AUSTIN, Texas – The Austin Police Department and Austin-Travis County EMS met with community members to provide insight on the departments’ policing, staffing levels, and to provide safety tips.

“We do a community connect event every quarter, so we get to come together with all of our community members and invite them out. We just get to hear from the community and ask them ‘hey, what questions do you guys have?’”says Austin Police Department Lt. Christopher Casto.

A full PowerPoint presentation at the Austin Recreation Center, allowed dozens of residents an opportunity to review policing, safety, tips and resources available in Central West Austin and around The University of Texas.

“Today, we are actually talking about heat safety and water safety and some of the specifics that we have done lately around the 360-boat ramp area,” says Lt. Christopher Casto.

According to the police department, the decision was made to have additional parking enforcement near the 360-boat ramp due to congestion. Austin Travis County EMS displayed the steps to take when overheating. The Lake Patrol Unit went over the guidelines for being on the water.

Residents chimed in on recent issues they were facing in their communities.

“Folks were complaining about the speeding and the reckless driving on motorcycles up and down 2222. We put out a speed trailer that actually collected data so that we can find out where and how bad the problem actually is,” says Lt. Christopher Casto.

MORE STORIES:

Those in attendance also addressed the increase in property crime. Records from APD show an 11% hike in property crime for the month of June, compared to the same time last year.

“We don’t see everything, we can’t see everything. We have lower staffing numbers right now, and we cannot see all the different crimes that are happening,” says Lt. Christopher Casto.

APD says there are nearly 500 vacancies in the police department. The quarterly meeting allows the department to learn more about the community’s needs.

“I can actually get some of our folks on board to go and investigate some of those things in those areas, to kind of help quell some of those community concerns,” says Lt. Christopher Casto

As a result of the shortage, the department says to only contact 911 for crimes in action and 3-1-1 if the crime is not in action.

One North Texas city and two Central Texas cities are among the best places in the country for renters to live in 2024, according to a recent RentCafe study.

RentCafe compared cities nationwide along 20 metrics related to cost of living and housing, the local economies and quality of life.

The South was the top region in the study with its cities accounting for 38 out of the top 50 for renters to live.

McKinney ranked fourth overall, followed by Round Rock in sixth and Austin in seventh.

RentCafe attributed McKinney’s high ranking to its lower-than-average cost of living, high-end apartments in coveted locations and quality schools.

“With its small-town feel and a strong sense of community, McKinney is an ideal choice for renters who want to escape the bustle of the city without compromising on urban comfort,” said Adina Dragos, RentCafe writer. “Boasting a variety of parks, farmers markets and local businesses — all centered around its historic downtown — McKinney is a big draw for both young professionals and students.”

McKinney was also a standout in specific categories, ranking second in housing and cost of living and ninth in quality of life. Round Rock and Austin ranked high in the housing and cost of living category at third and 15th, respectively.

If you’re looking for a good deal on an apartment in Central Texas and quality of life isn’t as important, consider San Marcos. This city ranked first in cost of living and housing for its lower than average costs at 9.6% less than the national rent average and fairly large apartments averaging 996 square feet.

San Marcos was also found to be the worst city for quality of life due to having no apartments in “top locations” and only 4% of residents using public transportation or walking. However, if you’re a homebody and don’t mind having to drive to get around, then San Marcos may still be a viable option.

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – An East Texas organization is helping raise scholarship money for students looking to enroll with UT-Austin.

Texas Exes is involved in the community and they give east Texans the with scholarships to attend UT-Austin. The President of the organization, Dr. Jerry Scharzbach, shared what he really likes about his organization.

“Love raising money for kids. This year we raised, given out some $18,000 in scholarships to kids so super happy and proud about that.”

Dr. Scharzbach explained the application process for students who are interested.

“We have a scholarship committee so we all rate them individually. The chairman tabulates everything. Gives out scholarships. We do a lot of other things too, we do community service through Earl Campbell parkway, four times a year.”

They will be meeting at True Vine Brewery on August 17th and November 1st.

“Whoever wants to come out and join us come on, we meet out in front of the brewery there on Earl Campbell.”

Copyright 2024 KLTV. All rights reserved.