Former police chief Art Acevedo set to make $271K for new City of Austin job

When the former police chief returns to Austin for his newly created job with the City, Art Acevedo is set to receive $271,000 to advise the department he previously led for a decade.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the former police chief returns to Austin for his newly created job with the City, Art Acevedo is set to receive $271,000 to advise the department he previously led for a decade.

A city spokesperson confirmed that dollar figure Monday afternoon when KXAN sought information about Acevedo's hiring. Last week interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced he's bringing back the former Austin police chief to serve as an interim assistant city manager responsible for working with the department.

The spokesperson also said that money will come from the city's general fund.

Acevedo is set to start working for the city again by the end of this month. However, an Austin spokesperson did not specify what day that would be exactly.

In a city memo to the mayor and city council members, Garza said Acevedo in this new role will report directly to him. There’s already an assistant city manager, Bruce Mills, who oversees all of public safety. However, Acevedo’s new position will focus specifically on the police department.

"I sincerely believe that APD deserves to have this focused level of support," Garza wrote in the memo, "and I am optimistic with these additional resources to help bolster our APD that we will continue to see success and movement on addressing any challenges."

A city spokesperson said the interim city manager was unavailable Monday for an interview.

Council members met with Garza

A group of Austin City Council members — Alison Alter, Ryan Alter, Zo Qadri, Paige Ellis and Natasha Harper-Madison — met Monday afternoon with Garza to ask questions about Acevedo's hiring.

Qadri said he'd like to find out more about the pay for the newly-created position. He also shared his reaction when he learned Acevedo got this job.

"My initial reaction was very shocked and honestly very confused," Qadri said, "because we currently have an assistant city manager that oversees relationships with APD."

Ryan Alter said he agreed with Garza's idea of having someone at the city management level focused solely on police.

"I completely understand why [Garza] is trying to do this. We have certain challenges as it relates to APD and so this is someone who has a wealth of experience — not only within our department, but others — to help us try to solve some of these really challenging and persistent issues," Alter said. "But despite kind of thinking outside the box on this one, I just think it's a stretch too far. While I understand why he might be trying to do this, I just I don't think it's the right fit."

In an update posted Monday evening on the council message board, the members said they met with Garza and “expressed serious concerns with Mr. Acevedo’s record at the Austin Police Department.”

“The Interim City Manager has heard all of the concerns voiced and will meet with his team on next steps in the coming days,” the message ended.

During the past few days, several council members along with Travis County District Attorney José Garza criticized the announcement. They said their opposition to his hiring is related to how the police department during his tenure mishandled sexual assault investigations. The city reached a multi-million dollar settlement with 15 survivors who sued over claims that several agencies, including Austin police, failed to properly look into their cases between 2006 and 2019.

"I am hopeful and optimistic that we might be able to find a different path forward that still accomplishes the same goals that we need to go do to make the department stronger," Alter said ahead of meeting with the interim city manager Monday.

At an event this weekend honoring sexual assault survivors, José Garza mentioned Acevedo’s return in his remarks, saying that many of the changes implemented from the lawsuit were related to errors in leadership made during Acevedo’s time at APD.