Elon Harris

Council passes budget, triggering tax rate election

A tax rate election will take place this November after Council approved a $6.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 based on a tax ...

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Duchen tries (but fails) to raise Austin Energy bills

Council Member Marc Duchen voted against the overall budget and opposed or abstained from most of his colleagues’ modifications to the city budget for ...

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Austin spends millions on overtime pay for police officers. The city is scaling that back.

For emergency medical personnel, firefighters, and police officers in Austin, working overtime is a given. According to city payroll records, the three departments spent ...

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Austin will lose $32 million for solar power projects after federal funding cuts

For low-income solar electricity projects, Austin Energy might lose $32 million. The defeat follows the Trump government’s announcement that it will discontinue Solar for ...

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Council settles on tax rate election, with more amendments to come

Council passed a 5-cent tax rate election (TRE) on top of the base budget yesterday after a lengthy public comment period that ran from ...

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Commission rejects resolution opposing Austin Energy’s revenue plan

The average monthly electricity payment for consumers will decrease by $4.89 under Austin Energy’s anticipated budget for the 2025–2026 year. Customers with low incomes ...

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Zoning and Platting recommends planning process west of Loop 360

The Zoning and Platting Commission was thinking of suggesting that the city start a planning process for the region west of Loop 360 on ...

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Judges Hill home poised for property tax break in exchange for landmark zoning

After Historic Landmark Commissioners voted last week to begin the site’s historic zoning, another 20th-century house just north of downtown is set to become ...

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Council approves maximum tax rate increase in preparation for possible election

City Council set the maximum amount that it can ask voters to raise their property taxes at 8 cents, or an additional $421 per ...

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Ethics Commission opts to end complaints against Harper-Madison

After a months-long investigation into claims that Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison had broken several rules of the city’s ethics code, Austin’s Ethics Review Commission ...

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