HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-09-20 Public Comment - N. Rustigian - Police Budget FY 21From:Nicholas Rustigian
To:mehlchris@hotmail.com; Agenda
Subject:Police Budget "21 + a few small concerns
Date:Tuesday, June 9, 2020 10:56:04 AM
Hi Chris and Commissioners,
I want to express my concern for the police budget moving into 2021 after reading the
recommended budget plan. 27% of the budget (+ 5% for pensions) is a large portion of thebudget. I know there's a lot of ins and outs, and I don't expect to see the whole thing slashed
and rebuilt, but my common sense tells me that spending nearly a third of the budget on policeis taking money away from other important areas. I know this doesn't apply to everything the
police does, but policing in general feels a bit reactive rather than proactive--and that's nevergood planning.
I read the FAQs from the police chief and great, seems like they're paying attention. However,
from those remarks, I don't have enough information to be confident that the training isactually effective. Just saying that you do the training isn't proof that it's put into practice--or
even quality training. I'm not asking for proof, but I think the response could fall anywhere onthe spectrum from a total front to A+.
I'm skeptical. Police around the country are not serving the people with empathy and
understanding. We live in a good old boy state with active racism where politicians run on theplatform of 'less government'. My confidence is low, but I hope to be proven wrong.
Where I grew up, being a cop was an undesirable job. Those who became cops were (more
often than not) those who didn't know what to do after high school or college. I hope being apolice officer here is a more desirable and honored position than where I grew up. Though
based on how I feel and what I'm seeing, I don't think it's viewed that way by the people it'sserving... and that's not a good thing.
Therefore I ask you to reconsider those line items in the police budget and see where you
might be able to pull some funding that's set aside for a new car or something and put ittowards a program that will help educate our youth and proactively help our community.
All the best,
Nicholas 'Rusty' Rustigian