Government
Third-party oversight of APD training reforms ends Continuing reforms at the Austin Police Depart- ment’s cadet academy will be left up to police leadership, after the APD was reportedly slow to adopt or resisted such changes during extended third-party supervision. The specifics Academy outcomes Quit, failed testing or kicked out Graduated/currently enrolled 22
TravCo OKs tax cuts for child care centers Qualified child care centers in Travis County can now apply for a 100% property tax exemption this tax year. The context County officials hope to lower expenses for both child care facilities and families. The new policy follows the passage of Proposition 2 in November, allowing local tax breaks for child care centers. The move also comes as the federal relief funding given to child care centers during the pandemic is expected to expire by the end of this year, according to a news release. “Today marks a historic milestone in providing relief for working families as Travis County faces the highest child care costs in the state of Texas,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said.
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Training reforms were enacted following a city- launched review into APD’s culture, pausing all cadet classes in late 2019 and early 2020. Seven cadet classes have graduated under a rebooted model since the academy reopened in 2021, although analysts and some community members said more work is needed to cement the process forward due to internal pushback. City leaders have contracted with advisory firm Kroll Associates, Inc. to review several aspects of APD operations, particularly cadet training. In March, the Kroll team wrote that the depart- ment overall was “appearing to do just enough to suggest progress without completely embracing
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May 2023
summer 2024*
Sept. 2023
Jan. 2024
April 2024
GRADUATION DATES
*IN PROGRESS
SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
and accepting the hard work of change.” The APD remains short hundreds of budgeted officer positions despite focus from the police department on recruitment.
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