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City Council
Council refines SAVES proposal
The city has not yet found the right balance in regards to distributing $15 million in financial assistance under Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES). As City Council prepares to consider allocating $8.5 million in sales tax revenue to the…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 14, 2020
City looks to support waste collection workers amid pandemic stresses
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep many people at home more often, Austin Resource Recovery finds itself steadily losing the staff needed to manage the increased volume of household garbage. City Council passed a resolution Oct. 1 to mitigate…
City Council • By Savana Dunning • Oct 8, 2020
Staffers explain how Covid relief funds were disbursed
This summer, City Council rushed to provide economic relief to small businesses and nonprofits shouldering the burden of closures during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday, as they ratified a contract with the Better Business Bureau…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Oct 5, 2020
Austin City Council set to undo ban against public drinking in East Austin
City Council members are expected to reverse a decades-long ban against the public consumption of alcohol in several parts of East Austin on Thursday. Since the 1990s, drinking alcohol on public streets, roadways or sidewalks in six designated areas of town…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Oct 1, 2020
City offers $15M funding plan for SAVES
In the absence of sufficient state and federal economic relief for Covid-19, the city has identified four potential local funding sources totaling $15 million for the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES) effort. If approved by City Council this week,…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Sep 30, 2020
Over half the city's Covid-19 relief programs enter funding distribution stages
By the end of September, nine of the 13 established economic relief programs for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic will have entered their funding distribution phase, providing money to Austinites in need. In a Sept. 23 progress report, Chief…
City Council • By Savana Dunning • Sep 29, 2020
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Demolition permitting process redesign delayed again
City Council was scheduled to vote on two separate items Thursday as part of a multi-year effort to update the city’s demolition permitting process, but a number of potential flaws surfaced during Council’s discussions over the resolution and ordinance last…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Sep 23, 2020
Council approves SAVES resolution to rescue vital businesses
City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday night directing the city manager to bring back viable funding options by Oct. 1 to help sustain the city’s service sector through the ongoing economic pressures of Covid-19. All the Council members, Mayor…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Sep 18, 2020
Convention center expansion moves forward
After a long day considering various different topics, City Council voted 10-0-1, with Council Member Leslie Pool abstaining, to authorize staff to move forward with negotiations to purchase two expensive blocks to the west of the Austin Convention Center for…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Sep 18, 2020
Negotiations in the works on convention center expansion
Although the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to have serious economic impacts on the Austin Convention Center for several years, people will still want to gather for face-to-face meetings, according to an expert hired to advise City Council on the planned…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Sep 16, 2020
New RISE 2.0 relief program offers $10M to individuals in Austin, Travis County
The city of Austin has expanded its original Covid-19 relief program and will be distributing a total of $10 million to individuals experiencing hardships in Austin and Travis County. Applications open Sept. 14 online and over the phone for the new…
City Council • By Savana Dunning • Sep 10, 2020
City hopes fewer Covid cases and cooler temps will boost open-air business pilot
Austin’s Covid-era pilot for safe outdoor shopping and dining has been running since June 15, but not many local shops and restaurants have sought to take advantage of the program so far. During the first 10 weeks of Shop the…
