SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio City Council approved the budget for Fiscal Year 2025, including $1 billion for public safety initiatives which counts for over sixty percent of the budget.
The total price tag: $3.96 billion, marking a 5.8% increase from this year's budget. The fiscal year starts Oct. 1, and officials say the budget is a reflection of priorities outlined by the council and community.
Among the biggest allotments is $169 million that will go to streets and sidewalks projects; $44 million towards addressing 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.
Nirenberg presided over his final budget vote before he leaves office next summer. The position of San Antonio mayor is capped at eight years, and Nirenberg will reach that limit in 2025.
Of the $3.96 billion that comprise the budget, $1.67 billion makes up the General Fund, used to support basic city essentials like parks, streets, and law enforcement; that money comes from city taxes tax and property tax revenue, as well as CPS Energy revenue. Another $1.4 billion is par of the Restricted Fund, while the Capital Budget is comprised of $860 million.
The budget also allocates $147 million for property tax relief. Additionally, it accounts for a 3% raise for city employees; a 7% raise for firefighters; and a 4% raise for police officers.
The city did have to make $23 million dollars in adjustments for this fiscal year, with cuts taking effect immediately.
"We're hearing about needs that won't go met in this budget," Mayor Nirenberg said. "It always works out that way. There are some additional things we would like to fund, but we can't."
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% raise for civilian employees. Officers would get a 4% raise and firefighters would get a 7% increase. Contracts for firefighters finalized just weeks before the final vote.
"The firefighters haven't voted on a collective bargaining agreement since 2009, and that was important," said Erik Walsh, city manager for San Antonio. "They're our second largest department and there's over 1800 firefighters, and I think that was an important milestone that we collectively needed to achieve."
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 be able to respond to 100% 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.
