The city of Austin is facing a $3.5 million deficit for the current year and a projected deficit of over $13 million for Fiscal Year 2025, largely due to lower-than-expected sales tax collections and national economic trends like high interest rates.
City employees are recommended to receive a 4 percent across-the-board wage increase, but will need to contribute an additional 1 percent of their salaries to the retirement fund, reducing the effective increase to 3 percent. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees expressed appreciation for the effort but hoped for further prioritization of workers' needs.
City budget projections for FY 2025 show General Fund expenditures exceeding $1.4 billion, a 3.7 percent increase over the amended FY 2024 budget. The majority of this expenditure is allocated to public safety departments, emphasizing the significance of services like police, fire, emergency medical services, and forensic science.
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