Travis County posted a new Order this past weekend, which took effect on August 16, and will last through December 15. The new Order is basically a combination of the previous county Orders regarding the current physical/social distancing guidelines, like limiting gatherings not to exceed 10 people (with a punishable fine not to exceed $1,000), the mandatory use of face coverings when around others not in your household (with a second violation to not exceed a $250 fine), and for businesses to develop a health and safety policy (with a punishable fine not to exceed $1,000). The updated Order also includes Austin Public Health requirements (Exhibit B) and recommendations, which offers guidance for schools, day cares, and further health and safety recommendations for businesses and vulnerable populations. Click here to review the updated Order.

For those still seeking unemployment assistance, Governor Abbott announced yesterday that the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) applied for additional unemployment benefit funding that could provide an additional $300 per week in benefits for qualifying Texans receiving unemployment. This could happen as early as August 23, and would be backdated to the benefit week ending August 1. Click here for more information.

The number of new reported cases in Travis County has risen slightly over the past week, while hospitalizations in Central Texas have declined. There is an average of around 27 daily hospitalizations over a seven-day period in the region (compared to around 33 this time last week). The County currently does remain in Stage 4 at this time even though average hospitalizations are near the middle of what could trigger Stage 3. Click here to learn more about the five stages and risk-based guidelines. There are currently 227 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in our five-county area, down from 274 last week. Click here to review the latest information on hospitalizations.

There have now been a total of 25,353 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Travis County. That number is up by 1,635 compared to this same time last week, 1,462 the week before that, and 1,791 the week before that one. It's estimated there are around 669 active COVID-19 positive cases in the county according to the state dashboard, compared to 903 last week. For the three zip codes associated with Lakeway (78734, 78738, 78669), there have been 476 cases identified to date, which is up by 25 compared to the same time last week, and up by 30 comparing with the week before that. Click here for more details and to view the tracking tool, which includes an interactive map to see cases by your zip code.

At Monday evening's City Council meeting (August 17, 2020), Councilmembers voted 6-1 in favor (with Councilmember Smith against) to support a proposed 3.5% not to exceed city tax rate increase. The 3.5% proposed tax increase would still need to be approved by City Council in September after a public hearing, and would be the maximum possible increase. City Council could still vote on a lower rate. The increase would average about $24 more per year for the average Lakeway homeowner, and help support important new city positions like a planner, grant writer, emergency coordinator, and fleet maintenance staff member. Additionally, it would help update our current fleet of vehicles in the City. Overall, the city portion of your Lakeway property tax bills is between 6% to 9% depending on which area of the city you live in. That percentage of your property tax bill helps fund important city services such as police, parks operations and maintenance, city landscaping, city events, local road maintenance, code compliance, permitting, court operations, and much more. The public hearing on the proposed tax rate will take place in September. For more details about the tax rate, please visit our website or click here.

Have you spotted a few letters in our city parks this past week? It's part of a new virtual game from our Parks & Recreation Department! Several letters (A through Z) have been placed throughout our parks with numbers attached to them. Take a snapshot of those letters and match the corresponding numbered letters to uncover the mystery phrase on our website. If you discover the phrase, send an email to [email protected] and you could win a special prize! We've already provided one clue to the puzzle in the picture =). The hunt ends on August 30, so take your family this weekend or next to compete. Click here for more information.