Austin is looking at solutions to fix its plan review backlog, but the fix is going to cost the city. Since the publication of the Zucker Report draft, the Development Services Department has worked to create strategies to eliminate the backlog. According to a memo from Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey and Development […]
city budget
The city’s plan for expenditures based on income.
Posted inBudget, City Council, City Hall
Council wades into 2016 city budget
City Council took its first look at next year’s budget Wednesday and got a glimpse of how its members’ campaign promises might cause some complications. The city forecasts that in 2016, the average homeowner will be paying $6.63 more in property taxes each month. The city’s monthly bill is projected to rise from $81.05 to […]
Posted inAustin, Courts, Texas State Legislature
Why your speeding ticket doesn’t pay for what you think it does
Travis County and the City of Austin take part in a regular fiscal dance with the State of Texas over who pays the costs of government. Over the next three days, KUT News and the Austin Monitor will look at key examples of that interaction in our series, “The Buck Starts Here.” Today, we take […]
Posted inAustin, Budget, Local Politics
Price of Council changes still unknown
Though there are no hard numbers yet, Austin’s budget office has begun to review the potential fiscal impacts associated with proposed changes to City Council’s committee and meeting structures. According to a Jan. 23 memo from Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo, the review has included consultation with the Office of the City Clerk, […]
Posted inAustin, Budget, City Council, Local Politics
Council members consider cutting their own pay
On Thursday, as one of their first official acts as an elected body, City Council members will consider taking an action that could reduce their salaries. Specifically, the resolution on Thursday’s agenda directs the city manager to change the current office budgeting structure to allow Council members to decrease their individual compensation and shift funds […]
Posted inElections, Environment, Local Politics
Reporter’s Notebook: Rules are rules
A no-endorsement endorsement, and other missives from the campaign trail . . . Austinites for Equity, a political action committee for the local AFSCME organization, has supported numerous progressive and Democratic candidates. So observers were surprised when they noticed a filing on the City Clerk’s website indicating that the group had spent money apparently in […]