Thread by @GregCasar

I’m proposing $93M-$123M worth of changes to the APD budget today. I'm committed to at least a $100M reduction to APD. This will ensure major reinvestment into services that make our community *more* safe. Details below.

THREAD [1/5]

I propose we make our city more safe and just by reinvesting tens of millions of $ to:
-New family violence shelter (we haven't added a single bed in years)
-Permanent supportive housing
-Mental Health response teams
-Victim Services
-Medics and ambulances for COVID

AND... [2/5]

-Violence Prevention Office
-Gun violence intervention
-Substance Use services, including detox and harm reduction
-Food access
-Youth programming
-Abortion access
-Public Health response to pandemic

AND.... [3/5]

Our budget changes will remove functions from APD & make them independent. For example we can:
-Remove Internal Affairs from police dpt. No more APD investigating APD.
-Make Forensics independent. We cannot forget the DNA lab and rape kit failures.

So when is this decided? [4/5]

You can watch the Council deliberations today and Thursday at austintexas.gov. Budget votes are next week. Stay engaged!

We can make our community more safe by divesting from over-policing and reinvesting in strategies that work.