Austin City Council reworks budget after Prop Q fails; advocacy groups speak out

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin City Council is starting to rework the budget after Prop Q failed. That tax rate election would've brought in $110 million. 

Council had a work session on Tuesday.

Some community groups are worried about losing more funding as the city reallocates money. 

In an amended budget proposal, the city manager proposed cutting $6.3 million from EMS, $1 million from Fire, $38 million from social services contracts, and adding $3.6 million to the Homeless Strategy Office.

Advocacy groups speak out

What they're saying:

A coalition of advocacy groups spoke out Tuesday. They think money from police department vacancies should go towards programs that could lose funding. They also think the police contract should be renegotiated. 

"That money is sorely needed, particularly for the other public safety departments whose needs weren't met in Prop Q and who were left behind again in this proposed budget," Brydan Summers, president of AFSCME Local 1624, said. 

"Money is just sitting unused. Why not reallocate some of that money to help people? At the moment, the Trump administration is attacking poor people. Why not help us?" Alfredo Reyes Jr. with VOCAL-TX said.

The chief financial officer, Ed Van Eenoo, said in a memo it's not necessary to renegotiate the police contract. 

"In this circumstances, I felt a reduction was not necessary in order for us to do the budget, was not necessary in order for us to fund the provisions of the police contract," he said during the work session.

Michael Bullock, president of the Austin Police Association, released the following statement:

"Public safety is the foundation of everything that happens with our city. Any attempt at trying to scale back our contract would have dire consequences at a time where we are already struggling to fill our ranks. Thanks to the Meet & Confer agreement our attrition rate has been reduced by over 50% from previous years, which is remarkable progress. Going backwards is not the answer and it’s disappointing to see anyone even consider that."

Dig deeper:

One sub-quorum, with Mayor Kirk Watson, Council Members Chito Vela, Ryan Alter, Krista Laine, and Zo Qadri, listed their priorities: 

• $4 million for homeless sheltering and permanent supportive housing
• Additional call takers for EMS
• 24/7 coverage for emergency mental health response through the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (EMCOT)

Another sub-quorum with Council Members Vanessa Fuentes, Paige Ellis, Jose Velasquez, and Mike Siegel, are proposing reallocating $4.4 million to EMS and $500,000 for food pantries at Title I schools. 

What's next:

City Council could vote on the budget at their meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20. 

If they're not done with discussion, there are additional meetings scheduled for Nov. 21, 24, 25.