The City Council Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday deliberated scaling back about two dozen of the city’s boards, commissions and other governmental bodies but ultimately took no action pending further input from the affected groups. The discussion centered on a City Council-approved resolution to consolidate or dissolve up to 36 citizen groups, although Council […]
City of Austin Boards and Commissions Task Force
City Council formed this group to make recommendations about how the city should manage its boards and commissions through the shift from at-large to single-member representation.
Posted inCity Hall
Evaluation will resume this month on proposal to consolidate and eliminate some boards and commissions
Discussions about a proposal from Council Member Ryan Alter to revamp the city’s citizen advisory boards are set to continue. In a City Council Message Board post on Wednesday, Alter provided an update on his December resolution (which Council unanimously approved) directing a review of the city’s boards and commissions, task forces, council corporations and […]
Posted inCity Hall
Push to consolidate city boards and commissions draws criticism from UTC
The Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) voiced opposition to a City Council-backed proposal to consolidate several of Austin’s boards and commissions, including a plan to merge the Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC) and Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC) into the UTC. The proposal, aimed at streamlining city operations and reducing administrative burdens, could come back to Council for […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council wades into commission appointment plan
During Tuesday’s work session, City Council members started to tackle the looming task of appointing more than 500 board and commission members before June. Currently, the city’s boards and commissions are operating in a sort-of limbo in order to give the new Council time to familiarize itself with the system before making appointments to the […]
Posted inCity Council
City seeking 567 volunteers for commissions
In order to keep the city’s many boards and commissions running on time, City Council must make 500 appointments by June 30. Other groups need to appoint an additional 67 individuals to participate in the process of advising Council on everything from animal welfare to energy and water. As one of its final actions, the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council nears verdict on reshuffling commissions
Austin City Council members have begun circling around a final set of actions that could condense the city’s sprawling Boards and Commissions structure in advance of the new 10-1 Council. Though Council took no vote on the new structure at its Tuesday work session, it appeared headed toward some resolution on a handful of the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council hears feedback on boards and commissions transition
City Council heard opinions last week about a plan to move its massive boards and commissions network to the new 10-1 Council system next year. As anticipated, there were several complaints. The Boards and Commissions Transition Task Force issued its final report in May on how the nearly 60 boards and commissions should best transition […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council hears early report on future of boards and commissions
Austin City Council members appeared generally receptive to a host of potential changes to the structure of the city’s many – some say too many – boards and commissions. Still, as the Boards and Commission Transition Taskforce, which has become known as the Commission on Commissions, made its presentation at last week’s Council work session, […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Draft of plan for new boards and commissions coming to Council
As Austin’s new governmental reality draws near, the city continues to work out the details of exactly how City Hall will cope with the overhaul. As part of that strategy, the Boards and Commissions Transition Taskforce has been charged with thinking through how the nearly 60 city boards and commissions could change come next […]