Coyotes & more at Council work session

After hearing concerns from the public, Police Chief Art Acevedo, Chief Animal Services Officer Abigail Smith and Parks and Recreation Director Sara Hensley, as well as Travis County Commissioners, City Council Member Chris Riley has offered some changes to the proposed policy for dealing with coyotes that menace people and pets in urban areas. Those changes were proposed within the last couple of days and are scheduled to appear as backup for today’s Council work session. We may hear a conversation on that topic anyway. There may also be a discussion about a proposed ordinance relating to rental property registration. Staff may not have understood exactly what Council wanted when it asked for that ordinance. They may have to go back to the drawing board. There may also be a conversation about the relationship between the city auditor and the Ethics Review Commission. One item that will likely not be discussed relates to the resolution sponsored by Council Members Kathie Tovo and Mike Martinez establishing a policy that would prevent recipients of city economic development incentives from protesting their property tax appraisals. A staff member said Monday that the item had been placed on the agenda prematurely, but should come back for the final meeting of this Council on Dec. 11. The agenda currently includes 181 items, any number of which could involve lengthy public hearings. At least one Council member has suggested privately that, before Thursday, they should schedule a meeting to continue Friday morning so that the public can expect that eventuality. Perhaps we will hear more about that at today’s work session.