San Antonio’s City Council, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, City Manager Erik Walsh and councilmembers including Marc Whyte and Phyllis Viagran are wrestling with a looming $131 million shortfall that could push officials toward a property tax increase, hard cuts or a mix of both as they map out the next fiscal plan.
City staff warned during a recent budget session that declining taxable values could force the city to consider maxing out the property tax rate to avoid steep service cuts. The recommendation would raise the maintenance-and-operations rate nearer to its statutory limit and still leave the city needing additional adjustments to balance the books.
Council reactions split almost immediately. “This is (an) absolutely non-starter for me,” Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) said. “The balancing of the budget will require a comprehensive approach that includes both expenditures, reductions, and identification of new revenue opportunities,” Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) said a few minutes later in Friday’s meeting. “But what I am not hearing from some council members is where we are going to cut — what you are willing to sacrifice — just what you’re willing not to do.”
Property taxes currently account for roughly 28% of the general fund that covers police, fire, libraries and parks, but the city expects overall taxable values to tick down this year. State rules generally limit revenue growth from existing properties without a vote to about 3.5%, though San Antonio has some room because earlier years didn’t always hit that cap. Staff say the city can push the rate higher this cycle, but doing so would be politically and practically sensitive.
Under the staff scenario the current tax rate of $0.54159 per $100 of valuation would move toward $0.57648, a jump that city materials note would be the highest since FY 2007. That change is meant to blunt the drop in taxable value and shore up services, but it would also be a visible increase homeowners would feel on their bills.
The city’s math shows the average San Antonio homeowner would see about $81 added to an existing roughly $1,074 annual city tax bill under the higher rate, a figure calculated against a discounted taxable value used for levy purposes. Staff also cautioned those numbers are preliminary and based on early figures from the Bexar Central Appraisal District, with certified values not expected until late July.
Nearly half of San Antonio homesteads are owned by seniors or residents with disabilities, and those properties have tax freezes so a bump would not hit those households. Staff repeatedly tied any rate increase to rising public safety costs, arguing that police and fire budgets are facing significant pressure from contracts, equipment and mandates that can’t easily be absorbed.
Officials estimate increased police and fire-related expenses will add about $77.2 million in the next budget cycle, while maxing out the property tax rate would generate roughly $53.8 million. That shortfall means even the tax option doesn’t erase the need for further belt-tightening or new revenue streams.
City staff outlined a scenario that still leaves about $15.6 million in spending reductions to find over two years, on top of $10.6 million and 30 positions already expected to be cut from last year’s planning. The arithmetic is clear: raising the rate narrows the gap, but does not eliminate it, so choices on program reductions remain unavoidable.
Council members were cautious about naming specific line items to trim. Whyte listed things the council could scrutinize — from tenant relations spend in cultural districts to analytics tools — and urged a thorough review rather than reflexive revenue grabs. “That’s what we need to be doing, looking at each one of these,” he said. “I bet you there’s millions of dollars just in these three pages that we could find.”
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said she wants to pursue new revenue sources and root out inefficiency, and she floated the idea of contract penalties or other recoveries tied to the city’s dealings with Spurs Sports and Entertainment. “I’m open to it,” Jones told reporters about raising the tax rate, “but I need to be able to explain to folks, ‘Hey, we’ve done all of our due diligence,’ and we’re just not there yet.“
City staff will present a more detailed “trial budget” on June 18 that officials hope will show concrete reduction options and revenue alternatives. “I want to show what the actual reductions are,” he said, City Manager Erik Walsh told reporters, and he added, “What you didn’t really see a lot of in there was other revenue sources we could tap. We talked about it, but we really need to do a little more work in those areas,” he said.
The trial budget will be followed by a full draft in August, and council must adopt a final spending plan and tax rate in September, meaning this fiscal season moves fast. Between the political heat around taxes and the practical need to maintain core services, San Antonio leaders face a tight window to pick a path that balances accountability with safeguarding public safety and basic city functions.
