xbytof
commented
4 years ago Each individual small city in Marin County, CA has their own police department but no social services sector in their budget. Instead, the County has both a sheriff's dept and a social services dept. The county budget is being voted on this month and as of right now, will increase the sheriff's budget. I know defund12 is currently organized by city, but we need emails sent to the county board of supervisors! I am working on getting emails drafted for each city as well but there are already organizers working on defunding the county sheriff's dept and they need our support right now. This email template is being submitted on their behalf.
skullface
TO: dconnolly@marincounty.org; krice@marincounty.org; ksears@marincounty.org; drodoni@marincounty.org; jarnold@marincounty.org
Dear Marin County Board of Supervisors,
My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a resident of [YOUR CITY]. I am writing to you today to advocate for a fundamental redirection of public resources away from policing via the Marin County Sheriff’s Department toward a new, full-spectrum definition of public safety, rooted in community care.
The county budget must recognize that “disaster preparedness” is more than a matter of getting ready for wildfire and earthquakes. As we’ve seen in recent months, our people are living in a public health and economic disaster that can only be addressed through a robust response—especially serving communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis that’s followed. As the County’s public health officer has stated, the links between a history of structural and systemic racism has left the County’s communities of color especially vulnerable to public health and economic disaster. Now is the time to take action to address this situation.
This budget fails to meet this fundamental test. Instead, it is a business-as-usual budget that ignores the actual needs of Marin County residents, particularly people of color.
I strongly oppose the Sheriff’s budget proposal, which has the audacity of envisioning an increase in expenditures. I call on the Board of Supervisors to recognize that it is time to shift funds from the Sheriff’s department into other areas of the county’s budget that truly promote public health and community safety. Furthermore, I call on the Board of Supervisors to require far more public-facing transparency than is currently available in the Chief Administrative Officer’s budget document, so that members of the community can participate in a meaningful discussion and decision-making process about how our taxes are actually being spent.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]