Issuing and selling bonds, paying off debt and applying for state loans for the Austin Water utility will be up for discussion at City Council’s meeting Thursday. At their work session on Tuesday, Council members seemed generally supportive of the items, which include: applying for $167 million in loans from the AAA-rated Texas Water Development […]
Austin Water Utility
AWU is the municipal utility that provides water service for the City of Austin.
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs relief measure for water customers
City Council on Thursday voted to make remediation easier for customers who are accidentally soaked by the local water utility. The resolution brought forth by Council Member Ellen Troxclair directs City Manager Marc Ott to cobble together a set of amendments to city code that would allow Austin Water utility customers who experience a spike […]
Posted inWater
Council to consider new policy for high water bills
If City Council approves the idea, Austin Water customers who find themselves puzzled and/or outraged by a sudden unexplained jump in their water bills will have an additional way to appeal the bill and gain some relief. A resolution sponsored by Council Member Ellen Troxclair states that Austin Water received calls from 23,944 customers related […]
Posted inCity Council
Council starts Pilot Knob amendments
City Council voted 10-1 Thursday to start the amendment process on the affordable housing portion of the zoning ordinance that created the Pilot Knob planned unit development in Southeast Travis County. Council Member Don Zimmerman voted no. Council initiated the amendments, which relate only to affordable housing and waiver of city development and water utility […]
Posted inBudget
Council explores reducing transfers from utilities
Members of City Council moved ahead Thursday on two initiatives aimed at scrutinizing the role that Austin’s two public utilities play in funding basic city services. Early in the day, the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, which is composed of every member of Council, voted to adopt a resolution asking city staff to assess the […]
Posted inBudget
Troxclair wants to cut utility transfers
Wading into the affordability debate with a new tactic, City Council Member Ellen Troxclair is proposing to cut transfers from the Austin Water utility to the city’s General Fund. On Wednesday, members of Council’s Public Utilities Committee unanimously approved forwarding Troxclair’s resolution – which seeks information on cutting or eliminating the transfer – to the […]
Posted inWater
Committee takes on water restrictions (again)
The battle over whether to loosen or make permanent some current water restrictions played out once again Wednesday at the City Council Public Utilities Committee, as Council Member Don Zimmerman questioned the intent of a recent public survey by Austin Water. According to the survey data (collected at five public meetings held throughout January), roughly […]
Posted inCity Council
Council postpones Pilot Knob decision
City Council voted 9-2 early Friday morning to postpone consideration of changes to the controversial Pilot Knob zoning and fee transfer deal. At the same time, Council directed city staff to provide a financial analysis and briefing on the impact of the fee transfer portion of the deal, which would move up to $81.4 million […]
Posted inCourts
Updated: Rodgers sues city to stop Pilot Knob deal
Civic activist Brian Rodgers has filed suit against the city of Austin over the Pilot Knob deal, claiming violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act when City Council voted to approve the agreement on Dec. 17. In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday by attorney Bill Aleshire, Rodgers asks the court to void Council’s adoption of the […]
Posted inWater
Water commissioners hear bad news about Pilot Knob
In another act in the ongoing drama over the Pilot Knob planned unit development, members of the Water and Wastewater Commission spent an hour-and-a-half Wednesday night trying to understand the implications of the controversial deal between the city and a developer that could cost city agencies over $100 million in lost revenue. “This is a […]
Posted inCity Council
Pilot Knob deal turmoil continues
At Tuesday’s work session, Mayor Steve Adler launched a discussion on the Pilot Knob planned unit development with a spirited defense of City Council’s now controversial decision to redirect the PUD’s water and wastewater impact fees to the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The fees would normally be paid instead to the Austin Water utility. […]
Posted inBudget
Budget chiefs still see financial picture as rosy
A trio of city financial managers told the Austin Monitor this week that Austin is still doing well financially, and, due to conservative fiscal planning at the city, Austin Energy and Austin Water both closed out 2015 with greater than projected surpluses. Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo said that the city’s general fund […]