On Wednesday the Seattle City Council will consider our 2021 budget. The budget, as it is currently proposed, is not acceptable. In the wake of sustained protests this summer demanding racial justice, most Seattle City Councilmembers expressed support for cutting the Seattle Police Department (SPD) by at least 50%. Mayor Durkan also promised to allocate a minimum of $100 million to fund BIPOC community groups.
Regardless of what was promised, the budget being proposed does NOT include a 50% cut to the SPD. And it does NOT include $100 million in funding for BIPOC community groups. It does however include $10 million to hire new SPD officers.
Let your Councilmembers know this is NOT acceptable.
Email Seattle’s entire City Council: [email protected]
Sample Script:
“Dear Councilmembers,
As you consider how to use the budget for 2021, I urge you to fund communities and not the Seattle Police Department.
I do not support the current plan, which assumes that 114 new police officers will be hired in 2021 and allocates $10 million for these new officers. This is a far cry from the community demand to defund SPD by at least 50%, which a majority of you supported this summer. We do not need one more police officer hired. We need to take full advantage of every resignation and retirement to transition our city away from investing in policing.
Allocating at least $10 million more from the SPD towards Participatory Budgeting will help continue the 2020 hiring freeze into 2021. It’s time to stop funding the hiring of new police officers and invest a minimum of $100 million to BIPOC communities.
The budget, as it stands now, is not acceptable. Please amend it to reflect a commitment to divest from SPD and invest in communities.
Sincerely,”
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