CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin & Dripping Springs
Austin City Council will meet Aug. 1, 3, 8, 10 and 16-18 at 10 a.m. 301 W. Second St., Austin www.austintexas.gov Dripping Springs City Council will meet Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. 511 Mercer St., Dripping Springs www.cityofdrippingsprings.com Travis County Commissioners Court will meet Aug. 8, 10, 15, 22 and 24 at 9 a.m. 700 Lavaca St., Austin www.traviscountytx.gov MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN The city’s homestead exemption for senior and disabled residents will increase by $11,000. The exemption allows eligible homeowners to lower the taxable value of their houses for some property tax relief. AUSTIN Plans to redevelop two city-owned properties located downtown and in Crestview have fallen through after extended negotiations over the proposed projects ended this year, delaying hundreds of a ordable housing units and other community bene ts such as parkland. The city could not reach agreements with separate developers selected to transform the sites, and city o cials on July 20 moved to issue new solicitations for builders interested in improving the properties based on community and City Council goals. DRIPPING SPRINGS With its existing 9,000-square-foot building running out of space, the Dripping Springs Community Library is looking to expand to a new, larger facility as materials and programs grow with the community. Since opening in 1998, the DSCL has grown from serving about 12,000 residents to 52,000 today. City Council voted to support federal assistance for the expansion in May and the library plans to launch a fundraising campaign in 2024.
City manager search begins
SETTING UP THE SEARCH The council-driven search for Austin’s next city manager could wrap up next summer.
BY BEN THOMPSON
o cials developed a solic- itation for a search rm to seek out candidates. A tentative schedule laid out by Mayor Kirk Watson calls for the rm chosen by council to begin recruiting later this year with a goal of onboarding a nalist by late next summer. “[Sept. 1, 2024,] is only a target. If things go beyond that, so be it,” Watson said on council’s message board. “We all want to be thoughtful, and there’s no need to rush to a decision if, at the time, we feel we want more time. This is too
AUSTIN City Council members initiated a search for Austin’s next perma- nent city manager and could pick a nalist before next fall. The unelected city manager is responsible for local government administration, such as hiring department heads, and ful lling o cials’ policy directives. Interim City Manager Jesús Garza was appointed by council in February after Spencer Cronk was red. This spring, several city
Oct.-Dec.: Recruitment, community outreach begin July: Request for search rm issued Sept.: Council chooses rm
Jan.-March: Candidate pool cut to shortlist
April-May: Three to ve semi nalists named; community meets with candidates June-Aug.: Finalist selected; contract negotiated Sept.: New city manager starts work
SOURCE: AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: TIMELINE AS PROPOSED IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
important of a decision.” The search will be paid for through the city’s
general fund, per Watson’s o ce, at a cost to be nal- ized during negotiations.
Austin moves to end DPS partnership, state sends more troopers
BY BEN THOMPSON
partnership with DPS,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a July 12 statement. “This partnership was an innovative approach to address acute sta ng shortages that were years in the mak- ing. However, any approach must be in sync with Austin values.” Despite city leaders stating the partnership had ended, the DPS said it had no intention of halting its Austin operations. On July 13, Gov. Greg Abbott deployed 30 additional state troopers to Austin on top of the 100 already patrolling the city. A push to halt the program came soon after some council members cited local news reports about recent state trooper activity in Austin. The program has been criticized
AUSTIN City o cials announced the suspension of a law enforcement collaboration with the Texas Depart- ment of Public Safety July 12, citing a break with local values. The update came several months after local and state leaders formed the partnership and just 10 days after state troopers returned to Austin following a pause in e ect since May. Troopers had been backing up Aus- tin’s short-sta ed police department and responding to violent crimes and critical tra c incidents since March. “From the start of this partnership with DPS, I said I wanted Austinites to feel safe and be safe. Recent events demonstrate we need to suspend the
State troopers will continue patrolling Austin, now without local oversight.
for concentrating law enforcement in areas with more nonwhite residents and disproportionately targeting Black and Hispanic drivers, but also drew support from some community members. APD representatives said the collaboration resulted in positive public safety outcomes.
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • JULY 2023
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