Immediate Reinvestment & Long Term Change plan [budget]
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:30 pm
Colleagues:
Mayor Pro Tem Garza, CM Harper-Madison, and I are sharing with you a joint proposal that aims to incorporate the important amendments that all the Council Members have championed throughout this budget process. The following is our best attempt to incorporate your amendments into one proposal. The goal of the proposal is to immediately reinvest dollars into the safety and well being of Austin, while also committing ourselves to long-term change.
We hope you can support what is below by responding to this post, or giving us your thoughts on this proposal.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
The proposal supports the process brought forward by CM Flannigan re: APD HQ, and allows for continued work on CM Flannigan’s restructuring idea.
The proposal funds the following:
• $4.2M in recurring funds and $1.26M in one time funds to meet EMS needs during COVID-19 and beyond. Virtually the whole Council has made this a priority during our meetings, and CMs Alter, Tovo, Pool, Kitchen, Ellis, Harper Madison, MPT Garza and others have raised this on the message board.
• $565K in recurring funds and $371K in one time funds to fully fund our Community Health Paramedic/Mental Health Response program. CMs Pool and Kitchen both sponsored this item on the message board, along with CM Harper Madison and Alter, and has been emphasized by the Mayor as a critical priority.
• $6.5M in recurring dollars for Homelessness Response, as raised in the budget amendment from CM Kitchen, and builds on the work of CM Tovo, Mayor Adler, CM Renteria, and the whole Council. If we are committed to the recommendations made by our experts on homelessness, then we must fund, at a bare minimum, this amount.
• $1.4M in recurring funds for Violence Prevention, including an office focused on violence prevention. Thank you CM Alter, Tovo, Ellis, Kitchen, and Pool for raising this on the message board.
• $600K in recurring funds and $300K in one time funds for substance use continuum of care. MPT Garza has done important work on diversion from incarceration, and I know this is a priority of CM Harper Madison. I believe this is a critical way for us to stop relying on policing as a solution to substance use challenges.
• $750K for East Austin Rec Centers raised by CM Harper Madison and addressed by CM Alter’s deferred maintenance idea.
• $1.5M in recurring funds and $500K in one time funds for Family Violence Shelter and Protection. Thank you to Council Members Ellis, Harper-Madison, Kitchen, Mayor Pro Tem Garza, and others for co-sponsoring the original item that I authored, and thanks to CM Alter for your continued advocacy on this item.
• $420K in recurring funds and $80K in one time funds for Victim Services. We know how great the need is for this important function for survivors.
• $400K for food access programming championed by MPT Garza.
• $250K for abortion access program sponsored by CM Pool, CM Ellis, and MPT Garza
• $300K for parks programs championed by CM Ellis, CM Pool, and others
• $400K for family support and re-entry programs and $550K for Austin Public Health-Epidemiology championed by CM Harper Madison
• $137K for HOST funding championed by CM Tovo and others
• About $300K in not-yet-earmarked funds for additional critical priorities, at the City Council’s discretion. We know APH needs more funds, I believe we could use more in violence prevention, and there are also requests to address the Fire Department, Workforce Development, etc.
The above is able to be funded primarily by reallocating the money from the three upcoming cadet classes, through a moderate reduction to the police overtime budget, and reduction of the $107M commodities and contractuals budget. We hope and expect to be able to have a training academy that we can be proud of next year in time for a Fall class in 2021.
The above funding plan works in addition to the new investments in Housing Vouchers, the Housing Trust Fund, the Equity Office, Office of Police Oversight, Civil Rights Office, and additional APH funding that were proposed by the City Manager after Council direction in June.
The proposal also:
• Removes from the APD budget functions that are largely civilian functions or that will help us reimagine public safety by removing the dollars from APD. This includes Internal Affairs, Communications, 9-1-1/Dispatch, SIU, Support Services, etc. These functions will be transferred out of APD over the course of the fiscal year, although Victim Services will have a separate process as outlined in the document. This process will be checked-in on, quarterly.
• Places about $50M worth of the police budget into a Reimagine Safety Fund (what the Mayor referenced as a “Transition Fund”), with the specific goal of transitioning dollars away from over-policing and toward alternative forms of public safety. For example: imagining park rangers stepping in for parks police, bringing in civilian crossing guards for protests and special events, addressing false burglar alarms, reimagining patrol and traffic enforcement/traffic stops, reviewing the appropriate #’s of supervisors and administration within the department, etc.
• Requires a quarterly check in on progress toward our goals of reimagining public safety, through Council and the Public Safety Committee. I have great confidence in Chair Flannigan leading us through this important committee process in the coming year. Along with checking in on the progress of Reimagining Public Safety, we should be considering additional restructuring proposals made by CM Flannigan.
• Only authorizes the first 6 months worth of expenditures by APD, as proposed by CM Harper-Madison and Mayor Adler, to ensure accountability for the City and the Council. This 6 month authorization would not delay important work, but instead set a deadline for continued, longer-term change.
The total APD budget approved would be ~$290M, and the amount authorized for expenditure without further Council direction would be ~$145M.
-Greg
Mayor Pro Tem Garza, CM Harper-Madison, and I are sharing with you a joint proposal that aims to incorporate the important amendments that all the Council Members have championed throughout this budget process. The following is our best attempt to incorporate your amendments into one proposal. The goal of the proposal is to immediately reinvest dollars into the safety and well being of Austin, while also committing ourselves to long-term change.
We hope you can support what is below by responding to this post, or giving us your thoughts on this proposal.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
The proposal supports the process brought forward by CM Flannigan re: APD HQ, and allows for continued work on CM Flannigan’s restructuring idea.
The proposal funds the following:
• $4.2M in recurring funds and $1.26M in one time funds to meet EMS needs during COVID-19 and beyond. Virtually the whole Council has made this a priority during our meetings, and CMs Alter, Tovo, Pool, Kitchen, Ellis, Harper Madison, MPT Garza and others have raised this on the message board.
• $565K in recurring funds and $371K in one time funds to fully fund our Community Health Paramedic/Mental Health Response program. CMs Pool and Kitchen both sponsored this item on the message board, along with CM Harper Madison and Alter, and has been emphasized by the Mayor as a critical priority.
• $6.5M in recurring dollars for Homelessness Response, as raised in the budget amendment from CM Kitchen, and builds on the work of CM Tovo, Mayor Adler, CM Renteria, and the whole Council. If we are committed to the recommendations made by our experts on homelessness, then we must fund, at a bare minimum, this amount.
• $1.4M in recurring funds for Violence Prevention, including an office focused on violence prevention. Thank you CM Alter, Tovo, Ellis, Kitchen, and Pool for raising this on the message board.
• $600K in recurring funds and $300K in one time funds for substance use continuum of care. MPT Garza has done important work on diversion from incarceration, and I know this is a priority of CM Harper Madison. I believe this is a critical way for us to stop relying on policing as a solution to substance use challenges.
• $750K for East Austin Rec Centers raised by CM Harper Madison and addressed by CM Alter’s deferred maintenance idea.
• $1.5M in recurring funds and $500K in one time funds for Family Violence Shelter and Protection. Thank you to Council Members Ellis, Harper-Madison, Kitchen, Mayor Pro Tem Garza, and others for co-sponsoring the original item that I authored, and thanks to CM Alter for your continued advocacy on this item.
• $420K in recurring funds and $80K in one time funds for Victim Services. We know how great the need is for this important function for survivors.
• $400K for food access programming championed by MPT Garza.
• $250K for abortion access program sponsored by CM Pool, CM Ellis, and MPT Garza
• $300K for parks programs championed by CM Ellis, CM Pool, and others
• $400K for family support and re-entry programs and $550K for Austin Public Health-Epidemiology championed by CM Harper Madison
• $137K for HOST funding championed by CM Tovo and others
• About $300K in not-yet-earmarked funds for additional critical priorities, at the City Council’s discretion. We know APH needs more funds, I believe we could use more in violence prevention, and there are also requests to address the Fire Department, Workforce Development, etc.
The above is able to be funded primarily by reallocating the money from the three upcoming cadet classes, through a moderate reduction to the police overtime budget, and reduction of the $107M commodities and contractuals budget. We hope and expect to be able to have a training academy that we can be proud of next year in time for a Fall class in 2021.
The above funding plan works in addition to the new investments in Housing Vouchers, the Housing Trust Fund, the Equity Office, Office of Police Oversight, Civil Rights Office, and additional APH funding that were proposed by the City Manager after Council direction in June.
The proposal also:
• Removes from the APD budget functions that are largely civilian functions or that will help us reimagine public safety by removing the dollars from APD. This includes Internal Affairs, Communications, 9-1-1/Dispatch, SIU, Support Services, etc. These functions will be transferred out of APD over the course of the fiscal year, although Victim Services will have a separate process as outlined in the document. This process will be checked-in on, quarterly.
• Places about $50M worth of the police budget into a Reimagine Safety Fund (what the Mayor referenced as a “Transition Fund”), with the specific goal of transitioning dollars away from over-policing and toward alternative forms of public safety. For example: imagining park rangers stepping in for parks police, bringing in civilian crossing guards for protests and special events, addressing false burglar alarms, reimagining patrol and traffic enforcement/traffic stops, reviewing the appropriate #’s of supervisors and administration within the department, etc.
• Requires a quarterly check in on progress toward our goals of reimagining public safety, through Council and the Public Safety Committee. I have great confidence in Chair Flannigan leading us through this important committee process in the coming year. Along with checking in on the progress of Reimagining Public Safety, we should be considering additional restructuring proposals made by CM Flannigan.
• Only authorizes the first 6 months worth of expenditures by APD, as proposed by CM Harper-Madison and Mayor Adler, to ensure accountability for the City and the Council. This 6 month authorization would not delay important work, but instead set a deadline for continued, longer-term change.
The total APD budget approved would be ~$290M, and the amount authorized for expenditure without further Council direction would be ~$145M.
-Greg