Although increasing the minimum wage for city employees to $20 an hour was good news for city workers, the increase did not automatically apply to contract workers. The previous minimum for city employees was $15 per hour, which the city adopted for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget. As James Scarboro, the city’s chief procurement officer, […]
City Hall
Posted inCity Council
Legislative agenda passes with Kelly opposed
City Council approved a lengthy legislative agenda Thursday night, with only Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting no. Though she had proposed an additional task for the city’s legislative team just a few minutes earlier, Kelly voted against adopting the agenda. On Monday, she was visiting Salt Lake City with the Austin Chamber of Commerce, but […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin OKs an automated license plate reader program
Lee esta historia en español. City Council approved a revival of a police department program to use license plate scanners on police cruisers and at fixed points throughout the city. Council agreed Thursday on a one-year pilot program to reinstate the readers, which passively scan license plates in the hopes of assisting police in tracking […]
Posted inCity Council
Amid rising housing costs, Austin increases (slightly) park fees charged to builders
Following a conversation that pitted the amount of parkland in Austin against housing affordability, City Council members on Thursday voted against doubling park fees charged to residential developers. Instead, they opted to raise these fees by 10 percent. The vote was 10 to 1, with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting against. “I know there are […]
Posted inCity Hall
Animal Advisory Commission dives into Robert’s Rules
The Animal Advisory Commission grappled with process questions at its regular meeting on Monday. Item 5 on the commission’s agenda was intended to be an explanation of Robert’s Rules of Order by the parliamentarian. But since the parliamentarian was absent, Chair Craig Nazor gave a brief presentation on two debate motions instead. He outlined the process […]
Posted inCity Council
Council to decide on police oversight ordinance
At the end of a packed agenda today, City Council will face a choice of adopting the Austin Police Oversight Act or calling a May 2023 election on the proposal. At Tuesday’s work session, Council Member Chito Vela and Mayor Steve Adler both revealed that they had signed the petition sponsored by Equity Action and […]
Posted inTipSheets
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 9.15.22
Today City Council will convene for a regular meeting. As usual, we aim to give you an overview of the meeting, but those who want to dive into the details can check out the full agenda or tune in to watch the whole thing online starting at 10-ish this morning. First, a recap: Despite having […]
Posted inAustin
Austin Animal Center is restricting intake because its kennels are full
Austin Animal Center is temporarily restricting intake starting Tuesday because the shelter is over capacity. The city-owned animal shelter is urging people to help by fostering or adopting pets from the shelter. The shelter currently has more than 700 animals, including 67 dogs that are staying in pop-up wire crates because all other kennels are […]
Posted inAustin
Nearly half of homeless residents exit HEAL program without housing
Despite the city’s work to move those living in homeless encampments into permanent housing, nearly half of all temporary shelter inhabitants exit the system and return to homelessness. One hundred and two people – 48 percent of those moved into shelter – in the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link, or HEAL program, have left the program with […]
Posted inCity Council
Council seeks to incentivize new creative spaces
The city will look for ways to incentivize developers to build creative spaces such as galleries and theaters into new projects in the coming years, building on a decision last month to incentivize new live music venues. At last week’s City Council meeting, the consent agenda included a resolution led by Council Member Ann Kitchen that […]
Posted inAustin
Black dispossession study starts to quantify cost of city’s 1928 master plan
The city’s 1928 master plan, which effectively legalized segregation in Austin and limited public services for Black residents to a newly created “Negro District” east of what is now Interstate 35, has cost Black homeowners in just five neighborhoods – Clarksville, Wheatville, Red River, East Campus and South Austin – more than $290 million. Acting […]
Posted inCity Council
Council postpones vote on controversial license plate reader resolution
Nearly 40 people showed up at the City Council meeting last Thursday either to voice their concerns or show their support for the re-implementation of the Austin Police Department’s automated license plate reader program, which has proven to be an incendiary issue for Austinites. Reinstating the program would cost $114,775 and use around 20 cameras […]