Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget

Published on August 15, 2024

SAN ANTONIO (August 15, 2024) – Today, City Manager Erik Walsh presented the Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget to the Mayor and Council. The Proposed FY 2025 Budget is $3.96 billion and reflects the priorities of the City Council and the community. We make investments based on these priorities while continuing to support the services our residents expect.

“This proposed budget continues our established multi-year plans,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “The proposed budget boosts investment in street maintenance, adds Animal Care Services positions to address critical calls and operate new clinics, continues investments in affordable housing and homeless services, and adds police officers and firefighters. Kudos to Erik and his entire team for their hard work in crafting a budget that reflects the priorities of the community and City Council.”

While the cost of delivering services is rising faster than the City’s revenue is growing, the commitment to residents doesn’t stop in tight fiscal years. City departments have identified ways to deliver key services more efficiently, with no impact to basic services. 

“This budget is balanced; however, we’ll need to continue to manage our expenses going forward,” City Manager Erik Walsh said. “The cost of delivering services is rising, and the post-pandemic rebound is ending. We identified ways to reduce cost with no impact to basic services or City employees and without raising the City’s property tax rate. The proposed budget includes improvements that align with the community and Council’s priorities. I encourage all San Antonians to join us at an upcoming town hall meeting to learn about the proposed budget, get answers to their questions and share their feedback.” 

To balance the budget and continue to make investments that matter, the City will be responsible, resourceful, and resilient in the new fiscal year.  

Responsible

• $1.67 billion in General Fund 
• $147 million in property tax savings  
• 32nd consecutive year without city tax rate increases  
• 87 percent of residents satisfied with City services 

Resourceful

• $36.6 million in reductions to General Fund over two years
• No impact to City services or employees  

Resilient

• 500 people sheltered
• 1,300 encampments cleaned up
• 14 new positions in Animal Care Services for critical calls 
• 41,170 spay / neuter surgeries  
• 1,618 street maintenance projects 
• 65 new police officers  
• 15 new firefighters to address medical calls 

Repair & Maintain Streets & Sidewalks

The community and City Council identified infrastructure as a top priority. The proposed budget boosts its investment in streets by $6 million to $122 million, allowing us to complete 1,618 projects and maintain 370 miles next year. The City would maintain its $21.5 million investment in sidewalks, constructing 28.9 miles of new sidewalk and repairing 15.7 miles.

Address Homelessness

Residents and City Council named homeless services as a shared priority. The proposed budget would directly invest $44.2 million into homeless services. As a result, 500 people will be sheltered, and 1,300 homeless encampments will be cleaned up within 14 days of notification. We are also investing $35.5 million in affordable housing to include home rehabilitation and repair, rental assistance, and down payment assistance. The proposed budget continues the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan so that 11,238 homes are constructed, under construction or in the planning stages in fiscal year 2025.

Invest in Animal Care

Last year, the City implemented a multi-year plan to respond to 100 percent of critical calls by 2026. The proposed budget will continue to invest in this plan by adding 14 positions to address critical calls. The proposed budget also adds 21 positions to operate two new spay/neuter clinics, enabling 41,170 surgeries.

Keep San Antonio Safe

At $1 billion, Public Safety makes up 61.6 percent of the General Fund. The proposed budget invests $6.3 million to add 65 police officers, and $1.4 million to add 15 firefighters to address medical calls. We also are investing $15.4 million to complete the replacement of three fire stations.

Proposed Fee Increases

The proposed budget would raise fees in two primary areas in the general fund. Currently, the City’s EMS Transport fee is $1,000. A new proposed fee of $1,250 would yield $2.6 million in additional revenue. Currently, the fee for unpermitted burglar false alarms is $75-$125. A new proposed fee of $250 would yield $1.9 million in additional revenue. The total additional revenue gained from raising these fees would be $4.5 million. Also included in budget is a proposed monthly increase of 50 cents to the solid waste fee assessed to the medium and large garbage cans.

A complete schedule for FY 2025 Proposed Budget town hall meetings is shown below. 

The City will also host two public hearings regarding the 2025 Ad Valorem Tax Rate and the FY 2025 Proposed Budget. 

The hearing information is shown below.

Learn more about the proposed budget and view a full list of Town Hall meetings, including a Youth Town Hall, at SA.gov/budget.