Taking The Cake!
The Wasteful 4
Did you know that water ratepayers in Austin could be set for a -- get this -- 73% rate increase in just 5 years due to the insistence of the Wasteful 4 City Council members (Leffingwell, Shade, Martinez and Cole) on building the lavish and unnecessary $1.3 billion Water Treatment Plant #4?! Did you know that for 1/10th the cost, we could implement real water conservation?!
Watch ace researcher, Scott Henson, explain this to the Council.
Read more at here @ SOS.
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Property Tax
Protesters Unite!
Watch Our Mock Hearing!
Join our online yahoo group and get quick help with others going through the same thing. Email us at
Contact@ChangeAustin.org
If you're not happy with the outcome of your hearings, come to our July 15th meeting (details below) or send us a note.
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Volunteer Corner
A special thanks is in order to volunteers - Brian Davis, Jim
deCocq, Ila Falvey, Chris Hauboldt, Albert Johnson, Dan Jones, Lorri Michel.
More volunteers needed - come to our next meeting, Thurs., July 15, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Carver Library
Email or call or text us:
Contact@ChangeAustin.org
call 512-535-0989
text 512-657-2089
Let us know how
you can help.
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Greetings!
We attended the city's only budget charade, uh we mean charrette, last week. City staff must have outnumbered the audience 3 to 1. Just 2% of the budget was up for discussion to close the City's $11 to $28 million shortfall.
ChangeAustin.org came up with an easy $14 million by having developers pay fees to process their development plans, like they do in other cities. But that item wasn't in the 2% up for dialogue.
Watch this short video.
We'd love to hear your thoughts about any of this first newsletter edition right here in the comments section.
Your buddies,
Linda Curtis & Brian Rodgers
ChangeAustin.org
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Millions for Mansions in Property Tax Giveaways
 Austin's historic property program has been so gamed by Austin millionaires for properties undeserving of unseemly property tax breaks, one of Austin's premiere preservationists, Rick Harden, reluctantly blew the whistle on them at City Hall last week. Watch the video of Rick's amazing testimony. You can also watch appraisal attorney Lorri Michel's testimony here and Brian Rodgers' here. P.S. Michael King of the Austin Chronicle did a great piece on this issue in December, and here's Wells Dunbar's piece this week. |
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Public Safety is 2/3 of the City Budget!
 Shouldn't citizens get a little accountability in return? We attended the city's meeting asking citizens what we want in our next Austin Police Monitor. Lots of great ideas there. A new citizens group - Austin Police Accountability Coalition (APAC) is now formed -- next meeting is Tuesday, June 22 at 5604 Manor. Meanwhile, why don't you watch the brilliant and beautiful activist attorney Ann del Llano tell the Council what kind of accountability citizens are expecting in light of the recent Keypoint and related scandals. |
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Civil Liberties Victory by TAG
Texans for Accountable Government deserves a medal, or even a little local coverage!, for winning (with help from ACLU'ers, a Public Safety Commissioner and Austin Councilwoman Laura Morrison) some meaningful reforms in the new "fusion" center being established in Austin under the Homeland Security Act, protecting some of Austinite's civil liberties. Read more here.
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Support Our Work! Become a sustaining member for as little as $5 per month. Yearly membership dues are $20 for the year, or you can donate two hours of your time. Members have the right to vote on our endorsements come election time. Go here to give online, or just mail us a check to the address below.
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One more real easy way to help us
See the forward button below? Ask your friends to get better informed by joining our email list.
If they're in other central Texas areas, we will help them start a local change group too!
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ChangeAustin.org is a political action committee registered with the Texas Ethics Commission. We support or oppose candidates and ballot measures.
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Call 512-535-0989 * Text 512-657-2089 * Or email us at Contact@ChangeAustin.org.
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