In West Houston, Stafford, a conversation swirling around the city's budget has birthed allegations of defunding the police force. According to the Houston Chronicle, after pulling a hefty $2.5 million from the rainy day fund to keep the 2023–20244 budget afloat, whispers of reintroducing a property tax have surfaced.
The Stafford Police Officers Association says its department is already so short-staffed that the Stafford Police Chief himself had to make an arrest just last week. Now the union says the mayor’s proposed budget for next year is reducing the police force even further, with a force reduced to approximately 48 from a potential 67. Sergeant Luciano Lopez declared, "We don’t want to put the public in danger by losing more officers," as he told FOX26 Houston.
Lopez pleaded before the members to halt the downsizing, while residents voiced contrasting concerns. "I’m not happy about it if you’re asking me that. We don’t have that many police officers as it is. I mean, I really don’t see any out here," says Stafford resident Brenda Martin, whereas Hafiz KC, remarked, "It’s dangerous if they’re cutting stuff that they need, stuff that could be beneficial to the community but if they have unnecessary stuff that’s wasting taxpayer money. I’m trusting the mayor to make the right decision," according to interviews by FOX26 Houston.
Councilwoman Virginia Rosas defended the fiscal strategy, asserting, "We can’t maintain, in my opinion, the city services as they are, and continue to grow with just sales taxes,” as mentioned by the Houston Chronicle.
Mayor Ken Mathew says most of the proposed budget submitted is not his numbers, and he says "I am not de-funding the police department…not cutting the police budget by a million dollars …and not reducing the workforce"
