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From: Elliot Kirk <br />To: PublicComment; GRP -City Council; Council -Diane Howard; Council -Shelly Masur; Council -Alicia Aguirre; Council - <br />Ian Bain; Council -Janet Borgens; Council-Giselle Hale; Council -Diana Reddy <br />Subject: Item 9.A: Redwood City Resident for Reducing Funding for the RCPD <br />Date: Monday, June 22, 2020 11:38:45 AM <br />City Council, <br />My name is Elliot Kirk, and I am a resident of Redwood City. I urge you to reject the <br />proposed budget because it allocates $49M toward an outdated and punitive policing <br />system that makes many residents feel unsafe. Instead, in the name of public safety, I ask <br />that you reduce funding to the police and reallocate their funds into programs that prevent <br />crime such as affordable housing, community services and non -police response teams. <br />Redwood City has increased its funds for police by 79% since 2010 (source). Moreover, <br />Redwood City allocates a higher portion of its general fund to police than most of its peers - <br />including Mountain View, Milpitas, Santa Clara, South San Francisco, and Palo Alto <br />(source). I urge you to reverse these trends for the safety of our residents. <br />I want a city that is safe for everyone. That is why I urge you to reduce police funding and <br />divert their funds into services that prevent crime. We cannot wait to take meaningful action <br />until October. I implore you, for our sake, to reorient our city to this future. <br />Thank you for your time, <br />Elliot Kirk <br />1359 Edgewood Road, Redwood City <br />