5 Takeaways From Austin's 2021-22 Budget Plan

Austin TX

13 August, 2021

3:20 PM

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AUSTIN, TX — The city of Austin has approved a $4.5 billion budget for its 2022 fiscal year, authorities announced Thursday. The General Fund budget will be $1.2 billion and the Capital Budget includes $1.3 billion in planned spending, according to the city officials. Council's adopted budget incorporates the bulk of the Austin City Manager's proposals from last month, while adding a number of investments ranging across childcare, public safety and homelessness. #ATXCouncil has adopted the City of Austin's fiscal year 2021-2022 #ATXBudget. "Council's actions provide a path forward to build on Austin's many strengths while addressing the challenges we face as a city," said City Manager Spencer Cronk. Info: https://t.co/47zl1s4RTA pic.twitter.com/3ykj3wJjr9— City of Austin (@austintexasgov) August 13, 2021 "Council's actions today provide a path forward to build on Austin's many strengths while addressing the challenges we face as a city," said Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk. "This Budget covers the increase in our base expenses, delivers our programs and services, and many of the critical reforms that our citizens want and that Council has prioritized, with minimal year-over-year impact on the typical Austin ratepayer." Here are five takeaways from this year's budget. $1.1 billion will go to public safetyAbout $1.1 billion (2/3 of the budget) will go public safety, which includes Austin Code, Austin Fire, Austin Police, Austin-Travis County EMS, Information Security and Watershed Protection. According to the proposed fiscal plan, police will receive $360.8 million (the most funds), fire will receive $192.3 million and ATCEMS will receive $75.5 million. Altogether, the three departments make up $628.6 million, which is about 57 percent of total safety budget. The plan states the funds will help fund the department's police cadet training, help fund the proposed new fire station and will help cover needed funds for emergency services. One-third will go to parks, Austin Public Health, housing and othersOne-third of the city's budget will go to Austin Parks and Recreation, Austin Public Health, Animal Services, Housing and Planning Development, its public libraries and more. The Parks and Recreation department will receive $87.7 million from health and environment, and $8 million from the culture and lifelong learning operating budget, according to the proposed fiscal plan. Austin Public Health will receive $33.2 million from economic opportunity and affordability and $46.1 million from the health and environment operating budget. Animal Services will receive about $10.2 million from health and environment and $2.7 million from the safety operating budget. Housing and Planning Development will receive about $21 million from the economic opportunity and affordability operating budget, and the city's public libraries will receive about $51.1 million from the culture and lifelong learning operating budget, the plan reports. $2.4 million will go to Project Connect The 2022 fiscal budget will reserve $2.4 million for 18 full-time employees to advance Project Connect, a transit plan that includes a rail system, a downtown transit tunnel and an expanded bus system, city officials said. The team's initial focus will be on design, environmental studies, permitting, utility coordination, and other requirements for two light rail lines. This budget provides investment in high-priority resilience projects to prepare for threats and guard against potential future emergencies: Projects include a wildfire evacuation assessment to make sure residents have safe escape routes in the event of a large-scale wildfire, a community-wide emergency preparedness campaign to educate Austinites on how to prepare for extreme weather events such as heat waves and severe freezes, a project to help secure the regional food supply chain in the face of potential disruptions or disasters, and further collaboration with community partners to explore proposals for Community Resilience Hubs, publicly accessible facilities that can provide critical emergency services to residents during disaster events. $65.2 million will go to ending homelessnessThe City of Austin will appropriate $65.2 million to homeless services and have created a system that "efficiently engages unsheltered persons and supports their transition to necessary services and housing." The system is broken down by four interrelated core components: Reducing Inflow, Crisis Response, Housing Stabilization, and Public Space Management. Reducing Inflow: prevents persons from entering homelessness, the most cost-effective and least disruptive solution to ending the homelessness crisis. In FY 2021-22, the City of Austin plans to allocate $5.5 million to initiatives aimed at preventing individuals and families from experiencing homelessness, including: $5.2 million for homelessness prevention contracts administered by Austin Public Health to provide case management and financial and legal assistance;$250,000 through the Austin Code Department to temporarily assist tenants who need to be relocated due to necessary enforcement action against property owners of extremely uninhabitable or dangerous residential units.Crisis Response: identifies and engages persons experiencing homelessness and connects them to crisis services and temporary shelter options, as their immediate and most basic needs must be addressed before the process of re-empowering that individual or family to regain a stable and secure place in the community can begin. In FY 2021-22, the City of Austin plans to allocate $24.6 million to initiatives aimed at responding to homelessness crises. A detailed list can be found here. Housing Stabilization: connects individuals to permanent housing options with the right level of services to ensure their stability and success. Officials said this final step in addressing homelessness provides those in need with safe and sustainable housing solutions, as well as ongoing access to the social services and other assistance they may need to remain housed. In FY 2021-22, the City of Austin plans to allocate $30.1 million to initiatives aimed at re-empowering persons experiencing homelessness. A detailed list can be found here. Public Space Management: focuses on inclusive practices that support the rights of all persons to use and benefit from public spaces. Although management of public spaces are a necessity in a homelessness assistance system, these policies should be as non-punitive as possible, and reducing unsheltered homelessness limits the needs for these resources. In FY 2021-22, the City of Austin plans to allocate $5.0 million to initiatives aimed at managing public spaces. A detailed list can be found here. The system is designed to ensure it works for all populations, while also functioning as a guiding structure for addressing the needs of all persons experiencing a housing crisis. There will be a 4.7 percent tax increase. Here's what that means for taxpayers.The fiscal budget approved a property tax rate of 54.10 cents per $100 of taxable value for 2021-2022, which is a 4.7 percent increase above the no-new-revenue Operations and Maintenance rate. The City tax bill for the typical homeowner - defined as the owner of a median-valued ($399,760) non-senior home – will be $1,730.16 per year or $144.18 per month. Officials said this represents a decrease of $17.12 per year or $1.43 per month. Typical senior or disabled homeowners will see a reduction of $173.83 per year or $14.49 per month. Under the adopted budget, typical rate payers will see no change to their Austin Energy and Austin Water bills and modest increases to Austin Resource Recovery charges and Transportation User Fees. Taken together, the combined impact of tax, rate and fee changes would represent an increase, for the typical ratepayer, of 0.6% - an additional $28.12 per year or $2.34 per month. Thursday's approval of City tax and spending plans for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 comes after several months of stakeholder engagement – including an online survey. RELATED COVERAGE:Round Rock Budgets $525.3 Million For 2022 Fiscal Year Round Rock Budgets $37 Million To Fund Police In 2022 2 Austin Eateries Backtrack On Vaccine Proof After State Warning