2025 Community Investment Budget

Jun 12

The City’s budget is a reflection of our values. Austin is a progressive city, but budget processes are by nature conservative. Each budget is built on the prior one, and such a process makes the city resistant to change, regardless of the priorities expressed by voters and those they elect to address the urgent needs of today. Austin’s budget process even fails to account for predictable expansion of important programs due to population growth (e.g. more parks require more park services) or ensure reasonable COLA for existing workers. Incrementally, we demand that city departments address housing, health and safety in new ways where the old ways have failed, and prioritize population appropriate service expansion guided by equity and sustainability across all departments.

The undersigned organizations jointly urge the city to continue its commitment to AFSCME (4%) in the baseline and invest in the following priorities in community health, housing, affordability, sustainability and safety for FY24 totaling $79.548 million or 5.7% of this year’s roughly $1.4 billion General Revenue budget.

We further ask that items marked “ongoing” be funded in the baseline budget because they are ongoing programs, programs on multi-year contracts or increases in staffing for specific, needed work. In recognition of the need for equitable resource support we ask that BIPOC led & served organizations be prioritized.

Summary:

Parent Support Specialists [$2.4M] ongoing
Tenant Relocation Assistance Program [$1M] ongoing
Emergency Rental Assistance, Eviction Defense, and Tenant Legal and Support Services [$10M]
Forensic Nursing, Austin Health Department [$328K] ongoing
Mental Health 1st Response [$4M] ongoing
Library books/materials [$900K]
Reentry navigators for jobs/housing formerly incarcerated [$1.4M] ongoing
Workforce Development [$3.46M ]
Office of Violence Prevention [$500K]
Implementation of the Austin Climate Equity Plan [$1.335M]
Improve rebates for residential and commercial landscape conversions [$400,000, Austin Water Utility Revenue]
Increase Leak Detection Programs [$2.28M, Austin Water Utility Revenue]
Park Maintenance and Safety [$2M] ongoing
Tenant Education, Stabilization Support, and Community-based Agreement Support [$300K] ongoing
Displacement Prevention Navigators [$1M] ongoing
Fair Housing Education, Support, and Testing [$350K]
Emergency Supplemental Assistance for Low Income Residents [$300K]
Inclement Weather Response [$4.5M] ongoing
Community Crisis Response [$2.3M] ongoing
Street Outreach Services, Case Managers, and Peer Support Specialists [$4M]
Strengthen Rapid Rehousing (RRH) and create a bridge to Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) [$8M]
Service funding for Permanent Supportive Housing [$4M]
Early Childhood Education and Development [$1.575M] ongoing
Resilience Hubs [$15M]
Harm Reduction Services and Infrastructure [$1M] ongoing
Immigration Legal Services for Low Income Families [$250K]
Equity Office [$800K] ongoing
Family Stabilization Grant [$3M] ongoing
Logistical Support For Austinites Seeking Abortion Care [$250K] ongoing
Food Sovereignty and Food Systems-Related Funding [$850K]
East Austin Performing Arts Funding [$850K]
Austin Community-Owned Food Retail Initiative [$500K]
Give the Resilience Office a budget [$1M] ongoing