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June 111h, 2013 Dear City Manager O'Rourke, Mayor Pulido and Councilmembers Amezcua, Benavides, Martinez, Reyna, Sarmiento, and Tinajero, SACReD, the Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development, believes strongly in the importance of openness, transparency, and participation in city government. Throughout the budget forums and education established by the Sunshine Ordinance, community members have had the opportunity to learn and participate in our city's budget process. We greatly value this opportunity for civic engagement, and appreciate the efforts put in by City staff to educate us and answer our questions. We hope that City staff and officials also value our input and participation. Toward this end, we would like to convey to you our specific questions and concerns about the proposed budget for Fiscal Years 2013-2015, as well as the general objectives that we believe are most important to the well-being of Santa Ana and its residents. A Budget that Reflects the Needs of Santa Ana Residents Much has been said on the issue of public safety, as Santa Ana's proposed budget allocates a significant majority of spending to the Police and Fire Departments, even while crime in the city has noticeably decreased. SACReD's budget recommendations on public safety and in general are informed by three strongly held beliefs: (1) We believe that better living conditions and more opportunity include: community resources for youth, libraries, parks, job training, and safe and affordable housing, are crucial factors in maintaining a safe city. We believe these factors are being neglected in the budget and are particularly important in areas with low average incomes and many unemployed families. (2) We believe in the importance of participation, transparency and accountability in city government. We should continue the efforts of the Sunshine ordinance to create a budgeting process that is open to the community and accountable to their desires and participation. (3)We believe that cooperating with federal immigration enforcement through Secure Communities, 287(g) and the subsidization of a jail used by ICE undermines Santa Ana's attempt to create a safe city in which residents have a positive and trusting relationship with police and government. The City should respect Santa Ana's undocumented population and actively work towards building a relationship of trust between law enforcement and undocumented residents. Therefore, we urge the Council and Staff to take a second look at the budget of the Police Department and consider the following questions and concerns. - Police Spending: Over the next two fiscal years, the Police Department budget gpCRoo j will increase disproportionately more than the budgets of the Fire Department or Parks and Recreation Department. Why is spending on Police growing so much faster than spending on other integral community needs, particularly SANTA ANA COLLABORATIVE FOR RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT ~CCM " -13 Colaborativo cle S;uila Ana piu-a el Des urollo Resporisalble 75B