Council Narrowly Backs Tax Increase
San Antonio's City Council voted 7-4 to approve the city's first property tax rate increase in more than three decades. The new rate, effective October 1, will rise by two cents to just over 56 cents per $100 of assessed value. City officials estimate this will add about $35 to the annual tax bill for the average homeowner with a homestead exemption. The increase is part of a plan to close a projected $158 million deficit over two years, alongside nearly $40 million in cuts.[S1]
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones opposed the hike, joining council members Marina Alderete Gavito, Misty Spears, and Marc Whyte in the minority. The four also voted against the $4.4 billion budget that relies on the higher rate. Jones said she could not be certain the increase was necessary or the smallest possible. She had spent the past month proposing alternative ways to trim general-fund spending, such as using hotel occupancy taxes and Ready to Work job-training funds, but her ideas were not included in the final budget.[S1]
Cuts and Fee Increases Take Effect
Under the spending plan that was passed, close to 100 jobs are removed, although those workers are given the chance to move into other municipal roles. The former diversity, equity and inclusion department is dissolved, funding to certain nonprofits is trimmed, city employee overtime is reduced, and two senior meal sites offering no-cost lunches are shut. At the same time, over 100 new or higher fees take effect, affecting ambulance rides, garbage pickup, non-resident library cards, parking penalties and river barge fares.[S1]
Had the higher tax rate been turned down, the city would have needed to find another $75 million in reductions across two years, with $31.2 million of that falling on the budget then being drafted. Consequences could have included shorter library operating hours, the loss of multiple parks offerings, and more than 100 further job eliminations. Backers of the increase maintained that the deepest harm would have landed on San Antonio's lowest-income neighborhoods.[S1]
Tensions and Last-Minute Maneuvers
The meeting began with a show of unity, including a group photo at the urging of Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, but quickly became contentious. Council members Misty Spears and Marc Whyte made several failed attempts to add 10 more police officers to the budget through proposed cuts. Whyte also tried to delay the votes until next week so the council could consider cutting all department budgets by 1.6%, which would amount to $30 million in additional cuts. His motion failed, with only Jones and Spears joining him.[S1]
Edward Mungia, the councilman whose district covers the Southwest Side, stood behind the increase, arguing that cutting services would shortchange residents who depend on them. He cautioned that with so much of the city grappling with poverty, drainage problems, infrastructure needs and scarce activities for children and families, conditions would deteriorate sharply. Whyte countered that raising property taxes amounts to a temporary fix, since San Antonio still projects shortfalls ahead and will probably consider yet another increase next year.[S1]
