While any enthusiasm there might have been for the city ballot measure known as Proposition A has apparently dwindled, Anthony Precourt and his company are taking no chances. Austin TeamCo LLC, owner of Austin FC, gave the Austin United Political Action Committee $200,000 in the month ending Oct. 25 to campaign against the proposition, which […]
Bonds & Propositions
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Volunteer group calls for more than transit for 2020 ballot with ‘Wheel Deal’
A small group of community activists unveiled an all-volunteer effort Monday that they claim will help free Austin residents from car dependency and its associated costs while fighting climate change. The $4.377 billion plan, named the Wheel Deal, is an ambitious transportation platform that could help launch the city toward its goal, per the Austin […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Expo center supporters hope voters don’t confuse the two different Prop A’s
Ballot propositions can often be confusing – especially when there are multiple propositions with the same name. This is exactly what concerns those campaigning for Travis County Proposition A. The measure they support would authorize the county to levy a 2 percent Hotel Occupancy Tax to fund a reconstruction of the Travis County Exposition Center, […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Music Commission eyes minority populations in allocating $12M for creative spaces
Leaders from the arts and music communities appear to be leaning toward splitting up $12 million in city bond funds for creative spaces based on the city’s racial and gender demographics, in a move to emphasize equity and inclusion. At Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission, discussion on how the city will opt to spend […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ethics commission finds Prop J PAC violated campaign finance laws
After hours of politically caustic testimony, the Ethics Review Commission found at its May 8 meeting that the No on Prop J political action committee had violated city ethics codes by failing to disclose a $10,000 donation in a timely manner. The case, which came before the commission in March, was filed by Fred Lewis, […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
MACC supporters enter the fray for $12M in creative space funding
Members of the Latino and Mexican American communities are pushing for arts spaces representing those groups to receive money from the $12 million approved by voters to preserve and create arts spaces. Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission featured several speakers concerned that Tejano music and other Mexican American artists are being overlooked by the […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council OKs full $12M for creative space preservation, creation
The city’s creative leaders will have a full $12 million in bond money as their conceptual modeling clay later this month when the community begins to consider how best to protect Austin’s shrinking stock of arts spaces and music venues. City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a slate of four resolutions related to funds approved […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
City begins process of spending $925 million in bonds
Spending money is not always easy. Four months after voters approved $925 million in bonds to fund housing, parks, transportation, fire stations and a wide assortment of other municipal priorities, city staff and City Council are beginning the process of appropriating the money to various departments. To kick off the process, staffers are asking Council […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Groups eyeing $12M for creative spaces learn ‘process is complicated’
Organizations with designs on how best to use the $12 million the city has pledged to preserve creative spaces will likely have to clear a complicated set of legal requirements before any of the money is released this fall. That was the takeaway from Monday’s meeting of the Arts Commission, where members of a working […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
County stands firm on new construction standards for low-water crossing
Some Travis County voters are regretting having approved over $4 million to fix a low-water crossing at Great Divide Drive in Bee Cave as part of the 2017 bond. Listed alongside two dozen other projects under Proposition A, the project description stated that funds would go toward a bridge and replacement of “undersized culverts.” But […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Which areas of Austin killed Props J and K?
Last week, Austin voters approved nine of 11 propositions on the ballot, including seven bond measures totaling $925 million, a proposition that made small spelling corrections to the city charter and a proposition authorizing City Council to set rules for removing members of the Planning Commission. All nine measures passed with at least two-thirds of […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin urbanists see support for denser housing in defeat of Prop J and Laura Morrison
Most mornings, Dave Sullivan bikes from his house in Clarksville to the University of Texas. He then hops on an express bus to his job as a researcher at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus. During the election season, his daily commute served as a sort of poll of voters – albeit with a minuscule sample […]