The Rochester City Council has approved a 2020-2021 budget that includes a $3 million cut in police spending, and reduces the incoming recruit class from 38 to 19. The budget also removes School Resource Officers from city schools
Council also voted to set up a task force that will establish a plan for restructuring the Rochester Police Department. The vote was 8-1, with Councilmember Mary Lupien casting the only “no” vote.
Black Lives Matter activists had pushed for the city to cut the police budget in half, a request also endorsed by the city’s new Police Accountability Board.
In developing this budget, Mayor Lovely Warren had to close a budget gap of $64 million, caused largely by the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect of reducing sales tax collections. The city was forced to furlough and lay off a number of employees.
The budget includes a property tax increase of about $133 dollars a year on the average city homeowner.
