San Antonio staff says FY26 first-quarter finances are largely on track as council debates FY27 calendar and new taxpayer impact statement

City of San Antonio staff told the City Council on Feb. 18 that the FY26 first-quarter (3+9) financial update shows the general fund broadly in line with the adopted budget, while a handful of restricted funds and benefit programs warrant close monitoring.

"This is a preliminary financial update," said Freddy Martinez, the city's interim budget director. Martinez told the council the adopted FY26 budget comprises restricted funds (including airport and development services), a capital program and a general fund that covers core operations. Through December the city had collected a little over $510 million—about $8.6 million ahead of plan—driven in part by higher-than-expected CPS receipts, Martinez said.

Martinez cautioned that sales-tax revenue is slightly below plan (roughly $700,000 under plan for the quarter, and about $2.6 million under through January) and that the hotel-occupancy tax fund is running about $1.9 million below expectations due to lower occupancy and a lower average daily rate. "Assuming the same occupancy rates and ADRs that we've seen in the first quarter, we're projecting at this point to be down about $3,000,000 at year end in the hotel occupancy tax fund," he said.

Staff also flagged the employee-benefits fund as an emerging pressure: claims activity was $7.4 million over plan in the quarter and staff projects the fund could finish the year about $4.5 million over budget. Eric (staff), who led portions of the presentation, said the budget office and human resources are monitoring claims and will report back with the May 6 6+6 forecast.

Council members urged staff to provide clearer context for several metrics. "What I don't have is a sufficient appreciation for how many miles [of sidewalk] actually is the total scale of the problem," Mayor Jones said, urging staff to lay out the scope and cost so council members can set priorities and goals.

On process, staff recommended a FY27 calendar that would begin with a 6+6/5-year forecast presentation on May 6, a midyear ordinance on May 14, a goal-setting session on May 22 and final budget adoption on Sept. 17. Council members asked that community town halls and surveys wrap earlier so resident input can be incorporated into amendments.

Council members broadly supported a proposed taxpayer impact statement—originating as a council consideration request from District 10—that would be published with the proposed and adopted budget, printed in local newspapers and posted online. "I think it's important to be as transparent as possible," Councilman Mark White said, urging an ordinance that would require the city to publish clear, resident-facing comparisons of property taxes and common fees.

Staff said the statement would show property-tax and commonly paid fee comparisons (for example, solid-waste and environmental fees) and present a sample homeowner impact using a median taxable value. Martinez noted that CPS and SAWS rates are controlled by those utilities and not set in the city budget, and staff recommended asking those utilities to publish comparable impact statements as part of their processes.

What's next: staff will return with the May forecast (6+6) and the midyear ordinance in mid-May, and the council asked for additional breakdowns (including the list of items identified to close the existing $142 million gap and an assessment of the potential $8 million loss tied to expiring Medicaid waivers) ahead of the May goal-setting session.