Caught in a tug of war over dollars and duties, Travis County and the Austin Police Department (APD) are at odds about the cost of crucial magistration services. As the city's Council preps to review an interlocal agreement next week, the sticker price presented is a hefty $9.9 million.
Just this Monday, APD Chief of Staff Jeff Greenwalt dropped a bombshell, claiming Travis County had initially wanted to nearly double their ask to a whopping $14.5 million. Yet according to a reply to the Austin Monitor, Travis County firmly denies ever floating such a number. Hector Nieto, Travis County's public information officer, countered to clarify that the original proposal was $10.9 million, "with the caveat that we needed the city's updated expenses so we could fairly refine that model."
Council Member Chito Vela, with his lawyer's eye and regional law practice background spanning 25 counties, praises Travis County's system as the best in Texas. Yet Monday, Greenwalt hinted at cost-saving measures, suggesting APD could take on Travis County’s pretrial service duties come February, though he did to grudgingly admit the task's complexity.
Breaking it down, the magistration deal involves evaluating arrestees for cash-less bond eligibility and checking for substance abuse issues — crucial checks in a system struggling to right-size responses to mental illness behind bars. Vela, in fact, pointed out the legislation now requiring agencies to perform such services that Travis County has pioneered. Nevertheless, Vela is skeptical the APD can offer a trimmer or more efficient solution, telling the Austin Monitor, "I don't understand the goals" of the APD proposal and expressing concern about potentially "less informed magistration decisions."
Amid the frayed dialogue, there's a subtext about equitable contributions. Vela raised the question of whether every jurisdiction, such as Manor or West Lake Hills, is ponying up its portion. Nieto outlined to the Austin Monitor that Austin is on the hook for precisely their slice of the jail bookings—a solid 65 percent for 2022, making sure "they do not subsidize other governmental entities that also use Travis County’s magistration process."
However, with the Council's evaluation looming and the APD's cost-saving pitch in the pipeline, the debate is primed to continue as stakeholders weigh justice against the bottom line.
