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Police Contract Negotiations

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 9:43 am
by Genoveva Rodriguez
Colleagues -

Re: Meet & Confer Contract

Since the December 13th vote to offer extensions on negotiations with the Austin Police Association proposed contract, our offices have been meeting and diligently developing a path forward toward a new contract, one that includes accountability to the public, is fiscally sustainable for the City, ensures our peace officers remain the highest paid force in the state, and allows the financial flexibility to hire more officers. We want to share our intentions with the full Council as we proceed.

Through the past several months, we have run many different contract scenarios and worked closely with the budget office to understand the fiscal side of the previous and proposed contracts. At this time, we have developed a set of recommendations to move forward that we feel achieves these goals. It includes guidance on an overall spending limit and details on other fiscal and non-fiscal items. The details we have developed and agreed upon as a group will be delivered to the new City Manager as soon as possible.

Because the negotiations may take some time, we believe it is critical that we bring forward a Council resolution to set some items back in place for the short term while an interim agreement is negotiated. With this resolution, we will recognize the direct impact to our officers in the absence of a contract and show our effort to move forward with respect and in good faith. We don’t assume however, that any or all of the items put in place in the short term will necessarily continue in an interim or final agreement, but are important to sustain our officers while the process continues. We will be posting this item on the February 15th Council agenda.

We are encouraged to hear that the Association and the Austin Police Department are working in earnest to put their negotiating teams together. We look forward to being a part of this process.

Sincerely,

Council Member Alison Alter
Council Member Jimmy Flannigan
Council Member Ora Houston
Council Member Ann Kitchen
Council Member Ellen Troxclair