Defund Oakdale CA Police Department

[dumbneanderthal]

TO: jrmccarty@ci.oakdale.ca.us, cbairos@ci.oakdale.ca.us, echiara@ci.oakdale.ca.us, rmurdoch@ci.oakdale.ca.us, csmith@ci.oakdale.ca.us

SUBJECT: [INSERT UNIQUE SUBJECT LINE HERE]

Dear Mayor McCarty and Oakdale City Council Members,

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a resident of Oakdale. I am writing to you about the city budget presented to the public on the city government website.

I am asking the Oakdale city government to commit to racial justice, to not be complicit in further promoting a system of policing that reinforces systemic oppression — that further reinforces the oppression of some of your constituents, who you were elected to serve and protect.

To do so, I demand future funding for the police department be redirected elsewhere. In 2019, this fiscal year, police services were allocated over 1 million dollars in funding. This means they received over thirty percent of the city’s total funds, leaving slivers to be distributed amongst the more essential services that power the heartbeat of our city. This subsidy, rather than dismantling, promotes and encourages a system based in racial and class inequality.

Research has shown, time and time again, that it is not police (or prisons) that aid communities so they are protected— it is affordable housing, educational opportunities, community violence intervention programs, and access to holistic health treatment that do so, because misdemeanors and lawbreaking are often caused by unsupportive environments that rather than alleviating financial or mental issues, only dramatize them further. Support funding departments that prioritize your constituents rather than aggressively funding a system far beyond repair.

Can I count on you to consider an alternative budget that, rather than emphasizing law enforcement, emphasizes social services with proven impact on not just actual crime but also the welfare of your constituents, such as housing and education?

Thank you,

[YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

[mahrer]

Thank you for submitting your city to defund12.org! Your request is now in the queue for review and publishing. We’ll reply here if we have any questions.

[aurendisson]

Editing notes: Edits made per #1406. I need help with confirming police budget numbers, as the original email said the police budget was $1 million (I think there was just a digit missing?). I found budget numbers here, but these charts made my head spin. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B0zIx66CFVWMN6SJszGJ37X5JW181xLT/view

To: jrmccarty@ci.oakdale.ca.us, cbairos@ci.oakdale.ca.us, echiara@ci.oakdale.ca.us, rmurdoch@ci.oakdale.ca.us, csmith@ci.oakdale.ca.us

Subject: [UNIQUE SUBJECT LINE HERE]

Message: [Don't forget to replace the [x]'s with your information, and consider adding a couple of sentences in your own words to ensure this message gets past email filters.]

Dear Mayor McCarty and Oakdale City Council Members,

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a resident of Oakdale. I am writing to you about the city budget presented to the public on the city government website.

I am asking the Oakdale City Council to commit to racial justice and to not be complicit in further promoting a system of policing that reinforces systemic oppression.

To do so, I demand future funding for the police department be redirected elsewhere. In 2019, this fiscal year, police services were allocated over $1 million in funding. This means they received over 30% of the city’s total funds, leaving slivers to be distributed amongst the more essential services that power the heartbeat of our city. This subsidy, rather than dismantling, promotes and encourages a system based in racial and class inequality.

Research has shown, time and again, that it is not the police (or prisons) that promote community safety—it is affordable housing, educational opportunities, community violence intervention programs, and access to holistic health treatment that reduce crime. Misdemeanors and lawbreaking are often caused by unsupportive environments, and policing and incarceration only further contribute to financial and mental instability. Support funding departments that prioritize your constituents rather than aggressively funding a system far beyond repair.

Can I count on you to consider an alternative budget that, rather than emphasizing law enforcement, defunds it and reallocates funding to social services with a proven impact on the welfare of your constituents, such as housing and education?

Thank you,

[YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

[mahrer]

@aurendisson On page 6 of the document you shared I found these numbers for 2019-20 Adopted Final Budget:

Police Administration: $945,604 Police Dispatch: $677,262 Police Special Services: $344,216 Police Field Service: $3,258,897

This is not including Police Capital Facilities funding, Police Equipment Replacement funding, Police Equestrian Unit funding, and others throughout the document. It's a weirdly organized and not very user friendly page. But considering this information, the funding amounts to more than $4 million.

I couldn't find a source for the claim that it is 30% of the city's total funds.

@dumbneanderthal Maybe you could help us out with your sources?