The city’s Ethics Review Commission meets tonight to solicit public comments about city regulations limiting contributions and expenditures in future mayoral and City Council campaigns. The campaign finance limits apply to candidates who sign a campaign contract with the city. Candidates who sign the contract agree to participate in forums arranged by the commission and also become eligible for possible disbursements from the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund. The public input session takes place at 7 p.m. in Room 1029 at City Hall. The commission will also consider input given through the city’s online discussion forum, Speak Up Austin.

On Friday, the City of Austin announced it will limit the number of temporary event permits issued in March. In a news release, officials said, “Because of the growing concerns over venue, participant and pedestrian safety during the spring music festival season (concurrent with South by Southwest), the Austin Center for Events expects to reduce the number of temporary event permits issued during the period of March 13 – 22 by 25 percent.” To that end, ACE expects to stop accepting applications in early February. This year, the city will also change its policy on amplified sound and music for temporary events, with curfews of 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 11 p.m. on Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday for venues more than 600 feet from zoned residential properties. Venues that are closer than 600 feet will have sound curfews of 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The city statement also warns, “For existing, permitted outdoor music venues, the code allows for extended hours up to 2 a.m. This is not, however, a vested right, and venues interested in an extension must complete a Sound Impact Evaluation that will help determine appropriate cutoff times.”

Just before the weekend, District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman used the now-somewhat-active City Council Message Board to propose that both the city manager and city attorney be removed from the dais during meetings. The resolution had not been added to Thursday’s Council agenda by the time of publication, and no one had responded to Zimmerman’s message board post. His request, which is in the form of a resolution, is as follows:

Whereas, the Austin City Council members are directly elected by Austin voters, and are term limited; and

Whereas, the Austin City Manager and City Attorney are not elected, are not directly accountable to voters, and are not term limited; and

Whereas, the new 10-1 Austin City Council is restructuring for a more transparent and accountable way of conducting Council business; and

Whereas, the Travis County Commissioners Court seats only elected members at its dais, while the appointed attorney and other staff is seated off the dais; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Austin: that the Austin City Manager and City Attorney be seated off the dais in the front row before Council.

With the possibility of 13 City Council committees on the horizon, ATXN, the city’s TV station, is set to broadcast two meetings at once, instead of just one as it has in the past. Keith Reeves, manager of the station that many at City Hall still refer to as Channel 6, said he is ready to broadcast one meeting on TV and simultaneously broadcast that plus a second one online. So, it should be possible for viewers to watch two meetings on different screens at the same time. We don’t want to admit to being among those viewers, but we think it will be extremely handy for people who are addicted to following their government in minute detail. What about all those other meetings, such as the Planning Commission, Water and Wastewater Commission, Environmental Board and the City View Program? They will also continue to be available anytime you tune in on ATXN 1 or ATXN 2, Reeves said. “We’re not sure where they’re all going to be,” Reeves said of the committee meetings, “but the plan is that we’re going to record those like we always have.” Reeves noted that ATXN televises more meetings than any city in the country, averaging 40 to 45 meetings a month. “That’s part of the transparency that the City of Austin has always prided itself on,” Reeves said.

This week’s City Council meeting will feature, prominently, a decision about how Austin’s Council meeting procedures and committee structures will change. Though there are details of the changes that no doubt remain to be worked out, all Council members except Council Member Don Zimmerman have signed on as co-sponsors of the agenda item. The ordinance is sponsored by Mayor Steve Adler.

Lower Colorado River Authority General Manager Phil Wilson mentioned during a meeting of the LCRA Planning and Public Policy Committee on Wednesday that he is interested in the future of Austin Energy’s stake in the Fayette Power Project. “What’s that going to look like?” he asked. Noting that Austin has a new City Council, he added, “There’s value there for us to work with them and have a conversation around the future of that facility.” Though the LCRA manages Fayette, it evenly shares ownership of two of the plant’s three coal-fired generation units with Austin Energy. Last December, the previous Council adopted the Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan with goals to 2025. It says that “Austin Energy will explore negotiation with LCRA for control of one unit to chart a path toward an early retirement of Austin Energy’s share of Fayette starting in 2022.” The current Council has not taken any further action on the plan.

Whisper has been updated to reflect the fact that LCRA and Austin Energy share management of just two of the three Fayette units, not all three as was originally stated.

Thursday, Chief of Staff Ray Baray sent out a “save the date” memo that laid out a rather extensive itinerary of so-called “policy deep-dives” for the new City Council. The sessions will last from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and are scheduled for Feb. 2, 3, 5, 9, 17, 19 and 23, with the option of an additional March 2 meeting, if needed. Additionally, a Council-staff “retreat” is being planned for March 6 and 7. That retreat will, according to the memo, “allow Council an opportunity to debrief on these sessions and hold additional discussions.” The proposed informational sessions were detailed in a previous Monitor article, which can be found here.

Environmental Board Coordinator Marilla Shepherd celebrated her last day of 28 years of service to the City of Austin on Wednesday. During their regular meeting, board members engaged in a heartfelt send-off ceremony for Shepherd, who worked with them for 10 years. Environmental Officer Chuck Lesniak presented her with a certificate of appreciation that commended her for excellent service, and board members individually thanked her for her work. Presenting Shepherd with a wrapped gift, Chair Mary Gay Maxwell said, “When you hear it in the wind, making beautiful music, we want you to think of us.” Shepherd thanked board members for their work and said a few words to those in attendance, which included her family. “My contributions toward making Austin, Texas, the most livable city for so, so, so many years and for so many customers has made me proud, and I feel happy that I’m retiring.” The board then welcomed Shepherd’s successor, Jessica Coronado, as the new Environmental Board Coordinator.

The Lower Colorado River Authority has decided not to change its new, simplified mission statement: “To enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service.” The board of directors held a special meeting Wednesday to discuss potential amendments to the statement, which they officially adopted Dec. 16. Apparently persuaded by Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Bill Lauderback’s speech about the elegance of Albert Einstein’s equation for relativity, E=MC², board members tossed out a few proposed qualifiers and chose to take no action. The previous mission statement, adopted in April 2012, read: “The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) provides reliable, cost-effective electric, water and other public services of value and is a responsible steward of the river and the basin’s natural resources. LCRA is a Texas conservation and reclamation district operating with no taxing authority.”

Next Thursday, the Austin City Council will hold its first “real” meeting, and the draft agenda — which is still very much a draft — has been posted on the city’s website. Though most of the issues are holdovers from last year, three Council members have already submitted Items from Council. Council Member Delia Garza has proposed the creation of a Regional Affordability Committee as an intergovernmental committee. That item is co-sponsored by Council Members Ann Kitchen, Leslie Pool and Ellen Troxclair. Pool has an item to create a Task Force on Community Engagement that is co-sponsored by Council Members Sherri Gallo, Ora Houston and Kitchen. And Council Member Pio Renteria has asked to approve a fee waiver for the Martin Luther King Jr. parade that was held this past Monday. Renteria’s item is co-sponsored by Council Members Kitchen, Houston and Greg Casar.

Today, City Council will hold two meetings. The first will be a discussion about the “city as an employer,” which will serve as the policy lesson on management. There is also the potential for an executive session, which is discussed in today’s story about the Austin Fire Department. This evening, Council will hold a public hearing to consider proposed changes to the way Council does business and engages with the public. That meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Simultaneously, Council will hold a “virtual town hall” meeting, where citizens watching via ATXN (Channel 6) or an online stream are invited to tweet the city using the hashtag #myatxgov or call 1-888-400-1932 (en Español: 1-888-400-9342) during the meeting. Austinites will also be able to continue the conversation about the changes already taking place on the city’s website or by calling 3-1-1. Council members are also scheduled to vote on a resolution that could lead to them lowering their own salaries.

The final community meeting for the Austin Cemetery Master Plan process is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Team members will present an overview of the draft master plan as well as a brief synopsis of findings and recommendations, and will gather feedback from the public. Officials say the full draft plan was made available online in mid-January and will remain online for several weeks. Austin’s historic municipal cemeteries include Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery Annex and Plummers Cemetery. The city selected AmaTerra Environmental, Inc. to develop the master plan. Visit the city website or the special Cemetery Master Plan website for more information about the process. The meeting will take place at the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library, 1161 Angelina St.