For Council Member Kathie Tovo, a lot of the successes in the past year have to do with affordability. “I think we are hearing from the community that they are very overwhelmed by taxes and by other increases, and that we need to hold the line on property tax increases,” said Tovo. “I think […]
Elections
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Morrison calls Austin Energy governance debate top 2013 issue
Though, in her estimation, it “wasn’t so much an event as it was a long, drawn out conversation,” Council Member Laura Morrison puts the Austin Energy governance discussions toward the top of her list of major 2013 events. She says the discussion between the Council and the community about the utility’s oversight was important, […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Ott says 2013 brought both personal, professional accomplishments
City Manager Marc Ott says that, for him, 2013 had a lot of highlights. Some were personal, like being the recipient of the Mark E. Keane Award for Career Excellence, which he received early in the year. That award came with a stipend, which he will donate to the city for something related to […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections, Local Politics, Resources, Transportation
Looking back at 2013
No doubt one of the most significant events over the past year was the drawing of Austin’s first geographically-based single-member City Council districts. In November 2012, Austin voters approved a charter amendment to create 10 single-member districts in the city. Those Council members will be elected this upcoming November and, as of last November, we […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics
Martinez sees 10-1 Council Districts as 2013’s biggest event
For Council Member Mike Martinez, one of the most important things to happen in city government in 2013 didn’t have anything to do with the current City Council. “If you want to ask me what I think was one of the most significant events of the year, as it relates to city government, it’s […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Cole cites affordable housing bonds’ approval as major event of 2013
Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole lists a set of familiar responses as milestones for her 2013 Council year. And though she clearly sees the importance of such items as the start of the Land Development Code rewrite, wage floors, and the potential coming of Urban Rail, she quickly focuses on what to her was the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Austin’s continuing success biggest story for Leffingwell
Mayor Lee Leffingwell likes to point out that Austin, by most measures, has an extremely successful economy, gets high marks for job creation and has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation—4.7 percent, according to numbers released late last month. In December it was rated the top performing city in the United States […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Newly formed Civil Service Commission still developing rules
Austin’s newly formed Municipal Civil Service Commission continued to work at answering a number of fundamental questions aimed at developing a set of operating rules at its meeting Tuesday night at City Hall. Voters approved a civil service system for the City of Austin for most non-public safety employees in November 2012. Most public […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council approves metered parking plan at Butler Shores park
After a City Council vote last week, plans to meter parking at the Butler Shores Ball Field parking lot in South Austin are moving forward. Council approved the plan in a 6-1 vote, with Council Member Kathie Tovo voting no. Tovo argued that there were reasonable alternatives to installing the meters, including enforcing […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council moves ahead on plans to overhaul Auditorium Shores
Despite talk of postponing their decision in the face of public scrutiny, City Council members moved forward with plans to rehabilitate Auditorium Shores Thursday night. “Delays into January, when work is supposed to start this month, it triggers a domino event for all of those events where we have specifically timed them in the […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Council endorses Lone Star Rail but hangs on to the money
Lone Star Rail will move forward with the backing of the Austin City Council, though not with any of the city’s money just yet. In a 6-1 vote, the City Council authorized the city’s participation in the Lone Star Rail District. But it set its funding for the project temporarily at zero. The plan […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Local Politics
City buys Hays County land to block development over aquifer
Austin City Council members Thursday unanimously approved the $18 million acquisition of land in Hays County that might otherwise have been developed as the Jeremiah Ventures project. With the move, Council members eliminated a long-running fight over grandfathering rules, environmental protections, and the regulatory reach of city government. Though this specific issue appears settled, […]