Jacqueline Yaft, who recently resigned her job as CEO of the Austin Aviation Department, had a conflict of interest beginning in June 2019 when she went to work for the city, according to an investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. Although she was required to inform the city of the conflict by […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inWhispers
Goode lays out process for appointing new ATP board member
With the resignation of Board Member Tony Elkins, the Austin Transit Partnership is now looking for a community expert in finance to join the ATP board. They are looking for someone to complete Elkins’ term, which ends in January, 2025, according to a memo from Assistant City Manager Robert Goode. In that memo, Goode laid […]
Posted inCourts
Paxton sues to overturn vote on U.S. budget
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the federal government alleging that the final vote to approve the U.S. budget by the House of Representatives last December was illegal because not enough members were physically present. The suit, filed in federal court in Lubbock, attacks not only the manner in which the vote was […]
Posted inFire
Firefighters say city lawyers unreasonably stopped arbitration
The city of Austin’s Law Department has stopped participating in an arbitration hearing with the Austin Firefighters Association, and City Council will have the chance on Thursday to approve that decision or direct its lawyers to continue the process. Council has an executive session scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Bob Nicks, president of the Austin […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit claims fraud by contractor for city health department
In a report released Thursday, the Office of the City Auditor detailed its investigation into allegations that a nonprofit contractor for Austin Public Health “committed fraud by misrepresenting over $1.1 million in financial transactions across three contracts” with the health department between December 2020 and September 2021. The Central Texas Allied Health Institute (CTAHI) had […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water says it’s doing better in the face of crises
At Wednesday’s joint meeting of City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee and the Austin Water Oversight Committee, Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson answered questions about a variety of topics, but one of the most difficult involved vacancies within the department, particularly at water treatment plants. The focus of the meeting was the utility’s actions […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water to discuss progress on improvement plan today
In the wake of five troubling incidents between 2018 and 2022, which led the former director of Austin Water to resign, the utility’s current leaders have been working to complete changes intended to prevent future service disruptions, such as boil-water notices. Of the city’s three water treatment plants – Ullrich, Handcox and Davis – Ullrich […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Austin warns utility legislation would cause taxes to go up
A bill introduced by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would likely result in increased property taxes in Austin, San Antonio and other cities that own electric utilities, according to Austin Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo. Simply put, Senate Bill 1110 would prevent cities from transferring money from their utilities to their general funds, “if […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza makes major changes to city organization
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced a series of major organizational changes in a press release late Friday, saying his “highest priority is to organize our people and our work so that we are operating cohesively and focused on problem-solving.” The new structure “will be conducive to reducing process redundancies and to operating at the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council approves rule to allow more use of small lots
In 2016, City Council voted to close a loophole that allowed houses to be built on smaller lots than intended when the Land Development Code was adopted. At the time, some North Austin neighbors were complaining that they had been fooled into agreeing to small-lot amnesty. They did not anticipate that developers would “exploit this […]
Posted inZoning
Berkman zoning change wins City Council approval
City Council approved a major increase in zoning for a less than 1-acre site at 6305 Berkman Drive last week. The move will allow the developer to build about 34 one- and two-bedroom units, compared to the 10 units that could have been built under the previous single-family zoning, according to Victoria Haase of Thrower […]
Posted inCity Charter
Council OKs creation of charter review commission
City Council on Thursday approved a resolution authorizing creation of a 2024 Charter Review Commission with an emphasis on studying whether the city should change the number of signatures required for submitting a proposed ordinance to voters for adoption. Council Member Ryan Alter authored the resolution. His co-sponsors included Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members […]