Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Austin leaders enact budget revisions after Prop Q failure
Austin officials unanimously approved a reduced $6.3 billion budget and tax rate for the city’s fiscal year 2025-26, weeks after voters rejected a tax hike under Proposition Q and prompted the budget revision process. 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; home- lessness 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
Austin taxpayer impacts
City property taxes and other charges will rise about 4% in the coming year, and are expected to rise more than 6% next year.
Property taxes
Utility charges
City fees
$5,447.52
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 (revised) FY 2026-27 (planned)
$5,666.84
$6,018.12
$0
$1K
$2K
$3K
$4K
$5K
$6K
$7K
$8K
NOTE: ESTIMATES BASED ON AUSTIN'S MEDIAN HOMESTEAD VALUE, TYPICAL CUSTOMER UTILITY AND SERVICE USAGE, AND TYPICAL SINGLE-FAMILY HOME CHARACTERISTICS AS DEFINED BY THE CITY.
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
priorities, and members spent the last few weeks reviewing how to trim that added spending. 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.
path to removing most extra Proposition Q spend- ing, 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. 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
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CEDAR PARK - FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION
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