As different political clubs around town become engaged in planning for the November election, there’s bound to be a lot of heat and light. Glen Coleman, president of Central Austin Democrats, notes that his club endorsed the $600 million rail bond proposal Wednesday night after considerable discussion. Coleman said, “We had a spirited discussion which I would characterize, frankly, as a mix of anti-rail heat and pro-rail light. Rail prevailed, but it was pretty close.”

Hays County Commissioners have proposed a tax rate of 0.4690 per $100 of assessed valuation for Fiscal Year 2015 and a county budget of $157 million, and have set hearing dates for public comment on both. The proposed tax rate is the same as the current tax year, but since more improved property is on the tax rolls, there would be about $3.6 million more in tax revenue collected. The budget includes $225,000 to complete implementation of a new Computer Aided Dispatch System, $150,000 to continue a new jail facility study, $525,000 for 15 new law enforcement vehicles, as well as funds for upgrading server storage, Wi-Fi for county buildings and video magistration. The funds are also marked for law enforcement personnel raises, a 4 percent cost-of-living raise for elected officials and a 4 percent merit/market adjustment pool for employee raises. Public hearings on the proposed tax rate are set for Sept. 2. and Sept. 9 at the Hays County Courthouse. A public hearing on the county’s proposed budget is set for Sept. 16 in the same location.

As part of its budgetary wish list given to the city’s Emerging Technology and Telecommunications Committee, Austin Public Library is hoping to get $3,000 for a bikemobile, a greener alternative to the commonly used bookmobile. The bikemobile would include a custom bike with a Wi-Fi hot spot that could both check out books and issue library cards, said Toni Lambert, the library’s assistant director for public services, to committee members Wednesday. The library is hoping for a total budgetary increase of $349,000, which would allow the library to hire a programmer to build mobile apps. But Lambert said that any one item within its requests would make a difference.

As part of the budget process, Transportation Director Robert Spillar mentioned some new parking meter districts could be on the horizon. These districts come at the behest of neighborhoods, who asked the city to consider their areas for meters to address parking congestion. Spillar said his department is currently considering meters in near-East Austin between Eighth and Sixth Streets (presumably along the fairly new and congested East Side bar district) and in an area of the Mueller development near the commercial zone. Spillar said his department responds to requests from neighborhoods and only determines whether they will get meters after conducting a study. Amazingly, the discussion circled back to the Butler Park Pitch and Putt, which has metered street parking along Lee Barton Drive. Spillar explained that these meters were not part of a parking meter district, but a response to people parking on that road long-term for work and use of street parking by nearby businesses.

Tuesday’s budget talks sparked a trip down memory lane for Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who chaired the 2007 Water Conservation Committee. During a discussion about individual water meters for multifamily housing, which was a recommendation from the committee that has yet to be implemented, Leffingwell noted that it might be interesting to see what recommendations had actually taken hold in the past seven years. “I would be curious. The city actually got a Conservationist of the Year Award from the American Waterworks Association for that program. I would be interested to see how much we have done, and if we have to give that award back,” he said. Austin Water Utility Assistant Director David Anders said that, as far as he knew, all of the “major” recommendations had been implemented, but Leffingwell recalled several, presumably “non-major” ones that had not. Those included water-free rinsing stations for dentists, carwash appliance transitions, and soil depth regulations.

At Tuesday’s budget work session, Assistant City Manager Sue Edwards said Austin Bergstrom International Airport is the third-fastest growing airport in the country and has surpassed 10 million passengers. Airport Executive Director Jim Smith laid out more good news for the city, with ABIA revenues climbing to a projected $122.8 million for 2015. Budget writers are projecting more money from terminal rentals and related fees, continued growth in the number of passengers and more revenue from concessions.

The Austin City Clerk’s office will conduct the much-anticipated 2014 Ballot Draw on Wednesday afternoon at City Hall. The drawing will determine the order of candidates’ names on the November ballot for the mayoral and City Council elections. City Clerk Jannette Goodall will do the honors by randomly drawing candidate names by district. Officials expect the drawing to attract more interest than past ballot draws, since it is being held for the first election under the city’s new 10-1 single-member district system. The event is set for 1 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room, but if you can’t make it, you can catch it live on ATXN (Cable Channel 6) and on the city website.

The department that receives and responds to complaints about nuisances and dangerous structures shall henceforth be known simply as the Austin Code Department. Department Director Carl Smart unveiled the new name at Tuesday’s budget briefing. The department is expecting to investigate 19,000 complaints this coming year. In 2013, the department investigated 17,779 complaints, and the projected number for 2014 is 18,500. In the coming year, Smart said, the department intends to establish a program for enforcing the universal recycling ordinance and will continue to expand the multifamily inspection and repeat offender programs.

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.