Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Works presents FY26 budget priorities: streets, sidewalks and stormwater operations
Summary
Public Works outlined the FY26 proposed budget and programs: street maintenance, sidewalk gap funding, stormwater operations and hazard mitigation work. Staff described a prioritized formula for sidewalk investments and proposed studies to improve pavement strategy and signal detection upgrades.
The City of San Antonio's Public Works Department presented its proposed FY26 budget on Aug. 27, detailing investments in street maintenance, sidewalk construction and repair, stormwater operation and targeted drainage projects.
"Public Works manages streets, sidewalks, right-of-way and stormwater," said Razi Hosseini, director of Public Works. He told council the department's total proposed budget is about $303 million and includes 698 positions. Hosseini identified $122.4 million for street maintenance, an estimated 1,464 street-maintenance projects, and a $17 million sidewalk program (about $12 million for new gap sidewalks and $5 million for repairs).
Why it matters: Council members repeatedly asked how projects are prioritized and how the city can reduce repetitive street work caused by utility cuts and poor coordination. Staff said they will hire consultants to evaluate pavement strategy, improve packaging of projects to reduce local disruption, and launch a sidewalk condition assessment.
Key details - Street maintenance: $122.4 million proposed; staff estimate 1,464 projects delivered. Allocation is district-based and weighted by pavement condition; $20 million allocated specifically for the F Street program (notation in the presentation). - Sidewalk program: FY26 proposal includes $17 million total; $12 million for 21 miles of gap sidewalks (new sidewalks where none existed) and $5 million to repair roughly 34 usable miles; a 3-phase sidewalk condition assessment is budgeted at $1.8 million over three years. - Traffic and signals: budget maintains $11.3 million for pavement marking (resurfacing/restriping) and includes upgrades to school pedestrian safety (new flashing beacons and maintenance of existing devices) and traffic-signal detection improvements. - Stormwater and hazard mitigation: the stormwater operation fund supports maintenance and capital drainage projects; staff cited $11.5 million for emergency repairs and included five FY26 projects totaling about $3.7 million to design shovel-ready mitigation projects. The stormwater fee (established 1993, last increased in 2020) funds operations and capital and is assessed by impervious area.
Council questions and next steps Councilmembers pressed for better interagency coordination with utilities and stronger processes to reduce repeat tearing of newly repaired streets. Several asked for clearer metrics tying annual investments to pavement-condition improvements and for improvement in notice and outreach to residents and businesses prior to construction. Staff agreed to provide results of the pavement-program consultant and noted plans to continue a sidewalk-assessment program and to expand camera monitoring at low-water crossings in partnership with the San Antonio River Authority and Bexar County.
Ending note: Public Works asked council for feedback on prioritization and offered to return with analysis and condition-index information by council district. Staff said work would continue on packaging projects to minimize inconvenience and on maintaining workback schedules to reduce recurring construction in the same locations.
