City Services

Apply to ride along with an APD officer in the Police Observer (Ride Along) program.

The City of Austin is committed to building a collection of high-quality public art for the enjoyment and enrichment of citizens and visitors. This policy outlines the process through which artwork proposals are reviewed and accepted or rejected by the City of Austin. Download the City of Austin Artwork Donation & Loan Policy (PDF).

If you have an uncorrected code violation, you could receive a written citation for an administrative hearing. You must appear at the hearing and must do so on the date set in the administrative citation.

The Austin Center for Events is a collaborative assembly of agencies designed to streamline special event permitting on public and private property. ACE is anchored by teams from Transportation, Parks, Music, Police, Fire, EMS, Code, ARR, Development Services and partner agencies, and works closely with event organizers to guide them through the permitting process.

Austin Fire Department and the Fire Marshall issue several permits related to public assemblies, hazardous materials, and more.

You can search online for current bid tabulations.

Building Plan Review is responsible for reviewing and approving residential and commercial building plans for compliance with applicable codes and regulations. Once a building plan is approved, a building permit is issued by Building and Trade Contractor Services, along with applicable trade permits (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and irrigation). Depending on the type of work that is permitted, building inspections may be required during construction. Once the permitted work is completed, a final inspection is required.

To determine eligibility for an economic development incentive, please complete an Inquiry Form.

In partnership with the Austin/Travis County Success By Six Coalition, the City works to ensure families have access to high-quality early learning options that meet their needs. Additionally, the City works with Texas Rising Star 4-Star providers through Workforce Solutions Capital Area Child Care Services (CCS) to provide subsidized child care for eligible families. 

Any parent or guardian who suspects their child may have a problem with fire should call the SAFE program coordinator at 512-854-4357.

Official distribution memos provide updates and status reports on City issues and programs to the mayor, council, and City staff. View memos online. For memos from before January 2009, contact the City's Media Relations Team.

If you need assistance with a story, please check the list for departmental media contact names, emails, and phone numbers.

Online, searchable archive of selected City of Austin social media resources.

Claims information is provided to customers for civil judgments and judgment liens owed to the City of Austin. To request information, you may contact staff by email at Claims.COA@austintexas.gov or by phone at 512-974-2910.

Austin Resource Recovery provides cart-based trash and recycling collection services for some small businesses in residential areas that do not require dumpsters. Most businesses, however, choose a private hauler for their landfill trash, recycling or composting services. Additionally, Austin Resource Recovery manages a commercial trash and recycling contract for businesses located in the Downtown Austin Service District.

Call 512-972-5555 or fax 512-972-5772 at any time of day to report a disease. Messages are answered within 15 minutes. For more information, see Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance.

The Community Tree Preservation Division administers the City's tree regulations by performing tree reviews, permitting, and inspections, and implements the Urban Forest Master Plan. The division serves to cultivate a relationship between Austin residents and their trees by fostering a resilient community forest accomplished through an interconnected mix of regulations, outreach, planning, and community partnerships.

Outreach facilitates internal and external communications regarding services, initiatives, programs and special notices to Austin’s community of certified firms.

SMBR routinely hosts outreach events and workshops on topics of interest to the minority business community, provides access and free training on the McGraw Hill Online Database, and offers no-cost access to business coaching. 

Outreach also partners with the Asian Contractors Association, Austin Area Black Contractors Association, US Hispanic Contractors Association and other community organizations to increase awareness and participation of the MBE/WBE program.

Find the most popular social networks for City departments, services, and initiatives in one spot. 

TARA provides assistance to electric utility customers (other than Austin Energy) and gas customers with complaints, questions, and concerns.  Our office strives to mediate complaints to the citizen's satisfaction in a timely fashion, even if the company no longer has a City franchise. We encourage residents to make contact with the utility provider first before contacting our office to escalate the issue.  The normal process is to give the company an opportunity to resolve the complaint before the TARA office escalates.  TARA is only able to escalate consumer issues with the following utility providers: Texas Gas Service, SiEnergy, Centerpoint Energy, ATMOS Energy, Bluebonnet Electric Co-op, Pedernales Electric Co-op, Spectrum, Grande Communications, AT&T, and Google Fiber.

Call 512-974-2999 or via email to file a complaint for one of these services.