Individual and Group Endorsements, Volunteer!
Endorse the Community Investment Budget! Help us shift city spending to address our most urgent needs and make all of Austin safer: increased pay for medics and other emergency health personnel (low wages have created the highest vacancy rates among our city departments,) rental assistance and other services to prevent families from falling into homelessness, harm reduction programs to address overdose deaths, cooling and warming centers to help people during our increasingly frequent weather emergencies, gun violence prevention programs, child and youth programming at our parks and community centers, better park maintenance and park rangers for security and enjoyment of all our parks, workforce development and much more. These are some of the ways the City can help Austin families be safe and secure.
Monitor police contract negotiations! Starting March 13, 2024 at 10am the City of Austin will bargain for a new police contract with the Austin Police Association. The last two police contracts to emerge from this process undermined police oversight. The ballot measure passed by voters last year should help, but we had to sue the city to get the oversight ordinance implemented and the city is waiting for a court decision on the most important provisions. If we do not want these negotiators to send another unacceptable contract to Council, then we have to monitor this process closely. Help us cover these meetings and let city negotiators SEE that we are there, we care, and we expect the new contract to abide by the Austin Police Oversight Act in full!
Attend budget hearings and events! Stand with Equity Action as we push right now for Council to fund urgent needs in our community, and then put those programs into the “baseline” budget — showing our commitment to continuing to assist those in need, not just once, but ongoing.