Letter for Harrisburg City Council and Mayor

[thakurs4]

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Subject: [*** INSERT UNIQUE SUBJECT LINE ***]

Dear Harrisburg Mayor and City Council Members,

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a resident of Harrisburg PA. I am writing to demand that Harrisburg decrease its police budget for the next year and instead allocate that funding to more sustainable community initiatives.

According to the 2020 Budget, The Harrisburg Police Bureau receives $19.7 million out of the $72 million allocated to the city’s general funds. In addition, between 2019 and 2020, the salaries of the Police Bargaining Unit increased by $1.24 million, and the police equipment costs rose from $142,000 to $531,000. There is no reason why the Police Bureau budget should be so high in the first place, let alone increase.

According to the 2019 US Census, 27.7% of Harrisburg residents are in poverty, a number that most likely increased because of the Covid-19 pandemic. If the money budgeted to the police was instead allocated to housing, jobs, youth programs, restorative justice, mental health, and social workers, the Harrisburg community would be safer.

Crime usually happens because people lack the support they need in other areas of their life such as housing and employment. Increasing the police budget does not decrease the crime rate. If you really want to make a positive impact on Harrisburg’s residents, focus on helping people improve their quality of life.

We all need to work with each other to change our society so that community members look out for one another and there is no need for excessive, violent law enforcement. This is a future that is in your power to create.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

Harrisburg 2020 Budget:
http://harrisburgpa.gov/documents/approved-2020-budget/
Harrisburg 2019 Budget:
http://harrisburgcitycontroller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2019-Approved-Budget.pdf
US Census Harrisburg Info:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/harrisburgcitypennsylvania

[mahrer]

Thank you for submitting your city to defund12.org! Your request is now in the queue for review and publishing. We’ll reply here if we have any questions.