Austin City Council passes ordinance to provide short-term solution on APD compensation, oversight

This comes after the Austin Police Association declined to negotiate a one-year contract extension the city approved last week.

AUSTIN, Texas - During Thursday's Austin City Council meeting, council members discussed important topics such as police pay and oversight.

This comes after the Austin Police Association declined to negotiate a one-year contract extension the city approved last week.

Now, Austin City Council passed an ordinance to provide short-term solution on police compensation and oversight.

"I meant it then, and I mean it now. Everyone is better off if we have a contract. And it is my sincere hope that the union will come to the table and negotiate to make that happens for their members and for the community," says council member District 5 Ryan Alter.

The current contract will expire on March 31, and the city council is hoping to come to an agreement with APA before the contract ends.

"I think it's time for us to stop talking past each other and just trying to blame each other and instead come together and figure out what is the best way forward," says Alter.

Austin City Council approves nearly $5M in lawsuit settlements related to APD

More than $3 million of that will go to the family of Landon Nobles, who was killed by an APD officer in 2017.

In Mayor Kirk Watson's substitute ordinance, it says the city manager is directed to develop and implement a plan by no later than March 31 to address the officer shortage within APD.

"What he's been directed to do, and he will carry out, is to make sure our police officers receive fair and appropriate pay raises this year, create incentives to recruit new officers to work to ensure the police force is fully staffed," says city of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.

Mayor Watson is hopeful negotiations between the city and APA can resume.

Austin police chief Joseph Chacon says this ordinance will help the department in the short term until APA and the City come to an agreement on a contract. But, it will affect the recruitment process.

"You know, not having a long-term agreement makes it tougher to recruit. So that's going to affect my academies. I might have smaller academies. And because of that, I'm having to run more academies so that I can get people in the door very quickly," said Chief Chacon.