As the city of Austin looks into redefining the duties of its police department, staffers are reaching out to community members to hear feedback about what the next iteration of the Austin Police Department could look like. Simultaneously, city staff are working to clean up 911 call center data to better understand how the police use […]
city budget
The city’s plan for expenditures based on income.
Posted inPolice
Public Safety Commission considers a new vision for APD headquarters
A conversation on the future of the Austin Police Department headquarters is following on the heels of City Council’s reformulation of Austin’s police budget last month. On Sept. 9, the Public Safety Commission articulated a new vision for the current headquarters on Eighth Street and Interstate 35. “APD headquarters would be moved somewhere else and […]
Posted inPolice
Austin could ‘decouple’ victim services from APD. Here’s what that would look like.
Twenty years ago, trombones were echoing in Courtney Santana’s ears – trombones like the ones in Charlie Brown cartoons. There she was, crumpled on parking lot asphalt. Austin police officers were holding her two kids, including her 8-month-old son, who had nearly been shot in the head after her partner’s pistol fell out of a […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Gov. Abbott proposes freezing property tax revenue in cities that cut police funding
In the hopes of discouraging cities from reducing money spent on police, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he and other state leaders support the passage of a bill halting a property tax revenue increase for any Texas city that cuts its police budget. “Cities that endanger residents by reducing law enforcement should not then be […]
Posted inBudget
Austin cuts 5 percent of police budget, promises to cut more over the next year
Austin is immediately cutting $20 million from the city’s police budget – and council members are vowing to make bigger reductions in the coming year. “I think this is without a doubt the most significant change in Austin’s public safety priorities in generations,” Council Member Greg Casar said after Thursday’s unanimous vote. “This moment is […]
Posted inBudget
Austin City Council proposes cutting police funding by a third. It could vote Wednesday.
City Council members are proposing cuts to the Austin Police Department budget totaling roughly $149 million, or 34 percent of the department’s current budget. Council members are scheduled to vote on the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year as early as Wednesday and no later than Friday. The proposal, posted to the City Council […]
Posted inBudget
Council seeks $5 million for park facilities and trails
As it heads into next week’s budget hearings, City Council is searching for ways to add millions in programs and services to a proposed budget that is already nudging up against the 3.5 percent property tax increase cap Council committed to last month. Council members have identified four areas of need for the Parks and […]
Posted inBudget
Council talks six-month delay for bulk of police budget reform
As City Council struggles to comprehend what it would mean to cut approximately $100 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21, Council members are floating a temporary fix: approve half of the department’s budget during next week’s budget adoption process and return in six months to consider a revised budget for […]
Posted inBudget
Hundreds of Austinites demand city reduce police funding, call proposed budget ‘insulting’
Austinites waited with their phones on hold, some for over an hour, to tell City Council members Thursday that proposed cuts to the police department’s budget were too small. Residents seeking more profound changes called the cuts a “pittance,” “insulting” and a “slap in the face.” “If a budget is a moral document, [City Manager] […]
Posted inBudget
Public Safety budget discussion wrestles with demands to defund APD
Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo gave the Public Safety Committee a public safety budget overview at its meeting on Monday. Much of the discussion centered around the Austin Police Department budget. Community members and some City Council members have demanded that a portion of the budget be reallocated to other city departments. “We have […]
Posted inBudget
Manager proposes tax hike, 2 percent employee raise
Presenting a budget with a 2 percent employee pay raise and no layoffs and a 3.5 percent property tax increase, City Manager Spencer Cronk told Council Monday that his budget proposal meets the twin crises of the pandemic that has “upended our way of life and triggered an unprecedentedly swift economic contraction.” At the same […]
Posted inBudget
What $100M from the APD budget looks like
In response to pressure from activists to defund the Austin Police Department, City Council unanimously approved a series of reforms to APD operations, including a resolution that asks for deep cuts to the public safety budget. The Austin Justice Coalition has asked Council to reallocate $100 million from APD’s budget in Fiscal Year 2021 to […]