Voters will decide on 13 potential amendments to the city charter in November, with two of the most significant potential changes affecting the number of signatures needed to recall a City Council member, and requiring elections for citizen-led ballot initiatives and charter amendments to take place in large even-numbered election years. At Thursday’s meeting, Council […]
City Charter
Posted inCity Charter
Charter changes might include city attorney appointment
This November, Austin voters will have plenty to ponder as they look at the city’s portion of the ballot. Every Austin voter will have a chance to vote on mayoral candidates, and voters in Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 will be choosing a City Council member to represent them for the next four […]
Posted inCity Charter, City Hall
Judge rules that city is violating open meetings law and the city charter
A second Travis County judge ruled Tuesday that the city of Austin is violating the Texas Open Meetings Act as well as the city charter in allowing people who wish to speak to City Council only two minutes, regardless of how many items they want to address. District Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle ruled in favor […]
Posted inCity Charter
Council hears proposed changes to city charter for November ballot
City Council on Tuesday officially received the Charter Review Commission’s proposed revisions to the city charter, along with some additional staff-proposed changes. Council members limited their questions to the administrative items brought by staff because the commission’s nine recommendations will return to Council on May 2 for discussion and will be considered for action later […]
Posted inCity Charter
Charter Review Commission continues to wrestle with petition process
As the Charter Review Commission works to prepare its recommendations to City Council, a discussion at the most recent meeting showed that its members are still struggling with what changes they will recommend for the city’s petition process. Currently, any citizen or group can get their suggested policy change on the ballot by collecting 20,000 […]
Posted inCity Charter
Council OKs creation of charter review commission
City Council on Thursday approved a resolution authorizing creation of a 2024 Charter Review Commission with an emphasis on studying whether the city should change the number of signatures required for submitting a proposed ordinance to voters for adoption. Council Member Ryan Alter authored the resolution. His co-sponsors included Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members […]
Posted inCity Charter
New charter review commission proposed
Although the previous City Council didn’t take action on a 2019 special report on citizen initiatives from the Office of the City Auditor, the current Council appears likely to approve creation of a new citizens commission tasked with recommending changes to the city charter. In particular, the potential new commission might consider whether the city […]
Posted inCity Charter
What we could be seeing on a May ballot
Austin voters will likely have a lot to think about before going to the polls on May 1. City Clerk Jannette Goodall has already certified two petitions – one from Austinites for Progressive Reform and another from the Austin Firefighters Association – to revise Austin’s City Charter. APR is asking voters to approve a charter amendment […]
Posted inCity Charter
Groups ready to battle over strong mayor
The group Austinites for Progressive Reform, which wants to replace Austin’s council-manager form of government with a strong mayor form of governance, submitted 24,000 signatures to City Clerk Jannette Goodall on Monday in an effort to place four charter amendments on the May 1 ballot. Shortly after the announcement about the signatures, a second group, Austin […]
Posted inCity Charter
City departments may now deal with small-scale violations
City Council unanimously approved a change to city code Thursday that will allow the Office of the City Auditor to refer small-scale secondary employment misuse cases to the city manager’s office. In cases where a city employee is found using city equipment for secondary work, the city auditor may now redirect the case as long […]
Posted inCity Charter
Coalition publishes draft amendments for modified local democracy
In a city where an appointed city manager administers policy, midterm mayoral elections are decided by a wealthier and whiter electorate, costly runoff elections draw a fraction of eligible voters, and nearly 70 percent of all City Council campaign contributions trace back to three Council districts, a political coalition is seeking structural changes it claims […]
Posted inCity Charter
Human Rights Commission calls for democratically elected police chief
On Monday, the Human Rights Commission agreed that City Council should change city ordinance to allow Austin to democratically elect its police chief. Under the proposal, which was put together by commissioners Nathan White, Kristian Caballero and Alicia Weigel, Austin voters would select a new police chief in a local election, and then the mayor […]