AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Four months after a unanimous Austin City Council vote canceled three Austin Police cadet classes, several council members are now pushing for starting a cadet class in spring 2021.
The three canceled cadet classes represented a portion of $21 million in immediate cuts - along with the department's overtime budget and some 150 unfilled positions - for the 2021 fiscal year, part of more than $150 million in funding that council earmarked for reallocating out of the APD budget in their effort to "reimagine" public safety.
"I, for one, would like to see us move forward with a greater sense of urgency than might otherwise exist, to do what it takes in order to initiate a cadet class this spring," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said during a council work session Tuesday.
One of the holdups in launching a new cadet class is a review of the department's training materials - something council expected to receive last summer. Adler said it might be possible to move forward with a cadet class while the review of the training materials continues.
"It's my understanding that the APD training begins with several weeks, if not several months, of state-mandated courses that I understand are not currently under review because they're mandatory," Adler said.
As council continues to debate, the number of officers leaving APD continues to rise. A Facebook post earlier this week from the Austin Police Association says more than 40 officers have resigned and over 100 officers have retired this year. And even if the council does reinstate a cadet class in the spring, it will still likely be 2022 before those new officers hit Austin's streets. A typical cadet class spans eight months, with another three months of field training.
Council will also have to find the money for the cadet class, according to City Manager Spencer Cronk. "That would also involve coming forward with budget amendments because all of the money that had been allocated for these training classes was reallocated by the council in August. And so, we'll be working on that," Cronk said.
