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San Jose Leaders Propose Public Safety Cuts to Close Budget Gap

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With San Jose's income streams being ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, city leaders are considering shaving more than $10 million off public safety in next year's budget. The cuts would affect the hiring of police officers and firefighters, reduce access to community services and delay the expansion of a long-awaited fire station in the city's Willow Glen neighborhood.

With the city's finances in tatters and a $71.6 million hole in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, San Jose leaders are proposing sweeping cuts to city functions as they face a grim economic future. But public safety personnel said the proposed cuts would bring the city back to a time when crime rates were high, 911 response times increased and residents' quality of life deteriorated.

"Cutting police officers will have a detrimental impact on our neighborhoods — the department already does not meet its emergency response time goals," Paul Kelly, president of the San Jose Police Officers Association, told the San Jose Spotlight.

Read the full story from the San Jose Spotlight here.

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