Austin Police cadet class, homelessness spending presentations to go before city council Thursday

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AUSTIN (KXAN) – This is what we’re tracking from Thursday’s Austin City Council meeting:

Update on the 144th cadet class

Some of the main topics of the meeting are not items to be voted on. A consulting firm will present its preliminary analysis of the 144th to the council.

MORE: Advisory group to bring the city an update on the Austin Police’s “reimagined” cadet class

The new, redesigned, revamped curriculum places a strong emphasis on de-escalation, increased volunteering and community engagement for cadets, and new courses on Racial and Police History in Austin, and systemic injustices in policing. The new academy leadership will also aim to change the academy’s culture. In order to do justice to the new content, the course has been extended from 26 weeks to 34 weeks.

Kroll Associates, Inc. also reviewed the former APD academy and made a list of recommendations and goals for the department to implement in future training academies.

Fundraising for homelessness

Austin’s Homeless Strategy Division will also provide the council with an update on spending on the homeless. In April, a coalition of homeless lawyers and city guides set the goal of housing 3,000 people who are homeless in three years.

The latest report, which will be posted online on Thursday, reveals more about the current funding gap. It calls for a total of $ 515 million over three years, with about $ 115 million still needed. 1,300 residential units are required for the second and third year.

Sources of the nearly $ 400 million already committed and anticipated funds include the city of Austin ($ 210 million; 52%), the state of Texas ($ 92 million; 23%), Travis County ( $ 57 million; 14%), Austin Housing Authority ($ 22 million; 6%), private donors ($ 16 million; 4%), and homeless service providers ($ 4 million; 1%) . It should be noted that more than half of the city’s contribution comes from federal economic funds.

You can find a more detailed breakdown here.

Vote on trail collaboration

The city will gradually hand over the maintenance of the hiking and cycling path to the Trail Foundation until a vote in the council is available. This would include lawn and tree maintenance, invasive removal, toilet maintenance and trailing edge vegetation, according to Council documents.

The Trail Foundation would also offer free family activities, nature-based programs for all ages, cultural activities and public arts, and additional recreational opportunities. All income from special events and rentals will benefit the park directly through operations, maintenance, programming or park improvements.

Community health workers and COVID-19 prevention

The city plans to use federal funding to train, deploy, and engage health workers in the community that will facilitate COVID-19 prevention and vaccine use, door-to-door contacts, and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors.

This would target individuals in Travis County’s Eastern Crescent to address the underlying social and chronic disease factors that negatively impact the people of the area. Five organizations will provide services under this scholarship: the University of Texas Dell Medical School, CommUnityCare, the People’s Community Clinic, the Austin City Housing Authority, and Foundation Communities.

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