Austin City Council Austin resident David King addresses City Council during public comment April 21.[/caption]

Council sets new rules for public comment

Austin | City Council passed a measure April 14 to shorten public testimony speaker times during city meetings. Council gave initial approval April 7 of a measure that limits public comment time at City Council and committee meetings to 90 minutes per agenda item. On April 14 council gave final approval of the policy with the addition of a rule that reduces speaker time after the 20th speaker from three minutes to one minute. The new structure will allow more individuals to speak during a 90-minute public testimony time period, District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool said. “It allows a larger number of people to speak,” she said. “I wanted to err on the side of allowing more people to come and address us.” The new time limits were created as a standard, but City Council may vote to change the public testimony structure for any given item, according to the approved resolution. District 6 Council Member Don Zimmerman said at an April 12 work session that if residents are limited in their comment time, city staff and council members should be limited.

Council OKs partial refund of water bills

Austin | Residents who had an unexplained spike in their water bills may be eligible for a partial refund after an Austin City Council vote April 7. Residents who are billed for an unexplained spike in water use of more than three times their average use will be eligible to apply for a credit of 50 percent of their water use, District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair said. Residents may apply for the credit once every two years. She said the new policy is similar to the city’s leak protection policy. Prior to the new policy, residents would go through a hearing process to obtain an adjustment for their bill, which sometimes cost the city as much as $500 per hearing, city staff said.

Counties to split emissions program costs

Travis and Williamson counties | The counties will split costs starting in June for administrative services for a vehicle emissions program offered in both counties. On April 12, Williamson County commissioners approved an agreement to combine efforts to manage the AirCheck Texas–DriveACleanMachine program. Travis County commissioners approved the agreement April 19. The effort is part of the state’s Low Income Repair, Rehabilitation and Replacement Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible motorists who replace or repair vehicles with high emissions. The agreement would provide the counties with administrative services and funds for repairing or replacing vehicles, said Gary Boyd, Williamson County director of environmental programs.

County jail restores face-to-face visits

Travis County |  For the first time since 2013, face-to-face visitation is allowed as of April 19 at the Travis County Jail, which is located at 3614 Bill Price Road in Del Valle. The Travis County Commissioners Court voted at its Sept. 29 meeting to reinstate in-person visits for prisoners at county jail facilities. According to an April 19 news release, to be eligible for in-person visits a candidate must have minimum or medium security level designation; have been incarcerated for more than 60 days; and have not had any disciplinary infractions during his or her incarceration. Returning in-person visits and reasonably priced phone calls to inmates and their families were among major initiatives the county prioritized in 2015, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said.

City Council highlights

• April 21: City Council approved two agreements with the University of North Texas and the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering to research the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, and other robotics in emergency response. • April 21: Council approved submitting an application to the Texas Water Development Board for an $80 million low-interest loan to start a smart meter program at Austin Water. The utility is proposing to upgrade city water meters to allow meter readings to be collected digitally. If approved, it will result in an average rate increase of 1.7 percent, or 68 cents. • March 24: Approved a zoning change for 11817 Millwright Parkway from single family to limited office-mixed use. This site was a day care center that burned down in December 2014. Council approved excluding medical offices on the site.