AUSTIN, Texas — According to a memo from the City Manager’s office, the City of Austin is reallocating portions of its social services budget in response to the failure of Proposition Q at the polls in November.
Proposition Q was a ballot measure meant to help fund the city government by implementing a $.05 per $100 increase on property tax. Roughly 36% of Austinites voted for the measure.
The memo from City Manager T.C. Broadnax, dated Dec. 17, stated, “Director Kerri Lang informed Mayor and City Council that we would need to reduce the social services budget in Economic Development, Municipal Court/Community Court, and Public Health by 10% and re-allocate Homeless Strategies and Operations by 4%”
The total reduction in the budget is just higher than $5.2 million, with a little over $2.7 million of that number coming from Public Health services, and just under $1.5 million coming from Homeless Strategies and Operations.
In a statement to Spectrum News, Broadnax said that the decision to reallocate money for social services contracts was “a difficult decision,” and cited Proposition Q’s failure to pass as a contributing factor in that decision, noting “the failure of Proposition Q sent a clear message that city government cannot be all things to all people.“
Broadnax said in the statement that his office would inventory the current contracts to identify “duplication of service(s), realizing efficiencies by merging similar agreements, and ensuring that our investments are fiscally sustainable.“
There will be a Public Health Committee meeting at 10 a.m. on Feb. 4 to give an update and to discuss potential future reductions in the budget.
A line-item accounting of the reallocation can be read in the memo below.