A series of public gatherings addressing workforce development kicks off this week as part of the Conversation Corps program, a collaboration among the city of Austin, Capital Metro, the Austin Independent School District and Leadership Austin. Focusing on a new topic each month and taking place at a variety of venues around town, the program aims to make community engagement as accessible as possible. According to an announcement from the city of Austin, Conversation Corps “envisions an Austin in which all have the opportunity to participate in hosted conversations about Austin where they live, work and play.” Feedback is collected and given to the relevant decision-makers on each topic. This month, the conversations will focus on “what skills are needed within the local workforce and what can schools, businesses and residents do to ensure those skills are attained.” There are 14 meetings remaining this month, with two taking place today: Howson Library, 2500 Exposition Boulevard, at noon and The Original Pancake House, 1700 W. Parmer Lane, at 6 p.m.

The People’s Gallery is looking for artist submissions for its 2016 exhibition. The city’s Cultural Arts Division and Economic Development Department invite Austin artists to apply for the annual exhibition, which showcases local art on the first three floors of City Hall. Applications are currently being accepted through Oct. 16. Each artist may submit up to five pieces of art for consideration by a selection panel of local arts professionals. More information and a link to the online application are available here.

City Council is considering a new policy that would ask employers to delay criminal background checks until an applicant has made it far enough through the hiring process to be considered a top candidate. The city is asking Austinites to weigh in on the topic and read more about similar policies in other cities on the Speak Up Austin! website.

This Thursday, the Austin City Council will hold a hearing on short-term rentals and proposed amendments to the ordinance. Though it remains unclear how much public comment will be allowed, the city manager will report recommendations to Council. After that, the discussion moves to the Planning and Neighborhoods Council Committee for public comment on Aug. 17. The matter then returns to Council on Aug. 20.

There is currently no need for the weekly TipSheet that covers the goings-on of Austin’s various City Council committees. Why? Because this week, Council will forgo those meetings in favor of two budget work sessions, which will take place on Monday and Wednesday, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. See you there!

City Council voted to postpone a proposal to reduce a 3 percent raise for most city employees Thursday. Though Council members initially voted not to postpone the item, that motion was reconsidered later in the discussion, after it became clear that a vote held right then would most likely kill the resolution. Instead, the proposition will be taken up during the regular budget process, which begins in earnest next week. The motion to postpone passed in a vote of 7-4 with Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council Members Leslie Pool, Delia Garza and Greg Casar voting in opposition. Those who voted against the postponement seemed inclined to kill the resolution outright. As Garza explained, “I’m ready to vote on this, and vote against it. I feel like this is the easiest way to address affordability in our city – the direct way is to pay our city workers a fair wage.”

Though City Council approved a hefty number of agenda items on consent at the beginning of its Thursday meeting, Council Member Don Zimmerman registered “no” votes on three of those items. The first waived $17,775 in fees and $35,145 in costs for the city’s August PRIDE parade. Zimmerman also voted against the addition of a school representative to the CodeNEXT advisory board and a shift in Planning Commission rules that would allow someone other than the Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees president to serve as the ex officio member. He was the sole vote against all three items.

At Thursday’s City Council meeting, the city honored Tim Hill with a Distinguished Service Award. Hill recently delivered a baby on the side of the road near the city’s landfill. Hill works for the Austin Resource Recovery Department as a technical trainer. The department’s director, Bob Gedert, presented him with the award. “Tim’s exceptional character not only makes him a great employee, but also a great citizen. The city of Austin is lucky to have him, and I am proud to call him part of the Austin Resource Recovery team,” said Gedert.

The city of Austin is hosting a party this evening to celebrate the new Community Land Trust’s first project. As part of the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, the Community Land Trust program aims to increase the availability of affordable housing in Austin by allowing homebuyers to purchase homes while leasing the land on which the homes sit. The program’s first project is a group of seven new and rehabilitated homes in the Robertson Hill neighborhood. Tonight, the new owners of those homes will be joined by City Council members, folks from NHCD and others to celebrate at Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th St., 6-8 p.m. Anyone wishing to join them should RSVP here.

As reported by Community Impact, yesterday Austin braved typical Texas heat to celebrate the federal Clean Power Plan, which will help reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Speakers at the rally included state Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Austin City Council members Greg Casar, Delia Garza, Ann Kitchen and Leslie Pool and Rev. Amelia Fulbright. Members of Sierra Club, Environment Texas, Public Citizen, Environmental Defense Fund, Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility, SEED Coalition, Texas Impact and Austin Energy were also on hand to support the plan. For those who are curious about the Clean Power Plan, there is lots of information available on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, here.

Today, City Council resumes its regular programming, and will hold its first regular meeting since the July break. The fun starts at 10:00 a.m.

Yesterday, Austin Resource Recovery announced that the city is expanding public recycling downtown. The expansion comes with a name — Recycle on the Go — and promises to pair downtown trash cans with recycling cans. According to a press release about the program, “City officials unveiled new recycling cans in the first phase of the Recycle on the Go initiative, which spans from Cesar Chavez to 3rd Street between San Antonio Street and Congress Avenue. The City converted half of the trash cans in this area to recycling. Next week, cans will be converted along Congress Avenue up to 6th Street, for a total of 50 new recycling cans. Over the next three years, Recycle on the Go will expand throughout the downtown area.” The program is just one component of Austin’s plan to have zero waste by 2040, which has a goal of keeping 90 percent of Austin’s waste from going to landfills.