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- Parks Board recommends vendor for Zilker Café, while voicing concerns about lack of local presence
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City Council
Explainer: Open Meetings and the new Council
On their way to postponing an item that would have allowed Mayor Steve Adler to fund office staff positions via dollars raised by a 501(c)3 organization, Austin City Council members Thursday expressed a handful of concerns. As Kara Nuzback reported…
Austin • By Michael Kanin • Feb 16, 2015
Video: 2.12 Council rundown, KXAN
Monitor Publisher Mike Kanin joins KXAN‘s Sally Hernandez for a quick rundown of Council’s February 12 discussions of Mayor Steve Adler’s plan to fund additional office staff with (c)3 dollars and a now-in-process study of a potential 20 percent homestead…
Austin • By Michael Kanin • Feb 15, 2015
Homestead tax exemption moves forward
City Council kick-started a process Thursday that could lead to the city giving homeowners an increased tax exemption on their property tax bills later this year. Council unanimously adopted a resolution that directs city staff to complete a study on…
City Council • By Tyler Whitson • Feb 13, 2015
Council members challenge mayor on privately-funded staff positions
Austin’s new mayor is proposing to hire additional staffers to at no cost to taxpayers. But the idea doesn’t sit well with some council members, who voiced concern over paying for city employees using private funds, as well as the…
Austin • By Kara Nuzback • Feb 13, 2015
Council swiftly adopts new salary rules
A change that will allow City Council members to shift their salaries in order to pay for extra staff passed with little opposition Thursday. The ordinance will allow individual Council members to waive their salaries each year and apply those…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Feb 13, 2015
Council considers homestead exemption timeline
Picking up on one of the most hotly debated campaign issues of the past election, City Council is grappling with what could be the first step in enacting a 20 percent homestead tax exemption. Council discussed a resolution at Tuesday’s…
City Council • By Tyler Whitson • Feb 11, 2015
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Zimmerman struggles to stop subsidized housing
There are only two subsidized housing developments in City Council Member Don Zimmerman’s District 6, as compared to 47 in Council Member Ora Houston’s District 1 and 46 in Council Member Pio Renteria’s District 3, according to data compiled by…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Feb 11, 2015
Council members get their assignments
On Monday, Mayor Steve Adler released a document naming the proposed City Council committee and intergovernmental body appointments, populating the 10 Council committees for the first time. The appointments are on the agenda for the upcoming Council meeting, and they…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Feb 10, 2015
Council discusses water scarcity
With the current central Texas drought showing no signs of abating, City Council sat down with staff and water experts on Monday to discuss the severity of the issue. Sharlene Leurig, who chaired the Austin Water Resource Planning Task Force,…
City Council • By Tyler Whitson • Feb 10, 2015
Mayor's foundation moves quickly to Council vote
Mayor Steve Adler’s plan to increase staff through a nonprofit foundation will be up for a vote this Thursday. The shift promises to be a radical one that could change how business is done at City Hall. Though the details…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Feb 10, 2015
Council OKs restart of firefighter negotiations
As its first major action, the Austin City Council on Thursday approved a resolution directing city management to go back to the bargaining table with the Austin Firefighters Association. But it did not, as initially proposed, direct staff to stop…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Feb 6, 2015
Council discusses future of Imagine Austin
Since its launch, Imagine Austin has inspired debates about affordability, growth, neighborhood autonomy and more. City Council continued this tradition Thursday in a special meeting with city staff and housing stakeholders about the comprehensive plan. The discussion touched on several…
