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Budget

Forecasters size up city's lost tax revenues from sales, hotels, alcohol due to Covid-19

Early analysis shows the city will lose $1 million per month in mixed beverage taxes while the local bar and restaurant industry is shut down, with a forthcoming economic model expected to give a picture of the loss in sales…

City, county taxes could climb 8 percent under emergency declaration

A provision included in the Texas Legislature’s “property tax transparency” bill could offer jurisdictions across the state, including the city of Austin, the financial flexibility necessary to deal with some of the economic impacts of COVID-19. According to an update…

Public safety departments present preliminary budget requests

Budget season at the city has already begun for the 2021 fiscal year. In preparation for its deep dive into budget requests from the public safety departments, the Public Safety Commission listened to preliminary budget forecasts at its March 2…

TCAD appraisal decision draws Realtors' ire

On Wednesday, Marya Crigler, chief appraiser for the Travis Central Appraisal District, told representatives of nine local school districts that TCAD would not be reappraising most residential properties this year. That means the school districts, as well as Travis County,…

Travis County confronts tricky process in reforming pay for law enforcement

Travis County leaders are determined to reform the pay scale for the county’s 1,450 public safety employees, but they’re not quite sure how to do it. The county has long had separate pay scales for civilian employees and law enforcement…

Report gives Council options for equity in funding for chambers of commerce

An analysis of city funding of four minority-based chambers of commerce has offered recommendations for City Council and staff on how to adjust those annual contributions in the coming years to make them more equitable. A report released last week…

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County commissioners approve Central Health budget

Shortly after approving the county budget, the Travis County Commissioners Court OK’ed the $291 million fiscal year budget for Central Health, the county’s public hospital district. Central Health is a public authority funded by local property taxes that is charged…

Travis County bush

Travis County Commissioners Court approves $1.2 billion budget

The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $1.2 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2019-20 and a corresponding tax increase. The average Travis County homeowner will pay $126 more in county taxes this year as a result…

Capital Metro board approves 2020 budget

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority may still be playing catch-up with some basic comforts like benches, shelters and waste bins at bus stops, but the agency promises to accelerate those smaller efforts while preparing for a high-capacity transit future in…

Central Health budget passes after last-minute questions dominate vote

After a nearly five-hour meeting, Central Health’s volunteer board of managers voted to approve Central Health’s Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget on Wednesday night. During the hours leading up to the vote, multiple board members introduced significant new questions about the…

Commissioners Court dismisses pay pleas from disgruntled employees

On Tuesday, members of the Travis County Commissioners Court responded to claims from two groups of public safety workers who feel unappreciated due to the amount of pay they receive. In both cases, commissioners made it clear that they didn’t…

Travis County considers how to recoup revenue

As the deadline for Travis County’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget draws near, the Commissioners Court is grappling with how to appropriately price county fees and services in anticipation of the 3.5 percent property tax increase cap that will go into…

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