Austin Municipal Court Judge Ferdinand Clervi struck down a section of Austin’s payday lending ordinance in March, ruling that the ordinance’s limits on frequency and amount of installment payments are preempted by state law. That ruling affected two separate cases in which the city charged the Money Store, which does business under the name Speedy […]
City Hall
Posted inBudget
Homestead exemption unlikely to change
After hours of budget presentations and discussions Wednesday, City Council took up the always controversial issue of homestead exemptions. They have heard for several months that this year’s budget will be tight, leaving no room for additions without corresponding subtractions. Council’s lone conservative, Council Member Ellen Troxclair, found herself without allies in arguing that Council […]
Posted inAustin
Adler: Challenge to state’s sanctuary cities law ‘almost a certainty’
The state’s proposed sanctuary cities legislation faces an almost certain and likely quick challenge in court, Mayor Steve Adler said Wednesday after returning from his trip to Washington, D.C., to discuss the issue with federal law enforcement officials. The Texas House of Representatives’ debate late into Wednesday ahead of a vote on its version of […]
Posted inCity Hall
Complaint filed against former police monitor
The Office of the City Auditor has filed an ethics complaint against Austin’s former police monitor, Margo Frasier, alleging that she used her city computer for her outside consulting practice and that such use was a violation of the city’s Code of Ethics. Nathan Wiebe, chief of investigations for the auditor’s office, filed the complaint […]
Posted inThe Code
Land-use commissions unimpressed with CodeNEXT mapping
Ending a bit rougher than it began, the CodeNEXT map’s first day in the sun experienced some cloudiness in the evening when, during a joint work session, some of the land-use commissioners made cutting observations about the effort’s potential impact on neighborhood character, the city’s housing stock and economic segregation. On Tuesday, April 18, CodeNEXT […]
Posted inCity Council
Reporter’s Notebook: It’s the little things
Honorifics Olympics… Mayor Steve Adler appears to be having a tough time deciding how to refer to Council Member Alison Alter on the dais. The mayor tends to address his Council colleagues as “Mr.” or “Ms.” during meetings, but on at least one occasion during the most recent Council meeting he began to say “Ms. […]
Posted inPremium Types
TickTock: Austin City Council 4.20.2017
TickTock is the sortable transcript of @austinmonitor Tweets from the most recent Austin City Council meeting. ITEMS 6 11 16 18 26 28 30 31 32 48 49 50 TickTock for Friday, April 21, 2017 Participants: austinmonitor 191 eraycollins 1 austin78753 1 PointAustin 1 ndhapple 1 Thursday, April 20, 2017 9AM All Access Readers! Get […]
Posted inThe Code
Austin Monitor Radio: CodeNEXT consultants John Miki and Peter Park
CodeNEXT consultants John Miki and Peter Park join Monitor publisher Mike Kanin for a chat about the city of Austin’s Land Development Code rewrite. The show is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/319106446″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inCity Council
Sleep researchers cheer on Council members as they consider ways to avoid late nights
Early on June 24, 2016, City Council Member Delia Garza checked her watch. “We’re making a decision about $720 million at 1:35 in the morning after lengthy discussions,” Garza told her colleagues. “After in my opinion, no real agreement on this.” Despite the Council member’s misgivings, members voted to approve the $720 million transportation bond […]
Posted inBudget
Growth slows, making city budget tighter
The days of Austin’s turbo-charged growth are over – at least for now. City Council got that message from the city’s economic adviser, Jon Hockenyos, as well as Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo, at Wednesday’s financial forecast and economic outlook work session. Hockenyos told Council that the Austin area “remains among the regional […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: City Council, 4.20.17
City Council will hold its regular meeting again today, and 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. 19. Authorize award and execution of a 12-month contract with TEXAS […]
Posted inCity Council
Council moves toward changing meeting rules
City Council members took a significant step Tuesday toward revising the way they conduct meetings as well as the time frames for scheduling business on the agenda in the hope that they can reduce the number of hours spent sitting on the dais. They also indicated a desire to cut back on the hours of […]