"The median property tax bill in Austin, which includes county, school, community college, and district taxes on top of the city assessment, is $8,381 in 2025 — nearly $6,000 more than the national median of $2,400." "Austin’s property taxes have gone up 118.3% since 2015." "The average homeowner paid $973 in city taxes in 2015; in 2025 they owe $2,124.35 — and that’s only the city’s portion."
Council Member Ryan Alter made a show of “donating” $100,000 to the Parks Department—posing with a giant checkand TV cameras. The catch: it wasn’t his money. It came from his $898,000 taxpayer-funded office budget. He’s also spent $10,000 in public funds on groups like Texas Gun Sense, Clean Water Action, and the Liberal Austin Democrats, and even bought himself a $2,500 lifetime membership in an elite legal foundation. Council Member Vanessa Fuentes billed taxpayers $4,100 for a “Latina Power” career coach and personality testing. She just led a 27-person trip to Japan for a sister-city celebration. Council Member Mike Siegel used city money for $2,000 in artwork, $2,800 in furniture, and a trip to Germany for a “biodiversity” conference. All this while the Council boosted its own pay 40%—to $116,000 a year—and increased office travel and food budgets by over 50%.
World Class City = never ending cost of living increases and no middle or working class. But look at the Library!!!!