourts, Development
New lawsuit adds to sour feelings in Swede Hill’s Patch House saga
The owners of a controversial house in East Austin’s Swede Hill neighborhood are taking their fight with the city to a Travis County district court. Last week, lawyers for Blake and Toria English filed a suit against the city of Austin and Austin Energy seeking an injunction against threats to shut off power and orders […]
Posted inWhispers
Eckhardt tweaks public communications rules
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt kicked off Tuesday’s regular voting session of the Travis County Commissioners Court with a small change in policy. Prompted by regular visitations from residents who use the meetings’ public communication times as a soapbox to vent about issues that aren’t particularly germane to county business, Eckhardt announced that she would […]