During a budget work session on July 30, Austin Energy made a case for not transferring an extra $4 million to the city’s General Fund, which goes toward basic city services like parks, fire, police and EMS. The city’s ratepayer-owned utility is the largest of the city’s enterprise funds and currently transfers $115 million every […]
City of Austin General Fund
The portion of the city’s budget that represents its general operating fund.
Posted inEMS
City, EMS negotiators reach tentative deal
Labor negotiators for the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association and the city of Austin have reached a tentative agreement. Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal today in executive session. Union President Tony Marquardt said union members have been voting on the contract and the polls will close this morning. If all goes […]
Posted inBudget
Council explores reducing transfers from utilities
Members of City Council moved ahead Thursday on two initiatives aimed at scrutinizing the role that Austin’s two public utilities play in funding basic city services. Early in the day, the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, which is composed of every member of Council, voted to adopt a resolution asking city staff to assess the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Morrison, Spelman see progress on budget
Council Members Bill Spelman and Laura Morrison told the Monitor Tuesday that they’ve seen serious progress in the process of developing the City’s annual budget. Their comments were heard Wednesday on the weekly Austin Monitor Radio news show on KOOP 91.7 FM. “My first budget, I went down to the budget hearing. I was basically […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety, Resources
Energy, water utility rates top Council concerns over 2015 budget
The Austin City Council took on next year’s budget in earnest Thursday. Of the $3.5 billion budget, members’ biggest concerns continued to rest with the city’s water and energy utilities. A proposal from Austin Energy to increase the fuel charge customers pay had Council particularly on edge. That increase will add $4.67 to the average […]
Posted inLocal Politics
FY 2015 budget features small jumps in property taxes, fees
City budget writers are proposing a 2.2-cent decrease in property taxes for Fiscal Year 2014-15 but because the valuation on many properties has gone up, most property owners will still be paying higher taxes, according to Chief Financial Officer Elaine Hart. Staff is proposing a rate of 48.09 cents per $100 valuation, higher than the […]
Posted inLocal Politics
City management plans tax cut, 3.5 percent employee raise
City management’s plan for the FY2015 City of Austin budget contains a 0.7 cent property tax reduction, a 3.5 percent raise for city civilian employees, and limited fee and tax increases. According to city figures, the monthly increase for taxes and fees for the median homeowner is roughly $13 per household. That’s using an […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
City’s General Fund ends fiscal year 2013 with $14 million surplus
The City of Austin’s General Fund ended fiscal year 2013 with a $14.2 million surplus. That figure amounts to a roughly 1 percent variance from projections made by city staff. Despite the positive figure, Austin’s Chief Financial Officer Elaine Hart told members of the Council’s Audit and Finance Committee Wednesday that management was not […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council OKs measure to consider city’s income growth with budget
Austin City Council members Thursday approved requiring staff to come up with an affordability benchmark to give both staff and themselves more information when making decisions about the city’s budget. Council Member Bill Spelman authored the proposal. The figure represents how much Austin residents have seen their income increase, on average, over the past […]