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The proposal would redirect millions of other services like Austin Fire, EMS, and more to the Austin Police Department.
AUSTIN, Texas – The Austin Firefighters Association held a press conference Friday to announce that it has voted against Proposal A in the upcoming November vote and will provide funding to combat the measure.
Prop A opponents say they will force cuts to the Austin Fire Department, EMS, 911 911, mental health services and more to increase the Austin police force.
“We appreciate the Austin Firefighters Association’s willingness to speak directly to Austin residents about the real cost of Proposition A,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler. “If passed, it would lead to budget cuts for city services like parks and pools and positions like firefighters, paramedics and mental health workers. We know this has been a difficult and highly unusual endorsement for the Austin Firefighters Association, and we appreciate their objective approach to this election. “
“The Austin Firefighters Association knows that Prop A will make the Austinites more difficult to keep safe and so the association opposes this dangerous measure,” said Carol Guthrie, executive director of AFSCME Local 1624. “Prop A would force the city to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to hire up to 885 more unaccountable officials, forcing cuts to essential city services and employees such as fire, ambulance and mental health services by channeling their funds to the police.
The association held a special general meeting on September 20 to learn more about the potential impact of the proposal. They heard invited speakers from both sides on the issue of police personnel, including:
- Ken Casaday, President of the Austin Police Association
- Matt Mackowiak, Travis County Republican Party chairman and co-chair of Save Austin Now (Save Austin Now is the group promoting Prop A)
- Cleo Petricek, co-chair of Save Austin Now
- Bill Spellman, former Austin City Council member and published policing expert
- Carol Guthrie, representative for AFSCME, the city of Austin employees’ association
According to a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court last month, the language of choice for Prop A will be:
To approve an ordinance that, at an estimated cost of $ 271.5 million – $ 598.8 million over five years, requires the city to employ at least 2 police officers per 1,000 residents at all times; Requires that at least 35% of patrolmen’s time be unspecified time, also known as community engagement time; requires additional financial incentives for certain executives; requires special training for officers and certain officials and their staff; and requires that there be at least three full-time cadet classes for the department until the staffing level reaches a certain level?
To learn more about the Save Austin Now PAC’s efforts to get the proposal passed, click here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TUly-yJW74
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