The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
City Council
Council solidifies its vow to include child care in all new city developments
Reaffirming its commitment to including family-friendly features in new city-owned and -sponsored buildings and projects, City Council doubled down with a vote to ensure child care facilities are also included. As part of the resolution brought by Council Member Kathie…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Aug 27, 2021
A Council resolution floats safety-minded changes on Sixth Street. Some are more controversial than others.
In response to a recent spate of violence on Sixth Street, City Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday that sets out to tackle long-neglected safety problems in the area. If the proposed changes in the resolution come to fruition after…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 3, 2021
Council may abandon designated campsite strategy
City Council members Paige Ellis and Natasha Harper-Madison have announced that they will not support designated campsites for people experiencing homelessness, casting doubt on the viability of a strategy Council adopted in May. “After a week of extremely difficult conversations,…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 28, 2021
Wanted: More residents to participate in city redistricting hearings
Austin commissioners charged with redrawing the boundaries of 10 City Council districts clearly have their work cut out for them. For one, they’re obligated to hold public hearings in each of the 10 districts, yet the first two forums drew…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Jul 26, 2021
Pandemic, winter storm prompt Council to address local food system
In response to the double-whammy of the pandemic and Winter Storm Uri, City Council adopted a resolution at its June 10 meeting with the goal of strengthening the city’s food system and aiding the local agricultural industry. “During the pandemic, one…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 25, 2021
Austin raises property tax exemption for homeowners to highest rate allowed
As the median price of a home in Austin surpassed half a million dollars this year, City Council members voted Thursday to tax a smaller amount of owners’ home values. City leaders doubled the current general homestead exemption of 10 percent, taking…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 11, 2021
Subscribe to our newsletter
With self-imposed deadline approaching, Council rushes to divide stimulus funds
City Council plans to pass a spending framework for the remaining $143.6 million in American Rescue Plan funds, but the allocations for a variety of services and programs are still in flux as their Thursday meeting approaches. Because of its…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 9, 2021
Council to commit to 'transformational' homelessness spending – if others do too
City Council’s plan to spend a majority of the city’s share of American Rescue Plan Act money on homelessness is gaining traction, with a vote scheduled for Thursday to approve a spending framework for the $143.6 million in federal stimulus…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 8, 2021
City Council makes plans for City Hall return
In news that will be welcomed by those who have grown tired of staring at digital grids of local officials, City Council members have begun to make plans to hold in-person meetings again. Though there is no firm date, and…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jun 7, 2021
Council to increase homestead exemptions, tax rate ceiling
City Council plans to vote this week on three items affecting Austinites’ property taxes. Two measures would give homeowners modest property tax relief through increased homestead exemption rates. The third measure would effectively set a higher maximum property tax rate,…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 2, 2021
City staff ask for more time, direction on Austin's plan to set up homeless encampments
A preliminary plan to set up encampments on city-owned land in Austin has hit a snag. City Council directed city staffers to identify land for temporary camps last month after voters reinstated the ban on public encampments. The initial list was met with pushback, so…
City Council • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jun 2, 2021
Council members worry water conservation efforts could make development more expensive
City Council advanced several initiatives at last Thursday’s meeting to make the city’s water supply more sustainable and resistant to drought. Some Council members, however, worried that new policies could increase development costs, thereby exacerbating the city’s affordability crisis. “I’m…
