CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin & Travis County
Austin City Council will meet Aug. 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 for builders interested in improving the properties. AUSTIN O cials voted July 20 to reduce the amount of land required to build a single-family home and to permit more housing units on such lots. Supporters of the change said it will help with a ordability by allowing smaller and more diverse housing to be built in the city, while opponents worried it will lead to unintended consequences, TRAVIS COUNTY With an increased wild re risk across Central Texas due to dry and hot conditions, the county joined several of its neighbors and Austin in issuing a burn ban in mid-July. The ban applies for any res outside an enclosure. Travis County’s burn ban will expire Aug. 16 but could be lifted sooner or extended. 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 O cials are considering a $5.45 billion scal year 2023-24 budget with funding for dozens of new sta positions and annual raises for city employees. A total city tax rate of $0.4242 per $100 of property value is proposed, and the city estimated its typical ratepayer could expect to pay about $95 more in taxes and fees over the next year. AUSTIN Plans to redevelop two city-owned properties located downtown and in Crestview fell apart after negotiations over the proposed projects ended this year, delaying hundreds of a ordable housing units and other community bene ts. After city sta could not reach agreements with separate developers chosen to transform the sites, City Council on July 20 moved toward issuing new solicitations such as gentri cation and other negative impacts on existing neighborhoods.
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
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 June-Aug.: Finalist selected; contract negotiated Sept.: New city manager starts work
AUSTIN City Council members initiated a search for Austin’s next permanent city manager and could pick a nalist before next fall. The unelected city manager is responsible for local government administration, such as ful lling council policy directives and man- aging city departments. Interim City Manager Jesús Garza was appointed by council in February after Spencer Cronk was red. A tentative schedule laid out by Mayor Kirk Watson calls for a search rm chosen by council to begin recruiting later this year with a goal of onboarding a nalist by late next summer. The search will be paid for through the city’s general fund, per Watson’s
NOTE: TIMELINE AS PROPOSED IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
SOURCE: AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY IMPACT
o ce, at a cost to be nalized during negotiations.
BRING THIS IN & WAIVE YOUR INITIATION FEES WE WILL until 8/31/23
State troopers will continue patrolling Austin, now without local oversight.
Austin ends DPS partnership; state pushes back
BY BEN THOMPSON
partnership with DPS,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a July 12 statement. 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 for concentrating law enforcement in areas with more nonwhite residents and disproportionately targeting Black and Hispanic drivers but also drew support from some residents.
AUSTIN City o cials announced the suspension of a law enforcement collaboration with the Texas Depart- ment of Public Safety on July 12, citing a break with local values. The update came several months after local and state leaders formed the partnership and 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
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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