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[Call to Order ]
AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.IT'S ONE O'CLOCK ON AUGUST 6TH, 2024, AND I WILL CALL TO ORDER THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOCATED IN AUSTIN CITY HALL AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
[1. Approve a resolution confirming the City Manager's appointment of Lisa Davis as Chief of the Austin Police Department in accordance with Section 143.013 of the Texas Local Government Code. ]
ONE AGENDA ITEM, AND THAT'S RELATED TO THE CON CONFIRMATION OF THE CITY MANAGER'S APPOINTMENT OF LISA DAVIS AS CHIEF OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 1 4 3 0.013 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE.I'M GOING TO, UH, TURN TO THE CITY CLERK AND ASK FOR THE CITY CLERK TO HELP US NAVIGATE THROUGH ANYONE THAT HAS SIGNED UP AS PART OF A PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS AGENDA ITEM.
MAYOR, WE HAVE ONE IN-PERSON, SPEAKER, AND ONE REMOTE.
OKAY, THE FIRST IN-PERSON, SPEAKER IS ZENOBIA.
MS. JOSEPH, ARE YOU PRESENT? MS. JOSEPH? MS. JOSEPH.
WILL YOU GO TO THE REMOTE SPEAKER? AND IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE REMOTE SPEAKER HAS, UH, JOINED YET EITHER.
WELL THEN IN THAT CASE, UH, WHAT I WILL DO IS I WILL NOW RECOGNIZE OUR CITY MANAGER, TC BROAD.
THANK YOU MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
IT IS TRULY AN HONOR TODAY TO PRESENT LISA DAVIS, ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH THE CINCINNATI, OHIO POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR CONFIRMATION AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S NEW POLICE CHIEF.
THE FEEDBACK THAT I RECEIVE FROM ALL OF YOU ON THE DAES FROM THE CITY LEADERSHIP AS WELL AS COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEW PANELS AND FROM OUR COMMUNITY MEET AND GREET EVENT LAST MONTH WAS RESOUNDINGLY POSITIVE AND CERTAINLY DID A GREAT DEAL TO INFORM MY DECISION TO MOVE CHIEF DAVIS FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS WITH YOUR CONFIRMATION.
CHIEF DAVIS WILL BE ONLY THE SECOND WOMAN AUSTIN'S IN AUSTIN'S HISTORY TO HOLD THE PERMANENT CHIEF ROLE.
AS ALL OF YOU'RE AWARE, CHIEF DAVIS HAS SERVED IN MULTIPLE ROLES THROUGHOUT HER CAREER AND IS SPECIALIZED IN BUILDING COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS AND USING PROBLEM SOLVING AND EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING TO ADDRESS CRIME AND DISORDER IN CINCINNATI, SHE CREATED A CITYWIDE PROBLEM SOLVING UNIT TRAINED TO ADDRESS CRIME AND DISORDER IN CHRONICALLY VIOLENT LOCATIONS, REDUCING OVERALL CRIME, AND INCREASING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN AREAS FOR RESIDENTS.
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT CHIEF DAVIS HAS A STELLAR RECORD IN HER EXTENSIVE CAREER IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT SHE WILL EARN THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF OUR AUSTIN POLICE OFFICERS OF ALL OF YOU AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY.
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT OUR INTERIM CHIEF ROBIN HENDERSON HAS DONE DURING HER TENURE LEADING THE DEPARTMENT OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
SHE WILL ULTIMATELY BE LEAVING BEHIND A DEPARTMENT THAT HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES IN FULFILLING CRITICAL 9 1 1 POSITIONS AND FINDING A WAY TO RIGHT THAT SHIP IN THAT REGARD, AS WELL AS OTHER STAFF VACANCIES AND RECRUITMENT AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND LISA TAKES OVER.
MY SINCERE HOPE IS THAT TODAY WE WILL WELCOME THE NEW CHIEF OF POLICE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND WITH THAT MAYOR, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, WHILE THE MANAGER WAS SPEAKING, ONE PERSON THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, UH, ONE REMOTE AT ONE O'CLOCK CALLED IN.
SO, UM, WHY DON'T WE HEAR FROM THAT PERSON AND THEN WE WILL, UH, I'LL CALL FOR A MOTION A SECOND, AND THEN I WILL CALL FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS BY THE COUNCIL RELATED TO THE RESOLUTION.
THANK YOU, MAYOR MONICA GUZMAN.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MANAGER NIK.
I AM MONICA GUZMAN, DISTRICT FOUR RESIDENT SPEAKING ONLY IN THAT CAPACITY AS A DISTRICT FOUR RESIDENT.
I DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET LISA EDWARDS OR THE OTHER FINALIST AT THE COMMUNITY MEET AND GREET, BUT I DID HEAR POSITIVE INFORMATION FROM OTHERS WHO DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH HER.
I WAS PLEASED TO HEAR SHE ARRIVED EARLY, DID HER HOMEWORK, READ THE CROW REPORT, AND I LOOKED FORWARD TO HER LOOKING AT OTHER REPORTS SUCH AS THE ONE PROVIDED BY THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE ON WHICH I REPRESENTED A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.
I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING HER WITH HER
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THROUGH MY EMPLOYER GAVA, AS WELL AS JUST AS A COMMUNITY LEADER.SO, AND THANK YOU FOR THE WORK COUNSEL AND MEASURE BOTNICK THAT YOU HAVE DONE TO BRING US TO THIS POINT.
THOSE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO COMMENT.
UM, I, AS I INDICATED, WHAT WE WILL DO NOW IS I WILL CALL FOR A MOTION WITH REGARD TO THE RESOLUTION A SECOND, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
THE MAYOR PRO TEM MOVES ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION.
IT IS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
I'LL NOW, UH, ASK FOR COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION RELATED TO THE MOTION.
ANYONE WISHING TO BE RECOGNIZED? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS FOR YOU.
UM, MEMBERS, UH, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION APPOINTING LISA DAVIS, UH, CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S APPOINTMENT OF LISA DAVIS AS THE CHIEF OF AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 1 4 3 0.013 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE INDICATE BY SAYING AYE.
THERE BEING NO VOTES IN OPPOSITION TO THE MOTION AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY BEING ABSENT.
UH, THE MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY BEING ABSENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
ARE, ARE YOU WISHING TO BE RECOGNIZED AT THIS AT YES, SIR.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU RECOGNIZED THAT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY WAS OFF THE DAVIS, BUT YOU DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THAT I AM VIRTUAL.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF PROCEDURALLY WE SHOULD DO THAT.
WELL, YOU, YOUR, YOUR VOTES, YOUR VOTE IS COUNTED.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE ATTENTION.
UM, BEFORE I CALL CHIEF DAVIS UP TO THE PODIUM, UH, SOON AS SHE WANTS TO COME UP TO THE PODIUM, UH, TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
I ALSO, ON BEHALF OF THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL, WANT TO SAY, UH, TO CHIEF HENDERSON, UH, WE THANK YOU.
UH, YOU HAVE SERVED AS INTERIM CHIEF SINCE LAST AUGUST.
UH, YOU'VE BEEN WITH THIS DEPARTMENT FOR OVER 26 YEARS, AND, UH, ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND THE, AND THE COUNCIL AND, AND THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE WANNA SAY A SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU AND MANAGER ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL.
I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU MAKING, UH, PICKING A CHIEF OF POLICE FOR AUSTIN, A PRIORITY, UH, OF YOUR SHORT TENURE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND CHIEF DAVIS, UH, THAT SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD.
WITH THAT, WHY DON'T YOU STEP UP TO THE PODIUM AS OUR NEW CHIEF OF POLICE.
CITY MANAGER, NIK, MAYOR WATSON, AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL FOR THE TRUST YOU HAVE PUT IN ME TO LEAD THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I AM TRULY HUMBLED BY THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INNER CITY GIRL FROM CINCINNATI HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD A MAJOR CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AUSTIN IS NOW MY HOME AND I FEEL VERY LUCKY TO BE HERE.
UM, I'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW I VALUE TRUST AND COLLABORATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE A PD, THE CITY LEADERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO ENSURE A SAFE AND WELCOMING AUSTIN FOR EVERYONE.
UM, I WAS ASKED DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS WHAT I ENVISIONED FOR MY FIRST 100 DAYS.
AND OF COURSE THERE ARE MANY, UM, ISSUES I WANT TO ADDRESS AND CHALLENGES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, BUT I WANT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO KNOW THAT ANYTHING I IMPLEMENT, ANY STRATEGY THAT IS IMPLEMENT WILL BE DONE THROUGH THE LENS THAT IT HAS TO BE EFFECTIVE, IT HAS TO BE EQUITABLE, AND IT HAS TO BE ETHICAL.
AND IT ALL STARTS WITH BUILDING AND GAINING THAT TRUST WE TALKED ABOUT.
BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO LISTEN.
I WANNA BETTER UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE KEY CHALLENGES FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
WE KNOW MORALE, STAFFING, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, AS WELL AS HOW WE ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN.
AND MORALE IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT.
BUT, UM, AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE MORALE IS IMPROVED.
UH, WHEN IT IS IMPROVED, IT SHOWS EMPLOYEES THAT THEY'RE VALUED AND THEY'RE SUPPORTED AND LISTENING TO THEIR CONCERNS AND GETTING THEIR OPINIONS AND HOW WE ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES AND THEN WORKING TO TOWARD THE SOLUTIONS THAT'S IMPERATIVE TO BUILDING MORALE.
BUT I WANNA MAKE A COMMITMENT TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE A PD TODAY.
I WILL LISTEN TO YOU, I WILL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE AND I WILL BE VISIBLE AND I'M CONFIDENT ONCE WE DO THAT, WE IMPROVE THAT MORALE.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION WILL IMPROVE AND THERE'S GONNA BE NO BETTER RECRUITER FOR THE UM, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT THAN THOSE THAT ARE INVESTED HERE.
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AND THEN FROM A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STANDPOINT, KNOW THAT I PLAN TO BE A CHIEF WHO IS IN THE COMMUNITY.YOU WILL SEE ME AT YOUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS, YOU WILL SEE ME AT YOUR EVENTS, I WILL BE THERE.
AND I ALSO WANNA ECHO WHAT THE MAYOR AND CHIEF, UM, CITY MANAGER, RODNICK, SAID, UH, REFERENCE CHIEF HENDERSON.
UM, SHE IS A CHIEF THAT OFFICERS TRUST AND THEY VALUE HER.
AND UNDER HER LEADERSHIP CRIME IS DOWN HERE.
THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT WORK, GREAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE HERE IN THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT LEGACY.
BUT I ALSO AM EXCITED TO COME INTO THE ROLE WITH FRESH EYES AND BEING OPEN TO UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHERE THE DEPARTMENT IS TODAY AND WHERE WE NEED TO GO IN THE FUTURE AS AN ORGANIZATION.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU AND I'M READY AND EXCITED TO GET STARTED.
AND I'LL JUST SAY NO PRESSURE, UH, BUT THE ENTIRE CITY IS COUNTING ON YOU FOR THOSE NEW, THAT NEW SET OF EYES AND NEW LEADERSHIP AND WE HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN YOU.
UH, MEMBERS, THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF THE BUSINESS, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING.
AND, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 1:11 PM THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.