The council is weighing the financial impact of the proposed police contract

As the City Council weighs approval of a proposed police contract expected to cost $218 million over five years, the city’s budget staff presented a brighter financial outlook Tuesday compared to dire forecasts earlier in the year.

There were no warnings of a $60 million budget deficit by 2029 at Tuesday’s work session. Budget Officer Kerri Lang told the council that city revenues had eliminated deficit concerns.

Lang said the 2025 budget, which took effect Oct. 1, already included funding for a police contract and five-year forecast. The proposed collective bargaining agreement is $2 million over budget, but Lang said the amount would not be a problem.

“The additional dollars included in the contract have minimal impact,” she said.

Lang said that if approved, the five-year cost of the contract would not require a choice of tax rate, although she noted that such a choice would be up to the will of the council.

The handshake agreement between the city and the Austin Police Association calls for an 8 percent increase in base pay this year, a 6 percent increase in 2026, 5 percent in 2027 and 2028 and a 4 percent increase in 2029. Austin police have been out of a contract since March 2023, and the department has struggled to recruit and retain officers in recent years.

The dollar amount of the proposed contract quickly sparked criticism from the city’s employee union, AFSCME 1624.

“The proposed $218 million police contract raises significant transparency and equity concerns for the rest of Austin’s workforce,” the union wrote in an Oct. 1 statement. “While we support competitive wages for our police officers, we must also address the needs of essential services that keep our city running.”

Given these concerns, council members raised questions about potential financial impacts. Council member Vanessa Fuentes questioned how the costs associated with the contract could impact the city’s ability to invest in other public safety measures, as well as public safety personnel and civilian workers.

Lang said that even with the $2 million increase over the already budgeted amount, “the budget is still considered structurally balanced.”

Council members appeared to be reassured that the G-File, which contained information about alleged misconduct and internal investigations, no longer exists and that records of previous allegations of misconduct would be made public through open records requests.

An overwhelming number of business leaders and community members spoke in favor of the proposed agreement.

Representatives from the Austin Apartment Association told the council that tenants in many of their homes are fearful of assaults, thefts, verbal threats and other crimes.

Archbishop Sterling Lands II, a longtime resident who has called for greater police accountability in the past, urged the council to approve the proposed agreement.

“I think it was and still is ridiculous to think about defunding the police,” he said, referring to the council’s 2020 move to shift funding to the police. “This contract is a step in the right direction… We should not only approve it, but also look for ways to change it in the future to ensure we never fall into this hole again,” he added.

Trey Salinas, speaking for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said the proposed contract honors the will of voters who overwhelmingly voted for Proposition A last year, which strengthened police oversight.

“As the City Manager noted, this agreement is groundbreaking for changes in police oversight and it values ​​and prioritizes public safety in light of staffing shortages; This contract will not only assist in the recruitment of new officers, but equally importantly, it will also assist in the retention of existing experienced officers.”

Proponents of more police transparency remain skeptical.

Kathy Mitchell of Equity Action said the language in the tentative agreement regarding the G-file was “deeply unclear.” She said the G-File issue is “too important, and we’ve come too far, to use language that’s not clear to me.”

Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition said, “It’s very interesting to me when we talk about keeping people safe, we’re not talking about the people who aren’t safe because of people like Christopher Taylor,” referring The Austin police officer was convicted Oct. 5 in connection with the 2019 shooting of Mauris DeSilva, who was experiencing a mental health crisis. “I find it very interesting when we talk about security, but we only seem to talk about one side of the coin.”

Overall, however, Moore said the proposed contract is “a big step in the right direction.” He still had questions about the financial aspects of the agreement, which he hopes can be resolved by the council’s vote on the contract on Oct. 24.

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