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Integral Care, Austin's largest mental health care provider, approves 48 layoffs in next budget

Integral Care, the mental health authority for Austin-Travis County, voted Thursday to approve a budget that eliminates nearly 10 percent of its positions. Along with the 48 individuals who were identified for layoffs, 67 vacant positions were also cut. Employees…

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Garza announces more changes at City Hall

A new memo outlines yet another shake-up at the city courtesy of interim City Manager Jesús Garza. City Council reappointed Garza interim city manager in February, following a vote that fired City Manager Spencer Cronk from the position. Since then,…

Judge declares city campaign contribution blackout period unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday declared an Austin regulation on campaign fundraising unconstitutional. The regulation prohibits candidates for City Council seats from seeking or accepting campaign contributions more than a year before an election. Pitman issued his ruling…

Council approves push to make air conditioning a requirement in Austin

This summer, a stretch of hot, dry weather in Austin has tested everyone’s patience. The record-high heat has also posed a danger to those not lucky enough to feel the relief of air conditioning. A new City Council resolution looks…

Dianna Grey, Austin’s strategy officer for homelessness, has resigned

Dianna Grey, who has served as Austin’s strategy officer for homelessness since the beginning of 2021, has resigned. Interim City Manager Jesús Garza said in an emailed statement, “Dianna will certainly be missed, and I am sorry to see her…

Council pushes for tweaks to new hotel tax envisioned to help serve homeless population

A hotel tax mechanism long eyed as a source of funding for homelessness services goes before City Council for possible approval today. It could face considerable scrutiny based on the structure of the deal, which some members see as unfavorable…

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TipSheet: City Council, 8.31.23

Thursday’s City Council agenda has a variety of things going on – a tour of city issues, if you will. We’ve done our best to pick the highlights from the agenda but, as always, the entire thing is available online for…

Ethics commission reprimands Velásquez

City Council Member Jose Velásquez has been found to be in violation of city code by the Ethics Review Commission, which voted Wednesday to issue a letter of admonition over failures to identify income and board tenure.  Following Velásquez’s recusal…

Pilot program to give small, local businesses preferences for city contracts

In October, the city will begin a two-year pilot program that will attempt to give preference for some contracting opportunities for small and locally owned businesses. At Wednesday’s meeting of City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee, staff from the city’s…

Audit finds police department backlog of 20,000 public information requests

The Austin Police Department recently had a backlog of more than 20,000 public information requests, causing some requests to wait for more than a year to receive a response, according to a recent city audit. That audit also found APD…

Site plan appeal reveals city tech failings at ZAP

Though an appeal to a site plan extension failed at the Zoning and Platting Commission’s most recent meeting Aug. 15, the case exposed what happened after mayoral declaration to help development held up by the pandemic went into effect. In…

Financial justice nonprofit gets boost to expand services

A local financial justice nonprofit group will be able to expand its services in Austin and around the state dramatically with a $250,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. The banking giant’s gift will let Financial Health Pathways more than…

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