Dear Mayor Gradisar and City Council Members,
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD/BOROUGH/CITY].
I am writing to demand a significant reallocation of funding from the Pueblo Police Department to social and public programs that support housing, jobs, education, health care, child care, and other critical community needs.
With record unemployment and a seemingly intractable pattern of abuse and unequal treatment by police, our city requires a budget that adequately and effectively meets the needs of at-risk Pueblo residents. You must support a budget that supports social equity in our community, rather than empowering the police forces that tear us apart.
It is your duty to represent your constituents. I am urging you to advocate for revision of the Pueblo city budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to reflect the decades of research showing that education and social programs better promote the safety of a city than policing.
Thank you for your time,
[YOUR NAME][YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL][YOUR PHONE NUMBER]