Savannah Lee, of Equity Action, in November 2025. The group is among 30 organizations urging Austin City Council to prioritize social services spending as budget season nears.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
A coalition of more than 30 community groups is calling on city leaders to restore millions in proposed cuts to social service contracts and fund additional programs by limiting growth in the Austin Police Department budget.
The coalition this week released a “community investment budget” calling for roughly $36 million for programs including emergency rental assistance, violence prevention, homelessness services, mental health response and inclement weather sheltering.
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The proposal comes weeks before Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax is expected to release an austerity budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year that must account for a $25 million shortfall. Broadnax has already indicated he plans to achieve that by cutting $17 million from social service programs.
The coalition is asking the City Council to reject that approach.
“Instead of funding APD to the tune of $500 million-plus, we should invest in social services,” said Savannah Lee of Equity Action, one of the organizations behind the proposal.
The coalition is not asking the city to cut police spending below its current level as Texas law limits cities’ ability to reduce police budgets below previous spending levels. Instead, advocates want council members to keep the Police Department budget flat by rejecting spending increases where possible.
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That could be difficult given that the city is obligated to fund major raises for Austin police officers under a labor contract ratified in late 2024.
Lee acknowledged that the contract will increase the Police Department’s budget. But she said council members should scrutinize other areas of police spending growth, including funding for positions that have remained vacant for long periods.
“Instead of funding those empty seats, we could fund some of these investments the community needs,” Lee said.
Austin police move through the crowd on Sixth Street during SXSW in 2019.
American-Statesman file photo
The coalition’s request includes $4.5 million to expand the city’s inclement weather shelter program, $4 million to restore emergency rental assistance, $3.5 million to continue operating a trauma recovery center for crime victims and $3 million for shelter services.
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Several of those programs were reduced or eliminated after Austin voters rejected a property tax increase in November. Community violence intervention funding, for example, was reduced from $1 million to $500,000. The coalition is asking the city to provide $800,000 for those programs next year.
Terra Tucker, Texas state director with the Alliance for Safety and Justice, another coalition group, said violence intervention programs should be viewed as public safety spending because they can help identify conflicts before they escalate.
“We support police, but they are responsive to crime after it happens,” Tucker said.
Some council members said the coalition’s requests align with concerns they already have raised about the budget.
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Council Member Ryan Alter pointed to programs organizers want protected, including permanent supportive housing and 24/7 mental health crisis response.
“I know we can’t fund all of the things they’re asking for, but at a minimum we should do what we can to not go backwards,” Alter said.
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Council Member Zo Qadri said he viewed the coalition’s request as “services residents deserve” and that he agreed that the police budget is the best place to look for funding because of its size compared with other city departments. (The Police Department budget makes up about one-third of all general fund spending.)
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“We have to invest in critical support systems beyond police, fire and EMS,” Qadri said. “Those are all pieces to the puzzle, but they’re not the whole puzzle.”
Austin City Council Member Marc Duchen speaks during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
But Council Member Marc Duchen, one of the council’s more fiscally conservative members, said the coalition’s proposal doesn’t specify how to cover the entire $36 million price tag – and curbing police spending likely wouldn’t be enough.
“[The proposal] assumes we have a budget surplus or that voters are comfortable with an increased tax burden, neither of which are true,” Duchen said, alluding to Austin voters’ resounding rejection last November of a proposed city property tax hike.
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The debate will likely intensify after Broadnax releases his proposed budget next month. Council will have the final say on what cuts are made to balance the budget shortfall. A vote on a final budget is expected in August.