Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes requested a briefing to help her and other council members understand the intricacies of funding shelters for Austin’s homeless population. She said it’s become clear from town hall meetings and budget hearings that Austin residents are concerned about people without reliable housing and the city’s response to the problem.

By the end of Tuesday’s nearly two-hour work session, it was clear that the city has not yet allocated the resources needed to house all of the city’s homeless and at-risk people. It was also clear that doing so would be a very expensive undertaking.

Budget Officer Kerri Lang told the City Council that the total proposed budget for the Homeless Strategy Office for fiscal year 2025 is $30.3 million. Operating several homeless shelters, including some for cold weather periods, is expected to cost the city $13.8 million. The Rapid Rehousing program, which gets homeless people into housing quickly and provides them with temporary support, is expected to cost the city $4.5 million. Fuentes, Councilman Ryan Alter and Mayor Kirk Watson have all proposed budget amendments to increase funding for this program.

The Homeless Strategy Office expects to spend $6.3 million on permanent supportive housing, as well as smaller amounts to fund services such as child care vouchers, support for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), and general operating funds for the office.

Lang pointed out that the budget does not include the $2.8 million needed to fund the Northbridge and Southbridge homeless shelters. In addition, she said, the city will need another $2.6 million to continue funding permanent supportive housing services at current levels. As for Rapid Rehousing, Lang said the city will use $2.5 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for 2025.

In response to questions from Fuentes, Gary Pollock of the Homeless Strategy Office said the program can currently serve 1,369 clients. He said Rapid Rehousing costs the city about $35,000 per person and there is a gap of 1,731 Rapid Rehousing units in the system. Lang told Fuentes that to fully fund the program, the city would need to spend $60.6 million within 12 months.

“We can’t do all of that,” Fuentes responded, noting that this was one of the reasons for her recent post about increasing the Homeless Strategy Office’s budget.

On the City Council message board, Watson said he will propose four budget amendments, including $4.2 million for permanent supportive housing services and more than $2.8 million for bridge/emergency shelters. Alter said he will support both of those amendments. Watson will also introduce an amendment for the downtown EMS command, expected to cost about $1.8 million, and the creation of animal services adoption and foster care coordinators for about $200,000.

Alter released a long list of budget amendments he would like to see, including several related to homeless services. One of those amendments would allocate $1,176,865 for homeless prevention. His co-signatories include Fuentes and Councilmembers José Velásquez, Chito Vela and Zo Qadri.

He wrote: “Prevention is the most effective and cost-effective method of helping the homeless. Last year, 681 households received prevention services from 11 different agencies, and successes were on par with permanent supportive housing—97% of households remained housed—at less than one-tenth the cost. These services include temporary direct financial assistance (rent, mortgage, utilities), landlord mediation, and problem-solving case management (housing stabilization plans, financial literacy, debt reduction, legal counseling, and behavioral health assistance). This amendment would make these supports available to 500 additional households in fiscal year 2024–25 to keep them in their homes and avoid more harmful and costly consequences of homelessness.”

Council member Alison Alter said the city is falling behind on supporting people who don’t have secure housing, in part because community philanthropists aren’t stepping up to the challenge. Alter said, “Every time we step in, it becomes more of a city job and less of a community job.” She said if the city isn’t careful, this item “could consume our entire budget, and we need to be conscious of that.”

Council member Mackenzie Kelly did not attend Tuesday’s work session. The mayor said she was absent due to a family medical emergency. Unlike her colleagues, Kelly has called for eliminating any property tax increases. In her detailed proposal, she proposes increasing the city’s revenue from its properties, eliminating council member raises and giving only low-income earners the recommended 4 percent raise. She says the latter idea could save the city more than $1 million. Her press release states, “With increased revenue from new construction, sales tax, transfers and other revenue sources, the city’s general fund has more than $45 million in revenue available to increase department budgets without raising property taxes. The city manager’s budget calls for an additional 5.7% increase in property taxes.”

The Austin Monitor‘s work is made possible by donations from the community. While we occasionally include donors in our reporting, we are careful to separate business and editorial activities while maintaining transparency. A full list of donors can be found here and our Code of Ethics is explained here.