How many police officers should Austin have? That is a question that City Council members will likely be wrestling with over the next few weeks as they consider the Austin Police Department’s request for 85 new officers in the proposed city budget – 26 more than it took on last year. According to the proposed […]
Budget
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Council talks budget affordability and city services
There are some things that the proposed Fiscal Year 2015-16 city budget does and some things that it does not do. Aside from raising the property tax rate, along with utility rates and fees for many homeowners, one of the major things the budget does is implement a 6 percent homestead exemption. One of the […]
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Austin water bills going up, electric bills decreasing
Residential customers of the Austin Water utility are projected to pay $4.94 more per month in Fiscal Year 2016 than they are paying this year, but the same customers should see a decrease of $2.22 in their monthly Austin Energy bills, according to the city’s budget writers. Either of those numbers could be wrong if […]
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Proposed city budget includes tax, fee hikes
City management is proposing a budget for fiscal year 2015-16 that includes 85 additional police officers, 12 new paramedics, 19 new 911 call takers and 27 new employees for the beleaguered Development Services Department. Under a proposal presented this morning to City Council, the owner of a median-priced home will see taxes, fees and utility […]
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Council to vote on homestead exemption today
Though City Council plans to vote on a homestead exemption today, the discussion at Tuesday’s work session made it clear that Council members still have a lot of work ahead of them to ensure that exemption means lower tax bills for Austin residents. Council Member Greg Casar opened the meeting with a new proposition that […]
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City planning departments talk budgets
As the city’s budget process gears up, each department is making its way to City Council with its budget for the upcoming year. And in the wake of the Zucker Report, eyes are on what was once the Planning and Development Review Department. Planning and Zoning Director Greg Guernsey and Development Services Director Rodney Gonzales […]
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Austin General Fund forecast strong
Austin’s sales tax revenue is up 7.2 percent this year compared with the previous fiscal year, and city financial officials are forecasting that the city will bring in $2.1 million more than was budgeted, for a projected annual growth rate of 5.8 percent. The information comes from the second quarter fiscal year 2015 report. Although […]
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Library budget talks reveal Council divide
Last week, City Council dug into the Library Department’s budget, and it became clear that there are some deep ideological divides on the dais. As part of their budget work session, Council members grilled Austin Public Library Director Brenda Branch about the city’s public libraries. Last year, construction costs for the Central Library went over […]
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Council weighs homestead exemption equity
City Council is facing an array of difficult choices as it attempts to balance potential increases in the city’s homestead exemption tax with its upcoming budget needs. Following a Wednesday budget work session, Council members can add possible impacts on renters to the equation. In addition to issues involving renters — who comprise 55 percent of […]
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Expanded health insurance may cost too much
A memorandum prepared by City of Austin staff reveals that a potential plan to expand health insurance coverage to temporary and contract employees could cost close to $13 million. Human Resources and Civil Service Director Mark Washington sent the memo to Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members May 6 in response to a resolution passed […]
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Council mulls smaller homestead exemption
As candidates, many of the current City Council members promised constituents a 20 percent homestead exemption. As Council members, they looked at the numbers Wednesday and weighed the benefits of a more cautious approach. At a budget work session, Mayor Steve Adler advocated for the phased-in approach, which would start with a 6 percent homestead […]
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Council begins to define budget priorities
Despite needing to fill a 5 to 6 percent hole to bring the city’s revenue in line with what it spends, City Council members continued to bat around a mix of ideas Wednesday about how to generate that money. At the second of several meetings held before adopting the budget in September, Council members heard […]