City Council postponed a decision on appointing a new member to the Central Health Board of Managers amid concerns over diversity and potential conflicts of interest. The nine-member board of managers oversees the public health authority, which provides a variety of medical services, including two dozen health clinics, aimed at low-income and uninsured people in […]
Jack Craver
Posted inWhispers
Staff floats new budget reserve policy
City Council may want to adopt a new budget reserve policy, Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo told Council members during a Wednesday work session. The current policy states that Council should put aside money equaling 6 percent of its General Fund requirements into its Emergency Reserve Fund, which is intended for “unanticipated or […]
Posted inAustin
City Council considers tax swap with school district
City Council is exploring a number of ways the city of Austin can lend a hand to the Austin Independent School District, which will forfeit $406 million this year to the state under Texas’ “recapture” policy. At a work session on Wednesday, Council members discussed whether the city should take over certain programs that are […]
Posted inWhispers
Staff warns Council that certain initiatives will be tough to fund
Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo told City Council members that the city likely does not have the money to fund a number of initiatives that Council has stated it hopes to implement in the near future. Following through on its goals of hiring more police officers, setting up a community policing initiative, putting […]
Posted inPreservation
Council upholds demolition of two West Campus properties
After waiting nearly 400 days, a property owner in the West Campus neighborhood will be able to demolish two buildings that have been held up by neighbors seeking to get them classified as historic landmarks. City Council voted narrowly Thursday to reject an appeal of a decision by the Historic Landmark Commission last year to […]
Posted inTransit
Council approves ‘Smart Trips’ transit outreach
City Council voted Thursday to approve a contract with a Portland-based company to operate the “Smart Trips” program, which aims to get more people in the urban core to opt for public transit, bikes and walking over driving. Before voting to pay Alta Planning & Design $600,000 (half of which comes from the Capital Metropolitan […]
Posted inWhispers
Adler emphasizes hope in the midst of GOP control
Mayor Steve Adler kicked off the Thursday City Council meeting by acknowledging a number of national and state political realities that are frustrating – at the very least – to him and most of his left-leaning colleagues. “At the national level it looks like we’re going to be doing away with health care coverage for 24 […]
Posted inTransit
Downtown change: new rail station, more two-way traffic
In two votes Thursday, City Council approved funding to help the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority build a new downtown rail station and public plaza to serve the Red Line and gave the OK to turn East Fifth Street into a two-way street to help ease the congestion that the new development is expected to exacerbate. […]
Posted inWhispers
Council considering canceling next week’s meeting
Some City Council members are pushing to cancel the Council meeting scheduled for May 11. During a Tuesday work session some Council members argued that the agenda for the May 11 meeting is so short that the city would be better-served if Council members took that day to attend to other important business. Council could […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Council to reconsider curfew for kids
Members of City Council are exploring changes to a 27-year-old ordinance aimed at keeping kids off the streets at night and during school hours. Currently, those under age 17 who are caught wandering about unaccompanied during school days from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and any day between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. can be […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Human Rights Commission ponders CodeNEXT
The city’s Human Rights Commission is taking a look at CodeNEXT in an attempt to understand the implications of the controversial overhaul of Austin’s land development code on vulnerable populations. On Monday, the commission, which last year urged City Council to recognize gentrification as a “human rights issue,” heard from voices in support of increasing […]
Posted inLand Development Code
What does CodeNEXT mean for Austin parks?
Parks advocates hope that the ongoing effort to overhaul the city’s land development code will make it easier to develop parks of all kinds throughout Austin. On Tuesday night, the Parks and Recreation Board voted to recommend three changes to the current draft of CodeNEXT, which City Council is currently in the process of reviewing. […]