City of Austin, police union agree to begin contract negotiations after over a year

After nearly a year of being without a long-term contract and no bargaining, the city of Austin and the union representing officers of the Austin Police Department have agreed to start negotiating this month. As the department continues to be plagued by nearly 340 vacancies, a contract is considered a key component to attract recruits and retain officers approaching retirement or considering leaving. Mayor Kirk Watson told the American-Statesman in January that getting a long-term contract with the Austin Police Association was one of his main goals for this year. However, with the city currently facing a lawsuit related to the implementation of the Austin Police Oversight Act — also known as Proposition A — union President Michael Bullock previously said the union would not be able to reach an agreement with the city until that matter was settled in court.

A main factor of that lawsuit is the use of what's known as a "G-file," a secret personnel file used by the Austin Police Department under state law. Austin voters overwhelmingly approved the proposition last May for increased accountability of police, which included getting rid of the G-file. That file is still in use, though, with the city saying previously that it would be against state law to force the department to get rid of the file. Activists disagree, and it became a main point of the lawsuit filed in December. A judge will hold a hearing on April 9 where both the city — and now the Austin Police Association, which petitioned to join the lawsuit last month — and Equity Action, the organization that sued city leaders, will make their case to a judge who will decide the future of the use of the G-file in the city. Even though this issue still looms overhead, Bullock told the Statesman on Wednesday that he believes the union has found a path forward to begin negotiations. However, he said the union's concerns remain the same. The union is concerned that, by eliminating the G-file, all complaints against officers would likely become public, including those that were investigated and determined to be unfounded.