Sacramento considering cuts to police department due to $66M budget deficit
Sacramento's difficult budget cut debate is beginning at City Hall with a $66 million deficit and a proposed 46 layoffs.
There are no police officers facing layoffs, but there are cuts proposed to the police department.
Ernesto Delgado owns six restaurants across Sacramento, including Mayahuel in the heart of downtown. Sacramento budget cuts to the police department have him concerned about the impact to his bottom line.
"So I want to make sure my staff is protected, that I feel secure, that I don't have to deal with break-ins," Delgado said. "There's a lot that we're dealing with here in downtown Sacramento, right?"
Dustin Smith is the president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.
He said Sacramento's police department is already in a staffing and recruitment crisis.
"We've pretty much eliminated everything we can and basically cut all the fat, and I would consider us to be a de-funded police department," Smith said.
Now, there are new proposed cuts that include eliminating the mounted patrol unit, terminating contracts with Regional Transit and the Natomas Unified School District for resource officers, and ending the ShotSpotter program in some parts of the city.
Another proposed cut, councilmember Roger Dickinson is calling to restore the violence prevention fund. Money that flows through the police department to nonprofit programs.
"This violence prevention investment pays itself back many times over," Dickinson said. "It's my highest priority for things that I want to see restored in the budget."
As Sacramento seeks solutions to a $66 million deficit. Calls of concern to find funding for some of the high-profile police programs facing cuts. The city will have to pass a balanced budget before July 1.