In March, an Austin police officer killed one person and injured several others while driving 51 mph over the speed limit. APD determined he did not violate department policy. Read more: www.austinpolitics.net/how-badly-do...

Last month it seemed that Mayor Kirk Watson called for an officer seen punching a man on 6th St to be disciplined. It also appeared APD had removed him from patrol. But I saw him the other day. www.austinpolitics.net/is-this-offi...

In the wake of Prop Q's failure, expect to see lots of performative frugality on small expenses. What you probably won't see is any meaningful effort to rein in the city's biggest cost drivers: www.austinpolitics.net/no-cuts-for-...

My take on Austin voters' rejection of Prop Q: "Austin voters delivered a giant middle finger to City Council last night. There's no nicer way to put it." www.austinpolitics.net/fu-q-tax-hik...

I talked to 30 voters at the polls in South Austin today about Prop Q, the proposed tax hike. It was a very mixed bag in an otherwise very liberal area. www.austinpolitics.net/vibes-at-the...

Greg Abbott is making things harder for the city of Austin as it tries to clean up homeless encampments: www.austinpolitics.net/abbotts-unco...

New from @jackcraver.bsky.social: "It’s a tough time to be an Austin property taxpayer. Nothing seems to make sense."

Check out my article in the Texas Observer about Prop Q, the Austin tax rate election. www.texasobserver.org/austin-prope...

Do you think property taxes in Austin are high? That's a matter of opinion, but they're not much higher than surrounding suburbs. Check out the data I compiled here: www.austinpolitics.net/are-austin-p...

At least one police brutality incident caught on camera may be too much for the APD chief to brush under the rug. www.austinpolitics.net/your-move-ch...

Greg Abbott takes a brave stand against rainbow crosswalks in Austin, Houston and San Antonio: www.austinpolitics.net/politics-in-...

Here's a look at who is supporting & funding both the pro & anti sides of Austin's tax rate election. www.austinpolitics.net/whos-against...

Well, cat and dog abortions are mostly legal again at the Austin Animal Center. But Mayor Kirk Watson still managed to slip in an exception for "lactating" animals at the behest of the anti-pet abortion wackos at Austin Pets Alive: www.austinpolitics.net/the-mayors-l...

Had a lot of fun meeting & learning about the Clippys at last week's City Council. They get their name from the friendly Microsoft Office assistant who kind of sucked but at least didn't steal your data. They came to City Hall to oppose AI cameras in parks: www.austinpolitics.net/the-clippys-...

Does a new state law undermine Austin's affordable housing density bonuses? Probably, but that doesn't mean it will ultimately hurt overall housing affordability. Read more: www.austinpolitics.net/does-a-new-l...

NYC's congestion toll isn't realistic in most U.S. cities, where even the poor rely on cars to get to work. I enjoyed talking to the UT's Kara Kockelman about a less painful way to discourage rush-hour driving: Credit-Based Decongestion Pricing: comotion.substack.com/p/the-credit...

I break down how the city of Austin actually spends its money. Austin spends 40% more on police than Fort Worth (same pop & crime rate). The cost of APD + AFD exceeds all of the property tax the city collects. www.austinpolitics.net/its-the-poli...

Did you know that Austin has had an anti-abortion policy on the books for the past 6 years –– for dogs and cats. City Council finally freed itself from the wacky grip of Austin Pets Alive! and voted to repeal it. www.austinpolitics.net/dog-cat-abor...

Right. To be clear, there are def places city govt can cut. But a many efficiencies will be in our public safety depts. There's also the problem that much of our budget is now being funded by raiding the Austin Energy budget, which puts pressure on electric rates (regressive tax)!

I wrote about why America is so bad at building public transit. I talked to Eric Goldwyn of the Transit Costs Project about why it costs so much more and takes so much longer to build basic transit systems in the US than in Europe or Asia. comotion.substack.com/p/abundance-...

THREAD: Last night Mayor Watson dropped new TRE proposal: 5¢ tax hike — same as Zo Qadri, Paige Ellis, Mike Siegel & Krista Laine’s plan. Mayor says he still prefers his 3.5¢ plan, but he’s “willing to try to achieve consensus” by focusing on core services. 1/

The haggling over Austin's homelessness spending continues. But it looks like Council is converging on something the mayor can support. Also: 3 days to sign up for the Austin Politics Newsletter 33% tax hike discount –– $80 for one year. (Link in comment) www.austinpolitics.net/council-bend...

In honor of the city's budget crisis, the Austin Politics Newsletter is offering a "budget-friendly" subscription for only $80/yr. That's 33% off for the $33 million deficit. Sign up now! www.austinpolitics.net/budget-seaso...

Austin voters will have to approve a tax hike to avoid big cuts to basic services. It's up to City Council to put a tax hike on the ballot that they think voters will approve. How big will they go? Here are some different scenarios. www.austinpolitics.net/what-will-a-...

It's more important now than ever that Austin's city leaders make tough decisions about spending. That means turning down some nice things in order to save more important things. www.austinpolitics.net/liberalism-d...

This change in which medical emergency 911 calls firefighters get sent out to is a huge deal. With the legislature imposing a cap on how much money the city can raise, we need to use resources smartly.

Austin EMS will significantly reduce the # of calls where it turns on its sirens & lights –– the 42 secs of increased speed provide little benefit. More importantly –– EMS will cut in half # of calls where they ask for help from fire dept. www.austinpolitics.net/austin-ems-t...

The huge pay raises City Council approved for Austin cops last year is hardly doing wonders for recruiting. More than half of the cadets of the first post-contract academy class have already dropped out. www.austinpolitics.net/what-did-hik...

At the risk of sounding like an arrogant prick, if you want to understand what's going on in the Austin city budget, you should sign up for my newsletter. Nobody else in media is getting into the weeds of the fiscal crisis engineered by Greg Abbott. www.austinpolitics.net/rate-hikes-t...

Yesterday I wrote about why the "lessons" of Mamdani's victory in NYC are so hard to apply to other places, including other liberal cities like Austin. Many of his promises were linked to NY's unique system of transportation & housing. www.austinpolitics.net/lessons-from...

Big announcements in Austin politics today ... Paige Ellis is running for a third term and has already drawn a challenge from fellow liberal Selena Xie: www.austinpolitics.net/a-dem-v-dem-...

Some much-needed good news for Austin public transit. You can now actually pay your bus fare. www.austinpolitics.net/what-is-the-...

City govts buying old apartment buildings can be a good low-income housing strategy. But we have to be realistic about the challenges. Sometimes the reason the housing is so cheap is that it is really shitty. www.austinpolitics.net/is-preservat...

City Council has been rattled by an apartment redevelopment & is seeking changes to DB90, Austin's density bonus program that has already produced tons of income-restricted units. This could end very badly. And no, the pic below has nothing to do w/housing: www.austinpolitics.net/lets-talk-ab...

Today I looked at the debate on City Council over APD's license plate reader program. In the Trump era, it's much harder for the cops to assuage concerns about privacy & civil liberties. www.austinpolitics.net/a-tough-time...

Former EMS union president (and potential City Council candidate) Selena Xie talks to me about the medical emergencies that these storms unleash. Plus, each storm makes the cost of burying power lines seem smaller... www.austinpolitics.net/austins-thir...

Kirk Watson says DB90 density bonus program has been an "unhappy experience" that has failed to deliver on its promises. Why he's embracing such hyperbolic language is unclear. Feels reminiscent of Zilker Vision Plan drama. www.austinpolitics.net/the-nimby-co...

I can relate to this. I got tired of writing the same YIMBY stuff over and over again, even if I thought it was right.

City staff shoots down all of the "free" money ideas for building highway caps. If we want these things, it's gonna eat into funding for other priorities. www.austinpolitics.net/bad-news-for...

Serious question: what is the point of bike racks like these? Are you supposed to put your wheel through the slots? I don't get it.

Here's my look at the brutal math confronting City Council about the proposed I-35 caps. It's extremely expensive lipstick for a very ugly pig. www.austinpolitics.net/a-gloomy-con...

Did you know that the dire conditions at Austin's animal shelter are largely the fault of a cult that has dictated animal welfare policies for the past 15 years? The cult is Austin's most beloved nonprofit: Austin Pets Alive! www.austinpolitics.net/austins-anim...

Austin EMS has addressed its staffing shortage. But now it's run out of money. Medics say longer waits are coming back. www.austinpolitics.net/ems-fixing-p...

It's unusual to hear talk of displacement in Northwest Hills, one of Austin's bougiest neighborhoods. But the fact is that displacement exists anywhere where prices have increased ... which in Austin over the past 20 years has been...everywhere. www.austinpolitics.net/displacement...

How much lipstick should we put on this pig? Austin will definitely pony up for caps on the downtown portion of I-35. But opinions are mixed on City Council about whether it's worth it to spend another $120M for caps in Cherrywood/Hyde Park. www.austinpolitics.net/m/

Join us for a single-stair party tomorrow, where we'll be joining the Happy Hours of the Austin Housing Coalition & @jackcraver.bsky.social's Austin Politics Newsletter! 📍 Cosmic South (121 Pickle Rd) 🕜 Apr. 10 5-7pm

Six months ago I said the city's rosy budget projections were fishy. Now the same city staff is projecting a big deficit. What has changed? The mayor is no longer trying to push through an expensive police contract: www.austinpolitics.net/what-happene...

I think the city tends to fixate on police response time because it's the one metric for which there is an easy solution (more cops!). But it's not actually the most important thing for improving community safety. www.austinpolitics.net/response-tim...

A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die. Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.

I'll be joining Chris Baker, founder of Camp Esperanza homeless community, live on 91.7 KOOP at 1 pm. We're gonna talk about public services and the use of public funds for non-essential things, like the Convention Center. Listen here: koop.org/listen-live/