As City Council struggles to comprehend what it would mean to cut approximately $100 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21, Council members are floating a temporary fix: approve half of the department’s budget during next week’s budget adoption process and return in six months to consider a revised budget for […]
Budget
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Travis County sets the stage for budget discussions in August, proposes 3.6% property tax hike
After an unprecedented year that has required Travis County staff to rework the county’s 2021 financial picture, the Commissioners Court opened public discussions about the upcoming 2021 budget on July 28. Despite predictions earlier this year of catastrophic budget shortfalls, the county will not implement an 8 percent increase in tax rate. Instead, staffers are […]
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Music Commission eyes police dollars instead of hotel tax to support Black music fund
Included in the Music Commission’s request to create a Black Live Music Fund may be a suggestion that the city look for money outside of the Hotel Occupancy Tax – including funds intended for law enforcement – to rebuild the local music industry. At last week’s meeting, commissioners said the hotel tax is forecast to […]
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Hundreds of Austinites demand city reduce police funding, call proposed budget ‘insulting’
Austinites waited with their phones on hold, some for over an hour, to tell City Council members Thursday that proposed cuts to the police department’s budget were too small. Residents seeking more profound changes called the cuts a “pittance,” “insulting” and a “slap in the face.” “If a budget is a moral document, [City Manager] […]
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Public Safety budget discussion wrestles with demands to defund APD
Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo gave the Public Safety Committee a public safety budget overview at its meeting on Monday. Much of the discussion centered around the Austin Police Department budget. Community members and some City Council members have demanded that a portion of the budget be reallocated to other city departments. “We have […]
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Manager proposes tax hike, 2 percent employee raise
Presenting a budget with a 2 percent employee pay raise and no layoffs and a 3.5 percent property tax increase, City Manager Spencer Cronk told Council Monday that his budget proposal meets the twin crises of the pandemic that has “upended our way of life and triggered an unprecedentedly swift economic contraction.” At the same […]
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What $100M from the APD budget looks like
In response to pressure from activists to defund the Austin Police Department, City Council unanimously approved a series of reforms to APD operations, including a resolution that asks for deep cuts to the public safety budget. The Austin Justice Coalition has asked Council to reallocate $100 million from APD’s budget in Fiscal Year 2021 to […]
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Arts Commission shifts deepest funding cuts away from minority groups
Racial minority groups will be spared the deepest cuts in Cultural Arts contract funding in the next budget, if the recent recommendation of the Arts Commission is supported by City Council. On Friday the commission approved a funding matrix for the 2021 budget year that will see no percentage reductions to Black contractors and groups, […]
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Capital Metro prepares a budget for recession, another for quick recovery
With the economy in recession and regional unemployment high, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is preparing to keep spending flat next fiscal year, equal to this fiscal year’s $403.7 million budget, in the event that revenue sources don’t see a quick recovery. While the economy appears to be on the upswing right now, Reinet Marneweck, […]
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Environmental Commission recommends Watershed Protection Department budget
Among the coronavirus pandemic’s many consequences is an impact on the Watershed Protection Department’s proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year. Even with the decision to cut back in areas, the department is still proposing a $107.1 million operating budget for 2021, with $101.2 million in expected revenue. “Based on what we’ve seen in our […]
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Staffers offer a preview of FY 2020 budget
The Austin Health and Human Services Committee heard a budget update Tuesday morning that included news of how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the city. “We were projecting a balanced budget for FY 21,” Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo said. “But we did have some gaps in the out years that we were […]
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County regroups, contemplates upcoming budget
Budget season is well underway at Travis County. However, since the Travis County Commissioners Court approved budget guidelines in February, the coronavirus crisis has upended the initial projections from the county’s Planning and Budget Office. Three months ago, the budget forecast anticipated a $22.7 million increase in revenue for 2021. Now, revised projections show the […]