Travis County Commissioners heard a report Tuesday that the budget to construct the proposed new Civil and Family Courthouse comes in at $294 million. After asking their consultants some pointed questions about how they arrived at that amount, they passed the whole thing along to the new Commissioners Court, which will take office in January. […]
Travis County
Posted inBonds & Propositions, Development, Local Politics, Travis County
Commissioners to hear budget for new courthouse
Travis County Commissioners are set to hear a report today on the planned Civil and Family Courthouse project, but there have been protests about the project’s proposed $294 million budget even though the report has yet to be made public. Commissioners approved the space allocations for the building about a month ago, and today will […]
Posted inElections, Energy, Travis County
Reporters Notebook: Last dance with Austin Energy
Current Council to get one more shot at Austin Energy . . . For those of you worried that the days of the current Council Committee on Austin Energy had ended: Fear not. The committee plans to have another meeting before the last Council meeting, set Dec. 11. Council Member Chris Riley pointed out that […]
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety, Travis County
Judge-elect Eckhardt takes aim at jail video system
Incoming Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt says one of the many items on her “to-do” list when she takes office in January is to take on the county jail’s policy of limiting almost all family visits with inmates to a video conferencing system. Eckhardt says she would like to restore face-to-face visits. Eckhardt, elected last […]
Posted inLocal Government, Radio, Travis County
Austin Monitor Radio, Show 24: Judge-elect Sarah Eckhardt
Travis County Judge-elect Sarah Eckhardt joins Monitor publisher Mike Kanin for a look ahead to her tenure on Commissioners Court. Topics include Secure Communities, SH45, video-conferenced jail visits and much more. Program is below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/176628557″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inAustin, Bicycles, Hays County, Local Government, Transportation, Travis County, Williamson County
CAMPO weakens bicycle, pedestrian funding
Despite repeated objections from Austin City Council Member Chris Riley, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board voted Monday to soften a policy that directs federal funds toward bicycle and pedestrian projects under a proposed long-range plan. The CAMPO board voted to amend a long-standing policy in the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan that […]
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Public Safety, Travis County
Council tries for changes in Secure Communities
City Council members Thursday instructed city staff to make a series of changes to a proposed interlocal agreement the City of Austin holds with Travis County for prisoner booking services. If county officials agree to the changes, the cumulative effect could circumvent the Travis County Sheriff’s participation in the Federal Secure Communities program. The move […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections, Local Politics, Travis County
Reporters Notebook: Campaign cash still flowing
Adler raises $100K the first day after the election … The election judges hadn’t even caught up on their sleep yet Thursday when mayoral candidate Steve Adler began indulging in a little financial chest-thumping. Adler’s campaign announced that he raised $100,000 from 400 donors during the first day of the runoff election campaign. According to […]
Posted inLocal Government, Travis County
County seeks study to verify office complex budget
Travis County Commissioners are asking for a second opinion on whether the budget to construct a planned office complex at 416 West 11th St. is realistic, or whether they should put the project back out for bids. The initial budget for the Ronald Earle Building came in about $10 million over the county’s $34.5 million […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics, Travis County
Eckhardt, Shea, Gomez win Travis County seats
There were no surprises Tuesday in the elections for the Travis County Commissioners Court. Sarah Eckhardt handily defeated Republican Mike McNamara for County Judge by about a 2-1 margin. In Precinct 2, Brigid Shea defeated Republican Raymond Frank, also by about a 2-1 margin. And in Precinct 4, incumbent Margaret Gomez polled about 85 percent […]
Posted inLocal Government, Police, Public Safety, Travis County
Report: County jail needs better medical facilities
Travis County’s correctional facilities have an adequate number of beds to handle its jail’s projected population for the next two decades, but current facilities for inmates with medical and mental health needs are acutely inadequate. That was among the key findings of a System Needs Analysis and Master Plan Update for the Travis County Adult […]