City and County Update

Big decisions made in 2013

  • Civil and Family Courthouse In 2013, the Commissioners Court debated various construction formats and settled on a design-build format, looked for cost savings and hired firm URS Corp. to manage the construction project. The project is estimated to cost $284 million to build, or $312.86 million when operational costs are added.
  • National Instruments incentive Travis County leaders approved an economic development agreement with National Instruments. The company plans to create 1,000 jobs and build a 300,000-square-foot facility along North MoPac. The county approved giving the company grants equivalent to up to 43 percent of the company's property taxes during a 10-year period in exchange for meeting investment and job-creation goals.
  • Response to Halloween floods Travis County held meetings and received applications as part of its floodplain property buyout program. Commissioners discussed helping residents remove debris from private property and giving affected county employees leave with pay.

Top issues for 2014

  • Transportation Transportation will continue to be a hot topic, commissioners Gerald Daugherty and Margaret Gomez said. The county will complete road projects that voters have already approved and participate in regional transportation planning, Judge Samuel Biscoe said.
  • Courthouse development The county will work with URS to complete planning and design and determine the project's budget. It will also work on explaining the project to voters for an anticipated bond election, Biscoe said.
  • Taxation The county must balance paying for services, such as criminal justice, and keeping taxes consistent, Biscoe said. Commissioner Bruce Todd said the county must become more efficient in how it spends taxpayer dollars.
  • Affordability Affordability will remain an issue in 2014, Gomez said. Leaders have tried to address affordability by keeping tax rates low and by promoting job creation and workforce training.

Meetings

The court meets Tuesdays at 9 a.m.

Travis County Administration Building, 700 Lavaca St., Austin, 512-845-9020, www.co.travis.tx.us

Terms and compensation

Court members serve four-year terms. The judge's base pay is $118,373. The commissioners' base pay is $98,463. Bruce Todd requested a $1 base pay, and Gerald Daugherty requested $90,109.

TV Coverage

Meetings are televised live on Time Warner Cable on Channel 17 on Tuesdays and rerun on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.