Government
BY HALEY MCLEOD & BEN THOMPSON
New city short-term rental rules in eect Approval of new rules for short-term rentals, or STRs, in September ended a reg- ulatory overhaul meant to curb unlicensed rental operations and nuisances in Austin. What happened For years, Austin hasn’t been able to keep up with the spread of rental units that aren’t registered with the city—and therefore not paying hotel occupancy taxes that support cultural initiatives. Multiple attempts to tackle the issue led to this year’s changes. New policies are aimed at making it easier to strike unlicensed STR listings from plat- forms like Airbnb and Vrbo, and ensuring full tax collections. City Council also moved to streamline the licensing process, allow renters to participate in the STR market, and permit up to two rentals on lots with multiple housing units.
Tax hike to boost Travis County health care services Travis County homeowners will see about $64 added to their property tax bills after commission- ers approved a tax increase to fund county health care services Sept. 16. The big picture • Curb avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency room visits • Expand health insurance coverage for more patients • Close gaps in care
County hospital district Central Health’s tax rate will increase 9.3% in scal year 2025-26, to $0.118023 per $100 property valuation. The aver- age homeowner will pay roughly $608 in property taxes to Central Health, up from $544 last year. Dubbed the “year of access” by Central Health ocials, the additional funding would expand and speed up health care options for low-income residents. District documents outlined several “patient-rst” priorities for the coming year: • Reduce appointment wait times to under two weeks
The biggest jump in spending is for primary care services, which would rise from about $74 million to just over $103 million, with most of that for an expanded partnership with CommUnityCare. Another major increase is for behavioral health specialty care, which would grow from about $25.7 million to more than $40 million. That reects additional funding for Integral Care. Beyond those two areas, most other services will see smaller, steady increases, as the agency strengthens its specialty health care programs and hires in-demand specialist doctors. There is also new funding designated for diagnostic services.
Central Health tax rate year-over-year Travis County leaders have raised the hospital district’s tax rate to fund health care services for several years.
“... We’re nally getting to a point where we have a workable, enforceable STR ordinance that will be able to stand up to legal challenge and also generate
$0.12
$0.118023
$0.11
$0.111814
$0.107969
the hotel occupancy tax that we’ve been trying to get into the city coers.” CHITO VELA, COUNCIL MEMBER
$0.10
$0.100692
$0.098684
$0.09
+9.31%
$0
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
SOURCE: CENTRAL HEALTHTRAVIS COUNTY
Austin reghters contract to include pay increases, new work hours Austin reghters may see pay increases and a reduced work schedule after their union reached a tentative contract agreement with the city in late AFA members then approved by City Council in October. It includes:
of us safer and is an important step in the right direction,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a news release. The tentative agreement adjusts reghter pay in the rst year of the contract, followed by a cumulative 10.5% wage increase over its nal three years. The hours reghters work would also fall to an average 49.9 hour work week, requiring more reghters to be hired. The new schedule would be fully implemented by October 2027.
• Pay increases for all four years of the agreement • A reduced work schedule to be known as the “Austin Schedule” • A streamlined promotion process • More exible hiring, including the ability to hire already- certied reghters “Ultimately, this tentative agreement makes all
September. The details
The Austin Fireghters Association, representing the Austin Fire Department employees, was negoti- ating a four-year labor contract with city ocials since the summer. The Sept. 26 agreement is set to be ratied by
9
SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook