AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council is days away from passing the city's budget for the next fiscal year. Grassroots advocacy group Vocal Texas has called for council members to adopt a Tax Rate Election (TRE) to help fund programs like housing and homelessness services, harm reduction, and public health.

Leaders of Vocal Texas held a joint press conference with several council members, service providers, and labor leaders outside City Hall on Thursday afternoon to call for a TRE, which Vocal Texas said would "secure long-term funding for housing, homeless services, and public health," a press release noted.

Vocal Texas said in the press release that it's calling for those things in the wake of a recent executive order that made cuts to federal funding, while American Rescue Plan Act fun

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