The City Council on Tuesday night approved on first reading an alternate budget that takes $150,000 from the $71 million police budget for Mayor Andy Berke's new Department of Community Resilience. The second and final reading is next Tuesday.
Councilman Anthony Byrd cast the only no vote, saying he wanted to give more time for studying the budget.
He said, "$71 million for the police department sounds like a staggering amount, and I would like to see some reduction." He added, "But we can't cut the police department to $2 million and have Barney Fife and Andy Griffith running the city. That is not reality."
Darrin Ledford said, "Destruction, revenge and the abolishing of our police department are not an option for me."
Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, who said "You bet" when it was her turn to vote, said the council earlier "practically begged" citizens to take part in the budget process without much participation. She said, "Whoever organized this protest had an opportunity to come up with a plan back then."
She stressed "personal responsibility" rather than "coming to ask the government for help." She said Lurone Jennings, Donna Williams and others had arisen from a poor background.
Councilwoman Coonrod said, "Whatever we do is not going to satisfy the seven black people that are over the protest."
Vice Chairman Ken Smith said of police officers, "To vilify all of them for what a few have done is just not right. I haven't seen anything to make me think that defunding, or divesting," is the route to take.
He said those calling for police defunding "don't even know how to spend it (money pulled from police). There is no plan."
Chairman Chip Henderson said he supports the budget, noting that it fully funds the police.
Just before the vote, District Attorney Neal Pinkston asked to speak and was allowed. He said there has been concern in the black community for many years about the actions of some police officers. He said Police Chief David Roddy "is very progressive and refers numerous cases (of alleged police brutality) to the Department of Justice."
The district attorney said many cold cases are now under review and a large number of them involve black victims.
He said, "Defunding the police is not the answer. If anything, they need more money."
Chief Roddy said the $150,000 comes from his portion of the budget and does not affect other police operations.
Members of the Unity Group said after the vote, "The Unity Group is greatly disturbed and saddened at the sad and sordid display we witnessed tonight at the City Council. To willfully and
deliberately engage in suppressing and silencing the voices of the citizens of this community, and denying them their right to air grievances and bring petitions before the elected deliberative body of this City was shameful and an outright and blatant act of malfeasance."