Editor’s note: Mark Barlow is a Burlington resident. He has served two terms on the Burlington School Board, and currently serves on the Burlington Parks Commission.
Burlington residents should be concerned that the City Council has mandated a 30% reduction in the size of our police department as part of the larger Racial Justice Resolution that was passed on June 29. On a 9 to 3 vote, they made this change without a proper public process, against the recommendation of the city administration and department leadership, and lacking analysis necessary to accurately determine an appropriate force size.
The need for reform is real, but the City Council should first commit to a more thorough review by a larger group of community stakeholders before determining the appropriate size and makeup of our police department. An evaluation and community discussion is also needed, before any staffing decision, to determine the willingness and capacity of other partner organizations and institutions to replace the department for certain non-criminal public safety responsibilities.
Imagine if we wanted to restructure the way public education is delivered in our city, reform outdated school protocols and procedures, and address issues with professional conduct by school administrators or teachers. We wouldn’t start by first cutting the school budget and reducing staff levels, and then figure out how to effect the changes we want. We would expect the school district to start with a robust public process to gather stakeholder input and recommendations, and then do the planning necessary to support the schools with resources and professional development necessary to ensure any changes are made in a manner that does not adversely affect the educational or social service missions currently performed by the schools.
Our approach to police reform should be no different.
Councilor Dieng, supported by Councilors Shannon and Mason, unsuccessfully offered an amendment to the Racial Justice Resolution to create a special task force whose charge would be doing the work necessary to determine the future police department size, based on data and stakeholder input. The task force would also explore ways to transfer non-criminal workloads to other organizations or city agencies. Task force findings and recommendations would be presented to City Council once they completed their work. The other nine councilors rejected this amendment, and with their votes, rejected proper public process, opting instead for a cut-first then plan-later strategy.
We should insist that the City Council use a data-driven, inclusive public process with all community stakeholders before making decisions as consequential as determining the size for our police department. It is also essential for ensuring good public safety outcomes from the desired reforms. A template for such a process exists in Councilor Dieng’s amendment calling for the creation of a special task force. Let’s not abandon the informed democratic decision making that Burlington residents expect as we enact reforms to achieve racial justice. We can have and should demand both.
