Business

The Multi-Billion Dollar Reason for Police Reform

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

The lack of police reform remains problematic when it comes to health and finances.

One report noted that U.S. cities collectively spend $100 billion a year on policing, eating at budgets for education, health care and housing – particularly in poor communities and those of color.

The American Friends Service Committee [AFSC], a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, said New York City spends more on policing than on the Department of Health, Homeless Services, Housing Preservation and Development and Youth and Community Development combined.

AFSC researchers noted that, since 1990, the federal government has transferred $6 billion of excess military equipment to local law enforcement agencies under a special program.

(Courtesy of Communities United for Police Reform)

For years, police have also undergone “warrior training” that teaches them to see every encounter as potentially life-threatening, especially when they involve people of color, according to researchers at AFSC.

“The police are not a neutral body and the institution is inherently biased,” Mary Zerkel, coordinator of AFSC’s Communities Against Islamophobia Project, wrote in a blog post for the organization.

“In the U.S., slave patrols and night watches were the beginning of a racially-directed system of law enforcement designed to secure capital for white settlers,” she wrote. “Over the past 40 years, the expansion of racially-targeted policing and policies such as stop-and-frisk and the ‘war on drugs’ have helped fuel mass incarceration in the U.S., with African Americans incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white people.”

“Black and brown people are disproportionately targeted from a young age, with hundreds of thousands of children ages six to 14 arrested, often by police officers stationed in schools as ‘school resource offi cers,’” Zerkel wrote.

In September, the city of Louisville announced a $12 million settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor who was slain by police after officers entered her home to serve a warrant.

As part of the deal, Louisville offi cials agreed to enact police reforms, including using social workers to provide support on specific police runs and requiring commanders to review and approve search warrants before seeking judicial approval.

The populated Kentucky city isn’t the first to promise reforms – and, if

REFORM Page 44

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BUDGET from Page 1 Ward 5, said. “I think if keeping people out of poverty means raising taxes on the rich, then so be it. People are hurting out here. Nothing should be cut.”

On Sept. 30, Jeffrey S. DeWitt, the District’s chief financial officer, wrote in a letter to Bowser and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson about his financial forecast for the city. DeWitt said the District ended fiscal year 2020 with $222 million higher than his April estimate. However, even though the District closed the fiscal year with more revenue than estimated, the city will operate from a $334.4 million deficit compared to fiscal year 2019 and the fiscal year 2021 estimated defi cit has been lowered to $212 million.

DeWitt blames the coronavirus pandemic, which has been in the District since mid-March and has forced the city to shut down schools ahead of schedule, to trigger the closing of businesses, including retail stores, hotels and restaurants and to strictly curtailed travel and social gatherings in D.C.

“This is a COVID recession,” DeWitt said at a news conference on Sept. 30. “We ended fiscal year 2020 not as bad as we expected. We are fortunate that 2019 was such a good year economically for the city and that has helped offset some of the financial damage. But we do have to balance the budget as required by law. Things may get better in 2021 if a vaccine emerges and people will feel comfortable coming back into the city to work.”

DeWitt noted 75 percent of the District’s economy functions well but ailing hospitality and tourism industries due to the pandemic fuels the recession. He said three factors—the District’s small business loan program, the onetime federal $1,200 relief checks to citizens and the expanded unemployment compensation of $600 per week to former workers in the public and private sectors—has kept the city from being in a worse financial situation.

Mendelson, at the news conference, said while the budget situation looks troubling, he said “the city is in a better position to weather what is happening.”

“We are doing okay compared to other jurisdictions,” the chairman said. “Other jurisdictions’ situations are more dire. In the next few weeks, we will work with the mayor for a supplemental budget that will be balanced.”

Bowser said her staff will work with members of Congress to make sure the District gets equitable funding from COVID relief bills at the level of a state, not as a territory, as she noted occurred in the March CARES Act legislation. Neither Bowser nor Mendelson would comment at the news conference on raising taxes to balance the budget.

D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) said DeWitt’s “updates revenue projections indicate that we remain in a recession and the path to recovery will be much longer than anticipated.”

“COVID-19 has had a devastating economic impact,” the councilmember said. “With unemployment insurance claims in the District still rising it is critical that we prioritize replenishing our depleted unemployment insurance fund. As we look to maintain the District’s financial strength, we must balance increasing revenues to care for our most vulnerable and austerity measures to make our budget and operations effective and efficient.”

D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large) agreed with Mendelson the District’s financial status is much better than other jurisdictions but said the unmet needs of residents must be resolved by the Council.

Former D.C. Councilmember Vincent Orange, a candidate for the independent at-large seat in the Nov. 3 general election, said DeWitt’s estimates of the District’s financial health may be slightly off.

“His assumptions are based on things that might not come true,” Orange said. “He is banking on non-residents generating sales taxes in the city. I think it is questionable whether people will come back to work in the city once a vaccine is found. Things could actually be worse than they seem.”

Orange said closing the fiscal year 2020 deficit could be done “in a reasonable manner” by reducing agency budgets and delaying the implementation and operation of programs. He said what could really hurt the District would be a second wave of the coronavirus, saying businesses shutting down again would be devastating.

In the meantime, he said, District lawmakers and the mayor should focus on restoring both the rainy-day fund designed to help the city in financial emergencies and the unemployment insurance program.

“If we don’t replenish the rainy-day fund and meet our other obligations under law, that will bring back the control board,” Orange said.

Orange rejected raising taxes to balance the budget and said if Congress allocates money to the District at the level of a state “it would make the city’s situation more manage-

Planning -Leadership in Action

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq

We are living in a time of great discernment; our society is deeply divided in understanding the definition of good leadership and expectations of those who hold leadership positions. Typically, we critique leaders based on the values we hold most dear. If people are following you, you are leading, consciously or not. As a leader, the question that you should be considering is, am I directing those who follow me impactfully and where I wish for them to go. Unfortunately, there are too many of us who are not looking forward to the next chapter and the path loved ones are being led.

As an estate planning attorney, I encourage people to incentivize their values. I have seen significant amounts of money left with no instructions attached. In one such tragic story, a young woman was left more than $250,000. Within six months, she was homeless and in rehab. There was no plan or support for this young woman. Sadly, this is not an unusual story. We know that, statistically, lottery winners are more apt to file for bankruptcy than the typical person.

Yet, 55% of Americans do not have an estate plan and 70% of African Americans do not have an estate plan. While there are many reasons why people justify not having a plan, the truth is, it is often just not a priority. As leaders of a family, a community or a business, we have a responsibility to set a path that will position our followers in a better space because we came before them. We should not leave them in an even worse position because of ill or no planning.

I am supportive of people embracing their values and building opportunities to promote advancement of the community, utilizing those values. If secondary education is important to you, then encourage your loved ones or your community to go to college by reducing the barriers to entry, such as creating scholarships. If home ownership is a value to you, then help mitigate the barriers by providing support for a down payment.

We encourage raising contributing members of society with a helping hand, but not diminishing the responsibility to building on their own. Economic support to go to college still requires admission based on the productivity of the applicant. I also recommend setting an expectation of standards in moving forward for the student. The gift of support towards down payment of a house does not remove the responsibility of the purchaser to qualify to get a mortgage. The responsibility of the leader is to prepare those who follow to rise up and pass the baton to enable the follower to become the next leader.

Leadership requires a vision and a purpose. We live our best lives when we walk in vision and purpose. We encourage each person to leave a legacy that supports the next generation; to fuel a values-based vision and purpose, ignited by the path laid before them. The greatest gift we can give is the support for others to live their purpose to be a values-based contributor.

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able.” However, he said the elimination of one District program could wipe out the deficit.

“All we have to do is to erase the Universal Paid Leave program,” Orange said. “That program benefits non-residents primarily and we should take care of D.C. residents first.”

Cathy Young, a Ward 5 resident, said she agrees with Orange that District residents come first. She said Bowser and the D.C. Council should have working-class people in mind when they formulate the supplemental budget.

“People need to eat,” she said. “People need money to pay rent and to pay their bills. If you don’t have a job, how can you survive? The mayor and the city council should think about that.” WI