SAN ANTONIO – Mayor Ortiz Jones is in favor of a revenue sharing deal with the Spurs on the new downtown arena.
“With the Spurs deal, what would I like to see? Revenue sharing,” said Jones. “So when some of the most lucrative aspects of that deal, whichever company gets to put their name on the side of that arena, it’s called naming rights. Normally, that’s like $10 million a year, our fair share of concessions, our fair share of parking.”
We have a conversation with Mayor Ortiz every Thursday on News 4 San Antonio Today.
The mayor discussed the city’s $4 billion budget, emphasizing the need to address a projected $150 million deficit by 2027, which could rise to $220 million by 2030.
“So we’ve got to be smart about how we understand bringing any additional costs forward, understanding the sooner you bring them on, you’re going to be paying for them for a lot longer,” she said
“We asked Chief McManus, ‘What is your request for 25 officers based on?’ He said workload. Okay, well, there are other things we can do to decrease workload,” explained the mayor. “I think we’ve got to be also strategic about those investments. And we tried to do that here.”
Key budget issues the mayor named are flat property and sales taxes, and lower-than-expected airport revenues. The budget also includes $30 million for homelessness prevention and permanent supportive housing.
“Those encampments are public safety concerns for the people that are living there. They’re also public safety concerns if folks don’t feel safe in their communities. I think we also recognize they’re also an economic issue. If we’re trying to attract businesses downtown, if you turn around every corner and there’s a homeless person there, that’s not the kind of environment that we want,” said the mayor.
Federal funding cuts, particularly a $40 million reduction in Metro Health’s $80 million budget, pose significant challenges. The mayor also highlighted the importance of strategic investments in public safety and collaboration with community partners.