08-04-2025
Austin Public Health outlines $15 million in funding, over 50 jobs lost due to federal funding cuts
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Public Health (APH) leaders last week outlined the impacts of cuts to federal funding during a regularly scheduled Public Health Committee meeting. Changes in funding at a federal level could translate to the loss of around $15 million and more than 50 jobs at APH.
APH Director Adrienne Sturrup gave a presentation breaking down the impacts at an April 2 Public Health Committee meeting. The agenda and full details of what happened at the meeting can be viewed online. The presentation can be viewed in full below.
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According to Sturrup, APH's 2025 fiscal year budget includes $39,435,490 in federal grant funding, which is about 30% of the budget (the full budget is $131,504,306). However, Sturrup said that represents 51% of the department's Full-Time Equivalent employees, or FTEs.
Sturrup said that based on what APH knew at the time of putting the presentation together last month, 63 FTEs were lost in FY25. Of those, 35 were lost in the fall of 2024 'due to grant reductions that supported key public health operations.' APH was able to absorb 23 of those positions into vacant roles or find alternate funding sources for them. The remaining five of those were eliminated.
Sturrup said the department knew that it was expected to lose an additional 28 positions this spring and summer that were connected to the 'COVID-related dollars that we're phasing out,' but there were new reductions that APH was not prepared for.
She said the unexpected reductions impacted the following programs and number of staff members:
Refugee Medical Services Clinic: 13 employees
The Breathe With Pride Tobacco Cessation Program: 2 employees
GoATX Program: around 25 summer youth interns, 3 full-time staff
COVID vaccination program: 7 staff
Diabetes care program: 2 staff
Sturrup added that APH has identified an additional $7.8 million in funding at risk, which would impact an additional 57 FTEs. She said those numbers are based on 'everything we're hearing from our partners throughout the region an other health departments in Texas, as well as the things that we're hearing on the news.'
Some of the projects the upcoming potential cuts could impact include APH's work around health equity and staff training work around health equity. Sturrup said that includes some of APH's HIV and STI work, youth programs, and COVID-19 surveillance.
If all of APH's grant funding was lost, it would mean the department would be decreased to 314 FTEs overall. Potential funding impacts highlighted in the presentation included:
373,200 WIC food benefit packages to mothers and children
296,971 Free vaccine supply through federal Vaccine for Children Program
126,476 Individuals and Families supported through Neighborhood Services and Public Health Nurses
17,084 Sexual Health and TB Clinic Appointments
8000 Refugee Health Screenings
Sturrup said APH is working with the city manager's office to care for staff members and get them placed into other departments.
'This is kind of the, the situation we're in. I've, I've called it death by a thousand cuts,' Sturrup said. 'The department has been working to prioritize because we know that local dollars cannot fill the gap, um, of federal funding.'
Sturrup said APH is putting together information to give a recommendation to the city manager and community on how to move forward.
Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes spoke after the presentation, highlighting the impact of the immediate loss of funds.
'I just want to underscore the information that was just provided to us,' Fuentes said. 'We've, we have experienced $15 million of immediate loss in federal funding that's impacting how we serve our community. That's about 50 employees, a mix of full-time and temporary.'
'We know that our public health department has about $40 million that they receive on an annual basis in grants,' she continued. 'Knowing the loss that we already have in Austin, knowing that it could get much worse, I think it makes our upcoming budget deliberations even more challenging because we're having to make decisions, budgetary decisions in our community amidst this chaos and confusion from the federal government on a daily, if not hourly basis.'
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