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Divisions
Austin Energy Legal Services manages regulatory, transactional, and other legal issues for Austin Energy, the City’s municipally-owned electric utility and the nation’s ninth-largest public power utility. The attorneys in this division are located at 721 Barton Springs Road in the Austin Energy Town Lake Center.
More information regarding Austin Energy
The Criminal Prosecution Division prosecutes Class C misdemeanors pursuant to state laws and city ordinances.
The Criminal Prosecution Division prosecutes Class C misdemeanors pursuant to state laws and city ordinances. The attorneys in this division practice before the City of Austin Municipal Court and cover an average of 60 dockets per week including jury trials, bench trials, and pre-trial motion hearings. Prosecutors pursue approximately 430,000 cases a year submitted by City of Austin departments including Police, Code Compliance, Fire, and Health.
The Employment and Public Safety Division provides advice and counsel to all City Departments and operations on employment, labor relations, and civil service legal issues.
The Financial Services Division provides financial planning and budgeting for the City of Austin Law Department, including business planning, purchasing and outside counsel/consultant contracting.
The General Litigation group defends the City of Austin and its employees in all civil litigation cases. The types of cases managed by the General Litigation Division include civil rights, contract disputes, personal injury, employment, and land use matters.
The Land Use and Real Estate Division provides services to City departments, such as Planning and Development Review, Watershed Protection, Austin Water Utility, Neighborhood Housing, Economic Growth and Redevelopment, Solid Waste and Parks Department.
The Municipal Operations Division provides services to specific City departments, such as Health and Human Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire, Library, Convention Center, Information Technology Services, Budget, Purchasing and Financial Services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Criminal Prosecution
Contact the Department of Public Safety at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/.
The purpose of the Downtown Austin Community Court is to collaboratively address the quality of life issues of all residents in the downtown Austin community through the swift, creative sentencing of public order offenders. For more information you may visit the DACC website at www.austintexas.gov/department/community-court.
You may contact the Austin Tenants’ Council,1640B East 2nd Street, Suite 150 Austin, TX 78702, (512) 474-1961, www.housing-rights.org.
None of the lawyers with the City of Austin Law Department can provide legal advice to citizens. Our sole function is to prosecute people who violate criminal misdemeanor laws and to provide legal representation to the city, its agents, and employees.
The Municipal Court is located at 700 E. 7th Street, Austin. The phone number is (512) 974-4800. You may also find it helpful to visit the court’s website at www.austintexas.gov/court for additional information.
You will need to contact the court at www.austintexas.gov/court.
If you are eligible, you may take a driving safety course or receive a deferred disposition. Certain conditions such has having a CDL, an allegation of traveling more than 25 miles over the posted speed limit, speeding in a work zone with workers present, and others may make you ineligible for a deferral. Please contact the Municipal Court to find out if you qualify.
A payment plan can only be offered only after a plea has been entered. Please contact the Municipal Court regarding this option.
You must make a written motion for discovery requesting all evidence and file it with the Municipal Court, either in person or via fax at (512) 974-4684.
A prosecutor evaluates each case and sends a subpoena to witnesses that are needed to testify during trial. Without your presence, the case may not be able to proceed. The date and trial location (courtroom number) will be printed on each subpoena as well as a phone number and an email address. It is important to call the listed phone number or send an email to the listed person as directed on the subpoena to confirm your appearance and ensure the trial has not been reset to another date.
You will need to make this request at the Municipal Court, 700 E. 7th Street, Austin. A copy of the complaint paperwork may be obtained from the Municipal Court website at www.austintexas.gov/court. You may fill out the paperwork before hand, but please do not sign it until you are at the court where a Deputy Clerk can witness your sworn statement.
Municipal Operations
You may contact the Code Compliance Division of the Department of Planning and Review by dialing 3-1-1, or you can file a report online.
You may contact the Public Works Department or dial 3-1-1 to report conditions that may require a city response.
The Office of the City Clerk maintains records of official City documents. You may contact their Office at (512) 974-2210.
Land Use and Real Estate Division
A summary of the customer's rights and the City's responsibility shall be provided with the first bill to each customer, and at least every two years thereafter. Billing and customer service questions can be directed to Austin Energy, who also sends out bills for Austin Water Utility. (512) 494-9400, or click here. For more information, click here.
Service extensions can be requested by contacting Austin Water Utility's Service Extension Request Program at (512) 972-0207.
For water/wastewater emergencies, contact (512) 972-1000; this number is answered 24 hours a day.
You may contact the Code Compliance Division of the Department of Planning and Review by dialing 3-1-1, or you can file a report online.
Both. The City of Austin has substantial water rights granted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to divert water from the Colorado River. However, the City’s water rights are not sufficient to meet the City’s water supply needs. Therefore, the City has a water supply purchase agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to back up or supplement the City’s water rights. In a typical year the City will use water from both its water rights and from its water supply agreement with LCRA.
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Contact Info
Phone: 512-974-2268
Fax: 512-974-2894
Physical Address:
301 W. 2nd Street
Austin, TX 78701
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767-1088
