WilCo Judge Blasts Austin For Police Cuts, Asks For Added Patrols
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Days after the Austin City Council voted to strip the police department of funding, the Williamson County judge lambasted the move in a letter to the governor while asking him to dispatch state law enforcement agents to his region, Patch has learned.
A copy of a letter dated August 17 sent by Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell to Gov. Greg Abbott was secured by Patch on Wednesday. In the correspondence, Gravell blasts Austin City Council members for cuts to the Austin Police Department valued at $150 million — including some $20 million in immediate budget cuts and a transfer of several departments away from police oversight to civilian functions, such as interacting with the homeless and dealing with mental health-related cuts. Gravell also addressed the matter during the Tuesday meeting of the Williamson County Commissioners Court.
The move in Austin comes amid growing calls for law enforcement reform following a string of police killing of civilians. In response to the move, Abbott on Tuesday said he would seek legislative punitive measures for any city defunding police centered on the capping of property taxable value at current levels.
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"I am writing to personally thank you for your response to the recent actions of the City Council wherein they reduced the budget of the Austin Police Department by $150 million," Gravell wrote. "The Austin City Council decision places the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families in great peril."
Given the sliver of Austin that lies within Williamson County jurisdiction, Gravell expressed concern the cuts might compromise public safety for residents in that area.
"In Williamson County, there are 55,385 residents that live within the city limits of Austin," Gravell wrote. "I am concerned with these extreme budget cuts, that the citizens of Austin within Williamson County will not remain protected at current levels."
He asked the governor to dispatch additional state troopers to the area for added protection: "Therefore, I am respectfully asking for your help as you are assigning state troopers to fill in the void in law enforcement in Austin, that you assign additional troopers to work with our Williamson County Sheriff, Robert Chody, to protect our Austin-area citizens."
Gravell ends his letter with repeated criticism of Austin City Council while suggesting the move was rooted in political motivation: "It is clear the Austin City Council has abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens and, in turn, citizens of Williamson County. "I will not let politics get in the way of protecting the people."
It's unclear if the governor has responded to Gravell's correspondence. Also unclear is the governor's ability to transfer state troopers within the county for bolstered patrols given his own budget cuts to the agency in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Abbott previously requested a 4 percent cut to the law enforcement agency representing a cut of some $50 million — more than double the amount of the council-led reallocation in Austin, as council member Greg Casar noted in a response to Abbott's contemplated punitive measure.
In a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Austin Mayor Steve Adler eschewed the notion that the council undertook a $150 million police budget cut. Instead, he said only one of three defunding "buckets" called for monetary cuts to the tune of some $20 million. The remaining police budget alterations call for transferring certain functions to analogous civilian functions, away from police oversight. Moreover, he said the envisioned changes would not compromise police response time, even with a plan to integrate 9-1-1 calls into the 3-1-1 city information line.
The Austin council cuts from the $442 million police budget comprised the following:
$20 million primarily taken from cadet classes and overtime in a move to reinvest in permanent supportive housing and services, EMS for COVID-19 response, family violence shelter and protection, violence prevention, workforce development and a range of other programs.
Transfer of police functions (and related funding of nearly $80 million) out of the department over the course of the fiscal year. These include Forensics Sciences, Communications/911 call center, strategic support, and internal affairs.
Create a Reimagine Safety Fund to divert almost $50 million from APD toward alternative forms of public safety and community support, to be delivered from outside APD, as determined through the year-long reimagining process.
"These are not things removed from the police department," Adler said. "In fact, there was no decision made as to if, whether or not, these functions should be changed. But we have started the work already taking a look at those functions. Does it need to be a sworn officer with a gun who's taking noise and sound measurements downtown outside of clubs?" he said in referencing one task undertaken by police. No function was ended, no function was reduced. The council voted to not take a penny from any of these functions."
This article originally appeared on the Round Rock Patch
