Mayor Steve Adler engaged in a courteous but tense public conversation over the city’s immigration policies with a group of immigrant rights activists outside of his City Hall office Monday afternoon. ICE Out of Austin – a group pushing for local law enforcement to no longer cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain or […]
Austin City Council Public Safety Committee
A City Council committee that reviews safety issues, including code enforcement, disaster preparedness and criminal justice.
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TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
It’s the last week of January, and the holiday break is officially over! In celebration, we invite you to join our ongoing effort to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, by reading our tip sheet for Austin City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights […]
Posted inAustin
Are digital billboards coming to Austin?
To date, Austin’s billboards have remained as static as the code that regulates them. But some are calling for changes that could allow digital billboards in the city. On Monday, members of the City Council Public Safety Committee voted to send those changes to the consultants engaged in the CodeNEXT Land Development Code rewrite to […]
Posted inAustin
Public Safety Committee opts to welcome refugees
In news that will surprise roughly no one, the City Council Public Safety Committee has dismissed a resolution to stand with Gov. Greg Abbott and rhetorically ban Syrian refugees from entering Austin. The committee voted against the resolution and in favor of the statement “We are welcoming of all refugees in Austin.” Council members Greg […]
Posted inPremium Types
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. Health and Human Services Committee Monday, Nov. 30, 1 p.m. […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Police
Police association proposes SXSW funding fix
Although it is an economic driver for the city, South by Southwest imposes significant demands on the Austin Police Department, which pulls many of its personnel away from normal duties to cover the event every year. The Austin Police Association is now proposing a fix for next year’s festival, due to take place in mid-March, […]
Posted inPremium Types
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. Public Safety Council Committee Monday, Oct. 26, 4 p.m. 2. […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Police, Public Safety
Body camera policies to be scrutinized
After the City Council Public Safety Committee heard from five people well versed on issues surrounding police body cameras, committee Chair Don Zimmerman asked Kim Rossmo, chair of the citizens group charged with vetting public safety issues, to get more public input and help develop policies for using those cameras. Everyone on the panel seemed […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: This week’s Council committees
As part of our ongoing, tireless attempt to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, we present our tipsheet for Austin City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of meetings, with links to entire agendas. Note that this week, Council will meet on Thursday as the […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: This week’s Council Committees
City Council’s July break is officially over. And, as part of our ongoing attempt to keep readers up to date with all that is going on at City Hall, we will now return to our tip sheets for City Council committees. As usual, we will be offering highlights of meetings, with links to entire agendas. […]
Posted inPolice, Public Safety
Public Safety Commissioners ask city to go slow on body cameras
The Public Safety Commission approved a draft recommendation Monday urging city staff to proceed carefully before equipping Austin police officers with body cameras. The commission’s recommendations were fourfold: consider any research analyzing the effects of body cameras on police work; devise a privacy policy to protect more sensitive cases such as sexual assault or child […]
Posted inCity Council, Police, Public Safety
Body cameras roll through Public Safety Committee
The long march to add body cameras to Austin Police Department’s official toolkit took a symbolic step forward Monday night when members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee heard unanimous support from a diverse group of stakeholders. It was a rare moment of harmonic accord for APD, the Office of the Police Monitor, the […]