New Revenue Allocation Proposal at 5.75¢ (Laine, Siegel, Ellis, Qadri)

[Sara Barge]

Posted on behalf of Council Member Qadri:

Colleagues, thank you all for your work in this challenging budget process. We’re writing as a sub quorum to reaffirm our commitment to a City budget that reflects the values we hold as a community and that rises to meet the urgency of this moment.

As many of you have pointed out, we’re facing a political landscape where the federal government is walking away from life-saving investments, and the state is forcing austerity on cities like ours. In the face of that, Austin has a responsibility and an opportunity to lead with care, with courage, and with solidarity. We have to do everything we can to protect and uplift one another.

We have given careful consideration to the proposals of our colleagues on a potential tax rate increase and how we should allocate additional revenue. Our proposal, outlined below, responds to demands to protect public health programs, improve emergency response, provide shelter and support for people experiencing homelessness, and invest in climate resilience.

We have also prioritized sidewalks and parks maintenance, access to pools, restoring funding to the Office of Police Oversight and the Housing Trust Fund, library resources and re-entry workforce development and much more. Finally, like our colleagues, we are prioritizing caring for our civilian employees and ensuring future cost of living increases.

Our proposal is based on a budget that includes funding from a 5.75 cent tax increase scenario.

Here is our proposal for how to spend additional revenue: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 120923.pdf

We look forward to the discussion ahead.

With respect,
CM Krista Laine, District 6
CM Mike Siegel, District 7
CM Paige Ellis, District 8
CM Zo Qadri, District 9