Austin City Council Green-Lights Police Department Budget Cut

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Aug 14, 2020 04:35 AM EDT

Austin police department — Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Austin City on Thursday joined Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities defunding their police departments.

The Austin City Council unanimously approved a $150 million cut to its police department budget, which is about 34 percent its current total.

The Texas Tribune reported that the budget cut would be allocated for various programs such as mental health response, permanent supportive housing, food access, abortion access, and early childhood coordinator position. It would also include violence prevention. An immediate $21.5 million cut will be realigned to these programs.

The city council approved the budget cut after officers and the city's top cop faced criticism over the killing of an unarmed Black and Hispanic man and the use of force against anti-police brutality protesters as well as the investigation of a demonstrator's fatal shooting by another citizen.

Around $80 million will go into a "Decouple Fund," which will transfer many civilian services outside the police department. These include forensic sciences and victim services.

Councilmember Greg Casar crafted the three-tiered plan to reduce the police department budget. Casar said that when the Austin community organizes for change, he wants to ensure that the council can respond effectively.

"This moment has been born out of a lot of hurt in the community. We know we have a long way to go," Casar said in a report.

About $49 million of the budget will also be used to a "Reimagine Safety Fund," which aims to divert budgets toward alternative forms of public safety.

The council's proposal also includes eliminating 50 vacant officer positions. In this way, the police department will start the fiscal year 2021 without any unfilled sworn positions.

Austin Police Department

The Austin Police Association said through tweets that the proposal is "ridiculous and unsafe." It added that the majority did not want the police department to be defunded.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler said this was not about disrespecting the police department.

"I want to be clear that this budget is not punitive, it is not intended to punish police. We're going to improve public safety in Austin together," Adler noted.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Austin City Council's decision to defund the police department was a political action driven by "cancel culture."

Texas Governor

On Aug. 13, Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement about the council's decision to defund the Austin police department.

Abbott said some cities are more focused on political agendas rather than public safety. He noted that the council's decision puts many brave men and women of the police department at higher risk. Abbott added that this paves the way to lawlessness.

"The legislature will take this issue up next session, but in the meantime, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stand in the gap to protect our capital city," Abbott said in the statement.

Aside from Austin, the nation's two largest cities, New York and Los Angeles, have also decided to defund its police departments.

The New York City Council approved in June a $1 billion cut for its 2021 citywide budget.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles approved a $150 million budget cut. On Monday, the Seattle City Council has approved a budget cut proposal by around $3 million.