AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 will remain roughly the same as 2020, while featuring a 3.5% tax increase and a reallocation of about $11.3 million from the Austin Police Department towards other services.
City Manager Spencer Cronk presented his proposed $4.2 billion budget to City Council members Monday afternoon. The general fund budget remains the same at $1.1 billion, while the overall budget is down about 2.5 percent from last year.
Cronk said the coronavirus pandemic is expected to leave the city more than $200 million below budgeted projections by the end of the current fiscal year.
The 3.5% increase is the smallest percentage increase since the 2005 budget cycle, with the average homeowner seeing a $19.73 increase in their property tax bills; that drops to $12.53 when service rates and fees are accounted for. According to the city, the typical Austin Energy customer will see a bill reduction, while Austin Water rates will be frozen, and Austin Resource Recovery users will see an increase in charges to pay for the citywide implementation of curbside organic materials collection.
The budget
reallocates $11.3 million from the Austin Police Department's budget, including:
- Eliminating 100 vacant police officer positions ($9.2 million)
- Delaying the July 2020 cadet class ($1.5 million)
- Delaying scheduled replacement of duty weapons ($400,000)
- Transferring Austin Center for Events staff to the Development Services Department ($200,000)
That $11.3 million, in the proposed budget, is allocated to the following priorities:
- $3.0 million to enhance the work of the Office of Police Oversight and the Equity Office, rewrite the Austin Police Department’s General Orders, and conduct and implement audits
- $2.7 million to improve mental health first response by expanding the Integral Care-EMCOT contract for clinical staff and tele-health services, increasing community outreach to underserved communities, and adding 7 new positions to the Community Health Paramedic program
- $2.3 million reallocation within the Austin Police Department budget to replace the department’s 15-year old records management system, which will allow for more-efficient records keeping
- $1.1 million to increase the capacity of mental health services, family violence programs, and immigrant legal services provided by Austin Public Health
- $1.0 million transfer to the Housing Trust Fund to support key affordable housing goals, including preserving and creating reasonably priced housing within the city of Austin
- $900,000 reallocated within the Austin Police Department’s budget to fund targeted training related to trauma, informed response, unconscious bias, and racial and cultural sensitivity, as well as training to safely administer to someone experiencing a drug overdose
- $300,000 to support the newly formed Civil Rights Office, which is tasked with enforcement of City ordinances and federal statues prohibiting discrimination
"Austin remains engulfed by a pandemic that has caused tragic loss across our community, upended our way of life, and triggered an unprecedentedly swift economic contraction," Cronk said in a written statement. "At the same time, the city is taking new steps to confront and end the long history of systemic injustices experienced by people of color by our public safety institutions. This budget meets these crises head-on, building on work to combat COVID-19 and help our community recover from its effects, while accelerating the process of re-imagining our public safety system to ensure justice and equal treatment for all our residents."
Other spending proposals included in the budget:
- $60.9 million to strengthen the City’s commitment to end homelessness in Austin through housing displacement prevention, crisis mitigation, and re-empowerment efforts
- Additional $3.5 million in Economic Injury Bridge Loans to small businesses through the Family Business Loan Program
- $735,000 to enhance the City’s open-data portal, increasing transparency for Austin residents
- $1.5 million for improvements to the Asian American Resource Center, Carver Museum, and Mexican American Cultural Center
- $423,000 and 6 new positions to fully implement the citywide curbside organic materials collection program
- $14.7 million for sidewalk improvements and $2.3 million for pedestrian safety including hybrid beacons, audible crosswalk indicators, and more visible signs and markings
- $5.1 million for crisis response and victim services
Two public input sessions will be held on July 23 and July 30, while two council work sessions will be held on July 28 and August 4. The final budget, along with next year's tax rate, are set to be adopted on August 12.
More information about the city's budget process is available at www.austintexas.gov/budget.
