Brookline To Consider Cuts To $17M Police Budget

BROOKLINE, MA — Amid a racial justice uprising across the country sparked by the death of a Black man in Minneapolis when an officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes, people across the country are asking for municipalities to rethink the way police departments are funded. Protesters, including in Brookline, are asking that less money go to funding the police, and the money be reallocated instead, to help fund schools, affordable housing and other social programming.

Tuesday night Brookline's legislative branch is set to consider what that would mean for the town's next fiscal budget, a budget that officially begins July 1.

The elected body of Town Meeting Members of some 240 people, is set to consider two amendments to the town budget that would reduce funding for the police department budget a further $1,265,000 and the other by $2,065,951 and reallocate that money to education, affordable housing and racial justice initiatives.

Both are controversial. Although Town Meeting members have been discussing the proposals for the past several weeks in their private list serve, the public debate about that may only be permitted to last from 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday. By law, Town Meeting must pass a budget by midnight on Tuesday night, the last day of the current fiscal year's budget.

Town officials and department heads have put forward a $197,559,990 spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year for the entire town. The budget includes $17,386,626 for the police, which is a decrease of $772,413 from fiscal 2020 budget, which was $18,159,039.

Many local activists are demanding something along the lines of up to a 50 percent drop in funding, though the two cuts up for discussion propose about 10 percent from the original budget proposal.

Proponents of the cuts contend the police department is over-funded and money should go toward other town programs such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Opponents say the budget already provides for a number of social programs - such as a youth basketball league and a self defense class for civilians that might be on the chopping block. They argue the Brookline Police Department's $17.3 million budget is too small for sweeping cuts. A cut in the department as proposed by both amendments could result in several low-seniority officers being laid off, which may include a person of color. Six recruits were just hired to fill vacancies and help keep the department from having to force officers to work overtime, which is expensive.

And, some point out that the budget has already had cuts.

The Town's budget developed in February before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were made clear was $359 million, an increase of 6.8 percent over the previous year. But as the coronavirus began to impact cities and towns across the country, town officials predicted a revenue shortfall of about $12.2 million from the original budget factoring in state aid reduced by more than $3.3 million and local receipts by some $8.8 million.

In response, they reduced the capital budget by $3.5 million, school department reduced their budget by 3.5 percent, or $4.4 million and the municipal departments reduced their budget by $3.3 million. The police budget was reduced by $656,000 and last week the Select Board and Advisory Committee voted for a further reduction of $116,450 — representing a 4.3 percent decrease. That reduction means the department is losing two civilian positions, a police officer position and will have reductions to overtime and the cruiser fleet upkeep.

Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh announced a plan earlier this month to reallocate 20 percent of the Boston Police Department’s overtime budget to community programs aimed at reducing racial inequality in the city. The budget cuts effectively trim some $12 million, $2 million of which will be reallocated within the police department. Waltham, meanwhile rejected a proposal. In Newton, where the chief of police recently announced his sudden - and early - retirement, the city is in the process of developing a civilian-lead task force to review the entire police department.

Read more: Newton Police Chief David MacDonald To Step Down, Amid Calls for Reform

Town leaders have also proposed a task force, similar to that of Newton's, to reimagine policing in Brookline. Select Board Members have said they support that. Some Town Meeting Members want to wait for the outcome of this task force before any cuts and reallocation of funding, but others say the time to take action is now.

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• Town Meeting Night 3: Voted To Block Funding Alston Litigation
• Brookline Police Department Social Worker Offers Online Hours

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.