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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.
