Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PeoplesBudgetLA
Most recents (10)
"We’ve been showing up to a lot of the recent city council hearings but we haven’t really had the chance to speak,” said Gilbert Johnson, Lead Justice Organizer at @CoCoSouthLA to open the 3hr-long forum on budget priorities held in collaboration w/ @BLMLA & #PeoplesBudgetLA 
With so much of the focus on defunding the police, there hasn't been as much attention given to how funds would be reinvested. As participants pointed out during the forum, it's important to make sure the money being thrown at problems actually reaches folks on the ground.
Gang interventionists like Skipp Townsend, Kevin Orange (Twin) and LaTanya Ward pointed to the shortcomings of programs like GRYD and made strong cases for funds being directly invested in the boots on the ground.
GOOD MORNING Y'ALL! Today is the BIG DAY.
82 items on the agenda, including a whole bunch about the LAPD and all of the budget items.
@christopherroth is here to live-tweet the whole damn thing. It's gonna be a long one, so buckle up!
Agenda and stream:
lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…
82 items on the agenda, including a whole bunch about the LAPD and all of the budget items.
@christopherroth is here to live-tweet the whole damn thing. It's gonna be a long one, so buckle up!
Agenda and stream:
lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…
Once things get rolling (likely late, the Rules Committee was a solid 15 minutes late already this morning, thanks, CM Martinez!) you'll have the opportunity to call in and provide public comment -- here's how!
1. Call (669) 254-5252
2. Use Meeting ID 160-535-8466 and then press #.
3. Press # again when prompted for participant ID.
4. Once admitted into the meeting, press *9 to request to speak.
#PeoplesBudgetLA has handy graphics for this!
2. Use Meeting ID 160-535-8466 and then press #.
3. Press # again when prompted for participant ID.
4. Once admitted into the meeting, press *9 to request to speak.
#PeoplesBudgetLA has handy graphics for this!
What is the best way to keep our neighborhoods safe? For decades, conventional wisdom said to hire more police officers. That’s what LA did, even if it meant cutting everything else in the budget, and even if it meant lots of people — particularly African Americans — felt unsafe.
LA is waking up to a better, smarter approach, one that asks not “how many more cops do we need?” but “what is the best way to provide public safety, public health and emergency response?”
If we were going to design a public safety system from scratch, no one would say that the appropriate and necessary response to mental health crises, traffic collisions, or reports of loud parties should be armed agents with the authority to use deadly force.
For those trying to understand the LA city budget, I’m sharing here what I have learned along with resources to learn more.
First, the budget process. The Mayor’s Office creates the budget. City Council gives input and approves it. As legislators, they can affect it quite dramatically by proposing any kind of change. They vote on these amendments which go back to the Mayor to sign or veto.
This year, City Council did not approve or reject the Mayor’s budget in time, per our City Charter. When this happens, the Mayor’s budget goes into effect by default on July 1.
peoplesbudgetla.com/howbudgetworks
peoplesbudgetla.com/howbudgetworks
Today I, alongside my colleagues, will introduce a motion to replace LAPD officers with unarmed, non-law enforcement agencies who will be responsible for responding to non-violent calls for service.
The presenters from @BLMALA, @WeBldPwr, @LAVoice with #PeoplesBudgetLA were absolutely right, we need to reimagine public safety in the 21st century. One which reduces the need for armed police presence, especially when the situation does not necessarily require it.
We have gone from asking the police to be part of the solution, to being the only solution for problems they should not be called on to solve in the first place.
TODAY: LA City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee Meets at 12pm. ImmDef is calling for an investment in community, divest from policing & support the movement for Black lives through the #PeoplesBudgetLA. Renew the #LAJusticeFund2020 to protest immigrant families.
Be a part of history in re-imagining the LA budget! Make a public comment for Item 23 cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/… Make a public comment for item 24 cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/…
Use your voice! Call 1 669 254 5252, Meeting ID No. 161 829 4030 and press #. Press # again when prompted for participant ID. Once admitted, press *9 to request to speak. Mention items 23 & 24 for comment, you will have 1 min to speak #peoplesbudgetla #lajusticefund2020
Let the live tweeting begin.
right now i'm imagining what councilmembers dancing to this hold music might look like.
like, Herb just chilling on a flamingo in the river
Hey @LastWeekTonight your segment on defunding the police was brilliant. I’m curious who you learned all of this from? You have no Black writers or producers. Maybe there’s a way you could both credit those who have been your teachers (and pay them) and also make some hires?
Also give them credit for pushing through this segment knowing this critique was coming. It legit was great and I think this stuff helps push people to understanding
Some clips from the start of yesterday’s LA City Council Meeting.
Nury tends to personalize...everything. She was understandably shook about her home town of Van Nuys facing looting, but its bizarre to hear that described as violence & no mention of LAPD violence vs protestors
Nury tends to personalize...everything. She was understandably shook about her home town of Van Nuys facing looting, but its bizarre to hear that described as violence & no mention of LAPD violence vs protestors
This meeting was almost cancelled, we hear extended rants about “personal attacks” and “dissemination of misinformation.”
Our Council President is, first & foremost, worried about their safety. More on alleged misinformation and continued personal attacks. We have an absolute commitment to dialogue from @CD6Nury (even though she continues to limit public comment to minimize that same dialogue)
Let’s talk about the fact that the primacy of policing in our cities is a choice our leaders have made.
Politicians have overseen a decades-long spending boom on police. And a major driver of the spending has been large, steady pay increases for sworn officers. (thread)
Politicians have overseen a decades-long spending boom on police. And a major driver of the spending has been large, steady pay increases for sworn officers. (thread)
LA is just one of many US cities that have raised police salaries well above inflation year after year.
The salary budget for officers has increased by an average of 4.3% annually since 2010 -- more than double local inflation -- despite no increase to the number of officers.
The salary budget for officers has increased by an average of 4.3% annually since 2010 -- more than double local inflation -- despite no increase to the number of officers.
Despite no evidence that increased police spending influences crime rates, leaders in LA and so many other American cities have allowed police to take up a larger and larger percentage of our budgets.
In LA, costs associated with LAPD absorb about 53% of our discretionary funds.
In LA, costs associated with LAPD absorb about 53% of our discretionary funds.
