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City Council
Ann Kitchen: Building better solutions
Council Member Ann Kitchen has spent the year juggling difficult decisions – about the Covid-19 pandemic, reallocating police funds, finding solutions for homelessness, improving mobility and preserving the arts. “Covid has highlighted disparities in our community and highlighted problems that…
City Council • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Jan 5, 2021
Natasha Harper-Madison: Creating a more equitable city
“Greetings!” Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison’s phone voice message said, “I look forward to connecting with you.” Harper-Madison represents District 1, which includes Northeast, East Central and far East Austin. The Council member has been hard at work, sometimes even on…
City Council • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Jan 4, 2021
Delia Garza is on the move
Delia Garza is blazing a trail of firsts: first Latina on Austin City Council; first Latina mayor pro tem; and soon, the first Latina Travis County Attorney. “I stand on the shoulders of other Latinas,” Garza noted. “There were four…
City Council • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Jan 4, 2021
Vanessa Fuentes: Building a pipeline to community power
Vanessa Fuentes, like all of us, had no idea what 2020 would entail when she ran to become the District 2 City Council member. But the issues that the pandemic have exposed were less of a surprise. “I didn’t realize…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jan 4, 2021
Council OKs contract for Ullrich repairs
After a considerable amount of discussion at its Thursday meeting, City Council approved a contract of more than $22 million, plus a 10 percent contingency, for a joint venture to rebuild the electrical pump station serving the Ullrich water treatment…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Dec 11, 2020
Adler backtracks after initially saying he did 'not do anything wrong' by flying to Mexico during the pandemic
After initially saying he didn’t do anything wrong, Austin Mayor Steve Adler now says he realizes he “set a bad example” by traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for vacation last month. An Austin American-Statesman story revealed Wednesday that Adler…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 3, 2020
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Council not yet sold on street impact fee plan
City Council passed the first of three readings for a street impact fee program on Thursday, marking a milestone in the multi-year effort to guarantee that developers help carry the cost of adding new transportation infrastructure. Council approved the first…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 13, 2020
Austin OKs million-dollar contract to audit police department
The city of Austin has agreed to pay a New York City-based consultant up to $1.3 million to investigate racism and bigotry in the Austin Police Department, including looking into materials used to train new officers and reviewing instances where…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Nov 13, 2020
Renteria opposes East Austin location for court
Council Member Pio Renteria expressed dismay at Tuesday’s work session over the Downtown Austin Community Court’s planned relocation to East Austin. Renteria told his colleagues he had just found out about the proposal to lease 30,000 square feet of office space at…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Nov 11, 2020
Council requests emergency economic development corporation
As part of the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors program, City Council is seeking to expedite formation of the Austin Economic Development Corporation, an entity that may be able to help refine and administer the long-term sustainability component of SAVES.…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 21, 2020
Council approves partial start for SAVES
After directing the city to create the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES) fund last month, City Council approved initial program guidelines Thursday that will provide some immediate financial relief for local music venues, restaurants, bars and child care centers.…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 16, 2020
Airport officials strive to help employees, concessions
In December 2019, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, or AUS, hosted more than 778,000 passengers, many of whom bought snacks, coffee, lunches and books, as well as gifts for their friends and relatives. By April 2020, that number had plunged to just…
