In November, District Judge Scott Jenkins ruled that City Council’s vote in favor of a controversial zoning case in November 2016 violated the Texas Open Meetings Act because key details of the zoning change were not publicly posted ahead of the vote. While city staff had posted information about the case, the posting had not stated […]
Jack Craver
Posted inPolice
By outsourcing, APD has made major progress on sex assault kit backlog
The Austin Police Department’s embarrassing backlog of sexual assault kits will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. APD told members of the Public Safety Commission Monday that there are 856 kits from the backlog left to be analyzed, down from more than 2,165 in February and more than 4,000 when the police department’s […]
Posted inWhispers
Police union releases demographic details on survey
In an effort to persuade City Council to approve a new contract for its members this week, the Austin Police Association released a survey Monday that it described as evidence that the community thinks highly of local police and supports the proposed contract. The survey of more than 2,000 residents (with a margin of error […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin’s two city manager finalists: Howard Lazarus and Spencer Cronk
The seemingly interminable search for Austin’s next city manager has finally been winnowed down to two applicants for the job. On Thursday, Stephen Newton of consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates, which City Council hired to lead the candidate search, recommended that Council choose either Howard Lazarus or Spencer Cronk to be Austin’s top civil servant. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council drills down on Capitol plan
An ongoing effort by the state of Texas to move much of its workforce downtown has City Council members wondering what, if anything, the city can get out of the project. The state is planning on getting started with implementation of the Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan, which envisions four new buildings around the Capitol […]
Posted inUncategorized
Public Safety Commission endorses police union contract
Rejecting the pleas of police accountability activists, the Public Safety Commission voted Monday night to recommend the approval of the proposed new union contract between the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association. Both Police Chief Brian Manley and APA President Ken Casaday stressed that if a contract is not approved, police officers will […]
Posted inParks
Cyclists, motorcyclists get committee to postpone update to Balcones conservation plan
Dozens of mountain bikers, motorcyclists and others who enjoy using trails within the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve showed up at City Hall Friday ready for a fight over an update to the preserve management plan that they said endangers their access to the parks and trails. In response, members of the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan Coordinating […]
Posted inAustin
A sick leave ordinance is coming, but details are unclear
A coalition of city leaders and advocacy groups is pushing for Austin to join many of the nation’s largest cities in requiring employers to provide employees with a certain number of paid sick days. On Nov. 15 at the People’s Community Clinic in Northeast Austin, a group of small business owners assembled to lend their […]
Posted inElections
Should city elections be moved to odd years?
Some political leaders and activists in Austin believe the city would be better off if elections for City Council did not coincide with higher-profile campaigns for president, governor and Congress. At a meeting of the Charter Review Commission on Nov. 13, Commissioner Matt Hersh floated the idea of changing the city charter so that Council […]
Posted inCity Hall
Is it time for Austin to have a ‘strong mayor’?
It’s a common refrain in city political debates: Austin is a big city and it’s time it started acting like one, whether that means building mass transit, allowing taller buildings or adopting single-member City Council districts. For Roger Borgelt, a member of the Charter Review Commission, it means ditching Austin’s longtime council-manager form of government. […]
Posted inCity Hall
2nd Street gets another five years of free parking
For at least another five years, patrons of businesses located in the downtown Second Street District will continue getting two hours of free parking in the City Hall parking garage. After a lengthy debate Thursday, City Council voted to renew a parking deal that the city originally struck in 2005 with AMLI and UP Schneider, […]
Posted inAustin
Council welcomes idea of Major League Soccer
City Council members are intrigued by the prospect of Austin welcoming its first professional sports team, but so far none of them are suggesting the city offer the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer anything but a warm, Texas welcome. “I don’t see the Council engaging in that decision about whether that team relocates,” said […]