Which city departments will get funding? Austin leaders, public to hear new proposed budget
Austinites will learn which city programs will be prioritized in the next fiscal year as Austin's new proposed budget will be released on Friday.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites will learn which city programs will be prioritized in the next fiscal year as Austin's new proposed budget will be released Friday.
Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk will present the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23 to council members at the Montopolis Recreation and Community Center in east Austin at 10 a.m.
Last year, city council adopted a $4.5 billion budget and a 4.7% tax revenue increase for Fiscal Year 2021-22. The Austin Police Department received a record high $442 million, which included funding for two cadet classes. The city also allotted $79 million for affordable housing and $65 million for homelessness response last year.
Austin budget timeline
Final adoption of the budget and tax rate is scheduled to begin on Aug. 17, but council members and the community will get to provide feedback and changes to the proposed budget in a series of meetings.
The first input meeting for the community is set for later this month on July 27. City council will start work on the budget in August. Here's the full budget schedule:
- July 15: City Manager's Proposed Budget Presentation to Council
- July 27: First Community Budget Input Meeting
- Aug. 2: Second Community Budget Input Meeting
- Aug. 9: Council Budget Work Session
- Aug. 11: Council Budget Work Session
- Aug. 17: Budget and Tax Rate Adoption by Council
FY 2022-23 starts on Oct. 1, which is when the new budget will go into effect.
Giving feedback
In addition to the communitywide meetings, some council members will be hosting separate town halls this month and next month to discuss the budget with their constituents. Some are in person and others are virtual. The first one will be for District 2 on July 21. You can find a full budget town hall list online.
To help develop the proposed budget, a public survey was given to community members in May and June, which asked about their budget priorities. Results from the survey will be provided to city leaders so they can make informed decisions on how to tailor the budget. The same results will be released to the public at the end of July.
If you have questions or want to provide feedback, you can email BudgetQA@AustinTexas.gov.