Austin voters have rejected Proposition Q, the controversial city-backed plan to raise more than $100 million in property tax revenue to pay for homeless services and other city projects.
Preliminary results show 63% of Austinites voted down the measure as of 12:14 a.m. on Wednesday. Just 37% of voters supported the property tax increase, according to Travis, Williamson and Hays county election officials.
"Voters prioritized affordability," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement. "They’re worried about their finances, their grocery and utility bills, their property taxes, and more. They’re concerned about the stability of all levels of government, including city government. We need to give voters reason to trust us—to trust that we will strike the right balance between services and the funding needed to provide those services."
Mayor Watson Statement on the Defeat of Proposition Qhttps://t.co/9RN5LzqfkP pic.twitter.com/8cibLr6tID
— Mayor Kirk Watson (@KirkPWatson) November 5, 2025
Watson acknowledged the measure's failure shortly after early voting totals were released.
While Watson and other supporters of the measure said the tax rate increase was necessary to shore up a budget shortfall at City Hall, opponents argued the increase wasn't necessary to maintain city services and that the measure would make Austin less affordable. Some against the measure also questioned the city's ability to manage its money.
Matt Mackowiak, head of the Save Austin Now political action committee — which staunchly opposed the measure — said the defeat of Prop Q was a "victory for taxpayers." Mackowiak said he hoped the message sent by voters would push Austin City Council to rethink its spending.
"Enough's enough. Our City Council and our mayor already have said many times affordability is a crisis," he said. "Well, folks, you do not make affordability better by raising taxes. Children know that."
