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SAN says it gathered enough signatures for a charter amendment election to require 3rd-party city audits
This comes after council approved a separate ongoing audit process earlier this year, and as officials consider several more city charter proposals for the November ballot
Jun 2
NEWS: @SaveAustinNow has submitted the EXTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER AMENDMENT petitions to be on the Nov. 2026 ballot!
Details here: saveaustinnow.substack.com/p….
Austin WILL have an external, performance audit REGULARLY conducted of the ENTIRE City of Austin budget -- if voters approve the Charter Amendment in November.
Please support our efforts: SaveAustinNow.com.
#ATXcouncil
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SAN's charter amendment petition will now be verified by the city before an election moves ahead.
More on council's adopted audit program: communityimpact.com/austin/n…
And the potential for other city-initiated charter amendment items: communityimpact.com/austin/c…
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May 21
Council OKs major development deal, annexation to grow Austin's land area by more than 1%
Most future plans in the Dog's Head remain TBD, more to be outlined later this summer
Initial tenant will be "advanced manufacturing" by a Fortune 100 Co. (not data center or military use)
May 19
Austin is moving to annex the 4-square-mile Dog's Head "mega-site" on the Colorado River north of the airport, would support new mixed-use development there under 45-year agreement
Project could generate billions in property taxes, includes affordable housing and new trail/parks
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May 19
Austin is moving to annex the 4-square-mile Dog's Head "mega-site" on the Colorado River north of the airport, would support new mixed-use development there under 45-year agreement
Project could generate billions in property taxes, includes affordable housing and new trail/parks
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May 19
The Dog's Head could feature homes, high-rises, manufacturing sites and commercial space, all still TBD
Assistant City Manager Eric Johnson called the project a "structural fiscal lifeline" and "strategic macroeconomic development tool" for Austin
communityimpact.com/austin/e…
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May 18
New data covering 2018-24 show Austin moving toward decade-long housing goals after adding more than 32K affordable units in those 7 years
But wide east-west gaps persist, and the city is refocusing on housing for lower income brackets after slower progress at those levels
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May 18
The latest update under the Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint as the city moves closer to creating a new 10-year housing plan: communityimpact.com/austin/e…
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May 15
Council recently passed a resolution to set new civic economic development policies.
It didn't specifically reference AI, but drew dozens of people to speak against the industry and any new local data centers. Mayor Watson says council may now consider limiting those facilities:
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May 15
More on the new economic approach: communityimpact.com/austin/c…
And reporting from Austin Energy last year about the potential strain of data centers: communityimpact.com/austin/n…
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May 14
As of March, officials were considering plans for public park/amenity decks over the widened I-35 that'd cost Austin over $600M
Today, Mayor Watson floated a narrowed plan for just 1 smaller deck near Palm Park future cap prep at 11th St. It'd cost the city <$9M w/ a state loan
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May 14
Watson says council will consider this proposal in late May
CMs were split on Austin's cap approach in their last review 2 months ago, with some pushing to fully invest in the future public amenities and others more hesitant about high costs/feasibility communityimpact.com/austin/s…
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A resident task force proposed 2 outlines for Austin's 2026 bond:
-Preferred $766.5M package for affordable housing, parks, public facilities, mobility, stormwater projects
-$436M w/out housing or stormwater, as requested by some officials
Council voting on bond next steps soon
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The main task force recommendation is about 10% larger than a separate rec from city staff, and both could be well above the level council ends up advancing for a fall election
City projected annual taxpayer impact of ~$14 per ~$100M of new bond spending
communityimpact.com/austin/e…
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Dozens of digital ad kiosks are coming to Austin sidewalks & bus stops under a wayfinding program projected to bring in $6M /year for the city
Installation in targeted places could start as soon as this fall:
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After requesting the wayfinding program in 2024, council OKd code changes to allow the off-premise ads last week. The city already agreed to a kiosk vendor contract last year.
Officials rejected proposals to cap # of kiosks, restrict placement near homes:
communityimpact.com/austin/c…
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Mar 26
🧵 for today's #atxcouncil with several proposed code updates:
-Missing middle and mixed-use zoning
-"Micro-scale" neighborhood retail
-Signage regulations for digital kiosks
Also:
-Homeless strategy plan adoption
-Unbundling parking fees from rent
-ABIA expansion concessions
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Mar 26
Next, consideration of Austin's new homelessness strategic plan: communityimpact.com/austin/s…
CM Alter brings amendment to remove numerical targets from the plan for now; performance goals would be set after this year's budgeting process instead. That's approved and the plan is OKd
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Mar 26
Several more Lake Austin-area disannexations under last year's SB 1844 are approved.
Other items ahead include adoption of the Austin Core Transportation Plan for downtown mobility downtown, and electronic signage regulations that'll bring dozens of digital kiosks to town
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