The city of Austin has operated cemeteries since 1839; however, it was only in 2013 that the Parks and Recreation Department assumed responsibility for cemetery operations, at which point the department made a few changes. Despite funding challenges allowing for only 50 percent of the staff that the city originally allocated for cemeteries, the Parks […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy finishes the year with $50.5M in excess revenue, lower bills for customers
After weathering an erratic Electric Reliability Council of Texas market this summer, Austin Energy finished the year in a financially stable position with extra revenue that will be passed on to the public in the coming year. According to Mark Dombroski, chief financial officer at Austin Energy, who addressed the Electric Utility Commission at its […]
Posted inResources
Austin Energy discusses how to resolve repercussions of water bill fiasco
It has been over a year since the water bill saga first made headlines in Austin. However, only now are city utilities releasing a post-mortem report designed to help them avoid a similar situation in the future. While the report that Monica Joyner, an Austin Energy process manager for quality, presented at the Nov. 19 […]
Posted inPolice
Office of the Police Monitor building a police oversight agency
For 16 years, the Office of the Police Monitor has been available for citizens and city staff to issue complaints against law enforcement. However, it appears not many Austinites take advantage of its services. Police Monitor Farah Muscadin found that of the 250 formal complaints investigated each year, 50 came directly from the community while […]
Posted inCity Hall
Harassment policy heads to Council without a commission willing to hear cases
After the Ethics Review Commission declined to weigh in on the city’s newly proposed anti-discrimination and harassment policy, it volleyed the task to the Human Rights Commission, which similarly declined to take on the job. This hot potato of an issue came to the court of commissions from the city clerk’s office earlier this fall […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin’s Strategic Mobility Plan supports Cap Metro’s Project Connect
Austin’s Capital Metro recently released its revamped Project Connect plan, which it hopes to put before voters in 2020, and this time it has integrated its plans with the city’s overall strategy. The last time Austin laid out a transportation plan was in 1995, and at that time, it was not intimately woven into the public […]
Posted inPreservation
Historic Landmark Commission postpones case for not following the process
For over a year, the Historic Landmark Commission has been going back and forth over the plans for the back lot of the Stanley Homestead at 1809 Newton St. “What we’re seeking is the Certificate of Appropriateness for the new construction that we are contemplating,” explained William Hodge, the architect representing the applicant at the […]
Posted inPreservation
Dissatisfied with lack of compromise, Historic Landmark Commission stalls
After its fourth public hearing, the Clarksville storybook house remains a point of contention between owner, commission and the Clarksville Community Development Corporation. Priscilla Glover, the owner of 1002 Charlotte St., told the commissioners at their Nov. 19 meeting, “I have heard your comments on the design of my house. I’m not changing it.” She […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics Review Commission declines to weigh in on city anti-discrimination and harassment policy
City Council recently asked the Ethics Review Commission to review its proposed amendments to the anti-discrimination/anti-harassment portion of the City Code, which includes language such as “No City official or employee shall engage in conduct or use language that is offensive, harassing, sexually suggestive, or hostile.” Last Wednesday night, the ethics commission debated whether Council’s […]
Posted inDevelopment
A ‘dire need’ for student housing convinces Board of Adjustment to approve variance
This month the Board of Adjustment approved a variance request for a multifamily unit located just behind the Drag, after postponing it in September for being “ugly.” At its Nov. 8 meeting, the Board of Adjustment reevaluated whether the lot at 2713 Hemphill Park, which is 237 square feet smaller than the required 8,000 square feet […]
Posted inTransit
New Project Connect plan has ambitions for 2020
Once again, Austin has been reminded of the importance of public transportation, in photos that surfaced this week of the Crystal City metro system that sits right beneath the Amazon headquarters in Crystal City, Va. “As we plan and plan again, our peer systems are investing,” Scott Morris of the Central Austin Community Development Corporation […]
Posted inFire
‘Mega-fires’ are real, but their size is anyone’s guess
When representatives from the Austin Fire Department spoke at the last meeting of the Public Safety Commission, they alluded to a “mega-fire” they said was imminent in West Austin. Although the term may sound alarming, Justice Jones, wildfire mitigation program manager in the department’s Wildfire Division, told the Austin Monitor that there is no true […]