Garza released his draft budget document in mid-July, launching several weeks of public review and edits before City Council approves a final plan beginning Aug. 16. Community Impact will continue to cover the process through council's final vote.
Alongside an overall focus on streamlined services, Garza said he aimed to address areas including affordability, homelessness, public safety, quality of life and resiliency through his draft budget.
"We are ensuring we have the staff and resources necessary to keep our facilities like parks, libraries and recreation centers safe, clean and inviting; investing in emergency services to be able to respond more quickly and effectively to calls of medical distress; evaluating service delivery at the Austin Animal Center; and overhauling systems and processes to better serve Austin residents," Garza wrote in the proposed budget.
Austin's proposed budget for FY 2023-24, which begins Oct. 1, is available here.
What to expect
A majority of Austin's revenue comes from property taxes and city fees, and residents can expect to pay more in the year ahead.
A total city tax rate of $0.4242 per $100 of property value is proposed for the upcoming fiscal year, an 8.32% decrease from the current $0.4627 rate. However, rising property values mean Austinites may end up paying more next year.The city estimated the "typical" homeowner—based on a median home value of $502,544 after exemptions—will see a $25.91 annual increase on their 2024 tax bills.
On top of taxes, other city and utility charges will rise slightly as well. Standard electric and water usage, trash collection services, plus smaller municipal charges are all expected to cost the typical resident about $70 more in the upcoming fiscal year.Budget breakdown
The proposed $5.45 billion operating budget features $1.34 billion in general fund spending. The general fund includes largely tax-funded city departments with more visible day-to-day services, and a majority is dedicated to public safety.
The Austin Police Department continues to make up the largest share of the general fund, and Garza has proposed bumping up police spending by more than $30 million, or 7.12%, overall. The increase is headlined by dozens of new civilian staff positions and more than $15 million for cadet incentives and raises and bonuses for sworn staff.Garza called out several funding updates at the APD in his budget overview, including changes targeting police training, cadet recruitment and staffing up the city's 911 call center.
With attempts to reform the police cadet academy reportedly falling short, the new budget dedicates 11 new staff positions for "improved training and data reporting" on the many fixes proposed by a third-party consultant monitoring the process. The department will also have a new commander overseeing officer recruitment, and Garza said the city plans to partner with Workforce Solutions to hire more emergency call takers; about 45% of those positions were vacant as of late June.
The Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County EMS would also see more funding with staffing levels increased by several dozen positions, including a crew for the new Goodnight Ranch fire/EMS station opening in South Austin early next year. Other fire and EMS stations have facility upgrades funded in the proposed budget, and EMS would receive three new staff positions to help with its recruitment efforts.
City homeless strategy may also get an approximately $6 million boost over the current fiscal year. Nearly $56 million would be spent on consolidating the city's public encampment cleanup work, developing both permanent housing and temporary shelter options, and other housing and support services.
Outside of public safety, seven staffers could be added to the newly established Planning Department to help manage the many in-progress development code updates and a "comprehensive" refresh of the Imagine Austin plan.
Public spaces from parks to libraries and clinics could get $2.7 million for enhanced security and cleanliness services. Parks across Austin could also get some heat relief, with $210,000 reserved for new shade structures.
Across the board, all civilian government employees are in line for a 4% annual raise as the city's minimum wage rises to $20.80. The update comes a year after city workers' pay became a central issue in budget debates following several years without an increase, with council eventually voting to set a $20 living wage.
"Without skilled, professional and dedicated staff members, we could not deliver the services our customers expect and deserve, nor could we tackle the transformational projects that will prepare Austin for the future," Garza wrote.
Enterprise funds by the numbers
Separate from the general fund are the more self-sustaining entities referred to as enterprise funds, such as the Austin Energy and Austin Water utilities and a handful of city departments.
Proposed changes across enterprise funds include:
- The Austin Convention Center would see its budget jump from $161.93 million to $367.88 million in the coming fiscal year leading up to what could end up being a $1.6 billion dollar redevelopment and expansion project.
- The Aviation Department's budget could jump from $284.53 million to $342.53 million with some rising costs and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's multibillion dollar expansion underway.
- AE's budget is expected to slightly drop from $1.67 billion to $1.65 billion after increasing its revenues following a pair of electric rate hikes last year. Updates include the addition of almost 30 new staff positions and a $1 million study about the possibility of burying more power lines as a possible more for greater resiliency.
- AW is looking at a budget jump from $684.57 million to $748.54 million, including 20 new staff positions for operations and customer relations. A water rate increase is expected to generate more than $11 million.
- Even with some increasing rates, Austin Resource Recovery's budget would drop from $142.41 million to $125.99 million. A $20 million decrease in collection assistance and accounting services is expected.
- The Development Services Department's funding would rise from $106.81 million to $109.04 million, with $2.5 million to be spent on consultant services to improve the city's unpopular permitting processes.
- After being combined into one entity, the Transportation and Public Works Department could have its funding increased from $210.23 million to $227.87 million.
- The Watershed Protection Department's budget would increase from $112.55 million to $114.55 million, including $1.68 million for garbage pickup, cleanup and maintenance services for ponds and creeks, and homeless encampment cleanup programs.
After Garza formally presents his budget to City Council on July 19, Austinites will have several opportunities to weigh in on the plan.
Council will meet for a work session centered on the general fund July 26 followed by a review of enterprise funds Aug. 1, and both meetings will include public comment opportunities. Additional work sessions are scheduled in August before final budget meetings begin Aug. 16 and could run through Aug. 18.
Individual council members are also hosting district-level budget town halls. More information is available here.
Residents can also follow council's budget Q&A process here.
