Amid talk of the potential pluses of an expanded Austin Convention Center, some City Council members Monday heard for the first time publicly about a recent consultant review of the Travis County Exposition Center. Brian Block, the development administrator for the Parks and Recreation Department, summed up the consultants’ findings, starting with a count of […]
Austin City Council Economic Opportunity Committee
The Economic Opportunity Committee reviews the city’s economic opportunities and matters related to fair wage and business contracting policies.
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TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
As the Austin Monitor does weekly, we invite you to join our ongoing effort to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall by providing a tip sheet for City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of meetings, with links to entire agendas. Audit and Finance […]
Posted inCity Hall
Disparities persist within city’s contracting
The city of Austin continues to disfavor minority- and women-owned businesses in its contracting, a 750-page study finds. Jon Wainwright, a senior vice president with NERA Economic Consulting, which authored the study, spoke to City Council’s Economic Opportunity Committee on Monday. “We examined a total of over $4 billion across more than 3,500 prime contracts […]
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TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
As part of our ongoing effort to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, we present our tip sheet for Austin City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of meetings, with links to entire agendas. Audit and Finance Monday, Dec. 13, 9 a.m. 4. Animal […]
Posted inAustin
Fair chance hiring moves forward
City Council’s Economic Opportunity Committee voted Monday to direct staff to move forward with writing what is known as a fair chance hiring ordinance. It would include a one-year period to educate employers before they would face penalties for noncompliance. The vote was 3-1, with Council Member Ellen Troxclair, who chairs the committee, voting no. […]
Posted inCity Council
Fair Chance advocate tells her story
University of Texas PhD student and former Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate Susannah Bannon describes her research as being “at the intersection of rhetoric and social justice.” In her studies as a communications student, Bannon examines the ways in which public conversations create and maintain social inequities. Her interest comes from her personal experience […]
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TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
As part of our ongoing effort to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, we present our tip sheet for Austin City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of meetings, with links to entire agendas. Economic Opportunity Council Committee Monday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m. 4. […]
Posted inCity Hall
‘Fair chance’ proponents deliver message
About two weeks ago, City Council’s Economic Opportunity Committee took the first step toward mandating removal of the box on employment applications indicating whether the applicant has a criminal record. However, the rest of the package of proposals – all related to helping people with criminal records get jobs – was put on the back […]
Posted inAustin
Committee OKs ‘ban the box’ ordinance
The City Council Economic Opportunity Committee voted 3–0 Monday to move forward with an ordinance that would prevent private employers from asking job applicants whether they have a criminal history on their initial employment applications. Similar laws – called “ban the box” laws in reference to the criminal-history check box on job applications – have […]
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TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
As part of our ongoing effort to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, we present our tipsheet for Austin City Council committees. This week is an ultra-short one, with only the Economic Opportunity Committee meeting. Economic Opportunity Committee Monday, Oct. 12, 2:00 p.m. 3. 4:00 PM: Consider […]
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs purchase despite complaints
Although some City Council members worried about the lack of minority participation in the agreement, Council voted 9-2-1 on Thursday to approve a contract with Community Trucking LLC to provide crushed rock for various city departments in an amount up to $993,603. The company will also have three 12-month extension options for a total contract […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ban the box ordinance moving forward
The proposal to ban the box that requires job applicants to say whether they have a criminal history is moving forward, but proponents – including City Council Member Greg Casar – hope to move slowly so as not to alarm companies intent on hiring. Members of the Council Economic Opportunity Committee, including Casar, heard a […]