The Travis County Commissioners Court will meet Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. As part of our efforts to keep the community politically informed, here are a few items selected from the agenda. The County Clerk’s Office hosts a copy of the full agenda at its website. 2. Approve proclamation recognizing the month of October 2018 […]
City Hall
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission considers examining possible ‘dark money’ violation
Members of Austin’s Ethics Review Commission are eager to examine a potential violation of the city’s “dark money” campaign finance law that has generated press attention and speculation in city political circles in recent weeks. At Wednesday night’s meeting, Commissioner Debra Danburg read from a recent Austin American-Statesman investigation into the funding of a political […]
Posted inCity Hall
Firefighter wins battle with city
Austin firefighters won their battle to get the city to drop its lawsuit against one of their own, Lt. Carrie Stewart, who filed a claim for workers’ compensation after she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2015. After meeting with City Council in executive session on Tuesday, City Manager Spencer Cronk decided the […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: City Council, 9.20.18
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 28: Approve a resolution that adopts a newly updated list […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners Court considers its options, postpones Central Health budget vote
Public protest and confusion surrounding the Sept. 12 Central Health Board of Managers vote to dissolve Sendero Health Plans has the Travis County Commissioners Court questioning how to move forward. Central Health President and CEO Mike Geeslin presented its Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget and tax rates to the Commissioners Court Tuesday morning but asked the […]
Posted inAustin
Austin renters and people of color are most likely to be displaced because of gentrification
A new study from the University of Texas points to widespread gentrification in Austin, stretching from northern neighborhoods to the eastern edge of South Austin. Researchers say the groups most impacted by displacement are low-income African-American and Hispanic renters. Jake Wegmann, a professor in UT’s School of Architecture who co-authored the study, said in a […]
Posted inAustin
Cuts to arts groups brings call for changes to funding mechanism
Local arts groups facing dramatic cuts in their funding levels from the city could get some relief this budget year, and possibly an earlier heads-up in future budget years if their funding allocations appear headed for a decrease. The city’s Arts Commission voted 9-0 at Monday’s meeting to reconvene a working group focused on the […]
Posted inBudget
Arts space assistance doubles in new budget, but is it enough?
The city has revived the Arts Space Assistance Program that was created in 2017 and received overwhelming demand from local arts groups facing a loss of space, but was discontinued in the current budget due to lack of funding. The Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget passed last week by City Council includes funding for a variety […]
Posted inAustin
Commission calls on Austin to ban cat declawing
The city Animal Advisory Commission has unanimously recommended that the city ban cat declawing. The commission unanimously approved the resolution on Monday after hearing an hour of testimony from veterinarians and animal rights activists, most of whom described declawing as a painful procedure that serves no medical purpose. Roy Smith, who has been a practicing […]
Posted inBudget
City boosts spending on homelessness, but advocates still disappointed
The Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget approved by City Council on Tuesday includes a $3.4 million increase in funding for homelessness services. City staff estimates that the new funds come on top of more than $26 million in annual city spending on programs related to homelessness. Most of the new money – $2.4 million – was […]
Posted inBudget
With stunning speed, Council approves budget
For the first time in years, City Council spent less than a day deliberating on its fiscal year budget. Council approved a $4.1 billion budget that will raise the effective property tax rate by 5.4 percent. Austin property owners will pay 44.03 cents per $100 of property valuation. That rate is actually lower than the […]
Posted inAustin
Innovators, Austin lifestyle, UT brought Army here
Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, who serves as director of combat systems for Austin’s brand-new Army Futures Command, said Tuesday that Austin was chosen as the site of the first new Army command since 1973 because Austin has the talent, the educated workforce, the entrepreneurial spirit and the lifestyle the Army was looking for in choosing […]