City Charter
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 by Jo Clifton
City Charter
Groups ready to battle over strong mayor
The group Austinites for Progressive Reform, which wants to replace Austin’s council-manager form of government with a strong mayor form of governance, submitted 24,000 signatures to City Clerk Jannette Goodall on Monday in an effort to place four charter amendments on…
Friday, October 30, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
City Charter
City departments may now deal with small-scale violations
City Council unanimously approved a change to city code Thursday that will allow the Office of the City Auditor to refer small-scale secondary employment misuse cases to the city manager’s office. In cases where a city employee is found using…
Thursday, September 10, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
City Charter
Coalition publishes draft amendments for modified local democracy
In a city where an appointed city manager administers policy, midterm mayoral elections are decided by a wealthier and whiter electorate, costly runoff elections draw a fraction of eligible voters, and nearly 70 percent of all City Council campaign contributions…
Thursday, August 27, 2020 by Nina Hernandez
City Charter
Human Rights Commission calls for democratically elected police chief
On Monday, the Human Rights Commission agreed that City Council should change city ordinance to allow Austin to democratically elect its police chief. Under the proposal, which was put together by commissioners Nathan White, Kristian Caballero and Alicia Weigel, Austin…
Friday, August 14, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
City seeks diversity in applicants tasked with redrawing Council district map
Just over six weeks ahead of the application deadline, the Office of the City Auditor is seeking candidates from Latino and other minority groups interested in helping to create the city’s next City Council district map. Applications for the Independent…
Tuesday, July 21, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
City Charter
Push for 2021 charter amendments could make Austin a ‘strong mayor’ city
A new group of community activists and political insiders intends to push for amendments to the city charter that could bring about a change to a “strong mayor” form of government, along with other changes focused on increasing voter turnout…
