Tag Archives: city budget
Council members talk about the budget
As City Council begins its final work session on the budget this morning in preparation for next week’s budget setting meetings, the Austin Monitor asked Council members to tell us the most important aspects of the Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget.…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Sep 6, 2018
Chamber groups' funding would become leveled under proposed process
Austin’s Economic Development Department is in the beginning stages of restructuring how local chambers of commerce are funded by the city, with the goal of making the funding more equitable and available to more groups. A recent memo from interim…
Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 5, 2018
Citizens simply ask for more at budget hearing
A significant majority of those who spoke at Wednesday’s public hearing on the city’s Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget seemed pleased with the money city staff had recommended allocating to their specific interest. Several praised City Council and City Manager Spencer…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Aug 23, 2018
City budget boosts spending for homelessness services
The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation. The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s…
Austin • By Jack Craver • Aug 17, 2018
Lower public safety bill cuts tax growth
Austin taxpayers will catch a break from the typical sharp escalation of city taxes, utility bills and other fees, so that the owner of a median priced home of $332,366 will pay only about $78 more in 2019 than they…
Budget • By Jo Clifton • Aug 6, 2018
What do Austinites want the city budget to prioritize?
In the process of crafting its annual budget to present to City Council, city of Austin staff held 11 events throughout the city in an effort to hear what Austinites think about how their tax dollars should be spent. In…
Budget • By Jack Craver • Jul 16, 2018
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Rising insurance costs reignite push for new fire stations in Austin
Homeowners in a Del Valle suburb learned last month that their insurance rates could go up as much as $1,000 this year because they’re too far from the nearest fire station. Concerns about the rising rates have jump-started a push…
Fire • By Nadia Hamdan • May 23, 2018
Safety, transit planning among priorities at start of budget input sessions
If the opinions expressed during the second of the city’s 11 community budget input sessions is any indication, City Council members will be considering sizable shifts in public safety resources later this summer before adoption of the city’s next $3.9…
Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • May 17, 2018
Lack of fire station pushes some insurance rates up
Some Southeast Austin homeowners have been receiving bad news from their insurance companies – the rates on their homeowners insurance are projected to rise as much as $1,000 this year. District 2 Council Member Delia Garza told her colleagues at…
Fire • By Jo Clifton • Apr 5, 2018
Council braces for another tight budget cycle amid threats from Legislature
City Council will have to raise property taxes by 5 percent in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget just to continue funding existing programs, according to a financial forecast prepared by the city budget office. In a presentation to Council members…
Budget • By Jack Craver • Apr 5, 2018
Adding more cops part of APD planning
The Austin Police Department currently has 69 vacancies, Assistant Chief Troy Gay told City Council Tuesday, but with so many officers retiring each month it is nearly impossible to catch up. In addition, the Matrix Consulting Group recommended in 2016…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Mar 21, 2018
Reporter's Notebook: Reasons for beauty
Where the sidewalk bends… Austin badly needs to fill in the large gap of missing sidewalks across the city, but simply making each stretch of sidewalk longer than it has to be probably isn’t the most efficient solution. On Saturday,…
