Public Safety
Friday, May 23, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Politics
Council members concerned about handling of employee overpayment
Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and Council Member Bill Spelman, who both sit on the Council’s Audit and Finance Committee, as well as a local attorney with expertise in employment law, have expressed concern over the city’s handling of an…
Friday, May 16, 2014 by Elizabeth Pagano
Development
Council OKs two measures to speed buyouts in flood-prone areas
More than six months have passed since Austin’s Halloween flood. At nearly 1 a.m. Friday, Onion Creek residents gathered at City Hall learned that relief may be in sight in the form of an expanded city buyout program. Two…
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Public Safety
Clerical error causes city to overpay EMS employee by $200,000
The City of Austin has overpaid a former Austin/Travis County paramedic by perhaps as much as $200,000 over an eight-year period that began in 2004. Though the problem was first discovered in 2011, it took until 2013 for the city…
Tuesday, May 13, 2014 by Elizabeth Pagano
Politics
Spelman continues to press police department on budget increases
With no attempt at coyness, Council Member Bill Spelman kicked off his questioning about the Austin Police Department budget during last week’s budget work session saying, “This is a ritual, we’ve done it for years – I’ll do it again.”…
Friday, May 9, 2014 by Heydn Ericson
Politics
Austin Fire Chief explains to Council why she can’t expand service
Ranks of the Austin Fire Department are down by 76 members and that number is growing every month as veterans retire, according to Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr. Kerr says at that rate, the department would have around 100 vacancies…
