Learn About Proposition Q’s Impact on Historic Preservation
Preservation Austin’s mission is to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. As stewards of this mission, and as the only citywide nonprofit for historic preservation, we seek to educate Austinites about Proposition Q’s impact on the City of Austin’s preservation program ahead of the November 4 election.
If Proposition Q passes, property tax rates would increase to fund the City of Austin’s FY26 budget, which includes $439,778 in new funding for the city’s Historic Preservation Office and implementation of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan. This property tax increase would impact property owners and renters, both residential and commercial, and may disproportionately pressure historic communities of color.
If Proposition Q does not pass, the city will need to revise the FY26 budget. During these revisions, the city's $439,778 increase in preservation funding will likely be eliminated and redirected to other priorities. Advocating for any other preservation funding increases will be challenging before the next tax rate election in 2030. Property owners would see lower tax rate increases and fewer tax pressures in this scenario, although reduced city services may follow.
This is a complex issue with much at stake for our community, and Proposition Q encompasses many priorities far outside Preservation Austin’s mission area. We understand that, pass or fail, Proposition Q has implications for historic preservation, both in the preservation of historic places and for historic communities who comprise Austin’s cultural fabric.
Background
Proposition Q would support the City of Austin’s $6.3 billion budget for FY26 by providing $110 million in new tax revenue for new and existing services. The State of Texas caps Austin’s annual property tax rate increase at 3.5 percent, or $105 in new taxes for the typical property owner for 2026. The approved budget would require an additional tax rate increase of 5 cents per $100 of property value, or roughly $200 in annual taxes for typical property owners, in addition to the 3.5 percent increase. Voters can read the ballot language here.
This new tax revenue would support “funding or expanding programs intended to increase housing affordability and reduce homelessness; improve parks and recreation facilities and services; enhance public health services and public safety; ensure financial stability; and provide for other general fund maintenance and operation expenditures.” These other expenditures included expanded Historic Preservation Office funding.
Preservation Austin would not receive direct financial benefits from the passage of Proposition Q.
However, we have long championed the city’s investment in building a stronger, better-resourced preservation program. More funding means better outcomes for Austinites who interact with the Historic Preservation Office, and more capacity for the city to administer things for which Preservation Austin consistently advocates, like more landmarks that embody underrepresented heritage, new local historic districts, and new tools and policies to save more buildings. It means a continued focus on preserving more affordable, historic-aged housing as one of many solutions for Austin’s housing crisis.
In August 2025, Preservation Austin staff worked with Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes’ office to secure an additional $439,778 in the FY26 budget for the city’s Historic Preservation Office. This new funding, supported by Proposition Q, includes:
$239,778 for two new, full-time staff. The Historic Preservation Office has just six full-time staff now, with one of the highest staff-to-case load ratios compared to peer cities like Denver, Nashville, and San Francisco. This increase would bring staffing totals to eight, including:
One code review position to increase capacity for managing demolition permits, certificates of appropriateness, historic landmark and district applications, and infrastructure-related Section 106 reviews for things like TXDOT’s I-35 expansion and Project Connect.
One position to support community engagement and education for implementation of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan, which aims to improve and expand the City’s preservation program to benefit more Austinites. Preservation Austin has championed the plan since 2021. Our staff and board members served on the working group that drafted the plan; our advocacy successfully secured funding to complete the plan in the city’s FY24 budget; and PA supported the plan’s adoption by Council in 2024.
$200,000 for a comprehensive analysis of existing and potential preservation incentives.
This includes a reevaluation of the historic landmark tax exemption and exploring possibilities for a transfer of development rights program.
A transfer of development rights program would be a powerful tool for preventing demolitions in neighborhoods with high property values and development entitlements, such as downtown, West Campus, and South Congress, and historic East Austin commercial corridors along E. 11th and E. 12th streets.
Takeaways
No matter the outcome of Proposition Q:
The City of Austin has an obligation to fund the Historic Preservation Office, both to provide core preservation services and to fulfill Council’s own goals for the future, including implementation of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan.
Given our city’s rapid growth, freezing Historic Preservation Office funding at its current level amounts to a funding decrease.
Preservation Austin is committed to continuing its strong partnership with City Council and the Historic Preservation Office to further our mission and shared goals. We will continue to:
Advocate for increasing city resources to support historic preservation. Austin continues to grow and our Historic Preservation Office must grow with it.
Support the funding and implementation of Austin’s Equity-Based Historic Preservation Plan, per Council’s direction, which is critical to achieving a broader, more impactful city preservation program to serve all Austinites.
Support property owners and neighborhoods seeking to preserve historic resources.
Champion policies that support preservation of older and historic housing to make Austin a more affordable, equitable, and sustainable city.
Pursue strategies that both protect significant historic places and support longtime communities.
We encourage all Austin residents to:
Review the full details of Proposition Q.
Consider the wide-ranging impacts of Proposition Q’s passage or failure, and weigh the value of increased funding for the city’s preservation program in your decision-making.
VOTE in the November 4 election (early voting runs through October 31). Find a polling location here.