Merced passes $265M budget, following emotional calls to defund police, enact changes
A Monday gathering of the Merced City Council that lasted into the late evening culminated in the passage of a projected $265 million 2020-21 budget that ensures funding for needs like parks and recreation, while also preserving city jobs.
The adopted budget is an increase of $10.8 million from the prior year.
Despite an extremely tight budget severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, city officials pointed out there are no current plans for layoffs in any city departments.
Budgeted revenues estimate $43.9 million toward the general fund — an increase of $2 million.
The proposed budget was passed with an adjustment of 60% of Measure Y funds going toward the parks and recreation department — services which receive some of the smallest funding allocations at 1.2% and .8% of the city budget, respectively.
In contrast, the Merced Police Department receives one of the highest allocations of the budget. It is slated to receive about $20.85 million in general fund dollars, continuing a trend of slight annual increases. Other funding sources raise police funds to 10% of the city’s total budget.
Coronavirus-related upheaval wreaked havoc on the city’s revenues, resulting in lost sales tax, transient occupancy tax, gas tax, business license and inspection fees and other contract revenues with the closure of many businesses.
The city manager’s budget message estimates a total $5.4 million hit with sales tax reductions accounting for a $3.2 million loss.
“This is, frankly, the worst budget I’ve ever been a part of,” said Councilmember Kevin Blake.
Calls for police reform
Much of the meeting, which went well until nearly midnight, was highlighted by expressions of discontent by many in the audience over the role of local police, plus behavior by some city officials.
Members and supporters of the group Merced People of Color prior to the meeting spread word of a City Council “blackout”— asking the community to wear black and unite in solidarity following the killing of George Floyd.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground for nearly nine minutes. The killing has ignited unrest over police use of force nationwide.
Merced, like many communities, is grappling with questions of how to reform law enforcement following the death of Floyd and numerous killings of unarmed Black people nationwide. As a result, many in the audience Monday made demands for the City Council to defund the Merced Police Department.
Some requests at a national level have suggested dismantling police departments altogether, and a few cities nationwide are taking those demands seriously. Minneapolis City Council members said they support disbanding the city’s police department, while different cities are considering slashing department budgets. Some of those funds could instead go toward other departments and programs targeting communities in need.
In Merced, however, most speakers stressed reallocating police funds toward other initiatives and cutting budgets, versus entirely disbanding the police force. Some noted the need to assist Merced’s local youth and address longstanding needs including resources for the homeless, people suffering from mental illness and services for victims of sexual assault.
Others emphasized that defunding police can mean calls normally dispatched to police could instead go to trained professionals in those fields.
Dozens of speakers during two hours of public comment demanded City Council members enact real change amid the Black Lives Matter movement, or step down.
“We are reaching out to you with an olive branch,” said Gabriela Spiva, lead administrator and organizer of the group Merced People of Color, at the meeting. “Nobody’s rioted. Nobody’s looted.”
One speaker of note was William Colbert, a black man who filed a federal civil suit against multiple Merced police officers, accusing them of excessive force during an altercation. Recently released body camera footage shows a confrontation between Colbert and Merced police.
Colbert’s attorney has said the video shows his client being choked by an officer, and telling police that he couldn’t breathe. “I’m what you call a survivor of the Merced Police Department brutality,” Colbert told the council. “It’s a gang culture.”
Demands for council members to resign
Some in the audience made demands Monday for Merced District 2 Councilmember Fernando Echevarria to resign, following an event last week that boiled over into shouting between Echevarria and some protesters.
At the event, organized by Merced People of Color in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Echevarria demonstrated a carotid control hold for the crowd. Some in the crowd took offense, resulting in an exchange of words and Echevarria leaving the gathering.
Echevarria, who was not present at Monday’s meeting, said he left the gathering out of fear for his safety, adding he was considering legal action against Spiva.
Spiva called Echevarria’s accusations “ridiculous,” saying the former police office and elected official is weaponizing the law over her — a 20-year-old woman of color — as a scare tactic.
“There was a time and place for apologies and accountability. We gave (Echevarria) that platform,” Spiva told the Sun-Star before the meeting. “Now we’re past that. We’re demanding (his) resignation.”
Some also criticized Echevarria as having a lack of professionalism for making statements at a City Council meeting about homeless people, who are angry about being poor, not being “his problem.” Echevarria told the Sun-Star in a recent interview that he stands by these comments.
Echevarria told the Sun-Star Monday afternoon he was advised by his attorney not to comment on recent incidents further, but reiterated that his showing the chokehold was intended to be an informational demonstration that became misconstrued. “Then it just got out of hand,” he said.
Echevarria was not the only council member to take heat. Several speakers brought up Councilmember Blake’s 2018 fight on West Main Street, which resulted in his being demoted from sheriff’s sergeant to deputy.
“If you weren’t white, I believe you likely would still not be here,” said speaker Deja Mann, alleging that Blake’s “good old boy” persona and his law enforcement background allowed him to retain his council seat. “Needless to say, I would love your resignation as well,” Mann added.
More on the budget
Although the budget includes no layoffs, several city positions in administration, public works and public safety will be unfunded, deleted or kept vacant.
To balance the budget and avoid a $1.1 million general fund shortfall from lost revenue, one time funding sources like Measure Y are being used. Measure Y is a local tax on the cannabis industry that puts money toward Merced’s police, fire, parks and recreation services.
Th adjustment to Measure Y allocations puts thousands of dollars in cannabis funds previously for public safety instead toward parks and recreation, with the intention of it benefiting youth services.
The change came after several members of the public spoke of concerns about transparency in spending Measure Y dollars and the need for an oversight subcommittee.
City Finance Director Venus Rodriguez will present a report on the Measure Y changes at a later meeting, likely in July, she said.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 1:57 PM.
