Attachment 10 - Public Comment Received 1101 am May 14 2021 to 1100 am May 17 2021From: Jess B. Guy
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2021 12:22 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Do Not "Freeze" Law Enforcement Positions
Council Member,
I understand the Finance Commission will recommend "freezing" positions within the Los
Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
This is a mistake. With the wave of anti-police hysteria infecting society, we need to stand with
those have dedicated their lives to keep us safe.
Thank you.
Jess B. Guy
ATTACHMENT 10
From: Amy
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 10:49 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Item #7
Dear Town Council,
I’m a member of the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition. We support the town budget freeze of 6
months recommended by the finance committee given the current financial situation. We
advocate the town council pledges to transition to a broader model of public safety via a
resolution. We request that the police budget remain frozen after the 6 months is up, and the
actual sworn officer headcount remain flat as it currently is at 37 when the revenue allows for
the operating budget to be unfrozen. At that time, the additional expenditure dollars would not
be used to hire sworn officers to the headcount of 39, and instead be used for hiring mental
health community service or social workers workers.
This will allow sworn and armed officers, as well as those with data analysis and investigative
expertise, to focus on solving crimes such as robberies and burglaries in Los Gatos. The
community mental health workers or social workers will focus on calls regarding mental health
crises and homeless persons situations that do not involve an armed police response. They will
have special skills and training for de-escalation so that no one gets shot or injured
unnecessarily. The existing community service officer volunteers can focus on noise and barking
dogs complaints, etc. This will free up trained, highly skilled officers, to attend to actual violent
crimes and prevent and solve property crimes.
In the words of Chief Decena during LG’s community conversation on police (timestamp:
1:17:45), “one of the recommendations was to hire a social worker for the town of Los Gatos.
I’d be happy to do that. [...] I think we all want that; and I would be happy for that— if we can
find some kind of solution. Honestly, if you can take mental health calls and homeless issues off
our plates, defund me in a heartbeat. Defund me. But I don’t think we’re there yet. We’re
working on it. I think it’s very important. But we’re trying to work toward solutions.”
In the recent wave of harassment in anti-Asian hate, the police department has claimed that
they cannot do anything since the harassment isn’t technically criminal. The LGMSPD is proud
of its community policing philosophy initiated by Chief Scott Seaman. Part of community
policing needs to include responding to harassment calls targeted at citizens for their race,
religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, or political affiliation. In the community forum
on hate incidents, DA Jeff Rosen stated that we have to be vigilant to not allow hate incidents
to escalate to hate crimes.
Compared to other nearby cities, Los Gatos spends more money per capita on policing and has
similar or higher rates of non-violent crime. According to the town’s 2015 staff report, we
spend more money per capita on police than any of our neighboring towns and cities. There is
little evidence that suggests that our town or city is safer because we spend more money. From
that same 2015 staff report, our reported crime rates are higher than Cupertino’s and
Saratoga’s. More recent data sourced from 2020 FBI data shows that we have higher crime
rates From now on, we need to be more conscientious about how we spend the hard-earned
tax dollars of our community. See data below:
Los Gatos- Monte
Sereno Cupertino Los Altos* San Jose
Proposed 21- 22 Fiscal Police
Expenditures $17,239,482 $15,706,972 $12,985,378 $472,844,880
Population served 34414 60,614 30,588 1,030,000
per capita expense $500.94 $259.13 $424.53 $459.07
Violent Crime rate (per 1000
people) 0.53 0.98 0.76 4.53
Property Crime rate (per 1000
people) 14 17.33 10.44 25.05
Crime index** 43 55 32 15
* fiscal 20-21
**safer than % of other cities-100
is safest
data sources: https://datausa.io/profile/geo/san-jose-ca
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-altos/crime
Thank you,
Amy
From: Paul Dorsa
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 10:58 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: police officers
Please, put more officers on the street! We need more police not less! Who do you think will
protect you from rioters, and criminals. The black lives matter demonstrations have personally
cost me over $9,000 dollars for security for protection for my building (OperaHouse). Thank
you, Paul Dorsa
From: Patti & Tim Perry
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 11:10 AM
To: council@losgatos.gov; Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Town Manager
<Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Cc:
Subject: LG/MS Police Department Funding
Los Gatos Town Council,
Please ensure adequate funding for the Los Gatos - Monte Sereno Police department!
Los Gatos is a clean, safe, and friendly town. Los Gatos and Monte Sereno are both very
desirable places to live, raise families, and retire. Residents are able to go about their lives with
an underlying sense of security and protection from crimes of violence and property due
specifically to the diligent work of the Los Gatos - Monte Sereno Police department.
Whenever we see a LG/MS PD patrol unit on our streets we are confident a competent, well-
trained police officer is doing their job for our town. We believe that our town is a desirable
place to live and work because of all of the employees of all of the town departments who work
hard every day to keep it that way. Most, including our elected officials such as yourself, go
unseen working in the background, but all are ready and willing to respond at a moment’s
notice to the needs of any resident when called upon.
You were elected to guide our town on a path that benefits all residents as a whole. Reductions
in police funding around our country have inevitably resulted in an increase in crime,
lawlessness and civil unrest. Please do not start down the path presented by the current
political pressure of a vocal few who wish to demonize or defund our competent and
professional police department.
Thank you,
Patricia and Timothy Perry
From: Cathy Smith
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 11:38 AM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Please
Do not defund or let any of the police or anyone in that dept. go. We need them more than
ever.. It is getting less and less safer in our community. We pay a lot of taxes and protection is
one of the highest priorities. Every week we see theft in peoples homes and cars.. please do
not do this.
Cathy
*****************
Cathy H. Smith
ELREPCO, Inc.
President
From: Suzanne Jackson
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 12:29 PM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Defunding LG/MS police
Los Gatos Town Council. Agenda item #7
Financial Report
The unelected LG financial committee has put forward recommendations to defund the LG/MS
police department!!!!! Although MS is not a city embroiled in current anti police strife , we still
require and appreciate our police department. We have had increases in residential thefts - car
break ins, mail theft, package theft as well as other negative public safety occurrences. Most
disturbing is the reduction of call service(911) responses due to decreased personnel. This
reduction of staff will contribute to adverse outcomes and possible deaths.
Monte Sereno does require an assessment to our property taxes to fund the services of the
police department, therefore we have a say as to what services we require and need.
We strongly support the LG/MS Police department and strongly recommend the LGTown
Council and the City of Monte Sereno vote NO on this current financial report.
WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR POLICE, especially in these turbulent times!
Suzanne Jackson, former Mayor, City of Monte Sereno
From: Angela Pappanastos>
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:23 PM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Item #7
To the Los Gatos Town Council
I’ve learned that there is some thinking we might have less police in Los Gatos.
I’m 81 and I appreciate seeing the police and feel we need MORE, not less police presence.
Thank you,
Angela Pappanastos
From: Rob Moore
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2021 11:13 PM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Item #7
Mayor, Town Council, and City Manager,
First, thank you for your hard work during these unprecedented times. Dealing with the fiscal
side effects of a global pandemic as a town is a daunting and difficult task, so thank you for
doing what you can to keep our town afloat. Your work does not go unnoticed.
I am writing to you today as a community member and a member of the Los Gatos Anti Racism
Coalition. I worked with other members of the coalition to recommend two tangible asks that
will create better public safety outcomes for all the residents of Los Gatos. These are asks are:
(1) freeze the police budget for the foreseeable future,
(2) allow for hiring professionals (e.g. culturally competent social workers) who can deal with
non-criminal situations that involve homelessness, mental illness, harassment, and etc.
The most compelling reason for these asks come in the form of an anecdote that was told to
me by a resident of Los Gatos who is experiencing homelessness. He said to me, imagine the
absolute worst day of your life. On this day you are dealing not only with the difficult events of
the day but also with severe mental illness. So you reach out for help, you call who you have
been told to call all of your life, 911. And then, when you are at your most vulnerable and
distraught, a man with a gun shows up and tells you there's nothing he can do. He clearly
doesn't want to be there and is of no help. He then leaves you, having done nothing to make
things better, and you feel more alone than you did before. This is the experience for so many
of our neighbors that are living with mental illness. This is why we need culturally competent
social workers to respond to these sorts of calls and not our police officers.
I ask that as we as a community consider what we want public safety to look like, we think first
of the people who most likely to be on the receiving end of that service.
I, along with the other members of the LGARC, would be happy to meet with any of you to
further discuss what the future of policing could look like in Los Gatos.
Thank you for your time and for your service to the community.
Take care,
Rob Moore
From: Violet Wallerstein
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 7:17 AM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Item #7
Dear Town Council,
I’m a member of the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition. We support the town budget freeze of 6
months recommended by the finance committee given the current financial situation. We
advocate the town council pledges to transition to a broader model of public safety via a
resolution. We request that the police budget remain frozen after the 6 months is up, and the
actual sworn officer headcount remain flat as it currently is at 37 when the revenue allows for
the operating budget to be unfrozen. At that time, the additional expenditure dollars would not
be used to hire sworn officers to the headcount of 39, and instead be used for hiring mental
health community service or social workers.
This will allow sworn and armed officers, as well as those with data analysis and investigative
expertise, to focus on solving crimes such as robberies and burglaries in Los Gatos. The
community mental health workers or social workers will focus on calls regarding mental health
crises and homeless persons situations that do not involve an armed police response. They will
have special skills and training for de-escalation so that no one gets killed or injured
unnecessarily. The existing community service officer volunteers can focus on noise and barking
dogs complaints, etc. This will free up trained, highly skilled officers, to attend to actual violent
crimes and prevent and solve property crimes.
In the words of Chief Decena during LG’s community conversation on police (timestamp:
1:17:45), “one of the recommendations was to hire a social worker for the town of Los Gatos.
I’d be happy to do that. [...] I think we all want that; and I would be happy for that— if we can
find some kind of solution. Honestly, if you can take mental health calls and homeless issues off
our plates, defund me in a heartbeat. Defund me. But I don’t think we’re there yet. We’re
working on it. I think it’s very important. But we’re trying to work toward solutions.” We could
work now to move toward a solution that is supported both by the police force and the citizens
of Los Gatos.
In the recent wave of harassment in anti-Asian hate, the police department has claimed that
they cannot do anything since the harassment isn’t technically criminal. The LGMSPD is proud
of its community policing philosophy initiated by Chief Scott Seaman. Part of community
policing needs to include responding to harassment calls targeted at citizens for their race,
religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, or political affiliation. In the community forum
on hate incidents, DA Jeff Rosen stated that we have to be vigilant to not allow hate incidents
to escalate to hate crimes. To do this, we need a model of public safety that centers on keeping
our community safe, rather than the strict role of policing that is currently in place.
Compared to other nearby cities, Los Gatos spends more money per capita on policing and has
similar or higher rates of non-violent crime. According to the town’s 2015 staff report, we
spend more money per capita on police than any of our neighboring towns and cities. There is
little evidence that suggests that our town or city is safer because we spend more money, so
why are we continuing to spend money on a program that is not actually furthering public
safety? From that same 2015 staff report, our reported crime rates are higher than Cupertino’s
and Saratoga’s. More recent data sourced from 2020 FBI data shows that we have higher crime
rates (https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-gatos/crime) than Los Altos
(https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-altos/crime) and Saratoga
(https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/saratoga/crime). From now on, we must be more
conscientious about how we spend the tax dollars of our community to protect our
community.
Thank you,
Violet Wallerstein
From: Jeffrey Suzuki
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 9:08 AM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Item #7
To the Los Gatos Town Council:
As a member of the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition, I propose that the town council pledges to
transition to a broader model of public safety via a resolution. We do this by (1) pledging to
freeze the police budget for the foreseeable future and (2) allow for hiring professionals (e.g.
culturally competent social workers) who can deal with non-criminal situations that involve
homelessness, mental illness, harassment, and etc.
First, the budget of the LGMSPD is exorbitant. We spend more money than Cupertino
does on police despite that we are a little more than half their population. According to the
town’s 2015 staff report, we spend more money per capita on police than any of our
neighboring towns and cities. There is little evidence that suggests that our town or city is safer
because we spend more money. From that same 2015 staff report, our reported crime rates are
higher than Cupertino’s and Saratoga’s. More recent data from 2020 FBI data shows that we
have higher crime rates (https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-gatos/crime) than Los
Altos (https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-altos/crime) and Saratoga
(https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/saratoga/crime). When we pay extra, we aren’t
safer.
The town council should pledge to freeze police expenditure for the foreseeable future, even
after six months. As our town expands, our budget will naturally fit more reasonably for the
town’s population and needs. Regardless of political orientation, this isn’t much of a choice. Our
own town’s staff report in 2015 states that a reduction in the number of billable hours of 30%
in order to have this budget to be sustainable in the long run. Our town will be put to a choice.
It is the choice between an eventual fiscal crisis or a reallocation to more cost-effective
solutions.
Secondly, the upper limit of 145 personnel for the entire town is a potential obstacle
to our transition to a broader and more effective model of public safety. For instance, we
shouldn’t restrict ourselves from hiring social workers who would make our community safer.
In April 2019, the LGMSPD received a call regarding a non-violent verbal altercation about junk
on someone’s property. In the video footage, the man showed visible psychological distress and
stated that he had a brain tumor and has had previous heart attacks as he was being detained.
The LGMSPD officer broke several of the man’s ribs and effectively choked the man
unconscious with a carotid restraint. It would be far too easy to blame the individual officer
here. Our chief decided to hire this man despite his prior history of police brutality. The
LGMSPD decided to send an armed officer to the scene with no crime committed. And Jonathan
Silva was cleared of any wrongdoing after the incident.
What if we hadn’t sent a police officer there? What if we had a social worker that specialized
in dealing with these sorts of disputes? When the tool you have is a hammer, everything looks
like a nail. We didn’t have an alternative person to send to quell and understand the situation
at that time. If we did, we wouldn’t know of Jonathan Silva and he wouldn’t be suing the town
for potential damages. Effectively, we still do not have that alternative.
A commonly stated point is that we already have the MCRT with the county, which renders the
need for social workers unnecessary. According to a Public Records Request submitted by a
coalition member, the LGMSPD collaborated with the county a grand total of 4 times between
September 2020 to February 2021. The MCRT is a limited reactive tool for urgent and life-
threatening crises. It’s too limited for the needs of our community.
Lastly, in the recent wave of harassment in anti-Asian hate, the police department has claimed
that they cannot do anything since the harassment isn’t technically criminal. For a department
that claims to engage in community policing and responds to minor disturbances like dogs
barking, this reveals that the “community” aspect of “community policing” is simply up to the
discretion of the department. DA Jeff Rosen stated that we have to be vigilant to not allow hate
incidents to escalate to hate crimes. We need personnel hired specifically for improving our
community atmosphere and mental health. The police are ill-equipped for this responsibility--
it's not what they are paid for.
We need an alternative. Having specialized personnel to deal with non-violent incidents would
also benefit our own police department for its personnel to focus its precious time and energy
on investigating crime, patrolling, and etc. In the words of Chief Decena during LG’s community
conversation on police (timestamp: 1:17:45), “one of the recommendations was to hire a social
worker for the town of Los Gatos. I’d be happy to do that. [...] I think we all want that; and I
would be happy for that— if we can find some kind of solution. Honestly, if you can take mental
health calls and homeless issues off our plates, defund me in a heartbeat. Defund me. But I
don’t think we’re there yet. We’re working on it. I think it’s very important. But we’re trying to
work toward solutions.”
Smaller towns than Los Gatos have successfully implemented such programs. For instance,
Alexandra, Kentucky has 10,000 people and has two social workers. If they can do it, so can we.
Thank you,
Jeffrey Suzuki
From: Alicia Spargo
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 10:15 AM
To: PublicComment <PublicComment@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: The Overall Budget
Hello City Council and Planning Committees,
The Town of Los Gatos needs to be open to becoming better and not being so stuck in its
ways.
People have always been afraid of change and frankly, we elected you to make the tough
choices and move us forward.
We hired a Finance Committee and they then advised on what they saw could improve. Let
them do their job. Otherwise, the money we spent on the committee will also have been a
wasted. We hired experts and now the townspeople, without having seen the data think they
know what’s best? That’s like having people who work in Human Resources tell the Accountant
how to do their job. Honestly, everyone just needs to stop making every single thing some huge
political play. It’s not. So tired of everyone being so dramatic about things easily fixed when
there are actually bigger issues that need to be discussed.
This meeting would be a good opportunity to inform the public that it’s not just the police
department that would be temporarily frozen but it’s many different areas of this town to
assess how to move forward.
Think of it like a business, for a moment. Every company takes time to assess its spending.
I am in favor of taking a moment to asses out Town’s spending and then become better. Do
better. It is clear that we need new solutions.
Give it a chance and please be courageous with your time that you have been given to truly
make Los Gatos better. It is time to grow and try new solutions to old problems. Let Los Gatos
evolve and become better.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Cinema Stereo
From: Rick Van Hoesen
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 10:07 AM
To: Phil Koen
Cc: Ron Dickel; Kyle Park; Rick Tinsley; Loreen Huddleston; Stacey Dell; Rob Rennie
<RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes <MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Marico Sayoc
<MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Jak Van Nada; Lee Fagot; Catherine Somers
<catherine@losgatoschamber.com>; Jim Foley; Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>;
Robert Schultz <RSchultz@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Stump; Dennis McEvoy
Subject: Re: Setting the record straight
Good post, and necessary. Hopefully it will receive at least as much readership as the POA’s
flawed post.
Rick (VH)
On May 17, 2021, at 9:49 AM, Phil Koen wrote:
All,
I just posted my thoughts below on Nextdoor. It is important to set the record straight
regarding the FC recommendation on budgeted headcount. I trust the TC will also address this
during the TC meeting to insure the public is not mis-informed as to the actual
recommendation made by the FC. The facts are the facts and the POA is not entitled to make
up their own.
Phil Koen
******************************************************************************
******************************************************************************
Unfortunately, the information posted by the Los Gatos POA is inaccurate and sadly misleading.
If you want to hear the actual recommendation made by the FC, please listen to the recording
of the entire FC meeting held on May 10, 2021.
The final version of the staffing recommendation is at the 1 hour 32 minute mark. Once you
listen to the recommendation, you can then decide whether or not the POA has been accurate
in their description of the FC's recommendation.
To set the record straight the Town of Los Gatos currently has on board 142 active employees.
There are 8 openings, 6 of which are in the Police Department, 4 of which are in the dispatch
center.
In the past 6 months the Town has seen a 50% turnover in the dispatch center. The Town is
aware of this and trying to fill positions. The dispatch center has been successfully operating at
this reduced headcount for months primarily by using overtime. Everyone on the FC agreed
that this was not an optimum long- term solution.
The FY 2022 budget calls for a total of 150 positions to be funded. If all budgeted positions are
filled, the actual headcount for the Town would increase by 8. For the past 10 years the Town
has approved annual budgets with approximatly150 funded positions. Historically the Town has
operated at actual headcounts that are 12 to 15 people below the budgeted positions (i.e. 135 -
138 actual headcount).
In an effort to "slow down" the growth in total operating costs and being mindful of the
warning the Town Manager stated in the Budget Transmittal Letter that " in the event pre
pandemic revenue levels do not return and new revenue sources are not identified, the current
projected deficits may need to be addressed through service delivery reductions" the FC voted
to recommend to the Town Council to approve a budget for 145 positions for 6 months and
then evaluate the situation. The determination of exactly which positions would be filled was
left to the total discretion of the Town Manager.
To be clear the FC did not make an "unconscionable recommendation to freeze dispatch center
staffing and to freeze two currently-vacant police officer positions". If the POA actually listened
to the meeting recording, they would know this. For now, I am choosing to believe the POA is
just misinformed.
Lastly, here is a very uncomfortable fact that everyone should be aware of. In FY 2010, the
Town incurred net expenditures (defined as gross expenditures less revenue for services and
grants received) of $11.1m for public safety. In FY 2010 that represented 37.2% of all general
tax revenues (property tax, sales tax, etc.) collected by the Town.
By FY 2020 net expenditures for public safety had increased to $17.9m, which is a 61% increase
over the 10 year period. In FY 2020 that represented 59.1% of all general tax revenues. And
during that 10 year period, the Town's general tax revenue went from $29.8m to $30.3m, which
is only a 1.7% increase.
This is the problem that the FC and the Town Council are jointly struggling with, namely the
operating costs for public safety specifically as well as the total operating costs for the Town are
both growing at rates that are considerably higher than the growth in tax revenues. That is an
unsustainable condition that needs to be addressed.
And, as the operating costs for public safety consume more and more of the general tax
revenues, there is less funding available for other critical services such as senior services,
community services, the library and investing in critical infrastructure. This "crowding out"
effect is very real problem.
In conclusion, setting a budgeted headcount at 145 for 6 months seems reasonable and
prudent. The Staff did not warn the FC that by doing this there would be a reduction in current
service levels.
If the Town revenues are stronger than forecasted, then the Council could certainly increase
the budget to 150. And letting our professional staff determine how to fill the 145 budgeted
positions gives the Town the flexibility to be prudent in where staff should be added.
The final decision is in the hands of the Town Council. The FC only makes recommendations.
Now you have the entire picture.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is the POA posting on Nextdoor.
Dear Valued Community Member,
We are writing to alert you that the safety of our community is in jeopardy!
Your Los Gatos / Monte Sereno Police Department has quietly been operating at critical staffing
levels and a recommendation from the newly-formed Los Gatos Finance Commission puts your
officers, dispatchers and the community at risk. Your police officers have decided that we
cannot just stand by and watch this happen.
Over the past 20 years, the Los Gatos Town Council has reduced your Police Department from
50 officers to less than 39 today.
The Dispatch Center answering all 911 calls from our community and some neighboring areas
should have a total staff of 8 but is operating on only the dedication and perseverance of four
dispatchers working extreme amounts of overtime every month. The unelected Finance
Commission has made the unconscionable recommendation to freeze Dispatch Center
staffing at the current level and to freeze two currently-vacant police officer positions. This is
a recipe for disaster.
Finding qualified applicants to be police officers and dispatchers in today's financial and anti-
police environment is extremely difficult. For those who are qualified, the careful hiring and
training process takes over one full year. Freezing positions will directly impact the police
department’s ability to respond to an emergency, possibly your emergency.
The members of your police department are deeply committed to our community. While we
perform standard law enforcement services, we also work collaboratively deep within the
community to ensure the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno remain the most
peaceful, safe and family-oriented place to live in the Bay Area.
The need to take action is urgent! The Los Gatos Town Council is expected to make a decision
on the Finance Commission's recommendations at the Council meeting in four days, this
Tuesday evening, May 18.
Please select the link above/below to urge your Los Gatos Town Council to vote NO on the
Finance Commission's recommendation.
From: Kiyoshi Nishide
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 10:58 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment Item #7 - RESEND
Dear Town Council,
I'm a resident of Los Gatos. Here is my proposal for the Public Comment Item #7:
1. I support Finance Committee’s 6-month freeze of the police budget.
2. I advocate that the police budget frozen even after the temporary 6-month freeze.
1. If an additional budget becomes available at some point, that fund should be
allocated to hire mental health community service or social workers who are
skilled in de-escalation and knowledgeable about all available resources, and not
additional armed police officers. There is no evidence that more armed police
officers would make Los Gatos safer. The Los Gatos police expense per capita is
already higher than our neighboring cities.
3. I believe Los Gatos will be a safer place to live with the proposed approach (#2.1 above)
by offloading the armed police officers from non-violent social and community issues,
such as neighborhood disturbances, homeless support, etc. Police officers will then be
able to focus more on solving violent crimes or crimes that require many hours of
uninterrupted/intensive investigative work.
Thank you.
Kiyoshi Nishide
-------------------------------------------
Below are two supporting data/information for this proposal:
In the words of Chief Decena during LG’s community conversation on police (timestamp:
1:17:45):
“one of the recommendations was to hire a social worker for the town of Los Gatos. I’d
be happy to do that. [...] I think we all want that; and I would be happy for that— if we
can find some kind of solution. Honestly, if you can take mental health calls and
homeless issues off our plates, defund me in a heartbeat. Defund me. But I don’t think
we’re there yet. We’re working on it. I think it’s very important. But we’re trying to work
toward solutions.”
LGMS Police Expenditures/Crimes vs. Neighboring Cities
data sources: https://datausa.io/profile/geo/san-jose-ca
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-altos/crime