{"id":1016107,"date":"2026-08-22T01:50:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T01:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1016107\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T01:50:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T01:50:14","slug":"mayors-office-silent-on-whether-hat-in-hand-plea-for-outside-money-to-lower-deficit-was-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1016107\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor\u2019s office silent on whether \u2018hat in hand\u2019 plea for outside money to lower deficit was answered"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s possible the silence itself is the answer.<\/p>\n

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones\u2019 office refused to respond to questions about whether anyone answered her call for the private and philanthropic sectors to help fund an assortment of city contracts<\/a> as the Aug. 21 deadline passed.<\/p>\n

With San Antonio facing a projected $158 million budget gap over the next two years, Jones said she sent an \u201copen letter\u201d<\/a> on July 24 to \u201cbusiness, foundation, and philanthropic leaders\u201d asking if any would commit to three years of funding for any of the 15 outside agency contracts she listed. <\/p>\n

The list, which represents fewer than half of the outside agency contracts in the FY 2026 budget,<\/a> included funding for the San Antonio Botanical Garden, LiftFund, S\u00edclov\u00eda, and the MLK Commission. <\/p>\n

KSAT has not confirmed to whom specifically Jones sent the letter, though she also posted it on her social media<\/a>. In it, she asked anyone interested in helping fund any of the \u201cworthwhile efforts\u201d to email her chief of staff, Andrew Fuentes, by Aug. 21.<\/p>\n

KSAT left multiple voicemails and text messages throughout Friday for Fuentes requesting an update. Although another mayoral staffer also referred KSAT\u2019s questions to Fuentes, he never responded.<\/p>\n

And while the mayor posted a video on her social media Friday evening discussing some of the latest budget updates, she made no mention of her previous request or whether anyone answered.<\/p>\n

City Manager Erik Walsh also told KSAT as he left city hall on Friday evening that he had not heard anything. <\/p>\n

University of Texas at San Antonio Political Science Professor Jon Taylor called Jones\u2019 request for outside funding help \u201crelatively unique.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not recall a mayor \u2014 and I\u2019ll be blunt by saying it \u2014 going hat in hand to the community, particularly community leaders and particularly corporations and saying, \u2018hey, can you help fund part of our city services?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Taylor said he wouldn\u2019t call it a \u201cstunt,\u201d though, and believes the mayor is trying to avoid a tax increase in the upcoming budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians are wont to try to find creative ways to either save money or to save services or save anything from a park to whatever,\u201d he said. ” People may call that \u2018stunts,\u2019 or people may say it\u2019s just creative thinking. Maybe she\u2019s engaged in a form of creative thinking in what is essentially a desperate situation.”<\/p>\n

Though the city is discussing a combination of cuts, tax hikes, and fee increases, the contracts on Jones\u2019 list largely don\u2019t appear in danger of being cut. Most of them were poised to receive the same, or at least partial, funding within the FY 2027 budget proposed by staff<\/a> last week. <\/p>\n

Notable exceptions were a $150,000 employment program for military spouses, veterans, and transitioning service members that Walsh said hadn\u2019t had much activity, as well as $2.2 million worth of scholarship funding for the San Antonio Education Partnership.<\/p>\n

Although the city cut $200,000 from its contribution to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, it would still receive $1 million.<\/p>\n

A $40,000 contract for the Diez y Seis de Septiembre Commission also did not appear to be listed in next year\u2019s proposed budget.<\/p>\n

Jones has pointed to the scholarship funding as a possible target for another budget maneuver she has been promoting: diverting money from the Ready to Work job training program.<\/p>\n

The mayor has suggested using voter-approved sales tax dollars earmarked for Ready to Work to instead fund a small number of permissible programs, which could knock a few million dollars free for other priorities. <\/p>\n

The city could use the money to save the San Antonio Education Partnership scholarship money from the chopping block, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would argue it should not only backfill it, it should double it,\u201d she told KSAT in a live interview Tuesday. \u201cIn this affordability crisis, that $250, $500 scholarship could be the difference between a young person going, pursuing studies, and not pursuing studies. So I think we double down on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city council is scheduled to pass a final budget on Sep. 17.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n