With dozens of projects underway in departments throughout city government, Austin now has an initial road map for how to better use data and technology to become a so-called “smart city.” The Smart City Strategic Roadmap is the first draft of a report that City Council commissioned the Innovation Office to produce late last year, […]
City Hall
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TipSheet: Travis County, 6.27.17
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 1. Approve proclamation recognizing the month of July 2017 as “Watch Your Car Month” in Travis County. (Judge Eckhardt) Monitor’s Take: […]
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Second Austin Energy employee investigated
For the second time this month, the Office of the City Auditor has released a report alleging that an Austin Energy employee has misused his computer, email account and telephone to work on his secondary employment. According to an investigation report released Friday, Brent Curry, an information technology geospatial analyst who has worked for the […]
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Council OKs $6.9 million in fee waivers for state
Despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s long list of proposed topics for an upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature that look a lot like Austin bashing, City Council voted Thursday to allow staff to negotiate an interlocal agreement with the Texas Facilities Commission for participation in reconstruction of the area directly north of the Capitol. Council […]
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Commissioners Court approves expensive survey of Palm School
Travis County’s cost to determine just how much of its Palm School building is truly historic has reached the six-figure mark. On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved peeling off $140,964 from a larger earmark in the current budget set aside for the historical assessment of the building that sits at Cesar Chavez […]
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TipSheet: City Council, 6.22.17
City Council will hold its regular meeting again today. Below is a list of items we’re watching. This is the last regular meeting of City Council before their July break, and that usually makes for a long meeting, but (at the risk of jinxing things) this one doesn’t look too bad! In the interest of […]
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TipSheet: Travis County, 6.20.17
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 4. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the issuance of a mass gathering permit for Sierra Nevada Beer Camp to be […]
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Animal Advisory Commission weighs Monk parakeet deal
Austin’s population of Monk parakeets has garnered a lot of attention over the past few weeks, with some questioning Austin Energy’s policy for removing the birds’ nests from power lines and utility structures in town. The Animal Advisory Commission heard from Elaina Ball at its June 12 meeting. Ball, who is the chief operating officer […]
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Council nixes daytime juvenile curfew, extends late-night curfew through summer
City Council Thursday decided to nix the city’s 27-year-old daytime juvenile curfew, extending instead the city’s nighttime curfew for young people until Oct. 1. At that time, members expect to have a report back on alternatives to a criminal curfew and will consider the late-night curfew again. Most Council members appeared ready to decriminalize the […]
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CodeNEXT activists sign on with opposing petitions
Whoever “Austin Neighbor” is, they’re not happy about the city’s plans to increase housing density under CodeNEXT. In a quirk of 21st-century digital advocacy, the change.org online petition website features a pair of somewhat oppositional petitions related to efforts to rewrite the city’s Land Development Code. One, created by local affordable housing advocate Tommy Ates, […]
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TipSheet: City Council, 6.15.17
City Council will hold its regular meeting again today. Below is a list of items we’re watching. 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. 15. Authorize execution of a service agreement compensating the City for providing […]
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Task force dives into city manager search
The task force in charge of helping to write the job description for Austin’s next city manager hopes to stay involved in the process of picking the eventual hire, even though, as of now, the group is set to dissolve by the middle of next month. At Monday’s meeting of the City Manager Search Advisory […]