Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax, left, and Mayor Kirk Watson discuss a new city budget at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Austin City Council is set to vote on a budget that includes millions of dollars in spending cuts after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes and generated $110 million in new revenue.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
The Austin City Council unanimously approved a new $6.3 billion budget late Thursday after hours of sometimes chaotic debate and maneuvering.
Adopting the new spending plan was made necessary after Austin voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly rejected Proposition Q, a ballot measure that would have generated $110 million in extra revenue by increasing the property tax rate more than 20%. Its near 2-to-1 defeat set off an unprecedented budget scramble, pushing City Hall into a second budget process this year as the earlier spending plan it adopted accounted for that new money.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Celia Halpin treats a teenage girl who overdosed on fentanyl while Austin police officer Zane Powell investigates in East Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Jodeci Romo works an emergency call at the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS Clinical Specialist Estelle Sklar talks with an Austin police officer at a traffic accident in North Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Kevin Cisneros treats a man during a psychiatric emergency in downtown Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS Commander Selena Xie responds to an emergency call on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Celia Halpin treats a teenage girl who overdosed on fentanyl in East Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Kevin Cisneros prepares equipment in an ambulance as he begins his shift at EMS Station 4 on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS medic Celia Halpin and Capt. Patrick treats a teenage girl who overdosed on fentanyl while Austin police officer Zane Powell investigates in East Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin-Travis County EMS Clinical Specialist Rich Davis prepares equipment in an ambulance as he begins his shift at EMS Station 4 on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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Austin City Council members Mike Siegel, left, and Chito Vela discuss a new city budget at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Austin City Council is set to vote on a budget that includes millions of dollars in spending cuts after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes and generated $110 million in new revenue.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes speaks about a new city budget at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Austin City Council is set to vote on a budget that includes millions of dollars in spending cuts after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes and generated $110 million in new revenue.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
The new spending plan taps into city reserves and cuts just over $95 million from the obsolete Prop Q budget, reducing funding for rapid rehousing, homeless diversion and landlord engagement programs, parks and grounds-maintenance staffing, contributions to the housing trust fund and some emergency medical services.
At the same time, council restored several cuts originally proposed by the city manager, reallocating funds to EMS, child advocacy services, food pantries, home-delivered meals for older adults, emergency veterinary care, benefits for part-time city employees and wildfire mitigation.
“I believe the budget amendment that we just adopted reveals that we trusted the voters, we heard the voters and we reacted to the voters,” Mayor Kirk Watson said Thursday after the vote, thanking Austinites for their engagement in the election.
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Despite broad agreement on sustained funding for Emergency Medical Services, which had been slated for $6.3 million in cuts under the city manager’s post-Prop Q budget proposal, council members had remained divided over other priorities going into Thursday’s meeting.
One faction had focused on maintaining funding for homelessness services and emergency mental health response while another had pushed to redirect some municipal court funds toward food pantries and home-delivered meals for older adults.
Austin-Travis County EMS medics transport a teenage girl who overdosed on fentanyl in East Austin on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
A surprise budget amendment – which called for the elimination of some vacant positions across city departments – put forth by the second faction late Thursday briefly derailed the debate, culminating in an hourlong dinnertime recess. When members returned, they agreed to nix the vacant positions savings and roll the proposal into the final spending plan.
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The measure then passed seamlessly.
Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, part of the second faction, said her guiding priority during the process was to safeguard public safety and protect the services that keep Austinites “safe, housed and stable.”
The public frustration communicated through the Prop Q vote loomed large throughout the day.
Council Member Marc Duchen noted that the passage of this budget is the first step toward restoring that trust.
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“City Hall must address its structural deficit and keep its spending under control, or the council will find itself in the same spot this time next year,” he added, adding that he supports an audit aimed at a “hard look at each and every public expense.”
Council Member Ryan Alter openly lamented the failure of Prop Q and reiterated that he thought the new austerity budget would have real consequences.
“As much as we all love being here, I wish we weren’t,” he said. “I fought for Prop Q because it wasn’t just a policy debate, it was a lifeline for many in our community.”
Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter listens during discussion of a new city budget at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Austin City Council is set to vote on a budget that includes millions of dollars in spending cuts after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes and generated $110 million in new revenue.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Earlier in the day, the council unanimously approved two resolutions aimed at tightening financial controls and restoring confidence.
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One called for a standardized process for city grants and social service contracts and requires a comprehensive review and measurable outcomes for service contracts.
The other ordered an overhaul of expense and reimbursement policies for the mayor, council members and other elected officials, calling for new rules that “ensure financial accountability and transparency.” A progress update is due Dec. 11, with formal recommendations expected by Jan. 22.
“I know that we all support strengthening financial accountability and transparency in our council offices,” Council Member Krista Laine said from the dais. “It’s an important step toward rebuilding public trust.”
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