Stories by Jo Clifton
Thursday, June 4, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
Committee takes on task of fixing two retirement systems
After hearing about impending problems with two of the city’s retirement systems, the employees retirement system (COAERS) and the Austin police retirement system (APRS), the City Council Audit & Finance Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to designate itself as a legislative…
Tuesday, June 2, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Energy
Cities, Texas Gas Service agree to settlement
Attorneys for Central Texas cities including Austin and Gulf Coast cities including Beaumont and Port Arthur, along with attorneys representing the staff of the Texas Railroad Commission, have reached a settlement agreement with Texas Gas Service for a rate increase…
Friday, May 29, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Zoning
Council OKs rule changes for old Motorola site
Last week City Council gave preliminary approval for a number of changes to an existing land development agreement at the site of the old Motorola chip fabrication facility at 3443 Ed Bluestein Blvd., giving area residents hope for much-needed jobs…
Thursday, May 28, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Police
APD community engagement audit finds some improvement but data lacking
Although the Austin Police Department has put considerable effort into improving its community policing efforts over the past four years and there have been some positive impacts, an audit by the Office of the City Auditor concluded there was insufficient…
Tuesday, May 26, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Council OKs SOS amendment for Lantana tract
With the blessing of the Save Our Springs Alliance, City Council voted unanimously last week to approve a zoning change on the Lantana property at 7415 Southwest Parkway, allowing for the development of multifamily housing instead of the office complex…
Friday, May 22, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
City to exit driver’s license hold contract with DPS
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to direct the city manager to discontinue the city’s participation in a state Department of Public Safety program that places holds on driver’s licenses when people fail to pay or miss payments on class C…
Thursday, May 21, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Zoning
Opposition to RV park diminishes
Although members of the Lower Boggy Creek Neighborhood Association have opposed a zoning change that would allow construction of an RV campground, cafe and convenience store on Delwau Lane, it appears that they will accept the new development after negotiating…
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
UT, city start negotiating a development deal
In response to a City Council request in February, the University of Texas has presented the broad outline of an agreement for developing its Austin properties, including the Brackenridge tract, the Pickle Research Center West, Sematech in East Austin, and…
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Public Safety
Public Safety Commission gives EMS a boost, criticizes APD
On Monday the city’s Public Safety Commission unanimously recommended an additional $2.3 million for Austin-Travis County EMS to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, while rejecting almost every request from the police department for additional funding.The commission also voted to recommend…
Thursday, May 14, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Water
With businesses shut, Austin Water’s revenues fall
Austin Water, which contributed an extra $5 million to the city’s utility customer assistance program and cut rates by 10 percent in an effort to help those affected by the coronavirus, has itself felt the impact of business closures on…
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Zoning
Delwau campground zoning moves forward
A zoning change that would allow property owners to open a campground for recreational vehicles, a convenience store and cafe at 7715 Delwau Lane took the next-to-last step forward last week, as Council approved General Commercial Services-Mixed Use (CS-MU) zoning…
Friday, May 8, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Resources
Council rejects Texas Gas Service rate hike
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to reject new rates proposed by Texas Gas Service. The vote came as no surprise. The decision had strong support from a group of environmental and consumer advocates who wrote a letter to Council last…
Thursday, May 7, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Resolution seeks help to make Austin more resilient
Austin has long been recognized as a leader in green energy and environmental sustainability. Now, under a resolution sponsored by Council Member Leslie Pool, Mayor Steve Adler and Council members Kathie Tovo, Natasha Harper-Madison and Alison Alter, Council is asking…
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Austin
TCAD stands out in not appraising property values this year
The Travis Central Appraisal District stands alone among six districts surveyed in its decision not to update property appraisals this year, according to a special report by the Austin city auditor. The failure to update property values has caused considerable…
Friday, May 1, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Energy
Environmental, consumer groups oppose gas rate hike
Nine leaders of environmental and consumer organizations have sent a letter to the mayor and City Council urging them to reject the rate increase proposed by Texas Gas Service and restructure its rates in a manner designed to help low-income…
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Council hears good news, bad news on coronavirus
Two researchers from the University of Texas Covid-19 Modeling Consortium told Council Tuesday that the orders from Mayor Steve Adler and County Judge Sarah Eckhardt to stay home and avoid spreading the virus have delayed and possibly even prevented a…
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Health & Human Services
Abbott says his order overrides local disaster rules
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday the first phase of reopening the state for business in response to an apparent lessening of Covid-19 cases that have sent the nation into an economic tailspin. Abbott claimed he had the authority to allow…
Friday, April 24, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Planning
Annexation planned for McKinney Falls tract
Sometime in the next few months, the city will likely be annexing a 55-acre tract in Southeast Austin and granting zoning to allow development of the property as a light industrial (LI) site. The matter was on Thursday’s agenda, but…
Thursday, April 23, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Energy
City utilities offering more help with bills
Austin Energy and Austin Water, two enterprise departments that help fund the city’s operations, are giving back to the community in the form of reduced electric and water and wastewater bills during the Covid-19 pandemic. Each utility is also contributing…
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Austin
Austin gets millions to deal with coronavirus
As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to climb, Austin and Travis County learned this week they would receive $170.8 million and $54 million, respectively, from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund to help local governments deal with the crisis.During a…
