Full story by Kristin Lam available at CapRadio
Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved a $1.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year and rejected a proposal to move funding from police department vacancies to homeless services.
The council voted 6-3 against Council member Caity Maple’s proposal to redirect $6 million of police funding to the Department of Community Response for homeless calls for service.
Officials in the majority said police will need to spend the savings from vacant positions on overtime costs because patrol is understaffed. Police Chief Kathy Lester said the department has 101 sworn position vacancies and expects to have 45 vacancies remaining by the end of next June after promotions and hiring academy graduates.
Maple, along with Council members Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela, argued moving the $6 million would allow community response to handle homeless behavioral health calls 24/7. The department currently operates Monday through Friday during business hours. For this calendar year so far, homeless concerns have been the third-most frequently reported type of request to the city’s 311 customer service line, according to data shared during the meeting.