To Whom It May Concern:
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a resident of Nevada County. This past week, our nation has been gripped by protests calling for rapid and meaningful change with regard to police behavior, an end to racism and anti-Blackness, and immediate reform in how Black people are treated in America. Accordingly, it has come to my attention that the budget for 2021 is being decided as these protests continue.
The three police departments in Nevada County have been a waste of our resources. For the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 in Grass Valley alone, the General Fund Expenditures was $13,093,905. The final budget for the GVPD was $4,141,770. This is a total of 31.6% of the General Fund. Nevada City PD budgeted 45.3% of the General Fund Expenditures ($2,096,760 out of the $4,632,239 Nevada City General Fund). The Truckee Police Department was allocated $6,629,802 out of $23,177,108 in the General Fund.
While we’ve been spending extraordinary amounts on policing, we have not seen improvements to safety, homelessness, mental health, or affordability in our city. Instead, we see wasteful and harmful actions of our police.
I call on you to slash the budgets of Nevada County Police Departments and advocate for a meaningful reallocation of the city's expenditures: away from policing, and towards social programs and resources that support services for the homeless, affordable housing, education, health care, child care, and other critical community needs.
We can be a beacon for other cities to follow if only we have the courage to change.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME][YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL][YOUR PHONE NUMBER]