The San Antonio Police Department will add 117 police officers - the single largest increase to the department since at least the start of the millennium. Citing his own history trying to separate out part of a budget, McKee-Rodriguez abstained from that vote, which failed 2-8-1.Ĭouncilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), one of the primary supporters of the fund, has said helping organizations that offer travel assistance would “ideally” be part of the fund’s purpose and has painted it as a way to “put money where our mouth was” on the previous council’s 2022 resolution expressing support for abortion access. Pelaez backed Whyte on the attempt to remove the item from the budget, saying he wanted the freshman councilman to be able to vote on a budget of which he otherwise seemed to approve. Though Courage had been one of the council members who requested the fund be added to the budget, he said he recognized there were “limitations to what municipal governments can and cannot do” and was worried about what kind of precedent the city would be setting. Whyte made two unsuccessful motions during the budget discussions: to exclude abortion access as a possible use of the fund, and to separate it from the rest of the budget.Ĭouncilman John Courage (D9) supported Whyte on the first idea, which failed 2-9. As far as we can go, I want to go there, of course, within the confines of state law,” said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2).Ĭity Attorney Andy Segovia has said the legal risk the city faces would depend on what services they cover, though he said supporting out-of-state travel would not be a criminal offense. “We need to discuss the opportunities we have to make an impact legally. City Manager Erik Walsh said council members will discuss those parameters this fall, though he did not know exactly when.īut while a Reproductive Justice Fund could be used for services as contraceptives or reproductive health education, abortion rights advocates and some council members have also said it could also help cover travel costs for women seeking legal abortions outside of Texas. The budget vote set $500,000 aside for such a fund but did not establish the scope of what services it would cover. “It is clear that this money is designed to go to fund abortion access,” said Whyte, who opposes abortion. Whyte also abstained from the primary budget vote as a form of protest over the inclusion of the so-called “Reproductive Justice Fund.” He later told KSAT it was because of the statutory language involved in the vote, not the tax rate itself.Ĭouncilman Marc Whyte (D10) voted against another portion related to city fees because it included raising solid waste fees.
It had previously maxed out the homestead exemption at 20% for the city portion of homeowners’ tax bills.Ĭouncilman Manny Pelaez (D8) voted against portions of the budget dealing with the tax rate. The council also slightly lowered the property tax rate from 54.161 cents per $100 of valuation to 54.159 cents. 1 in a 10-0-1 vote Thursday morning - one of several required votes to fully pass the budget. The city council passed the $3.7 billion spending plan for the 2024 fiscal year beginning Oct.
San Antonio – San Antonio’s largest-ever budget will include hiring a record number of police officers, a big bump in the Animal Care Services budget, and more cleanups of homeless encampments.īut it was a new fund that could end up subsidizing travel costs for out-of-state abortions that dominated much of the budget discussions.
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