Austin’s Budget

Claims about Austin’s oversized budget are misleading.

Most of the budget is allocated to city-owned utilities and cannot be used for another purpose by the city, leaving only a fraction for other vital city services.

Over the last year, those who want to cut back city services argue that Austin is outspending every other comparably-sized city with its $6 billion city budget. That number is deeply misleading, as are claims that it rivals those of much larger cities.

In fact, the General Fund — the only money available to spend on things like safety or housing — is comparable to other similarly sized places.

While Austin’s FY 2025–26 budget totals $6.34 billion, it is divided into two distinct categories: City Utilities and the General Fund.

City Utilities

Austin is unique in that it owns its own utilities — Austin Energy, Austin Water, and the Austin Airport. The city’s ownership of these utilities creates a myriad of benefits for its residents and also means the largest share of Austin’s budget isn’t funded by taxes at all. It comes from services people pay for directly, such as:

  • Electric bills (Austin Energy)

  • Water bills (Austin Water)

  • Revenue generated by travel (Austin Airport)

  • Trash, Recycling and Compost (Austin Resource Recovery)

These are self-sustaining systems, funded directly by users, not taxpayers.

By law, this money can only be used to operate and maintain those systems and services. It cannot be redirected to things like public safety, parks, homelessness response, libraries, or animal services.

The General Fund

The part of the budget funded by taxpayers and earmarked for city services is the General Fund. The General Fund accounts for only $1.6 billion of the city's total budget. This portion of the budget funds all essential city services and amenities. Austin uses the General Fund for things like: 

  • Police department 

  • Fire department 

  • EMS Services 

  • Libraries 

  • Parks and Recreation 

  • Public Health 

  • Municipal Courts

  • Social Services

Here’s a further breakdown of how Austin spends its General Fund.

  • Almost 60% of General Fund dollars are spent on Public Safety (police, fire, and EMS)

  • More than one third of General Fund dollars go to police alone