Austin commissioners charged with redrawing the boundaries of 10 City Council districts clearly have their work cut out for them. For one, they’re obligated to hold public hearings in each of the 10 districts, yet the first two forums drew only a skeleton crew of residents to the areas of town that are home to […]
City Hall
Posted inBudget
Police spending proves top concern in first budget comment session
Community members weighed on the city manager’s preliminary budget proposal Thursday before a mostly in-person City Council – the first in-person meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. A vast majority of speakers criticized the proposed police spending, arguing that an increase in the Austin Police Department’s allocation goes against the city’s commitment to reimagine […]
Posted inAustin
Redistricting commission races to fulfill its mission in short time frame
With a Nov. 1 deadline just months away, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is moving at an unusually fast pace to hold public hearings in each City Council district, draft new district lines based on delayed 2020 census data, gather public input, and adopt a final 10-district map in the fall. Last week, the 14-member […]
Posted inAustin
Animal Advisory Commission looks to reform operations at city shelter
At last week’s meeting of the Animal Advisory Commission, commissioners voted to form a working group aimed at addressing the ongoing capacity crisis at the Austin Animal Center. The move came after Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland sent a memo to City Council and Mayor Steve Adler noting that the lack of space may […]
Posted inAustin
Mayor Steve Adler on meeting the challenges of 2021
The city and its leaders have faced multiple challenges in the past 16 months: Covid-19, homelessness, Winter Storm Uri and the failure of the Texas power grid, and the Texas Legislature’s continuing attempts to limit the choices Austin and other cities have in raising and spending tax dollars. Mayor Steve Adler sat down with the […]
Posted inAustin
City says two sites could serve as temporary encampments for homeless Austinites
Austin has found two city-owned sites that could serve as camps for people living outdoors. One of the potential campsites is on Manor Road in East Austin and the other is on Convict Hill Road in South Austin, according to a memo released Monday. The memo, posted initially on a city website shortly before 5 p.m., […]
Posted inAustin
Austin Animal Center contemplates ‘notifications for possible euthanasia’
In a memo last month, Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland updated City Council and Mayor Steve Adler about the ongoing capacity issues at the Austin Animal Center. The memo included a few lines that made animal lovers around the city sit up and pay close attention: “This current challenge may create the need for […]
Posted inAustin
City opens $2M grant program to assist creative sector nonprofits
The city has spun up another emergency relief program for arts organizations, with $2 million in federal aid available for nonprofit groups connected to local arts and cultural communities. The Arts & Culture Non-Profit Relief Grant will provide 100 grants of $20,000 to local groups in the creative sector that have had their fundraising and […]
Posted inCity Hall
Report: Ex-AE employee misused city resources, lied to auditors
An investigation by the Office of the City Auditor found that a former utility accounts specialist at Austin Energy misused his city computer and email to benefit his secondary employment and failed to do work assigned to him, forcing the utility to use other employees to do that work. John Harnsberry, the former employee, “was […]
Posted inBudget
City budget proposal gives taxpayers a break
Despite a pandemic that still ravages parts of the country and in the face of hostile legislation from the state, Austin “has come through the many challenges of the past year in as good or better shape than any big city of America,” City Manager Spencer Cronk said Friday as he laid out city staffers’ […]
Posted inAustin
What will happen to all the plexiglass barriers Austin businesses set up during the pandemic?
From grocery stores to banks, clear plastic barriers have become an everyday sight over the last year. Large acrylic sheets, or plexiglass, have been set up in front of cash registers and reception desks to reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus. But when the threat of the pandemic passes, what will happen to all […]
Posted inBudget
County increases homestead exemptions for 65 and up
On June 29, the Travis County Commissioners Court discussed and passed a proposal to increase homestead exemptions for qualifying homes. The item was a follow-up to the previous week’s discussion in which the Planning and Budget Office had recommended to increase homestead exemptions from $85,000 to $100,000 for the 65-and-up age group, as well as […]