Mayor Steve Adler pushed for and won more time to consider an economic development plan for East Austin on Thursday. The plan will go along with consideration of an agreement to create PGA-style golf courses at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park. Decker Lake Golf LLC is seeking a 50-year license agreement in order to develop […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Property tax system messed up; nobody happy
A property tax appraisal forum hosted by Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea on Tuesday told two sides of the same story: No one is happy with the property tax system. The forum, Shea’s second, included a panel of city officials and tax experts: Mayor Steve Adler, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, Travis County Tax Collector-Assessor […]
Posted inAustin
Council may challenge “undervalued” appraisals
Following the release of a report stating that Austin commercial property in Travis County is “significantly undervalued,” City Council is considering an appraisal challenge that could reduce the burden on residential property taxpayers. Council discussed the potential move at a Tuesday work session, during which Budget Office and Law Department staff said the city would […]
Posted inAustin
Regional Affordability Committee takes first steps
Though they have a long road ahead of them, members of Austin’s Regional Affordability Committee are taking a measured approach to developing a strategic plan to achieve their goals. Rather than take action at their second meeting on Monday, members made several requests for information from Budget Office staff and agreed to develop and adopt […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Monitor News & Media, Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: D7 Council Member Leslie Pool
Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool (District 7) talks about her first months on Council with Monitor publisher Mike Kanin. Sponsored by Kerbey Lane Cafe. Embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/206118500″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inAustin
Animal Commission reviews audit criticisms
While members of the Animal Advisory Commission acknowledged Wednesday the deficiencies identified in the city’s first audit of Animal Services, they also argued that scrutinizing city animal shelters differs from auditing other city departments. “Housing animals is not an exact science,” said Commissioner Babette Ellis. “And with an open-intake shelter, you never know what’s going to be […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall
Training fallout hits City Hall
Though he started the day seated on the dais, before the end of Thursday’s City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Anthony Snipes had been placed on administrative leave. The move comes after news broke that Snipes had organized a controversial training session designed to help staff cope with a female-majority Council. Though City Manager Marc […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Monitor News & Media, Radio
Audio: Kanin talks Zim with KUT’s Jennifer Stayton
Here’s the tape from this morning’s discussion between KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Monitor publisher Mike Kanin about Council Member Don Zimmerman’s appointments, and the impact they’ve had on Council deliberations. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205019832″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] This post has been updated to reflect the accurate spelling of Jennifer Stayton’s last name.
Posted inAustin, Environment
Barbecue smoke ordinance continues to sizzle
Though City Council turned down the heat on a controversial barbecue smoke mitigation ordinance last month, it did refer the issue to committees for vetting. The Council Health and Human Services Committee took the issue off the back burner Monday, holding a public hearing and discussing potential alternatives with city staff and restaurateurs. The committee […]
Posted inAustin, Development
BBB: UT med school and innovation district recap
A panel consisting of University of Texas Medical School Dean Clay Johnston, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, Central Health President and CEO Patricia Young Brown and Civic Analytics’ Brian Kelsey on Tuesday night expressed optimism about and aired concerns for the medical school and planned innovation district. The Austin Monitor and the Capital of Texas Media […]
Posted inPremium Types
Tick Tock: Austin City Council Meeting 4.23.2015
Tick Tock is the sortable-by-item-number transcript of Monitor publisher Mike Kanin’s Twitter feed from Council day. Simply click on the item number to scroll to the corresponding. Votes are color-coded: Green for yeas, red for nays, et cetera. It’s embedded below. ITEMS 4 8 9 10 13 14 16 19 22 25 32 33 39 […]
Posted inAISD, Austin, Monitor News & Media, Radio
Why Texas isn’t paying for what it wants from Austin’s classrooms: Audio from KUT
Travis County and the City of Austin take part in a regular fiscal dance with the State of Texas over who pays the costs of government. Over the three days, KUT News and the Austin Monitor looked at key examples of that interaction in our series, “The Buck Starts Here.” Today, we take on education. […]