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City Hall
City faces challenge in managing software licenses
The city does not have complete information on what software licenses it has or how much those licenses are costing, according to a report from the city auditor’s office. Auditors reported Wednesday that the city spent $7.4 million in Fiscal…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Nov 19, 2020
Black coalition says Austin should pay out millions in restitution for long-ignored systemic racism
Black residents are calling on Austin to address decades of racism, inequity and displacement, demanding the city move to potentially provide as much as half a billion dollars in restitution for the Black community. Roughly 50 Black Austinites of all…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Nov 17, 2020
City revives a New Deal program to put people back to work
Lee esta historia en español. The city of Austin is putting up to $2 million toward a new employment program that helps organizations hire people financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Austin Civilian Conservation Corps is modeled after a…
Austin • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Nov 16, 2020
Council not yet sold on street impact fee plan
City Council passed the first of three readings for a street impact fee program on Thursday, marking a milestone in the multi-year effort to guarantee that developers help carry the cost of adding new transportation infrastructure. Council approved the first…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Nov 13, 2020
Austin OKs million-dollar contract to audit police department
The city of Austin has agreed to pay a New York City-based consultant up to $1.3 million to investigate racism and bigotry in the Austin Police Department, including looking into materials used to train new officers and reviewing instances where…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Nov 13, 2020
Renteria opposes East Austin location for court
Council Member Pio Renteria expressed dismay at Tuesday’s work session over the Downtown Austin Community Court’s planned relocation to East Austin. Renteria told his colleagues he had just found out about the proposal to lease 30,000 square feet of office space at…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Nov 11, 2020
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The pitfalls of being an Austin service industry worker during Covid-19
Gina Dvorak has been working since she was 16 – she’s never not had a job. So when she was furloughed from the serving job she’s held for over 10 years at an Austin Japanese restaurant, she fell into a…
Austin • By Alyssa Weinstein • Nov 3, 2020
City ethics commission wrestles with access during pandemic
In its previous, pre-pandemic incarnation, the city’s Ethics Review Commission met in a back room of City Hall that was often jammed full of commissioners, accusers, defenders, and occasionally, reporters. But the meetings were open to the public, and once…
City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 2, 2020
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…
City Charter • By Ryan Thornton • Oct 30, 2020
New collective continues the fight to dismantle systemic racism
Mayor Steve Adler and a coalition of community activists launched a new nonprofit organization earlier this month, creating an entity to succeed the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities and bring many of its 278 recommendations to…
Austin • By Miriam E Jewell • Oct 30, 2020
Neighborhoods free to reimagine Halloween as APH lays out recommendations
Austin neighborhoods are working to reimagine Halloween, with families and households strategizing how to balance safety and fun in an effort to preserve the spooky holiday amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Austin Public Health issued a statement Oct. 9 regarding recommendations for…
Austin • By Jasmine Lopez • Oct 27, 2020
City considers racial equity in Hotel Occupancy Tax distribution
Earlier this month, the city’s Economic Development Department provided an update and offered a handful of recommendations for how it plans to use Hotel Occupancy Tax funds to achieve greater racial equity in Austin. The three high-level recommendations mainly have…
