Grace Reader and Brianna Hollis
FILE — Austin Police Department headquarters in downtown Austin (Nexstar File Photo)
AUSTIN (KXAN) — There are more than 50 items on Austin City Council’s agenda for Thursday. Here’s some of what we’re watching.
Pay and benefits for Austin police officers
Mayor Kirk Watson brought forward a resolution aimed at creating stability around police pay in lieu of a police contract.
“Want to send a message to our police officers that ‘we’ve got your back,’” he previously told KXAN was the intent behind the resolution, which has four co-sponsors and includes police pay increases, as well as incentives for reaching a contract agreement.
Below are some elements of the resolution:
- Guarantee current salaries, benefits and the October bonus and hold the police force harmless until we can get to a contract;
- Provide each officer a $500 bonus if APA comes to the table and at least another $2,500 bonus if a contract is completed by June 30;
- Guarantee that, if there is a contract, officers will receive at least a 2.5% pay raise in the first year. That can be negotiated up, but it will start with that assurance of a raise.
Read more in KXAN’s previous coverage here.
Addressing issues at the Austin Animal Center
One resolution could bring changes to the way the city-run shelter operates. The proposed changes include restricting which animals can be released into the community and allowing people who find animals to foster them without a waiting period.
“Working with the city manager’s office, the auditor, council offices, other organizations…these were some of the changes that, you don’t want to say low hanging fruit, it’s things that we could change very quickly,” said Don Bland.
The largest element of the resolution would limit the taxpayer-funded shelter’s ability to release dangerous dogs into the community and change the way dangerous dogs are classified.
As it’s written now, the move would switch the city’s current internal measurement for how aggressive a dog is to the nationally recognized Dr. Ian Dunbar scale. That scale ranges from 1-6.
The most severe end of the scale, 6, is an animal killing someone. The least severe, a 1, is aggressive behavior but no biting. The resolution would require the city shelter not to release any animals at or over a 4 — which requires severe and deep wounds.
You can read more about the changes in KXAN’s previous coverage.
