Tag Archives: city charter
Council OKs creation of charter review commission
City Council on Thursday approved a resolution authorizing creation of a 2024 Charter Review Commission with an emphasis on studying whether the city should change the number of signatures required for submitting a proposed ordinance to voters for adoption. Council…
City Charter • By Jo Clifton • Mar 10, 2023
New charter review commission proposed
Although the previous City Council didn’t take action on a 2019 special report on citizen initiatives from the Office of the City Auditor, the current Council appears likely to approve creation of a new citizens commission tasked with recommending changes…
City Charter • By Jo Clifton • Mar 8, 2023
New PAC starts to fight strong-mayor plan
It’s that time of year, Austin voters. The redbud trees have come out, signaling spring. Also coming out in time to remind us that we have choices to make in the May election are people paid to knock on our…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Mar 10, 2021
Council rejects meeting to consider adding ballot measure
After a majority of Council members told City Attorney Anne Morgan they did not believe a special called meeting on Friday night was necessary, Morgan advised Mayor Steve Adler that the mayor would not have a quorum to consider the…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Feb 12, 2021
Camping ban, strong-mayor proposal set for May 1 ballot
Austin voters who go to the polls on May 1 will have no candidates to vote for. Instead, they will have numerous questions to answer about how Austin’s government should be run and whether to reinstate the ban on camping, sitting…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Feb 10, 2021
Legal fight over Planning Commission likely to continue
The city of Austin does not appear any closer to resolving a legal challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton over the composition of its Planning Commission. So far, nobody on City Council has proposed removing any members in response to…
Courts • By Jack Craver • Feb 21, 2019
Subscribe to our newsletter
Council rejects attempt to remove Planning commissioners
Following an occasionally heated debate, City Council voted down a proposal Thursday that would have declared the current membership of the Planning Commission to be in violation of the city charter. At issue is a provision of the charter, approved…
City Council • By Jack Craver • May 11, 2018
Fred Lewis appointment stirs controversy
Fred Lewis, an attorney who served as the main architect of the city’s new lobbying ordinance, surprisingly became the center of an ethics controversy on Thursday when City Council appointed him to serve on the 2018 Charter Review Commission. Lewis…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Sep 1, 2017
Too many land-use professionals?
At Monday’s City Council Audit and Finance Committee meeting, Council members rejected the idea of allowing the Environmental Commission to have five land-use professionals among its 11 members. The current rules governing membership on the Environmental Commission allow for only…
City Charter • By Jo Clifton • Apr 14, 2016
Should Austin prepare for the age of the petition?
Austin is riddled with petition fever, or so it seems lately. Last week, local group Ridesharing Works for Austin – a political action committee funded by Uber and Lyft – handed 23,000 petition signatures over to the Office of the…
City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jan 28, 2016
Zimmerman suit could undo campaign finance law
City Council Member Don Zimmerman, who plans to run for re-election in 2016, has filed suit in federal court against the city of Austin, seeking to overturn four important provisions of the city’s campaign finance rules. If he wins, the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Jul 29, 2015
Adler seeks public's help in lobbying for more staff
Mayor Steve Adler is trying to boost the chances that his 10 City Council colleagues will vote for a resolution directing the city manager to identify funding options for five new members of the mayor’s staff — at a projected…
