Government
COMPILED BY ELLE BENT, KATY MCAFEE, BEN THOMPSON
O cials seek federal investigation of APD Travis County District Attorney José Garza and Austin leaders on Dec. 4 asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Austin Police Department’s response to the city’s May 2020 protests. Garza also announced protest-related prosecutions against 17 APD o cers will end, while four remain in progress. The speci cs O cials requested a federal “pattern or practice investigation,” to determine whether residents were deprived of their constitutional rights. Garza’s update on the APD prosecutions came nearly two years after the indictments. Separately, Austin has paid more than $20 million in injury settlements stemming from the 2020 protests.
Travis County readies for immigration law costs A new Texas law allowing local governments to arrest and expel undocumented immigrants could have “enormous” nancial impacts on Travis County, according to county sta . Senate Bill 4 passed in the fall and was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott Dec. 18. The impact Previously, only the federal government could take on most immigration law enforcement including arresting and expelling undocumented immigrants. Violators are now subject to Class B misdemeanor charges and, if convicted, may serve up to 6 months in county jail. The new law could cost millions of dollars locally and put pressure on the Travis County Jail’s already short-sta ed corrections department that had a 32% vacancy rate in November, county intergovernmen- tal relations o cer Julie Wheeler said.
“I think there’s been a perception that the bill would just impact border counties, but any person that’s here that wouldn’t be able to show their
status could be charged with this new o ense. You don’t need to be on the border
for that to happen.” INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER JULIE WHEELER
One jailed person costs the county at least $125-$600 per day, depending on their physical and mental health care needs. That range does not take into account the cost of indigent defense or inter- preters, costs Wheeler expects to go up under SB 4. In August, the Travis County Jail saw 318 inmates with immigration detainers, which cost the county $1.65 million, according to data from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
Austin creates separate homelessness response o ce The city established a new stand-alone Home- less Strategy O ce Dec. 4 after a recent review found its former structure wasn’t e ective. The breakdown
Austin’s new stand-alone Homeless Strategy O ce will handle: • The city’s extensive homeless service contracts • Homeless shelter operations • City and community collaborations to make more housing available • Local, state and federal partnerships • Public space management, including cleanups and encampment closures • Homeless response fundraising • City communications
according to Austin o cials. The reorganization came with the promotion of David Gray as Austin’s permanent homeless strategy o cer. Gray took over that role on an interim basis in late September. The new structure will support an upcoming “joint independent assessment” of homeless services and spending by Austin, Travis County and several other community partners.
The city’s homeless strategy division previ- ously operated under Austin Public Health. The o ce’s spino is aimed at better focusing the city’s work with the local unhoused community,
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT
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