Staff lays out public safety budget choices for City Council

Looking ahead to a tough budget year, City Council will have to choose between spending on firefighters, emergency medical services, parks maintenance, homeless outreach and improving animal services, among others. Wednesday’s budget presentation did nothing to alleviate budget concerns, with some explanations only highlighting the city’s need to spend money to continue basic services and improve conditions for city employees.

Without an election to raise taxes higher, the state-imposed 3.5 percent cap on property tax increases – coupled with the end of federal Covid-19 dollars – the budget will be tight.

For example, Austin firefighters continue to work overtime, even when they need to rest. Mandatory four-person staffing for fire trucks continues to be the primary driver of overtime spending, according to Budget Officer Kerri Lang. Fire Chief Joel Baker noted the department has seen a considerable increase in injuries, with one cause being the increased number of hours firefighters are required to work. The current vacancy rate at AFD is 5.6 percent.

According to Lang’s data, the Fire Department overtime budget is about $15.8 million, but the projected overtime expense for the current year is about $20.8 million. So the department will need an infusion of cash to close the gap. Council Member Alison Alter asked questions about why there were so many more injuries this year than in the past. Baker explained simply that firefighting is a dangerous job.

Council Member Mackenzie Kelly said she remembered sponsoring a resolution to fund more aerial trucks and firefighters for those trucks. AFD confirmed to the Austin Monitor that it has one or more of those. But Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, noted that they are not being used regularly because of a lack of staff.

Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool is hoping firefighters will get to reduce their workweek from the current 52 hours to 51 hours. However, that will require more firefighters. Nicks told the Monitor that four firefighters have died by suicide in the past few years, including one just two weeks ago. He attributed those deaths to the stress of being a firefighter and having to work so many hours. Baker told Council the department is working to help firefighters with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Baker told Council the Fire Department is once again seeking personnel, with two cadet classes in progress. But when Kelly asked Nicks for his thoughts, he said the city should add a third class in order to fill department vacancies and alleviate the need for so much overtime. He said that would cost about $1.75 million to start the class right away and he encouraged them to do that.

Nicks told the Monitor one problem that firefighters face is denial of medical services by the city’s Human Resources Department. He said many firefighters would be able to go back to work sooner if their treatments were authorized sooner. Lang told Council they were recommending a pilot program with a third-party vendor to help firefighters get medical attention more quickly.

At the police department, Lang noted that high vacancy rates are leading to increased overtime spending, not a new problem. The sworn officer overtime expense in 2020 was $23 million, she said. That number has fluctuated over the years but now stands at nearly $48 million, and the APD vacancy rate is nearly 19 percent. Representatives from APD’s sex crimes unit reminded Council of their obligation to pay for training, detective staffing, volunteer compensation and other items following a lawsuit settlement related to the department’s failure to adequately investigate and prosecute sex crimes. The unmet need projected for 2025 is about $408,000, according to Lang.

EMS Chief Robert Luckritz is championing a new command district downtown to respond to higher call volumes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. He explained that under the current regime, ambulances are called from other parts of town to the entertainment district. On many occasions, the person does not need an ambulance and may just need to go to the Sobering Center, he said.

EMS is seeking $993,000 for three sworn officer positions and $816,000 for vehicles and equipment for the new station.

According to Luckritz, ambulances are the most expensive type of vehicle EMS employs. He suggested that the city could “basically geofence the downtown area, like we do during SXSW,” and utilize small Polaris-type vehicles to treat up to four patients at a time. He said they would be like mini ambulances that could be placed, for example, on Sixth Street and Rainey Street.

Pool wanted to know whether a similar program could be used for the Domain, which she noted is becoming like a second downtown. Luckritz said that could also happen. Pool seemed enthusiastic about the idea, as did Council Member Zo Qadri.

Council also heard about the needs of Austin Public Health, the Parks and Recreation Department, Animal Services, Human Resources and the Homeless Strategy Office on Wednesday before hearing from members of the public. They will continue hearing about budget options and hear community input on Aug. 1. There will be more budget work sessions on Aug. 6 and 8. Budget readings and tax rate hearings are set for Aug. 14-16.

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