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Welcome to the City of Austin's Budget Engagement!
The Austin City Council has adopted a $5.9 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 that supports community-focused investments.
Council’s adopted budget incorporates the Austin City Manager’s proposed budget presented last month, while adding a number of investments and directions to address homelessness, public safety, parks maintenance and sustainability.
"Austin’s 2024-2025 budget is a strategic blueprint that balances the city’s immediate needs with long-term vision, prioritizing investments that reflect the values and aspirations of our community,” Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said. “By focusing on sustainability, equity and resilience, we are committed to ensuring that Austin remains a livable and welcoming city for all."
The General Fund budget is $1.4 billion and the Capital Budget includes $2.2 billion in planned spending.
Budget Highlights
The following investments were originally proposed by the City Manager and now included in the adopted FY 2024-25 budget:
- $3.6 million for the “I Belong Austin” tenant stabilization and eviction assistance program.
- $121.2 million in planned capital spending for design and construction of voter-approved long-term affordable housing projects.
- $2.7 million in one-time funding, as well as $440,000 in ongoing funding, across several City departments to support Austin Civilian Conservation Corps programming.
- $2.6 million in personnel and equipment costs, including funding for 28 sworn positions, for the Canyon Creek Fire/EMS Station, scheduled to open January 2025.
- $2.2 million in planned capital spending for projects that stabilize, preserve and enhance the African American Cultural Heritage District, Red River Cultural District, 5th Street Mexican Heritage Corridor, and East Cesar Chavez District.
- $506,000 for an additional street repair team to improve the condition of the city's street network.
- $463,000, including additional personnel, to investigate complaints of criminal illegal dumping.
- Six staff positions and funding to open and operate the new Colony Park District pool, the rebuilt Givens pool, and the expanded Mexican American Cultural Center.
- $425,000 increase in funding for food, medical supplies, and facility maintenance at the Austin Animal Center and $30,000 one-time funding for animal boarding services to address capacity concerns.
- Nearly $200,000 to implement a new website tool for accurate, culturally competent translation in many languages on the City of Austin website.
Council Amendments
Council members also approved several amendments and directives as part of the adopted FY 2024-25 budget, including increased investments to support:
- Improved maintenance of City parks
- Homelessness response and prevention
- Expanded Emergency Medical Services
- Adoption and foster services at the Austin Animal Center
- Downtown Austin Community Court mobile court program
Impact on Taxpayers
The adopted property tax rate is 47.76 cents per $100 of taxable value. The typical Austin homeowner will see an increase of $15.67 per month, or $188.02 per year, in the City’s portion of their annual property tax bill.
The City’s rates and fees, including for electricity, trash service, water, drainage, and the transportation user fee, will rise in response to escalating operations costs, as well as increasing service demands from a growing population. The increase for the typical Austin tax-and ratepayer is $30.16 per month, or $361.92 per year.
Council’s approval today of City tax and spending plans for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024, comes after several months of stakeholder engagement – including district community meetings, public hearings on the budget, and a public survey.
The approved budget document is scheduled to be published by October 1, 2024. Stay updated on the FY25 approved budget, tax rates, and more by visiting the City of Austin's Financial Services Department (FSD) website.
Budget Adoption Timeline:
As outlined in the timeline below, the weeks following the presentation will provide opportunities for community input and City Council discussion. Council members may submit questions regarding the budget and the respective responses are made available for public viewing here. The City Council may initiate amendments to the Proposed Budget before final adoption.
July 12: FY 2024-25 Proposed Budget Presentation to Council
July 24: Council budget work session and community input session
July 30: Council budget work session
August 1: Council budget work session and public hearing on the budget
August 6: Council budget work session
August 8: Council budget work session
August 14 – 16: Budget and Tax Rate Adoption by City Council
For more information and updates on the process timeline, click here.
City Council Community Meetings:
City Council Members hosted district level community meetings about the proposed budget in July and August. See the 2024 schedule below. You can view a copy of the Community Meeting Presentation (Spanish version here).
Members of the public may dial into any virtual or hybrid meeting with the phone number 1-408-418-9388 or the U.S. toll free number 1-844-992-4726, and then enter the Webinar Number (which doubles as the access code) to join. Call-in users will then be asked to type in the four-digit password.
City Council Districts 1 & 4 Joint Meeting
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- July 29
- 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
- City of Austin Permitting & Development Center - 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Austin, TX 78752
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2494 949 7587
- Webinar password: bmth (2684 on phones)
City Council District 2
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- July 17
- 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- Bedichek Middle School - 6800 Bill Hughes Rd, Austin, TX 78745
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2492 691 2801
- Webinar password: guiw (4849 on phones)
City Council District 3
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- August 7
- 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
- Location - Montopolis Recreation and Community Center, 1200 Montopolis Dr, Austin, TX 78741
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2494 766 4630
- Webinar password: dbmt (3268 on phones)
City Council District 5
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- July 31
- 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
- Menchaca Road Library, 5500 Menchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78745
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2499 630 8316
- Webinar password: dgtt (3488 on phones)
City Council District 6
- In person meeting
- July 15
- 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- Spicewood Springs Branch Library - 8637 Spicewood Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78759
City Council District 7
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- July 23
- 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Northwest Recreation Center - 2913 Northland Drive, Austin, TX 78757
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2496 680 1378
- Webinar password: dttl (3885 on phones)
City Council District 8
- Virtual only
- July 22
- 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Register online here
City Council District 9
- Hybrid meeting - in person and WebEx
- July 20
- 10:00 AM
- Austin Central Library – 710 West Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX 78701
- Webinar link here
- Webinar number: 2493 204 3283
- Webinar password: dtgw (3849 on phones)
City Council District 10
- In person Only
- August 5
- 6:30 PM
- St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church - 8134 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX 78757
Budget Engagement Survey:
The FY 2024-25 budget engagement survey asked for community prioritization of 12 service areas that are generally associated with city government, such as police, fire, parks, health services, and libraries.
To increase residents’ awareness of the budget priority survey and encourage participation, staff executed a robust marketing and outreach campaign. This campaign included:
- Social Media Campaigns: Posts were made on popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Nextdoor, Instagram, and YouTube. The City of Austin’s website also featured information about the budget engagement process.
- Online Advertisements: Digital advertisements were placed with Google to target a broad online audience.
- Traditional Media: Local newspapers and radio stations ran promotional content to inform residents about the survey. In addition to digital advertising, The Villager, El Mundo, and the Austin Chronicle ran content in their print publications and radio broadcast messages were run via KUT.
- Community Organization Outreach: Staff shared direct information with 100+ local community organizations to promote the survey with their networks.
- Community Events: Participation in six community events allowed for direct engagement with residents to raise awareness and encourage participation in the budget input process. During these events, staff provided tablets with the survey easily accessible for participation. In addition, promotional materials and information were distributed to the community.
- Promotional Material Distribution: Postcards with budget survey information were distributed to 47 different City of Austin recreation centers and libraries to further extend the campaign’s reach.
As part of our commitment to making the budget engagement process accessible to all residents, online and in-person materials were translated into Chinese (Simplified), Spanish, and Vietnamese. This effort ensured that non-English-speaking residents could participate fully in the budget process, contributing to a more inclusive and representative feedback process.
Based on the data gathered, efforts through Google and YouTube ads were the most effective, contributing significantly to our engagement metrics. These platforms collectively account for more than half of our survey views. Following closely behind, social media campaigns yielded substantial engagement. Additionally, direct traffic generated through outreach and community events proved to be an effective means of engagement. This multi-channel approach has allowed us to maximize our reach and impact.
Survey responses received by June 1st have been provided to City leadership. Thank you for your participation.
View the survey results here.
Boards & Commissions Budget Recommendations:
During the months of October 2023 and November 2023, the Joint Inclusion Committee, composed of representatives from ten Quality of Life Commissions, hosted three hybrid (in-person and virtual) community input meetings on the FY24-25 budget. Various boards and commissions submitted budget recommendations for city leadership to consider during the budget process. Each recommendation received responses from the relevant departments, which were compiled into a final report available here.
Provide your feedback or reach out with any questions by emailing BudgetQA@austintexas.gov.