On April 3, the name Ted Eubanks was on the list of members of the public who were expected to be appointed to various boards and commissions at the following day’s City Council meeting. But on April 4, Eubanks’ name was not on the final version of the list. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly had nominated […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inBudget
City budget writers outline some rate increases
For Austin, like most other Texas cities, property taxes are its single largest source of revenue for the General Fund. The second-biggest revenue source is sales taxes, as explained by Budget Officer Kerri Lang at Tuesday’s City Council work session. Overall, for homeowners paying fees in the typical range, city taxes and fees are projected […]
Posted inCity Council
Extra security, extra stress, new rules at Council meeting
Each speaker at a City Council meeting now has three minutes – instead of two – to speak on each item they signed up to address because of a temporary restraining order granted Wednesday by Travis County District Judge Madeleine Connor. At Thursday’s meeting, that ruling had some impact on timing, but the meeting generally […]
Posted inWhispers
Save Our Springs wins an order to increase speaking time
Things might be a little different at today’s City Council meeting. Last week, after getting only two minutes to address Council on a variety of items, Save Our Springs Alliance Executive Director Bill Bunch said Mayor Kirk Watson was violating the Open Meetings Act and the Austin City Charter. At that point, Bunch said he […]
Posted inTransportation
New rules in the works for electric vehicle charging stations
In addition to changes to major portions of the city’s land use regulations, City Council heard at last week’s meeting about proposed changes to rules governing where public electric vehicle charging stations can be located in the future. Because of Austin’s ambitious climate protection goals and strategies, which include reaching net-zero communitywide greenhouse gas emissions […]
Posted inBudget
Budget deficit looms over city this year and beyond
The city of Austin is facing a $3.5 million deficit for the current year, with a much larger deficit – more than $13 million – projected for Fiscal Year 2025, which starts on Oct. 1, 2024. That’s the bad news as presented to City Council at Tuesday’s work session by longtime financial consultant Jon Hockenyos […]
Posted inCourts
Judge rules city can’t use taxpayer money for South Central TIRZ
Travis County District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum has ruled that the city of Austin and the developers of the Statesman Planned Unit Development may not move forward with funding of the development on Lady Bird Lake with $354 million in property taxes. The Save Our Springs Alliance, former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, former Council Member […]
Posted inCourts
Save Our Springs Alliance sues City Council over Open Meetings Act
As he threatened to do at last week’s City Council meeting, Save Our Springs Alliance Executive Director Bill Bunch has sued the city, the mayor and Council for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Austin City Charter and Council’s own procedures for allowing the public to speak. The suit was filed in […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin sales tax collections increase
Sales tax allocations for Austin, as well as other cities in Texas, have grown over the past year, according to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. For Austin, February sales tax collections were up 7.55 percent over last year’s collections. Hegar reported that the city would receive more than $27.8 million, up from $25.9 million last year. […]
Posted inElections
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson declares his plans to run for reelection
To the surprise of practically no one in Austin, Mayor Kirk Watson announced on Wednesday that he will run for reelection this November. In an email to supporters, he outlined victories so far in his current two-year term. “For example, we’ve adopted the most ambitious housing reforms in decades to create more affordability; we’ve made […]
Posted inElections
Democrats vs. Republicans: First election coming for Travis Central Appraisal District board
Even though their party affiliations will not be on the ballot, three Democrats, three Republicans and a Libertarian are running for three seats on the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors. That election on May 4 will be the first such election since passage of a law requiring that three of those directors be […]
Posted inWater
Council OKs contract for advice on additional water pump station
On Thursday, City Council unanimously approved a $3 million contract with HDR Engineering Inc. for a study to determine where the water utility might locate an additional new pump station and reservoir in Southwest Austin in conjunction with the Davis Lane Pump Station. Austin Water says that on a day when there is maximum demand, […]