ACT 4 SA LAUNCHES SAPD BUDGET DASHBOARD

DASHBOARD TRACKS SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND SPENDING FROM 2019 THROUGH THE PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET

ACT 4 SA has released a dashboard showing San Antonio Police Department (SAPD)’s budget and expenditures from 2019 through the newly proposed 2024 budget. You can view the dashboard by visiting act4sa.org/sapd-budget.

Developed with data and technical support from Community Information Now, this tool helps increase transparency for how the public’s tax dollars are being spent for the department, highlighting trends. It includes a tab that breaks down what portions of the annual police budget are controlled by the collective bargaining agreement, and even tracks how police response time and crime data corresponds to differences in SAPD budget over the years. Please note that dollar amounts have been adjusted to account for inflation.

“I was personally shocked to learn how much of our tax dollars are used for SAPD’s lawyer slush fund aka personal legal expenses. We are paying for their custody battles, divorce settlements, juvenile court matters, bankruptcy proceedings and more,” said Ananda Tomas, Executive Director of ACT 4 SA. “I think folks will be able to learn a lot from this new tool, and we hope they use it when speaking to their City Council about the upcoming FY 2024 budget.”

The FY 2024 SAPD budget proposal includes an increase of 105 officers and a $1.1 million fitness facility. This 7.8% increase totals the SAPD Budget to $570.6 million. Budget town hall meetings are scheduled from August 14th-24th, and public hearings will occur on August 30th and September 7th in front of City Council. Community members can visit https://www.saspeakup.com/ to find the details on upcoming budget meetings.

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ACT 4 SA empowers the San Antonio community through year-round base building, actions of solidarity, public education, policy, and advocacy. We are dedicated to pushing for accountable, compassionate, and transparent measures to create public safety that preserves and centers the health and well-being of our entire community.

Media Contacts:

Penny King: penny@act4sa.org