The Austin Bulldog

Board of Managers can’t get details on healthcare services medical school provides to patients at or below 200 percent of federal poverty level. The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously July 26th to require that Central Health undergo an unprecedented independent performance audit. Commissioners voted again August 2nd to go with the tougher of two proposals for the scope of that audit.

Order for scope of work will be finalized with staff before the Commissioners Court votes on issuing a request for proposals. The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to stick with the original proposal for an independent third-party performance audit of Central Health. Even Commissioner Ann Howard, who had...

Commissioner Ann Howard’s proposed resolution, if adopted, would significantly reduce the scope of work for an independent performance audit and let major providers go unexamined. When on July 26th the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to require that Central Health undergo a performance audit, it smelled like victory...

Subsidy plan previously put on ice gets another look, now valued at $330 million. The Austin City Council has revived discussions to grant special tax status to 118 acres of waterfront real estate in central Austin. The plan would divert property tax dollars from the city’s general fund to a...

Independent audit would determine what healthcare services needy Travis County patients got in return for $280 million in taxpayer money given to UT Dell Medical School. The Travis County Commissioners Court last evening voted 5-0 to unanimously approve Commissioner Margaret Gomez’s motion to order that Central Health undergo an independent performance audit and pay for it.

A group of healthcare and taxpayer advocates has stepped up criticism of Central Health, saying it lacks financial control over spending by its third-party providers and partners. Central Health, known legally as the Travis County Hospital District, is a local government agency mandated to provide healthcare services to the poor....

Higher commercial tax bills will mitigate impact on homeowners. Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk proposed a budget Friday that sets a property tax rate at the maximum limit allowable under state law without triggering a tax election. “I’m very well aware that financial pressures are front and center on the...

Independent audit would determine what healthcare services needy Travis County patients got in return for $280 million in taxpayer money given to UT Dell Medical School. Today is Bastille Day, the French national holiday commemorating the storming of the fortress and prison in 1789 at the beginning of the French Revolution.

Linda Curtis, a long-time Austin and Bastrop civic activist, has launched a bid as an independent for Texas House District 17, setting up a three-way race to replace a retiring Republican incumbent. Curtis played a key role in several municipal petition campaigns that reshaped Austin, including a 1997 campaign finance...

Commissioners Court to consider ordering that Central Health undergo an independent audit. Let’s be blunt. Under the Texas Constitution and Health and Safety Code, The Travis County Healthcare District, aka Central Health, is prohibited from spending any part of the $2 billion-plus it has received in local property tax funds since 2004 for anything other than healthcare services for Travis County’s neediest residents.

Nearly 28,000 more protests than were filed in 2021. Property owners left dazed and confused after getting their Notices of Appraised Values in the mail this year reacted predictably. They filed a record 167,869 protests this year, Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler told the board of Travis Central Appraisal District in a meeting Tuesday.

Federal and state governments have ignored disastrous impacts. Editor’s note: This is the final article in a four-part series revealing how the exportation of natural gas adversely affected Texans during Winter Storm Uri, how this situation could have been prevented, and what policy changes are needed to avoid a similar disaster in the future.

The increase in U.S. exports triggers renewed effort to limit LNG shipments. Editor’s note: This is the third article in a four-part series revealing how the exportation of natural gas adversely affected Texans during Winter Storm Uri, how this situation could have been prevented, and what policy changes are needed to avoid a similar disaster in the future.

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a four-part series revealing how the exportation of natural gas adversely affected Texans during Winter Storm Uri, how this situation could have been prevented, and what policy changes are needed to avoid a similar disaster in the future. Between February 14...

Exporting LNG during Winter Storm Uri proved disastrous. Editor’s note: This is the first article in a four-part series revealing how the exportation of natural gas adversely affected Texans during Winter Storm Uri, how this situation could have been prevented, and what policy changes are needed to avoid a similar disaster in the future.

Updated 2:45pm April 19, 2022 to correct misstatements about increases in property taxes and to remove reference to a Travis County Tax Office tax calculator that relies on 2021 rates. Whether property taxes increase depends on new tax rates. Homeowners began to get their appraisal notices in the mail last...

Updated 3:50pm March 31, 2022, to include TCAD’s response to correct information about how proceeds of the sale will be used, once the property is sold. The Travis Central Appraisal District approved, then killed, a cash offer of $5.5 million and now asks an additional $2.15 million. By December...

Billions of dollars to be spent on mass transit plan Project Connect. The Austin City Council and the two transit organizations implementing Project Connect are gearing up to make decisions about the design of two light rail lines that could shape the geography of Austin for generations. Project Connect calls...

Leana Mann promoted from within to take the post vacant for more than two years. Leana Mann started working for the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) in May 2011, the same month she got her accounting degree from Texas State University. Her starting pay was $18 an hour, according to personnel records obtained through public information requests.

Primary election to shape Travis County’s five-member governing body. Two long-time members of the Travis County Commissioners Court face progressive challengers this year in the Democratic primary scheduled for March 1st, with early voting available through February 25th. Bob Libal, a criminal justice and immigrant rights advocate, is looking...