San Antonio City Council to Vote on Tightened Budget Amid Economic Uncertainty

The San Antonio City Council is set to vote on a new budget that reflects the city's changing financial landscape. As sales and property tax growth stalls, the city's revenue is expected to decrease, leading to a tougher budget. This trend is not unique to San Antonio, as cities across the country are experiencing similar downturns in their budgets.

Key Takeaways:

• The proposed budget for San Antonio has increased by 1.6% to $1.69 billion, a relatively small growth compared to previous years.
• The city is expecting a 0.8% growth in revenue, while expenses are expected to rise by 1.6%, a reduction from the initially projected 3.5% increase.
• The city plans to make up for the reduced revenue by increasing fees for parking and traffic violations, as well as reducing spending by $111 million.
• Civilian city employees will receive a 2% wage increase, down from the originally planned 4% increase.
• The city is creating two new departments, the Homeless Services and Strategy Department and the Capital Delivery Department, without additional costs.

Statistics:

• Total budget: $4.04 billion
• General fund: $1.69 billion (1.6% increase from last year)
• Last year's total budget: $3.9 billion
• Last year's general fund: $1.67 billion
• Revenue growth: 0.8%
• Expense growth: 1.6%
• Reduction in spending: $111 million
• Wag increase for civilian city employees: 2%

Sources:

• Axios, "Jobs report: Trump tariffs and the great recession" (August 16, 2025)
• Axios, "Dallas-Fort Worth tax revenue budget" (August 13, 2025)
• City of San Antonio, "Proposed Budget" (no date listed)
• City of San Antonio, "Adopted Budget" (2025)
• KSAT, "San Antonio could raise parking ticket fines for first time since 2009" (September 3, 2025)
• Axios, "San Antonio: why St. Mary's strip construction is taking long" (February 24, 2023)