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City Hall
Council to request maximum tax rate calculation
At next week’s meeting, City Council is expected to approve a resolution directing Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo to calculate the property tax rate for next year with an increase of 8 percent above the city’s current maintenance and…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • May 25, 2021
Austin's homeless population remained steady during pandemic, survey shows
Austin’s homeless population has remained steady since last year, according to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition’s annual count. All told, this year’s count found 3,160 people were experiencing homelessness in Austin, ECHO says. The agency says 2,238 people were unsheltered,…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • May 24, 2021
Big-picture look at homelessness downtown shows challenges ahead
A cross-section of representatives briefed the Downtown Commission on Wednesday about an ambitious suite of strategies underway to house unsheltered individuals in Austin. Their message was clear: The city and its partners are doing an enormous amount of work toward providing…
Austin • By Amy Smith • May 21, 2021
Vote would fund new family violence shelter
At today’s meeting, Austin City Council members plan to award a contract for up to $8.1 million over four years to the SAFE Alliance to manage and provide services at a city-owned shelter for those experiencing domestic violence or sexual…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • May 20, 2021
Ethics commissioners dismiss complaint against Harper-Madison
An ethics complaint against Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison was automatically dismissed Wednesday, May 12, after the Ethics Review Commission failed to reach a majority six votes on a motion to postpone or a separate motion to dismiss. The latter…
City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 20, 2021
Early list of potential campsites for the homeless causes stir
City Council weighed in Tuesday on an initial list of 45 city-owned properties that could potentially serve as campsites for people experiencing homelessness, embarking on the logistically and politically fraught process of deciding whether to establish a campsite in each…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • May 19, 2021
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What's the plan for American Rescue Plan money?
After seeing a rough outline of how city staffers plan to spend $143.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to house the homeless, address food insecurity, and provide affordable child care and job training, City Council still had a…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • May 19, 2021
Piecemeal shelters during winter storm highlight need for better coordination
At a meeting Monday to discuss the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council highlighted one of its biggest priorities to prepare for future disasters: strengthening Austin’s network of disaster shelters. Though Council members praised the community and city…
Austin • By Jonathan Lee • May 18, 2021
Zero Waste Advisory Commission talks through logistics of Prop B
With the passage of Proposition B earlier this month, Austin residents voted to reinstate local laws establishing prohibitions against sitting, resting and camping in public in certain parts of the city. Opponents of the proposition argued that in addition to having…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • May 18, 2021
A beloved post office in Hyde Park is closing. The Austin neighborhood wants to know why.
Barbara first heard the rumor from the mailman. Deaton learned the news from her neighborhood listserv. Michele saw the gossip on Facebook. And it was true: The post office that’s sat at the corner of 43rd and Speedway in Hyde…
Austin • By Marisa Charpentier, KUT • May 17, 2021
Budget report reveals Capital Metro has money to spare
On May 12, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority CFO Reinet Marneweck presented the financial report for the 2021 fiscal year to the Capital Metro Board of Directors. The report covered revenue, operating expenses and Capital Metro sales tax as they relate…
Budget • By Seth Smalley • May 17, 2021
Public, Council members push for new emergency plan after winter storm
The head of the city’s new task force examining the impact of Winter Storm Uri says the city must create an updated and far more robust emergency response plan. Sareta Davis, chair of the Winter Storm Review Task Force, also…
