Texas will punish cities and towns that defund their police by BANNING them from raising property taxes after state officials say Austin 'bowed to cancel culture' when it voted to slash $150M from their cops
The governor of Texas and other regional officials have announced they are banning a raise in property tax for all localities that defund the police.
The move, announced on Tuesday, is designed to stop Texan towns and cities from following the example of Austin.
Last week Austin City Council unanimously approved a proposal to cut the police budget by $150 million, about 34 per cent of its current total, and reinvest in other resources.
'When crime is on the rise, the last thing we should do is defund the police,' said Greg Abbott, the Republican governor, speaking at the Bob Bolen Safety Complex - the training facility and headquarters for the Fort Worth fire and police departments.
Greg Abbott, pictured Tuesday in Fort Worth, announced a proposal to discourage defunding
Abbott, in a wheelchair since 26, said cities that defund police couldn't raise property taxes
He added that any city in the state that defunds police departments will have property tax rates frozen at their current level, according to Fox 26 Houston.
Cities that vote to defund police would not be able to increase property taxes under the legislation.
'Cities that endanger residents by reducing law enforcement should not then be able to turn around and go back and get more property tax dollars,' said Abbott.
He said that such cities were 'more focused on political agendas than public safety.'
From the $150 million saved from the police budget, $21 million would be invested in emergency medical services, domestic violence shelters and programs for the homeless.
About another $80 million will go into a 'Decouple Fund' that will transfer many civilian services, like forensic sciences and victim services, outside of the police department.
The rest of the money, about $49 million, will go into a 'Reimagine Safety Fund,' the goal of which 'is to divert dollars from the fund toward alternative forms of public safety and community support, through the yearlong reimagining process.'
Protesters had been gathering in Austin demanding the defunding of the police department
In June demonstrators gathered outside City Hall in Austin to demand the change
Austin police, pictured August 1, will see their budget cut by $150 million after this week's vote
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said that Austin bowed to 'cancel culture' in its decision to defund law enforcement.
'The unwarranted attack by the Austin mayor and City Council on their police department's budget is no more than a political haymaker driven by the pressures of "cancel culture,"' Paxton said in a statement.
'Unfortunately, the targets of this "canceling" are the brave men and women who selflessly put their lives on the line to keep our families safe.'
Austin has struggled to control crime, violence and homelessness, and the mayor and council disregarded the safety of the capital, the people who live there and the guests who visit, Paxton said.
The Austin vote did not appease activists either.
Communities of Color United, an Austin activist group, was calling for a 50 per cent divestment, which amounts to $220 million.
They also said a majority of the funds are an accounting shift that will allow the police to still access them in the near-term.
How is this bad?????
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