Tag Archives: Austin City Council Audit and Finance Committee
Monday, April 11, 2016 by Audrey McGlinchy
City Hall
Code Department slammed (again) in city audit
The department charged with policing overgrown grass, short-term rentals and illegally discarded junk fails to follow a consistent protocol for overseeing violations and does not enforce violations with equal fervor on city-owned property, reads a report from the Office of…
Tuesday, December 22, 2015 by Jack Craver
City Hall
African American Advisory Commission membership raises questions at Audit and Finance
The Audit and Finance Committee spent just under an hour trying to resolve a dispute over membership on the African American Resource Advisory Commission at its Dec. 14 meeting.At issue were the six seats on the 17-member commission reserved for…
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 by Jack Craver
Austin
Animal Services chief responds to department audit
Austin is a leader in animal shelter and care, but the common metrics used for auditing animal care facilities have not kept pace with its no-kill policy, Chief Animal Services Officer Tawny Hammond told the Audit and Finance Committee on…
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Hall
City audit finds trouble with affordable housing
A city audit has found that Austin does not have an effective strategy to meet its current affordable housing needs.The audit of the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department found that NHCD “has not adopted a clear goal, established timelines,…
Friday, October 30, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Elections
Adler proposes dark money ordinance
Mayor Steve Adler, who was the subject of dark money attacks during his campaign for mayor in 2014, is proposing an ordinance to deal with the problem. Members of the City Council Audit and Finance Committee discussed the matter Wednesday…
Thursday, September 24, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
Austin
Courthouse proposal gets shut down in committee
A city proposal to relocate the county courthouse from downtown to East Austin didn’t gain any traction at the Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday, but it did spark a heated conversation.Though City Council Member Ellen Troxclair moved to approve…
Thursday, September 24, 2015 by Jo Clifton
The Code
Committee gets preview of lobby registration fight
Two things became clear Wednesday when the Audit and Finance Committee heard a brief presentation and two speakers on proposed revisions to the lobby registration ordinance: First, the proposed changes will be controversial. Second, City Council Members Ellen Troxclair and…
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 by Jack Craver
The Code
Ethics Commission begins to examine proposed lobbying changes
The Ethics Review Commission is under pressure to deal quickly with proposed changes to city lobbying rules.On Monday, City Council Member Leslie Pool, the chief backer of a resolution directing the city manager to draft a substantial revision to the…
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Development
Committees fail to agree on Whisper Valley deal
A relatively small change in an agreement between the city and the developer of the Whisper Valley and Indian Hills Public Improvement Districts has failed to win approval from two committees charged with making such decisions and passing them on…
Thursday, August 27, 2015 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
Lobby rules move forward despite objections
After hearing expressions of both support and concern, the City Council Audit and Finance Committee voted Wednesday to send Council Member Leslie Pool’s resolution to alter city lobby regulations to the Ethics Review Commission for further vetting. The vote was…
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
Pool proposes changes to rules for lobbyists
If City Council Member Leslie Pool and her cadre of ethics reformers have their way, any number of people who are currently working to persuade city officials to take action, or not, will have to register under a revised city…
Friday, August 7, 2015 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
Auditor to report on budget scrutiny options
In response to a request from Mayor Steve Adler, City Auditor Corrie Stokes and her team are preparing a report on how the City Council could scrutinize the budgets of various city departments and their programs throughout the year.In a…
Tuesday, June 30, 2015 by Tyler Whitson
City Hall
Campaign finance database likely on the way
If a plan that City Council has initiated pans out by campaign season, local watchdogs will have a new, convenient tool on their hands for monitoring political contributions in the next election.Council adopted a resolution Thursday that directs city staff…
Monday, June 1, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Transportation
Airport car rental audit shows minor problem
The city of Austin collected about $10 million in 2012 and $12 million in 2013 in airport car rental fees, according to a city audit.Assistant City Auditor Walt Persons told the Council Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday that one…
Thursday, May 28, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Budget
Austin General Fund forecast strong
Austin’s sales tax revenue is up 7.2 percent this year compared with the previous fiscal year, and city financial officials are forecasting that the city will bring in $2.1 million more than was budgeted, for a projected annual growth rate…
Sunday, May 3, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Council
Reporter’s Notebook: Zim appointments continue
More nomination fun … District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman continued his streak of commission nominations last week. Zimmerman posted his latest round of picks Thursday on the Council message board, and they include Antonio Buehler to the Public…
Friday, May 1, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Council
Council committee examines Animal Services audit
Unlike the majority of city audits, the troubling Animal Services audit did not come with an immediate plan of action from the department. However, City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee did find some answers to the many questions its members…
Thursday, April 30, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Hall
Audit reveals trouble in city’s animal shelters
A city audit of Austin Animal Services has revealed serious problems within the department and its shelters.The audit found that the department does not have sufficient resources to meet its 90 percent live outcome goal while maintaining state requirements and…
