Council OKs $5,000 Homestead Exemption

Austin City Council members OK’d a $5,000 homestead exemption for city homeowners Thursday. This is not to be confused with the much larger 20 percent exemption proposed on the campaign trail by multiple Council candidates. That latter exemption would bring the city in line with other local entities, including Travis County. Should the new Council choose to go with a 20 percent exemption, it would have to find millions of dollars’ worth of additional cuts or other savings to accommodate it.