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Council Update: Rate Update Happening This Afternoon

The City Council waived fees associated with a parade in celebration of the Tejano Monument, which will be unveiled at the Texas Capitol this spring.
Photo courtesy tejanomonument.com
The City Council waived fees associated with a parade in celebration of the Tejano Monument, which will be unveiled at the Texas Capitol this spring.

The news this morning out of Austin City Council is no news: A presentation from Austin Energy on its revised rate proposals won’t happen until approximately 3 p.m. The council breezed through its agenda this morning, but Mayor Lee Leffingwell said it was unlikely the presentation would be completed in time for council’s noon break.

In other news:

  • A $1 surcharge per taxi passenger passed unanimously. The charge would only appear during “peak hours” of 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. The charge was decreased from an earlier amount of $2.50, which would have stayed the same regardless of the number of passengers; action on a semi-related measure revisiting the number of passengers per cab was postponed.
  • A soundproofing pilot program for a yet-to-be-named Austin music venue also passed unanimously. Should the pilot be successful, the item would ultimately create a loan pool other clubs could borrow from. However,  the actual $40,000 pilot may not be paid back entirely to the city. “We’re still looking at the criteria,” said the city’s music program manager Don Pitts, adding “I think we would like some sort of buy-in.” 
  • Passing on a consent vote was Item 16, waiving event fees for the Nosotros Los Tejanos parade on March 31. The parade is in conjunction with the unveiling of the Tejano Monument on the Texas Capitol grounds. Council member Mike Martinez used the passage of the item to congratulate the parade organizers and local organizing committee that pushed for the monument, who were on hand to present a rendering of the statue.

 

Wells has been a part of KUT News since 2012, when he was hired as the station's first online reporter. He's currently the social media host and producer for Texas Standard, KUT's flagship news program. In between those gigs, he served as online editor for KUT, covering news in Austin, Central Texas and beyond.
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