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Christian, Kevin
From:Talia DeMello <talia.demello@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, June 10, 2020 2:38 PM
To:E-mail Council Website; Harmon, Heidi; Gomez, Aaron; Christianson, Carlyn; Pease,
Andy; Stewart, Erica A
Subject:Help us
Hello Mayor Harmon and San Luis Obispo City Council!
I know you’ve gotten probably thousands of emails in the last week. Please read and consider this! I’m Talia DeMello
and I am a permanent resident of San Luis Obispo/student at Cal Poly. I am writing to demand that the San Luis Obispo
City Council adopt a city budget that prioritizes community well-being, and redirects funding away from the police.
In 2019, the City of San Luis Obispo allocated 36.3 million dollars to our police system, an inordinate 27.5% of our total
budget. This is compared to just 7.3% of the budget, $9.7 million, allocated towards community development, with only
$1.4 million towards housing development! Next year, the city estimates that there will be a $8.6 million deficit as a
result of the pandemic!!! The city may RECOUP these funds by decreasing the police budget.
I demand that the City Council begin meaningfully defunding the San Luis Obispo Police Department and re-allocate
those funds to programs proven to more effectively promote a safe and equitable community. We need funding for
COMMUNITY BASED MENTAL HEALTH SEVICES, SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT SEEVICES, AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PROGRAMS, not police. Please make a budget that reflects the actual needs of San Luis Obispo residents.
History has shown that police "reform" is not enough. No more money, and more importantly, no more lives must be
lost to police. We must take a hard look at the way the current system in place fails to serve-and in fact actively harms-
our community, and come together to reimagine the role of police in our city.
PLEASE completely revise the budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, and to invest in the people, not the police!!!
Thank you for your time,
Talia DeMello
My email is tdemello3@gmail.com
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