The city of Austin has begun dispatching a team that includes both mental health experts and police to address mental health emergency calls coming from the downtown area. The Austin Field Integrated Response Support Team, or Austin FIRST, includes an Austin-Travis County EMS paramedic, an Integral Care mental health clinician and an Austin Police officer […]
Austin/Travis County EMS
The Emergency Medical Service for Austin and Travis County. Co-managed by the City of Austin and Travis county.
Posted inEMS
Public safety agencies team up to help those in crisis
The city of Austin will begin a pilot program next month that will deploy a multi – disciplinary team to deal with mental health related problems within the downtown area. The team will include professionals from Austin, Travis County EMS, the Austin Police Department (APD) and Integral Care. As Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Escott […]
Posted inBudget
City looks to cut some costs on police, fire budgets
City budget planners had to make some tough decisions in proposing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year and the following year. As part of the proposal laid out by City Manager T.C. Broadnax and Budget Officer Kerri Lang at Tuesday’s Council work session, staff is proposing a $9 million decrease in the Police Department […]
Posted inPublic Health
Travis County awarded $1.6 million federal grant to combat overdose crisis
On Monday, Travis County Judge Andy Brown announced a new resource for combating the opioid overdose crisis in the county – and reported new numbers that suggest current public health strategies are working. The county was awarded a $1.6 million federal grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance through the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance […]
Posted inCity Council
City Council moves to complete purchase of combined public safety headquarters
The city is moving ahead with the planned purchase of a combined public safety campus located in four existing office buildings on South MoPac Expressway in District 8. Late during Thursday’s City Council meeting, after several hours of public comment ahead of the approval of a new contract with Austin Police Association, three items passed […]
Posted inPublic Safety
City considers acquiring new combined HQ for police, fire and EMS
Next week, City Council will consider approving a $107.8 million allocation to acquire an office campus along South MoPac Expressway that would serve as a consolidated headquarters for the city’s public safety agencies, which are located in outdated and cramped facilities across the city. If approved, the headquarters would house the Austin Police Department, Austin […]
Posted inEMS
EMS station renovations improve conditions for an industry with a high attrition rate
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services has been seeing staffing shortages since the pandemic, due to a combination of low pay, difficult working conditions and recruitment from other health care sectors. The vacancy rate has been improving – in July 2022 it was around 25 percent, and in 2023 it dropped to 17 percent. Still, at […]
Posted inBudget
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 […]
Posted inDevelopment
Will Austin really be the next single-staircase city?
City staff is pushing back on a proposal to allow single stairways for multifamily buildings. City Council unanimously approved a resolution to amend the code and allow multifamily projects up to six stories to have a single staircase in May. The change is intended to support the development of smaller-scale complexes with family-sized apartments and […]
Posted inEnvironment
New climate report shows last summer’s record-high temps might not be a fluke
The results are in from researchers at the University of Texas’ Climate CoLab, and those who hoped last summer’s record-breaking temperatures to be a deviation from the norm might want to adjust their expectations. The new Climate Projections report, which hit city desks last week, runs climate models with both static and increasing emissions scenarios […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners urge Council to increase public safety budgets
Members of the city’s Public Safety Commission voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that City Council adopt a budget this summer that will support needs outlined by representatives of the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Police Department. Representatives of each of the departments talked about their unfunded needs, stressing the importance […]
Posted inCity Hall
Austin public safety agencies roll out electronic payroll system
Austin’s public safety agencies – the Austin Fire Department, the Austin Police Department and Austin-Travis County EMS – are in various stages of rolling out an electronic payroll system in an effort to streamline scheduling and other logistical tasks. The city’s Public Safety Commission expressed hope that the new system would improve transparency on how […]