SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council on Thursday approved a $4 billion budget and voted to amend an ordinance for the policy proposal process.
The budget, which passed unanimously, includes money for new San Antonio police patrol officers, though not as many as some council members wanted.
The property tax rate remains unchanged, but the budget also includes spending cuts as well as increased fees and fines to help deal with an estimated $173 million shortfall over the next two years in the city’s general fund.
READ THE DETAILS: San Antonio passes $4 billion budget as it tries to close deficit
The proposal to amend the current Council Consideration Requests (CCR) ordinance passed 9-2, with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Councilman Edward Mungia (D4) voting against.
On Friday, council members Teri Castillo (D5), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Misty Spears (D9) and Marc Whyte (D10) submitted a Four Signature Memorandum requesting to amend the current Council Consideration Requests (CCR) ordinance.
Jones had been pushing for council members to resubmit any CCRs filed before she and the other new council members were sworn in on June 18.
Castillo, Alderete Gavito, Spears and Whyte suggested amending the CCR ordinance to ensure that the status of a CCR remains unchanged despite the introduction of new council members or a new mayor.
They also proposed that the CCR process not be altered without a city council vote.