,  Austin Chamber of Commerce View All Reponses >>

Do you support a budget at the effective tax rate so home and business owners continue to benefit from the “growth dividend” and pay the same amount in property taxes as in the previous fiscal year? How do we balance this strategy with meeting the needs of people struggling to access services due to a lack of service capacity? How do you prioritize additional funding? Where would you look for efficiencies? (Y/N; Explain)

Sabino “Pio” Renteria

City Council, District 3

https://twitter.com/cm_renteria

No. As a Council Member, one of my most important roles is to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. This year, the Austin City Council developed a strategic direction plan that articulates our shared vision for the future of Austin. It’s a solid foundation and we need to prioritize allocations of our funding to support those goals that our community has already embraced. But our needs are growing. We can’t constrain ourselves in that way when we are being called to take on bold action and make real investments in addressing our major challenges like homelessness and flooding.