Tag Archives: Austin City Council
Monday, July 13, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Budget
Manager proposes tax hike, 2 percent employee raise
Presenting a budget with a 2 percent employee pay raise and no layoffs and a 3.5 percent property tax increase, City Manager Spencer Cronk told Council Monday that his budget proposal meets the twin crises of the pandemic that has…
Friday, July 10, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
City Council
City prepares ordinances to tap brakes on reopening and slow virus spread
City Council approved two ordinances Thursday intended to bring local businesses into compliance with regulations near to Phase 1 of Gov. Greg Abbott’s reopening plan.“We can’t take the foot off the gas – we are not clear of this yet,”…
Friday, July 10, 2020 by Savana Dunning
Public Safety
Police department inaugural gun violence report shows slight increase in violent offenses
In its inaugural quarterly gun violence report, the Austin Police Department has recorded a slight increase in major violent offenses involving guns compared to the same time last year.In the summer of 2019, APD released its initial gun crime report…
Thursday, July 9, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Council seeks to add teeth to virus regulations
Mayor Steve Adler is proposing two ordinances: one would authorize the city health authority – in this case Dr. Mark Escott – to adopt rules protecting people from Covid 19 and create a class C misdemeanor with a fine of…
Tuesday, July 7, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Politics
Political vets line up to take on City Hall, educate Austinites on transit and other key issues
A new nonprofit group appears ready to oppose ongoing City Council actions concerning mass transit, public safety, land use and city finances, promising a targeted education campaign in the coming months.The group Voices for Austin, a 501(c)(4) organized earlier this…
Wednesday, July 1, 2020 by Nina Hernandez
City Council
Council to review plan for St. Johns Home Depot project after July break
Six years ago, when City Council Member Greg Casar was knocking on thousands of District 4 doors campaigning for his current seat, one question came up time and time again.“People were asking, ‘What’s ever going to happen to the Home…
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
Health & Human Services
Without rapid behavior change, city heads for stage 5 shutdown
After a record number of Covid-19 cases reported over the weekend, the city is urging residents to comply with requirements for social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing masks over the July 4 weekend in an effort to avoid pushing the…
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
City moving forward with improvements to Red River district
The city’s long-planned improvements to the streetscape of the Red River Cultural District will move forward through the summer with planning and budgeting for construction projects to improve the sidewalks and other features of the area.A recent city memo outlines…
Monday, June 29, 2020 by Savana Dunning
Budget
What $100M from the APD budget looks like
In response to pressure from activists to defund the Austin Police Department, City Council unanimously approved a series of reforms to APD operations, including a resolution that asks for deep cuts to the public safety budget.The Austin Justice Coalition has…
Friday, June 26, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Parks
City gets parks board blessing to rename Metz Recreation Center
Austin is now one step closer to officially changing the name of the Metz Recreation Center at 2407 Canterbury St. to the Rodolfo “Rudy” Mendez Recreation Center.On June 24, the Parks and Recreation Board unanimously recommended that City Council change…
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Former Council Member Berl Handcox, who broke the color barrier, dies at 88
Berl Handcox, Austin’s first elected African American City Council member since Reconstruction, has died at the age of 88. Handcox was elected as part of the seven-member Council on May 1, 1971, and reelected on April 7, 1973. He received…
Friday, June 19, 2020 by Audrey McGlinchy
Police
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley will keep his job, city says, despite calls for his removal
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley will stay in his position, a city spokesperson confirmed in an email Thursday.“I have had very pointed conversations with Chief Manley over the last several weeks,” City Manager Spencer Cronk said in the email. “He…
Friday, June 12, 2020 by Audrey McGlinchy
City Council
Austin City Council votes to divest funds from APD, ban some potentially deadly police practices
Austin City Council members voted unanimously Thursday on four items related to the Austin Police Department’s policy and budget, including transferring some money from police to social services and banning police use of some potentially deadly weapons and practices.The decision…
Friday, June 12, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
City Council
Temporary protected bike lanes coming to a section of Congress Avenue this month
In another effort to meet demand for social distancing and safe activity as local businesses reopen, City Council voted Thursday to set up temporary protected bicycle lanes on Congress Avenue north of Riverside Drive by June 30.Mobility advocates said the…
Thursday, June 11, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
Transit
City, Capital Metro adopt Project Connect with justice, sustainability in mind
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors and City Council adopted the final vision for an all-electric comprehensive transit system on Wednesday. Board members and city leaders said the $9.8 billion plan, featuring three light rail lines, a new…
Thursday, June 11, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Planning
Alley vacation granted despite protests
City Council voted unanimously on June 4 to grant vacation of an alley between East Eighth and East Ninth streets in order to facilitate construction of a multifamily complex, in spite of a request from neighbors in an adjacent residential…
Tuesday, June 9, 2020 by Nina Hernandez
City Council
Council unveils resolutions aimed at dismantling systemic racism
On Monday morning, City Council members Natasha Harper-Madison, Delia Garza, Greg Casar and Jimmy Flannigan, along with Mayor Steve Adler, held a press conference to discuss a group of resolutions aimed at reforming the Austin Police Department and dismantling systemic…
Tuesday, June 9, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Council
City calls for help with redistricting
Just like Congress and the Texas Legislature, Austin City Council is required to draw new districts every 10 years to coincide with the U.S. Census. But unlike the Legislature and Congress, the city asks ordinary citizens to participate in the…
Monday, June 8, 2020 by Elizabeth Pagano
City Council
Council’s APD grant vote: What happened
After listening to nearly seven hours of heartbreaking testimony from Austinites traumatized by police violence during protests the last week of May, City Council took a vote approving more funds for the Austin Police Department. On its surface, the $430,685…
Monday, June 8, 2020 by Audrey McGlinchy
City Council
Austin Council members say they’ve lost faith in the police chief: Next week they vote on changes
A fractured skull. A severe chest wound. A broken jaw from where a lead-pellet bag lodged inside a person’s mouth. The injuries to protesters over the weekend could have been fatal, the Austin-Travis County EMS chief told City Council members…
