Issue V: September

Consistent with the past year, these past few weeks have been extremely busy. We’ve had the opportunity to support students as they return to school, assist homeowners applying for our home rehab programs, prepare to launch our after-school program with Alamo City Studios, all while working on the annual City budget. On September 15, City Council will vote on the proposed budget, to be adopted on October 1, 2022 and District 2 is a key focus in the proposal.

DISTRICT NEWSLETTER

Issue V

Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez

This year, we started the budget process earlier than usual. It was important to our Council that we have ample time for community feedback and on August 29, we held our second Budget Town Hall of the season (and once again had the largest turnout in the City). There will be significant investment in Infrastructure, with District 2 receiving about 13% of the street maintenance budget, record street light funding in the millions, and a bond program approved overwhelmingly by voters. Another thing to come out of the budget is property tax relief. Not only will we be reducing our portion of our tax bill, but we’ll be increasing the homestead exemption for seniors and persons with disabilites.

As we wrap up the budget season, I look forward to more opportunities to connect with you as a neighbor and discuss solutions to our District’s most pressing needs. You can continue to reach our District field office from 10am-5pm Monday through Friday, by calling us at 210.207.0950 or visiting us at any of our community events throughout the year. As always, it is a privilege to serve and represent you.

Yours in service,

District

Jalen McKee-Rodriguez

District 2 residents attend a Budget Town Hall hosted by the D2 Council Office | August 29, 2022

Home Rehab Applications Due!

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2023 Home Rehab Application will be available only online. Join us on September from 10am3pm at the Carver Library for an outreach event to assist with application completion and submission. One consolidated online application will allow for San Antonio homeowners to qualify for the city’s home rehabilitation programs, and residents will be selected utilizing an Equity Scoring Matrix prioritizing homes located in higher combined equity areas based on the City’s Equity Atlas Combined Score, seniors, residents with disabilities, and homeowners that have resided in their homes for longer periods of time. Residents that require assistance are encouraged to attend our event and bring required documents. These include: an identification card or driver’s license, social security card, proof of income and/or employment, three months of bank statements, and a mortgage/loan/ home equity statement. You may also stop by our field office any time before the 19th to receive assistance from a member of our D2 team.

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Senior Center

What’s New in Dis trict 2in District 2

The proposed budget is scheduled for a final vote on September 15 for Fiscal Year ‘23 which begins on October 1, 2022. We collected over 800 survey responses from District 2 residents and had over 250 participants in our budget town halls on July 6 and August 29. Much of what we heard at our Town Halls and through these surveys was overwhelming support for property tax relief. Though the City only makes up about 20% of your tax bill, we will be doing our part to bring you relief by cutting our tax rate. We also heard overwhelming support for our Fire Department and EMS. Fire Station #24 is expected to finish fairly soon, and we will be receiving more firefighters and supportive tools to enhance our response.

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Part One of our Crime Prevention Summit had a panel discussion and town hall segment, where residents shared concerns with crime in their neighborhoods, including frequent gang violence, retaliation, shootings, SAPD response times, gaps in infrastructure, and the need for intervention. Part Two will serve as a resource fair, where organizations may set up and share information about what they are doing in the community, recruit volunteers, and identify any opportunities for growth. This part in the series is a networking event and a chance to identify opportunities for collaboration. We will also have City, County, and State officials to learn more about the needs of our community and the work our community members are already doing and the resources that are needed to sustain these efforts. Stay tuned for details regarding Part Three.

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Back2School & the Infrastructure Bill

With the approval of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, several competitive funding opportunities have opened up, and San Antonio will compete with other cities for funding. The City has committed to applying for funding for the following projects impacting District 2 residents:

Reconnecting Communities Communities

Pilot ProgramPilot

The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program is a funding opportunity to restore community connectivity by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities that create barriers. The City will be applying to fulfill our Mobility & Connectivity Project and the Hemisfair Labor Street Reconnection Project.

Railroad Crossing Elimination Program

The Railroad Crossing Elimination Program is a funding opportunity for rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on safety and mobility improvements. The City of San Antonio will co-apply with TxDOT to apply for rail crossing grade separations at Rittiman Rd. and Walzem Rd.