Faced with no easy or painless options, City Council members decided late Thursday night to put off considering how to get out of their predicament of a development-heavy Planning Commission and a desire to get through the rewrite of the Land Development Code, CodeNEXT, without further delay. Anti-CodeNEXT advocates who oppose the current makeup of […]
City Council
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Two Confederate street names dropped
After an outpouring of commentary from the community – most of it positive – Council voted unanimously on Thursday to rename two city streets after prominent African-American historical figures and shed the previous names, Robert E. Lee and Jeff Davis. Robert E. Lee Road, which runs along the east side of Zilker Park, will now […]
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Despite hurt feelings, Council members embrace electric scooters
Rushing to respond to electric scooters that have taken over downtown, City Council will consider an ordinance on Thursday to establish rules regarding the increasingly popular devices. The proposed ordinance, drafted by city transportation staff, will allow the Transportation Department to issue licenses that allow companies to put their products on city streets and sidewalks. […]
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Who’s minding the store? Alter
With four people absent, today’s City Council meeting is scheduled to start late and end early. Council Member Alison Alter will chair the meeting, which will start at 11:30 a.m. Mayor Steve Adler, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council Member Delia Garza are all attending the Equity Summit 2018 in Chicago, which started Wednesday […]
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Council approves study of McKalla Place as soccer stadium site
City staff will spend the next two months studying if a city-owned parcel near the Domain could be a possible fit for a proposed professional soccer stadium. At Thursday’s meeting City Council members voted 9-0 to have the city manager and staff conduct an analysis of the McKalla Place property in North Austin to determine […]
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Council debates police staffing
At the first City Council meeting following the end of the recent bombings, Council members spent nearly two hours debating a largely symbolic resolution about police staffing. Originally, explained Council Member Ellen Troxclair, the resolution was meant to simply convey Council’s commitment to filling a number of vacant police positions in the upcoming budget. “I’m […]
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City to study McKalla Place as home for soccer stadium
It appears city leaders want to move ahead with making a piece of city-owned land north of the downtown core available as the site for a possible soccer stadium. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo has co-sponsored a resolution that will direct city staff to produce an analysis of the McKalla Place property just east of […]
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Council denies reappointment of five judges
Who judges the judges? On Thursday, it was City Council. Though there was very little dissent on the dais about a recommendation that left five judges without appointments, the public testimony that preceded Council’s vote was critical and, at times, emotional. Following the lead of its Judicial Committee, Council voted to appoint 18 judges to […]
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Austin law requires job seekers with criminal pasts get a fair shot. But it’s not being enforced.
When Lauren Johnson started job hunting in the early 1990s, she walked from business to business, filling out applications by hand. “It’ll be so much easier someday when this is all computerized,” she remembers thinking. Two decades later, job applications had moved online. Something else had changed, too: After spending three years in and out […]
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TipSheet: City Council, 3.8.18
City Council is back for what looks to be a reasonably short meeting again today – fingers crossed! Here are the things we have our eye on. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda. The Office of the City Clerk posts a copy on its website, here. Item 4: […]
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Council extends paid sick leave to city’s temporary employees
On Thursday, City Council made good on its promise to apply the same sick leave requirement to city government that it voted two weeks ago to impose on private employers. In a 9-2 vote, Council approved a resolution directing city staff to establish a paid sick leave policy for the city’s many temporary employees who currently […]
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Council buys local on computer training contract
City Council rejected the advice of city staff and awarded a technology training contract to a local group over a national nonprofit that only recently arrived in Austin. Staff had recommended that the city contract with Community Technology Network to manage seven computer labs and provide a range of digital literacy services. The programs are […]