Thursday morning, Mayor Kirk Watson kicked off a planned budget work session in an unusual way. “Late yesterday, we received a copy of a court order related to one of the lawsuits and, as a result of that, we are going to allow for public comment this morning,” he said. The announcement came hours after […]
Texas Open Meetings Act
The Texas law that requires government decision-making to be open to the public.
Posted inCity Charter, City Hall
Judge rules that city is violating open meetings law and the city charter
A second Travis County judge ruled Tuesday that the city of Austin is violating the Texas Open Meetings Act as well as the city charter in allowing people who wish to speak to City Council only two minutes, regardless of how many items they want to address. District Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle ruled in favor […]
Posted inCourts
Save Our Springs Alliance sues City Council over Open Meetings Act
As he threatened to do at last week’s City Council meeting, Save Our Springs Alliance Executive Director Bill Bunch has sued the city, the mayor and Council for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Austin City Charter and Council’s own procedures for allowing the public to speak. The suit was filed in […]
Posted inCity Hall
With public comment procedures in flux, two dozen zoning cases postponed
City Council heard many fewer zoning cases than expected last week after city staff decided to postpone the cases because of a surprise reinterpretation of public meeting participation rules. When staffers originally gave public notice for 24 zoning cases scheduled for Council’s Oct. 1 agenda, the notices said people must testify in person; that was […]
Posted inCity Council
Conduct of meetings is going to change – and change again
Just as Austin’s most civically engaged citizens – including some new to the process – have gotten used to phoning in their comments on the City Council agenda, the rules are changing. In addition, Council will be considering new rules for participation once it learns what options are available. In March 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott […]
Posted inCity Hall
City ethics commission wrestles with access during pandemic
In its previous, pre-pandemic incarnation, the city’s Ethics Review Commission met in a back room of City Hall that was often jammed full of commissioners, accusers, defenders, and occasionally, reporters. But the meetings were open to the public, and once inside that awkward, cramped room, it was easy enough to figure out what was happening. […]
Posted inCity Council
Neighbors win Open Meetings suit again
Once again, the city of Austin finds itself on the losing end of a legal battle over public information. Last week, the 14th Court of Appeals sided with the Lake Austin Collective, which sued the city for failing to give adequate notice of an agenda item changing the terms of development regulations for the Champion […]
Posted inCourts
Council rules unlikely to change despite opinion
Despite a ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismantling a provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that prevents local government officials from meeting in small groups in what is known as a “walking quorum,” it seems unlikely that Austin City Council will change its behavior. The ruling came as a result of […]
Posted inCity Council
Questions arise over CodeNEXT votes
Attorney Bill Aleshire has alerted Mayor Steve Adler that a constituent saw a problem with the new method of counting City Council votes at Tuesday’s work session on CodeNEXT. That method required members to signal their support for an idea by raising one to five fingers for mild to enthusiastic support and a fist for […]
Posted inCourts
Judge finds city violated open meetings law again
Litigation about the Champion tract never really goes away. Originally filed in the early 1990s, the litigation simply morphs from one issue to another and one venue to another. It has cost the city of Austin an almost endless amount of trouble and untold dollars. On Tuesday, District Judge Scott Jenkins ruled that the city […]
Posted inCourts
Lake Austin group sues city over open meetings
A group of Lake Austin homeowners on Monday sued the city of Austin, claiming that the city’s notice concerning the zoning and waiver of environmental regulations on what is known as the Champion tract, was inadequate and therefore violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. According to the lawsuit filed by the Lake Austin Collective Inc., […]
Posted inLocal Government
Bastrop’s lawyer claims Aleshire in contempt
David Bragg, the attorney for the city of Bastrop, has threatened to seek a contempt of court ruling against Austin attorney Bill Aleshire because of Aleshire’s representation of a Bastrop resident in a lawsuit accusing the city of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act. Aleshire filed suit against Bastrop City Council this week on behalf […]