Faced with a rapidly expanding population and rising property values, City Council members on Wednesday grappled with finding common ground on what guidance they should give to city staffers on how to craft the fiscal year 2019 budget.

“I don’t think we can overstate the challenge before us with the amount of growth we’re facing,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said during the session.

The annual goal-setting meeting that kicks off budget season is an all-day affair, led in recent years by consultant Francisco A. Gónima, that is a combination of presentations from city executives and policy debate among council members.

The council agreed that addressing housing — ensuring both that there’s enough stock for the city’s growth and that gentrification doesn’t force out long-time homeowners — is a key priority. A housing task force formed by the mayor is expected to make recommendations later this year, and council members agreed that there should be space in the budget for funding recommendations, while making it clear that they would vet those recommendations and put their own imprint on the city’s action in addressing the matter.

Public safety also emerged as a priority as council members debated whether to increase the number of positions in the San Antonio Police Department. Councilman Clayton Perry advocated not increasing the number because SAPD has been unable to fill all of its existing vacancies and suggested that the city could instead use funding for new unfilled positions on something else.

In a break with Perry, with whom he usually sides, Councilman Greg Brockhouse encouraged the city to increase staffing numbers to the fullest possible extent and rely less on overtime to fulfill staffing needs.

Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran pitched increasing funding to address domestic violence and protection for women and girls in particular. She appeared to win support for that idea, as Councilman Rey Saldaña advocated for increasing funding for SAPD’s mental health unit — a policy proposal that was well-received by his colleagues.

The council also embraced Nirenberg’s push to increase street maintenance funding to $110 million annually, which he announced earlier this year during his first State of the City address.

Two years ago, spending sat at $64 million, and last year, the council adopted a new way of budgeting, known as using the “equity lens.” It primarily affected street maintenance, and the council agreed to spend $70 million over two years on improving streets in the five districts that had the worst average rating — districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10.

Brockhouse bristled at the distribution last year, saying the poorest areas of his District 6 deserve extra funding, too, but didn’t get it.

The council reaffirmed its intent to make good on the second half of that $70 million in spending in the upcoming budget.

When City Manager Sheryl Sculley recommends the 2019 budget to the council in August, she’ll likely suggest that an additional $11 million in new street maintenance funding be spent on the city’s worst streets, regardless of their district, said Assistant City Manager Maria Villagómez.

Brockhouse again bristled at the use of the equity lens, and council members agreed that they should dig into the matter more. He called it “unfair” and suggested that it’s applied in different ways at different times. That method of budgeting, he said, leads to “someone getting short-changed” and said he prefers the “rough proportionality” method, which divvys up money relatively equally across all 10 council districts. Opponents of that method say that if it’s continually employed over equity, then the areas of town that have been unfunded historically will never have a chance to catch up.

The council also once again wrestled with property taxes and whether to offer a homestead exemption for the city’s portion of a homeowner’s tax bill. The city collects about 22 percent of the average tax bill, with the balance going to the school district, the county, the hospital district, the college district and other local taxing entities.

Perry called on implementing a homestead exemption and says it could be funded through about $13 million in unspent funds from the current fiscal year that are expected to be carried forward to fiscal year 2019. And Brockhouse called on the city to increase tax exemptions for disabled veterans, though city staff said that municipalities do not have the authority from the state to offer exemptions to such a group. San Antonio currently offers a $12,500 exemption to disabled property owners, regardless of veteran status.

In order to offer such exemptions, include one for homesteads, the council would have to take action before July 1. The majority of the council told the meeting moderator that they’re interested in having a meeting on the matter — once the city can collect the requisite data to inform the discussion. It appears unlikely that it would happen before the summer deadline.

After Sculley presents her proposed budget in August, council members will then dig into details on the departmental level before voting to approve the spending blueprint in September, ahead of the start of the 2019 fiscal year on Oct. 1.

Josh Baugh is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jbaugh@express-news.net | @jbaugh