Today, City Council will convene for a regular Thursday meeting, and we’ve gone through the agenda in an attempt to compile what might be the most interesting bits from the meeting. If this triggers your trust issues, you can read through the whole agenda here. The biggest item on today’s agenda is, no doubt, the […]
City Hall
Posted inCity Council
Council considers timeline, partnerships ahead of vote on $1.2B contracts for convention center
City Council appears ready to move ahead with two major contracts that will officially kick off the process of demolishing and reconstructing the Austin Convention Center. On Thursday, contracts totaling nearly $1.27 billion could confirm LMN/Page as the design and engineering firms for the project, while JE Dunn/Turner would be the construction managers for the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council to consider city manager search firm this week
Following a national search, City Council is poised to choose Mosaic Public Partners, LLC to help recruit a new city manager. Former City Manager Spencer Cronk was fired on Feb. 15, and Council immediately appointed former City Manager Jesús Garza as interim city manager. Mayor Kirk Watson, who sat on the committee recommending the firm […]
Posted inAustin
Hiring headache: $25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040
With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings of an analysis shared last week with local political and business leaders during a summit […]
Posted inAustin
The sun is so bright, you gotta wear safe solar shades (for this weekend’s annular eclipse)
Now’s the time to get proper glasses to view the annular eclipse Saturday and be prepared for the big one next spring. This time around, the sun will be about 89 percent obscured from our view in Austin, so long as the weather works out. So far, forecasts are looking good. But even if the […]
Posted inTipSheets
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 10.5.23
Today’s regular City Council meeting promises to be a total snooze, with only 41 things on the agenda. We’ve done our best to highlight the most interesting of those things, though it’s pretty slim pickings, as illustrated by Tuesday’s work session cancellation due to the fact that there was nothing to work on. We do […]
Posted inCity Hall
Report finds widespread action needed to prepare city for future weather emergencies
The city has received dozens of steps for staff at all levels to take to reduce the impact of future weather emergencies. The full after-action report for the February 2023 winter storm evaluates problems experienced during the freeze that disrupted power and other city services for over a week in some areas. A memo released […]
Posted inCity Hall
Austin interim city manager appoints head of police oversight without promised national search
Austin has named interim Director Gail McCant to run the Office of Police Oversight – one of the highest-profile offices in the city. And it has done so without public notice. Created in 2018, the office oversees police policy, conduct and discipline. Essentially, the department is tasked with holding police accountable. Farah Muscadin, who started […]
Posted inAustin
Council members want action, updates to improve city animal shelter
Members of City Council want ongoing updates from the Animal Services Office about the conditions at the Austin Animal Center, which a recent audit found to be routinely overcrowded due to a variety of management issues. Council’s Audit and Finance Committee received a briefing on the audit Wednesday and told top city managers and the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics Review Commission dismisses complaint against former parks board member
The Ethics Review Commission dismissed a complaint against former Parks and Recreation Board Member Nina Rinaldi after a two-and-a-half-hour preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Commissioners voted 4-5 to move to a final hearing, which required majority support of the 11-member body. Scott Cobb, a city lifeguard, filed a complaint in June claiming that Rinaldi had violated […]
Posted inAustin
The city says shelter is coming for homeless Austinites. Nonprofits would like a word.
Lee esta historia en español For years, Austin didn’t focus on finding shelter for people living outdoors. Instead, the city prioritized longer-term solutions, like getting people into apartments. That philosophy at City Hall has changed. Under Mayor Kirk Watson, the city opened a 300-bed shelter during the summer’s record-breaking heat, and it aims to open more […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners pass health district tax increase but plan increased scrutiny
On their second attempt, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to approve a tax increase and 3-1 to approve the 2024 budget for the county health care district. The votes increase the tax rate to 10.07 cents per $100 valuation. With rising home values, this will add about $56 to an average home’s yearly […]