City Council is now in its annual meetings recess ahead of Austin’s budgeting process that begins in July. Read more about key decisions made ahead of the multiweek break.
What happened
Officials ended their spring session with several key votes in late May:
- Council members, who serve as Austin Energy’s board, advanced the city-owned utility’s plan to add hundreds of megawatts of new power generation capacity in the form of natural gas “peaker” units. The strategy was met with heavy opposition from the community and some reluctance among elected officials, who approved the peaker plan behind closed doors. One week later, council passed a series of environmental mitigation and equity measures for the new power infrastructure.
- A major annexation in East Austin approved May 21 could mark the beginning of decades of mixed-use development just north of the airport. The more than 2,600-acre “Dog’s Head” area that’s been bought up by Endeavor Real Estate Group is now in city limits as of early June, and could build out with housing, retail, office and industrial uses. An advanced manufacturing project is now moving forward as the district’s first tenant, and council will revisit plans for the area in July.
- Austin will launch a review of its extensive external contracting that totals millions of dollars each year. The evaluation was proposed by Mayor Kirk Watson to address accountability concerns, after a separate audit recently detailed shortcomings in Austin’s consulting practices.
- A 2026 city bond isn’t a certainty, but council asked to develop a $390 million debt package for final consideration in the summer. The update came after city staff advised against a new bond until 2028, and officials adjusted their financial policies to allow for an election to take place this year. A possible bond measure could appear on Austin ballots alongside several changes to the city charter.
- Senior and disabled Austin homeowners will maintain their property tax relief this year after council signed off on an increase to a local homestead exemption May 28, a move that'll affect the city's finances and overall tax rate.
- Years after first calling to crack down on “junk fees” in the rental housing market, council members voted to set new transparency rules related to the costs that property managers must share with prospective tenants before a lease is signed. New regulations will go into effect later this year.
- In response to varied local concerns, officials also took the first steps toward addressing disruptive dumpster collections, the spread of electronic motorcycles and mini-bikes, and voting access around major elections. Updates on each of those policy proposals were requested in the coming months.
Council also advanced a landmark settlement agreement with four men who’d been falsely accused in the so-called Yogurt Shop Murders of 1991. The update came after Austin police determined last year that evidence pointed to serial killer Robert Brashers, rather than Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen, Maurice Pierce and Forest Welborn who'd been wrongfully arrested and convicted.
