Written by Michael Palomba
While protests are going on nationwide in favor of defunding and even disbanding the police force, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the City Council had something else in mind. On Monday, the City Council voted 8-1 in favor of the proposed 2021 budget. The most significant part of the budget proposal is an additional $27 million in funding for the San Diego Police Department, though there are other key items included.
City Council just voted on a budget with:
-Rent relief and childcare
-Balanced finances and reserves
-Millions for underserved communities to begin systemic change toward race equity as proposed by @GGomezD9 and @CD4MonicaIt's a foundation to move forward, and I will sign it. pic.twitter.com/E9hlF74cJL
— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) June 9, 2020
The City Council listened to more than 10 hours of public comments from callers who wanted a massive reduction in police funding, but the funding increase was approved. The only opposing vote came from Councilman Chris Ward, who tweeted the following after the budget was approved:
I voted against Mayor @Kevin_Faulconer's FY2021 Budget.
This has been a budget year like no other, and I want to thank this community for breathing new life into our public discourse. (1/4)
— Chris Ward (@ChrisWardCA) June 9, 2020
The $27 million funding boost brings the SDPD budget up to $566 million for fiscal year 2021, which is about one-third of the city budget. For fiscal year 2020, the police budget was $539 million.
San Diego Mayoral candidate and Councilwoman Barbara Bry offered a written statement following the meeting. “We did not defund the San Diego Police Department because, to help restore trust in our police department, we need to focus more on neighborhood policing which means recruiting more officers committed to this approach, providing them with better training and support, and strengthening community oversight,” Bry wrote.
Councilman Chris Cate also offered a statement, recognizing the unacceptable tragedy of George Floyd’s death and the need to prevent such an occurrence from every happening in San Diego.
“Everyone (law enforcement or not) expressed the same sentiment regarding George Floyd’s death: it was abhorrent. Changes need to be made. Our city, our leadership, law enforcement, and our communities, are working together to make true and impactful change,” Cate said. “I believe we must continue to invest in core neighborhood services and support efforts to elevate neighborhoods through community based programs.”
It’s encouraging to see that San Diego leaders have their priorities in the right place and are not slashing needed funding for our first responders. The bipartisan budget is an important rejection of the dangerous calls from a small, vocal minority to defund our police. If we want to continue keeping San Diegans safe during these trying times, it’s absolutely vital that we provide law enforcement with the ability to do so.
