SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council approved the budget for their upcoming fiscal year in 2025.
The budget came in at $3.96 billion. It's a 5.8 percent increase from 2024. Officials say the budget is a reflection of the priorities of the council and community.
$169 million will go to streets and sidewalks, $44 million will go towards homelessness, $32 million for animal care services, and just over $1 billion for public safety.
"Police and fire services are the largest budgets in this community, and they will continue to be going forward," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said ahead of Thursday's meeting.
The city provided this "budget at a glance:"
- $3.96 billion
- $1.67 billion General Fund
- $1.4 billion Restricted Fund
- $860 million Capital Budget
- $147 million in property tax relief
- 3 percent raise for City employees
- 7 percent raise for firefighters
- 4 percent raise for police officers
Public safety budget
The public safety budget will allow the city to hire 65 new officers and 15 firefighters. $55 million in the budget would go towards a 3 percent raise for civilian employees. Officers would get a 4 percent raise and firefighters would get a 7 percent increase.
The city is also investing $15.4 million to complete the replacement of three fire stations.
Animal Care Services
Last year, the city made one of its biggest moves toward addressing animal-related calls. The city implemented a big plan to respond to 100 percent of critical calls by the year 2026. The 2025 fiscal year budget continues that plan by adding 14 positions to respond to critical calls.
The new budget also adds 21 positions to operate two new spay/neuter clinics, which would amount to more than 41,000 surgeries. City officials hope this move helps to curb the increasing pet and animal population in San Antonio and ultimately would cut down on the amount of critical calls.
Addressing homelessness
Surveys and public input sessions revealed that citizens shared the council's concerns about homelessness in the city. The new budget adds $44.2 million for homeless services, which is expected to result in 500 people being sheltered. The city says 1,300 homeless encampments will be cleaned up within 14 days of notification.
The city is also adding $35.5 million in affordable housing, which includes home rehabilitation and repair, rental assistance, and down payment assistance. The goal is to have 11,238 homes constructed, under construction or in planning stages in the fiscal year of 2025.
Members of the public were able to comment on the budget before city council members voted.
