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Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
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Key Players & Topics In This Article
annexation: Annexation is the way that cities extend their municipal services, regulations, voting privileges and taxing authority to new land. In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that allows those who would be annexed by the city to vote on their own annexation, slowing the pace of annexation by the city.
Austin City Council: The Austin City Council is the body with legislative purview over the City of Austin. It offers policy direction, while the office of the City Manager implements administrative actions based on those policies. Until 2015, the body contained seven members, including the city's Mayor, all elected at-large. In 2012, City of Austin residents voted to change that system and as of 2015, 10 members of the Council are elected based on geographic districts. The Mayor continues to be elected at-large.
Austin Water Utility: AWU is the municipal utility that provides water service for the City of Austin.
extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ): The unincorporated land within the five miles of the city limits that is not within the city limits or ETJ of another city. Austin is the only municipality authorized to annex land within its ETJ.