2023 LOCAL VOTER GUIDE
A tentative four-year police contract is announced. FEB. 9
Austin City Council votes to pursue a one-year contract and restart negotiations with the APA. FEB. 15
Council res then-City Manager Spencer Cronk partly due to his handling of a four- year police contract. FEB. 15
MARCH 2
Election day MAY 6
FEB. 17
The police contract is set to expire. MARCH 31
City o cials announce they will increase o cer salaries by 4% and o er incentives for new recruits if the contract expires.
APA o cials say they will not negotiate with the city on a one-year contract.
Q & A
Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability: a political group behind Proposition B with funding from the APA.
Election results matter The decisions made by vot- ers on the two measures will a ect future negotiations on a long-term contract, according to city o cials. “The limitations on police oversight are largely due to limitations written into the police contract,” Mitchell said. “We have to come back to the table after the election, because at that point the vot- ers will have voted on what oversight should look like.” Both propositions can pass, or neither. If both pass, the agreeing provisions will be implemented, according to city o cials. If only Prop. A passes, not all of its provisions can be immediately implemented, according to city sta . Many of its oversight provisions require the APA to agree upon them in a contract, and some may con ict with state law. If only Prop. B passes, all of its provisions can immedi- ately be implemented.
VOPA removes the anony- mous complaint system for the O ce of Police Oversight. “The O ce of Police Over- sight is absolutely necessary,” said Melinda Rodriguez, pres- ident of the Austin Citizen Police Academy Alumni Asso- ciation, a nonpro t of acad- emy graduates who support the APD. “I don’t think the police department is opposed to that at all. I think that the ne line here is what informa- tion [the O ce of Police Over- sight] has access to.” An expired contract Due to the pending con- tract expiration, council approved an ordinance Feb. 23 for a stopgap bene ts pack- age to prevent retirements and promote recruiting in the APD. Developed by interim City Manager Jesús Garza, the package includes a 4% pay increase and up to $15,000 in incentives for new cadets. “The police o cers need to feel like we’re behind them,” Garza said. Last year, the APA and the city began negotiating for a new four-year contract. A tentative contract was
to APA President Thomas Villarreal and the organiza- tion’s general email address received no response. “If they were to go back and negotiate, which would likely take about another year, a one-year contract doesn’t do anything on the recruiting front,” Rodriguez said. “They’re trying to entice future hires coming to a city where there’s only a one-year contract that could change at any point.” As of Feb. 27, Pattie Feath- erston, executive director of the Austin Police Retirement System, said 282 members, about 15% of o cers, could potentially access retirement, including 148 who are fully eligible for bene ts. Through the rst two months of 2023, 50 o cers have retired, and 27 more are in the process, Featherston said. Last year, a total of 97 o cers retired. The department had a roughly 15% vacancy rate for sworn o cers with 264 un lled positions out of 1,812 authorized roles as of Feb. 27. It also had 68 cadets in training.
announced Feb. 9, but coun- cil did not formally consider the contract. On Feb. 15, council red then-City Manager Spencer Cronk, partially for support- ing the four-year contract after council decided it wanted to wait for the out- come of the election before sealing a deal, according to Mayor Kirk Watson. Hours after Cronk’s ring, in a 9-2 vote, council decided to renegotiate with the APA on a one-year contract instead, which Cronk said would weaken oversight and slow recruitment e orts. “We have to check in with the voters before we do any- thing else. Let folks weigh this; let them think about it; let them vote,” District 4 Council Member Chito Vela said Feb. 15 at a special coun- cil meeting. “If the voters of Austin give us a direction and say, ‘You know what, we do want to lead the nation in police accountability and oversight,’ then so be it.” On Feb. 17, APA o cials said they would not renegoti- ate with the city. Request for comment sent
The stopgap measure includes a 4% pay increase for o cers below the rank of assistant chief and an incentive of up to $15,000 for new cadets. What bene ts will police receive from the ordinance? No , due to an ordinance passed by Austin City Council Feb. 23. Will police lose bene ts when the contract expires March 31? Even if voters approve propositions, some provisions would have to be enacted through contract talks. Will the May election results a ect a new contract? As of Feb. 27, about 15% of sworn o cer positions are vacant. There are 1,548 sworn o cers out of 1,812 budgeted positions. What is the current sta ng level at the Austin Police Department? 50 have retired and 8 resigned as of Feb. 27. How many o cers have retired this year?
For more information, visit
SOURCES: AUSTIN POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT
community impact.com .
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • MARCH 2023
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