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Little support for reducing utility transfers
At the end of Wednesday’s City Council budget work session about transfers from Austin Energy and Austin Water to the city’s General Fund, Chief Financial Officer Elaine Hart asked Council members to weigh in on whether they support continuing the…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • May 26, 2016
City considers providing fire service to Travis County ESD4
After years of city annexations, Travis County Emergency Services District 4 (ESD4) should no longer have its own fire department, ESD4 Fire Chief David Bailey told the City Council Public Safety Committee on Monday. When it was founded as Travis County…
Fire • By Jack Craver • May 26, 2016
Casar campaign kicks off election season
District 4 City Council Member Greg Casar launched his campaign for re-election early Monday morning on the steps of City Hall. In doing so, Casar also unofficially kicked off the campaign season for the upcoming November election, where five Council…
Elections • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 10, 2016
Council debates social service spending
Divisions within City Council over spending on social services were put into sharp relief Thursday as the Health and Human Services Department asked city leaders to approve a 6 percent boost in funding for nonprofit agencies with which the city…
City Council • By Jack Craver • Apr 1, 2016
Council votes to retain vacant positions, for now
How big of a problem is an unfilled position in city government? Is it even a problem at all? A brief City Council debate on Thursday illustrated some strong differences of opinion among city leaders on the issue. Prompting the…
City Council • By Jack Craver • Mar 28, 2016
Travis Dems target Capital Metro with labor resolution
The Travis County Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind the effort to provide rigorous protections for construction workers hired to build a massive infill project on land owned by the Capital Metro Transportation Authority. At the party’s annual convention…
Development • By Caleb Pritchard • Mar 21, 2016
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AISD looks into becoming "innovation" district
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard a proposal that could provide the district with more flexibility in its establishment of school hours, student-to-teacher ratios and teacher benefits, among other things. According to AISD Superintendent Paul…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Mar 9, 2016
Public Safety Commission wished for input in TNC talks
Although the issue long ago passed them up, members of the Public Safety Commission on Monday discussed the implications of City Council’s controversial vote in December imposing new regulations on ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft – also known…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Mar 9, 2016
County pulls plug on charging-station proposal, for now
A proposal involving an alternative to petrochemical-powered transportation lurched into a temporary ditch at Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday. County Judge Sarah Eckhardt postponed the vote on whether to install an electric-vehicle charging station at a county-owned parking lot…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Mar 9, 2016
County puts housing authority official in the hot seat
Travis County Commissioners Court is on the verge of pushing out a top local affordable housing official over thousands of dollars’ worth of travel expenditures. The court voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a letter to Melvin Wrenn, chair of…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 24, 2016
Council ponders changes to committee rules
Last year, when City Council adopted its sprawling and time-consuming committee system, it used a model similar to one used by the Texas Legislature. Council members Ann Kitchen and Ellen Troxclair and Mayor Steve Adler had worked in that system…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Feb 3, 2016
AISD teacher appraisals impetus for possible new salary structure
In a unanimous vote Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees gave the green light to its new teacher appraisal system, which ties teacher appraisals to student performance on standardized tests. Kimiko Krekel, AISD’s executive director of educator quality,…
