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Agenda Item

3.1 20-712 Public Hearing on the 2020-2021 Proposed Operating/Capital Budgets and the 2020-2021 Proposed Fees and Charges for the City of San José.

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    Gabriel Alcantar almost 4 years ago

    I demand that the City of San Jose defund SJPD and invest in community care. SJPD has used violence and force against peaceful protesters standing with the Black Lives Matters Movement and has taken the many lives of our residents. We are done dying at the hands of police and demand the funding to be invested into our community!!

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    Dulce Gamboa almost 4 years ago

    Please, for the future of the children. Give more to education, parks, and libraries. There are programs that would benefit our community a lot more than having a police officers drive around kicking homeless people who think they can do whatever they want (seen it with my own eyes). Also everyone should know that the Office of Racial Equity got a $100,000 donation for the period of two years. Plus 200,000 over two years from ESR That money is not from the city budget. Puts things in perspective

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    Sandra deGuzman almost 4 years ago

    The city needs to allocate the funds from SJPD to resources for the community. Instead of providing more police in the streets of San Jose, terrorizing citizens and bystanders, the city needs more parks, recreational centers, public libraries, housing for the homeless, mental health programs, and other programs that benefit the community. I strongly oppose the outrageous amount for SJPD. We need more programs for the community not more police.

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    Rachel Nin almost 4 years ago

    San Jose needs to radically re-think the way that the budget is allocated and what our priorities are as a city. The fact that 44 percent of the general fund goes to SJPD while we continuously cut library hours and underfund schools is ludicrous. I support divesting from SJPD and reallocating those funds towards community care and investment. If San Jose invests in its people, it will contribute significantly more to community safety than riot gear and patrols that harass homeless people.

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    Sahithi Madireddy almost 4 years ago

    Defund SJPD. It is an embarrassment that the city continues to pay astoundingly high salaries to violent people like Jared Yuen while people struggle to pay rent in this pandemic. What is stopping you from listening to the will of the people? It's what we pay you to do. Stand up for your community by shifting resources from the police department to services like rent relief, parks, libraries, affordable housing, and community centers.

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    Alisha Sinha almost 4 years ago

    San Jose Police do not need such an inflated budget when homelessness, rent control, libraries, and other public resources are barely given a fraction of the SJ budget. As a community, we do not feel safe having so much money invested in a corrupt and dangerous department that ends up killing folks who do not look like them. Instead of dreaming of a perfect world where police officers actually support its community, invest that money into other community resources that help community members.

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    Diosa deGuzman almost 4 years ago

    I strongly oppose the city’s proposal to increase SJPD’s budget. SJPD has shown countless times, excessive force and disgusting behavior towards peaceful protestors the past couple of weeks. They have shown no accountability for their actions. We need to invest in our community! The city needs to use the funds for programs that will help our community thrive. If you strip the community of its resources, you’ve stripped the community of its chance to thrive. DEFUND THE POLICE. INVEST IN SAN JOSE

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    Erica Carr almost 4 years ago

    Abolish the police and replace it with programs that address our community's issues instead of responding with violence, incarceration, or fines. We need mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises, we need housing and homelessness experts to aid and support our houseless communities, we need social workers, we need de-escalation and negotiation professionals, we need investigators, and the existing $4.1B can pay for it. No more status quo because the status quo isn't working.

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    Hannah Scott almost 4 years ago

    The police in our city should not have been dressed in riot gear with tear gas canisters and rubber bullets when meeting with a protest. The police should also not be responding to non violent situations that they are not trained to deal with. Reallocate funds from the police budget (which is around 40% of the total budget) toward people who are better trained to deal with both domestic situations and homelessness. These funds could go toward re-housing the homeless, community events, outreach.

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    Elsa Salgado almost 4 years ago

    We do not need to increase the budget for SJPD. There are many social issues of homelessness, housing crisis, healthcare, and education that should be given more priority. If you want to do whats right by your citizens, you can show that allegiance by making change and divesting that money to what matters.

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    Lana Gomez almost 4 years ago

    I demand that the City of San Jose defund SJPD and invest in community care. I am disgusted at the behaviors of SJPD and the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and force used against protesters standing with the Black Lives Matters movement. Police violence has taken the many lives of SJ residents including: RUDY CARDENAS, STEVE SALINAS, ANTONIO GUZMAN LOPEZ, DIANA SHOWMAN, PHILIP WATKINS, AJ PHILIPS, RICHARD HARPO JACQUEZ, ANTHONY NUNEZ, ISAI LOPEZ. We are done dying at the hands of police!

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    Lucia LeBlanc almost 4 years ago

    I support defunding the SJPD and investing in our communities. We need leaders who are willing to imagine a better, stronger future for the people of San Jose and that means investing in community services (the library, healthcare, education, etc.). We are not asking you to compromise the safety of San Jose residents, we are telling you that the SJPD does not make us safe, investing in social services keep us safe. This is an opportunity for change, let's not squander it.

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    Mariah Scrempos almost 4 years ago

    SJPD does not need any more money. They showed up to protests over the last couple of weeks fitted for war with San Jose Citizens. To suggest that they need any more funding is ludicrous after they rolled up to City Hall with tanks and riot gear. There are so many other things that money could do, Like fund Re-entry programs,Assist the homeless population in getting back on their feet, Provide PPE to San Jose hospitals, ensure teachers have the materials they need to deliver quality education.

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    Elizabeth Dally almost 4 years ago

    The SJPD routinely incites violence. Many officers spend their time harassing innocent people, primarily homeless black men. This department needs to be defunded. There is absolutely no reason to spend this excessive amount of money on a department that spends more time hurting than helping. Instead spend this money on building shelter for homeless people and fixing city infrastructure.

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    Zoe Zandbergen almost 4 years ago

    I am extremely disappointed by the Mayor and the Council's unwillingness to defund and divest from the police, instead choosing to cut funding to parks and schools. Instead of paying SJPD overtime to maim people, you should build real support structures in our community, especially better access to housing.

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    Michael Kinsler almost 4 years ago

    I oppose Mayor Liccardo's proposed budget. It does not involve drastic budget cuts and demilitarization of the police. It also does not re-allocate police budget to social services such as healthcare, housing, schools, or infrastructure.

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    Jane Doe almost 4 years ago

    I believe that a police force (SJPD) with a $4.1B budget pass is contradictory to the amount of community money spent (approx. $1.8B) in San Jose. Considering the police force “provides” for the community, if you want to see better start by funding the community you serve. You do not start by adding additional “tools” for cops who use their power and title to intimidate their own community.

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    Leon Morimoto almost 4 years ago

    44% of the city’s budget for police?! Defund the police and invest those funds back into the community. There are homeless people and encampments everywhere meanwhile commercial developments are not helping the problem, these developments make the rents increase. There is no reason to keep funding a heavy militarized police force that does nothing for the immediate and urgent housing and health issues we are facing as a community.

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    Melissa Brown almost 4 years ago

    Public safety doesn't come from arresting people, it comes from investing in our people and our communities. Defund the SJPD and allocate the dollars towards housing, schools, community centers, libraries.

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    Jessica Gutierrez almost 4 years ago

    To the Mayor and City Councilmembers (note it’s not all but many of them) who have SJPD in your pockets sending you monetary contributions: we are watching you. We see the corruption coming to light more every day. You can’t hide behind your computer forever. Come face the people. We are demanding LIBERATION now. Defund the police. Invest in community care. There’s no need to explain why because y’all know EXACTLY what you’re doing and the racist oppressive systems you are upholding.