San Antonio consolidates resiliency and sustainability offices, budgets $9.1M for municipal solar

City staff told the council the FY 2026 proposal combines the Office of Sustainability and the Chief Resiliency Office into a single Office of Resiliency and Sustainability to better align climate and resilience work.

Laura Patiño and staff described goals for the combined office including advancing municipal on‑site solar installations, energy‑efficiency retrofits, electric vehicle initiatives and an implementation dashboard for the SA Climate Ready plan. Freddie Martinez of the Office of Management and Budget said the consolidated office's budget totals $16.2 million and includes $3.2 million from the Resiliency Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Fund, $3.2 million from the energy efficiency fund and $9.1 million in capital projects dedicated to a municipal on‑site solar project covering rooftop and parking canopy installations at 42 municipal sites.

Chief resilience staff said a preliminary resilience assessment is complete and that resilience will be explicitly integrated into the Climate Ready update and subsequent public materials. Council members asked about the timeline for public release and committee review; staff said a draft is under department review and that they expect to bring materials through committee and possibly a briefing session before full council consideration.

Councilmembers also raised implementation concerns, requesting clarity on how the consolidated office will coordinate with departments that deliver on‑the‑ground projects, including fleet and public works, and how the office will identify external funding and public‑private partnerships to supplement municipal resources.