The Austin City Council has approved an increase in the percentage of funds collected from the city’s Homestead Preservation District in east Austin. It’s an area in which the city sets aside 10{c65f18833244760b7967901e400d96b00e1034480efb21c2edfff7a505a5101a} of all property tax revenue collections to be put toward low-income housing.
On Thursday, the city council voted to increase that amount to 20{c65f18833244760b7967901e400d96b00e1034480efb21c2edfff7a505a5101a}.
The council has been collecting the 10{c65f18833244760b7967901e400d96b00e1034480efb21c2edfff7a505a5101a} since 2015. The council’s desire to create a second Homestead Preservation District was stymied in 2017 when Governor Greg Abbott vetoed legislation that would’ve allowed cities like Austin to move forward with that plan.
Austin leaders plan to use the money collected to construct as many as 1000 new taxpayer-subsidized housing units.
