If the police want to avoid cuts, they could simply reduce the pay RAISES they are getting. In an economy where taxpayers are losing their jobs, the police continue to get pay raises and have incredible health and retiree benefits.

The police have an important role - and they generally do a good job. But pay (including overtime) and benefits have gotten to be too much compared with the private sector.

Layoffs are bad for officers and bad for the community. While it makes sense to have some pay and benefit cuts, even that may not be possible. But the police should step-up to share the pain of the entire country and simply agree to NO INCREASE in pay or benefits for the next 2 years.

That would solve much of the budget problem, let people keep their jobs and their current pay, and keep service to the Mountain View.

We don't really need them. All we need is the capacity to defend ourselves. They have convinced you that self-defense is somehow evil or dangerous. It is neither.

The state should never possess a monopoly on violence.

The police seem to spend so much time on California Ave. policing the activities of immigrant, mostly illegal, mostly hispanic residents. Turn policing of this group over to the federal government and ICE, otherwise don't complain about the high price of the Police force. And now I'll be called a racist.