AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The Austin City Council voted Thursday night to approve a record $5 billion city budget, including a $20 living wage for city staffers and a 40% increase in council members' salaries.
The overall budget passed on a 10-1 vote, with District 6 councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly casting the sole vote against. Council members spent just over 15 hours in public session on Wednesday and Thursday before taking final votes Thursday night.
"The budget adopted by Council today puts the City in a strong position to recruit and retain the people we need to sustain the high quality of services our residents have come to expect," said City Manager Spencer Cronk. "It does this while reducing the City's portion of the annual property tax bill for the typical homeowner and investing in public safety, disaster response, and actions to address climate change. We look forward to implementing Council's priorities in the coming fiscal year."
According to city documents, the largest portion of the $1.3 billion general fund budget - just under two-thirds - is allocated to public safety. The remaining third funds a range of core services including court services, animal services, family health services, and management of libraries and parks.
One of the most notable features of the budget is an increase in the city's living wage for staffers. Council members passed a resolution earlier this year calling on Cronk to explore ways to get the city to a $22/hour minimum as soon as this coming fiscal year; Cronk's original budget proposal called for an increase to $18/hour. Council members then increased that to $20/hour. Civilian staff will also see a 4% across the board pay raise.
In addition to the living wage increase, council members also voted 8-2-1 to approve an ordinance giving themselves a 40% pay raise. Paige Ellis and Vanessa Fuentes voted against the measure, while Mackenzie Kelly abstained. It's the first actual pay increase for the city's elected officials since 2006, although council members have received cost of living increases in line with other city employees.
Based on the final approved ordinance, beginning in December, council members will make just over $116,000 each year, with the mayor taking home just over $134,000. In all, the increase will add just under $400,000 a year to the city payroll.
The approved budget largely comes from Cronk's original proposal, which called for the following investments in city services:
·$73 million in planned capital spending to build and repair city sidewalks.
·$3.4 million and 17 new jobs to improve disaster response and community preparedness.
·$27 million for cultural arts, historic preservation and live music, funded by Hotel Occupancy Taxes.
·$79 million for homelessness prevention, crisis response, housing stabilization, and public space management – including $4.8 million to clean up homeless encampments.
·55 new jobs to improve customer service efforts at AUS airport.
·$79 million investment in affordable housing to meet goals set by the Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint.
·$1 million towards a Trauma Recovery Center to support victims of violent crime.
·$3.6 million for wildfire prevention and education.
·A $2.5 million investment in the Iconic Venue Fund, to help secure places of cultural significance.
·Funding for three Austin Police cadet classes to help fill officer vacancies and improve response times to emergency calls.
In the time since Cronk's proposed budget was released, stronger-than-expected sales tax revenues and other adjustments provided an additional $20 million for council members to work with. Those funds, along with other adjustments, led to the following amendments put forth by council members:
·$7 million General Fund increase to raise the City's minimum wage beyond the City Manager's proposal of $18 per hour, to $20 per hour.
·$17.8 million in capital funding to complete construction of the Goodnight Ranch Fire/EMS station in southeast Austin.
·An additional $3 million in one-time funding, added to the $5 million proposed by the City Manager, to help prevent displacement and homelessness as rents rise.
·A further increase in the number of full-time lifeguards, from the four proposed by the City Manager to 13, to help address staff shortages and keep the City's pools open and safe.
·$1.2 million to expand a life-saving program providing whole blood transfusions to patients before they reach the hospital.
·Option to run additional police academies customized for candidates with prior law enforcement experience.
·$350,000 to provide education and services focused on sexual and reproductive health and wellness, and contraception, following the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade.
As far as the impact on taxpayers, council members voted to push the property tax rate to 46.27 cents per $100 of taxable value - right up to the state-mandated 3.5 percent cap on taxing jurisdictions' revenue increases. While the rate itself represents a slight decrease, increasing property valuations and increases in city fees will mean an increase of 3.8 percent in costs for the typical homeowner and ratepayer.
