In the wake of Thursday morning’s press conference in which Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk and members of the Austin Police Association announced a contract agreement had been reached, the Austin City Council balked at the proposal on Thursday afternoon.
While the four-year agreement remains on the table, the council has directed city staff to craft an additional proposal that would extend the union’s current contract for one year.
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It’s been nearly a year since representatives with the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association first sat down at the negotiating table to hammer out a new contract. The current contract was initially set to expire in September, but was extended through March as the labor talks pressed on.
On Thursday, city leaders and members of the police union gathered to announce that a new deal had been reached: a four-year contract with a concerted focus on police oversight.
“We wanted them [the Office of Police Oversight] in the room asking questions of the actual subject officer, and having the officer actually answer those questions,” said Chief Labor Relations Officer Sarah Griffin.
Austin Police Association President Thomas Villareal said the union was pleased with the agreement, including the increase in police oversight.
“The Austin Police Association is not afraid of oversight,” Villareal said. “We believe very strongly that the citizens of Austin, the City of Austin itself, the department, our members are all better off under contract. We’ve worked for almost a year to negotiate to what’s a fair deal for our people, and a deal that’s fair for the city and I think that we got there.”
Chief of Police Joseph Chacon also sang the provision’s praises.
“Not since the inception of police oversight in Austin over 20 years ago has such a progressive step been taken to ensure police accountability,” Chacon said.
Along with the oversight provision, the new contract also places a concerted focus on recruitment and retention.
“Officer retention is an issue for every police department right now,” said Chacon. “This agreement will lock in officer rights and benefits for the next four years, providing the stability and assurance that officers require to be able to effectively do their jobs, and providing the greatest opportunity for the City of Austin to not only retain the high-quality officers it has, but also to recruit the best and brightest talent for the future.”
The City of Austin expects this contract to become a model for policing across both the state and nation.
