Small Businesses and Unions Applaud Rules Committee Recommendation on Police Minimum Staffing

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The Safer Smarter SF coalition applauds the decision of the SF BOS Rules Committee today to require that Sup. Matt Dorsey’s proposed Charter Amendment includes new sources of revenue to fund its increase to the SFPD budget rather than a general fund set-aside. Safer Smarter SF coalition members packed the chamber, urging members of the Rules Committee to ensure minimum police staffing doesn’t come at the expense of other critical city services.

“Small businesses depend on a wide range of City services. To increase police staffing without a funding source steals from everything else that keeps our communities healthy,” said Justin Dolezal, owner of Bar Part Time in San Francisco’s Mission district and co-founder of Small Business Forward, a progressive small business advocacy organization.

“San Francisco’s 911 dispatchers have a 40% staffing shortage. Public safety is an ecosystem and dispatchers need to be funded just as much as SFPD,” said Burt Wilson, 911 dispatcher for the City and County of San Francisco.

“Residents want you to make our city safer, but they also want you to be smart about it,” said Bianca Polovina, San Francisco resident.

BACKGROUND:
Safer Smarter SF is a growing coalition of small businesses and unions across San Francisco who are advocating for new revenue streams to fund life-saving City services: Small Business Forward, SEIU Local 1021, IFPTE Local 21, SF Building and Construction Trades Council.

Safer Smarter SF released new polling today, conducted by David Binder Research from October 25-29, 2023, among 400 likely primary election voters in San Francisco. It shows that voters identify many other city services and programs as more critical for the city fund than fully funding the police department.

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SOURCE IFPTE 21