Tag Archives: Austin City Council Public Safety Committee
Thursday, September 12, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Public Safety
Should hotel taxes and festival fees contribute to public safety coffers?
Austin’s festivals are most certainly a tourist attraction. But does that mean the public safety costs associated with those events should be financed through money earmarked for arts and tourism?With Council’s vote to raise the Hotel Occupancy Tax by 2…
Tuesday, December 5, 2017 by Jack Craver
Police
Public Safety Commission endorses police union contract
Rejecting the pleas of police accountability activists, the Public Safety Commission voted Monday night to recommend the approval of the proposed new union contract between the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association.Both Police Chief Brian Manley and APA…
Tuesday, September 27, 2016 by Chad Swiatecki
Police
Police body cam footage remains touchy subject as court case awaits
While the implementation of a planned deployment of body cameras on Austin Police Department officers is on hold until at least late November, city leaders and public accountability advocates are still working out the issue of how the city will…
Thursday, May 26, 2016 by Jack Craver
Fire
City considers providing fire service to Travis County ESD4
After years of city annexations, Travis County Emergency Services District 4 (ESD4) should no longer have its own fire department, ESD4 Fire Chief David Bailey told the City Council Public Safety Committee on Monday.When it was founded as Travis County Rural…
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 by Jack Craver
Police
Committee wants more specifics from police on body cameras
Activists and members of the City Council Public Safety Committee made clear Monday that they want greater assurances from the Austin Police Department that the body cameras the department plans to implement will bring about transparency and accountability.In particular, the…
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 by Eva Ruth Moravec
Police
500 body cameras soon to be within APD’s reach
The Austin Police Department is inching closer to acquiring at least 500 body-worn cameras, but some close to the process told the Public Safety Committee on Monday that more public input should be sought.This month, APD announced a “pilot confirmation process” with…
Friday, March 18, 2016 by Eva Ruth Moravec
Elections
As May 7 election nears, voting efforts ramp up
Early voting on the future of fingerprinting drivers for hire in Austin begins in five weeks, and interested parties are hard at work educating the public on which button to press at the polls.On Monday, the Supreme Court of Texas…
Friday, January 29, 2016 by Jo Clifton
Austin
Stakeholders to consider digital billboards
Billboard owners are asking City Council for permission to modernize their billboards by making them digital. On Thursday, Council approved a resolution setting up a stakeholder process to try to reach some agreement about whether the city should allow digital…
Tuesday, January 26, 2016 by Jack Craver
Austin
Immigrant rights activists confront mayor over deportations
Mayor Steve Adler engaged in a courteous but tense public conversation over the city’s immigration policies with a group of immigrant rights activists outside of his City Hall office Monday afternoon.ICE Out of Austin – a group pushing for local…
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
Austin
Are digital billboards coming to Austin?
To date, Austin’s billboards have remained as static as the code that regulates them. But some are calling for changes that could allow digital billboards in the city.On Monday, members of the City Council Public Safety Committee voted to send…
Tuesday, December 1, 2015 by Elizabeth Pagano
Austin
Public Safety Committee opts to welcome refugees
In news that will surprise roughly no one, the City Council Public Safety Committee has dismissed a resolution to stand with Gov. Greg Abbott and rhetorically ban Syrian refugees from entering Austin.The committee voted against the resolution and in favor…
Tuesday, October 27, 2015 by Tyler Whitson
Entertainment & Events
Police association proposes SXSW funding fix
Although it is an economic driver for the city, South by Southwest imposes significant demands on the Austin Police Department, which pulls many of its personnel away from normal duties to cover the event every year. The Austin Police Association…
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 by Jo Clifton
Austin
Body camera policies to be scrutinized
After the City Council Public Safety Committee heard from five people well versed on issues surrounding police body cameras, committee Chair Don Zimmerman asked Kim Rossmo, chair of the citizens group charged with vetting public safety issues, to get more…
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 by Audrey McGlinchy
Police
Public Safety Commissioners ask city to go slow on body cameras
The Public Safety Commission approved a draft recommendation Monday urging city staff to proceed carefully before equipping Austin police officers with body cameras.The commission’s recommendations were fourfold: consider any research analyzing the effects of body cameras on police work; devise…
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
City Council
Body cameras roll through Public Safety Committee
The long march to add body cameras to Austin Police Department’s official toolkit took a symbolic step forward Monday night when members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee heard unanimous support from a diverse group of stakeholders.It was a…
