The 2027 fiscal year budget, San Antonio’s economic development and community concerns were the topics of discussion at District 10’s most recent town hall meeting. New attendees, such as American Sign Language interpreter Andrew Solano representing the San Antonio Spurs and retired Major General Juan Ayala, were present at the meeting.
When the meeting began, Jones addressed the changes to the city’s budget and bond while acknowledging a situation occurring in the U.S.
“We are literally also having this discussion as the federal government is shut down,” she said. “Right as the federal government shut down, all of these things are forcing us to make sure that we’re being responsible with the resources that we have, and frankly also communicating to you about how we’re doing that.”
Jones then delved into the budget gap that was found within the recent FY 26 budget, discussing possible causes.
“Property taxes are flat, sales tax flat, revenues from the airport down, so that has led us to this budget gap,” she said.
With an impending budget gap, the city council is anticipating the effects of federal cuts to social services will soon disrupt the city. “We’re in a bit of a very challenging time because we’ve got to close that gap,” she said. “At the same time, changes in services that we may need to make to close that gap may ultimately impact the most vulnerable who are already going to have less money in their pockets as a result of those federal cuts.”
Jones and the city council are said to be constructing a tabletop that would otherwise be labeled as a ‘wargame’ at the Pentagon. A table top is supposed to assimilate theories and allow strategists to refine tactics to trail decisions in a synthetic environment.
Further explaining ways the government shutdown will affect San Antonio, Jones detailed how the city is the least resilient with public health funding. Metropolitan Health District’s current budget is $80 million, with half of that funding coming from federal grants.
“It’s about what we are doing to help us understand public health issues in our community. That’s why I want us to be thoughtful early on, to understand if that money goes away, who’s impacted, and then, as a council, we can say we want to make sure that service still exists,” Jones said.
The tabletop that was mentioned by Jones was explained to explore the pressing issues within the city for the council to understand. It created scenarios where the federal cuts will take effect for the council to prepare for what needs to be provided in the city.
Concluding the budget discussion, the city’s bond was discussed, which occurs every five years in the city. The city is trying to determine the large, long-term capital projects that they may want to invest in, with Project Marvel being one of those investments that the city will be able to vote for in the upcoming Nov. 4 election. Jones addressed how the bond, which was previously expected to be $1.9 billion, will now be $500 million.
She highlighted how the City of San Antonio has an advantage compared to others, citing UT San Antonio’s recent merger.
“We’ve got the advantage,” Jones stated. “Strengthening the defense ecosystem and making sure that we are being thoughtful about San Antonio, with the merger of UT Health Science Center and UT San Antonio. Right now, we’re the third largest research institute in the state. All those things uniquely position us, but how can we better strengthen the ties across some of these industries?”
After Jones wrapped up her discussion covering the cities, budget, bond, ecosystem and economic development, the community was allowed to ask questions, ranging from the city addressing the domestic violence issue across San Antonio, Project Marvel, to how the city is preparing for the federal government’s actions. Jones answered some of the questions while also allowing other city officials in attendance to clarify any questions.
Jones mentioned that day was the Navy’s 250th birthday, acknowledging her relationship to the military as well as the city’s reputation as “Military City, USA.” When addressing how the city is preparing for the long-term impact of the government shutdown, Jones explained her concerns regarding military members in San Antonio.
“For the city, we’re really looking at the longer this goes on, we’re gonna have to kind of figure out what this means for communities that are really impacted by it. So far, we haven’t been really impacted from a city budget standpoint. But again, people are showing up to work not knowing where they’re gonna get paid, and we really need the federal government to get back to work,” Jones emphasized.
