Cedar Park City Council voted July 23 to approve the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority’s, or BCRUA’s, fiscal year 2026-27 budget, which outlines the utility’s planned spending for the coming year and includes a $7.2 million contribution from Cedar Park.

Some context: The BCRUA is a partnership between the cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock to provide the area with drinking water, primarily through a system that draws water from Lake Travis.

Each of the three cities gets one vote on the BCRUA board. Cedar Park City Council member Anne Duffy currently serves as the city’s voting member and the board president. The BCRUA board approved the budget June 24. Following the board vote, a separate approval is required from each of the three cities.

The breakdown: Of the $41.2 million total, roughly $7.8 million goes toward the operating budget, which pays for routine costs like maintenance, treatment chemicals and employee compensation. 

The debt service budget of $33.4 million is an increase of 7.7% compared to the previous year’s budget.

Florida-based market Southern Steer Butcher is slated to debut its newest location north of Austin in Cedar Park in August.

The details: The butcher shop offers a range of artisanal cuts of meat, including poultry and pork, alongside a variety of prepared sides, appetizers and desserts. Shoppers can also find a selection of seasonings, salts, rubs, jams, salsas and marinades. The business also operates a dry ager in which customers can enroll as a member in the Dry Aging Program to reserve a space in the dry ager with a custom nameplate.

Behind the business: Inspired by traditional butcher shops in the Northeastern U.S., Southern Steer Butcher opened its first location in Clearwater, Florida, in 2013. The company is known for its signature marinated meats, particularly its steak tips, as well as its focus on supporting the local communities it serves. The upcoming location will join the company's existing Texas stores in Southwest Austin, Lakeway and McKinney.

• 4701 183A Toll, Bldg. A, Ste. 100, Cedar Park

Candidates for Austin City Council races in this year's November election raised more than $450,000 and had over $1 million available as of this summer, with several council incumbents making up more than half of that cash on hand total.

The details: Council seats in Districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9 will be on the ballot this fall. Four of those races are expected to include incumbent council members seeking to defend their seats, while District 1 council member Natasha Harper-Madison is term-limited and leaving office.

All incumbents reported high financial totals in their campaigns so far this year, with some challengers keeping pace across the district contests. The official candidate filing period for places on the ballot will run through Aug. 17.

Relatively little activity was reported by local political action committees, aside from Save Austin Now, which drew more than $526,000 in individual and corporate donations. The PAC reported no spending and had just under $8,200 still available as of June as it campaigns for its citywide auditing ballot measure.

Texas lawmakers are considering cutting a costly, decade-old tax break for the state’s booming data center industry.

The overview: Texas spends more than $1 billion annually on the sales tax exemption, and the comptroller’s office estimated in 2025 that due to the program, the state will lose about $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years.

The Lone Star State is home to the nation’s fastest-growing data center market, and the Data Center Coalition, which advocates for the industry, has argued that the tax break program is key to maintaining that title. Senators and members of the public who spoke at a July 27 hearing disagreed.

Looking ahead: Amid a bipartisan push for more regulation of data centers, senators indicated that they intend to add more strings to the tax exemption program or eliminate it entirely.

"The question is whether or not we need to have a special session where all of us are focusing in on this," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said.

“We do,” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, replied.