Tag Archives: Travis County Commissioners Court
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
Elections
Howard and Bolton earn spots in runoff for Precinct 3
Ann Howard, the former executive director of Ending Homelessness Community Coalition, won the most votes on Tuesday night, but there is one more hurdle to clear. A runoff election will determine which Democratic candidate will go against Republican Rebecca Bray…
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Health & Human Services
Public health experts address state of COVID-19, with no plans to scrap SXSW
Tuesday’s Travis County Commissioners Court meeting was virtually a preview of a news conference scheduled for today regarding the region’s response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus.During a presentation to the five-member board, Dr.…
Friday, February 28, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Travis County
Travis County seeks a ‘Marshall Plan’ for east side
Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion and Joe Straub, president of Rodeo Austin, started a conversation with members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday. “Let me just say for the record, I did not come to pick a…
Friday, February 21, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Travis County
Eckhardt talks revenue caps, Palm School negotiation in State of the County address
At several turns during her State of the County address Thursday, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt reminded listeners that in many respects, the county operates as an extension of Texas’ state government. The pluses and minuses of that framework, she…
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
County leaders champion no-cash bail
Amidst an aggressive push from activists to reduce arrests and incarceration, Travis County leaders highlighted two important initiatives Tuesday as evidence that the county is a leader in progressive criminal justice policy.First, the Travis County Commissioners Court quickly approved a…
Friday, February 7, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
Babies, immigrants fueling Travis County growth
Contrary to public perception, Travis County’s population would be booming even without newcomers from California.That was one of the main takeaways from a presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court on the most recent population data from the American Community…
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 by Andrew Weber
Travis County
Travis County hires law professor as its first-ever public defender
Travis County has hired University of Virginia law professor Adeola Ogunkeyede as the first person to lead its public defender office. Until last year, the county was the largest jurisdiction in the United States without an office to handle cases…
Thursday, January 23, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
New nonprofit seeks to boost census participation
With six weeks until the 2020 census kicks off, the local effort to boost participation hopes to raise additional money for outreach efforts.Census Program Manager John Lawler, who is overseeing the Austin/Travis County Complete Count Committee, which both the city…
Friday, January 17, 2020 by Jack Craver
Budget
Travis County confronts tricky process in reforming pay for law enforcement
Travis County leaders are determined to reform the pay scale for the county’s 1,450 public safety employees, but they’re not quite sure how to do it.The county has long had separate pay scales for civilian employees and law enforcement workers,…
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 by Jack Craver
Transit
County puts more money into Manor ride-hailing program
In response to higher-than-expected ridership, Travis County is putting more money into a six-month-old ride-hailing program in Manor.The Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to authorize up to $25,000 to help purchase a third bus for the Manor Pickup service, which is…
Monday, January 13, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
Travis County takes action to eliminate ‘water colonias’
While it’s accurately referred to as an urban county, roughly half of Travis County does not fall within the limits of any municipality. The population in these rural, unincorporated areas is growing rapidly, driven in part by a lack of…
Wednesday, January 8, 2020 by Jack Craver
Austin
County sets up new committee to put pressure on city leaders over Expo Center
Travis County leaders want to put pressure on the city of Austin to help them rebuild the aging exposition center.On Tuesday the Commissioners Court voted unanimously to set up a nine-member committee tasked with “engaging and educating Travis County residents…
Friday, January 3, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
County Judge Sarah Eckhardt sees a future of tough decisions and tax referendums for Travis County
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt has plenty of good news to report as she looks back on 2019.Her greatest achievement is the county’s new public defender’s office, for which she was the lead champion on the Commissioners Court. While her…
Thursday, January 2, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
After quarter-century on court, Gómez sees pros and cons in change
Margaret Gómez has served on the Travis County Commissioners Court for 24 years, representing a precinct whose boundaries roughly correspond with the southeastern quadrant of the county, including nearly all of South Austin east of South Lamar Boulevard.Her career in…
Thursday, January 2, 2020 by Jack Craver
Travis County
Gerald Daugherty, Travis County’s last Republican, fears for county’s fiscal future
Gerald Daugherty has long said that this would probably be his last term in office. However, for a couple of days at the beginning of December, there were whispers that the Commissioners Court’s lone Republican might try for another four-year…
Friday, December 27, 2019 by Jack Craver
Travis County
Jeff Travillion says it’s time to pay attention to eastern Travis County
Jeff Travillion believes it’s time for the east side to get some love from local leaders. While private dollars are transforming the look and feel of much of East Austin and making it increasingly hard for many longtime residents to…
Friday, December 27, 2019 by Jack Craver
Travis County
As the planet warms, Brigid Shea is planning Travis County’s response
Commissioner Brigid Shea may have been elected to handle issues at the county level, but her focus is global.“My major focus in running for reelection, I believe very strongly as community leaders that we have to do more to prepare…
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 by Jack Craver
Planning
On third try, Commissioners Court approves controversial RV park near Hamilton Pool
For the third time, about two dozen residents who live on or near Stagecoach Ranch Road came to plead with the Travis County Commissioners Court to block plans to build an RV park that would accommodate up to 80 vehicles.After…
Wednesday, December 11, 2019 by Ryan Thornton
Development
Exception for RV park near Hamilton Pool put on hold
The Travis County Commissioners Court still hasn’t found the middle ground it’s looking for to grant a platting requirement exception for the Bentree RV Resort, a recreational vehicle park that would be developed less than a mile southwest of the…
Friday, December 6, 2019 by Elizabeth Pagano
Politics
Daugherty will not seek reelection
Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty announced his retirement Thursday.“It has been a privilege and honor to serve my neighbors as their commissioner,” said Daugherty. “I’ve done my very best to deliver on the promises that I’ve made over time. I’ve…
