San Antonio property owners will face the city’s first property tax increase in 33 years following a narrow City Council vote on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget.
The budget and tax rate passed 7-4. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Misty Spears (D9) and Marc Whyte (D10) voted against the increase. The remaining seven council members voted in favor.
Effective Oct. 1, the city’s tax rate will increase from 54.159 cents per $100 of valuation to 56.288 cents. City staff estimates that will add about $35 to the average homestead’s tax bill.
Due to a senior citizen tax freeze and other homestead exemptions, 47% of the city’s 257,396 homesteads will not be affected by the increase. The revenue forgone through those exemptions totals $156.4 million.
Final changes to the budget included increases to the following fees:
Raising booting fees from $60 to $120 and the fee for parking in residential parking zones without a permit from $32 to $52
Increasing vacant lot and dangerous premise abatement administrative fees from $250 to $400
Increasing San Antonio River barge ticket fees for adult non-residents from $15 to $20
Increasing HAZMAT fees for retail gas stations
A new $30 library card fee for non-city residents
The approved budget restored about $4.5 million in program funding. Amendments also increased capital improvement funding for each council district from $200,000 to $1 million, paid for through debt capacity.
Mayor Jones criticized the budget, saying a tax increase would be her last resort and that she did not believe other options were adequately considered.
Jones pointed to funding cuts affecting programs she has flagged throughout the budget process, including the botanical gardens, Fiesta, UT Public Health and other city subsidies.
“This is a business-as-usual budget, but this time, business as usual comes with a property tax increase on our neighbors during an affordability crisis,” Jones said.
Failed amendments
Whyte offered an amendment that would have eliminated about $947,000 from the SA Tomorrow planning department, reduced additional funding from the Northeast Corridor Revitalization Plan and increased fees to fund 10 San Antonio Fear Free Environment (SAFFE) officers.
According to the city website, SAFFE officers work with residents to identify, evaluate and resolve community crime problems on particular streets or in neighborhoods. Officers are stationed at eight substations across the city.
“This is really an attempt to not grab money for my own district but to say here is, I think, a balanced and fair way to get each of our districts another SAFFE officer which I know that our residents appreciate and that I think our districts all need,” Whyte said.
The amendment failed, with only Whyte and Spears voting in favor. The remaining council members and Mayor Jones opposed it.
Spears offered an amendment to add 10 patrol officers over the next two fiscal years by reducing funding for adult programming and SAWS Plumbers to People. It also failed, with Whyte and Spears as the only supporters.
Whyte then proposed postponing the budget meeting and decision by one week to give department staff time to assess the effects of a 1.6% across-the-board cut.
The proposal followed a Sept. 16 budget workshop in which Mayor Jones proposed a 1.6% across-the-board cut for the next fiscal year instead of a tax rate increase. Whyte had proposed a similar 2% cut. The amendment failed, with Whyte, Spears and Jones voting in favor of delaying the decision.
Alderete Gavito, who also opposed the tax increase, said the council had come close to avoiding it. “We were so close to being able to avoid that burden on our residents, but you know, I respect the will of my colleagues who may agree or disagree,” she said.
Spears’ final amendment would have removed carryover costs from Districts 9 and 10 to fund two SAFFE officers. She withdrew the proposal after council members raised questions about the position’s costs, the Police Department’s needs and other concerns.
The vote
Phyllis Viagran (D3) made the motion to approve the budget and tax rate increase, citing challenges in the federal and state economies that have put pressure on the city budget.
“We have to take the moment now, while we can, and while it is imperative and necessary for the city of San Antonio to build their revenue,” Viagran said. “Jobs will come. Industries will come, but in this time, we do need to maintain our services and maintain what we provide for the least of our community here.”
Ric Galvan (D6) similarly criticized the state government.
“Instead of supporting local entities and delivering quality services to our residents with our state tax dollars, our state would rather disinvest from our residents and force cities between a rock and a hard place at the local level,” Galvan said.
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) said additional cuts beyond those already proposed would disproportionately affect Districts 1-5, which include some of the city’s most vulnerable populations.
“If we implement any further cuts, the numbers and participation levels presented show that the impacts will fall in districts 1 through 5, some of the most impoverished in our community. That is the difficult decision that my constituents asked me to make,” McKee-Rodriguez said.
Spears said her primary budget request was for additional patrol officers in her district, a request that was not included in the final budget.
“A final budget that does not reflect our priorities in District 9 is not something I can stand by,” Spears said.
Whyte, who advocated for cuts throughout the budget process, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of reductions in spending and the resulting tax increase. He also raised concerns about whether future budgets will rely on additional tax increases to address projected deficits.
“The difference in approaches between some of us here today is the belief that in some of these programs where you give directly and you see immediate impact now, a lot of which I believe are band-aids, versus a focus on the longer term approach, which really could institute change,” Whyte said.
A looming deficit
The FY 2026-27 budget is balanced in accordance with state law, but the city faces additional budget challenges in the coming fiscal years.
The two-year plan already assumes a second property tax increase in FY 2027-28. City staff has projected a $48 million ending balance at the close of that year if the plan holds. By 2031, the projected deficit is $136 million, down from the original $264 million projection. The city will still need to reduce spending or generate additional revenue to close that gap.
Whether that balance comes through additional property taxes, economic development or natural revenue growth, San Antonio is only beginning to address its long-term budget challenges. Future City Council decisions will determine how the city responds to those pressures.