SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio City Council approved a $3.96 billion budget Thursday morning that, despite its record size, includes several belt-tightening measures.
The council unanimously approved the spending plan for FY 2025, which is 5.8% larger than FY 2024′s $3.74 billion budget. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and will run through Sept. 2025.
There is no change to the city’s property tax rate of 54.159 cents per $100 of valuation.
“I think it underscores our commitment to remaining responsible, resourceful, resilient and a normal — I keep calling it a ‘normal’ — revenue year,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “And that’s back to kind of our pre-pandemic days in terms of growth.”
However, the budget still included more money for many of the top priorities laid out by residents:
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15 new firefighters
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$122 million for street maintenance ($6 million more than FY 2024)
The council simultaneously passed a new contract for San Antonio firefighters and paramedics, which includes raises totaling more than 21% over three years.
READ MORE: 5 things to know about City of San Antonio’s nearly $4 billion budget proposal
The city has tried to tackle a budget deficit by cutting more than $23.6 million in spending out of the city’s general fund this year – with more planned for FY 2026.
About $13 million of that is simply shifting around how the city pays for some things – like covering police overtime for traffic control around the Alamodome out of a tourism-related fund instead of the general fund. Another $10.5 million, though, are actual cuts for programs like a mobile shower for homeless people, overtime shifts for downtown scooter enforcement, and rolling a boarding home inspection team’s responsibilities into existing code enforcement.
The new budget will also raise numerous fees covering everything from Alamodome parking to false burglar and fire alarms on unpermitted systems, and ambulance rides to the hospital.
The final version passed by council members includes only minimal changes to the draft staff presented on Aug. 15.
The city now plans to cut half of the money it sends to VIA Metropolitan Transit, and a EMS transport fee will go up by $500 instead of $250 as a way to make room for the new fire union contract.
Council members discussed final budget tweaks on Wednesday night, but unlike recent years, when windfalls of CPS Energy money filled city coffers, there was only about $5 million available to spend over the next two years.
A pediatric dental clinic, discretionary infrastructure funding for council districts, and housing assistance funding made the cut. But more than $20 million of other council spending requests were left on the table, including larger raises for city employees.
The city still faces a $3.5 million deficit in FY 2026.
However, council members are also considering dipping into a portion of CPS Energy revenue they had previously planned to set aside in an effort to blunt the effect of the next utility rate hike.
The current CPS Energy surplus is estimated to be about $21 million, though the city won’t know for sure until it collects the final payments in October. The council is expected to discuss its plans for the fund at a November meeting.
MORE FY 2025 BUDGET COVERAGE:
READ THE FULL, PROPOSED FY 2025 BUDGET ON THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WEBSITE