SAN DIEGO (June 13, 2015) – Councilmember Alvarez has issued the following comments on the San Diego City Council’s approval today of the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget, which improved on the Mayor’s proposed budget. Highlights include the following items which were included in the Alvarez/Cole/Emerald Budget Priority Memo:

The San Diego Police Officer Retention Crisis:
“As of last week, 143 officers left SDPD this year. Last year it was 141 and the year before it was 120. Clearly the Police Officer Retention Crisis has gotten worse, not better, but we still don’t have rigorous data on why police officers are leaving. The Council improved the budget today by calling on the SDPD to bring forward a proposal to hire a third party contractor to conduct exit interviews of police department employees and measure their morale on an ongoing basis. Through better data, we can understand the causes of this crisis and identify solutions.”

Performance Measures for 911 and Non-Emergency Dispatch:
“The Mayor’s proposed budget actually had fewer performance measures related to dispatch than in previous budgets so I’m pleased that the Council approved the recommendations by Councilmembers Cole, Emerald, and I to add 10 performance measures on sworn staffing and dispatch to the Police Department’s budget.”

Penny for the Arts:
“I am so thankful to the many arts patrons that advocated for an increased funding commitment to arts and culture programs.  I thank my colleagues for adding $1.2 million in funding to the arts and for joining me in standing up for the arts in San Diego.”

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