Council lays out spending priorities ahead of final Austin budget, tax election vote

Officials laid out those budget amendments, totaling millions of dollars of one-time and ongoing spending, for the first time Aug. 7. If approved, those changes would range from local upgrades—like a new neighborhood trail in Southwest Austin and improved lighting at local parks—to citywide initiatives like new sidewalk construction and a higher pay increase for city employees who can’t work remotely.

The council is also aiming to fund significant investments in homelessness response through the next budget. Added spending in that area could support a new staff position to map public encampments, improved data management and extra opportunities for clients of a Northwest Austin service center to shower.

After a city consultant recently recommended using civilian staff members for some policing responsibilities, like accident reports or parking violations, council member Ryan Alter proposed a $1.5 million pilot for that type of work.

“We have heard a number of times about the volume to which our budget is public safety. And one way to bend that cost curve is to recognize that we can use non-sworn staff for certain responses,” he said.

The cost

Beyond those budgeting items, the council dais has also split between different plans for a tax rate election, or TRE, to fund up to tens of millions of dollars more in annual investments.

City leaders have planned for a TRE for months, pointing to factors like declining federal funds and a state-imposed cap on revenue gains as reasons for Austin to ask voters for a greater revenue boost. Multiple scenarios are now on the table that could potentially add hundreds of dollars to residents’ tax bills next year.

Council member Marc Duchen has been the most skeptical of the process, stating that he’s against a TRE given concerns about affordability and city spending trends.

“My concern is we’re going to be back in the same place that we are right now in as little as two years, having this conversation about how we figure out how to manage the future deficit, unless we’re thoughtful about really trying to address how we’re essentially spending more than we are taking in in revenue—particularly in a time where we’ve got decreased sales tax projections,” he said.

Still, given the push for a rate hike at some level, Duchen forwarded a 2-cent addition to Broadnax’s proposed tax rate—the highest allowed without voter approval—focused on public safety staffing, park improvements, wildfire mitigation and staff raises. That increase would raise the typical resident’s tax bill by just over $180 in the next year.

Mayor Kirk Watson brought the next-highest TRE option, a 3.5-cent jump above the proposed tax rate. Watson has said his framework is centered on fully funding a multimillion dollar plan to support homelessness programming for years, as well as public safety, parks and other social services. His plan would add more than $200 to residents’ tax bills, based on city staff estimates.

On the higher end, two additional TRE scenarios are each supported by groups of council members who’ve said they want to maintain and expand an even wider range of city services. Both of those plans also focus on homelessness along with extensive spending in other areas.

A nearly 5.75-cent TRE backed by council members Paige Ellis, Krista Laine, Mike Siegel and Zo Qadri would add more than $300 to the typical homeowner’s tax bill.

“We think that this proposal strikes a responsible balance between funding the community’s needs and still making sure that we are being mindful of the impact on property tax bills for the average family,” Ellis said. “We think it does a great job of lifting up the most vulnerable in our community while providing necessary city services that we know everybody wants to be able to deliver to our constituents.”

Council members Vanessa Fuentes, José Velásquez, Chito Vela and Ryan Alter are seeking a 6.75-cent tax rate addition, costing taxpayers more than $350 extra than this year. There’s some overlap between those blueprints, but Alter said the higher amount is necessary to address community needs while helping the most vulnerable find housing or stay housed; their plan covers the complete homeless plan compiled by city staff.

“We are a boat that is taking on water. And this plan, the [Homeless Strategy Office] plan, is allowing for us to get more water out of that boat,” he said. “If we do not plug the holes, it won’t matter. We can scoop all day long, we have to cut off that inflow.”

There’s some overlap between the election scenarios, and council’s mid-August vote will likely be based around a mix of ideas now on the table. Siegel is also calling to equally spread out potential budget cuts across all spending areas if Austinites reject a greater tax hike this fall.

“The idea here is not to single out, when we adopt this budget, ‘Oh these are the base budget items and these are the TRE items.’ Because we fear that would signal to the public that the so-called TRE items are second tier, lower priority, less valuable,” he said. “That’s ... not my intention as we go through this budget process.”

All four current TRE scenarios can be viewed here.

Also of note

Beyond those notable funding items, several officials are also seeking process changes that may not immediately impact Austin’s budget. Some of those council requests include:

• Launching a new public dashboard on the performance of city homelessness contracts
• Adding a new resident utility fee to support the parks system
• Centralizing 911 and emergency communications under one roof
• Establishing a “climate revolving fund” to capture and reinvest savings from civic energy upgrades

All of those items can be viewed here.