Tag Archives: Travis County Commissioners Court
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Travis County
County works toward December deadline for CARES expenditures
In just over three months, Travis County will come up against its federally set deadline of Dec. 30 to spend the entirety of its $61.1 million in federal coronavirus relief dollars. As of Sept. 22, the county has spent only…
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Transit
County works out budget snags with Cap Metro in transportation blueprint
Travis County has nearly finished its second year of partnership with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide transit operations into unincorporated parts of Travis County. In the process, transportation staff has uncovered a few unanticipated costs that will affect the…
Monday, September 14, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Preservation
Travis County now has an African American Cultural Heritage Commission
As of Sept. 8, Travis County officially has a commission dedicated to the preservation and celebration of African American cultural heritage.“We see a lot of the African American communities, artifacts and heirlooms being destroyed as we grow in size as…
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Travis County
Travis County selects 225 businesses for grant funding, approves waitlist
Nearly five months ago, Travis County approved a $10 million grant allocation from its federal Covid-19 relief dollars to fund small businesses in need. Now, thanks to a unanimous vote from the Commissioners Court on Tuesday, 225 businesses in the…
Thursday, September 3, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Budget
Travis County elects not to pursue federal tax deferment for employees
The idea for a federal payroll tax holiday for employees was rolled out in early August, but it was only last Friday that the federal government issued guidance on how employers were expected to execute this economic relief measure.On Aug.…
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Elections
Travis County anticipates spending additional $3M for November elections
From social distancing restrictions to post office controversy, this year’s presidential election is facing unprecedented challenges. Despite the hurdles, Travis County has worked out a plan to ensure that the county’s 833,000 registered voters have access to safe and smoothly…
Friday, August 28, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Budget
Central Health proposes raising taxes to fund budget
Central Health has been a critical resource for many during the course of the pandemic; now, the public health authority is looking to accomplish more for its patients in the upcoming year.To provide additional health care options for a larger…
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Elections
Lovins ready for uphill fight in county judge race
Although he did not make a decision to run for Travis County Judge until Sunday, the day before the filing deadline, Republican candidate Michael Lovins says he is ready to fight. Lovins acknowledges that he will have an uphill battle…
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Budget
Travis County budget makes concessions and cuts to achieve balance
After months of rework triggered by the financial ramifications of the pandemic, the Commissioners Court held its first public hearing associated with the 2021 Travis County budget on Aug. 18. As they went through the 120-page, $1.28 billion budget proposal, Planning and…
Monday, August 17, 2020 by Nathan Bernier
Elections
Local attorney Andy Brown will be Democratic nominee for county judge
Local attorney and activist Andy Brown will be the Democratic nominee for Travis County judge in the November election. Brown won 55.88 percent of the vote Sunday night in an election by party precinct chairs.The prior county judge, Sarah Eckhardt,…
Thursday, August 13, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Politics
Precinct chairs ready to elect new county judge
With former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt taking her seat in the Texas Senate, and no name on the November ballot for Travis County judge, the duty of selecting that nominee falls on the 136 Democratic precinct chairs who normally…
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Education
Commissioners Court considers allocating additional funding for high-risk youth program
As public education moves from classrooms to screens in students’ homes, families’ need for support from educational institutions has increased. Students from vulnerable populations, in particular, benefit from personalized contact with someone in the Austin Independent School District, according to…
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Health & Human Services
Travis County expands public health orders to unincorporated areas, fines up to $500
The Commissioners Court unanimously approved an order Tuesday making Austin Public Health’s Health Authority Rules enforceable in unincorporated areas of Travis County. Individuals who do not abide by the local health authority’s pandemic mitigation plan may face fines of up…
Thursday, July 30, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Budget
Travis County sets the stage for budget discussions in August, proposes 3.6% property tax hike
After an unprecedented year that has required Travis County staff to rework the county’s 2021 financial picture, the Commissioners Court opened public discussions about the upcoming 2021 budget on July 28.Despite predictions earlier this year of catastrophic budget shortfalls, the…
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Travis County
Commissioners approve allocations for remainder of Covid-19 relief funding
Nearly three months to the day since Travis County received Covid-19 relief funding from the federal government under the CARES Act, Travis County commissioners approved an outline for the allocation of the $33.8 million in aid that remained unspent.County staff…
Thursday, July 23, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Development
Commissioners Court approves easement vacation despite neighborhood protests
In the far reaches of Precinct 3 in Northwest Austin, in a subdivision between Nameless Road and Round Mountain Road owned by Giddens Development Inc., water is served to residents through wells operated by Aqua Texas. Although the developer of…
Wednesday, July 22, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Travis County
County to identify funding source for implementing permanent teleworking
Following a successful emergency rollout of teleworking capabilities in response to Covid-19 this spring, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted in May to make the digital work environment permanent for 75 percent of eligible county employees.On Tuesday, commissioners took the…
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 by Nina Hernandez
Elections
Ann Howard wins Democratic primary runoff in county commissioner Precinct 3 race
Ann Howard won Tuesday night’s Democratic Party primary runoff to decide who will compete to replace Gerald Daugherty in representing Precinct 3 on the Travis County Commissioners Court.“I’ll just start doing some hard work to get to know even more…
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Travis County
Travis County approves Tesla incentive deal
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved a $13.9 million tax rebate deal to coax Tesla to build its “Gigafactory” in southeastern Travis County.The tax rebate is based on a $1.1 billion investment from Tesla and will be paid out…
Monday, July 13, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Health & Human Services
Commissioners Court considers allocating relief dollars to Baylor Scott & White
Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit hospital system in the state of Texas, and like many other businesses, it has been footing the bill for unanticipated Covid-19 related expenses since March. Jay Fox, the president of Baylor…
