At a news conference called in support of potential new City of Austin municipal identification cards, District 4 City Council candidate Greg Casar got a prime spot next to sitting Council Member Laura Morrison and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole. Casar, as did all assembled before the mic, spoke in favor of the IDs, citing a number of public safety concerns. The politics here are also worth noting. Morrison, after all, was forced to quash a rumor (in these pages) that she’d be support Casar opponent Laura Pressley in the November elections. Though she didn’t indicate her favorite in her part of that statement, she did say that there was a candidate that she preferred.

Charles Schwab, a San Francisco-based brokerage and banking corporation, wants an $8.5 million economic incentive agreement from Travis County to expand its offices in Austin. If the Travis County Commissioners Court approves the motion at Tuesday’s meeting, the corporation will also get $4.5 million from the state. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce support the agreement, while local taxpayer organizations like ChangeAustin.org oppose. Under the agreement, the corporation would invest $210 million, build 250,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space on a 50-acre plot and hire 823 new employees.

As part of the budget process, Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole asked for a breakdown of revenue collected and fees assessed for the city’s Short Term Rental registration program this past year. So far, the results have been less than lucrative for the city. As of May 31, 2014, the city projects that its total revenue from licensing the 929 Type I, Type II and Type III rentals will be $255,210 for Fiscal Year 2014. The estimated cost of administering the program is $301,462 for that same year. That’s a loss of $46,252. However, a question from Council Member Chris Riley showed that those rentals generated more than $1.4 million in hotel/motel/STR occupancy tax revenue in 2014, so maybe it’s not as bad as all that.

The Travis Central Appraisal District’s request to increase its Fiscal Year 2015 is on the schedule for the county’s annual budget hearings. TCAD will get the last slot of the hearings on Aug. 11, when Travis County Commissioners will discuss amendments to the Planning and Budget Office’s preliminary FY 2015 budget. Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler appeared at the court’s regular session Tuesday to ask that the county contribute $2.9 million more to their budget than last year, out of a total $3.2 million needed from all the taxing entities that contribute to TCAD’s budget. The money would go to fund district court litigation on appraisal protests from commercial properties, hire new appraisal staff to handle the increased work volume and hire an impartial expert to research sales information.

At Tuesday’s Council works session, the Austin City Council discussed a proposed interlocal agreement between the city and the Texas A&M University System that would investigate potential future uses of unmanned aerial vehicles (better known as drones) and other robotics in emergency response situations. Austin Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Davis stated that the agreement would have no fiscal impact on the City, and that “the technology has promise.” Davis explained that the goal of the four-year project is to have developed a plan for implementing the technology by its end. Council Member Bill Spelman, who requested that the item be discussed, expressed concern about the way that such a project may be perceived by the public. He suggested that the Fire Department split the program into four, year-long projects, with progress reports at the end of each year.

Although he said he is happy not to be running for elective office again, Mayor Lee Leffingwell says he is indeed campaigning – for the transportation bond on the November ballot. He will hold a news conference at 9:30 this morning right before the Council meeting begins to explain how the bond election will be framed. Leffingwell said that in addition to the $600 million for rail, the ballot proposition would outline $400 million in bonds to fund the strategic mobility plan. The ballot language, he said, will specifically name the highways to be upgraded, such as I-35. In addition, he stressed that the ballot language would also contain the proviso that the city not borrow any money for the rail project until matching funds have been secured from the Federal Transit Administration.

The Travis Central Appraisal District’s request to increase its Fiscal Year 2015 is on the schedule for the county’s annual budget hearings. TCAD will get the last slot of the hearings Aug. 11, when Travis County Commissioners will discuss amendments to the Planning and Budget Office’s preliminary FY 2015 budget. Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler appeared at the court’s regular session Tuesday to ask that the county contribute $2.9 million more to their budget than last year, out of a total $3.2 million needed from all the taxing entities that contribute to TCAD’s budget. The money would go to fund district court litigation on appraisal protests from commercial properties, hire new appraisal staff to handle the increased work volume and hire an impartial expert to research sales information.

A resolution sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and co-sponsored by Council Members Laura Morrison and Bill Spelman seeks to explore the feasibility of a municipally issued identification card for Austin. Council will consider initiating a stakeholder process at today’s Council meeting. Cole said there are critical barriers to housing, banking and other basic services that can be addressed with proper access to identification. “We believe that a program like this would also help address the under-reporting of crimes of public safety and personal injury, such as domestic violence, by those without state-issued documentation,” she said. Austin would join cities like New Haven, Connecticut, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and New York that are exploring or have implemented a Municipal ID program. Cards in other cities have also consolidated additional services such as library cards, bus passes or pre-paid debit cards. The sponsors, along with community supporters of the plan, will outline the program in a news conference at 9 a.m. at the County Commissioners chambers.

The park at 3000 Del Curto Road remains unnamed today. City Council took up the naming of the park for a third time and second vote on Thursday. Council members remained split, with Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council Members Mike Martinez, Chris Riley and Bill Spelman voting in favor of naming the park Tom Lasseter Park after one-time owner and notable Austinite Tom Lasseter. Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and Council Members Laura Morrison and Kathie Tovo voted in opposition. Because the vote was 4-3, the name was approved only on second reading, and will require a third vote to pass. Tovo said that she appreciated all of the conversation about the park naming. She explained that while Tom Lasseter might be worthy of an honor in the city, the hard work of the neighborhood in building this particular park made her favor naming the park South Lamar Neighborhood Association Park.

Austin Bergstrom International Airport continues to set records for passenger traffic. June was the busiest month in the airport’s history, with a 6 percent increase in traffic to 968,545 passengers. That tops the previous record of 942,825, set in March 2014. It marks the second time the monthly record has been broken this year and sixth time in the past 16 months. Almost all of the airport’s carriers showed year-to-year traffic gains in June, while three new airlines — British Airways, Allegiant Air and Aeromar — began service in recent months. Air cargo tonnage continued to drop in June, off 6 percent.

If you are going to the Austin City Council meeting at any time today, remember that it is being held in the Commissioners Chambers on the first floor of the Travis County Building at 700 Lavaca Street. Austin City Hall’s Council Chambers are being renovated and are not available.

A well-known rail opponent, Jim Skaggs, has been appointed treasurer of a PAC to be known as “Citizans against Rail Taxes.” Seriously, that’s what it says on the front page of the filing. Citizens is spelled in the more traditional way on Page 2 where he declares the group is opposed to whatever rail proposition appears on the Nov. 4 ballot.