Councilman Marc Whyte wants San Antonio to adopt a zero-based budget

District 10 City Councilman Marc Whyte on Thursday filed a Council Consideration Request (CCR) asking the city to adopt a zero-based budget by the 2027 fiscal year.

A zero-based budget would effectively start each annual budget from zero dollars, forcing city departments to justify every expense in front of the council, Whyte explained during a recent appearance on KLRN’s On the Record. Whyte’s CCR is a necessary step to bringing his proposal to debate before the full council at a later date.

Currently, San Antonio — like most cities — operates using an incremental budgeting approach. That means it builds its budget by starting with the prior year’s line items and adjusting them up or down based on expected needs.

“I want every department to start with zero dollars and then have to come before council and rebuild their budget, line item by line item, and explain to us how each expense is going to go towards providing the results they say we can expect at the end of the year,” Whyte told On the Record host Randy Beamer.

Although Whyte admitted the proposal, if approved, would be “time intensive” for council and city staff, he said the extra effort would ensure taxpayer money isn’t being wasted.

The CCR, which requires five council member signatures before being considered as an agenda item, was also signed by District 6’s Melissa Cabello Havrda, District 7’s Marina Alderete Gavito and mayoral candidates John Courage (District 9) and Manny Pelaez (District 8).

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This article appears in Apr 3-16, 2024.