City Council approved a resolution last week granting consent for Austin Convention Enterprises to apply for a federal loan to help front-line employees working at the downtown Austin Hilton Hotel. Assistant City Attorney Lee Crawford made it clear that if the Paycheck Protection Program loan is approved, the city would have no liability for payment. […]
Jimmy Flannigan
Posted inCity Council
Jimmy Flannigan: Taking care of unfinished business
Since losing to Mackenzie Kelly in Northwest Austin’s District 6 runoff election, City Council Member Jimmy Flannigan has focused on keeping his head down, continuing to work and trying to “figure out what’s next.” “There’s a lot of work that you do as a Council member hoping that you get a second term – a […]
Posted inCity Council
City looks for funds, including hotel tax, to cushion COVID-19 economic impact
City staff and members of City Council have fine-tuned their plans for assisting small businesses and employees facing financial difficulties from the cancellation of South by Southwest and other fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak. Council Member Jimmy Flannigan posted a draft resolution on the City Council Message Board Thursday directing staff to create or use […]
Posted inPlanning
The battle over conditional overlays
City Council Member Jimmy Flannigan is fed up with conditional overlays. Conditional overlays – COs in the parlance of City Hall insiders – are zoning rules that apply to a specific property. They often end up included as part of a negotiation between a developer and nearby residents in a zoning case, whereby the developer […]
Posted inCity Council
Council Member Flannigan seeks to revise Austin’s drainage fee system
For much of her life as a homeowner, Joan Reames never noticed the drainage charge on her monthly utility bill. That was until the city revised the system in 2015. Reames said the monthly fee for her condo complex suddenly increased by more than $2,000. The city sends the bill to her homeowners association. Then […]
Posted inAustin
Economic forecast puts focus on transit, housing, jobs for 2017
AngelouEconomics’ annual economic forecast for Austin sees the city’s economy slowing its growth somewhat in 2017 and 2018. But roughly 107,000 new residents in that timespan will add more pressure on the local cost of living and transportation systems. The forecast from local economist Angelos Angelou gathers data from throughout Austin and Texas as a […]