Hutto City Council gets police department racial profiling report, update on public improvement district

Public improvement districts and a Hutto Police Department racial profiling report were discussed during Hutto City Council’s March 18 meeting.

The racial profiling report on HPD for 2020 was presented by law enforcement experts Del Carmen Consulting LLC. Overall, HPD made 3,903 stops. Out of those stops, 2,012 people were white, 1,135 were Hispanic or Latino, 653 were Black, 66 were Asian and 37 were Alaska Native or Native American, according to the report. Out of the 3,903 stops, officers made 19 arrests. Seven of the people arrested were white, nine were Hispanic or Latino, and three were Black.

The complete report included data on written warnings, citations and moving traffic violations issued.

Because the report is the first to break down the data with each type of stop, Mayor Mike Snyder said it can be used as a base to assess trending issues in the coming years. Programs, additional training and working with the city’s diversity and inclusion commission can help law enforcement understand issues members of the community may have with them, he said. It can also help the community better understand issues law enforcement faces.

“In order to have that conversation between both sides, the first thing we have to do is have all the cards out on the table,” Snyder said.

Council also passed a motion to hold a public hearing through April 1 over the creation of the Cottonwood Creek Public Improvement District. A public improvement district is a designated area where any improvements or maintenance within the community is funded by the property owners. The district will be located south of CR 199 and west of CR 134 and east of Luna Vista Drive and Foxglove Drive.

City Council’s authorization to create the district would be the first step in the process and does not obligate the city to levy assessment, spend money or issue bonds yet, said Kevin Pierce, an associate with Metcalfe Wolff Stuart and Williams LLP.

The firm projects the amount of overall bonds the city could issue in the future is estimated to be around $16 million, said Richard Rosenberg, managing principal at Development Planning and Financing Group. Developers will fund everything above that amount, he said.