Outside Omaha's city hall Tuesday, people gathered ahead of a public hearing on the proposed 2022 city budget. Once inside the legislative chambers, dozens of people took their turn to speak in opposition to an increase in funding for Omaha police. "Giving the OPD more money will not make Omaha a safer place. The city should be investing and recognizing that violence is a public health issue and addressing the root causes of why violence happens," Brianna Full said. The council heard that refrain countless times; opponents saying more police funding doesn't correlate to lower crime rates.Statistics from the Omaha Police Department website show violent crimes have increased over the past decade. At the same time, the police budget has gone from around $115 million in 2012 to a proposed $169 million in 2022. Out of all city departments, OPD has the largest percentage of the General Fund budget, with 37.2% of the pie. The proposed 2022 budget includes an increase of $5.3 million over the year prior for OPD, or a 3.25% jump. "Our investment in the Omaha Police Department has a pretty terrible ROI," said one man during public comment, "I'm not trying to rag on the Omaha Police Department here. How are they supposed to solve inequity in education, poverty, drug abuse and mental illness? You can call it divesting, you can call it defunding, you can call it whatever you want. What I'm talking about is fiscal responsibility."Several opponents also referenced lives lost in police custody - like Zachary Bearheels - who died in 2017 after Omaha Police used a stun gun on him and punched him. "Imagine a world where Zachary Bearheels got the help he needed during his mental health crisis?" Lynn Mills said. Members of the public asked the city to invest money in other safety initiatives, such as a mental health response team that would be completely separate from police."I'm asking you to be imaginative in the ways we can support our community," said one person.During the hours-long hearing, one man spoke in support of giving police more funding, citing his own personal experience when police responded to thefts of his personal belongings. "I support the police. Don't cut their spending," he told the council. Omaha's Mayor Jean Stothert said in a statement, "I am thankful that our citizens recognize the important and dangerous work of our officers. I will continue to reject calls to defund or dismantle our police department. We are working hard to rebuild our police after COVID-related recruitment delays. Police sworn staffing will be budgeted for 906 officers in 2022, the same level as 2021. Our commitment continues to the mental health co-responder program, crisis intervention training for officers, and the peer support program to ensure officers have full access to mental health resources."But the dozens of people who testified against the increased police spending, disagree, calling on the council to take action. "Budgets are moral documents. And if you vote yes on this budget you are anything but," Jaden Perkins said.