Ranks of the Austin Fire Department are down by 76 members and that number is growing every month as veterans retire, according to Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr. Kerr says at that rate, the department would have around 100 vacancies by the end of the fiscal year. The fire department’s predicament stems from its […]
Austin City Council
The Austin City Council is the body with legislative purview over the City of Austin. It offers policy direction, while the office of the City Manager implements administrative actions based on those policies. Until 2015, the body contained seven members, including the city’s Mayor, all elected at-large. In 2012, City of Austin residents voted to change that system and as of 2015, 10 members of the Council are elected based on geographic districts. The Mayor continues to be elected at-large.
Posted inLocal Politics
Task Force recommends major changes to some city commissions
The Boards and Commissions Transition Task Force issued its final report last week, recommending the elimination of up to 19 city commissions, mostly through combining the duties of two or more current panels. The Austin City Council gave the group a hefty task. The blue-ribbon commission was made up of 15 ranking board and […]
Posted inDevelopment
Ironic twist in development regulations could scuttle condo project
Neighbors and developers showed up at Citizens Communication en masse at last Thursday’s City Council meeting to speak out against city staff’s rejection of the Weekly Homes’ Harper Park site plan. It seems playing by the rules could keep a proposed condominium project at 5816 Harper Park Drive from being built. Planning and Development […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
City pulls RFQ to replace Barton Springs Bridge after public outcry
Plans to replace the Barton Springs Bridge at the entrance to Zilker Park are already being reworked, with staff pulling back its original Request for Qualifications in light of numerous concerns expressed by the public. Currently, plans for replacing the bridge are in the early stages, but language in the Public Works Department’s RFQ […]
Posted inDevelopment
Backers of Baylor House need one more vote to block demolition
Those hoping to save Clarksville’s Baylor House won a symbolic victory at City Council last week. But without an additional vote in favor of historic zoning, the victory could be a hollow one. Currently, the house at 1607 West 10th Street is slated for demolition in order for owner Sean Kubicek to construct a […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council backs amended Vested Rights Ordinance on first reading
The rocky road to approving a new Vested Rights Ordinance didn’t get much smoother at Thursday night’s City Council meeting, where the discussion to approve the ordinance on first reading managed to be both hopelessly detailed and strangely abstract all at once. In the end Council members did approve the ordinance on first reading, […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Southwest Key Program seeks to change city loan to grant
Austin City Council members Thursday postponed consideration of a change in the structure of a city loan to the Southwest Key Program that could, ultimately, result in the forgiveness of $512,000 worth of that debt. The postponement came as Council members expressed concerns that the organization had not provided the city with enough information to […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
City set to participate in early fire detection system
The severe drought gripping Central Texas brings a high degree of risk for wildfires, and that is a major concern for local fire officials, who do not want a repeat of the massive blazes that devastated areas like Bastrop and Spicewood in recent years. The Austin City Council could take a major step today […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Deal struck in long-running battle over Exposition Boulevard project
The warring parties over the proposed development at 3215 Exposition Boulevard unexpectedly struck a deal on Wednesday with the assistance of Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole. City Council is now expected to pass the zoning on consent today, after years of dispute with developers and the neighborhood and hundreds of emails from those for and […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Council members push plan for AE to recover cost of line extensions
A resolution from Council Members Kathie Tovo, Laura Morrison, and Mike Martinez on Thursday’s Council agenda would instruct City Manager Marc Ott to “plan for full cost recovery of (Austin Energy) line extensions” beginning Oct. 1. Though the Council members included some provisions for the exemption of certain affordable housing” entities, the measure would […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Council hears Transit Bond election’s effect on future tax rates
Amid questions revolving around a potential multimillion-dollar November 2014 Transit Bond election, city staff Tuesday laid out the city’s bonding capacity picture for Council members. Though the fact that a tax increase would be required to accommodate any amount of additional bonding was not quite news, the figures associated with such an action were […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
2015 budget rollout shows Austin economy poised for more growth
Like a pep rally before the big game, the Austin City Council’s FY2015 Budget Report started with a glowing report from Texas Perspective’s Jon Hockenyos that has become the norm in recent years, and built to a crescendo of cheers all-around. “I can’t find any reason not to say that Austin is the strongest […]