Although the Austin City Council recently had some disagreements over how each Council member might use his or her salary, there was never any question about whether their salaries were sufficient. That’s because the 2006 Council approved an ordinance giving Council members the same salary increase as most rank-and-file city employees. Last year, that salary […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inAustin, City Council
Council votes for more study of Adler staff plan
On a 6-5 vote, City Council postponed action Thursday on Mayor Steve Adler’s plan to add five staffers to his office, sending the question to the Council’s Audit and Finance Committee. Those voting for the postponement included Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council Members Ellen Troxclair, Greg Casar, Ora Houston, Don Zimmerman and Delia […]
Posted inWhispers
City Hall, Kitchen plan art exhibitions
The City of Austin will host the annual kickoff reception and opening of the 2015 People’s Gallery on Friday. Each year the city showcases work by regional artists by hanging their works throughout City Hall. Visitors to the building can vote on the People’s Choice, an artwork that the city will purchase from the artist […]
Posted inWhispers
Riley sets plans for planning degree
Former City Council Member Chris Riley, long a policy wonk while he served on Council, will be pursuing a master’s degree to continue planning as a profession. Riley said Tuesday that he has been accepted as a graduate student at the Pratt Institute in the Urban Placemaking and Management program, starting in September. The Pratt […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Council to continue July vacation tradition
Rejoice, city staffers. Your July vacation is probably safe — unless you are part of the budget staff. At Tuesday’s work session, City Council members agreed that they would continue the tradition of not scheduling meetings during July. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo brought up the issue during a discussion about scheduling Council and Council […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Parks
Parks to consider Decker Golf; Council may punt
Although consideration of an agreement with Decker Golf LLC is on this week’s City Council agenda, Mayor Steve Adler said Monday that staff would be requesting postponement of an item allowing a 50-year license agreement for construction of new PGA-style golf courses at Walter E. Long Park. And Council Member Greg Casar said he would […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Professor lectures Adler on Austin government
Terrell Blodgett, professor emeritus at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, has written to Mayor Steve Adler and his City Council colleagues expressing concern about the mayor’s plan to add more staff for his office and lecturing him on the fact that the mayor has no more power than any of his Council colleagues or […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Adler gives up on foundation funding for office staff
After hearing strong opposition from his colleagues as well as others, Mayor Steve Adler is proposing a complete revamp of his plan for additional staffing in the Mayor’s office. Adler told the Austin Monitor Thursday that he would be pulling down his proposal to fund additional staff for the Mayor’s office through the Better Austin […]
Posted inWhispers
First gay wedding celebrated in Texas
Same-sex couples are allowed to marry in 37 states, but Texas is not one of them — except for one Austin couple, who wed Thursday morning under extraordinary circumstances. Following a ruling on Tuesday by Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman saying that Texas’ prohibition on gay marriage is unconstitutional, a Travis County couple who […]
Posted inWhispers
No gay marriages happening here (yet)
Update: This morning, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant were legally married in Austin, after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license…Even though Travis County Clerk Dana de Beauvoir was not on the verge of issuing marriage licenses to those seeking to marry their gay partners based on a local […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, City Hall
Council set to discuss committee logistics today
The Austin City Council will have an opportunity this afternoon to discuss and possibly vote on a proposed new Council schedule, including committees. Mayor Steve Adler’s Chief of Staff, John Michael Cortez, posted the proposal on the Council bulletin board after 5 p.m. Wednesday, giving the majority of Council members little time to digest the […]
Posted inWhispers
Jones taking over health department
City Manager Marc Ott announced the appointment of Shannon Jones as the new director of the city’s Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday. Carlos Rivera, who served as HHS director since 2011, resigned on Feb. 6, effective April 6. His brief letter to Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras gave no reason for the resignation. […]