Austin Residents to Pay More Taxes, Fees to Fund Homelessness, City Employee Wage Hikes

The Far-Left Council Also Voted to Defund the Police. What Could Go Wrong?

The Austin City Council, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to screw over its residents even more by raising property taxes and utility fees for the upcoming fiscal year. The $5.9 billion budget, which was approved by the liberal clown car on Wednesday, will see your hard-earned money wasted on funding city departments and utilities, with a special focus on wasting money on the homeless and overpaid city employees.

I cannot, in good conscience, vote yes on such a large budget, given the cost-of-living crisis that Austinites face and the many glaring inefficiencies presented.
- District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, the lone voice of reason

Despite Kelly's sensible objection, the budget passed with a 10-1 vote, because idiocy prevails in this godforsaken city. And who's to blame for this financial fuckery? Why, none other than the glorious Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who, in his infinite wisdom, attributed the city's financial woes to a state-imposed property tax cap. But fear not, Austinites, the council found a way to screw you over anyway by increasing various fees and, of course, raising your property taxes.

But wait, there's more! The council, in its never-ending quest to spend your money wastefully, also allocated more funds to the homeless, because why not throw good money after bad? And let's not forget the across-the-board 4% wage increase for city employees, because they totally deserve it while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet.

Here's a breakdown of the wonderful things you can look forward to:

• Utilities fees, property taxes to increase: Get ready to shell out an extra $358.18 annually, on average. That's right, your water, electricity, and property taxes are all going up. Thanks, Austin!
• Minimum wage for city employees increased: City employees will now make a minimum of $21.63 an hour, which is great for them, but who's gonna pay for it? Oh right, you are.
• Money to address homelessness: The council approved $30.3 million for the Homeless Strategy Office, because throwing money at the problem will totally fix it.
• Police budget increased by $18.2 million: The one thing they shouldn't have spent money on, they did. Great job, Austin! Defund the police, why don't ya?

So there you have it, Austin. Your hard-earned money will now be funding wasteful spending, higher wages for city employees, and more money down the drain for the homeless. All while your utility fees and property taxes increase. Ain't life grand?