The big picture
City and police officials signed off on the deal Oct. 29 at City Hall. City Council approved the contract in a 10-1 vote Oct. 24, and APA President Michael Bullock said 90% of his membership accepted its terms this week.
“Today’s significant because we’re turning the page on really too many years of tension, friction and negativity between City Hall and our police. We’re starting a new chapter, a new chapter that’s all about positive change,” Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Change that recognizes the desire of our community to have both accountability and high police morale. A new chapter that values the role that police officers play in keeping us safe and feeling safe.”
Austin’s latest agreement with its police force will run into 2029. It’s expected to cost the city about $218 million, which will support raises of nearly 30% as well as other incentives Austin Police Department officers will receive over its term.
The contract was in development for months since city and APA negotiators returned to the bargaining table this March, about a year after Austin’s last agreement with the police force expired. City officials opted not to vote on a tentative deal released early last year, and instead passed interim pay and benefit packages for the police department since then.
City leaders have praised the agreement as one that will help stabilize APD and improve its recruiting efforts, while aligning with voter-approved police oversight policies—an issue that played into the dismissal of the 2023 proposal.
Police Chief Lisa Davis said the contract will help with APD’s community engagement, hiring efforts and improvements to officer morale, and put Austin on the map for “policing done right.” Bullock also said the contract represents a new chapter for the police department with firm support from elected officials.
“I do believe that we’ve entered a new era, that we’ve entered a time where we want to work toward common goals, common solutions because we all care about the city that we serve,” he said.
The context
Council members heard hours of public testimony for and against the deal this fall before their late October vote.
The controversial package drew support from community members who said they are concerned about public safety issues and lacking support for APD officers in the city, including a selection of downtown property and business owners who testified about unaddressed crime they’d seen or heard of. Many residents and officials said a contract approval is expected to help bolster the understaffed police force by encouraging recruits to come to Austin, and to retain more experienced officers who’ve been leaving at high rates in recent years.
Much opposition centered on the contract’s record cost and overall budget effects, which some worry will end up limiting spending on other city services or require a vote for higher taxes in the near future. Many also questioned the deal given their negative past experiences with APD and officer accountability, with several residents raising concerns about the potential for oversight provisions to be watered down and some records of misconduct to remain sealed under the language in the agreement.
Going forward
Equity Action, the criminal justice reform nonprofit that promoted the Austin Police Oversight Act in the May 2023 election, took legal action against the city this month given concerns that some oversight measures now in city code may not be enforced after the contract’s approval. The move came after a judge rejected the group’s request to stop council from considering the labor deal.
City and APA leaders gave several verbal commitments to honor the intent of the oversight measures ahead of the October votes. Interim City Attorney Deborah Thomas also certified the new agreement’s compliance with the oversight act this month, another requirement of those policies.
