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Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

At a glance

  • What: The City Manager's balanced $4.4 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which also balances FY 2028, with the Five-Year Infrastructure Management Plan and the FY 2027 to FY 2032 Capital Improvements Program.
  • Where it stands: Adopted September 17, 2026 on a 7-4 vote (Jones, Alderete Gavito, Spears and Whyte opposed). Funding for Guardian House was approved separately 7-3 with Mungia recused. Floor amendments to add police officers failed.
  • Next: The budget takes effect October 1, 2026. The tax rates are covered on Property Tax Rate Increase; the Mayor's across-the-board cut idea on Across-the-Board Budget Reduction.

How the budget was built

  • The City entered the process with a projected General Fund shortfall of nearly $158 million through FY 2028 ($157.7 million). Walsh presented the plan on August 13, 2026: reductions of $89.6 million over two years ($41.3 million in FY 2027, $48.3 million in FY 2028), $90.2 million of property tax capacity, $30.4 million of fee increases, $17.4 million from revised revenue and expense projections, $8.2 million of new spending, and a $12.8 million addition to reserves, leaving an ending balance of $48.9 million.
  • Process: eight departmental budget work sessions, 11 town halls and two public hearings; Walsh reported on September 3 that the town halls drew over 1,300 people, the largest turnout to date.
  • The proposed budget identified 101 positions for elimination. Of those, 49 were filled; the employees were offered placements, 35 had accepted, and all keep their current pay.
  • Public safety accounted for $65 million of the $69 million net General Fund increase, according to Walsh on September 16; he said the $28 million raised by the tax rate change did not fully cover public safety cost increases.

Amendments and the work sessions

  • September 15: Tate reported Council members had asked for $65.2 million of amendments (memo of September 11). Walsh said the proposal was structurally balanced without any amendments and that any added spending would need new revenue or more cuts. See 2026-09-15 - City Council Budget Work Session.
  • September 16: staff presented eight expenditure amendments ($3.6 million in FY 2027 and $2.5 million in FY 2028), six revenue increases (about $2.25 million a year), seven further reductions ($0.8 million a year), a $0.5 million a year Reproductive Justice Fund amendment from Medicaid waiver reserves, and raising each district's capital project allotment from $200,000 to $1 million ($8.0 million, funded with debt capacity). The expenditure list included one SAFFE officer per district ($1.7 million in FY 2027), San Antonio Education Partnership scholarships for one semester ($1.1 million), tuition reimbursement ($0.35 million a year) and the part-time nutrition site. See 2026-09-16 - City Council Budget Work Session.
  • If the tax rate increase failed, staff had a list of fallback reductions (library hours, summer youth programs, park stewardship, pavement markings and others) totaling $10.7 million in FY 2027 and $12.2 million in FY 2028, and Walsh would have had authority to amend the budget to keep it balanced.

Adoption vote, September 17

  • Items 5 through 10 were taken together. Tate presented the amendments to the August 13 proposal. Jones noted Creative Cities of Gastronomy would be absorbed by Visit San Antonio in FY 2028.
  • Public comment: speakers opposed cuts to programs and asked for adequate services; others asked for San Antonio Education Partnership funding; eight speakers opposed raising property taxes; two metal recycling and used auto part business speakers opposed higher permit fees; an apartment association representative opposed a higher proactive apartment inspection fee. A high school student spoke for restoring the Mayor's Fitness Council funding. See City Fee Increases.
  • Main motion: Viagran moved to approve the balance of the budget as presented by Walsh, save and except Guardian House funding; Castillo seconded.
  • Amendment 1: Whyte moved to raise alarm permit late fees from $30 to $78, the robbery alarm service fee from $600 to $772 and the clearance letter fee from $50 to $75 ($452,646 a year), plus $200,000 from the Northeast Corridor Revitalization Program and $947,354 from the SA Tomorrow Sub-Area Planning reduction, to total $1.6 million for 10 more SAFFE officers; Spears seconded. Failed 2-9 (Aye: Spears, Whyte). White said 7 planning positions (3 vacant, 4 filled) would go, and Walsh said the cut would be $620,000, not $947,000. See Additional Police Officers.
  • Amendment 2: Spears moved to add 10 SAPD patrol officers at $1,157,618 in FY 2027 (paid by cutting adult programming by $750,000 and Plumbers to People by $407,618, with $167,984 more in FY 2028); Whyte seconded. Failed 2-9 (Aye: Spears, Whyte).
  • Continuance: Whyte moved to postpone Items 5 through 10 to a September 24 B Session with a vote on September 25; Spears seconded. Failed 3-8 (Aye: Jones, Spears, Whyte).
  • Amendment 3: Spears moved to fund two Northside Substation SAFFE officers ($320,000) from the District 9 and 10 office budgets; withdrawn after Walsh and Segovia said the Police Chief, not Council, decides where officers are assigned. Salame said he had been sworn in the week before and had not done the analysis.
  • Main motion carried 7-4. Aye: Kaur, McKee-Rodriguez, Viagran, Mungia, Castillo, Galvan, Meza Gonzalez. No: Jones, Alderete Gavito, Spears, Whyte. Guardian House funding: Viagran moved, Castillo seconded; carried 7-3 with Mungia recused (No: Alderete Gavito, Spears, Whyte).
  • Companion ordinances the same day: ratifying the budget as raising more property tax revenue than FY 2026 (7-4), the Fee Ordinance (8-3), and the Closing Ordinance carrying forward FY 2026 funds (8-3).

Positions of Council members

  • In favor: Viagran (urged no floor amendments), McKee-Rodriguez (the budget protects services and senior homestead taxes are frozen), Kaur, Galvan (blamed the state tax rate cap), Meza Gonzalez, Mungia (delegate agency cuts would hit Districts 1 through 5 hardest) and Castillo.
  • Opposed: Alderete Gavito (a further 1.6 percent cut would have avoided a tax increase), Spears and Whyte (want more police and economic development; Whyte said spending is out of control), and Jones (said the budget subsidized Fiesta by $700,000, UT Health $2 million and the Botanical Gardens $1 million, and that she had identified $18 million over two years in other eligible funding sources).

Additional remarks, September 17

  • Villagomez told Galvan that 200 new police officer positions were added over the last three years and 370 were transferred to the San Antonio Police Department; Galvan noted the department's budget grew $40 million this year and 9 fire department positions were being added.
  • Walsh said the amendments did not draw on Council district project funds and that $1.45 million of emergency home repair funding could come from those funds at each member's discretion; McKee-Rodriguez said each district should decide on its own funds. See Education Partnership Scholarships.
  • Kaur said public safety is the largest part of the budget, that homestead exemptions have grown substantially since 2021, and that the budget supports Animal Care Services, rental rehab, proactive apartment inspections and the Reproductive Justice Fund (see Reproductive Justice Fund) using Medicaid waiver money. Castillo cited a $6 million increase for affordable housing, restoring $1 million for capital projects, $1 million for the Reproductive Justice Fund, the City's diversion and recovery contribution (see Diversion Center Pilot Program), nine uniformed fire positions and the traffic calming program, and called the SAFFE amendment not strategic.
  • Spears proposed a 1.6 percent across-the-board reduction (see Across-the-Board Budget Reduction); Whyte said only 1.6 percent was needed to avoid a property tax increase.
  • The Rainy Day Fund of the State of Texas is quoted at $26 billion by Galvan and $24 billion by Mungia in the same minutes; the figure is uncertain [?].
  • Consent items passed the same day alongside the budget include a Dorsey Drive construction contract (Dorsey Drive Construction Contract), the downtown and tourism district assessments (Downtown Public Improvement District Assessment, Tourism Improvement District Reauthorization) and the Workforce Solutions Alamo budget (Workforce Solutions Alamo Budget).

Sources

Log

2026-09-17 - City Council A Session

Adopted on a 7-4 vote after three floor amendments (two failed, one withdrawn) and a failed motion to continue. Guardian House funding passed 7-3 with Mungia recused.

2026-09-16 - City Council Budget Work Session

Staff presented the amendment list; Council debated the Mayor's 1.6 percent across-the-board cut and SAFFE officers. Walsh promised a revised memo that evening.

2026-09-15 - City Council Budget Work Session

First discussion of $65.2 million in requested amendments; Walsh explained the seven-vote requirement for a tax increase.

2026-09-03 - City Council A Session

Walsh reported storm damage from the previous Friday and showed a video of the town halls (over 1,300 attendees).