Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

TexasTowelie

(111,292 posts)
Tue Jul 14, 2020, 04:03 AM Jul 2020

Austin City Manager proposes tax hike, 2 percent employee raise

Presenting a budget with a 2 percent employee pay raise and no layoffs and a 3.5 percent property tax increase, City Manager Spencer Cronk told Council Monday that his budget proposal meets the twin crises of the pandemic that has “upended our way of life and triggered an unprecedentedly swift economic contraction.” At the same time, he said, “the city is taking new steps to confront and end the long history of systemic injustices experienced by people of color by our public safety institutions.”

The 2020-2021 budget “meets these crises head-on, building on work to combat Covid-19 and help our community recover from its effects, while accelerating the process of reimagining our public safety system to ensure justice and equal treatment for all our residents,” Cronk said.

One way to thread that needle in a time of falling sales tax revenues is through $11.3 million in cuts to the Austin Police Department. That cut is a fraction of the $100 million reduction called for by the Austin Justice Coalition and its supporters.

The city’s financial management staffers have kept almost $26 million in excess in the reserve fund, according to Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed van Eenoo, which is another key way to balance lost sales tax money. In addition, city budget planners made conservative estimates of future sales tax revenues. As a result, even though the city saw a sharp decline in sales taxes, “when we entered the crisis we were more than $10 million ahead of our estimates,” van Eenoo said during a media briefing.

Read more: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2020/07/manager-proposes-tax-hike-2-percent-employee-raise/

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Texas»Austin City Manager propo...