Mornin’, Nooga 👋 — if you’ve been paying attention to the news recently, you know that protesters for racial justice + equity have been marching downtown most nights for the past couple of weeks demanding change. Specifically, the allocated funds for the police department in the 2021 proposed budget are under scrutiny.

This evening, at 6 p.m., the city council will have their first reading of Mayor Berke’s proposed budget. You can request to speak here. There’s also a revenue strike happening today + the mayor announced the Office of Community Resilience yesterday.

The Office of Community Resilience

At 1 p.m. yesterday, Mayor Berke announced the creation of the Office of Community Resilience — a resource within local government that will aim to help communities heal from trauma + minimize their contact with police officers. The new office will take $150,000 from the Office of the Chief of Police.

“It will provide activists, advocates, and allies with a forum to plan for a safer, stronger, more resilient Chattanooga.” – Mayor Berke

According to Berke, the OCR will be responsible for the following functions:

○ Social work, including supporting victims of violent crime.

○ Recidivism reduction programs, including assistance with felony record expungements and job training.

○ Support for justice-involved youth, including new mentoring and diversion initiatives.

○ Neighborhood-based planning, through partnerships with RPA, CDOT, the Office of Economic Development, and other departments that can assist residents with planning processes that result in visions for businesses, public spaces, and other assets that communities need to thrive.

○ Independent budget analysis and policy recommendations about municipal government expenditures related to public safety and law enforcement, like 911 response mapping and fees and fines for non-violent offenses.

Response

The creation of the OCR is being met with some appreciation but further demands to do more from local activists and protest organizers. 👇

“We the people, the organizers of the peaceful protests, the community activists and community leaders from grassroots organizations in Chattanooga, TN have a lackluster appreciation. We are not satisfied. The demands have not been met. We think that these steps are baby steps in the right direction, but we implore city officials, Mayor Andy Berke, and the city council to continue conversations with the community, the organizers of the protests, and the leaders of the grassroots organizations.” – Cameron “C-Grimey” Williams

Activists also asked the city to table the budget hearing scheduled for this evening so they could take a further look into the allocation of funds. Listen to the full statement from Cameron Williams + Marie Mott here.

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