AUSTIN, Texas — As the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association (APA) fight over a new police union contract, a new measure has been put in place to make sure officers keep getting salaries and benefits if the current contract lapses.
City leaders say Item 61, in addition to maintaining the current pay and benefits in place for officers, will also keep police oversight in mind.
"Please support a 4-year contract. We need public safety in high crime areas in the city," said those speaking during Thursday's city council meeting's public comment.
With no new contract approved for the APA, the question remains: What will happen when the current contract expires on March 31?
"[The resolution] allows us to extend current benefits that were negotiated in the existing contract so that our officers have stability in their pay and their benefits," Councilmember Alison Alter (District 10) said.
On Thursday, the council approved the resolution to act as a stopgap measure to preserve some officer benefits and oversight measures in case the current contract lapses.
"We have lifted up our public safety servants who do the work that we ask them to do to keep us safe and help us feel safe with the action we took today," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said.
Austin Police Department Chief Joseph Chacon said this provides at least some security that the officers need.
"It's designed to uphold our officers and keep officers in the department while at the same time kind of incentivizing them to get back to the table," Chacon said.
This resolution also directs Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to start working on more benefits for officers that could create a larger incentive to bring the union back to the negotiation table.
"Some people have wanted to say these things are mutually exclusive oversight, as well as taking care of officers. And I think what's been demonstrated today is that you can have both," Garza said.
Local leaders all agree that having an official, new contract would be a better solution, but this resolution would protect officers and oversight measures come April.
"Not having a long-term agreement makes it tougher to recruit," Chacon said. "So that's going to affect my academies. I might have smaller academies."