Austinites likely to vote on a bond package in 2026, what you need to know

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin leaders are eying a comprehensive bond package that you are expected to vote on in November 2026.

The 2026 Bond Election Advisory Task Force is working through what may be included in that ask of taxpayers. That task force has two appointees from each council office and the mayor. It meets once every month, starting in January of this year.

"The city has real needs whether it be parks, whether it be road infrastructure...the council has asked for a comprehensive approach," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said.

While the task force is still in the early stages of figuring out what it might work into that bond package, they're gathering information from city staff on what each department may want to prioritize. The task force's March meeting including briefings from city leaders working on transportation, homelessness and housing.

"Ultimately we want to get to the place where we're coming to you later this year with a list of needs and scored and evaluated and prioritized projects...and share what that yields for you all," Transportation Officer Michelle Marx said.

Possible interference from the state

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to make it harder for a local taxing entity to raise its tax rate -- including through bond elections, KXAN has previously reported. Abbott wants to require at least two-thirds voter approval to secure a rate increase.

When it comes to bonds, KXAN found only 34.7% of bonds approved by Texas voters in the past six years made it past that two-thirds threshold, according to state data.

 Austin voted in favor of a $350 million affordable housing bond Tuesday night. This is the city’s largest housing bond to date.

Most recently in the city of Austin, voters passed a $350 million affordable housing bond by 70.87% in 2022, which would have surpassed even the proposed threshold.

Previous bonds from the city of Austin

Nearly half of the city's public improvement bond funding going back to 2006 has been for mobility and transportation. The city has also asked, and received, bond funding for parks, public safety and affordable housing.

The city is still paying off those public improvement bonds (those are the ones that go to voters), including the $350 million approved by voters for affordable housing in 2022.

“Not even talking about a future bond election, the tax rate and the amount that impacts the typical tax payer will go up,” said Kimberly Olivares, director of financial services, in an Audit and Finance Committee meeting last week.

Olivares said the city has $1.9 billion in general obligation debt that has been authorized but not issued, $1.4 billion of that being voter-approved debt.

For the average Austin homeowner, that means even without a 2026 bond package, your property tax rate is expected to go up. The debt service property tax rate for the average homeowner in Austin is $396.29 for 2025, Olivares said. It’s expected to be $541.41 in 2029.

When will you have a chance to tell the city what you think?

According to city staff, a SpeakUpAustin landing page is expected to be published next month. That's the city's website for gathering public feedback.

Later this year -- in September and October -- city staff anticipated it would conduct town halls on the topic. The final report on public engagement will be published in spring 2026, city staff said.