In a special meeting Wednesday evening, the Flagstaff City Council unanimously passed the Fiscal Year 2021 budget and completed agenda items that were not addressed Tuesday. Councilmembers spoke on the topic of police funding, having considered over nine hours of public comment Tuesday night that lasted into Wednesday morning. Mayor Coral Evans expressed the sentiment of investing in the community, proposing community meetings and budgeting workshops to promote understanding and an open dialogue. Evans stated that Flagstaff Police Department funding should remain, or even be expanded, to give police the resources they need to fulfill the broad scope of their job. She also expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement, but noted the lack of acknowledgement of the historical black community in Flagstaff. Council agreed that conversations about issues larger than funding should be held moving forward. An amendment to the budget was made, which will allocate more funding to the education of police officers.
Written by KAFF News’ Scout Ehler:
