Austin City Council approved a new five-year police contract during its Thursday meeting.
Austin city manager T.C. Broadnax announced Sept. 23 the city and the Austin Police Association had reached a tentative agreement. After postponing the original vote, set for Oct. 10, the City Council passed the contract on Oct. 24. The vote follows multiple work sessions within the City Council and a city council executive session in the morning before public comment to speak about the contract’s legality.
Community comments lasted until 8 p.m. The contract ultimately passed on a 10-1 vote with District 9 Council Member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri being the sole no vote on the contract. When Qadri announced he would vote no on the contract, the room erupted with applause.
“I don’t believe this contract reflects the values of the majority of Austinites,” Qadri said. “(I) agree the contract prioritizes the police department from all other city services and employees for the next five years.”
After taking the vote, shouts and comments were heard from the crowd protesting against the now-passed agreement with the Austin Police Department.
After the contract was announced, multiple council members took to the city’s message board to raise concerns regarding transparency and APD’s use of the “g-file.”
G-files are personnel files kept by APD and the Austin Fire Department. A district court recently ruled that the city of Austin has failed to provide the public with adequate access to the g-files.
Watson said during the meeting the city no longer keeps g-files and all information within the previous g-files may be requested by the public.
Conduct and transparency within the police department were common concerns brought up multiple times during the public comment period. Multiple council members said the contract addresses their concerns and will hold the department accountable.
“Austinites today have said very loud and clear, accountability and transparency are a must,” Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said. “Without a contract, our community has less oversight, and while we’ve heard doubts, I believe today’s vote marks a critical step towards accountability and transparency our community expects.”
The contract will now move to the Austin Police Association for a vote amongst their members. Once approved, the funding provided in the new budget will be allocated to the department.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misspelled Council Member Qadri’s name. The Texan regrets this error.
