HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/1/2021 Item 6a, Perinich
Delgado, Adriana
From:Hannah Perinich <hperinich@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 1,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:SLO Budget 2021-2022
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
________________________________
Hello,
My name is Hannah Perinich and I’ve been a resident of San Luis Obispo for four years. I’m emailing to express my
concern for the SLO 2021-2022 budget, and urge you not to pass the budget as is. There are essential changes needed to
be made, specifically to create a safer community for our Black and Brown residents in San Luis Obispo.
First off, I want to emphasize that increasing the police budget from 2021-2022 after their violent actions against
peaceful protestors last year shows that our leaders do not care about civilian safety. I’m not pointing this out to attack
you personally, but to acknowledge how the budget looks to those of us who were tear gassed by police officers last
year. If you truly believe in civilian safety, decreasing the police budget would actually be a way of showing us that. It
would mean that you saw SLOPD’s violent actions as it was, and support your community in holding them accountable in
the future. Although decreasing police funding sounds counterintuitive, that money would actually be much better
spent on reducing crime in the first place. Many people argue: if we reduce resources for police officers then how will
we fight crime? But that’s the problem: policing doesn’t prevent crime, it only punishes those who have already done
damage and doesn’t prevent people from turning into victims. Taking funding from policing and investing into the
community is a fundamental way of reducing crime, and therefore decreasing the need for punishment and
incarceration.
Leading into my next point, increasing funding for affordable housing (specifically for unhoused individuals) would
create better living situations for those living in poverty. Studies show that poverty is the number one influencer of
crime, so funding affordable homes would create an environment where crime doesn’t have to be committed to survive.
Additionally, affordable housing would be a much smarter way of helping unhoused individuals rather than having
SLOPD take down their encampments and unhoused individuals having to build new ones somewhere else (and having
that cycle repeated). Affordable housing and transitional housing should be invested in for the sake of our most
vulnerable community members. Instead of them facing legal barriers and reprimands, we should offer unhoused
people more options.
Lastly, increasing the DEI budget, specifically for a Multicultural Center, would benefit Black and Brown residents for
years to come. As a member of the LGBTQ Community, I understand the need for community amongst a sea of
homogeny. It’s important to be able to connect to people similar to ourselves when the surrounding society and
community does not accept our full selves. This is even more important for People of Color within San Luis Obispo.
Increasing funding for a Multicultural Center would increase community connections for People of Color within a
predominantly white city, which the DEI Task Force emphasized was key to creating a more equitable version of SLO.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email, and I hope that you reread, rethink, and reimagine the budget before
approving it.
1
Sincerely,
Hannah Perinich
2