Austin passed a $5.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2023-24 on Aug. 16. The budget was adopted 10-1, with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting against it.
Mayor Kirk Watson said that the key priorities for this budget include homelessness, public safety, resiliency, quality of life and affordability.
The budget includes base wage increases for city employees and an increase in the Austin Police Department budget by $32.4 million, or by about 7% from FY 2022-23.
Under the adopted budget, property tax rates will be 44.58 cents per $100 valuation for 2023-24, a 3.4% increase from FY 2022-23.
Due to tax, rate and fee changes a typical ratepayer will see an increase of 3.6%, or an additional $172 per year.
The breakdown
The general fund budget is $1.4 billion, with the capital budget including $1.6 million in planned spending.
The budget includes:
- $2 million for a mental health diversion center
- $1.3 million for a family stabilization grant program
- $1.35 million for testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases
- $80.9 million for homelessness response
- $1 million for Austin Energy to conduct a study to move the distribution system underground
- $2.6 million for incentives for police cadet recruitment
- $87.2 million in planned capital spending for affordable housing
“Spending money is not an accomplishment,” said Council Member Ryan Alter. “Getting results for the community is. That's the hard work we started and I look forward to working with my colleagues and staff to do just that.”
What’s next?
The budget will go into effect on Oct. 1, and last until Sept. 30, 2024. A draft of the budget is available online, and the full version will be available in the fall.
For more information, visit www.austintexas.gov.
