Austin is currently administered by a seven-member city council (six council members plus a mayor), each of them elected at large. The council is accompanied by a hired city manager under the manager-council system of municipal governance. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner. Due to a referendum approved by voters on November 6, 2012, the current composition with council members elected on an at-large basis will change in 2014 to a new system of ten single member districts and a citywide election for mayor.
Austin formerly operated its city hall at 128 West 8th Street. Antoine Predock and Cotera Kolar Negrete & Reed Architects designed a new city hall building, which was intended to reflect what The Dallas Morning News referred to as a "crazy-quilt vitality, that embraces everything from country music to environmental protests and high-tech swagger." The new city hall, built from recycled materials, has solar panels in its garage. The city hall, at 301 West Second Street, opened in November 2004. The current mayor of Austin is Lee Leffingwell. His second term ends in 2015.
Law enforcement in Austin is provided by the Austin Police Department, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The University of Texas Police operate from the University of Texas.
Fire protection within the city limits is provided by the Austin Fire Department, while the surrounding county is divided into twelve geographical areas known as Emergency Services Districts, which are covered by separate regional fire departments. Emergency Medical Services are provided for the whole county by "Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services".
State and federal representation The 8-story U.S. Courthouse constructed at a cost of $123 million is located at Fourth, Fifth, San Antonio, and Nueces streets in Austin (opened December 2012).The Texas Department of Transportation operates the Austin District Office in Austin.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Austin I and Austin II district parole offices in Austin.
The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Austin.
See also: Government of Texas and List of capitals in the United States
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