This year, nearly $2.6-million in fees were waived for large events, like South by Southwest, resulting in Austin taxpayers footing the bill for public safety needs. Chair of the Public Safety Commission Rebecca Weber said it’s time for these events to pay their own way, and tells city council not to just phase this out, but to not pass the fee waiver ever again.
This year alone, South by Southwest received $2.3-million in fee waivers, meaning Austin taxpayers carried a heavy financial load in terms of paying cops for security.
The city is trying to scrape together as much money as possible before new property tax revenue limits kick in for 2021.
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