Austin voters rejected Proposition Q, a 20% tax rate increase. City officials conceded the measure was headed for failure late election night, while opponents celebrated the tax hike's defeat.
The proposition failed with 109,262 votes against, more than 63% of the vote, versus 62,882 ballots cast in favor based on totals reported by Travis, Williamson and Hays counties. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
SAN co-chair Matt Mackowiak labeled Proposition Q’s rejection as a “taxpayer revolt” and called on the city to audit its budget and improve resident services.
“Tonight is a victory for taxpayers. And those kind of victories are pretty rare in our city,” he said. “Our city council and our mayor already have said many times, affordability is a crisis. Well folks, you do not make affordability better by raising taxes.”
Attorney Adam Loewy, a contributor to efforts against the ballot measure, said the “blowout victory” represented clear direction from voters despite both City Council’s summer approval of the tax hike and the Travis County Democratic Party’s vote in support of Proposition Q.
“When those two things happen in this town, almost every single time, anything will pass. But here, we had a broad bipartisan coalition that stood up and said, ‘No, we are not standing up for this. ... Enough is enough.’ The spending must stop, we do not need more taxes, and this city council needs to get the message to get their house in order,” he said.
Acknowledging the measure’s failure in a Nov. 4 statement, Mayor Kirk Watson said Austin voters “prioritized affordability” over new spending amid concerns about the economy and government stability. Looking ahead, he said city officials should approve a new, balanced spending plan—a required next step under a lowered tax rate triggered by the election—by getting back to basics.
“We are expected to govern with fiscal responsibility, focusing on basic services, providing them efficiently and effectively, and being accountable for the money we collect. This election was, in part, a referendum on city government demonstrating discipline and a visible effort to stop or slow rising costs and expenses,” he said. “Collecting taxes, rates, and fees—even for important items—impacts the ability for Austinites to afford to live here.”
Watson also said the city should roll out an audit process to “assess and optimize our service delivery and financial systems” to improve public trust in City Hall.
Leaders with the Cares Not Cuts Coalition supporting Proposition Q said the election leaves key public programs in a precarious place, and that Austin employees should have a say in how city budget reductions are made.
“The path to funding the city programs working families depend on is uncertain, and the outcome of this election will impact everyone who calls Austin home,” James Monks, Austin EMS Association president and coalition volunteer, said in a statement. “Our city faces an uncertain future, and a local government less equipped to step in as state and federal leaders continue to fail us.”
Posted Nov. 4 8:44 p.m.
The Austin tax rate election ballot measure Proposition Q appears headed for failure, based only on early voting results released after 7 p.m. Nov. 4.
Current situation
Early vote totals out of Hays, Travis and Williamson counties show Proposition Q being rejected by a two-to-one margin, with 60,225 votes cast against—more than 67%—versus just 29,568 votes cast in favor. Proposition Q asks voters to approve a 20% increase to Austin's property tax rate, as set by City Council during their budget adoption this summer. The annual increase from a rate of $0.4776 per $100 in property value to $0.574017 would raise more funds than allowed under a state law limiting local tax revenue gains year-over-year without voter approval.
If Proposition Q passes, the budget and tax rate will stand as approved. The measure would bring in nearly $110 million for homelessness and housing programs, public health services, parkland management, employee benefits, and other spending under Austin's general fund portion of the budget that supports public-facing services. The city has accounted for most, but not all, of the added spending under the tax rate election.
A closer look
The owner of a median-valued home in Austin—assessed at $494,803—would pay about $303 more in taxes next year if Proposition Q is approved. If the ballot measure fails, their bill would still rise by about $105 under the reduced rate.
Those calculations account for lowered home values year-over-year, with Austin's median dropping from an estimated $524,082 for the previous fiscal year.
Regardless of the election outcome, the typical resident can also expect some increases to city fees and utility charges.
Political action committees for and against Proposition Q poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into their campaigns in the lead-up to Nov. 4.
Spending in favor of the tax rate measure came from PACs aligned with local labor groups for public employees, nonprofits and other entities involved with homelessness programs and housing development, city officials, and others. Opposition was led by Save Austin Now, the political group that heavily out-raised and out-spent campaigns on both sides of the ballot measure through October with support from several local business leaders and hundreds of individuals.
Zooming out
This year's city taxing measure followed a series of local elections in which community members supported increased spending, with impacts to local tax bills. Through the 2020s, Austin-area voters considered and approved:
- An 8.75-cent city tax rate hike to fund the multibillion-dollar Project Connect transit system and a $460 mobility bond, both in 2020
- Austin's $350 million affordable housing bond, Austin Community College's $770 million district improvement bond and Austin ISD's $2.4 billion bond program, all in 2022
- Travis County's child care tax rate election in 2024
- Austin ISD's tax rate election in 2024
