Prop I and the parks bonds: what the committees on each side raised and spent in the final month

The committees fighting over Austin's ballot measures reported their last full month of fundraising this week, and the biggest numbers are on Proposition I, the citizen-initiated charter amendment that would require a recurring outside audit of city government.

The "8th day before election" reports cover activity through Oct. 24. They show how much each side had to spend in the closing days of early voting, which ends Friday. They also show who is paying for the campaigns around the $295 million parks and library bonds, Propositions A and B.

Prop I: both sides

Save Austin Now PAC, which led the petition drive that put Prop I on the ballot, reported raising $157,163 and spending $168,718 from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24. It ended the period with $4,916 in cash. The PAC also filed a city pre-election report on Oct. 27 listing contributions received Oct. 25 and 26, most of them small.

Restore Leadership ATX lists support for Prop I and for council candidates Steven Brown in District 1 and Jeffery Bowen in District 8. It reported $94,200 in contributions from July 1 to Oct. 24, including three contributions of $25,000 each from individuals on Oct. 14. It spent $100,025 and had $23,820 left. A pre-election report filed Oct. 27 shows another $10,580 for advertising on Oct. 25.

Don't DOGE Our Austin, a committee that lists its purpose as opposing the "audit measure," reported $128,171 in contributions from July 1 to Oct. 24. Of that, $74,000 came from labor organizations: $59,000 from AFSCME International on Oct. 14 and $15,000 from AFSCME Local 1624, based in Austin, on Oct. 23. The committee spent $68,925 and had $49,246 in cash.

Austinites for Equity, which KUT has reported is among Prop I's opponents, reported $36,893 in spending from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24 and no new contributions, with $4,378 left.

Props A and B: the bonds

Parks, Pools, Trails & Books PAC supports both bond measures. It raised $40,339 and spent $73,141 from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24, leaving $10,770. Its largest contribution in the period was $15,000 from the Austin Parks Foundation on Sept. 30. The PAC paid a campaign firm $25,000 on Oct. 8 and another $25,000 on Oct. 23. It also filed a report of direct campaign expenditures supporting the two propositions.

Equity Action lists support for Props A and B and for Props G and H, and opposition to Prop E. It reported $100 in contributions and $32,573 in spending from July 1 to Oct. 24.

Among the reports the city posted this week, we found none from a committee listing opposition to the bonds.

What our records add

How Prop I got there. The council ordered the charter election on Aug. 6 after the petition was certified. Mayor Kirk Watson said that day he did not agree with the petition but was not sure the council should relegate it behind the council's own amendments. The ordinance passed unanimously. Our Prop I explainer covers what the measure does and the audit the city already has under way.

How the bonds got there. The council voted 8-3 on Aug. 4 to move ahead with the parks and library package, with Watson, José Velásquez and Marc Duchen voting no. Our bond story has the roll call. The city's first quarterly bond report, released Oct. 16, shows about $752 million in voter-approved money from past programs not yet spent.

The Parks Foundation's role. The Austin Parks Foundation is a city partner. At a June 2025 council committee meeting, its staff said a significant portion of its funding comes from the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and that it put $4.5 million toward park improvement projects. We report the foundation's PAC contribution alongside that relationship. It is not evidence of any decision by the city.

The money is reported side by side with these votes. It does not explain them.

What's next

Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. Committees that take in large contributions in the final days file pre-election reports under City Code Section 2-2-29, as the affidavit on Restore Leadership ATX's report notes. Save Austin Now and Restore Leadership ATX filed theirs this week. Our candidate money story covers the council races.