The Austin Firefighters Association is seeking more attention to the safety issues facing its membership, which were discussed in part last week during City Council budget sessions. The AFA had planned to hold a press conference Monday to publicize issues such as increasing injury rates and mental health concerns highlighted by a recent death by […]
budget
Income and expenditure for a set period of time.
Posted inBudget
Staff lays out public safety budget choices for City Council
Looking ahead to a tough budget year, City Council will have to choose between spending on firefighters, emergency medical services, parks maintenance, homeless outreach and improving animal services, among others. Wednesday’s budget presentation did nothing to alleviate budget concerns, with some explanations only highlighting the city’s need to spend money to continue basic services and […]
Posted inCity Council
Council approves social services funding despite anticipating tightest budget in years
The pressures of anticipated budget constraints loomed large over City Council’s discussion of funding social services last Thursday. The conversation followed Council’s approval of Austin Public Health’s request for $6,727,158 across 17 15-month contracts with youth services providers, with four additional 12-month extension options totaling $5,577,331. Of particular concern was a direction put forth by […]
Posted inBudget
Council to request maximum tax rate calculation
At next week’s meeting, City Council is expected to approve a resolution directing Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo to calculate the property tax rate for next year with an increase of 8 percent above the city’s current maintenance and operations rate. Van Eenoo told the Austin Monitor he is required to make the calculation […]
Posted inEducation
Austin ISD school board approves $1.6 billion budget, after public calls to defund AISD Police
The Austin Independent School District’s Board of Trustees passed a $1.65 billion budget early Tuesday, taking $47.6 million from the district’s reserve funds to make up for a shortfall partly caused by COVID-19 expenses. The budget also includes 2% raises for staff, more money for dual-language programs and more funding for certified academic language therapists, […]
Posted inBudget
Staffers offer a preview of FY 2020 budget
The Austin Health and Human Services Committee heard a budget update Tuesday morning that included news of how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the city. “We were projecting a balanced budget for FY 21,” Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo said. “But we did have some gaps in the out years that we were […]
Posted inCity Hall
Maintenance needs could prompt future elections
“You don’t have to step very far away from City Hall to find some facilities that are badly in need of maintenance,” Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo told the Council Audit & Finance Committee on Wednesday. But funding maintenance needs represents a significant challenge to budget writers, especially under the newly enacted 3.5 […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Legislature makes tax caps a priority, cities respond
Well-worn battle lines between the city and state were retraced Tuesday, as the Texas Legislature made it clear that it would be making property tax caps a priority this session. The response from area cities was just as clear. Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) framed the unveiling of SB-2 (and the accompanying committee report) as a […]
Posted inAISD
AISD approves $1.3 billion budget
Trustees with the Austin Independent School District approved a $1.3 billion operating budget for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year in an 8-0-1 vote Monday night, with District 1 Trustee Edmund Gordon abstaining. It is the largest budget AISD has ever considered, yet board members continued to call out the state’s public education system for its […]
Posted inCity Hall
Sunset proposal sparks power struggle at City Hall
Those well-versed in the language of passive aggression may have recognized City Council’s work session discussion about a new city departmental review process for what it was: a fight. During Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Steve Adler brought up the new Office of Performance Measurement, which was described in a memo from City Manager Marc Ott last […]
Posted inAISD
AISD reviews staffing; changes could cost millions
With enrollment dropping, a tight budget and no sign of relief from the Supreme Court of Texas, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees trudged forward with its budget discussion Monday, assuming another year of limited resources and growing challenges. Despite approving this year’s budget only two months ago, board members have already begun […]
Posted inTransportation
City may fix five most dangerous intersections
So far this year, Austin has already had 76 traffic fatalities – 13 more than it did in all of 2014. Now, City Council is considering taking immediate action by funding traffic safety improvements at Austin’s five most dangerous intersections in the forthcoming city budget. On Sept. 2, Austin Transportation Department staff submitted a budget-question […]