PHOENIX – On Monday, the Phoenix City Council approved increased funding for the new police oversight office. In a 7-2 vote, the Council increased the budget for the Office of Accountability and Transparency from $400,000 to $3 million.
Staff assured the Council that the increase would not cut into a planned 1 percent pay raise for city workers or decrease funding for the Police Department.
“The vote passed to create the committee on a 7-2 vote. Other than me, no one even thanked our police,” said Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio. “Even so called supporters like Jim Waring and Thelda Williams couldn’t even muster a thank you for our police. Not even a thank you to the families who have had to endure this horror. The officer goes to work, but the spouses and especially the children are the ones who carry the burden. I am in disbelief that these two could not stick out their necks by saying thank you to the families Really sad.”
Councilman Carlos Garcia, who has made his disdain for police the cornerstone of his political agenda, complained that the Police Department’s budget was “historically disproportionate” to other parts of the government.
“Our community is asking us to reconsider how we invest in them. Let’s look at this moving forward,” said Garcia. “We have the opportunity now to change the way we’ve been doing things. What does it say about us leaders when we continue to ignore what the community is asking for?”
DiCiccio and fellow Councilman Jim Waring voted against the budget. Garcia, Mayor Kate Gallego, Vice Mayor Betty Guardado and Council members Williams, Michael Nowakowski, Debra Stark, and Laura Pastor voted for the budget.