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City Council Member Ryan Alter, left, makes a $100,000 donation to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department with a ceremonial big check presented to Parks and Recreation President Jes\u00fas Aguirre, Oct. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Underneath a large tree outside the city of Austin\u2019s Parks and Recreation Department headquarters late last month, a small gaggle of reporters gathered around City Council Member Ryan Alter, who waxed poetic about the city\u2019s greenspaces. An oversized ceremonial check with \u201cONE HUNDRED THOUSAND\u201d scrawled across its face leaned against the tree\u2019s thick trunk.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI love our park system,\u201d Alter said. \u201cIt\u2019s where our kids go play, we have our birthday parties, our soccer games, and our communities come together. I really wanted to be able to do more to enrich our parks, and decided to use savings from our office account and invest that directly in our parks for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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City Council Member Ryan Alter makes a $100,000 donation to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Oct. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
City Council Member Ryan Alter makes a $100,000 donation to the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Oct. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
District 4 Council Member Jos\u00e9 \u201cChito\u201d Vela is the lead sponsor of “The APD Open Policing Data Release” resolution.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Council Member Krista Laine speaks during a City of Austin press conference regarding homelessness in Austin Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Austin City Council member Jose Velasquez speaks about the youth mental health first aid training available at Integral Care Dove Springs Clinic Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Travis County supports the program, which is available for free and offered by Integral Care to individuals, schools, businesses and organizations in Austin and the county.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Alter said the $100,000 transfer to the parks department was \u201cmade possible by consistent fiscal restraint in his office budget\u201d and will contribute to \u201cshovel-ready\u201d upgrades at Garrison Park and Piney Bend Playground in his South Austin district.<\/p>\n
The transfer\u00a0\u2014 the largest donation Alter has given from his office budget during his time on the council\u00a0\u2014 is not his first. It also came shortly after the American-Statesman inquired about other donations he charged to his city credit card.<\/p>\n
Besides the park donation, Alter has distributed nearly $10,000 in taxpayer funds to schools, nonprofits and, in a few cases, political organizations\u00a0\u2014 a practice prohibited by other large Texas cities like San Antonio, which bars council members from donating city funds to nonprofits.<\/p>\n
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And Alter is not the only council member who is funding pet projects on the taxpayer\u2019s dime after the council voted to increase their own discretionary budgets for this fiscal year, a Statesman analysis of council member credit card statements found. The analysis covered each member\u2019s entire tenure in office.<\/p>\n
Others have spent thousands on furniture, artwork, consultants, training, international travel and more using public dollars, despite being among the highest-paid and best-funded council members in the state. Experts and fiscal watchdogs said the expenditures suggest Austin council members\u2019 budgets are simply too big and that the city has overly permissive spending policies.<\/p>\n
The revelations come as the city is asking voters to support Proposition Q, which would hike city property taxes by more than 20% to generate $110 million for a variety of initiatives council members say are vital to Austin\u2019s quality of life. The average homeowner would pay $300 a year more in taxes if the measure passes on Nov. 4\u00a0\u2014 and that doesn\u2019t account for hikes from other taxing entities like Travis County.<\/p>\n
It also comes during months of scrutiny by the Statesman into discretionary spending among Austin\u2019s top leaders that uncovered misuse of city credit cards and a spendthrift culture at City Hall. Previous reporting has already prompted Alter to reimburse the city $1,200 after the publication found that he and City Manager T.C. Broadnax routinely used city money to pay for meals during \u201cworking lunches\u201d in violation of city policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Public money, private causes<\/p>\n
The Statesman\u2019s analysis found that some City Council members occasionally make taxpayer-funded donations to advocacy organizations, nonprofits and other groups\u00a0\u2014 but for Alter, it\u2019s a habit.<\/p>\n
Since taking office in 2023, he has donated some $10,000 in public money to outside groups, some of which are political or may advocate for causes that not all his constituents support and, according to experts, may toe an ethical line.<\/p>\n
Organizations that have received taxpayer-funded donations from Alter\u2019s office include nonprofits like Liberal Austin Democrats and Hispanic Advocates Business Leaders of Austin, or HABLA. The purpose cited for the latter donation was an \u201cevent to improve the economic landscape and quality of life for Hispanics in Austin,\u201d according to city records. The former donation was \u201cto support voter registration and engagement efforts\u201d in 2024. However, Alter\u2019s office said that it mistakenly mischaracterized the purpose in expense reports and that it was actually intended for homeless outreach through Mobile Loaves and Fishes.<\/p>\n
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Last year, records show, he gave $1,100 to the Other Ones Foundation to clean up a homeless camp in his district, and this year gave to the Community First Village for homelessness services and the affordable nonprofit Foundation Communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alter also has donated to advocacy groups like Texas Gun Sense, Clean Water Action and the Save Barton Creek Association, and to a variety of schools and education-related groups. In 2023, he donated $1,000 to the PTA at Blazier Elementary\u00a0\u2014 a school not in his district\u00a0\u2014 and sent the organization $200 more a year later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said the kind of contribution Alter is prone to make would typically come from campaign fundraising rather than a taxpayer-funded city account.<\/p>\n
\u201cA campaign account can be used to give to all of these kinds of entities, schools, political organizations,\u201d Jillson said. \u201cIt\u2019s less clear that it\u2019s appropriate out of the City Council public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Alter\u2019s office told the Statesman that most of the contributions fit their understanding of the city\u2019s spending policies since they were given in exchange for goods or services, as required by city spending rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have looked for opportunities to help enrich our community,\u201d Alter told the Statesman. \u201cI don\u2019t think we can just give (money) away; that\u2019s not how the system is set up, but where we can receive a benefit and also help benefit the community, that\u2019s something we have tried to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alter\u2019s single largest contribution\u00a0\u2014 $2,500 in January\u00a0\u2014 went to the Texas Bar Foundation for a lifetime membership to the exclusive, attorneys-only philanthropic group that \u201cprovides funding to enhance the rule of law and the system of justice in Texas,\u201d according to its website.<\/p>\n
An invitation to join the group is \u201cone of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a member of the State Bar of Texas,\u201d the site says. Alter is a graduate of Harvard Law School and licensed to practice in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Most other members of the City Council have given little or no office funding away to nonprofits, the Statesman\u2019s analysis found.<\/p>\n
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Austin District 1 City Council member Natasha Harper-Madison speaks during the council’s first meeting of 2023 on Thursday Jan. 26 at City Hall in Austin.<\/p>\n
Aaron E. Martinez \/ American-Statesman, Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
One exception is Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, who in 2019\u00a0 used her city credit card to purchase a table at an NAACP banquet for $750 and to pay for a program advertisement for an additional $200. She also sponsored the Black Women in Business Extravaganza that same year for $250. In 2024, she spent $500 on an expense simply labeled \u201csponsorship of community event.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expenses noted from the District 1 Council office budget are fully in line with City of Austin policy, which allows for the use of city funds to co-sponsor a non-profit or charitable organization\u2019s event when it serves a public purpose,\u201d said Sharon Mays, Harper-Madison\u2019s chief of staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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But Austin\u2019s spending policies are far looser than those of many peer cities, a previous Statesman investigation found. Other large Texas cities, like Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston more explicitly outline how members can spend their office funds and some explicitly ban such donations.<\/p>\n
Austin\u2019s policy is \u201cabout as minimal as you can get while still having a policy,\u201d ethics lawyer Andrew Cates previously told the Statesman.<\/p>\n
According to the Texas Municipal League<\/a>, \u201ca gratuitous donation or gift by a city is prohibited by the Texas Constitution<\/a>,\u201d but case law establishes that an expenditure is valid if it accomplishes a legitimate public purpose.<\/p>\n Even so, Andrew McVeigh, the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, said elected officials should not be using taxpayer funds to support other organizations, especially political ones.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThis idea that these officials should just be able to spend taxpayer money wherever they want, including giving it to other agencies without having to take a vote on it \u2026 that\u2019s highly concerning,\u201d McVeigh said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what taxpayer funds are for.\u201d<\/p>\n Consultants, coach and couches<\/p>\n The Statesman\u2019s analysis found that other council members prefer to spend on things like consultants, staff development, artwork, office furniture and international travel.<\/p>\n Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, for instance, has spent more than $10,000 on consultants since she took office in 2021. She paid $4,500 via Paypal for \u201cconsulting services\u201d in 2021. The next year, she hired a facilitator for a staff retreat at a cost of $2,000.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2024, Fuentes paid $4,120 to Alejandra Mielke\u00a0\u2014 a \u201cLatina Power\u201d career coach\u00a0\u2014 for personality testing and one-on-one coaching, according to spending documents the Statesman reviewed.<\/p>\n Amelia Casas, an advisor in Fuentes\u2019 office, said the expenses \u201crelate to the training, education, and professional development of District 2 team staff.\u201d<\/p>\n City of Austin Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes speaks during a press conference celebrating CapMetro\u2019s 40th Anniversary at their headquarters in East Austin, July 1, 2025.<\/p>\n Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Alter, likewise, has invested in staff development, spending $10,000 to send a staffer to an executive course on climate change at Harvard University.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Council Member Mike Siegel, who took office in January, has spent thousands on consultants during his first 10 months in office. That included $7,200 to a firm called SGC Strategies for an office consultant in May and June. The firm belongs to another council member\u2019s chief of staff, according to city records, and Siegel\u2019s spokesperson Jess Robertson told the Statesman the consultant \u201chad significant expertise as a result of working in multiple city council\u00a0offices and in nearly every staff role.\u201d<\/p>\n Siegel also purchased art and furniture for his office with taxpayer dollars, spending about $2,000 on decorative artwork. He\u2019s also spent the most on furniture among his peers, dropping $2,800 since he took office earlier this year.<\/p>\n Siegel\u2019s staff doesn\u2019t know what happened to the furniture and art used by his predecessor.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we arrived at the office there was insufficient furniture and no art,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t told, we just arrived in January to a pretty barren office space.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Siegel, just weeks before Election Day, continued the council\u2019s tradition of traveling internationally for advocacy work, flying to Germany for a meeting of the Berlin Urban Nature Pact. Austin is one of 17 signatories to the pact, which \u201cseeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery,\u201d its website notes. Robertson said Siegel flew coach and stayed only for the duration of the four-day conference.<\/p>\n \u201cHe presented on three panels at the conference, sharing data gathered from the City\u2019s programs on climate action, watershed, and wildlife preservation,\u201d she said, noting that the city will convene a biodiversity stakeholders group as a result of the trip.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n