AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- As the City of Austin continues negotiations with its public safety agencies, the city's Public Safety Commission is set to get an update on two of the three negotiations.
The commission is set to meet at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, with an agenda item set to discuss the ongoing labor negotiations between the city, the Austin EMS Association, and the Austin Police Association.
Lee Crawford from the city's legal department, along with Ken Casaday of the Austin Police Association and Selena Xie of the Austin EMS Association are expected to speak, along with Chris Harris, Director of Policy for the Austin Justice Coalition.
Separately, the city's Labor Relations Office is set to hold a negotiation session with the Austin Police Association on Monday, beginning at 9 a.m. A similar session is scheduled for Tuesday with the Austin EMS Association.
Related
As the EMS negotiations have progressed, the city in April offered ATCEMS employees a package that included a 14-cent raise to the department's entry-level starting pay. Association members, including Xie, called the offer "shameful." ATCEMS had been seeking a raise in starting pay to $27 an hour.
The city countered the association's response, calling the proposal "fiscally responsible." “Our total package was a 51% increase in new money compared to the last contract they approved [in 2018]," a city spokesman said. "The entry-level pay for Paramedics would be more than 5% higher than any other governmental entity in Texas."
Negotiations are expected to continue through the summer, ahead of the city's next fiscal year which begins in October.