$5.9 billion city budget proposed to Austin mayor, council

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax has proposed a $5.9 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025.

According to the city, the budget prioritizes community-focused investments in critical areas such as affordable, equitable housing and sustainable, resilient city services.

The budget also allows for investments in projects to address growth, including the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center, and efforts to strengthen critical mobility and utility infrastructure.

Read the full proposed budget here.

Some budget highlights include:

$3.6 million for the "I Belong Austin" tenant stabilization and eviction assistance program
$121.2 million in planned capital spending for design and construction of voter-approved long-term affordable housing projects
$2.7 million in one-time funding as well as $440,000 in ongoing funding across several City departments to support Austin Civilian Conservation Corps programming
$2.6 million in personnel and equipment costs, including funding for 28 sworn positions, for the Canyon Creek Fire/EMS Station, scheduled to open January 2025
$2.2 million in planned capital spending for projects that stabilize, preserve and enhance the African American Cultural Heritage District, Red River Cultural District, 5th Street Mexican Heritage Corridor, and East Cesar Chavez District
$506,000 for an additional street repair team to improve the condition of the City's street network
$463,000, including additional personnel, to investigate complaints of criminal illegal dumping
Six staff positions and funding to open and operate the new Colony Park District pool, the rebuilt Givens pool, and the expanded Mexican-American Cultural Center
$425,000 increase in funding for food, medical supplies, and facility maintenance at the Austin Animal Center and $30,000 one-time funding for animal boarding services to address capacity concerns
Nearly $200,000 to implement a new website tool for accurate, culturally competent translation in many languages on the City website

The proposed property tax rate is 44.93 cents per $100 of taxable value, which means the typical Austin homeowner will see an increase of $8.52 per month, or $102.26 per year, in the City’s portion of their annual property tax bill.

The city says rates and fees, including for electricity, trash service, water, drainage, and the transportation user fee, are also proposed to rise in response to escalating operations costs, as well as increasing service demands from a growing population. The projected increase for the typical payer is $22.70 per month, or $272.42 per year.

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Community input meetings will take place over the next few weeks and City Council will have the opportunity to review and initiate amendments to the proposed budget.

Final adoption is currently scheduled for August 14-16, but the city says it may not take all three days.

For more information on the City’s budget development process, and get involved, click here.