The Greensboro City Council didn’t discuss defunding the Police Department at its Tuesday, June 8 budget work session.
But there was an apparent effort by Councilmember Michelle Kennedy to start dismantling the Police Department, one brick at a time.
This City Council, which has approved two $500 million plus budgets with barely a question except to increase how much favored nonprofit organizations receive, went over the police budget to the point of discussing a purchase of $7,700 made in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Kennedy asked if the Police Department needed attorneys and a communications department. She suggested that the attorneys be moved to the city attorney’s office and communications for the Police Department be handled by the Communications and Marketing Department.
Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter said, “This is absolutely about defunding the police. This is not going to be done overnight.”
She added, “We always talk about how we want to hear from people and we want them to be at the table. Well, they’re not at this table.”
Councilmember Nancy Hoffmann said that it was not a budget issue but an “organizational development” issue.
Kennedy agreed that the changes she was recommending would not affect the overall budget.
What her suggestions would do is reduce the police budget and increase the budgets of other departments.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “If we are moving things to make it look like we are reducing the police budget then it’s just a shell game.”
The two police attorneys actually work for City Attorney Chuck Watts, but they work in police headquarters and the Police Department pays the city attorney’s office for their services.
City Manager David Parrish noted that it was a budgeting approach that the city had taken for many years.
Councilmember Goldie Wells said that the people in her district complained about not having enough police.
Vaughan noted that when Police Chief Brian James was holding community forums, before they were canceled by the stay-at-home order, that “most of the neighborhood associations requested more police. They wanted to have more police in their neighborhoods.”
Kennedy and Councilmember Tammi Thurm also asked a host of questions about chemical munitions used by police.
The police chief said that on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1, the police used pepper spray, pepper balls and CS gas or tear gas. He said those were only used after people started throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at the police.
James said, “We were being assaulted by rocks, bottles and other objects.”
And he added that the police had found stashes of rocks, bottles and other objects around the downtown.
Kennedy kept asking how much the police spent on those chemical munitions and how much the Police Department would spend in the future.
James said, “I wouldn’t know until we made the purchase.”
Budget and Evaluation Director John Decker said that the last purchase of chemical munitions was in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Parrish said that the peak of expenditures for that type of product was $7,700 and that the money came from the miscellaneous line item in the budget.
Ms. Kennedy’s comment that the SROs contributed to the “school to prison pipeline.” Is straight out of the far left playbook. It would appear to me, that without the SRO’s you have now fully exposed every child in the system to possible violence. Whether she wants to admit it or not there are kids in the system who scare the students, teachers, and staff. Without the SRO’s they will have free reign to do as they please. Someone’s child will be a victim of this lunacy…..and political posturing. She is elected, so anyone in her district who has a child in the school system and you are worried…..take comfort that she is more interested in bringing left coast ultra left-wing politics to Greensboro than she is the wellbeing and safety of your child. That will make you feel so much better.
Chemical munitions, etc. seldom are lethal. Police use all sorts of non-lethal means to enforce our laws, and to protect themselves. Lethal force or threat has to be met in kind, or we have no police. I can’t believe that our Govt is even having this discussion. Police protection is a must, or we all will have to pack while going out. Might have to shoot someone. The presence of implied police protection, plus the assurance that many citizens pack, or have firearms at home; helps to keep most criminals at bay. Imagine if we had a London, UK, unarmed police force; and that our personal protections have be eliminated (UK or Australia, for example). Then we would be a slave of our govt. If everyone plays nice, we will all be happy and content. We need to support our Police force, and the Chief.
Although I now live in Arizona, I was born and raised in Greensboro, and I read the Rhino daily to keep up on what is going on back home. What I’m seeing out this current incarnation of the City Council is an absolute disgrace. I seem to remember that the “rules” were changed to allow the elected officials to serve a longer term, but what about the possibility of mounting a recall against Ms. Kennedy? From what I have been reading, it appears that she is an activist posing as a member of the City Council. But then again, to make a recall successful, there have to be enough people in the district who are willing to stand up and call for her removal; then put forth a worthy candidate to take up the position.
The only really engaged people in Greensboro are more likely to support Ms. Kennedy, as the rest of us are busy trying to find a way out of here. Between the very liberal universities and the face paced population shift, Greensboro will be the Detroit of NC in 5 years.
On the bright side, we have Greensboro’s own Mark Robinson, a man who put his money where his mouth is, running for Lieutenant Governor. I hope and pray he wins.
Can Michelle Kennedy be “recalled?” Every time she speaks it is an embarrassment to the citizens of Greensboro.
Ah…dear Marikay. She who has an opinion on everything and expects spmeone else to take care of it. She was in favor of a $15/hour minimum wage for Guilford County employees (us taxpayers get to pay it), but when she owned her own restaurant she paid the $2.15 an hour to her own staff (when she paid it herself).
Can you say a posturing liberal hypocrite?
And these are our leaders?
I do not usually comment on someone’s appearance (I’m no beauty) but the photo of Marikay just tickled me purple. OMG, this photo truly represents the face of a the city council – kinda like someone coming off a 3-day drunk. As for Kennedy – don’t recall, but fire, impeach, run out of town, etc. We cannot continue to have this idiot spouting off publicly. Kennedy blames whites for everything (further inciting violence and dividing the city), speaks about projects that are not ready to be publicly discussed and which she has not business being involved, and hates the police. So next time one of her “clients” at IRC gets beaten up or robbed of their cart of trash, who she gonna call? Maybe the violent protesters should target IRS – let her find the money to replace windows, clean off graffiti, etc. GPD should tell her to go to H-E-hockystick-hockystick.
Defund Police?? Who clears the scene BEFORE Fire department and EMTs arrive on site to aid victim(s) of a shooting? Their policies are to stand back even with folks dying. Just asking. Hummm.
I have pointed out this very thing on multiple forums. People haven’t thought about the fact that when the police go, firefighters and paramedics will go, too. This isn’t just the policy in what we might consider “rough” neighborhoods. I have relatives in Cary and Apex, two of the safest places in the entire country, and it’s the policy there as well.
For those considering de-funding law enforcement, according to US government spending for 2017, the last year with state and local actuals, spending for Health, Education, Welfare, Police, Fire and Social Order breaks down as follows:
Health care including Medicaid, CHIP, etc. is $1,578.5 billion, that’s one thousand five hundred seventy-eight point five billion.
Education $1,121.7 billion, or one thousand one hundred twenty-one point seven billion.
On Welfare they spend $449.8 billion.
Next, Police services is $140.3 billion.
Fire protection is $50.5 billion.
Prisons, $85.7 billion.
Public order and safety n.e.c, $11.8 billion
The bottom line, police services at the federal state and local level receives only 3.5% of the overall social services budget.