Council to welcome fire chief, review city policies Monday

Published 8:01 am Sunday, January 5, 2014

The Austin City Council will welcome a new fire chief and police officer, approve contracts with its Street and Sewer Maintenance, Wastewater Treatment Plant, and Parks and Recreation employees, discuss street improvements and review city policies at its upcoming public meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday inside City Council Chambers.

The council will welcome Austin Fire Chief James McCoy and new police officer Tom Brogan to the city Monday. McCoy is a former Rochester fire captain who replaces former fire chief Mickey Healey, who left the city last summer for a job in Texas.

Council members will also discuss and call for hearings on several street improvement projects, including Eighth Street Northeast, Eighth Avenue Southwest, Eighth Avenue Northeast, Eighth Street Northwest, 17th Avenue Northwest, and several streets near the Kaufman Park Area on the southeast side of town.

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The council will also approve agreements with the local United Automobile, Aircraft, Aerospace, Agricultural Workers (UAW) employees for 2014 through 2016. UAW workers in several city departments worked for more than two years without a contract before publicly calling out the council and city staff for breaking down negotiations in early 2013. The city and UAW later agreed to a contract for 2011 through 2013.

Council members will look at various city policies during their work session, including weed and grass mowing, assessment rates and schedules, economic development assistance fees and business subsidy criteria.

A closed meeting for the council is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, a half-hour before the council meeting, on the basis of attorney-client privilege. City officials say the meeting could be an update on negotiations with former City Administrator Jim Hurm over his severance package. Hurm was fired by the council in December.