Public safety and infrastructure are top priorities in the the city of San Antonio’s 2023-24 budget, three North San Antonio City Council members told residents in public meetings Aug. 15 and 16.
Background
The city is holding a series of public hearings citywide on the $3.7 billion fiscal year 2023-24 budget, which goes into effect Oct. 1. This total includes $1.6 billion for daily operations and capital projects, a 5.3% increase over the 2022-23 budget.
Council Members Marc Whyte, John Courage and Manny Pelaez, representing council districts 10, 9 and 8 respectively, led informational meetings Aug. 15 and 16. They all told their constituents that the budget is emphasizing more funding and personnel for police, fire, animal care services and addressing homelessness.
The daily operations—or general fund—budget includes $963.9 million for police and fire services, collectively representing 60.8% of the general fund total budget, as well as $125.1 million for public works and $26.9 million for animal care services.
A closer look
City officials highlighted features in the new budget:
- 100 new police officers
- Five new police instructors
- Goal to add 360 officers over five years and spend 60% of their time patrolling and meeting residents in neighborhoods
- Increase graduating cadets from 159 to 235
- Cadet pay increase
- One additional EMS unit
- 12 new paramedics
- 20 new firefighters, including four at the San Antonio International Airport
- Resources to prevent opioid abuse and to counter overdoses
- “Boxes” at 12 fire stations where new parents who are unable to care for their newborn to safely surrender a newborn with a city employee
- Eight animal care positions to answer calls about aggressive dogs, neglect and cruelty
- Seven positions for animal care enforcement and compliance
- 14 animal care positions to help with spay, neuter, rescues and adoptions
- Two positions to help prevent homelessness through diversion of at-risk individuals and families
- Two outreach positions to engage homeless persons, especially those in encampments
- Goal to eliminate 700 encampments
- Shelter 400 individuals through low-barrier shelters
- $116 million for scheduled street maintenance
- $22 million for sidewalk repairs
- $1.35 million to improve nonservice alleys
According to city officials, the budget proposes a 3.5% salary increase for police, 2.5% pay hike for fire and a 4% pay raise across the board for all city employees.
The budget also adds six public health positions, $541,000 for new public library materials, 16 parks and recreation positions, $2 million for small business construction mitigation, and four customer service positions addressing numerous calls at single-residence properties, or code compliance issues.
The city is proposing a slight drop in the property tax rate from $0.54161 to $0.54159 per $100 valuation, and a $1 monthly increase and a $3.49 monthly hike in fees charged for having a medium or large solid waste cart, respectively.
What they’re saying
In an Aug. 16 meeting at Hardberger Park, Pelaez said public safety is a key issue on many people’s minds in District 8.
“When I meet with with my neighbors, we've been getting a lot of heat, council members, because neighborhoods are telling us loud and clear, ‘I feel less safe now than I did before,'” Pelaez said. “I have my district director, Laura Garza, and she talks to the neighbors every day, all day, and this is one of the most frequent phone calls we get, which is ‘I want to feel safer.’”
Appearing at the Aug. 16 meeting, Courage agreed with Pelaez that many residents in north central San Antonio are most worried about public safety, customer service, code compliance, fiscal stewardship and property tax relief. He urged residents to take time and learn more about the budget and provide input. His council office recently invited constituents to response to an online budget survey.
“It’s so we have an idea of what our community's wants and needs are. It’s because that's what we're here to do—fulfill as much as we can your wants and your needs,” Courage said.
Ahead of an Aug. 15 meeting at the Northeast Senior Center, Whyte said supporting public safety and enhanced code compliance were priorities in his council election campaign.
“Throughout my campaign, I made a clear commitment to combat rising crime and amplify public safety in District 10,” Whyte said in a statement. “I delivered on that promise by supporting over $963 million in the proposed city budget for police, fire and parks police departments. I will continue to work tirelessly to create a safer community in San Antonio.”
What’s next?
Council will continue budget work sessions and public hearings through the rest of August. Public hearings on the proposed budget and tax rate will be held Aug. 30 and Sept. 7 at council chambers downtown, 114 W. Commerce St. Council expects to adopt the budget Sept. 14.
