An advocacy group in Austin is working to see more blue in the city soon.
Save Austin Now, a political action committee, gathered thousands of signatures on a petition calling for the city to hire more police officers.
"25,600 validated petitions turned in. City requires 20,000," Matt Machowiak, Save Austin Now co-founder, said in a July 19 tweet.
Machowiak went on to say that "November 2nd is coming," with the petition having gathered more than enough signatures to force a vote in the election coming up this fall.
"One-hundred and seven days from now, we are going to have an overwhelming victory," he told The Texan on July 19.
Save Austin Now's proposal includes a minimum of two officers on the Austin Police Department payroll per 1,000 Austin residents, according to KXAN. And if voted in by the community, Austin police officers would be required to spend at least 35% of their shift interacting with the community as opposed to responding to emergency calls.
The proposal comes at a time when Austin's police budget is at an all-time high. KXAN reported that this fiscal year's budget is the highest on record for Austin at $442 million.
The Texan reported that this petition follows on the heels of the Austin City Council slashing the police department's budget by $150 million.
With the ballot measure proposing additional requirements such as an added 40 hours of required training, mandated enrollment in the Citizens Police Academy for city staff such as the mayor and council, and minority officer-hiring affirmative action, Save Austin Now co-founder Cleo Petricek told The Texan that the petition is ensuring "that the Austin Police Department is not solely subject to the city council."
Save Austin Now's initiative is backed by several organizations, including the Austin Police Association, The Texas Police Association and the Texas Municipal Police Association.
As of July 2021, there have been 47 homicides in Austin according to The Texan, equal to the entire homicide total of 2020.