Calls made to defund South San Francisco police

The discussion arrived on the heels of a Black Lives Matter rally last week, which featured hundreds of locals participating in a youth-led movement advocating for police reform following the killing of George Floyd.

Many of those same voices echoed through the chambers of the Municipal Services Building Tuesday, as teens and advocates continued applying pressure to local officials only feet from where the peaceful protest ended.

“I am calling on our City Council to please commit to reducing the police budget and commit to programs that will directly serve our community — such as COVID-19 relief, which is much needed, affordable housing, educational enrichment and community programs specifically for our children and for our youth,” said resident Eli Jimenez.

Resident Jakarta Kumasi-Nakuru shared a similar perspective.

“We are demanding the City Council reassess the 2020-2021 operating budget proposal and reallocate funds to city resources that better support the black and brown communities in South City,” he said.

Similar discussions are taking place throughout the nation, as reform advocates are pushing local officials to spend less on law enforcement and budget more for community programs, youth services and more enhancement initiatives.

In all, speakers filled nearly 45 minutes worth of the four-hour meeting urging officials to overhaul the city’s spending plan for the coming fiscal year. No final decision was made at the meeting, and the issue will return for further consideration late this month.

In response, officials proposed drawing $85,000 from the Police Department which had been designated for community programming and assigning it to the City Manager’s Office.

The move should not to be interpreted as an indictment on the Police Department, said councilmembers, who believed the money could make a bigger impact if it was distributed more broadly.

Officials also expressed interest in allocating an additional $200,000 toward the city’s innovation fund, with hopes that the money could benefit programming in the Parks and Recreation Department.

To make the spending amendments possible while facing a budget deficit due to the COVID-19 shutdown, councilmembers were comfortable with drawing $4.8 million from the $24.4 million held in the general fund reserve. In all, South San Francisco stashed $52.3 million in reserves, with an additional $22.4 million kept for capital improvements and $5.5 million for retirement benefits.

About $2.5 million of those reserves will be paired with about $4.5 million in surplus revenue from the previous fiscal year to close the funding gap projected for the 2020-21 budget, according to the discussion from Finance Director Janet Salisbury.

For his part, Vice Mayor Mark Addiego said he considered spending from the city’s sizable reserve fund justifiable during lean financial times.

“The money is there to be used at times like this,” he said.

Salisbury projected the city will receive about $105 million in revenue this year, while spending about $112 million. Each department was asked to propose some service reductions, but no full-time employees are proposed to lose jobs. Some vacant positions will not be filled.

The biggest income loss is expected in hotel tax revenue, according to Salisbury, who projected South San Francisco will receive about $8 million, or $4.7 million less than the year prior. She also anticipated about $17 million in sales tax for the coming year, or $1.7 million less than the previous year. The $105 million in total revenue projected is about $8.3 million less than the fiscal year prior.

As the spending plan for the coming year is refined, councilmembers encouraged those who participated in the budget session to stay engaged with hopes of building a more inclusive process.

“Let’s have an open conversation,” said Councilman Mark Nagales.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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