San Antonio reviews tax‑increment reinvestment zones as council debates housing, board oversight

SAN ANTONIO ' Sept. 3, 2025 ' The San Antonio City Council on Wednesday used a budget work session to review the city's tax increment reinvestment zones, or TIRZ, hearing from finance and housing staff about how the zones are structured under state law, how much revenue they generate and how the city and private developers use that money for infrastructure and development.

City finance staff told the council the TIRZ program is producing about $45 million in tax increment in fiscal 2025, roughly $37 million from city‑initiated zones and about $8 million from developer‑initiated zones; staff said that total is about 5 percent of the city's $819 million levy that supports the general fund and debt service.

Why it matters: TIRZ are long‑running financing tools that freeze assessed value in an area, let new value accumulate as an "increment," and then use that increment for public improvements or to reimburse developers for infrastructure. Council members at the briefing pressed staff on whether the program is producing affordable housing at scale, how displacement risk is assessed, and whether elected representatives should serve on TIRZ boards that oversee spending.

What staff presented

Eric (city manager) introduced the briefing and turned the presentation to Troy Elliott, the city's chief financial officer, and Veronica Garcia, director of Neighborhood Housing Services. Elliott summarized how TIRZ work under the Tax Increment Financing Act (Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code): at zone creation the current assessed value is set as a base and future growth above that base is captured as increment and reinvested into the zone. "At the time that we create the TIRZ and we establish the zone, the actual base or the assessed value is frozen," Elliott said.

Elliott said the city revised its internal TIF policy in December 2022 after an initial policy adopted in 2015; the updated policy emphasizes city objectives including housing and affordable housing, economic development, transportation and historic preservation. Staff also said the policy requires market analyses for market‑rate housing and contributions toward affordable housing and added a displacement impact assessment requirement for new proposals.

City‑initiated TIRZ highlights

Staff reviewed nine city‑initiated zones around San Antonio, giving board participation rates, recent balances and example projects. Highlights included:

- Houston Street TIRZ: established 1999 and extended to 2060; city participation at 100 percent for both operations and debt service; 2024 ending city balance reported at about $7.3 million with estimated FY25…