Marc Ott, the city’s first African-American city manager, arrived for his first day on the job on Feb. 18, 2008. Ott’s eight-and-a-half-year tenure has weathered swift change in Austin, where the percentage of African-Americans has slipped and the city has become less affordable. When Ott started his job here, the United States was already in […]
City Manager Marc Ott
Ott was hired by Council members in 2008 and served in that position until his 2016 departure.
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Marc Ott leaves Austin on a high note
Marc Ott, the city’s first African-American city manager, arrived for his first day on the job on Feb. 18, 2008. Ott’s eight-and-a-half-year tenure has weathered swift change in Austin, where the percentage of African-Americans has slipped and the city has become less affordable. When Ott started his job here, the United States was already in […]
Posted inPremium Types
Ott defends staff, city manager government
After 20 months in office, City Council Member Don Zimmerman still struggles to acknowledge that it is the duty of city staff to make budget decisions, among other things, and he lashes out at them on a regular basis. As an elected official whose priorities are frequently at odds with those of other members of […]
Posted inCity Hall
Grove memos defend city process
A lengthy series of memos defending the city’s review of the Grove at Shoal Creek planned unit development emerged yesterday, and it could set the stage for the case returning to City Council later this month. Attorney Jeff Howard, who is representing developers ARG Bull Creek Ltd., said he was “glad the reality of the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Hart named interim city manager
City Council on Thursday appointed the city’s chief financial officer, Elaine Hart, as interim city manager. Hart, who began her service with the city in 1980, will take over management of the city upon the departure of City Manager Marc Ott in October. The vote was unanimous, with Council Member Ellen Troxclair on maternity leave […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council digs into hiring process for new city manager
The candidates for Austin’s next city manager will be vetted by nearly a million people. At least, that’s how necessary City Council members and city staff have said public input is to the process of hiring Austin’s newest city manager in roughly a decade. City Manager Marc Ott announced two weeks ago he would leave […]
Posted inCity Hall
Big question for Council: Who will replace Ott?
When City Manager Marc Ott announced his resignation last week in order to take the job of executive director of the International City/County Management Association, he set in motion a chain of events that will affect Austin for years – possibly for the next decade. With an effective resignation date of Oct. 30, Ott will […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ott announces Spencer’s retirement
City Manager Marc Ott sent a memo to City Council late Monday informing it that Betsy Spencer, the embattled director of the city’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, has decided to retire. Ott’s memo to the mayor and Council did not mention the fact that Spencer has been on administrative leave during an investigation […]
Posted inEnergy
Some AE panelists reject all manager finalists
Three of eight members of an informal citizen advisory group that was created by Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members Leslie Pool and Sheri Gallo to weigh in on finalists for the Austin Energy general manager job have indicated that they would choose Jacqueline Sargent of the Platte River Power Authority in Fort Collins, […]
Posted inCity Council, City Hall
Zimmerman, Lewis fail on Ott resolution
Conservative City Council Member Don Zimmerman and liberal attorney Fred Lewis don’t have much in common, but they both seem bent on replacing City Manager Marc Ott. Nonetheless, they failed on Thursday to persuade any of the other 10 members of Council to hold an open performance evaluation, with input from the public, for Ott […]
Posted inCity Hall
Appointee evaluation plan sparks conversation
City Council weighed in on a plan for evaluating the city manager, city clerk, municipal court clerk and city auditor on Thursday. Part of that plan, as laid out by Acting Assistant City Manager Mark Washington, includes submission of standardized forms to each person being evaluated and a discussion in executive session with the appointee […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Petitions, among other things
Pilot Knob, revisited… Over the weekend, City Council’s recent Pilot Knob deal got a lot more ink. As you might remember, the Austin Monitor first wrote about the deal, which will bring affordable housing to the planned unit development, at a cost of millions to Austin’s water utility. Since then, plenty of other places have […]