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Elections
Austinites file to run for new Council seats
(Reporter Gene Davis assisted in the preparation of this story.) By the end of business Monday, the Austin City Clerk’s Office had assisted 76 78 Austinites wishing to serve their community as members of the new 10-1 City Council. There were…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Aug 19, 2014
No ballot question on Onion Creek buyout
The question of whether Austin should buy out 240 at-risk homes in the Onion Creek floodplain will not go before voters in November. During a special called meeting Friday, Austin City Council voted 5-1 against putting the buyout…
Elections • By Gene Davis • Aug 18, 2014
Council OKs rail ballot tweak; foes protest
Austin City Council members Thursday approved what they called a clarifying language change to what is now a November mobility bond ballot question. As they did so, they continued to hear vocal opposition from a handful of opponents to the…
Local Politics • By Michael Kanin • Aug 15, 2014
Council punts decision on AE reserves
The Austin City Council decided with a 4-3 vote Thursday to postpone a decision to transfer $30 million from Austin Energy’s Operating Fund to its Strategic Reserve Contingency Fund as requested by staff in order to bring the utility closer to complying…
Local Politics • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 15, 2014
Library staff holds the line on 2015 funds
Despite the imminence of a glowing new Central Library on the horizon, the library department kept it humble Wednesday afternoon. As part of the city’s budget process, City Council heard from Brenda Branch, director of the Austin Public Library department.…
Local Politics • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 14, 2014
Background checks for dog walkers ?
Fingerprinting and an eight-week wait for a background check … to walk shelter dogs? At Wednesday’s City Council budget work session, Council Member and mayoral candidate Mike Martinez noted that some would-be Austin Animal Center volunteers decide to help elsewhere…
Local Politics • By Jenny Blair • Aug 14, 2014
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Council hears feedback on boards and commissions transition
City Council heard opinions last week about a plan to move its massive boards and commissions network to the new 10-1 Council system next year. As anticipated, there were several complaints. The Boards and Commissions Transition Task Force issued its…
Local Politics • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 14, 2014
Statesman endorses plan for homestead exemption; Martinez, Cole react
The American-Statesman in its Wednesday edition came out in favor of a 20 percent homestead exemption as proposed by mayoral candidate Steve Adler. The other major contenders, Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and Council Member Mike Martinez have criticized Adler’s…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Aug 14, 2014
Council meetings to consider utility fund, rail ballot, flood buyouts
The Austin City Council will hold two special called meetings this week, one Thursday following the Council Committee on Austin Energy, and one Friday at 1p.m. Thursday’s meeting includes consideration of whether to allow the utility to transfer $30 million…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Aug 13, 2014
Ethics Review Commission dismisses complaint against Neslund
The Ethics Review Commission dismissed a complaint Tuesday night that Melissa Neslund should have registered as a lobbyist, after a hearing that chair Austin Kaplan called perhaps the board’s most contentious. A special called meeting of the commission weighed whether…
Local Politics • By Jenny Blair • Aug 13, 2014
Pay raise for Travis County employees in limbo
Travis County elected officials will not get a pay raise next year, following a recommendation by the Planning and Budget Office that the Commissioners Court unanimously approved Tuesday. Other county employees, with few exceptions, will have to wait to find out whether…
Local Politics • By Beth Cortez-Neavel • Aug 13, 2014
Property tax relief hot topic at mayoral forum
During the South Austin Democrats‘ mayoral candidate forum Tuesday night, candidate Steve Adler defended his position in support of a citywide 20 percent homestead tax exemption. Fellow mayoral candidates Mike Martinez and Sheryl Cole have blasted Adler’s flat 20 percent…
