Although Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services continues to deal with a backlog of unpaid bills for emergency transport, Chief Robert Luckritz says the department has made significant improvements in its billing and collections process. As a result, Luckritz told the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Tuesday he expects to clear the backlog by mid-2023. According […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inElections
South Austin picks Ryan Alter for District 5 seat
Although every vote counts, it was clear when the early vote numbers were released Tuesday night that Ryan Alter would prevail over opponent Stephanie Bazan in the contest for the District 5 City Council seat. After eight years in office, Ann Kitchen is retiring and newcomer Alter will be taking over in January. Alter told […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s environmentalist icon Shudde Fath dies at 106
Shudde Fath, the longest serving member of Austin’s environmental community, died Friday at the age of 106. She was a committed and vocal member of the city’s Electric Utility Commission for 40 years, as the utility noted in a Facebook post. She retired from the commission at 101 following a stroke. Fath was well known […]
Posted inPlanning
Massive Brodie Oaks PUD OK’d on first reading
Voting unanimously, City Council gave first round approval Thursday to a massive redevelopment of the Brodie Oaks shopping center. The old-fashioned mall with a huge expanse of concrete at the intersection of Lamar Boulevard and Loop 360 that backs up to the Barton Creek greenbelt will be reconfigured to host 1.2 million square feet of […]
Posted inWhispers
Rusthoven honored upon retirement
Jerry Rusthoven, the city’s chief zoning officer, got choked up when saying goodbye to his friends and colleagues Thursday. The occasion was his final appearance at City Hall after 29 years with the city. But he confided to a number of people that he’s not going very far. He has accepted the job of planner […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy rate case moving slowly at Council
During Tuesday’s work session, most members of City Council seemed poised to agree that Austin Energy should have an additional $31.3 million in revenue and that the customer service charge should be around $12 or $13 a month instead of the originally proposed $25 per month. They also seemed to agree that there should be […]
Posted inCity Hall
Zoning chief Rusthoven retiring from city
Jerry Rusthoven, the city’s chief zoning officer, has told the city he intends to retire at the end of the month. Rusthoven, who has been with the city for 29 years, is arguably the city’s most knowledgeable person when it comes to the intricacies of zoning and how those rules relate to other land use […]
Posted inWhispers
TCAD hit by ransomware (again)
The Travis Central Appraisal District announced Monday that it has been hit once again with a ransomware attack that is impacting the agency’s level of service. The district works to appraise property for tax purposes for each taxing unit in the county. The TCAD website had a notice Monday afternoon letting people know that the […]
Posted inPreservation
Westgate tower takes step toward historic zoning
City Council gave first reading approval to historic zoning for the Westgate Tower at 1122 Colorado St. as part of the zoning consent agenda on Thursday. The Westgate, a physical landmark between the Capitol and University Tower, is considered an excellent example of New Formalism. It has been the home of numerous politicians and lobbyists […]
Posted inWhispers
Early voting runs through Friday
As of Saturday night, early voting numbers for Travis County show about 3 percent of registered voters had cast ballots in runoffs for mayor and City Council seats in districts 3, 5 and 9. In Williamson County, that number was 1.45 percent. Altogether, 19,263 voters had weighed in on their choices for the Dec. 13 […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council directs staff to develop ‘site plan lite’ process
In an attempt to speed up city processing of plans for “missing middle” housing developments, City Council approved a resolution Thursday that sponsors and housing advocates hope will shorten the wait for developers seeking to build triplexes, fourplexes and other small developments. Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter abstained from the vote, expressing concern that the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council working on rules for city-owned property
City Council Member Kathie Tovo has been working on resolutions intended to ensure that city staff follow certain policies when renting or selling city property. The policies relate to the requirements for construction projects, living wage, minority and women-owned business requirements, affordable housing and child care facilities. After staff posed numerous questions and expressed concern […]