AUSTIN (KXAN) — After roughly a year and a half of work, the task force that’s been tapped to recommend a 2026 bond package to Austin City Council is out with its recommendations.

The task force has identified a package that would cost the city roughly $767 million and would tackle major projects in affordable housing, parks, transportation and flood mitigation.

It’s one of three options city council is expected to consider later this month. Another comes from a group of city council members who pitched a more than $400 million option that largely funds parks and recreation.

The third, a final proposal from city staff, is expected to be released later this month. Staff have already produced a draft proposal worth roughly $700 million.

How much would these cost you? City staff previously said that for every $100 million in additional debt the city takes on, the average Austin homeowner will see their bill go up by $14.34 annually.

‘The needs … outstrip our debt capacity’

The city has identified far more needs than it can fund — with estimates ranging into the billions — while its bond capacity is only around $700 to $750 million.

The Bond Election Advisory Task Force (BEATF) set out to identify the most pressing of those unmet needs.

“The needs in our community outstrip our debt capacity. We have more needs, very deeply felt, than we can afford to do,” a member of the BEATF said during a Monday meeting.

In the end, the BEATF landed on a $766.5 million pitch with the following funding buckets:

• $200 million: Affordable housing
• $175 million: Parks and open space
• $106 million: Facilities (libraries, museums, the Austin animal center)
• $25 million: Homeless Strategy Office (helping fund a new 1,200 bed shelter)
• $147 million: Transportation
• $113 million: Storm and flood mitigation infrastructure

You can find the full list of recommended projects here.

Council members pitch second option

Last month, Austin city council members asked the BEATF to consider an alternate option that would include a smaller bond in 2026 and potentially going back to voters in 2028.

In a message board post those council members pitched the following for a 2026 bond:

• $250-$260 million for parks projects, not including any maintenance facilities
• $50-$60 million for community facilities, such as libraries and cultural arts
• $75-$80 million for active transportation projects

“Should this option ultimately be pursued, we would then use the work of the BEATF and staff for the non-parks categories as the starting point for a 2028 bond discussion,” the council members said.

In the end the BEATF put together a second option — which is not their preferred option, but satisfies the ask from some council members — that would come in at $436 million.

The breakdown is:

• $225 million: Parks and open space
• $106 million: Facilities
• $25 million: Homeless Strategy Office
• $80 million: Transportation

You can find the breakdown of that option here.

AUSTIN, Texas – One of the nation’s largest support networks for survivors of domestic and sexual violence is facing a crossroads.

In the last year alone, the SAFE Alliance has lost roughly $4 million in philanthropic and government funding. That massive gap is forcing the organization to end a critical service.

The backstory:

“The part that is going away for Eloise House is the forensic examinations specifically,” said Dr. Pierre Berastain, CEO of SAFE Alliance.

According to SAFE Alliance, it provides 95% of all forensic examinations for sexual assault victims in the city of Austin, amounting to roughly 600 tests annually. Now, hospitals will be taking on that responsibility.

“Response times for forensic exams, whenever they happen at SAFE, are within an hour, an hour and a half max,” Berastain said.

And that’s only the wait time for the test. It often takes much longer at hospitals. On top of that, the exam itself can take anywhere from three to six hours to perform.

“When survivors go to the hospital, they’re having to tell about a dozen people what happened to them, before they’re talking to someone who can actually take their story. They’re waiting hours, sometimes up to eight hours in a room before they are with a nurse or an advocate who can help them. After that, they’re getting a bill for thousands of dollars. The actual exam is free, but the hospital charges you for everything else. We do not do any of that here,” said Holly Bowles, director of the Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Program at SAFE.

While the assessment is free by law, survivors often get hit with “facility fees” or charges for other medical treatments at hospitals.

“Victims have received no bills from SAFE Alliance whenever they receive forensic examinations. What I can tell you from national data is that victims sometimes receive hospital bills that amount to two, three, $4,000 for services,” Berastain said.

SAFE’s CEO said that while the organization will no longer be able to provide this key service, it is still committed to supporting survivors and hopes to partner with the hospitals in this transition moving forward.

“We’re not going anywhere. And so, my reaction is one of taking in the news, accepting, and then determining what it is that we need to do to ensure that services don’t go away,” Berastain said.

What’s next:

Mayor Kirk Watson announced Tuesday that Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White, and St. David’s will conduct the exams.

The three major hospital systems issued a joint statement about their commitment to a “seamless transition,” promising high-quality, trauma-informed care.