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 Citizens Redistricting Commission are due by Sept. 30. That group will convene next year and […]
City Charter
Posted inCity 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 and impact on city operations. Austinites for Progressive Reform, which has formed as a specific-purpose […]
Posted inCity Charter
Paxton files suit against planning commissioners
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is once again challenging the makeup of Austin’s Planning Commission. In a suit filed Tuesday, Paxton asks to remove Fayez Kazi, James Shieh, Greg Anderson, Claire Hempel and/or Patrick Howard from the Planning Commission “because one or more of them unlawfully hold a position on the Commission.” The suit is […]
Posted inCity Charter
Paige Ellis represents sharp political shift for Southwest Austin’s District 8
Paige Ellis, the incoming City Council member for District 8, has very different political views from her predecessor, Ellen Troxclair, who spent the last two years as the only Republican on Council. Ellis, who made her affiliation with the Democratic Party central to her campaign, triumphed over Republican Frank Ward in the Dec. 11 runoff […]
Posted inCity Charter
Ethics Review Commission weighs in on potential charter changes
In the midst of discussions about soccer stadiums, CodeNEXT and the 2018 bond, the Charter Review Commission is asking citizens to consider one more thing: changes to the city charter. At its June 13 meeting, members of the Ethics Review Commission tweaked the proposed charter change language and recommended that City Council consider implementing their […]
Posted inCity Charter
Changes ahead for Planning Commission?
At this week’s meeting, City Council is scheduled to consider changes to how members of the city’s Planning Commission are selected. The city attorney’s office has offered two alternative approaches – one of which could have a radical impact on the number of engineers, architects and other design professionals allowed to serve on the commission. […]
Posted inCity Charter
Should the auditor’s office be exempt from municipal civil service?
Having an independent auditor’s office is integral to running a city where checks and balances fulfill their intended function. Independence, however, is not always easy to maintain, and in Austin, the Office of the City Auditor is working to balance its autonomy with still allowing its employees access to city-based benefits. On March 5, Jason […]
Posted inCity Charter
Post Prop 1, city begins community conversations about citizen petitions
In a dark room usually reserved for musical performances in South Austin’s Strange Brew coffee shop, four Austin residents met on Monday to talk about the process of citizen petitions — the most recent of which resulted in Proposition 1 — and the debate over local regulations for ride-hailing companies. “(City) Council is considering this […]
Posted inCity Charter
Too many land-use professionals?
At Monday’s City Council Audit and Finance Committee meeting, Council members rejected the idea of allowing the Environmental Commission to have five land-use professionals among its 11 members. The current rules governing membership on the Environmental Commission allow for only three land-use professionals, but because there are currently more than three members involved professionally in […]
Posted inCity Charter
Austin Monitor Radio: Council Member Don Zimmerman
Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman joins Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about abstentions, annexation, and the rest of his term-so-far. Sponsored by Austin Water. Post is embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258030852″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inPremium Types
TickTock: Austin City Council meeting 4.7.2016
TickTock is the sortable-by-item-number transcript of Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin’s Twitter feed from City Council. Click on the item number to scroll to the corresponding tweets. ITEMS 6 7 9 16 17 19 23 32 34 Tick Tock Participants: MKanin 219 nanieneavel 1 DanKeshet 1 Thursday, April 07, 2016 9AM Checking in from #atxcouncil. […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council
Austin Monitor Radio: The (early) impact of 10-1
Khotan Shabazi-Harmon of Leadership Austin’s 2015 Essential Class joins Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about her impressions of the City of Austin’s new 10-1 system and the Leadership Austin report on geographic representation. The program is embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/235248989″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]