Austin to negotiate one-year extension on police contract ahead of May vote on oversight

Austin city leaders will head back to the bargaining table with the Austin Police Association, the union that represents most of the city's sworn officers, to negotiate a one-year extension of the current police contract.

Wednesday’s vote will put a hold on a proposed four-year contract that was reached by a tentative agreement last week. The council was expected to vote on that this month with the current contract set to expire March 31.

The council voted 9-2, with Council Members Alison Alter and Mackenzie Kelly against, to negotiate an extension to the current contract that the council majority says will provide the Austin Police Department’s police officers with the job security they need, including pay increases and benefits, but with time to allow voters to weigh in on two ballot measures on police oversight in May.

Wednesday’s vote comes after the council last week postponed a decision that would have directed city management to negotiate a one-year extension to the current police contract.

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Council members cited a desire for more time to understand how it would affect the decision of voters on police oversight in May, and if delaying approval of a four-year deal with police officers would have more negative implications than good.

Council Member Chito Vela, who sponsored the move, said in a post to the City Council message board Monday night that this extension is about more than time.

“It is to protect the democratic process,” he said. “Sometimes democracy is inconvenient, but we must always remember that the alternative — defying the will of Austin voters — is worse.”

On Wednesday, from the dais, he said that “public safety is one of the most important issues that the city faces, and we want to do our best to provide a high level of public safety with quality first responders.”

Competing ballot measures on oversight

Last summer, the criminal justice nonprofit Equity Action proposed a ballot measure that it says would strengthen the city’s police oversight system. This came after a December 2021 decision in an arbitration hearing that stripped abilities from the oversight office to investigate complaints of misconduct, the group has said.  

City code allows the office to observe investigations, but Equity Action’s proposal seeks to restore that power completely, according to Kathy Mitchell, senior adviser to Equity Action.

Previous coverage:Austin council, city manager at odds over length of new police union contract

In January, the Austin Police Association financially backed a group that put a second police oversight measure on the May ballot.

The measures differ in addressing how the city’s police oversight system would operate, advocates said.

Several members of the community advocated the one-year contract extension so that residents could vote on the two ballot measures.

“That demand must be democratically weighed and determined by people of this city,” said resident Heidi Sloan “Let’s write a one-year contract and not negotiate against the voters of this city.”

Chas Moore, executive director for the Austin Justice Coalition, also favored not approving a four-year contract, saying there were other ways to improve public safety in Austin, such as improving access to resources like housing and food.

“Fully funding alternatives of public safety,” Moore said. “That is how we will see crime rates reduce. Often people commit crimes because they are hungry and don’t have the resources they need.”

Four-year contract needed, police say

Those opposed to the one-year extension said delaying the approval of a new four-year contract, would give the appearance of unstable labor and management relations, which could hinder the department's recruiting and retention efforts.

Several police officers who testified Wednesday said that because the department is understaffed, officers are filling in gaps to respond to emergency calls, leaving other jobs undone, and without a contract it makes it hard to recruit and retain officers. Several officers also said the union has been in negotiations for more than a year, and this delay was frustrating after the time they spent working on it.

Council Member Kelly felt that delaying the vote "will create unnecessary uncertainly and has already had a negative impact on the morale of police officers."

Alter had similar sentiments, saying she was not sure that the vote in May would achieve more oversight than what is already in the proposed four-year contract. She said fostering trust is not just a function of the police contract, but also happens through policy changes in training requirements to encourage de-escalation.

Austin Police Association President Thomas Villarreal, who testified Wednesday, reiterated that he would not negotiate a second one-year deal, a feeling he shared with council last week. He previously advised council members to reject the four-year deal, and then go back to the table to negotiate new terms.

“We are not going to negotiate a one-year contract until you give us a proposition on a four-year deal,” Villarreal said. “We are not going to spend a year of our people's time to turn around and not move forward.”

City attorneys, who helped negotiate the contract, advised the council that by choosing to enter into a four-year deal, which was not on the agenda Wednesday, they are not choosing between police oversight and a contract. Additionally, they said they believed the proposed four-year contract included new provisions regarding police oversight that were close to what Equity Action’s proposition does.

The council's vote, though, reflected a desire to strike a balance between providing sustainability for police, and allowing voters to have their voice heard.

The new proposal, amended by Mayor Kirk Watson, would give the city the flexibility to negotiate improved compensation and benefits for the temporary extension. Vela said that is proof to police officers that “we are committed to supporting them while we await the May vote, not to replace the terms of a four-year contract.”

“The police (leaders) and city management know what it takes to incentivize people to come here, and what it takes to make people stay,” Watson told the American-Statesman. “By doing this, we are recognizing the value of our Police Department to the city.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin city leaders to negotiate one-year extension on police contract