Austin council weighs amendments as staff warn long‑term budget outlook is sensitive to sales tax shifts

Austin City Council met Nov. 19 in a special session to continue deliberations on the city manager's proposed amended fiscal 2025-26 budget, confronting a wide range in outer‑year deficit estimates and debating how to protect social services while addressing a structural shortfall.

Mayor Kirk Watson called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. and framed the day as an opportunity for staff to clarify numbers, for members to lay out proposed amendments and for the public to comment ahead of a scheduled budget vote tomorrow. "If council gets the needed number of votes before any of the remaining meetings, we will be canceling the remaining meetings," Watson said, emphasizing the schedule and the need for transparency on next steps.

The budget office and the city manager told the council the single largest source of volatility in the multi‑year forecast is sales tax receipts. "Every 1% shift is about $3,750,000 to the city," Carrie Lang, director of budget and organizational excellence, said, noting that…