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Sound Off on City Budget, Property Tax Today

Filipa Rodrigues for KUT News

Austin City Council members will hear from residents today about the city’s budget and the proposed property tax rate.

The proposed tax rate is up approximately 2 cents from last year – making it a little over 50 cents per $100 of taxable property value.

Council members are scheduled to adopt the city’s budget next month, in a series of meetings starting Sept. 10. Today’s public hearings are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in the council chambers, and as always, you can watch the action online.

Council member Bill Spelman is expected to return today, after a medical absence to remove a tumor from his pancreas.

A press release from his office stated “Pancreatic tumors are often life-threatening, but Spelman's – a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor – was much less virulent than average. Neuroendocrine tissue grows relatively slowly and, once removed, is less likely to grow back.”

Spelman himself writes “The surgeons got good, clear margins around the tumor. … There's reason to believe they got it all.”

But all council members won’t be present. Council member Mike Martinez is taking time off to be with his wife and their newborn child. Martinez and his wife Lara Wendler welcomed their son Diego Edward Martinez into the world yesterday. Council member Martinez is expected to be out on paternity leave for the next few weeks. 

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.
Laura first joined the KUT team in April 2012. She now works for the statewide program Texas Standard as a reporter and producer. Laura came to KUT from the world of television news. She has worn many different hats as an anchor, reporter and producer at TV stations in Austin, Amarillo and Toledo, OH. Laura is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, a triathlete and enjoys travel, film and a good beer. She enjoys spending time with her husband and pets.
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