Just one year after Austinites rejected a property tax hike known as Proposition Q, voters will decide on a $295 million bond package to improve parks and libraries across the city.
The measure is broken up into two separate bonds – Proposition A, a $260 million parks bond, and Proposition B, which would set aside $35 million for libraries.
In August, the Austin City Council called for the bond package despite concerns from some city leaders about the financial impact on residents, and the millions of dollars in unspent bond dollars from previous packages.
Pools and parkland
It’s been eight years since Austin voters last approved a parks bond. And advocates say it’s time for another investment.
Alyssa Vargas, advocacy manager with the Austin Parks Foundation, said the city’s budget mainly pays to maintain current parkland but doesn’t leave room for much else.
The nonprofit Austin Parks Foundation works with the city to fund parks projects and trails. There are several in need of improvements, including Garrison Pool in South Austin and Zilker Park.
“If we want to continue to use [our parks and pools] and enjoy them in the way that we do, we must sustain them and fund them,” Vargas said.
She said the investment is especially important to help Austin keep pace with peer cities.
“Cities like Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Travis County have already received close to $300 million in the last couple of years from bonds,” she said. “So if Austin’s parks system doesn’t get these bonds in November, then we will continue to fall behind our competitor cities.”
The $260 million would support parks buildings and facilities, infrastructure, public pools and new parks and trails.
A novel investment
The Hampton Branch at Oak Hill Public Library sign in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 12, 2026.
The $35 million library bond would fund two key projects. About $20 million would go to the renovation and expansion of the Hampton Branch library at Oak Hill.
Tim Staley, executive director of the Austin Public Library Foundation, said it’s a much needed project to address the aging facility’s needs as one of the most heavily used branches in the system.
The Hampton Branch library functions as a popular meeting place for the area’s neighborhood associations, extracurricular organizations and clubs.
“So it’s in need of not just renovation but also expansion,” Staley said. “More room is needed for it to effectively provide the needs for the surrounding community there. That’s space for programming — for children’s programming and adulting programming too.”
The remaining $15 million of the library bond would go toward building a new branch in Colony Park, a newer neighborhood in Northeast Austin.
Staley said the city has grown so quickly over the last several years that the library system has not been able to keep up.
“There are just too many Austinites that do not have the access to the services and amenities that the public library provides,” he said.
The tax impact
If the bond package is approved by Austin voters, a homeowner with an average-valued house of $495,000 would pay about $40 more on their annual property tax bill.
City staff previously recommended waiting another two years before putting this decision before voters. Mayor Kirk Watson agreed with that move.
“Responsible government doesn’t ask taxpayers only one question: is this worthwhile?,” Watson said. “Of course they are worthwhile. Of course community investments are worthwhile. But that’s not the only question. Responsible government also asks, is this the right time? Is this the right way to pay for it?”