The Austin Monitor has obtained a memo from City Manager Marc Ott that briefly details plans for Austin’s new Traffic Congestion Action Plan, or “Traffic CAP,” though officials delayed a planned news conference on the topic until today due to a partial bridge collapse near Salado. In the memo, Ott writes, “The plan’s goal is […]
City Manager Marc Ott
Ott was hired by Council members in 2008 and served in that position until his 2016 departure.
Posted inAustin, Development, Housing, Land Development Code, Planning, Zoning
Ott splits Planning & Development Review Dept.
Like the couple that marries and divorces but marries again only to divorce a few years later, the Planning and Development Review Department is once again being broken into a neighborhood planning department and a development review department. In a memo to Mayor and Council released this afternoon, City Manager Marc Ott said that in […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ott addresses Zucker Report in city memo
The city released a draft copy of the Zucker Report last week amid growing curiosity about what it contained. This week, the aftershocks began. Zucker Systems analyzed the city’s Planning and Development Review Department last year, and in its 700-plus-page report, recommended 464 changes to current practices. Of those, the report designated 121 as high […]
Posted inBudget, City Charter, City Council, City Hall
For Austin’s City Manager, change is a constant
This week, Marc Ott celebrates his seventh anniversary as Austin’s city manager. The Austin Monitor sat down with him to talk about his tenure, the future and how his office is tackling the myriad changes proposed by the new City Council. Ott told the Monitor that he was hired just prior to the Great Recession […]
Posted inPublic Safety, Uncategorized
McDonald announces retirement from city service
After 31 years of service to the city, Deputy City Manager Michael McDonald has announced that he will retire at the end of December. McDonald, who had a distinguished career in the Austin Police Department and served as the first African-American assistant police chief in Austin’s history, moved over to City Hall in 2002 to […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
City Council closing in on a final budget
City Council didn’t pull any punches at the start of Tuesday’s budget session, setting next year’s tax rate before anyone’s coffee had time to cool. Council members voted unanimously to adopt the tax rate of 48.09 cents per $100 taxable value, which is in line with the budget proposed by City Manager Marc Ott. The […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
Supporters jam hearing on SH45 SW environmental impact statement
Supporters of the State Highway 45 Southwest toll road project showed up in the of hundreds Tuesday night at a Texas Department of Transportation public hearing on the project’s draft environmental impact statement. While vocal opponents of the project – including the City of Austin and Save Our Springs Alliance – denouncing the draft’s conclusions […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
City asks TxDOT to stop SH45SW environmental impact statement
City Manager Marc Ott has asked the Texas Department of Transportation to withdraw its current draft environmental impact statement of State Highway 45 Southwest and suspend its technical review. In making the request, Ott cited three “pending critical environmental studies,” which the city believes must be considered in the evaluation of the impact the road […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics, Resources
Ott pulls Austin Energy building plan from City Council agenda
Austin City Manager Marc Ott plans to remove a controversial item from today’s agenda that would authorize the design of a new Austin Energy headquarters. Speaking from the dais at Council’s regular Tuesday work session, Ott noted the need for more information. “Certainly I recognize that Council has a lot of questions and I […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Halloween flood report points to shortcomings of emergency response
An after-action report on the City of Austin and Travis County’s response to the Halloween flood released last week said that there were myriad serious problems with the response to the emergency. Chief among them was a lack of ability for emergency officials to communicate with people in the affected area. According to the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council declines to spend FY2013 surplus, debates budget process
Austin City Council members Tuesday continued to wrestle with whether to spend any of the $14.2 million FY2013 budget surplus. In the end, they did not spend any of it and along the way Council Members Laura Morrison and Bill Spelman continued to express broader concerns about the city’s budget process. “How do we […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council continues to move toward mid-year budget adjustment
City Manager Marc Ott and his budget staff expressed concern about the notion of another mid-year budget adjustment Tuesday even as City Council members moved forward with a process to consider such amendments. As part of their regular Tuesday work session, Ott did his level best to steer Council members away from what he […]