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City Hall
Audit accuses parks department leaders of waste
The Office of the City Auditor released a report Tuesday accusing Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley and Assistant Director Liana Kallivoka of giving another employee a “special privilege,” improperly using more than $22,000 worth of sick leave and wasting $39,000 of…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Aug 5, 2020
City to loosen enforcement on food donation charities
Covid-19 has increased food insecurity across Travis County while creating further operational complications for local food banks, soup kitchens and other charitable feeding organizations. To help meet the rising demand, the city is looking to remove some of its structural…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 3, 2020
Study pushes city toward using data, results in plans to address homelessness
The city and organizations working to solve homelessness will adopt a more data-heavy approach to achieving the goals of the 2018 Action Plan to End Homelessness. The move to handle contracts for homeless services in a results-focused way is expected…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 3, 2020
Council OKs short contract to clean up homeless camps
Ten people signed up to tell Council on Wednesday they were opposed to awarding a three-year contract to Relief Enterprise of Texas Inc. for “removal of debris and cleanup services under bridge overpasses, under bridges, and in the transportation right…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Jul 31, 2020
Austin lifts ban on public drinking in East Austin
Lee esta historia en español. No matter what side of the street you’re on, you will soon be on the right side of the law when you walk around East Austin with a beer. Austin City Council approved a resolution…
City Council • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Jul 31, 2020
Austin will start renaming parks, streets, creeks and anything else that honors white supremacy
Austin will reexamine – and could ultimately change – the names of its streets, buildings, parks and creeks that venerate historical racism and the Confederacy. The decision Wednesday from the Austin City Council follows up on a 2018 report from…
City Council • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jul 30, 2020
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Travis County sets the stage for budget discussions in August, proposes 3.6% property tax hike
After an unprecedented year that has required Travis County staff to rework the county’s 2021 financial picture, the Commissioners Court opened public discussions about the upcoming 2021 budget on July 28. Despite predictions earlier this year of catastrophic budget shortfalls,…
Budget • By Jessi Devenyns • Jul 30, 2020
City moving forward with plans for $12M to acquire space for artists, musicians
This week City Council is expected to consider an agreement with the Texas Facilities Commission that will begin the process of acquiring creative spaces around the city using a $12 million bond approved in 2018. The interlocal agreement would approve…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 28, 2020
Music Commission eyes police dollars instead of hotel tax to support Black music fund
Included in the Music Commission’s request to create a Black Live Music Fund may be a suggestion that the city look for money outside of the Hotel Occupancy Tax – including funds intended for law enforcement – to rebuild the…
Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 27, 2020
Hundreds of Austinites demand city reduce police funding, call proposed budget 'insulting'
Austinites waited with their phones on hold, some for over an hour, to tell City Council members Thursday that proposed cuts to the police department’s budget were too small. Residents seeking more profound changes called the cuts a “pittance,” “insulting”…
Budget • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 24, 2020
Black leaders in Austin want to build a racial justice movement that sustains itself for years to come
Black leaders in Central Texas are forming a new coalition called the Black Leaders Collective to address systemic racism. The group has about 40 members, including activists, educators, artists and policymakers who say they want to create meaningful and transformative…
Austin • By Sangita Menon, KUT • Jul 23, 2020
Austin music venues seek $20 million from city to prevent closures
Austin’s Music Venue Alliance plans to ask the city to provide $20 million in aid specifically for music venues that have been closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Music Venue Preservation Fund request was discussed at Wednesday’s…
