⚪️
Quote of the Day
“We urge you to find the Goldilocks path, the path that is just right, the path that is most likely to succeed given our precarious situation… We would rather have something than nothing.”
— Caritas of Austin’s Joshua Houston, from As state considers further constriction, Council wrestles with how high to go on tax rate election.
⚪️
As state considers further constriction, Council wrestles with how high to go on tax rate election
From Lina Fisher:
Ahead of today’s comprehensive budget discussion, there is almost no question that a tax rate election to fund essential city services will be on the ballot come November. At least nine City Council members have expressed support for some level of one, and Council’s Audit and Finance Committee voted unanimously to hold a tax rate election (TRE) on Wednesday. The question remains: How much will the city ask of Austinites – and what will happen if they get nothing in return?
Council members are currently weighing three options for tax rate election increase: 3.5 cents, 5.75 cents and 6.75 cents.
“We all know the state is watching this very closely. We know that there are a lot of people that don’t want property taxes raised at all, and we have to keep the rails on this thing,” said Chris Baker, founder of the Other Ones Foundation, in a public hearing Tuesday. “We ask for too much, we may get nothing, but I also understand that if we ask for too little, we’re scrambling again next year.”
Nearly 200 homes in Travis County were damaged by July flooding
From Katy McAfee, KUT News:
Nearly 200 homes in the Big Sandy Creek neighborhood in northwestern Travis County were damaged by flooding on July 5, according to a report released Monday by county officials. Of the homes affected, 71 were mobile homes and 127 were single-family houses.
More than 46,000 cubic yards of debris have been removed from the Big Sandy Creek neighborhood — enough to fill well over 3,000 dump trucks, according to Cynthia McDonald, Travis County executive for transportation and natural resources. Travis County has spent $1 million on debris removal alone, and it anticipates spending roughly $5 million to $6 million more.
Travis County is applying for assistance from the FEMA, but officials are concerned federal funding will be delayed and insufficient.
⚪️
A message from your Austin Monitor team:
📌 Like this newsletter? Check out our growing collection! The latest news briefs, roundups and stories can also be found in our newsletter archive.
⚪️
Bond election could fund 1,000-bed homeless shelter
Staff from the Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) shared on Wednesday that they are in early talks to include a large new shelter with space for 800 to 1,000 beds in the city’s 2026 bond proposal. Discussing options for managing homelessness with City Council’s Public Health Committee, HSO program manager Greg McCormack said that in the nearer term, new projects such as a planned 100-bed expansion by The Other Ones Foundation the Camp Esperanza site could help absorb some of the demand currently met by the Marshalling Yard.
Much of Wednesday’s talk focused on the city’s Marshalling Yard facility, which was never intended as a permanent shelter but has been become an essential site until a replacement option becomes available. The facility opened in August 2023 as a shelter and is operated by the nonprofit Endeavors. It offers 282 beds and has served more than 1,300 individuals with about 18 percent of clients positively exited into housing.
The site’s original capacity of 300 beds was reduced after a portion of the facility was reclaimed by the Austin Convention Center for storage use.
Committee members stressed that any phaseout of the yard must be carefully timed to avoid a net loss in emergency shelter capacity. They also requested additional data on per-bed operating costs and case management metrics to guide future decisions. McCormack emphasized the need for improved case management ratios and enhanced services, especially if the city pursues a significantly larger congregate shelter model.
“Case management is something that we could really focus on within our community, and the skill sets and needs that we have there,” he said. “Without case managers, people just are not gonna get housed. And so I think really looking at how we’re able to best provide that across the system would be one of the biggest things I would focus on.”
— Chad Swiatecki
Sobering Center CEO seeks budget certainty
Also at Wednesday’s meeting of the Public Health Committee, the head of Austin’s Sobering Center voiced frustration over persistent challenges in securing predictable and accurate city funding, calling the current budgeting process “incredibly tedious” and out of step with the facility’s actual needs. CEO Laura LeBlanc said that outdated assumptions baked into the city’s interlocal agreement with Travis County are producing mismatches between projected and approved budgets, forcing her team to repeatedly restart negotiations each year.
Despite supplying detailed forecasts, the city manager’s proposed budget left out requested operational enhancements and proposed a reduction from $2.8 million to $2.4 million, jeopardizing planned staffing and service expansions.
While discussing the facility’s planned expansion into space in the former county medical examiner’s office, LeBlanc highlighted major service milestones. She said the use of another floor will allow the facility to separate intoxicated patients from “holdover” clients who are sober and seeking treatment but have nowhere else to go. Renovated with county-funded American Rescue Plan Act dollars, the upstairs space includes 14 new beds and is fully furnished and equipped, with the hiring of staff representing the final step ahead of opening.
Center leaders are seeking funding from Central Health to support the second-floor launch, while continuing to advocate for restored operational funds through the city’s forthcoming tax rate election. The center now performs about 200 long-term diversions per year and has become a national model for non-carceral substance use intervention. But LeBlanc said sustaining those services requires meaningful reform to how the center’s budget is built, approved, and maintained. “The issue for me is not what the number is,” she said, “It’s the process of negotiating a budget that is reasonable and based on data.”
— Chad Swiatecki
⚪️
Elsewhere in the News
The Austin American-Statesman looks into a potential plan that would see more police jobs filled by civilian staff.
The Austin Business Journal reports that a larger investment nationally will see a payoff in Austin.
The North Austin Muslim Community Center is calling for safer streets after one of its faith leaders was struck and killed by a car on North Lamar.
And the city has launched a new way to connect those experiencing homelessness with resources.
⚪️
Austin Monitor | Make a Donation | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Copyright © 2025 Austin Monitor, All rights reserved.