Dear Mayor Haskew and City Council Members,
My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a Walnut Creek resident writing to urge you to defund the Walnut Creek Police Department.
The Walnut Creek Police Department takes up 30% ($52.1M) of the city’s general fund. This percentage has risen for the last two decades and takes away desperately needed resources from essential city programs and services. The entire budget for Community & Economic Development only accounts for 8% ($14.9M) of the city's budget. Increased police spending shows no correlation to increasing public safety over the past 20 years, thus our city's investment in policing has not made us safer – WCPD remains an embarrassment to the city and a lethal threat to Walnut Creek's Black and Brown communities. With Walnut Creek's current finances in dire jeopardy, it is clear that we must defund the police.
As a Walnut Creek resident, I therefore demand that you take immediate action to ensure the following:
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Reduce WCPD’s allocation from the General Fund by 50% (roughly $26M).
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Disallow unauthorised overtime by WCPD.
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Discontinue use of general fund dollars to pay for settlements due to police murder, misconduct, and negligence.
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Invest in housing, jobs, youth programs, restorative justice, and mental health workers to keep the community safe.
Walnut Creek can not wait any longer for a budget that meets the needs of its residents. The only way to achieve this is to take immediate steps to Defund and Abolish WCPD.
Thank you,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]