Newsletter Signup
-
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Most Popular Stories
- Council approves grant award to replace Barton Springs Road Bridge
- Austin Independent School district buys more time for plan to address Dobie Middle School, but prepares for seismic shifts
- Homelessness strategy plan calls for $101M in spending from city, partner groups
- Rite of spring: Dog-killing algae makes an early appearance in Austin waterways
- Firefighters, city reach agreement on retirement fund
-
Discover News By District
-
City Hall
Audit and Finance seeks more input before voting on board and commission changes
The City Council Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday deliberated scaling back about two dozen of the city’s boards, commissions and other governmental bodies but ultimately took no action pending further input from the affected groups. The discussion centered on…
City Hall • By Amy Smith • Feb 20, 2025
City opens new office to address arts, music and cultural needs
The city has announced the creation of a new office that will consolidate the operations of the Music and Entertainment Division and the Cultural Arts Division, in a decision intended to improve support for the city’s creative industries. The new…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 20, 2025
Austin Animal Services Office releases fiscal year statistical report and waives adoption fees
Due to consistent overcrowding, the Austin Animal Center has waived adoption fees for the foreseeable future. Numbers from the Austin Animal Services Office’s statistical report for Fiscal Year 2025 show a continued need for adoptions. Austin Animal Services Office released…
Austin • By Hunter Simmons • Feb 19, 2025
Council approves call for better coordination, planning among downtown projects
The city hopes to bring coordination to the many high-profile projects taking over downtown Austin in the coming years, with the city manager charged with determining the budgetary and planning resources needed throughout the district. On Thursday, City Council approved…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 18, 2025
Austin ISD announces hiring freeze as budget deficit grows to $110 million
Lee esta historia en español Austin ISD will institute a districtwide hiring freeze on March 1 as the school district tries to claw its way out of a financial hole that has grown deeper since the 2024-25 budget was approved in…
Budget • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Feb 18, 2025
How Trump’s federal funding freeze is beginning to affect Austin
On Jan. 31, a U.S. district judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Trump administration from implementing a slew of executive orders that would freeze federal funding programs that allow access to health care, housing, education and other basic…
Austin • By Lina Fisher • Feb 14, 2025
Subscribe to our newsletter
Evaluation will resume this month on proposal to consolidate and eliminate some boards and commissions
Discussions about a proposal from Council Member Ryan Alter to revamp the city’s citizen advisory boards are set to continue. In a City Council Message Board post on Wednesday, Alter provided an update on his December resolution (which Council unanimously…
City Hall • By Mina Shekarchi • Feb 14, 2025
Panelists explore AI's growing role in Austin's economy and policy space
With artificial intelligence quickly penetrating more facets of public and private life every day, policymakers and technology observers in Austin want the city to take advantage of the opportunities presented by AI while also safeguarding against the potential threats from…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 13, 2025
TipSheet: Austin City Council 2.13.25
Today, the Austin City Council will convene for a regular meeting with a manageable agenda that has some issues worth diving into. As usual, we’ve taken a minute to highlight those issues and, as usual, the whole agenda and backup…
TipSheets • By Elizabeth Pagano • Feb 13, 2025
Resource Management Commission recommends against proposed merge
Members of the Resource Management Commission voted unanimously to recommend against a resurrected proposal to merge the RMC with the Zero Waste Advisory Commission, or ZWAC, at a special called meeting on Feb. 3. In their resolution making the “no”…
City Hall • By Miles Wall • Feb 10, 2025
Push to consolidate city boards and commissions draws criticism from UTC
The Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) voiced opposition to a City Council-backed proposal to consolidate several of Austin’s boards and commissions, including a plan to merge the Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC) and Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC) into the UTC. The proposal,…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 6, 2025
Study of arts, music grant programs finds gaps among award recipients
A new study examining how Austin distributes Hotel Occupancy Tax funds for arts and culture programs found that some groups and areas of the city are missing out on the progress being made in helping some historically underserved communities. The…
