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Council begins to define budget priorities
Despite needing to fill a 5 to 6 percent hole to bring the city’s revenue in line with what it spends, City Council members continued to bat around a mix of ideas Wednesday about how to generate that money. At…
Budget • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 7, 2015
Council may revise Mueller Commission eligibility
Though residents of any Austin neighborhood can currently join the commission that guides City Council on the Mueller development, a proposed ordinance would limit membership to those who live in that community and 24 surrounding neighborhoods. Council members debated the…
Development • By Tyler Whitson • May 7, 2015
AISD, others ask state for $3 billion in new funding
Three members from the Austin Independent School District board stood with more than 20 other school districts at the State Capitol on Wednesday to ask legislators for $3 billion in additional statewide school funding. “For AISD, this figure is vital,”…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • May 7, 2015
Council debates MoPac express lane resolution
Amid mounting opposition to a proposal to add four tolled express lanes to a section of South MoPac Expressway, City Council is considering a resolution that would ask the region’s planning organization to cut the project from its 2040 Regional…
Roads • By Tyler Whitson • May 6, 2015
Travis Commissioners ponder drunk-tank proposal
The Travis County Commissioners Court took another tentative step toward establishing a sobriety center in partnership with the City of Austin at its regular voting session. Perhaps better known colloquially as a drunk tank, the proposed sobriety center would serve as…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • May 6, 2015
Momentum slows on Austin/Travis County EMS bill
A bill that supporters say would bring more transparency to the way Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services workers are decredentialed has slowed after some unanticipated momentum. Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Association President Tony Marquardt has been trying to reform…
EMS • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 6, 2015
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New AISD group to tackle Austin High traffic
This summer, a new interlocal group will propose a solution to address the traffic problems that are expected to slam Austin High School in coming years. At the Austin Independent School District’s Board Dialogue meeting, trustees directed administration to create…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • May 6, 2015
Casar helps trailer park residents sue new owners
City Council Member Greg Casar has added his political support to a legal fight between a low-income mobile home community and the corporation that recently took control of the property. On Monday evening, dozens of North Lamar Community Mobile Home…
Courts • By Caleb Pritchard • May 5, 2015
Barbecue smoke ordinance continues to sizzle
Though City Council turned down the heat on a controversial barbecue smoke mitigation ordinance last month, it did refer the issue to committees for vetting. The Council Health and Human Services Committee took the issue off the back burner Monday,…
Austin • By Tyler Whitson • May 5, 2015
Public Safety Commissioners ask city to go slow on body cameras
The Public Safety Commission approved a draft recommendation Monday urging city staff to proceed carefully before equipping Austin police officers with body cameras. The commission’s recommendations were fourfold: consider any research analyzing the effects of body cameras on police work;…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 5, 2015
City puts a price tag on planning backlog fix
Austin is looking at solutions to fix its plan review backlog, but the fix is going to cost the city. Since the publication of the Zucker Report draft, the Development Services Department has worked to create strategies to eliminate the…
Development • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 5, 2015
Opposition to MoPac lanes grows stronger
Opposition to the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan is escalating as members of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board prepare to take a final vote on the long-range plan next week. City of Austin and Travis County officials…
