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Austin City Manager: Dallas discard vs Austin retread

Council members make policy. The city manager’s job is to implement those policies. A great city manager can get that done and keep the ship of state sailing smoothly. A good city manager can get most assignments done and avoid...

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Plaintiffs in the lawsuit Dirty Martin’s et al v. Mayor Kirk Watson et al claim they’re victims of a bait-and-switch scheme because Project Connect will deliver improvements vastly inferior to what voters were promised when they approved Proposition A...

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Massive Interest in Redistricting

City auditor’s forum draws standing-room crowd to brainstorm how to attract applicants.

Proposed Districting Timeline Draws Flak

  • Proposed Districting Timeline Draws Flak
  •  
  • Redistricting expert says schedule does not
  • allow enough time for federal approval process
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2012 3:37pm

Ken MoryCity Auditor Ken Mory and his chief of investigations, Jason Hadavi, briefed the Austin City Council in this morning’s work session, including proposed dates for accomplishing major tasks related to establishing 10 council districts, as approved by voters November 6. (The core of the briefing is contained in the City Auditor’s Slides for City Council Briefing.)

The briefing took place in advance of tonight’s related public forum that starts 7pm in One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road, Room 325. (To see a map, click here.) The purpose of the forum is to encourage participation in the Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission (CIRC) and secure a large and diverse pool of qualified applicants.

The schedule proposed by the City Auditor indicates that the CIRC would adopt a final plan for the 10 geographic districts by April 1, 2014.

Attorney Steve Bickerstaff, who has represented more than a hundred jurisdictions on redistricting in his long legal career, told The Austin Bulldog that April 1, 2014, is not soon enough.

Citizens Redistricting Forum December 4

City Auditor Ken Mory announced a public forum will be held to encourage participation in the Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission (CIRC) and secure a large and diverse pool of qualified applicants.

Prop 3 Proponents to Monitor Implementation

  • Prop 3 Proponents to Monitor Implementation
  •  
  • Austinites for Geographic Representation form
  • committee to help guide work on 10-1 system
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Sunday November 25, 2012 8:56pm

Fresh off a major victory in the November 6 election, some three-dozen fired up members of Austinites for Geographic Representation (AGR) packed the meeting room at the Austin Firefighters Hall last Monday evening to map out how to stay involved during implementation of the 10-1 system for council elections.

Volunteer political consultant Peck Young, who provided the strategy for the winning campaign, roused the crowd.

Peck Young“We need to remember we won a campaign. We created districts. We have changed something a half century old and changed it for the rest of this century,” he said.

But he added a note of caution.

Young said, “The work to keep this fair and honest isn't over. I promise you we have work to do so this process is not perverted or corrupted by people who never wanted this in the first place.”

“We've got at least another year of hard work to be sure it's implemented correctly.”

City Hustles to Initiate Prop 3 Tasks

  • City Hustles to Initiate Prop 3 Tasks
  •  
  • Auditor coordinating with proponents of 10-1 plan
  • to begin what will be a lengthy transition process
  •  
  • by Ken Martin
  • © The Austin Bulldog 2012
  • Posted Thursday, November 15, 2012 1:25pm
  •  
  • Faced with a December 1 deadline to announce a call for volunteers to serve on the Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission (CIRC), and a panel of auditors to screen applications, the city auditor’s office has shifted into high gear.

  • The deadline was set by Proposition 3: Ordinance No. 20120802-015 to implement what was approved by 145,910 voters, or slightly more than 60 percent of those who cast ballots on this proposition November 6.

The CIRC will ultimately draw 10 council districts that the City Council will have no choice but to adopt for the November 2014 elections, subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act. Only the mayor will continue to be elected at-large.

The city’s Fiscal Impacts for Propositions 1-10 estimated that Proposition 3 includes a one-time cost of $888,000 for construction and build-out of new offices and additional ongoing costs of $1.4 million a year to operate the four additional council offices.

But the cost of the conducting the work necessary to draw council districts and get federal approval has not been determined.

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Areas of Coverage

Austin City Manager: Dallas discard vs Austin retread

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Project Connect

Lawmakers weigh axing Project Connect’s ‘blank check’ loophole

At a hearing at the legislature, critics and supporters of Project Connect clashed over a proposal to rein in the newly created transit agency.

Project Connect scope drastically scaled back

Two factors have sparked renewed debate around the cost...

Austin Transit Partnership gears up for key decisions on light rail design

Billions of dollars to be spent on mass transit...

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