Taking her talents… Ellen Troxclair, whose term on Austin City Council concludes with today’s swearing-in ceremony that’ll install Paige Ellis as the new representative for District 8, is taking her focus on property tax issues to the state level. News broke Friday that Troxclair has joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation as a senior fellow. […]
Ellen Troxclair
Austin City Council member for District 8
Posted inCity Council
Troxclair looks forward to new adventures
After four years in office as the first Council member from Southwest Austin’s District 8, Ellen Troxclair is stepping down. But her departure from Council doesn’t mean we won’t see her at City Hall, she told the Austin Monitor during a recent interview. Troxclair, who was the last conservative on Council, said, “I ran to […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council plans additional post-mortem review of water crisis
Although last week’s crisis has passed and Austinites once again have clean drinking water in their homes and offices, City Council still has much work to do. In anticipation of the questions that would arrive in the aftermath of the boil water notice, last Thursday, Council Member Ellen Troxclair drafted a resolution requesting a review […]
Posted inCourts
Troxclair brief opposes city’s ballot language
Writing on city of Austin stationery, City Council Member Ellen Troxclair has filed an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court in support of a writ of mandamus seeking to overturn the ballot language Council proposes for a proposition requiring the city to hire an outside auditor to audit the entire city. Troxclair, who is […]
Posted inCity Council
Troxclair decides not to seek re-election
Council Member Ellen Troxclair, the lone conservative on City Council, announced Wednesday that she would not be seeking re-election to her District 8 seat. Troxclair was elected as part of the first group of Council members elected from districts, and she represents the southwest part of the city. In a press statement, Troxclair characterized her […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Throwing side eye, catching rides
Side eye, or stink eye?… What exactly is the name given to the withering glances occasionally dished out by City Council Member Ora Houston toward her colleagues on the dais? Council Member Leslie Pool learned directly on Thursday during discussion of the resolution that will create a new city Tourism Commission. While praising Houston’s championing […]
Posted inResources
Troxclair wants to know how rates compare to other Texas utilities
This year, the average Austinite will spend $2,475 on utility bills to cover the cost of electricity, water and garbage pickup. City Council Member Ellen Troxclair wants to know how that compares to what other people served by other utilities in Texas pay. A resolution Troxclair plans to introduce today asks city staff to conduct […]
Posted inCity Council
Troxclair continues to fight
In 2018, Council Member Ellen Troxclair will be having a baby and running for office in addition to continuing to serve as the lone conservative on City Council. Despite a crowded agenda ahead, Troxclair sat down with the Austin Monitor to take a look back at the past year’s wins and losses. She started with […]
Posted inWater
Phantom water bill charges remain an unsolved mystery at Austin Water
For several years, water bills have been mysteriously spiking and leaving homeowners clutching their wallets and demanding answers. However, even when the public came en masse to plead that the Electric Utility Commission demand answers from city staff after the most recent surge, Austin Energy and Austin Water had none to give. On Dec. 11, […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Mayor, Troxclair check in at the Capitol to talk short-term rentals
Mayor Steve Adler and City Council Member Ellen Troxclair took their disagreement over the city’s short-term rental regulations to the Texas Capitol on Tuesday evening. Both testified before the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce on Senate Bill 451, a measure that reverses new rules passed by Council last year. Those rules are set to […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Troxclair, Adler present opposite views on tax bill
City Council Member Ellen Troxclair and Mayor Steve Adler presented diametrically opposite views at Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on Senate Bill 2, which would prevent cities and counties from raising taxes by more than 4 percent above the effective tax rate from one year to the next. The rate, called the rollback rate, is […]
Posted inCity Council
Council members slam Troxclair’s affordability plan
At City Council’s work session yesterday, several Council members hammered on District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair’s Austin Affordability Action Plan. The plan proposes that Council focus on affordability in the areas of housing, transportation, budgeting, cost of living and the economy. Troxclair pulled the item from the consent agenda to allow Council members to […]