Travis County Commissioners met with county attorneys in a morning executive session Tuesday to discuss County Sheriff Greg Hamilton’s approval of and participation in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Secure Communities Program. The program asks local officials to detain immigrants who entered the country illegally and have completed their jail term for ICE. There have been complaints by immigrant rights groups that federal agents are breaking up families and targeting those who allegedly commit minor crimes. At a recent budget hearing, Hamilton sought more funding for employee overtime, but advocates asked that additional funds be withheld as long as the program was in place. Alejandro Caceres of the Austin Immigration Rights Coalition said the program is not making the community safer, but is instead causing a crisis. No action was taken in open court Tuesday, and there was no move to add the item to future agendas. However, commissioners say they are working to persuade the sheriff’s office to drop the program.

The Austin Environmental Democrats are holding an endorsement meeting today. The group will be reviewing and voting on candidates in City Council Districts 1, 2 and 3. Candidates’ answers to questionnaires were distributed to members via the club’s website. Only members whose dues are current will be allowed to vote. The group will hold endorsement meetings for Districts 4, 7 and 10 on Sept. 3 and Districts 5, 6 and 8 on Sept. 17. The group held an endorsement meeting Aug. 6 for District 9 and the mayor’s race, but no candidate got the required 60 percent vote to earn an endorsement. The Environmental Democrats meet at 11:30 a.m. at El Mercado South at 1302 South First St.

Tree Folks, the Central Texas nonprofit that promotes urban forests, has hired Thais Perkins as its executive director. Perkins, with 10 years of experience in environmental research, policy, and organizational management, was most recently a project coordinator with Austin’s Watershed Protection Department. At the city, Perkins managed environmental commissioning and environmental impact monitoring for Water Treatment Plant 4. Previously, she served as a program coordinator for the University of Texas Environmental Science Institute and as assistant director for Southeastern Louisiana University’s Pontchartrain Basin Research Program. Perkins holds a master’s degree in forest science from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Tree Folks plants more than 10,000 trees a year in addition to offering educational programs and fostering community partnerships.

Craig Smith, longtime member of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer District board of directors, is the lone candidate to file for the Precinct 5 seat in the November election. District General Manager John Dupnik said Monday there are three candidates on the ballot to fill the vacant Precinct 2 seat: Blaine Stansberry, Terry Newton and Ronald Stried. Dupnik noted that anyone who wants to file as a write-in candidate has until Friday to do so.

The Let’s Go Austin Political Action Committee, formed to campaign for Austin’s November rail and roads bond proposition, will formally kick off its campaign Wednesday with a noon rally on the plaza at Austin City Hall. Let’s Go Austin campaign manager Lynda Rife said the event is the beginning of a three-month effort to educate voters about Proposition 1. The November bond proposal totals $1 billion, with $600 million dedicated to the first phase of the urban rail system and $400 million dedicated to major road projects, a new Austin Traffic Command Center, and engineering studies for future road fixes and expansion of the urban rail system. Council members, business leaders and others are scheduled to speak at the PAC event Wednesday. Early voting for the Nov. 4 election begins Oct. 20.

The city’s Ethics Review Commission and the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area are co-hosting a series of public City Council candidate forums in September, as well as a forum for mayoral candidates in October. All candidates for mayor and each of Austin’s 10 geographic districts have been invited to participate. The dates, times and locations are: District 1, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m. at Asian-American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road; Districts 4 and 7, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Northwest Recreation Center, 2913 Northland Drive; Districts 6 and 10, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Hope Presbyterian Church, 11512 Olson Drive; Districts 5 and 8, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Austin Community College, 1820 W. Stassney Lane; District 9, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road; Districts 2 and 3, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Montopolis Recreation Center, 1200 Montopolis Drive; mayor, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at Austin Convention Center, 500 East Cesar Chavez St. The forums will be televised live on ATXN (Channel 6) and rebroadcast and webcast on the city’s website. For questions, email lwvaustin@lwvaustin.org.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs has named Chief Chris Barron of the Manchaca Volunteer Fire Department as the 2014 winner of the Fire Chief of the Year awards. Barron has served as volunteer fire chief of Manchaca Fire/Rescue and executive director of the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshal’s Association of Texas, both since 2006. As Manchaca Fire/Rescue chief, Barron has led the department’s transition from an all-volunteer to a combination department, serving an area of 12 square miles and a population of more than 17,000 during a period of rapid growth. Winners are selected by a committee appointed by the association and are honored for their dedication and leadership in fire and emergency services. The IAFC will present the annual award Thursday at the 2014 Fire-Rescue International conference in Dallas.

Eight more sanitarians and support staff will soon turn out to inspect Austin restaurants for health violations. According to Carlos Rivera, director of Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services, national standards call for each “fixed food establishment” to receive two inspections a year. Austin’s restaurants are only logging about 1.6, in part because the number of restaurants has jumped 12 percent since 2009. So HHS is allotting $900,000 of its proposed $73 million budget in fiscal year 2015 in order to boost that rate, Rivera told the City Council at Wednesday’s budget work session. He told them that the city’s food poisoning rates aren’t clear, since many cases go unreported.

At the end of their discussion about the city’s Health and Human Services budget, City Council members briefly touched upon a proposition by the group One Voice Central Texas
to increase that department’s social service contracting budget by $15 million. Council Member Laura Morrison brought up their proposal, which points out that the city is not keeping up with the social service demands. Mayor Lee Leffingwell said the prospect of that increase made his eyes bug out. Kathie Tovo asked for more information from staff about whether the idea was workable. “I’m compelled that there is a really dramatic need in this community to increase those services,” said Tovo.  That work, according to staff, has already begun. The proposed Heath and Human Services Department budget is currently $52.2 million. One Voice Central Texas is a coalition that was established in 1983. It is made up of more than 80 heath and human services nonprofits. Morrison said the group is planning on discussing their plan at this week’s Public Health and Human Services Committee meeting.

Austin native and community advocate Paul Saldaña has announced he will file today to run for the District 6 seat on the Austin Independent School District board. Saldaña has more than 20 years of experience in civic and governmental affairs. He has served on the board of directors for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; as an assistant and staff member for former Mayor Gus Garcia; as Tri-Chair, Austin ISD Community Committee on Neighborhoods & Schools; and as Tri-Chair, Austin ISD Superintendent’s Task Force on Strategic Plan Review. He is currently a board member of the RBJ Geriatric Center and the National Council of La Raza and owns his own public relations firm, Saldaña Public Relations.

On Wednesday, Montopolis resident Stefan Wray filed a complaint with the Ethics Review Commission against District 3 candidate Susana Almanza. His complaint states that in Almanza’s July 15 campaign finance report, 23 individuals who contributed $250 or more to Almanza’s campaign were not identified by occupation or employer, which is a violation of city code. In a news release, Wray explained that he decided to keep a close watch on Almanza’s campaign after a copy of La Voz listed several campaign treasurers from other districts as Almanza supporters. “I decided to file this complaint not because I want to bring financial harm to Almanza and her campaign,” said Wray. “However, I think that Almanza’s lack of attention to detail should send a signal to voters about her capacity to run city government.” When asked for comment, Almanza told the Austin Monitor that the omissions were an error and had been corrected. She pointed out that errors will happen, especially in a field of candidates who may be new to politics, as evidenced by a handful of other candidates in City Council races who had made the same mistake. Almanza said her campaign had clearly been targeted by Wray.

The end of business Monday is the deadline for City Council candidates to file paperwork to get their name on the November ballot. Forms must be filed in the City Clerk’s office at City Hall by 5 p.m. to reserve a place on the ballot for mayor or one of the 10 Council District seats. As of Thursday afternoon, a number of people had filed their paperwork this week, including Todd Phelps in the mayor’s race; DeWayne Lofton and Valerie Menard in District 1; Fred McGee and Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla in District 3; Daniel Buda and Jason Denny in District 5; Mackenzie Kelly and Don Zimmerman in District 6; Pete Salazar Jr. in District 7; Darrell Pierce in District 8; Chris Riley in District 9; and Mandy Dealey in District 10. So far, about 40 of the approximately 90 candidates who filed Campaign Treasurer forms have signed up to get on the ballot. Expect a crowd of candidates Monday at City Hall. The Nov. 4 election will decide the city’s first 10-1 District City Council, or at least the top two candidates in most districts. The runoff election is Dec. 16.