Dear Council Members of the City of Boulder,
My name is [NAME] and I am a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD]. I am writing to urge you to defund the Boulder Police Department.
Based on the 2020 budget that you approved in October 2019, the Boulder Police Department received $38,629,082, which represents an ~8% increase since 2018. Meanwhile, the budget for Housing and Human Services for 2020 is $21,655,671, representing a staggering 28% reduction in budget since 2018. Most of those cuts come from a reduction in funding to "Community Investment" for Housing. That's untenable, especially coming from a city that prides itself in promoting equity and being on the progressive edge of history.
In light of these statistics, and in the wake of the Minneapolis City Council pledging to completely reimagine policing in their city, I strongly support the Boulder Police Department being defunded immediately, and that the money go towards creating affordable housing within city limits. I also want you to consider pledging that money to other community programs that invest in restorative justice, mental health, and our youth. Finally, I would like to see policy enacted around increasing limits on unrelated residents within a home.
I also want to surface the harassment of Zayd Atkinson, a resident of Boulder and a student at Naropa University, by the Boulder Police Department. Instead of funding the harassment of Boulder residents of color, the city should fund affordable housing and other community programs.
Thank you,
[YOUR NAME][YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL][YOUR PHONE NUMBER]