Travis County assessments and tax bills both going up

Tax bills for Travis County taxpayers are going up again, but if commissioners adopt staff recommendations, the increase for most property owners will not be as great as originally estimated. On the average property, bills will increase by about $45…

Council to consider settlement in historic landmark lawsuit

The City Council will consider changes this week to regulations governing historic zoning as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged the way it has been granting tax exemptions to owners of historic properties.   In the lawsuit…

Public safety panel to seek at least 10 additional 911 operators

The city’s Public Safety Commission will recommend that the City Council approve 10 more 911 operators for the city’s emergency communications center. That suggestion, which will come in the form of a memo from commission chair Michael Lauderdale, will also…

Council reluctantly rejects appeal of on-site sewage line permit

A Council discussion about an on-site sewage facility turned into a debate about the city’s authority over infrastructure in far west annexed areas of the city. Even as they voted against an appeal to stop construction of the facility, Council…

Report measures results of Travis County workforce development programs

The results of a lengthy study of Travis County’s involvement in a host of local employment assistance programs are in and by the looks of it, the county’s partnership with at least one – Capital IDEA – is working out…

Tovo, Morrison reject upzoning in two downtown cases

Laura Morrison and Kathie Tovo are Council’s two most neighborhood-centric allies, but the pair stood against neighborhood wishes, and their colleagues, on two downtown zoning cases at last week’s Council meeting.   Tovo’s choice to pull a zoning case on…

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Commission warns city on Austin Energy non-energy expenditures

Is the City of Austin using Austin Energy as its own version of an ATM?   This week the advisory Electric Utility Commission (EUC) once again came out strongly against the City Council’s use of millions of dollars of Austin…

Council members balk at proposal to close two recreation centers

A proposal by the City of Austin‘s Parks and Recreation Department to cut the funding for the Austin Recreation Center at 12th and Lamar and the Dottie Jordan Recreation Center on Loyola Lane in Northeast Austin will run into questions…

Council members balk at proposal to close two recreation centers

A proposal by the City of Austin‘s Parks and Recreation Department to cut the funding for the Austin Recreation Center at 12th and Lamar and the Dottie Jordan Recreation Center on Loyola Lane in Northeast Austin will run into questions…

Urban Board a no-show for meeting with Planning Commission

A meeting between the Planning Commission and the Urban Renewal Board, more than two years in the making, failed to materialize last week since there is currently no strategy for East 12th Street.   The non-meeting meeting was placed on…

Contractors seek to link Formula 1 participation to OSHA training

Council members approved a resolution Thursday mandating 10 hours of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training for all construction workers participating in city projects as well as a 30-hour OSHA approved safety training requirement for all construction supervisors working…

Council votes 5-2 to analyze cost of stopping water plant construction

The drama over whether to build Water Treatment Plant 4 continued this week as if it had not be planned, discussed, promoted and opposed for the past 35 years.   On Thursday, the Austin City Council passed a resolution that…