Seize this moment: NYC Comptroller Urges de Blasio To Cut Over $1B In NYPD Funding
New York City’s Comptroller Scott M. Stringer sent a letter Thursday to the city’s Mayor Bill de Blasio asking him to cut $1.1 billion of funding to the New York Police Department over the next four years saying the funding to “scale down” the police force. Moreover, he said the money needs to be diverted “toward vulnerable communities most impacted by police violence and structural racism.”
“These are trying times for all New Yorkers, but especially for communities of color,” he wrote in the letter. “Across the boroughs, as across the nation, protesters have gathered to mourn and demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the hundreds of black men and women who have been killed at the hands of police in the U.S. The need for change – and a fundamental realignment of priorities – is clear, and I urge you to seize this moment to bring a measure of justice and fairness to how we spend our city dollars and protect New Yorkers.”
According to Stringer’s letter, it would mean a 5 percent budget cut for the police force for FY2021, which would be about $265 million.
The Comptroller’s budget plan for the NYPD is as follows:
“Reduce uniformed headcount through attrition: The City should suspend hiring of new police classes in FY 2021. Assuming a 3 percent attrition rate, that would bring expected uniformed headcount down to approximately 35,000 by end of FY 2021, or roughly the same average headcount that prevailed between 2011 and 2016, when crime continued its steady decline to historically low levels. Savings would also accrue from associated fringe benefits savings.
Cut uniformed overtime by 5 percent: Overtime spending for FY 2021 is budgeted at $519.6 million. A 5 percent reduction in budgeted overtime for uniformed officers would yield a $26 million annual savings.
Trim Other than Personnel Services by 4 percent: The City-funded OTPS budget for FY 2021 is $429 million. A 4 percent reduction in OTPS savings would yield $17 million in savings. This could be achieved through reductions in the NYPD’s spending on computer services and other service contracts, as well as a lengthening of the replacement cycle for NYPD vehicles, among other possible actions.”