Campaign Launched to Replace Nixed County Funds

Following Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to pull $1.5 million in Criminal Justice Division grants from Travis County – political reprisal for Sheriff Sally Hernandez's refusal to comply with noncriminal detainer requests from U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement – a new community-centered funding strategy has emerged. On Friday, Feb. 3, state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, in collaboration with other elected reps and progressive groups, launched a crowdsourcing website to fill (at least some of) the void by collecting tax-deductible donations from the community. The Travis County "Stronger Together" campaign collaborates with local nonprofit Austin Community Foundation to prevent the abrupt end of "crucial" county programs, including drug diversion, family violence prosecution and outreach, veterans' court, and victim services. Abbott is willing to sacrifice services for women, children, and veterans to "score political points" and the campaign is meant to show the governor the "power of love," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez told the Chronicle his initiative sends a message to Abbott that Travis County citizens won't take the misguided punishment lying down. "This is political retribution. Abbott's playing games with people's lives and it's unacceptable," he said. "And he's removing money that doesn't even go to the Sheriff's Office – that's either shortsighted or fool-hearted on his part. When I heard the news, I thought, let's have Travis County chip in and stand up for itself against a governor who has used them as a political example."

What does Rodriguez say to any critics who contend that taxpayers shouldn't have to supply donations to recoup defunded services? "Well, the short answer is that this funding shouldn't have been cut in the first place," he relayed. "The bottom line is that as citizens of the county, we should be able to get these important services."

On Tuesday, county commissioners voted unanimously (with lone Republican commissioner Gerald Daugherty absent) to continue funding the programs impacted by the cuts at roughly $100,000 a month and to begin a three-month rebudgeting process to explore other ways to mitigate the damage. Aside from the crowdfunding campaign, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said the Commissioners Court is likely to dip into reserves to recoup the loss. For now, the court will eliminate four vacant full-time positions funded by the diminished grants, and extend 14 full-time filled positions to May 15. Those jobs could be in jeopardy after that time, but commissioners will assess how the positions could continue based on the costs and benefits to the community.

Commissioner Brigid Shea called the governor's attack on the county "shameful" and pointed out that some of the programs impacted – such as diversion, which prevents jail time – save taxpayer money. Commissioners estimate 5,000 Travis County residents will be affected by the cuts.

Hernandez and Eckhardt have both endorsed the campaign. The sheriff wrote in a Facebook post: "Together, we can raise the funds necessary to ensure that our community's values are represented and that the most vulnerable in our community are receiving the assistance they need." Thanking the fundraising organizers, Eckhardt encouraged those who have created similar crowdsourcing sites to coordinate with Austin Community Foundation. An unaffiliated GoFundMe campaign set up by private citizen Kevin Darryl had raised more than $7,000 before merging with ACF. In its first 24 hours the ACF campaign raised more than $50,000. That figure had shot up to $104,937 by the time we went to press; over 1,560 people have donated so far. Rodriguez hopes to raise the full $1.5 million, saying that if the donation rate maintains, organizers could reach their goal in one month. "It's now up to the generosity of Travis County folks," he said.

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You can donate to the Stronger Together campaign at www.traviscountystrongertogether.com.