Just a few months after Austin voters rejected a property tax rate increase, city leaders are again considering going to voters for help to pay for city projects including park improvements and public safety needs with a bond package.
Austin City Council Member Krista Laine fears it might be too soon to ask voters for more money after Proposition Q's defeat in November. She said the city could benefit from taking more time to get their ducks in a row.
“What we need to do as a city is not just talk about but deliver savings that come from increased efficiencies that allow us to fund our priorities," Laine said. "The work has been ongoing. But our voters, it's not enough for them to hear us say that, they have to see it begin to happen.”
To call, or not to call
Over the next several months, the Austin City Council will be weighing whether to put the bond before voters and how much to ask for.
The initial nearly $4 billion project list includes addressing space constraints at the Austin Animal Center, expanding library branches and renovating public safety facilities.
Redesigning the Sixth Street entertainment district, parkland improvements and adding more emergency shelter space for people experiencing homelessness could also be part of the deal.
But that list will have to be whittled down. City staff are recommending a bond package totaling no more than $750 million to minimize the impact on taxpayers.
Kim Olivares, the city’s financial services director, said right now the average homeowner — a resident with a home valued around $495,000 — sends about $450 of their annual tax money toward the city’s debt. That will increase as the city uses more previously approved bond dollars to do projects. A new bond would add to that tax burden.
Olivares said a taxpayer would pay an additional $14.34 per year on their annual tax bill for every $100 million the city decides to issue.
For a $750 million bond that could amount to an additional $108 per year for taxpayers. Olivares said that number could fluctuate as property values and conditions change.
Putting a bond before voters comes as residents and advocates have raised concerns about the city’s spending.
East side resident Steven Brown, who is running for the District 1 City Council seat, said he would not support a bond at this point in time. He felt the council was being fiscally irresponsible and there was a lack of trust, citing the pushback over the Project Connect tax.
He said after voters clearly rejected Prop Q, there needs to be a "healthy conversation" about the city's future before asking taxpayers for more money.
"To me it doesn't show how serious the city is about [the impacts on] working families and [addressing] affordability," Brown said. "I'm not saying that these investments wouldn't have benefits. But before any projects are done, we need to make sure families are stable."
A decision framework
In an effort to rebuild trust, the City Council is coming up a process to ensure the money they are asking for would be spent efficiently. Mayor Kirk Watson is leading an effort to adopt a decision tree framework and conduct a city-wide, systematic efficiency audit that would be routine every three years.
Watson said the audit is an opportunity to look at how the city is delivering services and find ways to improve them and save taxpayer dollars. It is not clear how much an audit would cost but some council members have said they want to see estimates before agreeing to move forward. The City Council could approve an audit as soon as February.
"We ought to all believe in efficient government, we out to all believe in best practices and we ought to believe in saving taxpayer dollars everywhere we can," Watson said.
The decision tree framework is meant to guide city leaders and ensure they are making the right choice while taking into consideration impacts to taxpayers.
Watson hopes the audit and decision tree shows the council is being cognizant of spending and will help unify and rebuild trust in the community.
Olivares said the city should also consider how bond elections fared across Texas in November 2025.
"We do need to consider what's happening on a statewide basis amongst cities, counties and school districts," she said. "In November 2025, there were 14 cities that held bond elections. Of the $852.7 million proposed to voters, only 30% of it was ultimately approved.”
Traditionally, Austinites have supported bond packages. The most recent being the affordable housing bond in 2022. The last comprehensive bond approved was in 2018 when voters greenlit $925 million to fund city-wide projects, including affordable housing, park improvements and public safety facilities. Two other propositions failed that year.
The community will be able to give feedback before the final recommendations are made in August.
