In preparing the 2007 city budget, Toby Futrell used the “effective” property-tax rate of 39.85 cents, which, while lower than last year’s 44.30 cents, pulls in the same amount of revenue due to rising property values. In doing so, she has left council the decision of whether to raise the rate to pay for some $7.7 million in unfunded proposals. Here are the unfunded additions by category, with examples (by no means exhaustive) of specific needs.
Community Services: $3.3 million
• Cost-of-living increase for social-service providers: $543,000
• Establish a second day-labor site in South Austin: $275,000
• Outreach to reduce Animal Center euthanasia: $155,000 and one full-time employee (FTE)
Public Safety: $1.9 million
• Recruit, develop, and supervise future paramedics: $1.02 million and 15 FTEs
• Replacing 83 sets of protective firefighter gear: $100,000
• Increase civilian staffing at the police department: $479,000 and 9 FTEs
Workforce Initiatives: $1.2 million
• Begin a bilingual incentive program for employees: $546,000
Affordable Housing: $1.2 million
• Address federal funding cuts: $1.2 million
Support Services: $0.1 million
• Restore one position to the office of the city auditor: $66,000
Total: $7.7 million
This article appears in August 18 • 2006.