The Boards and Commissions Transition Task Force issued its final report last week, recommending the elimination of up to 19 city commissions, mostly through combining the duties of two or more current panels. The Austin City Council gave the group a hefty task. The blue-ribbon commission was made up of 15 ranking board and […]
Local Politics
Posted inElections, Local Politics
Adler kicks off campaign for Mayor of Austin with City Hall rally
More than 200 people gathered in the hot sun at City Hall Sunday afternoon to cheer attorney, nonprofit leader and novice mayoral candidate Steve Adler as he officially announced that he would be a candidate for Austin Mayor. In addressing supporters, Adler emphasized that Austin is at a tipping point in dealing with traffic […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council backs amended Vested Rights Ordinance on first reading
The rocky road to approving a new Vested Rights Ordinance didn’t get much smoother at Thursday night’s City Council meeting, where the discussion to approve the ordinance on first reading managed to be both hopelessly detailed and strangely abstract all at once. In the end Council members did approve the ordinance on first reading, […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Southwest Key Program seeks to change city loan to grant
Austin City Council members Thursday postponed consideration of a change in the structure of a city loan to the Southwest Key Program that could, ultimately, result in the forgiveness of $512,000 worth of that debt. The postponement came as Council members expressed concerns that the organization had not provided the city with enough information to […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
City set to participate in early fire detection system
The severe drought gripping Central Texas brings a high degree of risk for wildfires, and that is a major concern for local fire officials, who do not want a repeat of the massive blazes that devastated areas like Bastrop and Spicewood in recent years. The Austin City Council could take a major step today […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Deal struck in long-running battle over Exposition Boulevard project
The warring parties over the proposed development at 3215 Exposition Boulevard unexpectedly struck a deal on Wednesday with the assistance of Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole. City Council is now expected to pass the zoning on consent today, after years of dispute with developers and the neighborhood and hundreds of emails from those for and […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Council members push plan for AE to recover cost of line extensions
A resolution from Council Members Kathie Tovo, Laura Morrison, and Mike Martinez on Thursday’s Council agenda would instruct City Manager Marc Ott to “plan for full cost recovery of (Austin Energy) line extensions” beginning Oct. 1. Though the Council members included some provisions for the exemption of certain affordable housing” entities, the measure would […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Council hears Transit Bond election’s effect on future tax rates
Amid questions revolving around a potential multimillion-dollar November 2014 Transit Bond election, city staff Tuesday laid out the city’s bonding capacity picture for Council members. Though the fact that a tax increase would be required to accommodate any amount of additional bonding was not quite news, the figures associated with such an action were […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Ethics commission balks, files no charges against former commissioner
The Austin Ethics Review Commission will take no action against former Zero Waste Advisory Commission member Daniela Ochoa Gonzalez for alleged ethics violations. City Auditor Kenneth Mory released an April 18 report accusing Ochoa Gonzalez of violating conflict of interest regulations by discussing and voting on items related to Texas Disposal Systems at three […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Vested Rights Ordinance headed back for Council vote this week
A revised Vested Rights Ordinance is headed back to City Council again this Thursday. The ordinance is intended to fill the hole left when Council repealed Austin’s Project Duration Ordinance in March 2013, after an opinion from Attorney General Greg Abbott that the city law was in conflict with state law. Though at the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
2015 budget rollout shows Austin economy poised for more growth
Like a pep rally before the big game, the Austin City Council’s FY2015 Budget Report started with a glowing report from Texas Perspective’s Jon Hockenyos that has become the norm in recent years, and built to a crescendo of cheers all-around. “I can’t find any reason not to say that Austin is the strongest […]
Posted inLocal Politics
City management plans tax cut, 3.5 percent employee raise
City management’s plan for the FY2015 City of Austin budget contains a 0.7 cent property tax reduction, a 3.5 percent raise for city civilian employees, and limited fee and tax increases. According to city figures, the monthly increase for taxes and fees for the median homeowner is roughly $13 per household. That’s using an […]