Abbott’s cleanup order duplicates Austin effort
AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering the state to conduct weekly cleanups of homeless camps beneath Austin highways starting Monday, in an escalation of his battle with city officials over their policy to permit public camping.
The work, however, is already being done by the city, meaning 17 encampments under major highway overpasses could be cleared of debris and trash as many as five times a month by the same contractor, used both by the city and the Texas Department of Transportation.
“We are already in contact with TxDOT, and will continue to make sure our services do not overlap,” said Kyle Carvell, a spokesman for the Austin’s Public Works Department. “The City will work with our contractor to reallocate our resources to other locations, given this announcement.”
It’s not clear why Abbott is ordering the Department of Transportation to duplicate the city’s work or what the cost will be to the state. His office did not respond to questions about whether those living in the encampments will be allowed to return once the cleanup is over, as has been the past practice.
A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation said there is no law that would prevent people from returning to the sites after the work is done. Abbott’s office announced Friday the cleanups will be conducted weekly.
“Gov. Abbott has been clear
that unless the City of Austin demonstrated improvements to protect public health and safety, the state of Texas would step in to address this crisis,” spokesman John Wittman told the Texas Tribune earlier this week. “The Governor is following through on that promise.”
Abbott’s intervention comes amid his escalating frustration with city leaders over a controversial June policy that lets people camp in most public places, including on sidewalks. Most of Abbott’s criticism has played out on social media, where he’s asked residents to post pictures of unsafe conditions that he has then used to shame city leadership and Austin Mayor Steve Adler.
“Panhandler threatened to stab woman when she refused to give him money,” Abbott tweeted last month, linking to a news story about an Austin incident. “Constant crimes like this is compelling the State to step in.”
Critics say, however, some of his posts have been misleading. One video Abbott Tweeted last week, of a man throwing a sign at a car downtown, was from an incident in February 2018, the man’s attorney said.
The man’s sister, Aretha Carter, said her brother isn’t homeless and suffers from mental illness.
“My brother, his whole life, they always tortured him because of his disability,” Carter said. “Then you see people supposed to be smart doing stuff like that, and they know better. He has been bullied enough.”
Thousands of people in other major Texas cities experience homelessness, including in Houston and San Antonio, though Abbott has directed his ire at Austin.
Eric Samuels, President and CEO of the Texas Homeless Network, said he suspects that is because Abbott lives in Austin and homelessness has become more visible since the city’s public camping policy took effect.
“More visible doesn’t mean more,” he said.
The Austin City Council in June loosened bans on camping, sitting or lying down on public sidewalks, and panhandling, with supporters arguing homelessness shouldn’t be criminalized. But the move prompted fierce pushback from some business leaders, residents and Republicans across Texas, who complained it made the city less clean and more dangerous.
Abbott warned city officials last month he would deploy state law enforcement and other agencies if they didn’t take action to resolve the issues. Though the city voted last month to rollback some provisions of the new policy, Abbott still opted for an intervention.
Beyond the cleanup, the state’s public health department is ordering the city to submit a map of all large homeless encampments and to regularly report on infection diseases and incidents of injury.
“Anecdotal evidence indicates that there may be an increased health risk due to conditions surrounding homeless encampments throughout Austin,” Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services John Hellerstedt wrote in a letter to city officials this week.
There will be officials from Integral Care — a nonprofit that offers mental health care in Travis County — at the cleanup Monday, helping to connect people experiencing homelessness to services.
Mayor Steve Adler has been largely silent since Abbott announced the interventions. He did note on Twitter, however, that state signs posted at the cleanup sites are directing people to services at homeless shelters that already are full.