Council weighs financial impact of proposed police contract

As City Council weighs approval of a proposed police contract expected to cost $218 million over five years, city budget staff on Tuesday presented a brighter financial outlook compared to the dire projections given earlier this year.

At Tuesday’s work session, there were no warnings of a $60 million budget deficit by 2029. Budget Officer Kerri Lang told Council that city revenues have eliminated deficit concerns.

Lang said that the 2025 budget that took effect Oct. 1 already included funding for a police contract and for the five-year forecast. The proposed labor agreement is $2 million more than what was budgeted, but Lang said the amount wouldn’t present a problem.

“There is a minimal impact with the additional dollars that are included in the contract,” she said.

If approved, Lang said the five-year cost of the contract would not require a tax rate election, although she noted that such an election would be at the will of the Council.

The handshake agreement between the city and the Austin Police Association includes a base rate pay increase of 8 percent this year, a 6 percent increase in 2026, 5 percent in 2027 and 2028, and a 4 percent increase in 2029. Austin police have been without a contract since March 2023, and the department has had trouble recruiting and retaining police officers in the past few years.

The dollar amount of the proposed contract quickly drew criticism from the city employees union, AFSCME 1624.

“The proposed $218 million police contract raises significant concerns regarding transparency and equity for the rest of Austin’s workforce,” the union wrote in an Oct. 1 statement. “While we support competitive wages for our police officers, we must also address the needs of essential services that keep our city running.”

With those concerns in mind, Council members raised questions about potential financial implications. Council Member Vanessa Fuentes questioned how the costs associated with the contract might impact the city’s ability to invest in other public safety measures as well as public safety personnel and civilian workforce.

Lang said that even with the $2 million increase to what has already been budgeted, “it is still considered a structurally balanced budget.”

Council members seemed to gain assurance that the G file, which contained information on alleged misconduct and internal investigations, no longer exists, and that records of past misconduct allegations would be released through open records requests.

An overwhelming number of business representatives and community members spoke in support of the proposed agreement.

Representatives of the Austin Apartment Association told the Council that tenants at many of their properties were fearful of assaults, thefts, verbal threats and other offenses.

Archbishop Sterling Lands II, a longtime resident who has in the past called for more police accountability, urged Council to approve the proposed agreement.

“I think it has been, and is still, ridiculous to consider defunding police,” he said, referring to the Council’s 2020 action to shift police funding. “This contract is a step in the right direction … not only should we (approve it) but we should look at ways of amending it in the future to ensure that we never again fall into this hole again,” he added.

Trey Salinas, speaking for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said the proposed contract honors the will of the voters who last year overwhelming approved Proposition A, which strengthened police oversight.

“As the city manager stated, this agreement is groundbreaking for changes to police oversight and it values and prioritizes public safety with regards to staff shortages; this contract will not only help with the recruitment of new officers, but just as importantly it will help retain existing experienced officers.”

Advocates for more police transparency remain skeptical.

Kathy Mitchell of Equity Action said the language in the tentative agreement regarding the G file is “deeply unclear.” She said the G file issue “is too important, and we have come too far to have language that isn’t clear to me.”

Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition said, “It’s very interesting to me when we talk about keeping people safe, we don’t talk about the people that are not safe because of people like Christopher Taylor,” referring to the Austin police officer who was convicted Oct. 5 in connection with the 2019 shooting death of Mauris DeSilva, who was experiencing a mental health crisis. “I think it’s very interesting when we talk about safety, but we only seem to talk about one side of the coin.”

Overall, though, Moore said the proposed contract “is a big step in the right direction.” He still had questions about the financial aspects of the agreement that he hopes can be addressed by the time Council votes on the contract Oct. 24.

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