WATCH: Austin council OKs budget with $150M in police cuts

The Austin City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a $4.2 billion budget that includes about $150 million in planned cuts to Austin police, but only $20 million or so will be immediately removed from the department’s funding.

The final approval of the budget comes after the council heard months of outcry from community members demanding police budget cuts in the wake of protests against police brutality.

That outcry continued Wednesday, when more than 200 people — most of whom supported the cuts or urged the council to cut deeper — signed up to speak as the council convened.

Before the City Council’s revisions, the initial proposal for the police department’s budget called for about $434 million in funding.