Preserving Texas In the News

Trimmed to $536 million, proposal to undergo public scrutiny at hearings this week and next.

By Kate Alexander
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

 

It may seem too early to talk about the November election just days after a snarly May vote.

But the Austin City Council will soon determine what — and how much — makes up the bond package that is slated for the November ballot. Public hearings are scheduled for Thursday and May 25 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

The bond package, which outlines the city's major capital spending for the next six years, could be set as soon as next week. Some people are pushing for a delay to reassess whether the city can absorb more debt, given rising tax revenues.

At the request of the council, city staff members have shaved the proposed package to $536 million from the $615 million recommended by an advisory committee.

Council Member Betty Dunkerley said the cuts were necessary if the city is going to sell all the bonds in six years. She estimates that the bigger package would take between eight and 10 years to sell, postponing the next bond package.

"Priorities change, and we need to be able to look at them before 10 years," Dunkerley said.

Mayor Will Wynn would like to see even more trimmed by removing some maintenance projects and paying for them now.

A smaller package is more prudent financially and will ensure that the projects get completed in the shorter time frame that voters prefer, Wynn said.

The cuts have already ruffled some feathers because the new package includes markedly less for affordable housing and acquisition of parkland and open space. Drainage and facility renovations also took hits.

Affordable housing advocates want another $5 million to $10 million added to the $50 million now in the package.

Investing that money now rather than later will mean that more people can be helped, said Frank Fernandez, executive director of the nonprofit Community Partnership for the Homeless.

Council Member Brewster McCracken said that every category needs more money but that the needs outweigh the resources. If the council is going to increase funding for one area, he said, that money will have to be taken from somewhere else.

"We're in a zero-sum game now," McCracken said.

The $90 million for a new central library, however, was left untouched. Library officials say that number is the minimum needed for building downtown at the current Green Water Treatment Plant site.

"It gets down to whether you want to do a library or not," said McCracken, who supports the library.

Money for some projects that were not in the earlier recommendation has also been added, including $5 million each for an Asian American Resource Center and improvements to Austin Studios' production facility at the former Mueller airport.

If approved by voters, the smaller bond package would lead to an incremental tax increase of about 2 cents per $100 of assessed property value, while the larger proposal would require a 3-cent hike. The associated operating expenses would add at least another penny to the tax rate.

For a $200,000 home with no exemptions, each penny leads to a $20 increase in the annual tax bill.

Land acquisition for parks and aquifer protection sustained major whacks. The proposed amount for land fell from $92.3 million in the committee's recommendation to $50 million, of which $30 million is set aside for buying land over the aquifer.

Anjali Kaul of the Trust for Public Land, part of a coalition pushing for more parkland and open space money, said the reductions are disappointing and perhaps avoidable if the city revisits its debt capacity based on current financial information.

"If we wait another seven years to make investments, especially in something like conserving land, it may be too late," Kaul said.

Despite calling last year to dedicate some money in the bond package for infrastructure in the Texas 130 corridor, Wynn said he will not try to add money to the proposal now. He anticipates that the Texas Legislature next year could give the region some new powers to pay for infrastructure in the corridor.

"I'm comfortable that we don't need to take general obligation debt out of this package to invest" in Texas 130, he said.

How much is in the Austin bond package?

                                Committee                    Current                       Percent

                                recommendation            recommendation         change

Drainage                       $122.1 million            $95 million                 -22%

Transportation                $98.9 million              $103.1 million                4%

Facility renovations          $62.7 million              $55 million                 -12%

Park and cultural facilities $28.5 million              $35.2 million              24%

Public health & safety facilities $52.8 million        $58.1 million              10%

New central library             $90 million                 $90 million                 0%

Affordable housing            $67.5 million              $50 million                -26%

Land acquisition               $92.3 million              $50 million                 -46%

Total                               $614.8 million            $536.4 million            -13%

 

Source: City of Austin