Austin City Council Votes Today on a Budget Shaped by a Taxpayer Revolt
Austin City Council convenes today to hold public hearings and vote on the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget — a roughly $6.6 billion spending plan that adopts a new property tax rate, sets utility and drainage fees, and locks in millions of dollars in cuts to the city’s social service contracts.
How the city got here. Last November, Austin voters rejected Proposition Q, a proposed 20% property tax increase that would have raised about $110 million to help close a budget shortfall and fund homelessness, parks, and public safety programs. The measure failed decisively, with roughly 63% of voters opposed. City Manager T.C. Broadnax responded by building a budget that stays within the state’s voter-approval tax cap, which meant finding savings elsewhere — including eliminating vacant positions and scaling back social service contracts.
What’s on the chopping block. Austin Budget staff recommended $5.35 million in reductions to social service grant contracts for FY27, following direction from Council to review contracts individually rather than apply an across-the-board cut.
Of 155 contracts spanning homelessness services, mental health care, food assistance, and community centers, 78 would keep full funding, 53 would see reduced awards, and 24 would be eliminated entirely — shrinking total contract funding from about $56.4 million to $51 million, a roughly 9.5% drop. City officials have signaled the cuts could grow to nearly $17 million by the following fiscal year as the restructuring continues.
What else is on today’s agenda. Beyond the tax rate and budget ordinance itself, Council will hold hearings on rate changes for Austin Resource Recovery, Watershed Protection drainage fees, Austin Water, and Austin Energy, plus a broader fee ordinance. Several Council members are also pushing resolutions tied to the cuts — including one directing the City Manager to evaluate the social service contracts facing reduction or elimination, and another asking whether the proposed drainage rate hike is even large enough to cover infrastructure needs.
Residents in East Austin are raising concerns about how much money is slated for police compared with other needs, including housing and social services.
The bottom line. This is a budget built around a hard constraint: voters said no to more revenue, so the city is trimming programs instead. Council members like Ryan Alter have described the affected contracts as part of the city’s “essential” safety net, warning that further reductions could hit people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence survivors, and low-income families hardest.
But not every Council member sees the cuts as a problem to be minimized.
District 10’s Marc Duchen, one of Council’s more fiscally conservative voices, has been a consistent advocate for the reductions, arguing the city can’t be the “sole provider or sole funder” of programs better shared with other partners and that duplication among service providers should be trimmed first.
Duchen has also said the current squeeze was avoidable — with earlier planning, he’s argued, the city could have started restructuring social service spending two or three years ago instead of facing a “contentious process” now. He’s pointed to resident feedback urging the city to “do better with what you have” rather than raise taxes, and he pushed for the independent efficiency audit Council adopted earlier this year as a longer-term fix.
Whether today’s vote settles that tension or just postpones it to next year’s budget cycle remains an open question.
TODAY’S AGENDA
Sources:
- FOX 7 Austin, “City of Austin to cut $5.2M from social services contracts”
- The Daily Texan, “City budget could face more than $16 million in social services cuts”
- KUT Radio, “Austin budget forecast includes millions in social services cuts”
- KUT Radio, “Austin’s $6.6B draft budget cuts services, raises taxes”
- Community Impact, “Austin unveils $6.63B proposed budget”
- The Bingham Group, “Austin Social Service Grants: $5.35M in Proposed FY27 Cuts”
- KVUE, “Austin voters reject Proposition Q”
- Community Impact, “Austinites reject Proposition Q tax hike”
- Axios Austin, “Austin’s property tax hike fails”
- City of Austin, Austin City Council Agenda, August 12, 2026
A public meeting was held Tuesday evening by the city of Austin regarding the potential renaming of Cesar Chavez Street.
Pflugerville leaders decided against a bond election for residents during an hours-long council meeting Tuesday night.
In Manor, the Manor ISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted to call a $400 million bond election for the November 3 election.
Also out of the Manor area this morning, people in Wild Horse Creek, Hamilton Point and Lagos should not drink water from faucets because of a water main break impacting the areas.
BREAKING NEWS (9:00 AM)
Austin police told residents near the 800 block of Camino La Costa to shelter in place Wednesday morning as officers and a SWAT team searched for a person suspected of opening fire on police.
Officers responded to the area, near U.S. 290 and Interstate 35, after a person called 911 and reported being held at gunpoint, according to preliminary information from authorities. Police said officers arrived within about two minutes.
UPDATE: 1:00 PM
Austin Fire Chief Joel G. Baker is retiring on August 31.
He is unavailable and out of the office, the city announced Tuesday. The city and the fire department declined to give a reason for Baker’s departure or say when he made this decision.
Baker departs 13 months after clashing with the Austin Firefighters Association over the department’s response to the fatal July 2025 Hill Country floods. Shortly after the dispute, the union issued a historical vote of no confidence in his leadership, a first for an Austin fire chief in more than two decades.
Chief of Staff Tom Vocke will take over as interim fire chief September 1 while the city launches a nationwide search for Baker’s permanent successor. (Austin American-Statesman)
Travis County officials issued a burn ban for all unincorporated areas of the county effective yesterday, as scorching heat and dry conditions continue to fuel brush fires and wildfires across Texas.
The ban, which will remain in place through September 29 unless lifted early, comes as two active wildfires burn in neighboring Burnet County — the Flatrock Fire near Marble Falls and continued mop-up on a roughly 300-acre blaze that scorched land northeast of Bertram earlier this week.
(There are several other larger wildfires burning in Texas this morning. Details on those can be found further down this post in WEATHER.)
A similar burn ban has been issued in Hays County.
With triple-digit temperatures forecast for weeks to come and little rain in sight, officials warn that dried-out vegetation across Central Texas could allow even a small spark to ignite and spread rapidly.
Travis County Districts Reopening Today
- Del Valle ISD
- Lake Travis ISD
- Leander ISD (serves parts of Travis and Williamson counties)
- Manor ISD
The University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Facilities Planning and Construction Committee meets Wednesday to approve the initial timeline and budget for the UT Dell Medical Center—a long-anticipated, $5 billion AI-native hospital. (Austin Business Journal)
Phase One Key Details
- Scope: Covers early site preparation, architectural design, and long-lead medical equipment orders (such as MRIs). It does not include primary building construction.
- Timeline: Site prep begins within a month of board approval, with main hospital construction slated for this fall.
CapMetro announced service change updates Tuesday. They are extending Route 2 along Springdale Road between Oak Springs Road and 7th Street, filling a gap in service.
The changes go into effect Sunday.
The mass transit agency put some of its e-bikes back on the streets of Austin yesterday after a service disruption lasting several months.
Meanwhile, Austin City Council has directed the city manager to propose more local rules and regulations for e-bikes and scooters. The city’s police chief says it doesn’t need any.
Austin City Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes announced a delay from a private developer is extending the closure at Ross Road and Pearce Lane through late 2026.
Citing privacy and data-sharing concerns, the Pflugerville City Council removed a vote on a proposed two-year, $175,000 contract with Flock Safety from Tuesday’s agenda. The city currently operates 28 license plate reader cameras under its existing agreement with the company. (CBS Austin)
As awareness grows in Texas and beyond about Flock Safety’s automatic license plate readers, concerns about privacy and government surveillance are emerging from both sides of the political aisle.
WEATHER
TUESDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
The Lower Colorado River Authority has released lake level predictions for November.
“Since Saturday, August 1, local and state firefighters have worked tirelessly to contain a surge of wildfires that ignited across Texas. The potential for wildfire activity is expected to increase in areas with rainfall deficits, such as the High Plains, northern Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, North Texas and East Texas where high temperatures, low humidity, and dry vegetation is contributing to elevated risk.” — Texas A&M Forest Service
In addition to the two brush fires burning in Burnet County mentioned earlier, there are at least five other larger wildfires in Texas.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is pressing the Trump administration to pause border wall construction in Big Bend, urging Homeland Security officials to meet with Texas landowners, sheriffs and park advocates before crews clear any more of the rugged national park terrain — a rare break with the administration from the Texas Republican amid mounting bipartisan opposition to the project. (The Hill)
The projects have drawn bipartisan opposition, with all five border county sheriffs speaking out against the plans and more than 2,000 people protesting at the Texas Capitol in April.
A massive cocaine seizure last week at the Del Rio International Bridge has led to the arrest of a 29-year-old U.S. citizen, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo will be reprimanded and under suspension from office, following a hearing that concluded Friday.
She will be under a 30-day suspension from office upon findings by the council that she committed “misconduct, malfeasance, incompetence, or inability or willful neglect of performance” related to a tax incentive agreement for development of a downtown hotel project. (Texas Public Radio)
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra as called a special meeting for August 17 regarding a public vote for a proposed Health District in the area, with the goal of creating a district that will provide a minimum basic level healthcare for all residents of Hays County.
Authorities in Montgomery County conducted an operation that netted 23 total arrests, which included arrests for Organized Retail Theft, Shoplifting, outstanding warrants, and narcotics offenses. (Click2Houston)
A US Marine will return to Texas after years in a Russian prison. He was released on humanitarian grounds.
Initially President Trump said the war with Iran would last four to five weeks. Now over five months later there is no end in sight. The war is acting like a tax on the U.S. economy: energy costs are rising, inflation has accelerated, and the federal government is spending tens of billions of dollars on military operations.
(Episode from August 10, 2026)
How a new border wall going up in West Texas will impact a historic landmark at the site of the 1918 Porvenir Massacre.
(Episode from August 11, 2026)
In this week’s episode, the TribCast crew is joined by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and economy reporter Paul Cobler. They discuss the anger in rural Texas over data centers and power lines and ask Miller why he thinks it means Democrats could win a statewide race in November.
(Episode from August 11, 2026)
Heavy bulldozers are now tearing through ecologically and historically-sensitive parts of Big Bend National Park to build unnecessary border infrastructure, while the opposition of Texans of both parties goes ignored by Donald Trump. And a source of Ken Paxton’s mysterious wealth may have been revealed – a cell tower built on the property of a hospital where Paxton was serving as a board member when it was approved.
A court ruled on Tuesday that Boerne‘s team would be able to advance to the Little League World Series.
SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: New details have emerged about the medical emergency that sent a Lake Travis High School football player to an Austin hospital Monday morning, with a fundraising campaign saying the teenager suffered cardiac arrest during practice.
MLB: Both Texas teams stumbled Tuesday night, dropping the state’s two MLB clubs to a combined skid heading into Wednesday’s slate.
The Rangers fell 3-2 to the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, while the Astros were shut down 4-1 by the San Francisco Giants, wrapping up a rough road trip for Houston.
ON THE SCHEDULE
The Astros close out their series with the Giants this afternoon at 2:45 PM CDT in San Francisco.
The Rangers wrap up their series with the Angels tonight at 9:10 PM CDT in Anaheim.
AL WEST STANDINGS
| Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Astros | 61 | 60 |
| 2 | Texas Rangers | 60 | 60 |
| 3 | Seattle Mariners | 56 | 64 |
| 4 | Athletics | 47 | 73 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Angels | 46 | 74 |
Tight race at the top — Houston’s only up half a game on Texas.
NBA: The NBA has announced a slate of games for Christmas Day and a rematch of the NBA Finals will be the first one up.
TEXANS: Rookie offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge added another name to his growing list of training camp sparring partners Tuesday, this time tangling with All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. It marked roughly the fourth skirmish for the first-round pick since camp opened, but the first to draw in someone of Anderson’s stature — a rarity for the typically even-keeled Texans star.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans addressed the flare-up after practice wrapped, calling it part of the physical edge he wants instilled in his team.
Houston opens their 2026 preseason schedule tomorrow night hosting the Los Angeles Chargers.
COWBOYS: Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer met with the media Tuesday to share his thoughts on the joint practice versus the Los Angeles Rams, the competitive nature of both teams, Quinnen Williams’ contract extension, and more.
Dallas begins their preseason Saturday night in Seattle.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team released their 2026-2027 SEC schedule.
24 DAYS UNTIL TEXAS FOOTBALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The Texas Longhorns ramp up the intensity as fall camp enters a pivotal stage—can Laurence Seymore and Ty’Anthony Smith cement their roles before the season opener?
MLS: Austin FC announced Tuesday that Club President Andy Loughnane has been named Chief Executive Officer. In his new role, Loughnane will assume day-to-day operational oversight of both Business Operations and Soccer Operations for Austin FC, creating a unified executive leadership structure across the Club. (Austin FC)
The VERDE & Black continue play in Leagues Cup action tomorrow night at Q2 Stadium.
A brand-new Buc-ee’s has opened in San Marcos.
Let’s peek in and do some people-watching on its grand opening day yesterday.
