Austin officials have unveiled another record-setting budget amid unprecedented pushback.
On Friday evening, Austin’s city manager released a $6.6 billion budget proposal. If adopted as proposed, it would represent the largest budget in the city’s history and a doubling of the city’s budget in just over a decade.
The proposed budget represents a nearly five percent increase from last year’s record of $6.3 billion, a nearly 12 percent increase from 2024’s record of $5.9 billion, and a 20 percent increase since 2023.
For perspective, Austin’s budget was $4.5 billion in 2021 and $3.3 billion in 2013.
The $6.6 billion proposed expenditure covers the city’s general fund, municipal utilities, and the city’s airport. It includes at least $40 million for services that promote vagrancy.
To pay for the spending, the proposal requests a property tax increase of more than eight percent.
The proposal also requests increases in residential utility and water rates. Austin provides these services through a monopoly municipal utility system that is not permitted anywhere else in Texas.
The proposal comes at a time of unprecedented public fury at municipal spending.
Last month, the city clerk officially certified a ballot measure that could impose new fiscal transparency requirements.
If passed, the referendum would amend the city charter to require independent audits of municipal finances every five years.
Additionally, if the city council wants to pursue a future tax rate election, the proposed charter amendment would require the municipal government to complete such an audit before calling the election.
The City of Austin currently conducts various internal audits. The proposed charter amendment would supplement this process with regular external reviews.
The referendum follows the landslide defeat of Proposition Q, a ballot measure that could have enshrined hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal spending, in November 2025.
Austin’s municipal spending has long been a subject of criticism. This criticism has grown following an explosion of spending for vagrancy services in recent years.
Save Austin Now, a non-partisan watchdog, previously spearheaded a 2021 effort to restore a ban on camping in public places by vagrants. The council had repealed this prohibition in 2019, creating a rash of consequences including fire hazards, health concerns, and public safety issues.
A recent Texas Scorecard investigation also uncovered millions of dollars in public subsidies for groups that promote dangerous sexual activity.
A similar effort to require a municipal audit fell short in 2018. At the time, Austin’s municipal budget was $4.1 billion.
The audit referendum will appear at the bottom of the ballot after federal, state, and local offices.
Gov. Greg Abbott has also proposed a series of taxpayer protections, including municipal spending caps and supermajority approval for tax increases, for consideration during next year’s legislative session.
Legislation that would have abolished the Austin City Council received a committee hearing from state lawmakers in 2025 and is expected to return in 2027.
