Council

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

2 items · 0 passed · 0 failed · 0 postponed · 2 pending

Budget season is officially heating up at City Hall. Council spent the day digging into the City Manager's proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget, with Budget Director Kerri Lang walking through spending for community health, homelessness and housing, and social service contracts. One of the more striking moments came from Commander Lee Davis, who told council that 10 of 17 district representatives are now on permanent homeless-encampment assignment — work he said eats up roughly 70% of normal operations. He also noted encampment management cost $707,301 over the May 11–June 5 reporting period, averaging about $1,500 per site visit. No decisions were finalized here; this was the discussion phase, and the outcome remains unclear pending approved minutes.

Then the mic opened up to Austinites. During the community input session, a steady stream of speakers pressed council to protect social service contracts and pushed back on a proposed $25 million increase to the Austin Police Department. The CEO of Safe Alliance argued that a recent audit was flawed and shouldn't be applied across the full nonprofit portfolio. Some of the most personal moments came from formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated residents, who spoke about programs touching family eldercare, cash assistance, and finding peace. Council took no final action — this was a chance to listen before the numbers get locked in.

1 Results pendingunofficial

Presentation and discussion of the City Manager’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Proposed Budget.

The City Manager brings the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 to Council for a presentation and discussion. This is the annual look at how Austin plans to spend its money across city services, and it sets the stage for the budget adoption process ahead.

"Presentation and discussion of the City Manager's Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Proposed Budget."
- Budget director Kerri Lang walked through department budgets for community health, homelessness/housing, and social service contracts
- Commander Lee Davis stated 10 of 17 district reps are on permanent homeless-encampment assignment, taking ~70% of normal operations work
- Homeless encampment management cost $707,301 over the May 11–June 5 reporting period, averaging ~$1,500 per site visit
2 Results pendingunofficial

Conduct a community input session to receive public comment on the City of Austin Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Proposed Budget.

This is a community input session where Austinites can weigh in on the City's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. It's the public's chance to speak directly to Council about what they want funded before spending decisions get locked in.

"Conduct a community input session to receive public comment on the City of Austin Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Proposed Budget."
- Numerous speakers urged protection of social service contracts and opposed a $25 million increase to APD
- Safe Alliance CEO criticized the recent audit as flawed and unable to be projected across the full nonprofit portfolio
- Formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated residents gave personal testimony about at peace, family eldercare, and cash-assistance programs