Local Government
During Social Work Month, county commissioners discuss the field's low average salaries
On March 26, Travis County Commissioners Court declared March 2024 “Social Work Month” under the proclamation “Empowering Social Workers.” The proclamation recognized the vital contributions of social workers in shaping policy, promoting systems of equality and diversity, confronting the increasing…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Apr 3, 2024
Travis County approves tax breaks for child care providers
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a 100 percent property tax break to qualifying child care centers in the county. The decision comes close on the city of Austin’s heels; the city passed a similar break in…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Apr 1, 2024
Arguments to continue in lawsuit over deed restrictions
Although Travis County District Judge Madeleine Connor ruled in favor of homeowners fighting to keep a developer from building more than two houses per lot in their subdivision last week, that victory may be marred by further decisions in the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Apr 1, 2024
Travis County approves ambitious 'Marshall Plan' for northeast planning district
According to Travis County commissioners and staff, eastern Travis County has long been blighted. Lack of investment and economic opportunities along with displacement and systemic racism have left the area systemically impoverished. In 2024, after years of dilapidation in the…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Mar 25, 2024
ATP lawyer argues against sharing information with the public
Lawyers for the Austin Transit Partnership and Austinites who have filed suit to try to stop ATP from proceeding to build a light-rail system without another vote will be in court next Monday to argue about whether the city of…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Mar 12, 2024
Plaintiffs hope to strike city of Austin from Project Connect suit
The people who filed suit last fall to stop the Austin Transit Partnership from proceeding without another bond election have intervened in a lawsuit filed by the city and ATP seeking to validate bonds needed to build the light-rail system.…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Mar 6, 2024
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In a complicated budget year, county commissioners hear advice on employee pay
On Feb. 27, the Travis County Commissioners Court convened for a marathon nine-hour voting session. The agenda was packed with diverse motions, but dollars loomed especially large on the docket. Shortly before hearing the Travis County Planning and Budget Office’s…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Mar 6, 2024
Groups sue Austin officials over plan to redevelop dairy plant site
Advocacy groups and a neighborhood association are suing city of Austin officials over what they allege is a plan illegally approved by City Council members to turn a dairy plant into more than a thousand new homes, offices and a…
Courts • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 27, 2024
Travis County celebrates shift to telework
The Travis County Commissioners Court last week received a briefing on a new “Telework Dashboard,” a web tool that reports on the impacts of the county’s ambitious push to build a 75 percent remote workforce. The test drive quickly became…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Feb 27, 2024
CEO of Austin-based BookPeople 'ecstatic' over decision blocking law that restricts library books
The CEO of BookPeople said she is “ecstatic” the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that sought to restrict which books are available in school libraries. “I’m so, so happy that they upheld the lower court’s…
Courts • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jan 18, 2024
Austin confronts legal challenge to 10-mile light-rail plan
City Council and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) are firing back against a lawsuit aiming to terminate the vision for a 10-mile light-rail network – the single most ambitious public transit project in the city’s history. In legal filings in…
Courts • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jan 10, 2024
County Judge Brown to focus on diversion center, passenger rail in 2024
In January, Travis County Judge Andy Brown told the Austin Monitor that he intended to double down on overdose prevention efforts and the county’s work to build a mental health diversion center to help more people in crisis avoid jail…
