Though some relief is on the way for Halloween Flood survivors, the fact that nearly 15 percent of the funds could be spent on consultants raised some eyebrows at City Council Thursday. Council members approved all four items related to the Onion Creek buyouts but they faced some pushback from citizens concerned about the […]
Public Safety
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety, Resources
City in line for flood buyout reimbursements from Corps of Engineers
Austin City Council members got a bit of good news with regard to buyouts in the Onion Creek floodplain. The city’s governmental relations officer, John Hrncir, told Council members during Tuesday’s work session that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was likely to reimburse the city for the costs of the program dating as far […]
Posted inPublic Safety
APD offers to cut new officer positions to increase 911 call staff
Council Member Bill Spelman’s annual dive into the city’s public safety budget has prompted the Austin Police Department to offer to shed officer positions in favor of more staff in its 911 communications department. The statement came in response to a question submitted by Spelman – a longtime critic of the standing 2.0 officers […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Firefighters union seeks standing in agreement between DOJ, city
The union representing Austin firefighters filed a motion in U.S. District Court Friday seeking to intervene in the pending settlement between the City of Austin and the U.S. Department of Justice. Seeking a consent decree, the city and the Justice Department filed an agreement in federal court June 9 to settle allegations of race-based discrimination […]
Posted inPublic Safety
DOJ, city seek order to resolve hiring dispute over firefighters protest
The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Austin filed a joint motion in U.S. District Court Monday seeking a consent decree to resolve claims that the city has discriminated against African-American and Hispanic firefighter candidates. In the filing, the city agreed to a settlement that would force it pay up to $780,000 […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Public Safety Commission calls proposed APD budget inadequate
Public Safety Commissioners did not attempt to hide their displeasure Monday with the proposed FY 2015 Austin Police Department budget. APD’s budget plan calls for $307.6 million, which is a $12.2 million increase from FY 2014 and adds funding for 59 additional officers. However, Public Safety Commission Chair Kim Rossmo said the increase would […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Council members angry over lack of notice on salary overpayment
Members of the Council’s Audit and Finance Committee expressed frustration and disapproval Wednesday over the city’s $239,000 overpayment to a city employee and the failure of City Auditor Kenneth Mory to tell them about it. Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, who chairs the committee, said, “These are public funds and we didn’t have any […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Council members concerned about handling of employee overpayment
Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and Council Member Bill Spelman, who both sit on the Council’s Audit and Finance Committee, as well as a local attorney with expertise in employment law, have expressed concern over the city’s handling of an employee who received more than $200,000 in salary overpayments but was only required to repay […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Council accepts DOJ consent decree to settle firefighter hiring issue
With Council Members Mike Martinez and Chris Riley dissenting, Austin City Council members voted Thursday night to move forward with a proposed agreement with U.S. Department of Justice that would settle claims of hiring discrimination that have dogged the department for two years. The vote, however, may not be the end of the line […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Public Safety
Council OKs two measures to speed buyouts in flood-prone areas
More than six months have passed since Austin’s Halloween flood. At nearly 1 a.m. Friday, Onion Creek residents gathered at City Hall learned that relief may be in sight in the form of an expanded city buyout program. Two propositions were on the table. Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Clerical error causes city to overpay EMS employee by $200,000
The City of Austin has overpaid a former Austin/Travis County paramedic by perhaps as much as $200,000 over an eight-year period that began in 2004. Though the problem was first discovered in 2011, it took until 2013 for the city to correct it. According to a memo from Assistant City Attorney Lee Crawford, the […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Spelman continues to press police department on budget increases
With no attempt at coyness, Council Member Bill Spelman kicked off his questioning about the Austin Police Department budget during last week’s budget work session saying, “This is a ritual, we’ve done it for years – I’ll do it again.” With that, he got right to the point, saying that most of the $23 […]