Austin's very funded police dept
The city is poised for another big APD increase.
For the second consecutive year, City Council is poised to approve a big increase in police funding. Before I go into the details, I'd like us to take a walk down memory lane...
Was APD ever 'Defunded'? What does that even mean?
Back in 2020, the Austin City Council sorta almost did something quite radical.
In essentially froze new hiring by canceling three planned police academy classes. It took the roughly $20 million freed up from the academy classes and vacant positions and reallocated it to homeless housing, violence prevention programs, EMS, etc.
Council moved $80M of civilian functions, such as the 911 Center, out of the Police Department. So this money wasn't "cut," it was just moved. Finally, Council flagged $49 million of police functions for future elimination.
Adding these figures together is how you get to the infamous $150 million "defunding" claim.
Suffice it to say, all of that money and much more was eventually restored, both in response to a shift in Council politics and a 2021 state law that essentially barred cities from ever cutting their police budgets.
So, is there any merit to the ubiquitous claims (from police, pols, pundits) that Austin's public safety continues to suffer as a result of a "defunded" police department?
