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Council approves Fiscal 2009 budget

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Written by Darcie Duttweiler Tuesday, 09 September 2008

The Austin City Council approved the Fiscal 2009 budget Sept. 8 in an unanimous decision. The $2.8 billion budget will take effect Oct. 1.

Much did not change from the proposed budget that City Manager Marc Ott presented to the council July 23, such as the lowered property tax of 40.12 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Other major new changes not adjusted in the finalized budget include an average increase of $4.25 in residents' monthly water bills, and the first increase of garbage fees in a decade. The rates will be $4.40 more per month for a 30-gallon cart, $6.15 more for a 60-gallon cart and $6.90 more for a 90-gallon cart.

In addition the monthly residential Anti-Litter fee will increase from $2.60 to $5. This fee covers street sweeping, litter cleanup, dead animal collection and code enforcement activities. Extra garbage stickers will increase from $2 to $4, and extra garbage without stickers will be $8 per bag.

"We have not had a rate increase for garbage collection since 1997, and since then we have experienced increased fuel costs and equipment costs," said William E. Rhodes, P.E., Solid Waste Services Director. "Additionally, our service area has expanded as the population of Austin has grown."

Other budget highlights include an additional 24 police officers, new and replacement police cars and ambulances and funding for Zilker Park improvements.

"While expense reductions are a big focus of this budget, we placed particular emphasis on minimizing the impact on the services we deliver to Austin residents," Ott said.

Changes in the proposed budget were an 83 cent increase in transportation user fees to generate $4.7 million in order to maintain 10 percent of the roads each year, a marker the inital budget did not meet.

Another surprise included $302,675 in anticipated revenue, as property tax appraisal rolls were higher than expected. Public Information Director David Matustik said that this additional revenue will go directly into social services, with $67,000 already allocated for the Family Eldercare program. The remainder has not yet been designated.