Austin police are still using license plate reader technology months after the Austin City Council ended the city’s program over privacy concerns. A KUT investigation found the Austin Police Department accessed data from Flock Safety license plate readers maintained by neighboring law enforcement agencies within the last month. The access skirts the city’s push to […]
Austin City Council
Posted inGovernment
Austin reviews ‘unusual’ $25 million Long Center contract over arts grant fees and oversight
The outcome of the review could determine whether the city rewrites the contract, renews it as written or pulls grant administration back in-house.
Posted inGrowth & Development
Backyard billboards? Austin could loosen rules on billboard placement amid interstate expansion
Project Connect and the I-35 expansion are forcing billboards to move. But where will they go? The city is now deciding whether to loosen the code that governs how close these signs can be to residential homes.
Posted inGovernment
Austinites demand police, city leaders do more to resist ICE
A public meeting billed as a “conversation” about Austin Police and immigration enforcement sounded more like a protest for much of Thursday night, as shouting and heckling laid bare a community divide over how forcefully the progressive city of Austin should resist the Trump administration’s deportation push. The meeting was held to address policy changes the […]
Posted inGrowth & Development
‘We’re weathering the storm’: Downtown businesses feel the void as convention center disappears
Revenue from the city’s hotel occupancy tax helps fund arts and cultural programs, meaning the effects could ripple beyond downtown.
Posted inGrowth & Development
Could a European-inspired public housing model stabilize Austin’s volatile housing market?
The Austin City Council will vote on a social housing model supporters say could lead to more affordable, climate-friendly homes built in the city.
Posted inGovernment
City of Austin employees raked in $143 million in overtime last year
Austin workers were paid more than $143 million in overtime last year, according to city payroll data obtained by KUT News. The payouts are nothing new, but show the city has relied more and more on overtime spending over the last few years, particularly for police, fire and emergency medical services. That spending could come […]
Posted inGovernment
Months after voters rejected Prop Q, Austin prepares bond that would raise taxes
The Austin City Council will soon decide whether to send a bond proposal to voters later this year. This comes as City Hall works to restore public confidence after Proposition Q’s failure.
Posted inGovernment
Critics have long wanted an audit of City Hall. Now Austin’s mayor does too
With a tight budget, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson wants audits, spending limits and new bond guidelines. Critics say the reforms lack independence and restraint.
Posted inGovernment
‘The system always collects its debt’: Austin nonprofits brace for cuts from City Hall
After voters rejected Prop Q, the City of Austin is shifting millions in social services contracts.