Josh Rosenblatt

On Thursday, the City Council unanimously approved a $2500 cap on tax exemptions for all newly designated owner-occupied historic landmark properties Thursday. However, they rejected a recommendation from Mayor Lee Leffingwell that would have imposed that cap on all properties granted landmark status after Jan. 1, 2010, when Council first directed staff to propose amendments […]

Council will begin discussion today on two enormous proposed shifts in the way the city votes for its representatives. At Tuesday’s work session, Council members acknowledged the legal and political difficulties that could result from the city’s moving its election day from May to November in 2012 and placing a single-member-district charter amendment on that […]

The City Council will consider changes this week to regulations governing historic zoning as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged the way it has been granting tax exemptions to owners of historic properties.   In the lawsuit filed in April, plaintiffs Dominic Chavez, Alfred Stanley, and Mike Levy argued that the city […]

A Council discussion about an on-site sewage facility turned into a debate about the city’s authority over infrastructure in far west annexed areas of the city. Even as they voted against an appeal to stop construction of the facility, Council members admitted they were doing so with “trepidation” and not a little confusion.   Nathan […]

City Council members got their first look at the proposed FY2011-12 budget yesterday, a budget City Manager Marc Ott said “reflects the priorities and values of the Council, of staff, and the community.” (See In Fact Daily, July 27, 2012.) Of course, values and priorities are a matter of opinion, and the next several weeks […]

Four months after approving a controversial ordinance to extend paid parking hours in the downtown area, City Council will consider tomorrow whether to delay implementation of that plan in order to get more public feedback.   Co-sponsored by Council Members Laura Morrison (the only “no” vote on the extension plan back in March) and Kathie […]

The city’s Budget Office and City Manager Marc Ott presented their proposed FY2012 budget to City Council this morning, and it shows once again that Austin has one of the strongest economies in the country.   While many local governments are faced with cutting public safety budgets and laying off civilian employees, Austin will be […]

The Planning Commission has signed off on FY2012 recommendations for the city’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) plan, despite requests for some $180 million in projects for which there is no current funding.   The five-year plan, updated annually, itemizes the major capital improvements occurring and planned for Austin. The Planning Commission’s CIP subcommittee and the […]

The city got its first look at another proposed convention center hotel at last night’s meeting of the Downtown Commission. The 1,100-room hotel from the San-Diego based Manchester Texas Financial Group would be the second large hotel going up over the next few years to accommodate increased tourist traffic downtown.   At its June 29 […]

Nearly two months to the day after city officials announced that they would be re-testing more than 2,500 candidates for cadet positions in the Austin Fire Department, the city’s Human Resources Department began the new round of structured oral interviews Monday at Crockett High School in South Austin. They did this despite the city being […]

Two weeks after City Council endorsed a controversial plan to bring Formula 1 to Austin, the committee authorized by Council to act on the city’s behalf held their first public meeting Saturday. The Circuit Events Local Organizing Committee will hold the $25 million appropriated by the state for the Major Events Trust Fund, disburse those […]

The next fiscal year is shaping up to be a tough one for the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department. Faced with significant reductions in the amount of grant money available from the state and federal governments, and a Council mandate to reduce their budget by 5 percent, HHS officials are warning that FY2012 […]