“I said the night we originally passed the budget that it was now time to trust the voters. I believe the budget amendment that we just adopted reveals that we trusted the voters, we heard the voters and we reacted to the voters," Mayor Kirk Watson said late Nov. 20. "I want to say thank you to the voters for engaging in the election and for sending the message.”
The specifics
The proposition's failure in the Nov. 4 election automatically dropped the city's tax rate from the level set under Proposition Q, removing about $100 million from Austin's general fund.
The budget revisions largely addressed the nearly $1.5 billion general fund, which includes public safety departments; public health; homelessness and housing programs; and parks, library, animal services, and arts and culture operations. Council members had advanced the overturned tax increase to support most of those areas given concerns about state and federal funding impacts, and to expand higher-profile city services.
City budget staff this month recommended a path to removing most extra Proposition Q spending, which had centered largely on homelessness response, public safety and parks upkeep. They suggested further reductions to shift more than $7 million toward those and other council priorities.
Late budget edits came after some council members aimed to tweak staff's recommendations to boost those areas while restoring funding for fire response efforts and support for city employees. The final set of amendments combining staff and council's proposals was adopted in an 11-0 vote and focused on:
- EMS overtime funding to avoid "brown-outs," or taking stations or ambulances out of service due to resource constraints
- 24/7 coverage for the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team mental health response unit
- Millions of dollars for homeless shelter and supportive housing services alongside cuts to other rehousing, shelter and homeless diversion initiatives
- City employee stipends and benefits
- Wildfire mitigation
- Programs to address food insecurity
- Child advocacy services in Williamson County
The big picture
The Proposition Q election was called after City Council passed a budget this summer backed by the higher tax rate to fund a range of their priorities, and members spent the last few weeks reviewing how to trim that added spending.
Austin's FY 2025-26 tax rate is $0.524017 per $100 property valuation, a 5-cent decrease from the Proposition Q rate but still about 10% higher than last year's. The owner of a home valued at about $495,000, the city median, can now expect to pay about $100 more in property taxes alongside other increased city and utility charges. The Proposition Q tax hike would've been just over $300 for the median homeowner.
A steeper rise in city costs is on the horizon. The typical resident can expect to pay several hundred dollars more in property taxes, utility bills and city fees next year—a roughly 6.2% increase—following this year's 4% jump, based on city projections.
In statements, Watson said City Council responded to Proposition Q's rejection by providing for "basic services through basic budgeting" while City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the budget reflects city officials' "difficult but thoughtful decisions."
"Even with limited resources, we’ve stayed focused on our commitment to providing essential services, supporting public safety, addressing homelessness, and investing in the health and well-being of our community,” Broadnax said.
Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes said she worked to protect services keeping residents "safe, housed, and stable."
"We know that the tough decisions aren’t over, but my commitment remains with the Austinites we represent, the services they depend on the most and the workers who keep them running," she said.
Council member Marc Duchen, who voted against the original approved budget that prompted the tax rate election, said he hopes to see continued city spending reforms after this fall's process.
“I think the passage of the budget this year marked a moment to reset and rebuild," he said. "My sense was that Prop Q’s failure showed how concerned local residents are when it comes to how we spend money here, and I think my colleagues and I have taken a first and important step to restoring trust for those constituents.”
Other officials also thanked city voters for direction through the election, while noting funding reductions will likely be noticed by residents in the year ahead.
“I know there’s a lot more items that if there were a few more dollars, that we would absolutely be able to spend in a way that serves our public as best possible. But since we were at 3.5% [the state cap on annual city revenue increases], we said we absolutely have to make the best of this, we have to make as many tough cuts as possible to make sure that we can make each dollar stretch as far as possible," council member Paige Ellis said.
Council member Ryan Alter, a backer of Proposition Q, said the measure's failure represented the loss of a "lifeline" for more vulnerable residents.
“It would have let us take better care of our city," he said.
One more thing
Aside from funding decisions, officials also unanimously moved to:
- Set a new "uniform process" for approving and monitoring city social service contracts and grants
- Launch a new public website logging city audits, studies and consultant reports, and tracking progress toward any improvements recommended in those reports
- Solicit more budgeting feedback from city boards and commissions
