Stories by Jo Clifton
Former Council Member and dedicated environmentalist Jackie Goodman has died
Jackie Goodman, 79, who served on the Austin City Council for 12 years starting in 1993, passed away on Tuesday. She had been hospitalized but had come home before her death. She served as Mayor Pro Tem for several years…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Jun 5, 2025
Audit cites city failures to address discrimination, harassment
The city has made some progress in handling discrimination, harassment and retaliation complaints by city employees, but some investigations still fail to follow basic rules for conducting such inquiries, according to an audit conducted by the City Auditor’s Office. Members…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • May 20, 2025
Survey says Austin could benefit from promoting historic structures
The city, interested members of the public and HHM & Associates, Inc. have been working on a survey of historic downtown and near downtown buildings, trails and bridges to identify what landmarks might attract history-minded tourists to Austin. The survey…
Preservation • By Jo Clifton • May 15, 2025
Tax rate election seems likely this November
During the City Council Audit & Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, Kerri Lang, director of the city’s budget office, laid out the steps the city would take in deciding whether to submit a request to voters for a property tax increase…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • May 7, 2025
Developer appeals denial of right-of-way vacation
The Urban Transportation Commission has rejected a request by the owner of one Old West Austin property to vacate right-of-way after hearing objections from the owners of a neighboring property that would be harmed by the street vacation. Commissioners voted…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • May 1, 2025
Austin Energy’s annual report highlights growing demand, help for ratepayers
Austin Energy set new peak demand records for both summer and winter, according to a new report from the utility’s departing General Manager, Bob Kahn. Kahn released the utility’s FY2024 annual report last week. In addition to setting new records,…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Apr 30, 2025
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Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn retiring
Bob Kahn, who has served as general manager of Austin Energy for nearly two years, is officially retiring at the end of June, but he will be leaving his post on April 30. City Manager T.C. Broadnax has announced that…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Apr 25, 2025
Firefighters, city reach agreement on retirement fund
Negotiators for the city and Austin firefighters have finally reached agreement on how to deal with the Austin Firefighter Retirement Fund so that it complies with state law and can promise retirement benefits to current and future retirees. This has…
Fire • By Jo Clifton • Apr 22, 2025
City facing a $33 million deficit for 2026
Given current conditions, the city’s budget analysts are projecting a $33 million shortfall in the city’s General Fund in Fiscal Year 2026, with that number increasing to $79.9 million by FY 2030. City Council heard the bad news from City…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Apr 9, 2025
City looking to fill in gaps after spending or encumbering all ARPA funds
The city has spent or encumbered a total of $188.5 million that it received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. According to a memo to the mayor and City Council, the city met the Dec. 31,…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Apr 8, 2025
SOS suing state agency over failure to provide information on MoPac expansion
The Save our Springs Alliance has filed suit against the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority because of the agency’s failure to release information about the proposed 8-mile expansion of MoPac Expressway South. SOS says that expansion is “one of the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Apr 3, 2025
Tax rate election looks likely for Austin this year
Under state law, Austin is only allowed to raise its tax rate by 3.5 percent without asking voters for permission. That law has been on the books since 2019 without the city scheduling a regular tax rate election. But it…
