Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The San Antonio Botanical Garden will receive $1 million in the city’s proposed 2027 budget. It’s a $200,000 reduction compared to 2026 but far from the elimination of full funding sought by San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones. Funding for the San Antonio Book Festival in 2027 will remain the same at about $240,000.
During early budget conversations this year, Mayor Jones directly mentioned the botanical garden and book festival, both independent nonprofits, as potential cuts to offset a significant $158 million budget shortfall.
However, the proposed budget presented on Thursday preserved most of that funding for both organizations.
“We're incredibly grateful for our partnership with the City of San Antonio, and we're grateful that there are so many politicians and leaders in city government that understand the economic impact of cultural institutions like the botanical garden,” said Katherine Trumble, CEO of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, in an interview with TPR.
Trumble said the impact to the botanical garden, which receives about 430,000 visitors per year, is expected to reduce education programs and up to four employee positions responsible for coordinating group tours like field trips.
“This $200,000 reduction, if we're not able to fundraise and make that up, results in a 64% decrease from 2026 to 2027 in the number of kids coming through school tours and the number of people impacted by our access programs,” she said.
That’s anticipated to impact about 32,000 visitors, mostly from schools, unless the garden can fund other sources.
“If San Antonians are looking for ways to support their garden, every paid admission and every membership helps fuel our mission and makes possible those opportunities for those that wouldn't be able to come otherwise,” she said.
The botanical garden's annual allocation is included in the Parks and Recreation Department, which, as a whole, is cutting $3.2 million in 2027. Those departmental cuts are centered around shifting staffed positions, eliminating vacant positions, cutting classes that had no attendance, and reducing departmental travel.
Mayoral objections
To meet a two-year $158 million budget deficit, more than $45 million of spending was cut from the overall 2027 budget; the rest is being addressed by a proposed property tax increase, and increased fees across city services.
On Thursday, Jones questioned why the botanical garden and book festival were still included while other services were being cut.
"If we're looking at … eliminating the tuition reimbursement program for our citizens, why would we still be giving the San Antonio Botanical Garden a million dollars?” Jones said.
Jones was referring to a city employee benefits program that reimburses employees for tuition expenses related to degree and certificate programs. The program will be suspended in 2027. The reduction is about $450,000 and 226 employees participate in the program.
“If we're looking at cutting one individual who does the cultural initiatives, which oversees the cultural heritage districts, local makers program, legacy business program, cultural context program, why would we still be giving the book festival $150,000?” she said.
In that instance, Jones referenced the removal of a position in the Office of Historic Preservation at a reduction of $113,670.
San Antonio Book Festival retains funding
The San Antonio Book Festival holds year-round programming but its focus stems from an annual event in April at the Central Library that this year attracted 25,000 attendees and featured more than 100 authors.
Its funding from the city comes in the form of $97,000 from the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) and $150,000 from the general fund. The total contribution is about 15-20% of the annual budget for the book festival’s total operations.
“We appreciate the city staff putting that together and understanding that we are a worthwhile investment that benefits San Antonio,” said Lisa Ayers, executive director of the San Antonio Book Festival.
The festival itself costs about $550,000 to put on. The general fund contribution goes entirely towards the weekend festival in April whereas the HOT funds can be used for year-round programming.
Ayres said earlier conversations from the mayor, who has attended the festival, were a surprise.
“We were surprised back in June when we were first mentioned as something that should not be funded by the city, and so that really just made us react in a way that we need to make sure we're educating people about what the festival is,” she said.
Earlier this month, the Book Festival launched a petition to encourage support of retaining its city funding.
San Antonio’s proposed 2027 budget is nearing completion and continues to be refined.
Over the next month, the city will hold multiple budget town halls and could still make changes based on city council and citizen input.
The final budget must be approved by council in mid-September.
Disclosure: TPR is a community partner of the San Antonio Botanical Garden and a media partner of the San Antonio Book Festival.
