Pflugerville council tosses resolution, amid public outcry

The item in question was Resolution 0508 which is worded: "approve a resolution encouraging the courts to sentence criminals convicted of drugs or violent acts to the maximum punishment allowed by law." 

City council member Mike Heath drafted this resolution and says he wrote this because of the recent Austin bombings ordeal and shootout in Pflugerville that followed after. He says it was all with good intentions to keep Pflugerville safe. 

However, opponents argued that the resolution would “over criminalize” certain people for minor offenses like drug infractions. 

“The appropriate method of mitigating issues like this is social services. The money we put into keeping this perpetual system of mass incarceration, can easily be placed in social services, it could easily be poured into schools,” said Meme Styles, founder of Measure Austin.

At a city council meeting Tuesday night, Heath apologized for bringing the resolution to the agenda, and offered to work with council and the community on a better solution to crime.

“The language I chose obviously wasn't achieving what we wanted to do with our community. It didn't talk about how we are one community and how we are going to work together,” said Mike Heath, Pflugerville City Council.