Farrar argued that money from the city redevelopment agency should be redirected for public safety and added that the city police department is 100 officers short, making it the second-lowest in police-to-population ratio among the 30 largest U.S. cities.
But Murphy countered that the library would be paid for with a $20-million state construction grant as well as the redevelopment agency, not from general funds. “We expect to receive millions of dollars in gifts from people, just as we have in Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and Point Loma,” he said. “That money cannot be spent on police officers and equipment.”
The mayor told the Union-Tribune that the city had already budgeted for hiring new officers and cars. “We can build a 21st-century library system and have the lowest crime rate in America,” he said.
Posted October 8, 2004.