Around-the-clock coverage from a new mental health program, a fund to help cover travel to out-of-state abortion clinics, and more money for sidewalk and traffic improvements topped the list of 66 council requests that City Manager Erik Walsh compiled into a memo on Monday.
Council members could either spend the entire $20 million on proposed budget amendments, Walsh wrote, or they can spend just under $5 million of it and discuss how to use the other $15 million later.was already 9% larger than the original version of the current year’s budget passed by the previous council. Most of the increase came from capital expenses, especially to expand the city’s airport.
That would take an additional $3.5 million in the upcoming budget, staff say, and cost $3.7 million in the 2025 fiscal year.With the support of five council members, this amendment has the potential to be one of the most controversial. District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo has supported their efforts and filed a budget amendment request to create a $500,000 fund,The previous San Antonio City Council passed a non-binding resolution in August 2022 expressing support for women’s ability to access abortion. Castillo has painted the proposed fund as a way to help fulfill that commitment, though it is not clear if it will be legally possible, given the state’s strict anti-abortion laws.