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City Hall
City tax bills could go down for 2022
City Council’s decision to enact a 20 percent maximum homestead exemption will save the typical homeowner $33 on next year’s tax bill if Council members decide to go along with City Manager Spencer Cronk’s proposed 3.5 percent increase in the…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Aug 6, 2021
Designated campsite strategy remains in limbo
On Thursday, City Council members had their most in-depth discussion about designated encampments for homeless people since voting unanimously to explore the strategy back in May. Still, much remains uncertain. Last week, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison and Council Member…
Budget • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 6, 2021
A Council resolution floats safety-minded changes on Sixth Street. Some are more controversial than others.
In response to a recent spate of violence on Sixth Street, City Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday that sets out to tackle long-neglected safety problems in the area. If the proposed changes in the resolution come to fruition after…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 3, 2021
Council sets maximum tax rate
City Council took the first step toward setting next year’s property tax rate by voting Thursday to designate the maximum tax rate for Fiscal Year 2021-22 at 55.42 cents per $100 valuation. On a vote of 9-2, they followed staff…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Jul 30, 2021
Council may abandon designated campsite strategy
City Council members Paige Ellis and Natasha Harper-Madison have announced that they will not support designated campsites for people experiencing homelessness, casting doubt on the viability of a strategy Council adopted in May. “After a week of extremely difficult conversations,…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 28, 2021
Some board and commission meetings may stay virtual
Will the future of city board and commission meetings be in-person or virtual? Based on discussion at Wednesday’s Audit and Finance Committee, perhaps both. The committee decided to further study the feasibility of allowing hybrid or entirely virtual meetings after…
City Hall • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 26, 2021
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Wanted: More residents to participate in city redistricting hearings
Austin commissioners charged with redrawing the boundaries of 10 City Council districts clearly have their work cut out for them. For one, they’re obligated to hold public hearings in each of the 10 districts, yet the first two forums drew…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Jul 26, 2021
Police spending proves top concern in first budget comment session
Community members weighed on the city manager’s preliminary budget proposal Thursday before a mostly in-person City Council – the first in-person meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. A vast majority of speakers criticized the proposed police spending, arguing that…
Budget • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 23, 2021
Redistricting commission races to fulfill its mission in short time frame
With a Nov. 1 deadline just months away, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is moving at an unusually fast pace to hold public hearings in each City Council district, draft new district lines based on delayed 2020 census data, gather…
Austin • By Amy Smith • Jul 23, 2021
Animal Advisory Commission looks to reform operations at city shelter
At last week’s meeting of the Animal Advisory Commission, commissioners voted to form a working group aimed at addressing the ongoing capacity crisis at the Austin Animal Center. The move came after Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland sent a…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jul 22, 2021
Mayor Steve Adler on meeting the challenges of 2021
The city and its leaders have faced multiple challenges in the past 16 months: Covid-19, homelessness, Winter Storm Uri and the failure of the Texas power grid, and the Texas Legislature’s continuing attempts to limit the choices Austin and other…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Jul 20, 2021
City says two sites could serve as temporary encampments for homeless Austinites
Austin has found two city-owned sites that could serve as camps for people living outdoors. One of the potential campsites is on Manor Road in East Austin and the other is on Convict Hill Road in South Austin, according to…
