City of Austin

The Austin City Council has approved an amended Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget following a series of public meetings and deliberations. The City’s amended $6.3 billion budget reflects adjustments due to the failure of Proposition Q, a measure on the November ballot that would have allowed the City to adopt a higher property tax rate. Despite the reduced revenue projections, the City has amended and balanced the budget to maintain vital operations and continue addressing community priorities.  

“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,” said Mayor Kirk Watson. “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."  

The amended FY 2025-26 budget includes additional investments in the following areas:

• Homeless Strategies and Operations: Additional funding for non-congregate shelters and Permanent Supportive Housing. This includes support for innovative housing models such as Esperanza Community and PSH units within City-funded PSH projects.
• Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services: $3 million of 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 to continue providing 24/7 emergency mental health response, ensuring timely support for individuals in crisis.

The full list of all Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget amendments can be found online here. 

“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,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax. 

The amended property tax rate is 52.4017 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. The typical Austin homeowner will see an increase of $104.76 per year in the City’s portion of their annual property tax bill.