San Antonio council adopts FY2026 budget with fee increases, raises and additions for public safety

The San Antonio City Council on Sept. 18 adopted the city's fiscal year 2026 budget as amended by a package of council changes, approving operating, capital and appropriation ordinances and setting portions of the 2025 property tax rate.

City Manager Eric Walsh presented the amendments to the proposed FY2026 spending plan, telling the council that the package included 15 council amendments totaling $30,800,000 over two years and changes across both the general fund and multiple restricted funds. Walsh said the amendments fund a 2% across-the-board pay increase for civilian employees plus a $750 one-time base adjustment, shift some program expenses across funds and increase several user fees to generate new revenue.

The adopted amendments include a mix of new revenue, reallocated expenses and one-time capital commitments. Major elements cited by staff were: fee increases (including a parks environmental fee increase of 50 cents per month, higher food safety license fees and an increased vacant-building registration fee) estimated to generate about $9.1 million over the next two fiscal years; $12.5 million in general-fund amendments over two years; $8.2 million in adjustments across restricted funds to cover civilian pay changes; and a $10 million city-council capital allotment ($1 million per council district) from the capital program.

The council also restored and added targeted operating items, including funding for additional street lights, restored funding for minor home repair programs, restored some cultural and delegate-agency allocations and a set of public-health increases inside Metro Health's budget (including allocations for tuberculosis control, youth mental-health contracts and language access). The amendment list proposed adding 15 officers above the 25 originally proposed in the budget ' for a stated total of 40 additional patrol officers in the package.

Why it matters: The adopted package attempts to close a large structural gap while protecting core services, increasing entry-level pay and making one-time capital commitments; it also uses fee increases and restricted-fund adjustments to preserve service levels amid constrained fiscal capacity.

Key facts and council direction

- Total amendments presented: $30,800,000 over two years (Walsh's presentation). - General-fund amendment amount: approximately $12.5 million over two years. - New-fee revenue estimated: about $9.1 million (parks environmental fee +$0.50/month; food-safety license increases; vacant-building registration fee increases). - Civilian pay change: a 2% across-the-board adjustment plus a $750 one-time base payment intended to reduce compression and raise the floor for lowest-paid civilian employees. - Public-safety items: funding was added for officer hiring (the amendment combined proposals to reach 40 additional patrol officers overall), additional street-lighting and 1-time funding for community safety reserves to buy additional lighting. - Capital:…