Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Orozco, Norma <br />From:Greg Camphire <gcamphire@gmail.com> <br />Sent:Tuesday, June 15, 2021 10:47 AM <br />To:eComment <br />Subject:Agenda item 6: Adopt Ordinance No. NS-XXXX – appropriate monies for fiscal year <br />Hello, <br /> <br />I would like to provide the following public comment in response to today's City Council Meeting regarding <br />Ordinance No. NS-XXXX for the City of Santa Ana to appropriate monies to several offices, agencies, and <br />departments for the next fiscal year. <br /> <br />In terms of spending priorities, I believe that Santa Ana needs to reorient it's budget towards a model that <br />defunds the police in order to refund the people. <br /> <br />Historically, an over-funded and under-trained SAPD has received the largest portion of city revenues. From <br />2014 to 2020, spending on police has increased exponentially by over $24,742,900, a 23.1% increase over the <br />past 6 years. These millions do not exclude the additional $25 million wage increase and the $21 million from <br />Measure X to hire additional officers. At the same time, our police department is one of the deadliest in the <br />country, with 27 shootings per 324,568 residents. Officer misconduct records have been hidden from the public, <br />while millions of our tax dollars have been spent to settle cases related to police misconduct, brutality, and <br />murder. <br /> <br />This council has a responsibility to put residents first. We are calling on Santa Ana City leaders to break from <br />this ineffective and unequal prioritization of policing in city budgets, and invest in Santa Ana residents. This <br />should include education, employment training, and after-school programs; parks, community gardens, and <br />other green spaces; investments in renewable technologies that help mitigate pollution and climate change; <br />mental health services; rent control and affordable housing; immigration and refugee assistance; healthy food <br />access; and other social services. <br /> <br />The safest communities are not the ones with the most police, but the ones with the most resources. <br /> <br />Thank you, <br />Greg Camphire <br />92701 <br /> <br />1 <br />