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Tag Archives: city budget

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Citizens simply ask for more at budget hearing

A significant majority of those who spoke at Wednesday’s public hearing on the city’s Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget seemed pleased with the money city staff had recommended allocating to their specific interest. Several praised City Council and City Manager Spencer…

person sleeping on street

City budget boosts spending for homelessness services

The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation. The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s…

Lower public safety bill cuts tax growth

Austin taxpayers will catch a break from the typical sharp escalation of city taxes, utility bills and other fees, so that the owner of a median priced home of $332,366 will pay only about $78 more in 2019 than they…

What do Austinites want the city budget to prioritize?

In the process of crafting its annual budget to present to City Council, city of Austin staff held 11 events throughout the city in an effort to hear what Austinites think about how their tax dollars should be spent. In…

Rising insurance costs reignite push for new fire stations in Austin

Homeowners in a Del Valle suburb learned last month that their insurance rates could go up as much as $1,000 this year because they’re too far from the nearest fire station. Concerns about the rising rates have jump-started a push…

Safety, transit planning among priorities at start of budget input sessions

If the opinions expressed during the second of the city’s 11 community budget input sessions is any indication, City Council members will be considering sizable shifts in public safety resources later this summer before adoption of the city’s next $3.9…

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Lack of fire station pushes some insurance rates up

Some Southeast Austin homeowners have been receiving bad news from their insurance companies – the rates on their homeowners insurance are projected to rise as much as $1,000 this year. District 2 Council Member Delia Garza told her colleagues at…

Council braces for another tight budget cycle amid threats from Legislature

City Council will have to raise property taxes by 5 percent in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget just to continue funding existing programs, according to a financial forecast prepared by the city budget office. In a presentation to Council members…

Adding more cops part of APD planning

The Austin Police Department currently has 69 vacancies, Assistant Chief Troy Gay told City Council Tuesday, but with so many officers retiring each month it is nearly impossible to catch up. In addition, the Matrix Consulting Group recommended in 2016…

Reporter's Notebook: Reasons for beauty

Where the sidewalk bends… Austin badly needs to fill in the large gap of missing sidewalks across the city, but simply making each stretch of sidewalk longer than it has to be probably isn’t the most efficient solution. On Saturday,…

Council tries 'outcome-based' budgeting

Last year, City Council talked about the idea of doing “outcome-based” budgeting. 2018 is the first year that it is giving it a try. The idea is based on six strategic outcomes that Council developed last year: Having economic opportunities…

After a successful first year, the Art Space Assistance Program will not continue

The Art Space Assistance Program that is aimed at assisting creative-focused nonprofits facing permanent displacement, those previously displaced, or those facing lease renewals at substantially higher rates did not receive funding from City Council for 2018. Council approved $200,000 of…

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