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Matthew Becker, an outreach assessor at Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, right, gives supplies to Barbara Leggett, an Austin resident experiencing homelessness, left, in East Austin on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n
Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Cash-strapped Austin got some good news this week: The city will have an additional $4.7 million to spend in its proposed budget because of higher-than-expected property tax revenue.<\/p>\n
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The city budget office announced Thursday that certified property values from the Travis, Williamson and Hays appraisal districts added $3.3 billion to Austin\u2019s tax base \u2014 slightly more than the $3.2 billion increase assumed in the proposed budget. A small adjustment to the property tax rate also contributed to the additional revenue.<\/p>\n
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Endeavors driver Bryan Rader, left, helps Cecil Strickling board a van outside Central Presbyterian Church to the Marshalling Yard, a city-owned homeless shelter, on Thursday January 11, 2024.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner \/ American-Statesman<\/p>\n
The unexpected money quickly set off a scramble over how to spend it. City staff recommended directing it toward housing programs, while a coalition of five City Council members proposed using the full amount to avert most of the roughly $5 million in proposed cuts to social service contracts.<\/p>\n
Council Members Vanessa Fuentes, Natasha Harper-Madison, Mike Siegel, Paige Ellis and Zo Qadri filed a budget amendment<\/a> Thursday night that would use the money to offset cuts affecting nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance, housing support, health care and other services.<\/p>\n The proposal is likely to stir some controversy as a recent audit<\/a>, executed separately from the decision to cut social services, found that a sampling of social service nonprofits missed a significant share of their performance targets.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The debate comes as the council weighs how to close a projected $26 million budget deficit while preserving core services and limiting the financial burden on residents.<\/p>\n City financial staff, working with the Travis County tax assessor-collector\u2019s office, calculated an official property tax rate of 57.9948 cents per $100 of taxable value for the coming budget year, up slightly from the 57.953 cents projected in the proposed budget.<\/p>\n Together, the higher certified values and adjusted tax rate are expected to generate $4.7 million more for the city\u2019s general fund than staff initially anticipated.<\/p>\n