Austin City Council voted Thursday afternoon to rename South Austin’s Manchaca Road to reflect its allegedly historically accurate spelling: Menchaca. While the issue may appear to be too simple for debate, the vowel in question is a placeholder for a much broader controversy involving the intersection between historical record, identity and the right way to […]
City Hall
Posted inAustin
Downtown restroom contract OK’d
On Thursday City Council directed staff to execute a contract with Blue Chem Inc. for waste removal services at a city-owned portable toilet downtown. The initial two-year contract is for $330,000, but if the contract is extended to five years the total will be $775,000. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who represents District 9, including […]
Posted inAustin
Small progress, but Austin still lags in enabling 5G adoption
A pair of efforts to bring 5G telecommunication technology to portions of Austin is welcome news to proponents of the smart city capabilities available with widespread use. But the city still lags far behind other Texas cities in installation of the street-level “cells” needed to enable the standard that tech experts expect will start becoming […]
Posted inAustin
Veterans center ‘needs assessment’ coming
In response to a resolution from the city’s Commission on Veterans Affairs and City Council, the Human Resources Department is moving forward with an assessment of how to proceed with setting up a Veterans Resource Center. HR has already allocated 4,800 square feet at the city’s building at 5202 E. Ben White Blvd. for the […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: City Council, 10.4.18
Welcome to this week’s TipSheet. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire City Council agenda, but here are the items we have our eye on today. The Office of the City Clerk posts a copy on its website, here. Item 5: Approve an ordinance amending the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Operating […]
Posted inAustin
Austin reconsiders homelessness ordinances as Houston laws are challenged in court
It’s a new fiscal year for the city of Austin, and one of the myriad items on City Council agendas over the next year will be an overhaul of ordinances relating to homelessness. That won’t be easy, as federal courts could inform – and complicate – that effort. In the last three years, Austin police […]
Posted inAustin
Swimming in Austin just became more expensive. Here are some other new city fees.
Every Oct. 1, the city of Austin welcomes a new budget – and with it, new city fees. These can be anything from public library fines to what it costs to adopt a dog from the city shelter. Here’s a list of some of the more notable changes this year: Swimming is now more expensive. […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 10.2.18
The Travis County Commissioners Court will hold its weekly voting session at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of time, we have provided a selection of the items to be voted on below. The entire agenda can be found here. 3. Approve proclamation recognizing “National Night Out” in Travis County. (Judge Eckhardt) Monitor’s Take: National […]
Posted inBudget
Travis County moves Sendero forward with fingers crossed
After much back-and-forth over the fate of Sendero Health Plans, Central Health has presented a strategy to leverage its funds in hopes of saving the insurance company from being terminated. The Travis County Commissioners Court admitted the precarious nature of the entire situation but unanimously approved the Central Health Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget and tax […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission pushes Austin Energy for info on retiree’s overtime case
An Austin Energy retiree who is being investigated for allegedly misusing his sick and vacation time will get more evidence from his former employer to possibly contest the city’s case against him. The Ethics Review Commission voted 9-0 last week to request more cooperation from Austin Energy in gathering emails and other documentation from Curtis […]
Posted inCity Hall
Health department audit shows flaws in system
Austin Public Health’s contracts with the African American Youth Harvest Foundation do not require sufficient documentation to allow the department to adequately monitor the contracts, according to a draft audit report released Monday. In criticizing the health department’s monitoring of the contracts, auditors noted that the contracts do not require the foundation to provide documentation, […]
Posted inBudget
Travis County commissioners expected to vote on Sendero budget
The Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to vote this morning on Central Health’s budget, which includes money for the nonprofit Sendero Health Plans. Central Health’s board of managers voted Saturday to allocate $26 million to Sendero Health Plans in Fiscal Year 2019. The decision gives the nonprofit health insurance company enough funding to operate […]