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Travis County
Newly sworn in, Travis County Judge Andy Brown says he'll shift focus from jails to mental health
Andy Brown is now Travis County’s top official. Brown was sworn in at Tuesday’s meeting of the Travis County Commissioners Court by interim County Judge Sam Biscoe, who served in the same capacity for over 15 years before retiring. He…
Travis County • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Nov 18, 2020
Commissioners take next step toward permanent telework
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a scope of services for a consultant to advise them on a plan to have 75 percent of eligible employees to do their jobs by teleworking on a…
Travis County • By Jo Clifton • Nov 18, 2020
School lands generate $3.4 million for county schools
For the first time since 2014, the Travis County Commissioners Court has voted to distribute revenues from its 18,820-acre property in Throckmorton County among 14 school districts across the county. Melissa Velasquez, executive assistant for Commissioner Brigid Shea, brought the…
Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 11, 2020
County extends small cities relief deadline
Millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds may shortly be returned to the U.S. Treasury Department due to the failure of small cities in Travis County to provide documentation for the county’s $7.3 million small cities relief program. The Commissioners…
Travis County • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 28, 2020
Travis County reallocates CARES Act housing assistance funding to meet deadlines, talks Covid-19 plasma funding effort
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to reallocate Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in order to spend all of its funding before the Dec. 30 deadline. Travis County received $61,147,507.20 from the federal CARES Act.…
Travis County • By Savana Dunning • Oct 16, 2020
Travis County to create cohesive homelessness outreach plan
The Travis County Commissioners Court has created a new temporary project worker position tasked with developing a cohesive homeless outreach plan for the county, following a separate request by a county constable. In March, the Commissioners Court approved a census…
Travis County • By Savana Dunning • Oct 14, 2020
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Travis County launches new coronavirus relief grants for nonprofits
With $61.1 million to spend and the clock ticking ever closer to the expenditure deadline of Dec. 30 set by the federal government for coronavirus relief funds, the Travis County Commissioners Court authorized a new grant program called TCTX Serve…
Travis County • By Jessi Devenyns • Oct 1, 2020
County works toward December deadline for CARES expenditures
In just over three months, Travis County will come up against its federally set deadline of Dec. 30 to spend the entirety of its $61.1 million in federal coronavirus relief dollars. As of Sept. 22, the county has spent only…
Travis County • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 23, 2020
Travis County selects 225 businesses for grant funding, approves waitlist
Nearly five months ago, Travis County approved a $10 million grant allocation from its federal Covid-19 relief dollars to fund small businesses in need. Now, thanks to a unanimous vote from the Commissioners Court on Tuesday, 225 businesses in the…
Travis County • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 9, 2020
Lovins ready for uphill fight in county judge race
Although he did not make a decision to run for Travis County Judge until Sunday, the day before the filing deadline, Republican candidate Michael Lovins says he is ready to fight. Lovins acknowledges that he will have an uphill battle…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Aug 19, 2020
Travis County budget makes concessions and cuts to achieve balance
After months of rework triggered by the financial ramifications of the pandemic, the Commissioners Court held its first public hearing associated with the 2021 Travis County budget on Aug. 18. As they went through the 120-page, $1.28 billion budget proposal, Planning and…
Budget • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 19, 2020
Commissioners Court considers allocating additional funding for high-risk youth program
As public education moves from classrooms to screens in students’ homes, families’ need for support from educational institutions has increased. Students from vulnerable populations, in particular, benefit from personalized contact with someone in the Austin Independent School District, according to…
