San Antonio council approves $19.3M in delegate-agency awards after limiting contract extension

The San Antonio City Council on May 21 approved an ordinance authorizing up to $19,274,266 in consolidated funding awards to human services and homeless delegate agencies for a 16‑month contract term from June 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, after removing the proposal’s option to extend those contracts into fiscal 2028.

Councilmember Aldrete Gavito successfully moved an amendment to strip the 2028 extension option and require that the council hold a strategy session before allocating funds for FY2028. "I'm offering this amendment so that between now and the end of fiscal year 2027, council will hold a strategy session to discuss how to best allocate delegate agency funding beginning in fiscal year 2028," Aldrete Gavito said during debate.

The amendment passed, and the council then approved the ordinance as amended. The clerk recorded the votes as "motion carries"; the transcript does not include a full roll-call tally for the main motion. Councilmember White said he supported the amendment but would not vote for the underlying item, noting concerns about budget pressures and the overall size of delegate-agency allocations.

The action follows a lengthy public-comment period in which representatives of local nonprofits urged the council to sustain or restore city funding for youth and family programs. Kayla Carter, CEO of For Her, urged the council to retain the recommended award for her organization and highlighted performance metrics in the city's evaluation process. "Invest in our communities that turn surviving into thriving and vote yes on agenda number item number 18," Carter said.

Other supporters included John Bustamante, who asked council members to preserve For Her's $50,000 annual award, and representatives of Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, Avanza San Antonio and SA Youth, who described program outcomes and the scale of need. Jeremy Manginell, interim executive director of SA Youth, said programs like SOAR reengage youth and cited "an estimated 36,000" opportunity youth in the city as part of his argument for continued investment.

City staff clarified that the approved package covers a 16‑month period ending in FY2027; Aldrete Gavito’s amendment removes the option to extend funding into FY2028 and asks council and staff to convene a strategy session (targeted for fall) with philanthropic partners to examine the funding process, reporting, and potential shared-service models for nonprofits. Staff also committed to produce contract profiles showing scope, client counts by council district and whether services are upstream or downstream in service delivery.

Separately, the council took a separate vote on funding for Guardian House after Councilmember Munguia recused himself from that item; the motion to fund Guardian House carried.

What the council approved is an ordinance authorizing consolidated funding awards to delegate agencies with a not-to-exceed total of $19,274,266 for the stated 16‑month term. The amendment narrowed the council’s authorization by removing the option to renew the contracts through Sept. 30, 2028, and set a process for a strategy session before any FY2028 funding is awarded. City staff will report back during contract negotiations with program profiles and district-level client counts.

Next steps: staff will proceed with contract negotiations consistent with the council’s amendment and prepare materials for the strategy session on delegate-agency funding to be scheduled in the fall.