It largely plans to do that by cutting spending, beginning with axing next year's $3.96 billion budget proposal by $5 million.
Negotiators for the city and the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association reached a tentative contract agreement last month that, if approved by both union members and the City Council, would boost firefighter and paramedic pay by 20% over three years.
That deal would cost the city $27.7 million more than what budget writers included in spending plans for fiscal years 2025, 2026 and 2027, which were based on a 15.5% wage increase.
Council members have applauded the agreement, and City Manager Erik Walsh told reporters Tuesday that council is on board with the planned cuts.
"There's very little impact on the (fiscal year) 2025 budget," he said.
Union members are slated to vote on the new labor contract from Sept. 12-16, said Emily Leffler, the union's communications director. The City Council will vote on it on Sept. 19, the same day it adopts the new budget ahead of fiscal year 2025's Oct. 1 start date.
The biggest budget savings will come from reducing a city contribution to VIA Metropolitan Transit and eliminating Resiliency, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability Fund contributions for discretionary projects.
The city had planned to give VIA $10 million in 2025 and $2.5 million in 2026, but will reduce that to just $5 million in 2025. VIA will use that money for sidewalk improvements and other capital projects along its Green Line, a bus rapid transit route that will run from Stone Oak on the North Side to the Brooks community on the Southeast Side.
Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, VIA will begin collecting 1/8-cent of city sales tax, under the sales tax proposition that voters approved in 2020. That's expected to generate $54 million annually for the transit agency.
The city will strike $7.4 million in REES Fund projects in the 2026 budget. In recent years, these projects have included sustainability grants for school districts and businesses and a pilot initiative that tested the use of "cool pavement," an asphalt-based pavement that absorbs less heat.
The city expects to save another $2 million across fiscal years 2026 and 2027 in the amount of fire department overtime expenses based on recommendations from a soon-to-be-completed city audit of overtime pay.
"Overtime is good and efficient some of the time, but if you use too much of it, it's better to add a position and pay the full-time," Walsh said. "There's a lot of areas in the fire department where we can make some change."
Lastly, the city aims to raise $3.4 million in the next two fiscal years by accelerating its timeline for increasing its transportation fee for emergency medical services.
The cost of an ambulance ride has been $1,000 since 2019. The city initially proposed raising it to $1,250 in 2025 and to $1,500 in 2026. Now, that cost will increase by $500 starting on Oct. 1.
District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran has been a staunch opponent of the proposed fee hike. Last year's closure of Texas Vista Medical Center left the South Side, which she represents, with just one full-service hospital: Mission Trail Baptist Hospital.
"Here I am telling my residents, 'We know that there's a health crisis on the South Side, we know we don't have enough medical beds, we need you to be preventative in (your) care,' " Viagran said at a budget work session Tuesday focused on the police and fire departments. "But yet, if you have to take an EMS ride ever, you could be in for $1,500."
Most of the fees — 69% — are covered by commercial insurance, according to interim Fire Chief Christopher Monestier. Medicare and Medicaid cover another 29%, with 3% paid for directly by the patient.
Viagran found little support Tuesday in holding off from increasing the fee as it would mean having less city revenue to work with as council members finalize the budget proposal over the coming weeks.
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