San Antonio Budget Work Session: TIRZs, Neighborhood & Housing Services, and Homeless Services – September 1, 2026

The San Antonio City Council held a budget work session on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, from 9:07 a.m. to 12:16 p.m. to review proposed FY 2026-27 budgets for Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs), the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD), and the Homeless Services and Strategy Department (HSSD). No agenda or minutes were provided; this summary is based solely on the transcript. The meeting was mostly discussion with no votes taken. Staff also announced work on an emergency homeowner repair program following the previous Friday's storm.

Opening: Emergency Storm Response

• The city manager's office announced it is developing an emergency homeowner repair program for residents affected by Friday's storm, primarily in Districts 4, 5, 1, and part of District 10.
• Staff expect to present a proposed program by the end of the week, using FY26 resources if possible, avoiding redirecting FY27 home repair funds, and considering city-initiated TIRZ funds and state/federal assistance. The EOC has contacted FEMA about eligible programs.

Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs)

• Veronica Garcia, NHSD director, and CFO Troy Elliott presented on TIRZs under Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code. Under the mechanism, a zone's tax base is frozen, and future incremental property tax revenue is captured into a TIRZ fund to pay for eligible improvements. Total property tax revenue expected to be contributed to TIRZs next year is $46,628,000.
• The city has nine city-initiated TIRZs and several developer-initiated TIRZs. City-initiated TIRZ areas include Houston Street, Inner City, Brooks City Base, Verano, Mission Drive-In, Midtown, West Side, Northeast Corridor, and HemisFair.
• Staff requested consideration on September 10 of term extensions to 2060 for the Inner City, Midtown, Mission Drive-In, and Northeast Corridor TIRZs, saying the extensions align terms, allow debt issuance, and provide financing flexibility.
• Scheduled September 10 TIRZ actions include the Inner City TIRZ's District 2 Senior Center and Aquatic Center (about $46 million); Mission Drive-In TIRZ's District 3 Aquatics Facility ($1.8 million) and World Heritage Pavilion ($750,000); Northeast Corridor TIRZ's neighborhood signage pilot ($1.3 million); Midtown TIRZ purchases and cultural partners (ITC property from UTSA; $10 million each for the San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Botanical Gardens, and Brackenridge Park Conservancy); and West Side TIRZ diversion center pilot funding ($638,000).
• Developer-initiated TIRZs reviewed included Rocio Creek (term through 2050), Mission Del Lago, Lackland Hills, Northeast Crossing, and Hunter's Pond. Stablewood Farms, Mission Creek, Halley Heights, and Heathers Cove have expired; Lackland Hills is expected to end in September 2027 and Northeast Crossing in 2028.
• Council positions and discussion:
  • Councilmember Viagran strongly supported TIRZs as an equity and investment tool, especially on the South Side. She said she preferred the budget option that restores services using a property tax rate increase, but would support the city manager's presented budget if colleagues lack appetite for that option. She opposed moving TIRZ money to the general fund and said council should not ask departments for new money while declining a property tax increase.
  • Councilmember White supported TIRZ investments tied to concrete neighborhood benefits, including the Northeast Corridor signage program. He asked that TIRZ extensions be tied to tangible projects and expressed concern about spending on homelessness without clear progress.
  • Councilmember McKee Rodriguez credited the Inner City TIRZ with helping fund the District 2 senior center, home repair, parks, and affordable housing. She asked staff to return with a financing proposal combining proposed TIRZ projects with a significant affordable housing package, and cautioned that extensions could become a blank check to developers. She also warned against using TIRZ dollars for controversial sports venues.
  • Councilmember Spears noted District 9 has no TIRZ and asked how TIRZ investments outside a zone demonstrate benefit to the zone; staff said they report back to each board.
  • Councilmember Mungia said developer-initiated TIRZs have addressed infrastructure deficits in Districts 2, 3, and 4 and that developers do not always recoup all costs.
  • Councilmember Galvan expressed general skepticism about TIRZs, asking when redevelopment is 'complete' and when the increment should return to the general fund for citywide services.
  • Councilmember Core raised the possibility of using Midtown TIRZ funds for storm-repair assistance and for preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, and supported continued funding for cultural corridor partners.
  • Mayor Jones asked how the city tracks whether TIRZ projects would happen without public investment, how TIRZ investments meet policy objectives, and what assumptions about the general fund support long-term extensions. Staff acknowledged they would need to provide additional analysis.

Neighborhood & Housing Services Department (NHSD)

• Veronica Garcia presented NHSD's proposed FY2027 budget of $77.8 million: $37.7 million for affordable housing programs, $29.4 million for implementation of the affordable housing bond, and $10.7 million for essential programs and services.
• NHSD proposed $4.3 million in reductions and transfers: about $300,000 in actual savings (including a $210,000 reduction to property tax help workshops, with $40,000 retained for online outreach, plus $70,000 in line-item efficiencies), and $4 million in fund-balance transfers, including $2 million from minor repair general fund dollars replaced with TIRZ/affordable housing funds, $1.5 million from the Inner City Incentive Fund, and $500,000 from the TIV fund for the city fee waiver program.
• Programs highlighted include: $6.2 million for rental assistance to help over 2,600 families with rent and relocation; a new $500,000 voucher incentive pilot with Opportunity Home expected to support up to 800 households; eviction prevention staff at every Bexar County precinct court for about 18,000 eviction hearings a year; $1.5 million for down payment assistance for 68 first-time homebuyers; $7.7 million for major rehab for 42 homeowners; $8 million for minor repair for over 450 homeowners; and Good Neighbor grants for exterior safety repairs.
• On the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP), the 10-year goal is to produce or preserve 28,000 homes by 2031. Five years in, staff expect to reach 50% of the overall goal by year-end, with about 9,000 homes completed. A SHIP refresh is underway, with Housing Commission review on August 20, PCDC briefing planned later in September, and City Council adoption planned in October.
• The affordable housing bond has funded over 5,200 homes, with 94% of funds committed and over 3,900 homes expected to be completed by the end of 2027. About 20% of units are for seniors. City-incentivized rentals have over 93% occupancy versus about 85% citywide. Each $1 of bond funds is leveraged with about $7 from private, philanthropic, and federal sources.
• Council discussion included:
  • Councilmember White asked how much of the $4.3 million in NHSD reductions was actual savings versus transfers; staff answered about $300,000 in savings and $4 million in fund-balance transfers. He also urged attention to permitting costs and delays that increase housing costs.
  • Councilmember Castillo asked about a proposed increase in the San Antonio Housing Trust due diligence fee from $2,500 to $50,000 and expressed concern it could increase costs for deeply affordable housing; budget staff said the fee aligns with debt issuance costs.
  • Councilmember Mungia praised NHSD's Good Neighbor Grant and constituent service, but also asked for the impact of the Housing Trust fee. She said NHSD staff presence at eviction courts is critical.
  • Councilmember Core asked for follow-up on why rental-relocation applicant numbers changed while assisted individuals increased, and asked for details on limited one-on-one property tax workshop support. She requested exploration of TIRZ support for storm-damaged homes and NOAH preservation.
  • Mayor Jones noted 15,796 evictions in Bexar County in 2025, an eviction filing against about one in every 11 renter households in 2024, 51% of renters cost burdened, and 25% severely cost burdened. He asked staff to assess whether the $1.5 million down payment assistance program could be redirected to eviction prevention and asked for restoration of the property tax help workshops.

Homeless Services & Strategy Department (HSSD)

• Mark Carmona, Chief Housing Officer and HSSD director, presented the department's proposed FY2027 budget of $29.3 million, including $5.1 million in general funds, $8 million in delegate agency funding, capital funding for shelter/day center capacity, and federal/state grants. The department launched October 1, 2025, with the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
• This year, the street outreach team engaged over 1,000 people; the encampment response team coordinated nearly 1,400 abatements. In FY25, 1,738 people were new to homelessness. Carmona said the latest data show return-to-homelessness dropping to 480. He also cited that of more than 4,100 people on the streets last year, about 2,800 were engaged and placed into shelter/housing.
• Two stakeholder work sessions included 68 partners; 98% reported willingness to continue collaborative work. The main theme was that the gap is coordination rather than invention. Next steps include a shared client management system, shared data alignment, a strategic funders alliance, and strengthening the community connections hotline.
• FY27 initiatives include: expanding the PIC (Program for Intensive Care Coordination) model with $750,000 over three years from state opioid settlement funds for unsheltered individuals with opioid use disorder; submitting the San Antonio HEAL Initiative, a four-year, $12 million federal grant request ($3 million annually) to SAMHSA; aligning three social work positions with encampment decommissioning; exploring a day work program with Goodwill; coordinating with the jail diversion center; and launching an encampment decommissioning pilot using daily outreach and social work for four to six weeks at selected sites.
• Shelter capacity: the FY26-funded low-barrier non-congregate shelter lease ended this month, providing 185 beds. The proposed budget includes $9 million in housing bond funds for capital development of additional emergency shelter space through an RFP, with funds anticipated by fall 2027. In the pipeline, 145 new shelter beds are planned for 2027, including about 80 from SAM Ministries pending state funding and 65 from the Salvation Army. An interim plan proposes repurposing $200,000 for medication-assisted treatment from the general fund, up to $100,000 in shelter lease savings, and $150,000 in opioid settlement funds to add roughly 40 beds with shelter partners.
• Direct spending on homelessness is about $31.4 million, including solid waste, parks, code, and police support during encampment work; indirect costs for police and fire response are about $30.4 million, for roughly $61 million total.
• Council discussion included:
  • Councilmember Viagran called prevention and permanent supportive housing key, and said no property tax increase means no new spending requests.
  • Councilmember White asked where efficiencies can be found; Carmona cited partnerships with healthcare, county, and other systems rather than taking on all costs internally.
  • Councilmember Spears fully supported the new behavioral-health direction, volunteered District 9 as a pilot, supported the SA HEAL grant application, and said behavioral health is the biggest obstacle in homelessness. She asked about private/philanthropic funding and indirect public safety costs.
  • Councilmember Galvan asked whether the city has enough non-congregate shelter and outreach/housing capacity compared with other cities that have done decommissioning; Carmona said the pilot intentionally starts small to avoid making promises the city cannot keep. Galvan also asked about coordination with Animal Care Services on pets of homeless residents.
  • Councilmember Mungia said the numbers might seem stagnant, but prevention work is keeping numbers from rising faster, and asked for consistent updates on the decommissioning pilot and tracking deaths in the homeless community.
  • Councilmember Castillo noted barriers to shelter entry, including a case where an unhoused individual died despite outreach efforts, and supported more low-barrier shelter.
  • Councilmember Aldrete Gabito asked about indirect spending and stressed prevention, particularly for youth aging out of foster care.
  • Councilmember Core asked for street outreach metrics separate from delegate agency metrics, and for details on how pilot sites are chosen.
  • Mayor Jones asked whether Ready to Work funds could support the day work program, and asked for performance measures comparing city-provided outreach versus delegate agency outreach. He also asked about registering homeless residents in CARELINK through contracts with delegate agencies.

Key Outcomes

• This was a work session; no formal council votes were taken.
• Staff will return by the end of the week with a proposed emergency homeowner repair program for storm-affected residents.
• On September 10, Council will consider the TIRZ term extensions, Inner City District 2 Senior and Aquatic Center, Mission Drive-In projects, Northeast Corridor signage, Midtown TIRZ purchases/cultural funding, and West Side diversion center pilot.
• Staff will follow up on a TIRZ financing proposal that includes currently proposed projects and a significant affordable housing package, as requested by Councilmember McKee Rodriguez.
• Staff committed to follow-up analysis on eviction resolution outcomes, rental-relocation program data, San Antonio Housing Trust fee impacts, TIRZ performance/ROI metrics, aggregate TIRZ/general fund fiscal assumptions, and options for using TIRZ funds for storm assistance where legally permissible.
• The Homeless Services Department will continue pursuing the SAMHSA grant, meet with Goodwill about the day work program, explore Ready to Work or other non-general-fund sources, and return with more data on the encampment decommissioning pilot and client outcomes.