Let’s Talk Prop A: A town hall leading up to the November 2 election

Talk 1370 (KJCE-AM) in Austin and FOX 7 Austin partnered to present "Let’s Talk Prop A," a one-hour town hall leading up to the November 2 election. FOX 7's Carissa Lehmkuhl has a recap of the townhall.

AUSTIN, Texas - Talk 1370 (KJCE-AM) in Austin and FOX 7 Austin will partner to present "Let’s Talk Prop A," a one-hour town hall leading up to the November 2 election.

The town hall, which will take place live from the Talk 1370 studios, will be moderated by FOX 7 political reporter Rudy Koski and focus on Austin’s public safety staffing initiative.

The following panelists will be speaking at the town hall:

Pro:
Matt Mackowiak, Save Austin Now
Mackenzie Kelly, Austin City Council D6

Against:
Scott Henson, No Way On Prop A
Carmen Llanes Pulido, No Way On Prop A
Eric Byrd, Austin Area Urban League

The town hall will begin around 4 p.m. and will be carried live on Talk 1370 (KJCE-AM) in Austin and streamed on the FOX 7 Austin website, news app, and Youtube page.

What is Prop A?

Proposition A (Policing)

All eyes on Prop A in Austin as early voting gets underway

It's the first day of early voting for the November election in Austin the main focus will be on Prop A which would beef up staffing within the city's police department. FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak has more.

Prop A would require that:

Austin always employs at least two sworn police officers for every 1,000 Austin residents.
Police officers spend at least 35% of their time in community engagement.
The City holds enough full-term police cadet classes until the department returns to the numbers of police officers prescribed in the 2019-2020 city budget.
All sworn police officers spend an additional 40 hours each year in mandatory continuing education and in-service training (above the hours required by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement), with an emphasis on training outside a classroom setting intended to equip the officers to handle evolving, fluid, dangerous situations and enhance their own safety and that of the public.
Increase pay or paid time off for police officers who speak one of the five most common non-English languages spoken in the city or who participate in a mentoring program for new police cadets; officers would also be eligible for added pay or paid time off every five years if they are in good standing.

Over the next five years, the estimated cost of Proposition A would be $271.5 million - $598.8 million. View a factsheet about Prop A – including the full ballot language here: English version. Spanish version.

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MORE HEADLINES:
Local activist group holds "No Way on A" rally against Prop A
Political rhetoric on Prop A heats up as early voting begins
Early voting gets underway for November election
Three former Austin mayors, Mackenzie Kelly endorse Prop A initiative
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