SAPD grant goes under microscope
In an era of heightened attention on police spending, not even a routine grant aimed at tracking down car thieves can escape scrutiny.
That was the unusual scene at a City Council meeting Thursday as council members probed Police Chief William Mcmanus and city officials on an otherwise standard application for state funds to help pay for the city’s and county’s joint auto theft unit.
Members of the unit hunt down stolen vehicles and the people who stole them. The unit also seeks to prevent vehicle theft.
In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, however, protesters have taken up the cry of “defund police”
— calling for a re-evaluation of how much cities spend on policing. In San Antonio, that’s $479 million — more than a third of the city’s $1.3 billion operating budget.
Reflecting that political reali
ty, several council members took the opportunity to pepper Mcmanus with questions about the grant and how the unit works.
“We’re going to have to really start scrutinizing these a lot more,” said District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, who chairs the council’s public safety committee.
At issue was whether the City Council would allow SAPD to apply for an $800,000 grant from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to fund the local unit — made up of 24 SAPD employees and four from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. The grant covers the cost of seven detectives and one civilian employee, Mcmanus said.
The City Council already set aside the money to pay for the city’s share of the program, about $2.7 million. But it had to give SAPD the go-ahead to apply.
First, council members including Shirley Gonzales, Jada Andrews-sullivan and John Courage had questions.
How long has the city
applied for the program? 26 years.
How many car thefts did the city see last year? About 7,800.
How many cars has the unit recovered? Mcmanus couldn’t say.
Andrews-sullivan noted the council members didn’t get a briefing on the grant before it came before them Thursday morning. Cabello Havrda said such grants should first go through her committee before coming to the council. Gonzales then said they should go through the council’s audit committee, which evaluates contracts.
The unexpected debate over a grant application flummoxed at least two council members.
“Aside from car thieves, can you think of anybody who would oppose this?” a nonplussed Manny Peláez asked Mcmanus.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Mcmanus responded.
Also taken aback was District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, the council’s most conservative member and a frequent critic of city spending. He sarcastically suggested the city should take six months to draft its upcoming budget
given the new interest in an unremarkable grant application.
“I hope we get these kind of discussions on a lot of different areas within the city’s budget and the scrutiny that should be applied to other areas on this budget,” Perry said.
Other council members defended their questioning.
“I think we’ll probably have to start getting used to the questions for most things that have to do with the Police Department coming through here,” District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval said. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
But was this a preview of how council will treat every penny of police spending going forward?
“I think the public expects that kind of scrutiny on everything we do with public money,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said after the meeting.
He added, “It’s not simply about one grant. It’s about the whole long view of the city budget, not just here in San Antonio but across the country.”
After about 25 minutes of discussion, the council unanimously approved the application.