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 Member Ryan Alter authored the resolution. His co-sponsors included Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members […]
city charter
The city’s written grant to govern
Posted inCity Charter
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 to the city charter. In particular, the potential new commission might consider whether the city […]
Posted inElections
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 doors. So don’t be surprised when a block walker from Restore Leadership ATX knocks on […]
Posted inCity Council
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 hastily written charter proposal to add another Council member to the dais. Adler pulled the […]
Posted inElections
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 or lying on a public sidewalk or soliciting money between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. […]
Posted inCourts
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 Paxton’s claim that the commission has too many real estate professionals. Last year, in response […]
Posted inCity Council
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 by voters in 1994, that calls for no more than one-third of the Planning Commission […]
Posted inCity Hall
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 worked for many months on an ordinance specifically aimed at preventing lobbyists from serving on […]
Posted inCity Charter
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 three land-use professionals, but because there are currently more than three members involved professionally in […]
Posted inCity Hall
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 Clerk, making it highly likely that its ordinance will go in front of City […]
Posted inCourts
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 changes would have an immediate and lasting impact on how elections are conducted and financed […]
Posted inCity Hall
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 annual cost of $490,645. Even if Council approves the resolution today, it does not guarantee […]