On July 21, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting included an item on the Supplemental Agenda (click here to read in entirety), proposing an extremely controversial concept of seeking to “redistribute” at least 10% of County funding away from public safety through a ballot measure presented to the voters in November of 2020. Make no mistake: this measure, if passed would significantly cut public safety resources for the Sheriff’s Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and County Probation and put the safety of community members at risk. Additionally, these draconian budget reallocations represent the potential of at least 1,000 unionized County employees facing layoffs, with only a “belief” (no further information provided) of the Board of Supervisors that additional jobs would be created.
“Ballot-box budgeting of the sort the supervisors propose is a bad idea and poor substitute for careful study, deliberation and decision making.”
– Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, July 21, 2020
In a 4-1 (Supervisor Barger standing alone as the NO vote) decision last Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to place this ballot measure with a proposed County Charter amendment, the verbiage not yet finalized or provided, on the ballot for the November 2020 election. This ballot measure will ultimately require the voters to decide whether to endorse a reconfiguration of allocations for LA County budget priorities, which would represent a potential defunding of public safety of “at least 10%.”. These funds would then be reallocated to “address racial injustice, over-reliance on law enforcement interventions, limited economic opportunity, health disparities, and housing instability.”
PPOA stands with the other labor organizations and their coalitions in opposition of this motion moving forward as well as any effort to relinquish the complex budgetary control of the County to the voters.
PPOA NEEDS THREE MINUTES OF YOUR TIME…
to protect PPOA members’ jobs, the hundreds if not thousands of jobs of our union coalition partners, and prevent Los Angeles County from becoming urban war zones like Portland, Seattle, and Chicago.
PLEASEcontact each of the Board of Supervisors’ office by telephone, expressing your concerns, AND send an email to each Supervisor, cc’d to info@ppoa.com. The Subject Line of the email should read “OPPOSE Proposed Charter Amendment.” Your narrative can be as simple as (cut/paste):
I oppose the Board of Supervisors action to place a measure on the ballot which would restrict any portion of the County Budget. The fiduciary responsibility and decision making flexibility for the expenditure of BILLIONS of dollars must remain with the Board of Supervisors as priorities change and evolve based on numerous factors and circumstances.
DO THIS NOW!!Don’t put it off and forget. The next vote is on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.
Elected officials are running for political cover, making uninformed decisions and entertaining sweeping changes to our county system while facing an unprecedented global pandemic and a crippling budget deficit that will impact front line healthcare workers as well as first responders. Inexplicably, there is no safety net in this charter amendment. Nothing to protect us against earthquakes, wildfires or other unforeseen events that could have a devastating impact on LA County residents. Please join us to defend our communities, protect our jobs, and ensure Los Angeles County remains a safe and healthy area in which to live and work.
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association