Seattle Mayor Blocks Police Defunding
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Friday vetoed a City Council budget plan to slash funding to the police department and eliminate the city’s homeless outreach team, among other programs.
The nine-member council approved the rebalanced budget that would have reduced police funding by 14% for the remainder of 2020. The move also would have resulted in the loss of 100 police officers through layoffs and attrition.
The cuts would have totaled around $23 million of the remaining $127 million in the budget, KOMO News reported.
“This veto was because the bills, as passed, did not have the type of collaboration that I think we will have going forward, and that I’m hopeful we will have going forward,” Durkan said during a news conference. “There’s some flaws in each of these (bills) that I hope the council can correct, or with discussions, we can find a path forward together.
“I continue to have concerns about council decisions to make cuts before they have a plan,” she added. “I do not believe the 2020 budget in its current form moves us closer to those shared goals. I truly believe we can, and must, find common ground for the vision of SPD.” (Read more from “Seattle Mayor Blocks Police Defunding” HERE)
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