Job training leaders are emphasizing the rising cost of housing in the Austin area as one of the pain points that can be solved through education and rapid placement with major employers in need of workers. Workforce Solutions Capital Area is putting the finishing touches on its new Hire Local campaign, which is an update […]
City Hall
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Scathing audit finds city unprepared for Winter Storm Uri
Austin city auditors found the city was unprepared to respond to the impacts of Winter Storm Uri because planners failed to adequately consider the risks of a severe winter storm, leading to widespread disaster. That was a major conclusion of an audit released Monday. Although the city faced a cascade of dangers, auditors found that […]
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City presents long-awaited follow-up on Winter Storm Uri
As Austin prepares for colder temperatures, a coalition of teams led by the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has finalized its after-action report on February’s Winter Storm Uri. Staying well past 10 p.m. last Thursday, City Council ended its meeting with a briefing on the report’s findings. The briefing, which included presentations […]
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Advisory council provides a voice for people experiencing homelessness
In the ongoing discussions about solving homelessness in Austin, it’s rare to have people actually experiencing homelessness included in the conversation. That’s the mission of the Austin Homelessness Advisory Council, a group of Austinites who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced homelessness. AHAC was created through Austin’s Innovation Office in 2017, funded by a […]
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Austin Pets Alive! poised to stay at Town Lake site
City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday that appears to give Austin Pets Alive! greater leverage in negotiating a new license agreement with the city to replace the existing deal that expires Nov. 23. The two sides had reached an impasse over several changes APA wanted in its agreement with the city, which provides rent-free […]
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TipSheet: City Council, 11.04.21
This week, City Council will meet yet again. It’s getting to be a habit! We’re following suit, with a pre-cap of what promises to be interesting on today’s agenda. The intrepid can read the whole agenda for themselves. Aside from a couple of items, today’s Council meeting promises to be reasonable. However, the simmering conflict over the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission wants to make it easier to file complaints
At its monthly meeting Wednesday night, the Ethics Review Commission discussed a number of moving pieces it has in the works, including an easier-to-navigate complaint form for reporting suspected ethics violations, and a media piece explaining the commission’s function to the public. The 11 members of the commission, who are appointed by City Council, hear and […]
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Audit finds fault with city’s tech purchase system
City procedures for purchasing technology are not coordinated, timely or sufficiently clear and do not ensure that city resources are secure and protected, according to a report from the Office of the City Auditor issued this month. Auditors also said that the city “does not have a good understanding of its needs which may result […]
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Parks board unhappy with PARD’s handling of parkland fee dustup
In mid-September, the Parks and Recreation Board heard a briefing from staffers that included a video extolling the benefits of the city’s Parkland Dedication Ordinance, which requires developers to dedicate on-site parkland or pay a fee-in-lieu toward the acquisition and development of parks. But that rosy picture of the ordinance was overshadowed at Tuesday’s meeting […]
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Committee reviews homelessness spending report
As previously reported, City Council issued 47 resolutions, ordinances and other directions related to assisting the city’s homeless population between September 2018 and May 2021. The result was a budget of $179 million for homelessness assistance between 2019 and the current year. Council members Mackenzie Kelly and Leslie Pool requested a special report (see below) on […]
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Commission’s move to support PAC deemed an ethical slippery slope
At its monthly meeting Oct. 12, the Community Development Commission unanimously passed a recommendation to endorse the No Way on Prop A political campaign and join the list of endorsing organizations on the campaign’s website. The author of the endorsement, Kendra Garrett, a second-term CDC member, said that Proposition A “reinforces poverty,” which stands opposed […]
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Audit finds golf chief accepted favors from employee
The superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department’s golf complex accepted favors from an employee he directly supervises, according to a recently released investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. After receiving an allegation that Nick Smitham, the golf complex supervisor, directed a PARD employee to repair Smitham’s personal vehicles, members of the […]