CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin, Travis County & Dripping Springs
Austin City Council Will meet July 26 10 a.m. and July 28 at 9:30 a.m. 301 W. Second St., Austin www.austintexas.gov/austin-city- council Travis County Commissioners Court Will meet July 5, 12 and 19 at 9 a.m. 700 Lavaca St., Austin www.traviscountytx.gov/ commissionerscourt Dripping Springs City Council Will meet July 5, and 19 at 6 p.m. and July 12 and 26 at 5:30 p.m. 511 Mercer St., Dripping Springs www.cityofdrippingsprings.com MEETINGS WE COVER CITY HIGHLIGHTS TRAVIS COUNTY Commissioners Court extended the burn ban in unincorporated areas during its June 7 meeting. Travis County Fire Marshal Tony Callaway said a lack of humidity coupled with high temperatures would drastically increase the risk for re. Callaway said those dangerous conditions are likely to persist and are reminiscent of 2011 conditions—a particularly active re season for Central Texas that led to the Bastrop, Steiner Ranch and Pedernales res. Callaway said he is hopeful conditions will improve and the re season will not drag into September as it did in 2011. The burn ban will remain in eect until July 13. DRIPPING SPRINGS City Council members voted to extend the city’s ongoing development moratorium through Sept. 18 at a May 17 meeting. The moratorium went into eect in November due to lack of wastewater capacity and outdated land-use regulations in the city’s comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2016. As of May 17, the moratorium will no longer be based on land use but wastewater capacity only. The moratorium can be extended indenitely due to wastewater concerns, according to the city.
Austin leaders push for stronger gun laws
CITY LIVING WAGE HISTORY Austin is looking to increase minimum wage for city workers as the cost of living rises.
Austin living wage
Texas minimum wage
BY DARCY SPRAGUE
$16/hr $14/hr $12/hr $10/hr $8/hr $4/hr $0/hr $2/hr $6/hr
AUSTIN On June 16, Austin City Council asked City Manager Spencer Cronk to determine how the city might be able to raise the age to purchase semiautomatic ries from 18 to 21. It also passed a resolu- tion pushing to update local violence-pre- vention eorts and appeal to state and federal legislators to take further action on gun-related policy. Ocials signaled their intention to focus on gun violence at a public town hall held June 8. The event highlighted current resources for addressing gun violence and testimony from survivors. Ocials also provided loose insight into the tone and general plans discussed at the hourslong closed- door summit that that preceded the public event and included more than 65 city and county representatives, Austin ISD leaders and local law enforcement. On June 9, council proclaimed June as Gun Violence Awareness Month. AUSTIN HOMICIDES In 2021, 80% of 110 homicides in Travis were committed with rearms. In the U.S., 79% of murders involved a rearm.
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SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTINCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Austin ocials ask for minimum wage increase to $22 per hour
BY BEN THOMPSON
was not adjusted,” a city spokes- person said in a June 7 email. “Providing a living wage has been a continued priority for our stakeholders and our city sta. The recovery from the pandemic and unprecedented rising costs of living have emphasized the need to increase the living wage.” Supporters of the new proposal to increase Austin’s pay oor by more than 46% say that, despite a large, one-time jump, the city should immediately con- sider oering its employees $22 an hour given factors including rising unaordability and the lingering eects of the COVID-19 pandemic. City sta estimate a $22 pay oor could cost between $18.2 million and $22.8 million in the next budget.
AUSTIN The pay oor for City of Austin employees has not risen since 2018, and local labor leaders and several City Council members are now seeking to hike the city’s living wage from $15 to $22 per hour in the face of a continuing aordability crisis. In 2014, City Council and other stakeholders signed o on a recommendation tying Austin’s living wage—the pay needed to secure housing, food and other needs—to annual cost-of-living increases. That policy saw the city’s base wages increase in every budget from 2014 through 2018 to the current rate of $15 per hour, although gains stopped after 2018. “After the adopted $15/hour in FY18, the city’s living wage aligned to market factors and
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Firearms
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Other
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Asphyxia 1 Poisonings 1 Blunt force injury
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SOURCES: PEW RESEARCH CENTER, TRAVIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICECOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • JUNE 2022
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