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Tag Archives: city budget
Zero Waste Advisory Commission discusses rate changes and projects
Austin’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZWAC) met on May 14 where appointees heard a five-year financial forecast for Austin Resource Recovery and a report on the utility’s current projects. May is typically when city staff present their departmental financial forecasts…
Resources • By Mina Shekarchi • May 16, 2025
Parks funding recommendations expected to go before Council this month
The Parks and Recreation Department is moving forward with an effort to identify new funding options for the city’s park system, with a pair of outside consultants on board that have helped other large cities find and address funding gaps…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • May 9, 2025
Austin Public Health urges Council to prioritize frontline jobs amid federal funding cuts
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) continued slashing of federal funding for critical services is coinciding with and compounding an already dire budget crunch for Austin, which will force Council to make tough decisions on where to tighten the…
Public Health • By Lina Fisher • May 9, 2025
Tax rate election seems likely this November
During the City Council Audit & Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, Kerri Lang, director of the city’s budget office, laid out the steps the city would take in deciding whether to submit a request to voters for a property tax increase…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • May 7, 2025
City facing a $33 million deficit for 2026
Given current conditions, the city’s budget analysts are projecting a $33 million shortfall in the city’s General Fund in Fiscal Year 2026, with that number increasing to $79.9 million by FY 2030. City Council heard the bad news from City…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Apr 9, 2025
City looking to fill in gaps after spending or encumbering all ARPA funds
The city has spent or encumbered a total of $188.5 million that it received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. According to a memo to the mayor and City Council, the city met the Dec. 31,…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Apr 8, 2025
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Council gets early look at public health cuts caused by federal funding losses
Austin Public Health leaders are working to manage an ongoing budget crisis caused by federal funding cuts that have destabilized programs across the city. City Council’s Public Health Committee heard last week that APH has already lost approximately $15 million…
Public Health • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 7, 2025
Tax rate election looks likely for Austin this year
Under state law, Austin is only allowed to raise its tax rate by 3.5 percent without asking voters for permission. That law has been on the books since 2019 without the city scheduling a regular tax rate election. But it…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Mar 28, 2025
Technology Commission approves FY 26 budget recommendations to address digital equity
Austin’s Technology Commission unanimously approved five recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, based on a digital needs assessment, to address digital equity in Austin including funding for affordable devices, expanded public internet access and increased digital skills training for…
Budget • By Madeline de Figueiredo • Mar 11, 2025
Council vows to make homelessness a top financial priority
City Council last week reaffirmed its commitment to tackling Austin’s homelessness crisis, pledging to use a recent data-driven report to guide housing and services investments over the next 10 years. City officials will work with Travis County, service providers and…
City Council • By Amy Smith • Feb 3, 2025
Public lines up to oppose police contract
The Austin City Council sat through hours of speeches from the public on Tuesday, mostly from citizens who oppose the proposed five-year contract with the city’s police union. A few spoke in support, but the vast majority of the 236…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Oct 23, 2024
Fuentes airs budget concerns over move to keep Marshalling Yard shelter open indefinitely
City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes has signaled her concerns with a resolution scheduled for next week’s meeting that could result in keeping a 300-bed emergency shelter open far longer than it was originally budgeted for. The resolution directs the city…
