SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Facing a yawning budget gap, San Antonio\u2019s city council will consider raising the city\u2019s tax rate for the first time since 1992. <\/p>\n
The city\u2019s plan to close a projected $158 million deficit over the next two years involves a mix of cuts, shifting around funds, raising fees, and a pair of property tax increases that would raise the city rate by about 8.5%. <\/p>\n
KSAT will provide a livestream of the City Council meeting at 9 a.m. in this article. Delays are possible. If there is not a livestream available, please check back at a later time. <\/p>\n
Only the first hike, a 3.9% bump, is on the table for Thursday\u2019s vote. It would mean the average homestead, with a taxable value of $231,356, would pay $49 more than if the rate were to stay flat. <\/p>\n
However, senior and disabled homeowners with a tax freeze, which is roughly 47% of all homesteads in the city, would be unaffected. <\/p>\n
Council members spent Tuesday and Wednesday debating \u2014 sometimes heatedly \u2014 final changes to the budget.<\/p>\n
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who had floated 29 separate budget amendments, suggested dipping into various other pots of money to free up space in the budget or bring in additional funding, including the Ready to Work job training program, Hotel Occupancy Tax funds, and TIRZs. <\/p>\n
After that strategy appeared to get little backing, she suggested across-the-board cuts on Wednesday of 1.6% and 2% over the next two years to avoid increasing taxes. <\/p>\n
Marc Whyte (D10), one of the council\u2019s most conservative members and a frequent adversary of the mayor, had laid out his own plan the day before for making specific program cuts, fee increases, and 2% across-the-board cuts to non-personnel costs. While he indicated he was supportive of the mayor\u2019s suggestion, he also got in a dig.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last six weeks, we\u2019ve been we\u2019ve been off on these wild goose chases of moving, you know, trying to move TIRZ money and trying to move HOT money, and doing all these different things to try to avoid making the tough decisions of spending cuts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jones, though, argued it was important to go through the \u201cintellectual exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody was avoiding anything, but rather, let\u2019s make sure we can do our due diligence and explain to folks the work that we\u2019ve done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Neither of their approaches appeared to have broad support, though, and weren\u2019t included in a Wednesday night memo from City Manager Erik Walsh to council members with a list of proposed amendments based on the council\u2019s conversations.<\/p>\n
The amendments includes a handful of moves to stave off or reduce $4.5 million worth of cuts to a scholarship program, a gastronomy program, five Metro Health positions, and employee tuition reimbursement, among other areas. <\/p>\n
To make space for them in the budget, the city would increase a half dozen fees and fines, including for certain parking violations, raising the cost of a non-resident river barge ticket for an adult from $15 to $20, and charging $30 for the newly-proposed, non-resident library card fee, instead of $20.<\/p>\n
Dozens of city positions would still be on the chopping block, but staff say they have enough vacant positions elsewhere in the city that no one would have to be laid off.<\/p>\n
Passing the higher tax rate will require seven votes out of the 11-member council and it will happen after they vote on the budget.<\/p>\n
State law requires the city to have a balanced budget, and if the councilmembers don\u2019t pass a tax rate high enough to support the budget, it would effectively force Walsh to do their dirty work and slash his way to equilibrium.<\/p>\n