Changes from the original budget include more than $38 million in cuts to social services and other services.
AUSTIN, Texas — During its meeting Thursday night, the Austin City Council approved the amended budget for the Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
The City of Austin had to revise its budget after voters rejected Proposition Q, which would have permanently increased the city’s property tax rate and generated about $110 million a year.
This week, city leaders have been debating what to cut and what to keep as they work to scale back the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget that the council adopted in August.
Changes from the original budget include more than $38 million in cuts to social services, $6 million from EMS, $5 million from parks and at least $1 million each from public health and fire.
Austin Police Department (APD) vacancies were also at the center of the debate, as APD currently has 334 open positions.
Some residents argued that eliminating some of those vacant positions could free up money for other city services, since police spending is the city’s single largest budget item.
The amended budget includes investments in the following areas:
- Homeless Strategies and Operations: Additional funding for non-congregate shelters and Permanent Supportive Housing, including support for innovative housing models such as Esperanza Community and PSH units within City-funded PSH projects.
- Austin-Travis County EMS: $3 million in additional funding for overtime resources to eliminate ambulance brownouts.
- Expanded Mental Health Crisis Response: $2.1 million in additional funding to support the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team for 24/7 emergency mental health response.
In addition, the amended property tax rate is 52.40 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, meaning that the typical Austin homeowner will see an increase of $104.76 per year in the city’s portion of their annual property tax bill.
The full list of budget amendments can be found here.
Reactions of city leaders to the budget
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson: “The City Council heard the voters and has worked to fund basic services through basic budgeting. The amended budget addresses public safety, homelessness services and emergency mental health response, among other things. I thank the community again for its involvement in the election process and its clear message. I appreciate our city’s professional financial staff and the Council for its hard work. We live in a very successful city in large part because of the engagement of our people. I believe this budget, while different than how it started, will help us build on that success.”
Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax: “This amended budget reflects difficult but thoughtful decisions. Even with limited resources, we’ve stayed focused on our commitment to providing essential services, supporting public safety, addressing homelessness, and investing in the health and well-being of our community.”
Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes: “This budget process, my north star was clear: to support public safety and protect the services that keep Austinites safe, housed, and stable. We prioritized EMS funding to help end staffing shortages – because when you’re in crisis, no ambulances should sit empty. We secured a 24/7 mental health crisis response – because access to lifesaving care should never depend on the time of day. We funded food pantries for our children and seniors in direct response to the longest government shutdown in American history – because no one should go hungry due to political gridlock. And we protected our most effective homelessness service programs – because our unhoused neighbors deserve stability and a dignified path forward. The tough decisions aren’t over, but my commitment remains with the Austinites we represent, the services they depend on most, and the workers who keep them running. Thank you to every Austinite who made their voice heard, to our dedicated city staff, and to every partner who helped shape this year’s budget.”