Austin Hasn’t Cut $150M From Police, Mayor Says. Here’s What’s Actually Being Defunded.

TOPLINE

Austin is defunding its police department, but reports of a $150 million cut that would slash the department’s budget by a third aren’t true, according to Mayor Steve Adler, who tells Forbes the city will make moves over the next year he believes will actually benefit police and make it easier for them to perform their primary role: tackling crime.

KEY FACTS

CRITICAL QUOTE

“The only reason to do this was to increase public safety,” Adler said in an interview with Forbes. “You don’t measure how safe a community is by only looking at how much you invest in your police. How much you invest in public safety is a broader question.”

CHIEF CRITICS

Reducing any funding for police has not gone over well with Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who said at a news conference Wednesday that Austin’s plans put “residents in danger and invites lawlessness.” Abbott and other top GOP leaders have proposed legislation that any Texas city making cuts to its police department would lose the ability to raise property taxes, cutting off a vital source of future funding for local governments.

KEY BACKGROUND

Adler told Forbes he believes Abbott’s view is driven by the fact that “the governor doesn’t know what we did.” The mayor said he’s also concerned that the closer the nation gets to the November election, policing will become even more politicized and there will be less of a “very important, needed policy conversation.” Those conversations have been going on in the Austin city government for at least six years, according to Adler, but he said national discussions that started after the death of George Floyd may have helped make the funding shifts a priority this year.

TANGENT 

The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 brought about a national racial reckoning, and cities are reexamining how police departments are funded. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the over one dozen cities that have approved at least some defunding of their police departments. A list of those cities can be found here.

FURTHER READING

Austin Cuts Police Budget By A Third As Defunding Efforts Gain Momentum (Forbes)

Texas Gov. Threatens To Freeze Austin’s Taxes Over Police Funding Cuts (Forbes)

At Least 13 Cities Are Defunding Their Police Departments (Forbes)