Council enacts stronger wage theft protections

City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Thursday to help prevent wage theft by employers.  “Violation of wage laws harms workers and their families,” said Council Member Ann Kitchen, who sponsored a resolution initiating the ordinance. “This ordinance helps ensure they…

Council directs staff to develop 'site plan lite' process

In an attempt to speed up city processing of plans for “missing middle” housing developments, City Council approved a resolution Thursday that sponsors and housing advocates hope will shorten the wait for developers seeking to build triplexes, fourplexes and other…

Clogged wells, ongoing drought gum up Deep Eddy Pool’s opening hours

Deep Eddy Pool is facing delayed opening hours due to drought conditions and the clogged status of two of the wells the city uses to keep the spring-fed pool in operation. Although regular maintenance scheduled for January may alleviate some…

Still more questions than answers approaching Austin Energy rate case vote

City Council appears far from resolved heading into today’s vote on Austin Energy base rates, leaving last Tuesday’s work session with the case’s biggest questions still unanswered. On the top of the list is the issue of revenue requirement, with…

Council working on rules for city-owned property

City Council Member Kathie Tovo has been working on resolutions intended to ensure that city staff follow certain policies when renting or selling city property. The policies relate to the requirements for construction projects, living wage, minority and women-owned business…

Events task force delivers recommendations for managing major gatherings

The city will likely begin collecting and publishing comprehensive information on major events and music festivals in the coming years as part of a widespread revision to the special events ordinance that regulates large gatherings impacting communities and city services.…

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TipSheet: Austin City Council, 12.1.22

As the clock winds down on this iteration of City Council, there is a certain amount of pressure on Council members who are on the way out to cement their legacies and tie up any loose ends before handing over…

Austin leaders brace for state lawmakers to take up bills restricting library content and resources

After Texas lawmakers placed limitations on how Texas teachers approach lessons on history and racism and passed anti-trans legislation in recent sessions, Austin leaders are preparing for further action on these fronts when the Legislature convenes for its 88th session…

Lengthy delay predicted for some environmental rules

Environmentalists looking forward to changes in city regulations requiring new developments to include more green infrastructure may be disappointed to hear that the final piece in that project may be delayed until mid-2024. City Council adopted some of the rules…

City reverses decision, granting variance from compatibility in storage unit case

City Council is set to consider the topic of compatibility on a larger scale Thursday. Meanwhile, the Board of Adjustment took a second swing at the issue on a more granular level, voting at its last meeting to overturn a…

County gets creative to counter 'staggering' number of fentanyl deaths

In the first half of this year, from January to June, 118 people in Travis County died from an overdose of fentanyl. This equaled the number of fentanyl-related overdoses from the entirety of last year. The outsized opioid-overdose figures spurred…

November delivered more rain than usual to Austin, but not enough to shake the drought

It’s been a wet November in Central Texas, with cold, rainy days through the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. That weather might have affected your plans, but was a welcome break from continuing drought. It was also another unusual twist…