City Hall
Special fund could help Council members respond to neighborhood needs
Under a proposal approved Thursday, City Council members may have the ability next year to fund projects in their districts without following the usual planning and budgeting processes. The resolution, sponsored by Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, directs the city manager…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Nov 8, 2024
ECHO's $350M plan offers to 'effectively end' homelessness in Austin
The city is projected to need $35 million annually over a 10-year period to effectively end homelessness via a plan that emphasizes adding hundreds of permanent supportive housing units while also addressing emergency shelter and prevention steps to keep people…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 8, 2024
Downtown Commission questions scope, cost of core transportation plan
The city has identified improvements to several east-west streets through downtown as priority projects in a new plan to address mobility in the area. Last month, the Downtown Commission got the first look at portions of the Austin Core Transportation…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 7, 2024
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 11.7.24
Well, the show must go on. After a momentous election Tuesday that will also see new Council members in Districts 6, 7 and 10 and probably the return of Mayor Kirk Watson, City Council members are dusting themselves off and…
TipSheets • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 7, 2024
SXSW economic impact sees small dip based on lower spending for ticketing
South by Southwest’s impact on the local economy decreased slightly this year from 2023, according to a new study from business analysts Greyhill Advisors. The study found that the festival generated $377.3 million for local businesses and residents, compared to…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 1, 2024
Council to consider $5.5M contract for redo of city's website
The city’s primary website is slated for a comprehensive revamp from a California-based vendor, due in part to staff’s assessment that the work needed to properly improve the site exceeds their resources and abilities. An item on next week’s City…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 31, 2024
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Report finds slashed site plan review times, with further improvements on tap
An analysis of the city’s ongoing work to improve its widely criticized permitting process for building within the city shows substantial improvements in turnaround times for the main types of reviews, with further gains expected as the city moves forward…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 30, 2024
Auditor examines city's shifting funding, expectations for Cultural Arts grants
A recent report from the City Auditor highlights a recurring state of flux for Cultural Arts funding in recent years, which has fed into the ongoing debate over how the city manages those grant programs. The audit, which was requested…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 30, 2024
City Council moves to complete purchase of combined public safety headquarters
The city is moving ahead with the planned purchase of a combined public safety campus located in four existing office buildings on South MoPac Expressway in District 8. Late during Thursday’s City Council meeting, after several hours of public comment…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 28, 2024
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 10.24.24
Austin City Council will convene today for a regular voting meeting at City Hall. To prepare, we’ve read through the agenda (which is available in its entirety here) and highlighted what is of the most interest to us and, hopefully,…
TipSheets • By Elizabeth Pagano • Oct 24, 2024
Residents may get relief from persistent mechanical noises
Life in the big city can be exciting and … noisy. Now that Austin is certifiably hustling and bustling, the city may soon join other big cities in regulating noise pollution caused by mechanical equipment that disrupts neighboring residents’ quality…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Oct 23, 2024
Youth homelessness has increased rapidly in Austin, according to nonprofit data
The number of young people experiencing homelessness in Travis County, which includes most of Austin, has risen substantially in the past four years, according to numbers from a nonprofit that tracks the issue. Since 2020, the number of people under…
