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 Court voted Tuesday to extend the program deadline to Nov. 10 to allow time for […]
Travis County
Posted inTravis County
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. At the Oct. 13 meeting of the Commissioners Court, the Planning and Budget Office gave […]
Posted inTravis County
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 outreach worker, officially a temporary court clerk position, under Precinct 3 Constable Stacy Suits to […]
Posted inTravis County
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 to assist area nonprofits. The county already has $560,000 allocated to support organizations that provide […]
Posted inTravis County
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 17.2 percent of that allocation – just $2 million more than what the county had […]
Posted inTravis County
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 county will begin receiving up to $40,000 apiece to help them weather pandemic-fueled financial difficulties. […]
Posted inTravis County
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 against Andy Brown, the newly minted Democratic nominee for the seat. Because Travis County is […]
Posted inBudget
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 Office staff outlined the cuts to programs and increases in emergency funding that will […]
Posted inEducation
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 Allen Weeks, the executive director of Austin Voices for Education and Youth. “We’re really in […]
Posted inTravis County
Commissioners approve allocations for remainder of Covid-19 relief funding
Nearly three months to the day since Travis County received Covid-19 relief funding from the federal government under the CARES Act, Travis County commissioners approved an outline for the allocation of the $33.8 million in aid that remained unspent. County staff outlined a proposal at the July 28 meeting of the Commissioners Court to allocate […]
Posted inTravis County
County to identify funding source for implementing permanent teleworking
Following a successful emergency rollout of teleworking capabilities in response to Covid-19 this spring, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted in May to make the digital work environment permanent for 75 percent of eligible county employees. On Tuesday, commissioners took the next step in this transition process and directed staff to identify a funding source […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County approves Tesla incentive deal
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved a $13.9 million tax rebate deal to coax Tesla to build its “Gigafactory” in southeastern Travis County. The tax rebate is based on a $1.1 billion investment from Tesla and will be paid out over the course of 10 years. The agreement has a 20-year term that will […]