10-04-2025
LIST: Austin federal grant funding losses include $50M for flood mitigation, $15M for public health
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin is starting to see the direct impact of federal cuts on its services and staff.
In a work session Tuesday, Austin City Council members talked about the city's five-year financial forecast. While much of that discussion surrounded the state cap on property tax, and the impact that state law has had on local government, federal cuts are also a major concern for Austin leaders.
'We find ourselves in real financial pressure for this upcoming budget cycle and the needs of our community are great and they are increasing as more services are cut at the federal level,' Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes said.
In a memo from the city of Austin's Intergovernmental Relations Office, staff said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ending a number of resiliency grants. The city of Austin expects to lose $50 million it was anticipating for hardening major infrastructure as a result.
'[FEMA] is ending its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program and canceling all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023 if funds have not been distributed in communities. Staff is still reviewing the impact. There is an expected loss of a $50 million BRIC Flood Mitigation grant,' city staff wrote.
A city spokesperson said that grant was earmarked for the Fallwell Lane Capital Renewal Project which would help protect the South Austin Regional (SAR) Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Austin Energy Sand Hill Energy Center (SHEC) from major flood events.
'It has been estimated that a single catastrophic flood event at the facilities could cause losses of over $1.6 billion at the site…both plants would be inoperable and unable to generate electricity or treat wastewater,' the city's website said.
The city said that wastewater treatment plan represents half the wastewater treatment plant capacity for the city, and the energy center represents 24% of the base load power capacity.
Because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is cutting $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funding, Austin Public Health (APH) said five grants and 27 full-time staff will be cut in their current capacity.
APH said the city will work to move those employees to other vacant positions through the remainder of the fiscal year (end of September).
'To clarify, the annualized cost is $7.5M, but through multi-year grants, it may add up to approximately $15M. An additional 28 or more staff members may be affected by more cuts,' APH said.
The city said because nearly all employees at the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington D.C. were placed on administrative leave, grants and contracts are unlikely to move forward.
'Austin Public Library (APL) submitted three grant applications that will no longer be considered, resulting in a loss of $275K in prospective funding,' the memo said.
The Intergovernmental Relations Office said the Department of Energy has informed them it's finalizing a list of contracts to cancel.
'The City of Austin was notified that a $1 million grant for Advanced Grid Responsive Technologies for Existing Multifamily Properties may be included for cancellation,' staff wrote.
The city's Intergovernmental Relations Office said it will continue to keep city leaders updated on further changes.
'We can only anticipate more,' Fuentes said.
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