Government
BY HALEY MCLEOD, BEN THOMPSON & SIENNA WIGHT
New city short-term rental rules in e ect Approval of new rules for short-term rentals, or STRs, in September ended a reg- ulatory overhaul meant to curb unlicensed rental operations and nuisances in Austin. What happened For years, Austin hasn’t been able to keep up with the spread of rental units that aren’t registered with the city—and therefore not paying hotel occupancy taxes that support cultural initiatives. Multiple attempts to tackle the issue led to this year’s changes. New policies are aimed at making it easier to strike unlicensed STR listings from plat- forms like Airbnb and Vrbo, and ensuring full tax collections. City Council also moved to streamline the licensing process, allow renters to participate in the STR market, and permit up to two rentals on lots with multiple housing units.
Tax hike to boost Travis County health care services Travis County homeowners will see about $64 added to their property tax bills after commission- ers approved a tax increase to fund county health care services Sept. 16. The big picture • Curb avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency room visits • Expand health insurance coverage for more patients • Close gaps in care
County hospital district Central Health’s tax rate will increase 9.3% in scal year 2025-26, to $0.118023 per $100 property valuation. The aver- age homeowner will pay roughly $608 in property taxes to Central Health, up from $544 last year. Dubbed the “year of access” by Central Health o cials, the additional funding would expand and speed up health care options for low-income residents. District documents outlined several “patient- rst” priorities for the coming year: • Reduce appointment wait times to under two weeks
The biggest jump in spending is for primary care services, which would rise from about $74 million to just over $103 million, with most of that for an expanded partnership with CommUnityCare. Another major increase is for behavioral health specialty care, which would grow from about $25.7 million to more than $40 million. That re ects additional funding for Integral Care. Beyond those two areas, most other services will see smaller, steady increases, as the agency strengthens its specialty health care programs and hires in-demand specialist doctors. There is also new funding designated for diagnostic services.
Central Health tax rate year-over-year Travis County leaders have raised the hospital district’s tax rate to fund health care services for several years.
$0.12
“... We’re nally getting to a point where we have a workable, enforceable STR ordinance that will be able to stand up to legal challenge and also generate
$0.118023
$0.11
$0.111814
$0.107969
the hotel occupancy tax that we’ve been trying to get into the city co ers.” CHITO VELA, COUNCIL MEMBER
$0.10
$0.100692
$0.098684
$0.09
+9.31%
$0
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
SOURCE: CENTRAL HEALTH TRAVIS COUNTY
Dripping Springs o cials OK budget, tax rate Dripping Springs o cials passed a $30.34 million budget for scal year 2025-26, with a tax rate of $0.2267 per $100 of valuation. The gist The new budget will raise approximately
Billing increase The average Dripping Spring homeowner will see their annual tax bill rise about 27% next year.
The average homeowner will pay about $1,266 in property taxes, a roughly $269 increase compared to the previous year based on a $0.047 tax rate increase. The general fund budget will cover expenses such as: • $2.65 million for transportation improvement projects • $538,500 for park improvements • $223,602 for Founder’s Day
$997.59
2024-25
+26.93%
$1.2 million more from property taxes, which o cials said is a 32.4% increase from FY 2024-25. “This increase supports continued city services and infrastructure investments,” the taxpayer impact statement reads.
$1,266.24
2025-26
SOURCE: CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: BASED ON AVERAGE TAXABLE HOMESTEAD VALUES OF $556,068 IN FY 2024 25 AND $558,554 IN FY 2025 26
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION
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