Laurelhurst
Community Club
Serving 2800 Households in
October
21, 2002
Councilmember
Jan Drago, Chair
Budget Committee
and
Members of the
11th
Floor,
600
Re: Public Safety Budget Cuts / Elimination
of Funding for Community Service Officers
Dear Budget
Chair Drago and Members of the
The Laurelhurst Community Club Board
of Trustees urges you to provide adequate funding for the Seattle Police
Department in the 2003-2004 budget. The
Mayor’s proposed budget would eliminate 27 sworn police officer positions and
54 civilian positions. We understand the
difficulty you face in closing the $60 million budget shortfall, but we believe
cuts to public safety should not be considered.
We also oppose the elimination of
the Community Service Officer Program as proposed. Community Service Officers perform important
services to assist the police and the community. They handle juvenile runaway case management
and provide assistance to abused and neglected children. They check on the well-being of the elderly
and other vulnerable people. They
provide crisis intervention services and assist people in finding emergency
housing—just to list a few of the functions they perform. If funding for this program is eliminated,
these much-needed services will not be provided because police will not have the
time to do them. To reinitiate the
program in future years would mean large training and start-up costs. The current program is an effective and
efficient use of funds.
We are grateful that funds have been
restored for the Crime Prevention Program.
We hope you will work to increase funding for sworn police officers and
the Community Service Officer Program.
Thank you for considering our views.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Hale, President Pat Wright, Crime
Prevention Rep
3425 West Laurelhurst Drive
206-525-5135 / fax 206-525-9631 206-522-0871