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.
City Council
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: this week’s Council Committees
As part of our ongoing attempt to keep our readers up-to-date with all that is going on at City Hall, we will now be offering weekly tip sheets for City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of the meetings, with links to the entire agenda. Economic Opportunity Committee Monday, May 11. Agenda […]
Posted inCity Council
Council again questions Zimmerman appointments
Facebook posts did them in. As City Council members nixed two of Council Member Don Zimmerman’s appointees — some citing comments made on social media pages — they debated Zimmerman’s judgment following what they said has been a string of controversial nominees to city boards and commissions. Council Member Greg Casar said he felt the […]
Posted inBudget, City Council
Council begins to define budget priorities
Despite needing to fill a 5 to 6 percent hole to bring the city’s revenue in line with what it spends, City Council members continued to bat around a mix of ideas Wednesday about how to generate that money. At the second of several meetings held before adopting the budget in September, Council members heard […]
Posted inCity Council, Land Development Code
Code advisory group to get new east side members
The City Council Planning and Neighborhoods Committee decided at last week’s meeting to add four new members to the group of citizens putting together recommendations for a new Land Development Code, known as the Code Advisory Group, or CAG. Since its appointment in 2013, CAG has been working to overhaul the city’s complicated regulatory rules. It […]
Posted inCity Council, City Hall, Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Zim appointments continue
More nomination fun … District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman continued his streak of commission nominations last week. Zimmerman posted his latest round of picks Thursday on the Council message board, and they include Antonio Buehler to the Public Safety Commission and Mackenzie Kelly to the Commission for Women. Buehler founded the Peaceful Streets […]
Posted inCity Council
Council committee examines Animal Services audit
Unlike the majority of city audits, the troubling Animal Services audit did not come with an immediate plan of action from the department. However, City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee did find some answers to the many questions its members asked at Thursday’s meeting. Animal Services concurs with the findings in the audit. However, Auditor […]
Posted inCity Council, Housing
Committee seeks data on homestead district
The City Council Housing and Community Development Committee took a small step forward Wednesday toward funding affordable housing within the Homestead Preservation District in Central East Austin and possibly elsewhere. However, committee members did not pick a financing mechanism and still have questions about how much such a district would cost. The initial Homestead Preservation District […]
Posted inCity Council, Environment, Uncategorized
Zimmerman rejects briefing by climate scientist
Our climate is changing because of human activity. Most scientists, including Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist who studies climate change, agree with that statement, although some do not. Hayhoe, a professor and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, was one of several speakers at Monday’s City Council briefing on resilience. After Hayhoe’s […]
Posted inCity Council, Police, Public Safety
Body cameras roll through Public Safety Committee
The long march to add body cameras to Austin Police Department’s official toolkit took a symbolic step forward Monday night when members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee heard unanimous support from a diverse group of stakeholders. It was a rare moment of harmonic accord for APD, the Office of the Police Monitor, the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council hits brakes on flood buyout
Last week, City Council voted unanimously to delay a proposed flood buyout in Northwest Austin in order to give members time to learn more about the program. Council is currently considering funding up to $328,000 for the purchase and closing costs of 11701 Charing Cross Road as well as the relocation of the current homeowners, […]
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 […]