Read the June 18 meeting.

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Valerie Amezcua

Madam City Clerk, can you hear me?

David Penaloza

Mayor, I can hear you.

Valerie Amezcua

Okay, thank you, Council Pinalosa. I'm waiting to hear the background noise.

David Penaloza

Yeah, that's all I could hear too.

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Thai Viet Phan

Recording in progress.

Valerie Amezcua

Good afternoon, Madam City Clerk. Can you hear me?

Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor, can you hear me?

Valerie Amezcua

Now I can hear you. Can you hear me? Yes, we sure can. I have my video on showing, but it's not showing anything.

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, we are. We'll get that situated in time for the next part of the meeting, but you can go ahead and call the order. Great. Madam Clerk, let's start the meeting.

Valerie Amezcua

Yes, it is being recorded. I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Becerra? Here. Council Member Hernandez? Here. Council Member Lopez? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Phan? Here. here council member penaloza present council member vasquez

Jennifer L. Hall

mayor mesqua president we have all seven members present four in the chamber and three via

Valerie Amezcua

teleconference thank you madam quirk are there any additions or deletions to the closed session agenda they are not do any council members need to announce their abstentions on closed session items Any other items?

Jennifer L. Hall

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers for closed session? Yes, we do, Mayor. Noting for the record, as of 2.30 this afternoon, we did receive one email that was distributed to Council and made part of the record posted online. We do have four speakers here in the chamber wishing to speak on closed session item number one.

Jennifer L. Hall

First speaker, Carlos Perea, followed by Vincent Tran. If you could please approach the podium.

Good evening, Mayor Amezcua and members of the City Council. I'm here to speak regarding the close session item that you have in front of you regarding the recent frivolous lawsuit by James Lacey, who does not live in Santa Ana, is from South of South Osea and you know the city does not take kindly to South Osea political actors that come and try to tell us how to do our business. But nevertheless, I'm here to remind the council to reaffirm your commitment to the language that the residents of Santa Ana advocated for, that now James Lacey is trying to call bias.

We believe that the language that the council adopted is in line with what should be allowed to be put forward on the borders and the valid measure language simply states who will be impacted by if the voters approve this measure. It's not saying anything that is not factual. It's a fact that residents of Santa Ana are taxpayers who are immigrant. It's a fact that also parents. So we again call on you to defend this and the courts. We believe this is defensible and that we will win and commit to that. The second one I know

that one of the issues that you will be discussing today is around the costs. Let me remind the City Council that yes the concerns about the costs about these court fight should be a concern. But this is an issue that should be a no-brainer. This is about how we run our democratic elections in the city. This is not about political lawsuit stemming from political fighting in the council. And I'll remind you, just a couple months ago, the city of Santa Ana had to pay over $600,000. $600,000, half a million dollars,

dollars to settle a claim alleging that the police union runs City Hall as a result of Mayor Mezcua creating a hostile environment work environment for our former city manager so when we think about cost I really want you to really think about you know what do you want to stand for do you want to stand for a fighting for our democratic process on how we run our business in the city or do you want to keep going on this route where you'll defend costs that the city continues to incur due to political drama here. So again, I strongly urge you to defend this language. The ACLU of Southern California, UCI Law School, Immigrant

Rights Clinic, and as well as Chinese for Fair Mood Action has sent you a letter with very well detailed legal arguments as to how the city can defend it. And Santa Ana Families for Fair Elections also submitted a letter. Thank you.

Jennifer L. Hall

Next speakers, Vincent Tran, followed followed by Apolonio Cortez and Claudia Morales.

Good evening, council. My name is Vincent. I'm the organizing director at VietRise. I'm here to speak on behalf of VietRise to comment on agenda item number one. At VietRise and as a core member of the Santa Ana Families for a Fair Election Coalition, we are here to share our support for the original ballot measure language passed by the city council on November 7th, 2023, which would allow voters to determine of the city should expand the right to vote to all residents. We disagree with the arguments proposed by James Lacey in his lawsuit against the city

for including the words, including those who are taxpayers and parents in the ballot measure. This language simply presents examples for voters to understand who would be enfranchised if this measure is approved. Lacey has clearly stated that he is opposed to expanding the right to vote to non-citizen residents in the city. We find it difficult to believe that this lawsuit is not driven by its clear opposition to this initiative and that this lawsuit is not a tactic aimed at discouraging community members working on this effort to enfranchise all residents.

It is not uncommon for ballot measures to contain examples of the groups of people that would be impacted by its passing. measure E proposed by voters to voters by the Westminster City Council and voted on during the primary election in 2024 listed a myriad of groups that would benefit from the passing of measure E we believe that in excluding neutral language like taxpayers and parents we set a bad precedent for future ballot measures proposed by the city we respectfully urge the council to to vigorously defend the original language that the ballot measure in court and assure that the original language is retained. Thank you.

Jennifer L. Hall

Apolonio Cortes.

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that's important muy importante y también quiero destacar que es importante que el gasto que supuestamente se va a hacer que se ve como una inversión que está haciendo que va a traer beneficio nuestra comunidad no no solamente como un gasto un gasto implica que se gasta y no y no se ve dónde quedó el gas pero este va a ser una inversión porque va a beneficiar nuestra comunidad creo que es importante porque estamos como viendo la la democracia en nuestra ciudad y creo que este es un punto muy importante que tenemos que tomar en cuenta para tomar una de sin correcta entonces que es importante que la point al como esta en

el lenguaje que se ha propuesto gracias buenas tardes

Apollo he spoke regarding the benefits and the importance of this law proposed for closed session item number one Claudia Morales

is but they are doing it. So we ask you to invest in what is truly necessary. Something well invested is to pay for that. And we will be in representation. We will be representing there. The day the court is to be held, we will be there, present as families to defend our language. So thank you very much for your service, for your work, and I thank you for truly working for the community, for Santa Ana. gracias so claudia spoke regarding the importance and the investment to the community related to

Jennifer L. Hall

closed session item number one mayor and city council that concludes the speakers here in the chamber do need to confirm with council members vasquez panelosa and mayor mescla if there are

Valerie Amezcua

any speakers at your locations this is mayor mescla there are no speakers at my location and i am alone

David Penaloza

This is council member Peñalosa. There are no speakers here at this location.

Jennifer L. Hall

Seeing no speakers at the teleconference locations, that would conclude public comments on the closed session items.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam City Clerk. We'll now recess this portion of the meeting to consider the items listed on the closed session agenda. Thank you.

Recording stopped.

Benjamin Vazquez

David, you have to go to the closed session.

Benjamin Vazquez

There's a different link for closed session.

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Recording in progress.

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Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor, can you hear me?

Valerie Amezcua

I can, thank you, Madam Clerk.

Valerie Amezcua

Are you ready?

Jennifer L. Hall

We can get started? Yes.

Valerie Amezcua

Everybody present?

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, Mayor.

Valerie Amezcua

Okay, let me get started here in a second. I'm bringing up my agenda here. Okay. I hereby reconvene the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting through the fan-anny YouTube channel or the City's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. As a reminder, this is a meeting to conduct the business of the City. As Mayor, I am afforded the opportunity to call for a recess or break, or even to clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive. to properly conduct business.

Valerie Amezcua

Warnings will be provided. We appreciate your cooperation. For everyone's safety, for the fire marshal, please do not stand or place objects in the aisles in front of the dais, along the back of the wall of the council chamber, in front of the entrances or exits. To ensure that all members of the public may watch and participate in the meeting without disruption, designated media areas for filming and photography are marked. If you have any questions, please contact our PIO. Guidelines for members of the news media and anyone else who wishes to film a photograph, the media are available in the lobby.

Valerie Amezcua

During City Council presentations and oaths of office, guests of individuals being recognized are invited to come to the front to take photos. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Becerra. Here. Council Member Hernandez. Present. Council Member Lopez. Here. mayor pro tem fan here council member penalosa here council member vasquez

Valerie Amezcua

mayor meswa president madame city clerk there's noise in the background i'm not sure whose noise

Jennifer L. Hall

that is yes mayor we're trying to increase your volume here in the chamber um as well as if anybody else who is on teleconference or zoom please make sure you're muted and any other open mics in the chamber please turn off any audio on your phones thank you we do have four members present in the chamber and three members via teleconference madam clerk before we proceed

Valerie Amezcua

to the pledge of allegiance please make an announcement thank you for members of the public

Jennifer L. Hall

on zoom or teleconference to request to speak during public comments on agenda or non-agenda items within the city's jurisdiction you must dial star 9 from your phone or click the button labeled raise hand from zoom now in order to be in the speaker queue once public comments commence thank

Valerie Amezcua

you thank you very much mayor pro tem can you lead us in the pledge of allegiance please sure point

David Penaloza

of order mayor um i i think uh a council member left the council chambers i just want to make sure with the city attorney that we have quorum in the chambers oh thank you councilman panelists i i

Valerie Amezcua

should have seen that uh madam city attorney we do not have quorum therefore we can't proceed

Valerie Amezcua

Is that correct?

Valerie Amezcua

Hello, Madam City Attorney.

Sorry, I did not have my speaker on. The Brown Act says as long as we have quorum within the jurisdiction of the city, as well as we have the folks on teleconference, that we should be able to proceed.

Valerie Amezcua

So jurisdiction being?

Sorry. Right, within the territory of the jurisdiction of the city. Oh, well, he has returned.

Valerie Amezcua

Perfect. Thank you very much. Mayor Pro Tem, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Sure.

Valerie Amezcua

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

David Penaloza

And to the people of Africa, which is the same one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

If we could all please bow our head in reverence.

Gracious Heavenly Father, we come before you today, giving you honor, glory, and praise. Lord, you are the source of all that is good, and we are grateful for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. We thank you for our wonderful city of Santa Ana, our honorable mayor, city council, chief of police, courageous police officers, and all first responders and staff. Lord, we thank you for our freedom and the opportunity to unite and gather together this day. We ask for your hand of blessings to be upon tonight's meeting and proceedings. We thank you for your grace, your unending love and wisdom.

And we ask that you would guide and direct tonight's meeting and that it be of your sound wisdom, that it be productive with integrity, accountability, and with respect towards one another. Thank you, Lord, for helping us to accomplish our work and our goals this day. City of Santa Ana, I leave you with the scripture found in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, verses 24 through 26. It says, May the Lord bless you and keep you and protect you. May he sustain you and guard you.

May the Lord make his face shine upon you with favor and be gracious to you, surrounding you with his love and kindness. may the Lord lift his face and continence upon you with divine approval and give you peace a tranquil heart and a long and prosperous heart in Jesus name Amen amen amen thank you very much

Jennifer L. Hall

Madam Clerk are there any additions or dilutions to the City Council agenda this time? Mayor and City Council just noting for the record that a revised agenda was posted with a revision to item number 16 which was the second reading of a city council ordinance appropriating monies related to the budget for the upcoming fiscal year to remove the proposed resolution the only action on item 16 will be the second reading and adoption of the ordinance

Valerie Amezcua

great thank you at this time we will go to council member lopez for a presentation

Thank you.

Jessie LopezItem 1

Hi, good evening. So today we're going to be presenting a certificate of contributions to Union Trans GNC. And the organization is dedicated to championing the unique needs and concerns of the TGNC community within Orange County. Their mission is to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable Orange County, a community where where every individual is afforded dignity and respect, irrespective of their identity or sexual orientation, which we all know is really hard to come by nowadays. And so guided by the principles of transparency and advocacy, empowerment, direct service provision, and the promotion of dignity,

Jessie LopezItem 1

the organization strives to be a beacon of support and understanding for TGNC individuals. Founded by Regina Contreras, Cynthia Espinoza, and Isabella Chavez, the organization embodies a commitment to fostering a secure and transparent environment for all members of the TGNC community. They strive to contribute to the creation of a more just society through their dedicated provision of services, their creation of a safe and welcoming space for all individuals. And for those of you with context, you know that Pride has had roots and foundations in

Jessie LopezItem 1

liberatory thinking in action with the global rise of fascism queer and trans organizing models have been central to the resistance practices in the fight against authoritarianism and so pride month because we are in june because the city is really pride uh full and celebrating our diverse community because we're flying the pride flag we want to make sure that our our community understands that this is truly an opportunity for us to make visible both our community's authenticity and their humanity, which is really important.

Jessie LopezItem 1

And so, queer and trans communities have been at the front lines of many liberation movements, reinforcing Marsha P. Johnson's visionary words, there is no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us. Communities of care are at the heart of many of the queer and trans legacies, and these communities of care essentially have been forced to be created as acts of self-determination and dignity, setting up liberation models and futures that are central to combating, again, fascism, state and structural violence. So this pride, I urge you to keep in mind that transgender people are our friends, family

Jessie LopezItem 1

members, our colleagues, and our neighbors. Their fight for equality and respect is a fight for all of us. and by recognizing supporting organizations like Union Trans, the City of Santana, takes a step towards a more inclusive and just society. And together, it is our responsibility to continue to stand up, speak out, and support transgender community members because they deserve nothing less.

Thai Viet PhanItem 1

So, we would love to hear from all of you.

Thank you so much, Council Member, for offering us this platform. My name is Isabella Chavez. I am, as noted, one of the co-founders and peer support navigators with the Union Trans GNC. My colleagues and myself have the honor of leading the UT GNC Center. Although our doors are open to all, our work focuses on uplifting the lives and voices of the trans and gender non-conforming community. We believe that trans people deserve to feel a sense of belonging here in Santa Ana as well as in Orange County as a whole. We envision a more inclusive community where everyone is treated with dignity and respect

regardless of gender or sexual orientation. LGBTQ+, affirming centers like our own are essential to improving lives and providing opportunities. This Pride Month, we call on our leaders and community members to go beyond allyship by centering the needs of TGI and black and indigenous people of color. We would like to give a special thanks to our collaborators, including the Trans Latino Coalition, the California TGI Plus Health Alliance, the OC Healthcare Agency, and the OC LGBTQ Plus Community Collective. Our team also wants to recognize the incredible leadership of our transmasculine community.

Manny, Jocelyn, Ruben, and Eros, thank you so much for your commitment and personal investment in Los Panchitos. You have broadened our impact. Lastly, we would like to give a very special thanks to our volunteers and community members who were able to be here with us today. We hope to serve you for many, many more years to come. And with that, I'll pass the mic over to my colleague, Cynthia Espinosa, to share a couple of words in Spanish.

a los servicios que necesitan. La navegación y el acompañamiento es importante porque les ayuda como un soporte emocional. Como sabemos, la comunidad, nuestra comunidad, perdón, muchas veces no se atreven a pedir los servicios ya que la barrera es el lenguaje y también la discriminación que sufrimos por identificarnos diferente. Así es que les pido de favor a TODECs que se toquen el corazón, son que se acercan a unión transgmc tenemos un grupo los dian miércoles que se acerquen que vayan que pregunten y que vean las necesidades que tenemos como comunidad nosotros en realidad

no venimos a pedir privilegios no más venimos a pedir servicios básicos como el que tienen todos ustedes es lo único que les pido por favor muchísimas gracias

Hello, my name is Jocelyn Rangel. I am a cisgender woman, but I actually am dating somebody who's a trans man. I've been dating him for about 11 years. I myself am also bisexual, so I have received my share of get out of my school, you don't belong here, you're not part of the family anymore. And to be honest, it really isn't fair, but you really can't change other people's minds. The only thing that I guess we really ask for is our goal is not to continue to come here and say, hey, can we have more help? Our goal is to eventually one day have the same help everywhere.

You know, the way a regular cisgender woman can come into any office or clinic and get help, you know, it should be the same for anybody else. And I think that's the goal at the end of the day is just to eventually not one day, like, have any more places where people need to go to a certain place to get help. It should just be already given just like normally just because we, you know, we're people, we're human too. You know, we have feelings. We do put up with a lot. And I also too was recently terminated for speaking up about trans rights at my workplace.

And to be honest, in California with nowadays, you would think that that's not what's happening. But there's still that hatred and that just inequality for us. and it really isn't fair because we're not asking for for much we're just asking for some simple respect you know you don't got to agree with it it's okay because everybody is entitled to their own opinion everybody's entitled to their own way but we don't know how much long we have here and the best thing to do is just for the meantime just treat each other with respect and love each other

because man that's what we're going to take with us we're not going to take our cars when we go we're not going to take our homes we're going to take ourselves and who we were in this world and how we treat other people and you know things like that matter and so as a cisgender person who has been outed even by my own community of my own people who are cisgender you know it's really really nice to have to come to a place where you can be accepted my mental health really was very low working at that place because it was just very toxic so in a way I'm blessed that I

don't work there anymore because I don't have to deal with that anymore but it's just I'm really happy to have a place where I can come and and feel happy and feel safe and you know talk about my feelings and not be just shut down for something so small that really shouldn't matter that much and I also would like to speak because mental health really is a big thing right now one of my friends actually passed away from suicide about two months ago two days before his birthday and one of the main reasons is because he he was gay and his parents just we're constantly just giving them a hard time and you know sometimes people

can't take it and you ask for help and you know it's not because you're asking because because you want attention it's because you really need somebody to hear you you know people who ask for help those it takes a lot it takes a lot to say hey I need some help because a lot of people they don't want to do that nobody wants to feel vulnerable nobody wants to feel like they can't do things on their own or or you know maybe there's somebody who's already been told like, hey, you always ask for help. You need help all the time. You know, sometimes that makes a

person feel bad, and they don't want to say anything, and my friend is gone. You know, I can't have him anymore. I can't talk to him anymore. I can't hug him, so things like this matter, you know, and I'm not trying to make anyone feel some type of way, but, you know, it's just, no one should have to not want to be here anymore just for who they feel like they are, just for someone that they my love or someone that they get along with you know that people may just not understand at the end of the day we're we're no one to judge anyone we all have that time coming so thank you

hi my name is Regina Contreras and I just want to say thank you to everybody and for the space that you guys have given us and the recognition that gives me and all of us I want to say the courage to keep going and looking out for all our needed community. Of course, we're not accepted all the time, but of course, we request that we are respected, even though we're different to a lot of people, but we need to be respected and have same equal rights as everybody in services. Thank you.

Thank you. because we don't have the language in our language. The other reason is that we don't have a job. And sometimes we see ourselves in need of doing or exercising some kind of job, such as sex work, and exposing ourselves to the street. Sometimes because people treat us as second-rate citizens,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you very much. Madam City Clerk, Council Member Lopez, are we finished?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

I don't know if you can hear me. I apologize because my recording is not the same. Madam City Clerk, can you hear me? Yes, Mayor. Okay, because they're speaking and I can't really, I'm behind like almost a minute.

Jennifer L. HallItem 1

So it looks like they're about to take their photograph now? Perfect.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Okay, thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you all very much. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

At this time, Madam City Attorney, do you have anything to report out of closed session?

Yes.

Yes, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and members of the council and members of the public, we have no reportable action. I also did just want to take this opportunity to remind the council And mayor that if you have to leave the dais, please let the clerk know as you will lose quorum

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you very much. I appreciate it This is a time of the meeting for the City Council to receive comments from the public on agenda and non-agenda items Madam city clerk, please explain the public comment procedures and call the first speakers

Jennifer L. HallItem 1

Thank you, Mayor. Pursuant to Resolution No. 2023-047, speakers are requested to address the City Council directly and to refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, and libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council may not enter into discussion at this time. Speakers will have three minutes for their comments. Before calling speakers, I'll provide a report of the following summary of emails provided as of today at 2.30. Council received nine e-comments. They were distributed to the City Council and posted to the City's website.

Jennifer L. HallItem 1

One regarding item 16, three regarding number 17, one on item number 18, one on item 19, and three on non-agenda topics. We will now hear from members of the public that are physically present in the Council Chamber followed by those on Zoom or the conference call to provide comments. Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record. I'll be calling speakers three at a time. If you could please line up behind the podium. First three speakers, Carlos Perea, Vincent Tran, and Claudia Morales.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Go ahead, Vincent.

Good evening, Councilmembers. My name is Vincent. I'm the Organizing Director at VietRise, and I'm speaking on behalf of VietRise in comment of Agenda Item 17. I'm wanting to restate our organizational statement that I shared during closed session comments for the public record. At VietRise, and as a core member of the Santa Ana Families for a Fair Election Coalition, we are here to share our support for the original ballot measure language passed by the City Council on November 7th, 2023, which would allow voters to determine if the city would expand the right to vote to all residents.

We disagree with the arguments proposed by Jayme Lacey in his lawsuit against the city for including the words, including those who are taxpayers and parents in the ballot measure. This language simply presents examples for voters to understand who would be enfranchised if this measure is approved. Lacey has clearly stated that he is opposed to expanding the right to vote to non-citizen residents in the city. We find it difficult to believe that his lawsuit is not driven by his clear opposition to this initiative

and that this lawsuit is not a tactic aimed at discouraging community members working on this effort to enfranchise all residents. It is not uncommon for ballot measures to contain examples of the groups of people that would be impacted by its passing. Measuring E proposed by voters, proposed by voters, two voters by the Westminster City Council and voted on during the primary election in 2024 listed a myriad of groups that would have benefited from Measure E. We believe that excluding neutral language like taxpayers and parents would set a bad precedent for future ballot measures proposed by the city.

We respectfully urge the council to vigorously defend the original language of the ballot measure in court, ensure that the original language is retained. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Claudia Morales followed by Apolonio Cortez and Maria Reyes.

I am president of the Esperanza Union of Residents. I am here today to ask PIL, my advisor, and all of you in general, the lawyers, to defend the inclusive language that you put in the lawsuit for the non-citizen vote campaign, the proposal for the non-citizen vote. We ask you to defend that inclusive language. For me, they are two very strong examples, which is the language of parents, because we are many families that are there,

that we have the right, as mothers, we have the right to be represented and to defend our language. in our language. We are also seeing that costs have been greatly reduced, I was listening to comments on costs, on demands, costs have been greatly reduced in other areas, so why not try to protect that? So, Esperanza Unión de Inquilinos is in attendance and we are going to be there on Tuesday to try to protect our language in these demands, please so thank you very much for your attention.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Claudia Morales. I'm a resident of Santa Ana, Ward 4, I think. Mr. Becerra, Phil Becerra, is my council member. I'm a president of Union Esperanza Inquilinos, and I'm here to ask my council member, Phil, Phil and the council member who's a lawyer to please defend our inclusive language to not restrict for the non-citizen voting. To defend this language, inclusive language, the two examples are that I want to cite is parents because we have lots of families who

are represented and we have a right to be represented. And also there's a lot of money that has been paid in costs for lawsuits I have heard and so we are here to support that union Esperanza Inquilinos we are here and I'm representing them and we will be there on Tuesday to support our inclusive language thank you very much

when I started seeing myself consider this day

Thank you very much. cost okay city city because she said you can't para de la demanda este y no va a ser un gasto de sabor de mayo tengo entendido que se han hecho muchos gastos que no son justificables sin embargo senten lo que hacer pero creo que esta es una inversión para nuestra comunidad que va a traer beneficios en comparación con otros casos que se han hecho entonces es una inversión que nuestra comunidad se va a beneficiar but I mean, you know, Caleb Young, Como when they first separate I mean, you will let God all the party this is the app. I mean, it's a it's a lot you will let God a muy important department

so can we get this in to set up the corridors como I think as the travel benefits for the community. Gracias.

Good evening, City Council. It's important to note that we want to ask you to keep our language as is. it's just it's merely just and it's democratic and this is going to help us for a community we want to be able to choose our representatives and this is only fair this is what we need and the money that has been spent no it's been been talks about investments in lawsuits and a lot of lots of expenses but the money that has been

spent it's it's justified it's a lot of money but it's an investment and this should be seen as an investment in our community and which will yield lots of benefits for our community this is an investment in the community also and this will serve as your legacy of support for our community thank you very much

hello this is getting more loose so integrate a new mic here hi everyone my name is Carlos Pereira I'm the executive director with the Harvard Institute for immigrant economic justice I'm here to speak on item number 17 on the the resolutions language that the council will consider tonight for ballot measures. And I'm here to speak specifically on the non-citizen voting ballot measure, which is being challenged by outsider from Santana Frivolous Lawsuit to try to pick at the language that community members and residents fought for to be placed.

So my main comments is we have a letter that was sent by the ACLU, CAA, and UCI Law School Immigrant Rights Clinic. A letter that was also sent by the Santana Families for Fair Elections, essentially urging you to keep the language and defend it in court. We believe that the city has, should have discretion on the type of language that is put in front of the borders, specifically when the language is factual. It is a fact that immigrants in the city are taxpayers. It is a fact that immigrants in the cities are parents as well. And so this is not an outrageous language,

it's just language that is providing you with examples of those that will benefit, will be impacted by this measure if approved by voters. That's something that I want to also ensure sure that the council is reminded of that this is our democratic process that we have an outside right-wing attorney using inflammatory language to describe all residents in the city to describe myself in this city trying to undermine our democratic process so we should not let that happen I have heard some of you and this council make comments about how there's always outsiders specifically

specifically from South Osea coming into our city and try to tell us how to run our business. So put that into practice tonight. Ensure that we, you know, even if you don't agree with this issue of non-citizen voting, ensure that we fight to keep the language and that we don't let races right when people determine what we speak about. The other one, the other comment that I want to mention which someone on the council on the dias might raise is the concern about immigrants being impacted by the immigration status. and that is something that some of you mentioned in opposition early on. I do

want to note that USCIS, the immigration agency in charge of reviewing these applications of immigration, of immigrants trying to adjust their status, they release a form saying that if you are non-citizen and vote in local elections, your immigration status will not be impacted. So I hope you take that into consideration and address some of your early concerns. So please keep the

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

language and defend it thank you maria reyes mark lopez george butros

good evening council mario reyes actually excuse my writing my name is mario reyes i'm here i am a local pastor in the downtown city of santa ana and i'm actually not here to speak on uh one of the items here on the agenda i just wanted to get some help uh our organization run the race has been in the city of santa ana since the 80s in fact there has been an organization that has been even before i was born and i was a i'm a recipient from it who has actually greatly benefited from it and i'm here to ask for your help i know that this year a lot of the non-profits have had issues getting

to be approved for the fundraising for the firework fundraising and our organization is actually one of those and I just wanted to see if I can get help from you guys because of our formality of the address that we have where our taxes and our paperwork gets done which is outside of the city limits we have been told that we can participate in this year's fundraisers and since we were able to find out about that we made the necessary changes we have gone to the Secretary of State and edited our articles of incorporation and make sure that it reflects that the address of our CEO here in the city of Santa Ana who

who not only has lived here for over 30 years, but served the Santa Ana School District for over 35 years. So we would greatly appreciate your help. This fundraiser is detrimental to us. If it not being allowed, a lot of the work that we do here in the great city of Santa Ana for the youth, the camps, the families, and the lower income families of the community is due to this fundraiser. So if we're not able to do it, then it will be something that will definitely, will have to, will cost us to set back our plans of the rest of the year and the way that we're able to impact our community.

So I know we can't comment on this right now, but I have the proper paperwork that we need and I come here because I know the deadline was yesterday. We were just notified this morning about it that we didn't make the approval. And we have since then received the proper documentation. So if any of you can help me, I will be here till the end of the council meeting and gladly speak to you. Thank you.

Before I speak on something, I'd like to address some gentleman said about, I'm finding more about this voting issue, but just to correct him, we're a constitutional republic who happens to practice democracy. So obviously, a gentleman to correct him, or we aid him in his thinking. And also too, about this voting, it takes more to be, as a person who fought overseas for a vote, like in Afghanistan and Iraq, it takes more to be, just because you're a taxpayer or a parent doesn't give you any special status any more than anybody else. My father, my late father paid tax all life and worked hard. We didn't get any special status.

So I think this issue about non-citizen voting, it's not a very good idea. But moving on to the main issue, this gentleman talked about here, I think Mr. Bracera addresses about having a more return on these fireworks, because I've done really delved into this issue, especially with the legal fireworks, and I've gone out there, and this is solid intel. tell a lot of these are non-profits I talked to I've never heard him before I don't know what they do maybe a few percent of but the rest I have no idea and if their business plan used to hold us hostage for sent and to make their

business for all year they need to have a business plan so I don't feel sorry for this guy at all because obviously they need a bigger business plan and illegal fireworks uh I saw signed up here by the city West Stadium my oh sorry Bristol Street how you got posted no illegal fireworks like part of my community advisory team I'm starting to Pacific Park maybe if you have one on standard and mcfadden brand new parks new parks being built and on bills market on maple that's our two problem areas right there are hot and heavy right there i know baby put those out at

least get the people situationally aware that hey we're looking at the style that would be great if you put that i don't know sure put those out there i see one mcfadden we're at the state over here no illegal fireworks and on maple chess that could be definitely hey get the word out because right right now, I should just tell the guys, hey, come by 9 o'clock, 11 o'clock. That's where it starts. And they get hot and heavy. I mean, we're not talking amenities. We're not talking little stuff like that as a kid. We're talking heavy duty, military grade stuff. And I know because

I've been blown up in Iraq. I know this is heavy duty stuff. And when I call, I like to relate to the place. I'm not calling for myself. I'm calling on behalf of our residents. I'm not doing this for myself because I care about our neighborhood. I care about the shit that's happening in downtown to 4th Street. I care about the people with dogs and pets. I love dogs. Dogs are scared every night of losing the streets. I care about the old people. Hey, I'm tired of hearing this stuff every night. I had to move this country to be like in a war zone again. And

it'd be great. Like those signs, if they could put them out there, like I said, in Maple, and that Fadden Standard, that park right there. You go to YouTube, you see past events out there. That'd be great. At least people make people aware. So if you get in trouble, hey, it's right there when it's posted. I hate the excuse of always doing it every year. what's the culture drink no it's not to me it's not for july anymore i'll be but in the parlance of the streets there's a lot of reasons people to blow up crap that's what i do it out there for no

respect of there and right now we got a big problem with the glober's gag out there trying to intimidate the neighbors by the explosives they put those signs out there whoever posted i've already made those put those up there like i said there's one there by the stadium and one on bristol but no no fireworks so we think we'll set that would help us a lot sir that would really get the people on board hey so try to get them on board this thing so but that would help a lot thank you sir

good evening mayor mezcua and members of the city santa ana city council my name is george buchros and i'm the government affairs manager for orange county business council or ocbc i'm here this evening to thank the council for the progress in recent weeks to move closer to ultimately approving one of the most important projects in santa ana and orange county the the $3 billion Related Bristol mixed-use redevelopment plan on South Bristol Street. Since Related Bristol was first proposed nearly two years ago, OCBC has been a strong supporter of this visionary project, and we continue to believe its completion is critical to enhancing

the economic vitality of this city and the region. OCBC also firmly believes it's in the city's best interest to approve the project with a development agreement between the developer, related California and the city to ensure the full package of $550 million in proposed community benefits remains part of this landmark opportunity. Recently it has been publicly stated that related Bristol can move forward to formal hearings without a development agreement. However, we believe this path would prove extremely costly to Santa Ana and the region as the project's community benefits would be dramatically diminished without a

development agreement and under the state's account states housing accountability act we would advocate for the city to expedite and finalize in a financially feasible and mutually agreeable development agreement with related related bristol with the current development agreement represents a great opportunity for santa ana the economic benefits promised in the related bristol project are unprecedented 500 million dollars in new net revenue during the project's first 30 years of existence, 7,500 new construction jobs and permanent jobs, with a minimum of 10%

of the workforce hired from Santa Ana or surrounding cities. The largest private investment in Santa Ana's 154-year history at nearly $3 billion. We understand this project of this size requires a thorough review, analysis, and public airing to ensure a winning outcome for all stakeholders that is why ocbc applauds both the city and the developer for working collaborative collaboratively to move related bristol to this important stage in the entitlement process now we sincerely hope for a vibrant future of this great city and orange county that related bristol

becomes a reality soon on behalf of orange county business council thank you for your time and opportunity to speak before you this evening carl benninger and dale helvig

Good evening, everyone. Carl Benninger, Ward 4, Metro Classic. A couple things. I want to remind you that on next week, Thursday, we have our awards night for Comlink, and we're going to be recognizing 24 neighborhood heroes and 18 beautiful yards and handing out our Humanitarian Award to Glenn Scraut who we don't hand out that every year but because Glenn and what he did for the city when he lived here and with his passing we thought it was appropriate to give it out. We'll be at the Bowers again finally after three or four years away and again you're all welcome I know many of you will be

coming which is great on it. I also want to talk about rent control though I'm not in favor of it i think you guys really owe marcusia and garcia and his group a big thank you because they put together a very good program i heard it presented at pico lowell school it was very well presented to the neighborhood i do see a problem with it and that's and i already talked to mike about are you going to collect enough so the budget doesn't have to subsidize it and that is be my my major fear but you also got to recognize the work that his group has done who who have put together, and I myself, has an exemption with my condo.

And the help that I got was professional and right to the point. So Mike, thank you for the good job that you've done, though I don't agree with you on the project, but thank you. Lastly, I'd like this council to take into consideration what we can do about electric scooters in the city. Today, coming here, I clocked a young man going up Wright Street on the sidewalk, 25 miles an hour. and he had a helmet on and protected but still he's passing bikers and pedestrians and what-have-you and he's doing 25 miles an hour. My biggest fear is I have a young man in my neighborhood who gets on his electric scooter, flip-flops,

shorts, short sleeves, 60 degree weather, I'd be freezing, but he's doing 40 miles an hour. I'm doing 35 and he's pulling away from me. No helmet, no license, and I realize some of this is state law but there are some things that we as a city could require, like helmets or some sort of protection. Now, fortunately, at this point, there are not as many instances to bring this to a high level. But I think we need to look into it. I would like this council to ask the police to put together a presentation of what can we do. In closing, let me say that a lot of us, or myself,

I feel that the right to vote is earned and it's called citizenship. And it doesn't take much. It takes time. and effort, but anyone can become a citizen. I know because I've helped a number of my workers through my different groups at different plastic companies become citizens. And we really want citizens who care. And so if someone's really want to vote, they really want to be part of this country, make the effort and become a citizen, as my grandparents did, as my in-laws did, as my son's in-laws did as they came over from Vietnam. Thank you. Good night now.

Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers.

Over the last few months, we've heard people talking about the budget and how we're moving towards the cliff of the budget. And I find it interesting and somewhat irresponsible that we have this ballot measure proposal proposal for non-citizen voting without knowing the fiscal impact that it's going to have. A register of voters has said they're not going to support it, so the burden will rely on the City of Santa Ana to administer it, collect the ballots, vote, and all the legal stuff around it. What is the benefit or the incentive for becoming a U.S. citizen?

and over certain meetings we've heard people talk about they've been a resident of Santa Ana for over 30 years and have never voted and they feel disenfranchised because they're unable to vote. I've also heard speakers say that one of the proudest days of their lives was when they obtained U.S. citizenship because now they have the right and privilege to vote. Your constituents constituents are already represented by you on City Matters whether citizens or not. If non-citizens feel disenfranchised because they do not have the right to vote, the pathway to citizenship is open to them should they choose.

If financial issues are a barrier and the City would like to enable more people to become citizens, I suggest that the money that will be spent putting on this issue on the ballot and defending a possible yes vote in court could be spent removing these barriers consider using your authority and resources to assist non-citizens in obtaining citizenship rather than placing this item on the ballot thank

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

you mayor and City Council that concludes the public speakers that are present will now begin the zoom speakers speakers on zoom when unmuted please announce your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in within the city of santa ana for the record caller whose phone number ends in 430 please unmute

and make your comments good evening can you hear me yes please go ahead my uh comment is um i have concerns I have concerns that the process for housing voucher recipients when the

voucher is ported to the county for inspection it is taking too long and it It is a concern of mine that employees of the Santana Housing Authority do not have any power over the county housing authority as far as the delays with respect to how long it takes. The county housing authority does not have a time frame that they hold themselves to. They can take as long as they want.

and this as you all can best imagine has a very devastating effect on someone who is waiting who has already submitted their RTA to the city of Santana and from there it's out of the city's hands the responsibilities on the county the onus is on the county to process the inspection when the living unit the the dwellings is outside of the city limits of Santa Ana. So in my case, I'm experiencing significant delays that I believe are, well, there's actually many reasons for it.

Apathy, laziness, and possibly some other motives as well. I would just wish that there were some mechanism by which employees of Saha had more power to demand the county housing authority once a request, once an RTA is routed to the county by Saha to make sure that they complete the inspection in a timely manner. or so, the proposed lease arrangement does not follow through, which is in danger of happening in my case.

And to that extent, the Orange County Housing Authority has done, pardon me, just an absolute piss-poor job. And I just need everyone to sincerely please feel my frustration. I have had to extend my stay for where I am currently living for an indefinite amount of time. I am very anguished by this delay, and I just wanted to share my thoughts

and to hopefully see if there's some future process that could be implemented by the city. Your time is up.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Next speaker on Zoom, speaker with the name iPad.

Hello, can you hear me?

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Yes.

My name is Tricia Hernandez. I reside on, I think I might be wrong, but it's Ward 3 or Ward 4.

But I'm sure that my council member is Phil Becerra.

First of all, I wanted to be there in person and make this comment that I watch every, or mostly every council meeting on YouTube. I'm a Santa Ana resident, and I also happen to own a small business in here. And ever since you guys had that talk with, I guess it was a guy from Republic, literally the next week or the next two weeks, our dumpsters in the apartment building where we rent them,

they got smaller, considerably smaller. smaller and we're eight families here it's um Tuesday it's summer it's starting getting hot and our dumpsters are already full they were barely collected on on Thursday and now that is Tuesday it's already full like completely full or overload so um I don't know if this has has something to do with the conversation that you guys had before or the disagreement that you had before um please remind to the council members that all your decisions that you take in the

meetings affect us as residents um I will ask them to be a little more conscious about it And the other matter, to keep it short, is we're going to have this event at the Blue Lot. One more time, I own a small business. I would like to invite you guys. It's at the Blue Lot from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And I see some council members that they're there, you know, especially Council Member Hernandez.

AND HE'S NOT THERE JUST FOR THE PICTURES OR CONSULT MEMBER JESSE LOPEZ. I SEE THEM THAT THEY INTERACT WITH PEOPLE. THEY HAVE INTERACTED WITH ME. THEY DON'T KNOW IT'S ME BUT THEY HAVE INTERACTED WITH ME TOO. AND I IT'S AN OPEN INVITATION TO EVERYBODY. TO THE MAYOR. TO PHILIP ZARAT. TO EVERYBODY IN THAT ROOM. YOU GUYS WANT TO STOP BY, HAVE A LITTLE GOOD TIME AND SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS. we're waiting for you. And that will be all my comments. Have a good day.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Next speaker on Zoom, Zoom user, please unmute and make your comments.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

User online as Zoom user.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Mayor and City Council, they do not seem to be present to make their comments at this point in time. That will conclude the callers on Zoom. If Mayor Mezcua, Councilmember Penalosa, and Councilmember Vazquez could let us know if you have any speakers at your teleconference locations.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 16

This is Mayor Mezcua. I have no speakers.

David PenalozaItem 16

This is Councilmember Penalosa. There are no speakers at my location.

Oh my gosh, that would be so bad. Council Member Voskis, I have no speakers.

Jennifer L. HallItem 16

Thank you, Mayor and Council Members. Mayor and City Council, that concludes the public speakers.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 16

Thank you. We're going to go into the consent calendar at this time. Madam City Clerk, as we move forward the consent calendar, if item four is passed, if we can swear in the youth commissioner. once we get it passed. Consent calendar items 2 through 16 are before us. Councilmembers, please announce any items that you'll be abstaining from due to conflict. Is there any request to pull an item from the consent calendar for further discussion? Is there any? Councilmembers that want to pull items?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanted to make a motion to move the consent calendar, albeit no, on item 12. And I would like to have a comment on item 13 and 14.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Thank you, Councilmember Hernandez. I'll second your motion. Any other council members, abstentions or polling items?

David PenalozaItem 2

Mayor, I would like to pull item 12, please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Thank you, Council Member Penaloza.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Seeing no other, let's prepare to vote.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

A motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Mezcua to approve the consent calendar with the exception of item number 12, pulled for separate consideration. Council member Becerra.

Phil BacerraItem 2

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Council member Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Council member Lopez. Yes. Council member Penaleza.

David PenalozaItem 2

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Council member Vasquez.

David PenalozaItem 2

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Mayor Pro Tem Phan. Yes. Mayor Meskwa.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Yes, Madam City Clerk, there's background noise. Is somebody, I'm hearing a lot of background noise. There's somebody that has their mic on or.

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Yeah, we'll double check on that. Ensure that there's no more background noise. The vote is seven ayes, no nays. The consent calendar is approved. Let me confirm is Commissioner Nalen Adani-Muniz present?

Jennifer L. HallItem 2

Mayor and council, while i'm not seeing the youth commissioner at this time we can make separate arrangements to provide the oath of office thank you madam city clerk so the first um item that was pulled is

David PenalozaItem 2

item number 12 by councilmember penulosa councilman go ahead thank you madam mayor i i just basically wanted to pull it to want to start off by thanking our city staff and our city's negotiation team team, as well as the POA's negotiating team for, you know, having for over a year now, good faith negotiations. I definitely applaud all of you for finally being able to deliver a fair contract. It's want to just emphasize how crucial it is for us on the city council to support this new MOU with the Santa Ana POA, because in today's competitive market,

David PenalozaItem 3

where neighboring agencies such as the City of Tustin, City of Anaheim, and the Orange County Sheriff's Department are approving substantial raises for their police departments, we got to act and remain competitive to ensure the safety and security of our community. I know that by approving this contract it's essential for recruiting new officers to fill the current vacancies in our police department, which should be a priority to everybody on the City Council. By By offering competitive compensation, we can attract top talent to serve and protect our residents effectively.

David PenalozaItem 3

And additionally, it's going to help us retain our current officers, which is equally important. Without competitive benefits and salaries, we risk losing valuable personnel to other agencies, leading to decreased efficiency and effectiveness in maintaining public safety. I, you know, after five years of being on the city council, I fully am aware that a fully staffed police department is vital. for our community's well-being and ensures that we can respond to emergencies promptly and provide the necessary support and services to our residents when they need it the most.

David PenalozaItem 3

I want to just re-emphasize that a vote against this contract is not just a vote against fair compensation for our officers, but it's a vote against the safety and security of our community. Those who oppose this measure may not openly admit to defunding the police, but their actions is exactly what that is doing. It's defunding the police. We got to stand together to support our law enforcement officers, invest in public safety, and uphold the values of our community. So I would like to urge all my council colleagues to consider the bigger picture here of filling

David PenalozaItem 3

these vacancies and making sure that we could address the response times and the vacancies that are currently happening in our department and the the retention rate that is happening so we should prioritize the safety and well-being of our residents as well and we could do that by approving this agreement tonight so with that mayor i would like to make a motion to approve

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

this uh item 12. and i'll second your motion with some comments and i can't see the council Council. There are other comments.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

I heard a second. I apologize, so let me just make a comment really quick. So Council panelists. Thank you very much. I just want to remind and share with it. Well, actually I want to share with the community. That public safety and quality of life is critical to all of us and I know that not just the Council, but the community as a whole. We've been hearing about the shootings and the gang activity. I hear comments about officers responding. When you're 45 officers short in a department our size, in a city our size,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

the amount of people, you know, we need to be able to attract officers that want to come and work for Santa Ana and that's very important to me as the mayor. I I was at the Girmes two Sundays ago for the young man that was shot and killed, 13-year-old, entering freshman at Santa Ana High School. And there were many, many, many community members there. It was a full house. And I appreciate the support. But when the father and I were chatting, you know, and he hugged me and he started crying, it was very emotional for him, for me.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

But, you know, I got in my car and I thought 50, almost 50 officers short. How do you explain that to that father? How do you explain to the elderly woman that was bit by two dogs this last week that officers could not respond? How do you explain that? And so I just I just want to be clear that, you know, I am supporting this because we need to retain officers. We need to hire officers and not just officers, but non sworn personnel as well.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Sworn and non sworn so that our community can get that response for police report, can get that person to come out and take that information, can get that officer to come out. And I just like to share, you know, last night my niece was driving down Civic Center and somebody threw something at her car. She stopped to get out and as she proceeded to get back in her car, two guys approached her car, one on each side with a firearm and pointed a gun at them and so at her and her boyfriend and to me when I got that phone call I was like

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

did you call the police and she said yes the I did and they came out and they were very professional and they were they were just really good and so I was very proud to hear that at the same time i wanted to say why did they catch those guys why did they arrest them well in a size city this big we don't have enough officers and i'm really it saddens me that the calls the emails the messages from the chief emails but all the guns that they're finding all the gang activity that's going on in the city we need to be able to hire and retain officers

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

or it's critical for the safety of all of us so that's all I have is there any other council

Jessie LopezItem 3

members who want to comment yeah I have a comment go ahead thank you so just briefly a little bit of history for people that are tuning for the first time I did support the contract last year and we all know how last year went and so I think for me I have questions for the city manager giving that there is an anticipated structural deficit that is coming up this is not the first time that we've heard from the community wanting to have more transparency in this process I think city staff heard about that during when

Jessie LopezItem 3

the council adopted the $25 million contract so I wanted to know because because when you read the staff report, year one is fully funded, but year two is not funded and year three is not funded. And so I wanted to know if you could explain to the community what the impact is and what the plan is internally to fund year two and year three.

Alvaro NuñezItem 3

So the way we approve the city budget is a year-to-year basis. So to the extent that as we claim now that we're ready for 24-25, then we'll begin doing the budget review probably at the end of fiscal year 24-25. We became planning for what the expenses are for year 25-26 and so forth for 26-27. So again if there's changes for example in the way we obtain property tax information or sales tax, then we can mitigate that component, right so most of the contracts that we do with a collective bargaining have open class aspects that allow us to reevaluate either shortfalls that we have

Jessie LopezItem 3

to anticipate yeah and I wanted to ask because we know we're gonna not be able to rely necessarily on property taxes we know we can't rely on sales taxes in fact we all know we're losing 30 million and beyond that when measure X fully sunsets I think it's an 80 million dollar loss so I wanted to know internally what is the plan are we preparing to ask residents to extend the measure the sales tax to fully fund this contract so we're talking about metrics

Alvaro NuñezItem 3

about the five years and ten years shortfall I think for us to make that kind of assertion will be premature we can tell you that again we evaluated our budget on a year-to-year basis so based on the free measure we have for same same thing as whether we make money as a regular business and we account for those kind of shortfalls right to the to the extent that we have to mitigate and take certain measures then that's when we do it so to answer your to seek question right am i going to go to the taxes are we going to go as a city council

Alvaro NuñezItem 3

or as administration to city council for more at this point it's too premature to make that type of

Jessie LopezItem 3

assertion okay thank you yeah I think it's really important I do believe that we should have the ability to grow and to create meaningful impact in our community and that is essentially where I am I believe that for all of us our community should come first and my concern is really the trajectory of the council that I believe is is making a decision to spend outside of its limitations and for me as a policy maker that means that we will have less money in the general fund to then provide the services that i hear my constituents ask me about you know i have to

Jessie LopezItem 3

tell my constituents you're not going to get a permanent sidewalk repair because there's less money in the general fund year after year particularly now that we know um somewhat right of the financial outlook of the city. And so to me, I don't think that, you know, I guess to me, when I think about public service and the job that our officers do, I know we have a very young workforce. Some of them have been with us less than four years. I believe, you know, Chief Rodriguez, you have an excellent opportunity

Jessie LopezItem 3

with the officers to really embed that sentiment of community first, of not making public service about how much money it is. Because if we go down that path, then the question is how much money is enough? And I don't think that anybody is in public service for that specific reason. And so, So just two weeks ago, I asked about the $3 million allocation for the alley refurbishing citywide, right? The council did not want to approve that. And so now it's going to be a 15 year outlook for all of the alleys in the city to be refurbished.

Jessie LopezItem 3

And it's really, I think, disappointing for everybody to understand that that is the position that we in because of past I would say decisions that previous leaderships have made we know we know now that historically certain departments have not been funded at the proper rate that they should have been right we have staff that are grant funded and so I wish all those things were different and so for me when I think about the general fund pool of money I know that the less money and the general fund is going to ultimately mean less resources less

Jessie LopezItem 3

programming that I hear people want to talk about you know we are when we're talking about the violence in our community we also have to acknowledge that there are there are factors that contribute to that violence and if we don't have the money to help with prevention then I don't know that we're gonna see an absolute reduction in what's going on in our city and when we talk about the quality of life at least for me when i talk to my constituents they understand that it is much more than just one department i think that a good i think that good cities

Jessie LopezItem 3

understand that the departments work almost like in a symbiotic relationship to each other and so i of course i support good pay i've been on the picket lines as part of the work that i've done in the city outside of the city but i do think that we do ourselves a disservice when we don't allow ourselves the flexibility in the future to have general or more than enough general fund resources to be able to be responsive to the needs of our constituents and so i'll leave my

Phil BacerraItem 12

first round there mayor if i may uh well first of all before we i even begin can we institute the three minute rule again because i feel like that was three rounds right there so if we can try to incorporate the three minute rule i'll keep mine to three minutes um first i wanted to thank our uh our negotiation team for doing what they did and the poa negotiation team as well i also want to thank our police officers both the sworn and the non-sworn staff as well for all of your service and what you do you guys have been out of contract for six months so i'm glad that that we're at a point tonight that we'll get this approved.

Phil BacerraItem 12

And we need to, because as everybody's already been echoing, we have 45 funded officer vacancies. Being out of contract for six months is not gonna help us fill those vacancies. So this MOU will hopefully help us attract police officers. While our police officers here in Santa Ana are amazing, and they deserve to be the highest paid in Orange County, the fact of the matter is this contract's not gonna get us close to that. So anybody that thinks that there's some sort of ploy here that's going to get us to number one because the poa spent money and did all these things well

Phil BacerraItem 12

they didn't really get too far did they because if you look at where this contract will land us we're not even going to be in the top five in the county so i'll just make sure that that's very clear and i do appreciate hearing the sentiment from my colleagues tonight about being fiscally conservative and being mindful of the budget let's just see if that continues as we get further along in the agenda that concludes my comments and i'm ready to move the item

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Mayor this is Mayor Pro Tem Phan I did have my microphone up I apologize I can't I didn't see it I know I know okay you can help me Mayor Pro Tem somebody needs to speak thank you thank you Mayor and so Mr. City Manager I had sent you a few questions as I was going through this item so I just wanted to share some information with the public I know there have been a couple news articles out there in the last few days and you know when you see the headline that says 27 million dollars that's a lot great no denying there but what what does that mean what does that break down to and what is the effect of that so mr.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

city manager I had asked you you know the 27 million dollars is over a report of period of 42 months right and I'm trying to think back to 2019 when I was right here at that podium asking that City Council not to approve that MOU at the time that was worth 25 million dollars and I can tell you that this MOU today when you divide it up to 42 months it's actually less cost per per month than that 2019 MOU. So what we're doing is having good faith negotiations

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

with our POA, with our city management team, and making decisions to find ways of how we can retain our officers, hire good officers, but also be fiscally minded of our city budget. And I think that's what we did here. I think anyone who watches this meeting can tell you that council member Lopez and I faced very similar repercussions when we voted for to impose a contract and we supported that agreement because we wanted or at least I did I won't speak for anyone else wanted transparency and

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

accountability but I also want to make sure that anything that we negotiate with our employees is fair and is going to ensure that they're compensated properly for the work that they do. Because every day we get emails about the sexual assault, the molestations, the burglaries, the robberies, the gang violence, and the multiple homicides that are right here in this city. And the list goes on and on. And I'm not saying that, you know, we're ever going to be able to pay number one in the county, because that's just just not possible and I think the POA knows that.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

But I also think that we can't expect people to do work and not compensate them fairly when the amount of work that they face here in this city is always magnitudes different from what they're gonna face in Irvine and some others. That will conclude my first round of comments. Thank you, Mayor. I will have more whenever we get around to it.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

thank you did you help them Vasquez did you definitely thank you I think for the

words that they they shared with us and that we do need to compensate our staff fairly and equally and and what they need and I appreciate the work being done by the police department that being said our our revenue raised less rose less less than 2% last year, from this year to last year. So we're not rising as far as our spending is going and here we're spending so much way more. So I do want to compensate fairly. I do want to give raises. It's not a, I don't want to gate any raises because they sure deserve them.

But the responsibility on me lies to make sure that we're fiscally responsible with the city We're going to be short 30 million. Here's another 25, not that it would be somewhere closer.

We do, you know, giving them a raise that they do deserve. But I'm going to be a no because our revenue hasn't risen to the money that we're spending.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

Thank you, Councilman. Are there any other comments?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

Yes, Madam Mayor. This is Councilman Hernandez. Thank you. I thank my colleagues here on the council for the diverse opinions that we all share. And I want to start by acknowledging that being a police officer is an incredibly difficult job. It is a job where we have to remind the public that these are human beings, too. These are human beings that are putting on a uniform and wearing a badge and carrying a gun. They have the power as workers to make life or death decisions. And that responsibility is one that we should take very seriously and respect because it's not easy.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

And so I want to start by thanking our officers and acknowledging that this is a difficult job. You're working in a city where there's a lot of hardship. I think part of where we have a divide when it comes to the relationship of trust and working together in our department is that we have a department that has been very divided. We've had a very public war between police officers and our police chief, our police union leadership and the police department. We have officers, when we talk about the vacancies in the city, we need to be transparent. How many of those officers have left the city due to lawsuits?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

How many of these officers are suing the city because they're whistleblowers and they felt that their jobs were at risk because they opened their mouth? there's a lot of officers who left this city willfully because of the fact that they are tired of what they're seeing in the department we also have officers who understand that this is a bargaining unit that has seen a bulk a majority of the raises dating back to the recession this is a bargaining unit that received a 25 million dollar raise in 2019 when the council didn't have the money to approve that part of why we have a 30 million dollar shortfall in front of us is because the

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

police funded elected officials who have gotten a seat at the table are voting in favor of contracts that we just simply can't afford we have seen in 2012 we want to talk about public safety then why was our santa ana firehouse defunded after 128 years the firehouse that was off of Walnut. We defunded that department to give this police department raises. SEIU did not receive a raise during the recession until members of the council like me were elected in 2020 and fought for equity across all of our bargaining units giving them a 14% raise. This is about ensuring that we are being

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

responsible with taxpayer money. In talking about public safety I want to redirect the attention that we need to be comprehensive and inclusive of all of our executive departments our police department we need to work hand-in-hand with the fire department we need to work hand-in-hand with Parks and Recreation our Public Works Department because we have the same gangs in the city that existed 30 years ago we have a former cop who is our mayor now how did three young people get shot last week we're approaching these solutions with the wrong perspective. We're not going to arrest our way out of these problems or the same

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

gangs that existed in the 90s wouldn't still be here. If we're going to solve these issues, we're going to have to be tough on how we're spending our dollars. We're going to need to value the firefighters who are in the room who can make the police officers' jobs easier by responding to the distressed person who lives in a riverbed. We need to balance the officer's job who is responding to a single mother who's intimidated by somebody walking walking up to her car at 11 o'clock at night, by having public works ensure that we have ample lighting in the street, to ensure that we have our parks with the park rangers and the staff

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

and the programming that residents deserve so that our police can focus 100% on their efforts on responding to violent crimes and emergencies. Because when we have our officers responding to people who are drunk on the sidewalk, it's very difficult for them to do our job. I am voting no on this item because I want to balance our budget in favor of all of our departments. Unfortunately, I do not see that here. Over the last 15 years, we have seen public safety defunded with our police department, unfortunately, taking up the bulk of the budget and moving our fire department to the county.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

That, unfortunately, costed an entire bargaining unit of firefighters their contract. it also decreased pay for firefighters from it also decreased the amount of firefighters that respond to public safety calls in Santa Ana the second largest city in the county from 63 to 48 so if we want to talk about public safety let's be fair and let's include all of our workers at

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

the table thank you councilman Hernandez is there any other comments mayor mesquite I'd like to

David PenalozaItem 12

speak go ahead councilman Penalosa no I just want to say that I agree with councilmember Hernandez is 100%. It's a shame that the previous mayors and city councils got rid of our fire department. I think they weren't creative enough to be able to keep them. So definitely missing our Santa Ana fire department and maybe, who knows, maybe one day we could bring them back. But as far as the fiscal future goes for the city, you know, I'm happy that council member, Mayor Pro Tem Pham brought up that the headlines of 27 million dollars contracts and whatnot i know that they

David PenalozaItem 12

try to do it in 2019 where it was like 25 million dollar contract and when that is not the case we don't approve budgets three years uh three-year budgets we don't approve three-year budgets if that was if if wanted if these are if these news organizations wanted to be transparent and fair and open they should say 27 million dollar contract in a three billion dollar budget, but we don't approve budgets for three, four-year budgets. So the fact that somebody would say it's a $27 million contract, it's not. And with that, it's important that we've known

David PenalozaItem 12

about this fiscal cliff for decades now. I brought it up back in 2020. I brought it up in 2021 when And four members of this council wanted council aides. I brought it up in 2022 when four members of this council or 2023 when four members of this council decided that we now need to create our own elections office. That's going to cost what, $10 million a year? Staff can't tell us because it's going to be a very expensive fee. And it's something that we're going to have to do by the members of the city council wanting non-citizens voting on the ballot.

David PenalozaItem 12

There's the rent stabilization ordinance. Staff told us that they had no idea how to implement it or the resources to do so, that it was gonna cost $7 million a year. And guess what? The council majority said, who cares, let's do it. So we're talking programs and ordinances and initiatives that are gonna cost millions and millions and millions of dollars of staff time and resources that staff still to this day has no idea how to implement. I can guarantee you that our CDA staff is still struggling with the RSO because they're struggling to collect the fees.

David PenalozaItem 12

And we're going to have to have a serious conversation about a million things that we have in this budget that are going to cost the city millions of dollars moving forward. I am happy with this contract. It's a win for the labor movement. I know that The right now teachers are in the same fight and they should be fairly compensated, too. So I'm happy we're here Mayor, I know I made the motion. I will happily offer the question if if You'd like

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Me let's do that. There are no other comments merit. This is Mary pretend fan. I do have a couple other comments So, okay, go ahead. Thank you so much. I also wanted to inform the public in case those don't remember, and Mr. City Manager, please correct me if I am mistaken or forgot something, but to be clear, this contract, although it begins January 1, 2024, no pay increases takes place until July 2024, correct?

Alvaro NuñezItem 12

Yes.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Okay. And so there's no retroactive pay increases, correct? correct?

Alvaro NuñezItem 12

No.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Did SEIU-Yes, correct. That's correct. Thank you. Did SEIU get retroactive pay increases in their MOU?

Alvaro NuñezItem 12

Yes, they did.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Thank you. Were there any one-time bonuses in the POA contract before us tonight?

Alvaro NuñezItem 12

I don't believe so, no.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Thank you. Were there one-time bonuses in the SIEIU contract at the time? Yes. Thank you. I don't know who answered, but that was yes. And I'm asking staff just to confirm, but also so the public is aware that we are trying to balance a lot of balls in the air. And we are trying to find ways, I believe every member of this council, to make life better for everyone who lives here, works here, visits here, you know, enjoys just being around here and it's not easy and as we continue every year to look at what's

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

important in the budget we will have to see we have to make changes the RSO is important I know for a fact that it has helped many Santa Ana residents who would have been facing a move out of the city from doing so is it hard yes do I believe staff is handling it well and continuing to improve every day also yes is this difficult to look at all of our bargain units and see how we can compensate them fairly and balance our budget yes but we do it anyway and i have confidence that we will as we continue into the future

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

and the one other thing i will say as to seiu and i bring that because they're the other large bargaining unit in the city is that part of their contract is that we are doing a compensation study to see if they are being well compensated and there may be items that come back that requires to look at the different classifications and say hey does this make sense what do we need to do to make sure that all of our employees are be compensated in a way that is consistent with the work that they provide the services they provide to everyone sitting in this room and everyone in this city. And so with that, I am supporting this contract

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

because I have fought on this dais to see transparency from our union and all of our unions and our staff. I have fought for accountability from all of our unions and our staff and I'm also going to continue to fight for fair compensation for all of our unions and our staff and a balanced budget as we

Phil BacerraItem 12

move forward thank you mayor i'd like to go ahead like just one last comment and that is i wasn't planning to speak another time but i do have to say this so there are people up here that want to say that if you support the police you obviously are just some bought and paid for pawn by the poa right it can't be because you raise a family in the city because you care about the welfare of your friends your neighbors and you want them to be safe no it has to be because of some sort of political motivation well that shows you the philosophical differences on this dais if it's for

Phil BacerraItem 12

them spend through the roof it doesn't matter it's okay sky's the limit police contract raises pay them money no no no you've got to think about five years out on the budget and measure x now all of a sudden we've got born again fiscal conservatives right but it can't be you got to look at this in the fact that we have 45 funded vacancies, and how are we going to attract more officers? This has nothing, and I'll say it, it has nothing to do with the POA. It has the fact that when I call the police, when my neighbors call the police, when anybody in this city calls the police, I don't want them to say,

Phil BacerraItem 12

I wish we could get to you, sir. I wish we could get to you, ma'am, but we're just short right now. And by the way, I've heard that before. I know a lot of us have heard that before.

Phil BacerraItem 12

So before anybody starts saying, saying, oh, it's all about some sort of political motivation. No. You know what? As a resident of the city, I want to call the cops and I don't want to wait too long for them to respond. I want to make sure that they come. So when someone wants to try to make some sort of assertion that, oh, it's because the POA spends money in campaigns. You know what? Maybe take a walk through your neighborhoods. Take a walk around and see. Take a walk through downtown. Take a walk down South Bristol or up by Main Place. People want the cops to come and people aren't going to see more cops

Phil BacerraItem 12

until we start compensating our cops appropriately. Santa Ana is not jumping the shark. We're not paying cops through the roof. We're trying to catch up here. But you know what? When you hear this stuff, but if you want to talk about political motivations, let's just talk about one real quick. Folks up here, when they campaign, they don't campaign with police defunders. They campaign with police abolitionists. Let me say it one more time. Police abolitionists. People People that would rather not see the police officers exist. Not less of them. Not filling vacancies.

Phil BacerraItem 12

They campaign with people who do not want cops to exist in Santa Ana. Okay? So as we get closer to November, please take note of who's endorsing who. Yes, the POA will probably endorse people. Oh my goodness. But you know who else will? Folks who want to abolish the police. So pay attention to that. Madam Mayor, I'm ready to call the vote when you are.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

I was gonna make a comment, but I'm not. Let's call the vote please, Madam Clerk.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Mayor, I believe Council Member Lopez wanted to make a comment.

Jessie LopezItem 12

I do. Oh, I'm sorry, I can't hear you. Go ahead. Yeah, it's my last comment. I agree with Council Member, Mayor Potemkin. I don't expect anyone to do work and not be compensated fairly. I think that should be a standard across all fields of employment. As I said, I believe that we need to be competitive. You know, when I looked at the 2024 compensation chart, to me, when I see that we're about $3,000 off total base pay of the people that are ranked at the top in the county, that is, I think, a little bit hopeful for us. Will we ever be number one? I don't know, right? I don't know.

Jessie LopezItem 12

But, you know, I have supported all of the requests from PD to enhance recruitment efforts, whether that's signing bonuses, really all of the requests that have come forward, I have been supportive of that. I've actually given, you know, my advice, like, hey, we should be going after folks that have higher education levels. I've said that from the dais. I think that we should also know what is hindering the recruitment process of PD internally, right? Why are people being rejected? What is the reason? I am interested in knowing specifically the percentages as to what ends up disqualifying a candidate.

Jessie LopezItem 12

I don't know if that is protected by state law. I don't know if that's information that is not shareable with us. but we really have never had a good understanding of why people are not moving along the recruitment process at a higher speed. We've heard that other departments are having the same issues across the board, but again, I think having the specifics is important for us to understand. Maybe there's something that can change internally, maybe there isn't, but I really don't know what the expectation is of me as a policymaker when the question before me

Jessie LopezItem 12

is yes or no right on a three and a half year contract that again is not fully funded this is not a lie this is not an interpretation it's black and white in the staff report it's in our budget document it's in the economic outlook our current you know financials don't even take this dollar amount into consideration and so I'm not opposed to a fair contract as I said earlier I've I've supported one in the past and I would be willing to have conversations we have had those conversations so I strongly disagree that anyone who has a

Jessie LopezItem 12

question about the financials of the city that you know we can't even have this conversation without without all these insults how embarrassing is it for this city for this council to not even engage in a conversation about the status of the things that are coming before us as policy makers without insulting one another and that is what our constituents are seeing right here right now happen when we have major issues playing out and so i should be able to ask hey what is the internal plan for this city understanding the financial outlook how are we going to pay for that and for that people want to throw insults at me

Jessie LopezItem 12

good luck with that right and so i think moreover when people have questions that we all pose up here they should not be reduced to these reductive and lazy slogans that our constituents if they have a question are anti anything they are allowed to have questions they are allowed to to to say say, hey, I have concerns, and that's where I'll leave it.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Thank you. Can we vote? Mayor, I have one last comment. Oh, my Lord.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

I have three rounds. This is the last one. Mayor, pretend that we're going to vote.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

Thank you so much. I guess I just wanted to bring this back to everyone because we all have a lot of policy differences here on this dais, on every issue. It could be anything, right? right? But I think ultimately what everyone has talked about up here, everyone on Zoom has talked about is how do we improve public safety for Santa Ana residents, for Santa Ana workers, and for visitors? How do we improve public safety? And that can mean a lot of different things. I completely agree with Councilmember Hernandez that we have to invest in arts and youth services

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

and programming and further enrichment in the city. And we have. In this budget, we have increased arts funding, we have reconfirmed our commitment to Bowers and demanded that they be more engaged with this community. We are continuing to fund community programs and events and doing that even though the main library is going to be closed for a few years. We are saying, yes, those things are important. But those programs will not change the facts overnight. Those programs take time. Those programs take further investment.

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

And those programs take all of us committing to one another over decades. And I'm here to do that. But what this contract is going to help us do and what I think we're trying to also address is the immediate need of our residents. And so I guess I leave it with this analogy. We're always going to be making sure our foundation is good. But if the roof is leaking, you have to patch it. And I think that's what we're trying to do tonight with this POA contract. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

you. So before I close to just going to say that um made comments, I'll be ve has the answer. Somebody about gang violence. Nobo for it, how to resolve it it and sell it, you'd mak far as to certain wards a spending money with every just Ward 3261. I mean wi with everybody and their public safety. The Santa district has a budget tri million dollars in reserv be investing in our youth and Vasquez was just at t

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

asking for a raise as he everybody else. He's a ba unit as I use a bargaining unit. They should if they They feel they have a need, which they do. Currently, our police officers are ranked 10. This raise will rank them 8, not even in the top 5, as Councilman Becerra had indicated. So I just want to be clear that why are we doing this, and I'll leave it with this. When we did the budget survey, again, the second year that I've been in office, the top two issues are homelessness and public safety.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

and I want to remind you all of that homelessness and public safety and please be mindful and thank you council member Lopez for talking about insults I get them every single meeting I take the hit I come back for the next meeting because that should apply to all of us not just one or two or three or four or just the police or just SEIU we should be mindful of that to each other at every single meeting and with that madam clerk let's call the vote please

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Yes, a motion by Councilmember Penaloza, seconded by Councilmember Becerra, to adopt a Memorandum of Understanding with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association and approve resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana to effect certain changes to the City's classification and compensation plan. Councilmember Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 12

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Councilmember Hernandez? No. Councilmember Lopez? No. Councilmember Penaloza?

David PenalozaItem 12

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Councilmember Vasquez?

No.

I'm back.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Mayor Pro Tem Phan?

Also no.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Yes. Mayor Meskwa? Yes.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

Madam City Clerk, did you hear Councilman Vasquez?

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

I did. I recorded him as a no vote. The vote is four ayes, three nays. Nays by Councilmembers Hernandez, Lopez, and Vasquez. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

Thank you. At this time, Madam City Clerk, we're going to take a five-minute break, and then we'll come back and enter into the business calendar. Thank you. Thank you.

Recording stopped.

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piano plays softly

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Phil BacerraItem 12

recording in progress

Thai Viet PhanItem 12

five minutes maybe a little bit more

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

yes madam city clerk are we ready to resume yes we are mayor can we go back um to items 13 and 14 I apologize. I believe Councilman Hernandez wanted to make a comment.

Jennifer L. HallItem 12

Yes, thank you, Mayor. He'll be here momentarily to make his comments on item 13 and 14.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 12

Oh, he's not in the room? He's at the dais right now.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 12

Go ahead, Councilman Hernandez. Thank you, Madam Mayor. This is for item 13. I wanted to pull this item very briefly just to talk about the historical significance of what we at the Santa Ana City Council approved today. Today we approved in accordance with our ceremonial street topper ordinance. Today we had an impactful ceremonial street topper that was brought to us by our neighbors in Articia Pilar. Today we honored Virginia and William Guzman.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

the Guzmans, as their legacy has made a profound and lasting impact on Mexican and Mexican-American children in the city of Santa Ana. Virginia Guzman was a resident of Artesia Pilar. She attended Fremont Elementary, a school that was located off of Artesia and Calle Ocho, what is now known as Wright and Civic Center. This was a school that was designated solely for Mexican students. Many of the Mexican students showed up to school with no shoes. Many of the Mexican students lived adjacent to the school in Artesia Pilar.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

This was a time when educational authorities in Orange County subjected children from diverse backgrounds to inadequate learning conditions. As a child, she vividly recalled her principal physically disciplining kids for speaking Spanish. vanish. These memories remained fresh in Virginia's mind when her son, Billy, anticipated attending Fremont Elementary in the mid-1940s. Determined to secure a better education for her child, she approached school officials about transferring him to a superior and predominantly white school. However, her requests were met with refusal. Undeterred, Virginia and her husband, William,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

rallied other parents in an attempt to persuade the Santa Ana School Board to dismantle their segregated school system. When these efforts proved pointless, the Guzmans pursued legal action, filing their lawsuit against school segregation, an original move preceding similar actions by others. Despite the resolve, the lawsuit did not yield the desired outcome. Consequently, Virginia pulled her son from public schools, enrolling him in a a Catholic institution instead. The Guzmans, along with four other families, were instrumental

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

in the landmark case against the city of Santa Ana, the case known as Mendez versus Westminster. The case of Mendez versus Westminster includes other families that oftentimes have not been talked about, have not been acknowledged when we talk about the desegregation of schools. schools. The Guzman family is the very reason why students like myself were able to go to Fremont Elementary, Spurgeon Intermediate, and Santa Ana High School. The case of Westminster versus Mendez unfolded in the mid-1940s and it addressed discriminatory practices within

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

the Orange County school system, specifically Mexican children.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 13

Mr. Mendez, we'll run you three minutes, please.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

Yes. Mexican children were unfairly separated from their white counterparts and unjustly labeled as intellectually inferior and unclean. Virginia and William connected with their parents in Westminster, El Modena, Garden Grove, and filed Mendez v. Westminster School District, which helped to end school segregation in California. The Mendez v. Westminster School Board, District of Orange County, not only set a precedent for later cases, it helped set a precedent for Brown v. Board of Education, but it also showcased the Mexican-American community and leadership for fighting for their rights and winning.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 13

I want to thank the Guzman family for opening the doors so that children of all colors and backgrounds can sit in the same classrooms. Because of your bravery as a Mexican family who fought to desegregate schools, you gave people like myself and my peers and our residents an opportunity to sit in the classroom. As your councilman from Articia Pilar, I want to thank you for ensuring that our people have a seat at the table and exemplifying that when Mexican Americans involve themselves in the civil rights movement, we bring the people with us. Thank you and congratulations.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 13

i'd like to remind the council that we're all trying to stay with the three minutes three rounds and so i know somebody will say council member this person council member that person you're over your time so let's be fair to one another please and follow rules just like we ask other people to do three minutes three rounds please councilman hernandez you can make your comment on the next item three minutes please thank you madam mayor the next item i wanted to speak on

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

was a historic vote that the council took today to adopt and introduce the ceremonial street topper to honor mr warren bussey mr warren bussey is and has a legacy that is profound and everlasting his impact has helped youth and elders across the city of santa ana and across orange county mr warren bussey was born in a small town in bobo texas on november 21st 1913. one of eight boys and four girls. He was raised in a tightly knit family with a caring community. Growing up Mr. Bussey quickly learned the value of hard work. He

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

pitched in to support his family at an early age. These are the lessons that were instilled in him. His strong work ethic helped him shape the business that he would then help tons of Santa Ana residents with his business in Santa As a business owner in Orange County, he also helped his neighbors in his adjacent community, helping many of the residents who live close to his home. What people often are not aware of is Mr. Bussey's contributions to this country. As an American, he fought for us in World War II and served in his country and was stationed in Victorville, California in 1944. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

1946. In 1948, he embarked on his entrepreneurial journey, establishing a janitorial service under the banner of Bussey Maintenance in Fullerton, California. He has shown unwavering dedication and persistence. Through his business's success, it expanded his reach from not only Santa Ana, Orange County, but to the greater Los Angeles County. In 1951, Mr. Warren Bussey crossed paths with the love of his life, Mamie Ebla, with whom he shared a loving marriage for over three decades until her passing in 1982. During their marriage, the Busseys diversified their

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

business ventures, opening the first black business in Santa Ana, a soul food cafe in 1955. Although business initially commenced slowly, Mr. Bussey sustained his maintenance company to provide support for his wife. Mr. Bussey stands as a respected figure within Orange County. He embodies the essence of a true civil civil rights leader in our community. At 103 years old, he continued to serve as an active member of his WLK Lodge, inspiring generations with his unwavering dedication to community service. His presence was cherished at the annual Black History Parade in downtown Anaheim every February.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

He captivated audiences with his youthful spirit, his infectious enthusiasm, and he reminded everyone that age is merely a number. Mr. Warren Bussey passed away as the oldest African-American resident in Orange County history at the age of 108 on May 9, 2022. The ceremonial Warren Bussey signs are going to be installed at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Walnut Street, and they will be known as Mr. Warren Bussey Square. square. Maybe may he continue to be remembered as a Santa Ana icon and as a trailblazer

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 14

for African Americans across California, particularly in Orange County. Long live Mr. Warren Bussey and long live the Guzman family.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 14

Thank you. At this time, we're going to go into the business calendar. Item number 17 is related to the review of the city charter amendment. Mr. City Manager, may we have a report please

mayor i was going to make this report oh you go ahead i'm sorry i'm out of city attorney

okay sorry mr city manager we have a little bit of a delay so i wasn't sure if you were handing this off or not so um mayor and mayor pro tem and council members um this item involves involves four different action items as you see on your agenda and one of those action items has a part a and b i believe the best way to present this item to you this evening is by taking each section separately i will review the item and then ask you to vote on that part so i'm going to break this up into the rent stabilization ordinance the city charter amendments resolution

resolution to have the election on the charter and then a related resolution that has a part a a ballot question that addresses general updates and amends irrelevant sections of the charter and the city council compensation item and then finally we're going to review the resolution that addresses specific ballot language pertaining to the non-citizen voter amendment and in that that charter. So beginning with the first item, this would be a resolution which would affirm or

reaffirm the council's decision to present its rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinance to the voters. The city council had previously taken this action and then a question came up as to whether the correct ordinance had been attached to that question. And here's the difference. The City Council currently has on its books a resolution, a rent stabilization just cause ordinance, that requires a supermajority vote to make some amendments. I believe it was the City Council's desire to present an ordinance to the voters that

did not contain that supermajority vote requirement. The reason being that if the item is approved by the voters, the amendments would require voter approval. If the Council agrees with that, then you can entertain a motion on item number three to approve the resolution.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

THE REGULATION. MAYOR, THIS IS MAYOR PROTEM FAN. ARE WE TAKING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I WASN'T SURE. SHE'S GOING TO GIVE HER

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

REPORT AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO.

SO THAT'S THE END OF THAT PART AND THEN YOU CAN DISCUSS THIS PART AND YOU CAN TAKE ACTION ON THIS PART.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

OKAY. SO I CANNOT SEE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK. SO IF YOU CAN HIT RAISE YOUR HAND ON THE CHAT THEN I CAN. AND REMEMBER WE'RE DOING THREE MINUTES, THREE ROUNDS, PLEASE. GO AHEAD, MAYOR PROTEM.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

thank you thank you for bringing this back madam city attorney my team and I had raised this issue and it seemed like you know administrative error that was attached and properly to the last item and so this is just cleanup to make sure that the correct version because I know that there were multiple versions attached to the potential resolution at that time and so I just want to confirm that for item three the item that's going before the voters does not include the supermajority language to amend the ordinance relating to rent stabilization or just cause

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

eviction because any amendments will require voter approval. And with that, I would move to approve

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

that item. Thank you. Second, your motion. Madam City Attorney, can you answer that question again,

please? Yes, that is correct. Mayor Pro Tem has correctly stated the revision to the the version of the ordinance that is attached to this resolution. Okay.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Go ahead. There's a motion and a second. Any other comments?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

If there's seen none, let's prepare to vote.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

A motion by Mayor Pro Tem Phan, seconded by Council Member Hernandez, to approve a resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, giving notice of a general municipal election to be held in the City of Santa anna on november 5th 2024 for the submission of a ballot measure to the qualified voters proposing a rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinance and requesting the orange county board of supervisors to consolidate this election with the statewide general election council member becerra no council member hernandez yes council member lopez yes council member

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

penaliza no council member vasquez yes mayor pro temp fan yes mayor mesqua no vote is four eyes three nays nays by mayor mesquite council members becerra and penaliza motion carries

okay um so now uh mayor mayor pro tem and council members we're going to take the second um grouping of the action items that are listed on your agenda. This would involve the items that would call the general municipal election on November 5th of 2024, and then it would address the specific ballot questions. So very quickly, just a little bit of background. You may recall that the mayor appointed an ad hoc committee of the council. That ad hoc committee consisted of herself, Mayor Pro Tem Pham, and Council Member Becerra.

The ad hoc committee held several meetings to discuss potential amendments to the city charter and came up with the following proposals. Contained in one question that reads as follows. shall the city charter of the city of Santa Ana be amended to delete references to obsolete job titles, obsolete bonding requirements, specify that all department heads are at-will employees, address definitions of funds and levies for compliance with state law, and authorize limited purchasing authority for the city clerk and city attorney, and then require the city council to adopt an ordinance to enforce the ethics code.

Many of these changes as listed in that form of this question are simply cleanup and update items to amend obsolete language. The authority to the city clerk and city attorney would give both appointed officers the exact same purchasing authority that the city manager has, but that purchasing authority would be specifically limited to their job duties and would be subject to all of the same restrictions and reporting requirements that apply to the city manager. also require that the money had already been budgeted for the items for which they would need purchasing authority as for the ethics ordinance the ethics code

this would actually revise the language that was added by a Charter amendment several years ago and would authorize and direct the City Council to adopt an ordinance that would address the enforcement of the ethics code so if you don't have any questions on this one um we can move forward if you want me to pause before i go

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

into the next one i can do that are there any questions on this uh question she just read off

David PenalozaItem 17

the ad hoc one um mayor mezcua this is councilman panellosa i have a comment yes thank you and thank you to the ad hoc members for your work on this i've been down this path so i know how tedious it can be and it's a great learning experience so i'm happy you guys did it Madam City Attorney, the only suggestion that I would make, and obviously it's up to my colleagues if they agree or not, is in Section 702 for the city clerk and Section 703 for the city attorney, I would change that. I'm not comfortable making it to the same as what the city manager's authority

David PenalozaItem 17

is, because then if we ever want to change that in the future, it has to go to the voters. So I would suggest that we change that language to enter into contracts related to the office of city clerk based upon the city's purchasing policies and dollar limitations established as established by the city council. Just as the way we establish the contract authority for the city manager today, I believe is how we should establish the purchasing authority for the city clerk and the city attorney. attorney. That way it gives us flexibility to decide what we want to do with each one

David PenalozaItem 17

versus just having a blanket equal authority. Those are my suggestions for that item. And my colleagues would agree. Please speak up so that we can make those changes to this amendment.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

Mayor, any comments? Yes, this is Mayor Pro Tem Phan. I believe, Councillor Penalosa, you bring up a good point. However, Madam City Attorney, please correct me if I'm wrong, but by limiting the purchasing authority for the city clerk and city attorney to same, or we can make it the same as a city manager, and then every year or every few years whenever we change the city manager one, the language in the charter would just essentially, by default, update to whatever the updates to the city manager's purchasing authority is right like i feel like we're already

doing that with this language correct um it would be uh the dollar limitation established for the city manager if you wanted to allow the council even more flexibility we could amend sections 702 and 703 to say based upon the city's purchasing polar policies and dollar limitations for the city manager or at such other amounts as established by the city council.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

Yeah, I would be supportive just to, you know, that one additional sentence or phrase, I think would be good to just add. And maybe that will make Councilor Pendoloza more comfortable. But I think we're already trying to tie it together so that ultimately the city council always has that authority to make those changes. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

So, Mayor Pritchard, if I hear you correctly, you want to add the city council authority?

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

We already, I would just add that language, the flexibility language that's so, excuse me, Madam City Manager, Attorney added. Thank you.

David PenalozaItem 17

And I guess that's what I wanted, colleagues, because I just, right now, today, I trust our City Attorney and I trust our City Clerk and our City Manager. They're very, very talented professionals in their fields, and I would have no issue giving them that same equal authority across the board. However, things change in the future. You know, none of us are going to be here forever. So I want to make sure that future city councils and us also have that flexibility when it comes to the amount that we want to give full authority to. I would hate to just tie it to whatever we give the city manager. So that was my two cents.

Okay. With that language that I read, if you like that language, I think it will address your question, Council Member Penalosa. Yes please go ahead Madam City Attorney. Okay so also so those were the the changes specific exhibit a to the resolution highlights in yellow the language we are adding and in red and so when you take your motion I would take your motion to include that statement that I've read So that's part A. If you want to take action or take a vote on that part A question, you could do that now.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Let's take a vote, please. Is there a motion and a second?

Jessie LopezItem 17

I have a question for the ad hoc members or the city attorney. Can you provide a little bit of context? Because, again, I was not in the ad hoc, so some of these recommendations I'm trying to understand. The elimination of the personnel board?

the city attorney yeah the proposal that's before you does not include the elimination of the personnel board the specific proposal before you is limited to just the code of ethics and conduct a capital improvement fund the powers the clerk and city attorney as we just discussed as well as official bonds and it did not go any further that item was discussed by the city City Council by the Ad Hoc Committee but no action was recommended at this time understood thank you

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

if there are no other questions so Madam Mayor oh my apologies I'd make a motion to approve that um ballot language as read by Madam City Attorney including the phrase to give the City Council some flexibility relating to the City Attorney and the City Clerk's office purchasing Authority

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Is there a second?

David PenalozaItem 17

I'll second. Madam Mayor?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Thank you. Let's prepare to vote.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Phan, seconded by Council Member Penaloza, to approve a resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, giving notice of a general municipal election to be held in the City of Santa Ana on November 5, 2024, for the submission to the voters of questions related to the amendment of the city charter in regards to Section 401.5 Ethics Code, 402 Council Compensation, 611 Capital Improvement Funds, 702 City Clerk Authority, 703 City Attorney Authority, 1002 Civil Service, and 1103 Bonds as amended with the flexibility language for the City Council pursuant to the

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

City Clerk and City Attorney Purchasing Authority.

David PenalozaItem 17

Madam Mayor, point of order. I thought it was just the first ballot question. I'm not supportive of...

Correct. Correct. I would make that clarification. I'm going to separately address exhibit B. So will Madam City Clerk, could we hold off on the resolution reading until we address the second question? Just take a vote on the first ballot question by itself.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Right, Madam City Clerk, we're just voting on the very first question on the ballot.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

Questions. So it's not the resolution.

We will take action on the specific resolution separately.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Okay. Council Member Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 17

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Council Member Hernandez?

Phil BacerraItem 17

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Council Member Lopez? Yeah, I'm unclear. What is the question?

The ballot question that you would approve if you said you voted yes would be, let me go back and read that question again. again um it's just the very first question that was in the resolution um just one moment I'm online

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

and just have to go back to it it says shall the charter of the city of Santa Ana be amended to delete references to obsolete job titles is that the one yes that's the one to obsolete job titles and obsolete bonding requirements specify that all department heads are at will employees the address definition of funds and levies for compliance with state law authorize limited purchasing authority for the city clerk city attorney and require the city council to adopt an ordinance to enforce the ethics code and madam city attorney you made some changes uh

for the request such other amounts adopted by the city council those changes

Jessie LopezItem 17

okay and just a quick a quick follow-up on the last point of the enforcing the code is there language expanding in the charter that we're asking people to approve? Not at

this specific time. I think the idea as recommended by the ad hoc committee is that the specific language that's in the charter needs clarification and needs to be reworked to make it function even better than it is. The idea that you would appoint ad hoc committees to address individual complaints appeared appeared to be a good one when it was recommended but as we found in practice there are some inefficiencies in that process so I think the idea was to allow the council to adopt an ordinance that could address how we enforce alleged violations of the ethics code by taking

it out of the charter and putting that enforcement language in the hands of the council you can better address you know things on a case-by-case basis understood thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

so we're going to do the vote on this first question please yes so i'll start back over a motion by mayor potem fan seconded by council member penaloza to approve the first proposed ballot title the basic cleanup item councilmember becerra yes councilmember hernandez yes yes councilmember lopez yes councilmember penaloza yes councilmember vasquez yes mayor pro tem fan yes mayor mesqua yes vote is seven ayes no nays motion carries

okay now the second part of the um of the charter amendment recommendations by the city council was put in a separate question a separate ballot question and this ballot question would read shall the charter of the city of Santa Ana be amended to index council compensation at a salary of 33 percent of that of an Orange County Superior Court judge? For this section, this question is related to an amendment to change the council compensation from the current amount

of $12,000 per year, which is paid out at a rate of $1,000 per month, and it would change it to be indexed to 33% of the salary of an Orange County Superior Court judge, which at its current levels would be $78,696 a year or $6,558 per month. So if approved by the voters at the November 2024 election, the amendments would take effect in January of 2025.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Any comments or questions?

Jessie LopezItem 17

Yes, again, I wasn't part of the ad hoc, so I think it would be great to hear from the ad hoc members, their train of thought behind this, since this is the second time that the Council discusses this publicly. Thank you.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

Thank you. I can talk about, I mean, I had supported this item last time, because I was on the ad hoc committee last time. You know, I talked a lot about compensating people for the work that they provide, and And I can tell you that every member of this council works to provide further services to our community. Everyone here works more than the, you know, probably part-time, whatever amount of hours that is that some people think. And I think that's really important for the future of Santa Ana to be able to recruit and get working class people, middle class people to be interested in serving on the city of councils of Santa Ana.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

not everybody has a flexible job not everybody has their own business not everybody is retired a lot of people have to choose whether to serve their city or not because they can't afford to to do it you know I might not be here next year and so this is really about the next generation of leaders that we're trying to get to serve the city and so the seventy eight thousand dollars or indexing it to the 32%, one, keeps it consistent. Two, it's still less than what someone would need to be, well, for $78,000, you would qualify for affordable housing

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

in the County of Orange. And so to me, I think that this is what is going to be fair and to help us get better and more candidates interested in serving this city. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Any other comments?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

yes i have a a quick question madam mayor so thank you council member fan um that provides very good good clarity that i was going to ask you know what was the basis of why we're asking for this i wasn't in favor of it last time but i think your reasoning is sound and fair and so i'm looking forward to taking a vote thank you

Phil BacerraItem 17

Mayor, if I may. Go ahead. When we had a previous interim city manager, he came in and he said, you guys only have one assistant city manager? That's like something they do in the 1950s. In a city your size, they can't do that. That's not an uncommon theme around here. There are things that we have done when we were surrounded by farm fields and that was just the way you went, right? I think as we look at ourselves in the mirror and say, yes, we're one of the big urban centers of California, we need to really take into account what that means.

Phil BacerraItem 17

And leadership being part-time, just showing up twice a month and voting on things that staff presents and then walking away, that's not the reality. Whether I agree or disagree with my colleagues, I know they all put in a lot of work. And I know I put in a lot of work. And the reason why things have improved down in Ward 4 is because I put in that work.

Phil BacerraItem 17

But you know what? I think that, as Mayor Pro Tem Vann said, you know, as we're looking to the future and the folks that we want to see succeed us, you know, for them to say that's a viable option, at least, you know, for a period of time, I could do that. It won't be as big of an impact. I think that's what this item says and I've been very consistent on supporting this because I think this is something that We need to do you look at the fact that cities like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati they make similar they have populations less than ours and Make as much as what's being proposed here

Phil BacerraItem 17

One other statistic I'd like to throw out is the fact that in California California. Fast food workers make two and a half times more than what we do today. They flip burgers. We deal with billion dollar budgets. There's a stark contrast there and a difference in pay. We've talked about how we want to make sure folks are making a living wage, and I think this helps us get leadership in the city towards that point. So I'll be supporting the item tonight. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Any other comments?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Is there a motion?

Phil BacerraItem 17

I'll move the item.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

I'll second. Is there a vote?

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

A motion by Councilmember Becerra, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Phan to approve the second ballot question related to council compensation. Councilmember Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 17

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Councilmember Hernandez?

Phil BacerraItem 17

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Councilmember Lopez?

No.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Councilmember Penaleza?

David PenalozaItem 17

No. Councilmember Kite?

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Council Member Vasquez?

David PenalozaItem 17

No.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Mayor Pro Tem Phan? Yes. Council Member Lopez?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

I can vote Madam Clerk.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Mayor Meskwa? No.

Jessie LopezItem 17

Yeah, I mean, I'm having a hard time just because I completely agree with Councilmember Becerra and Mayor Pro Tem Phan. I know we all work really, really hard up here and I do, as I was saying earlier, people should be compensated and it's hard, I think, for folks that have to work two or three jobs. Many of us up here do. And I think that if you guys spent months talking about this, if this is what you really I see you nodding your head, Council Member Becerra. I have reservations, but I will support your motion for you guys to move this forward.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

So I just want to be clear, Council Member Lopez, when you say you guys, there was three of us on the ad hoc, and it was a two to one. So I just want to be clear on that.

Jessie LopezItem 17

yeah and you know that that's why I'm asking for context for these questions that are being given to the voters because again there's seven of us up here only three people discussed it I'm trying to understand you know what that background is um I can provide additional context no I don't I don't

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

yeah you're okay thank you no thank you I appreciate it I just wanted to be clear that the

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

ad hoc there was three of us so thank you so with that the vote is four eyes three nays nays by mayor mescla and council members penaloza and vasquez motion carries

and miss city clerk would you want them now to take just for for purposes of consistency would you like them to take a vote on the two resolutions separately now now that we know that there is majority support for both ballot questions yes to approve the actual resolutions calling the

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

election and setting forth the ballot titles i would appreciate having a vote on they can be taken together as they are related

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

so can you say once again so that everybody knows what exactly we're

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

voting for please right and so we would still need a motion and a second and it would be to approve the two following resolutions a resolution of the city council of the city of santa ana giving notice of a general municipal election to be held in the city of santa ana on november 5th 2024 for the submission to the voters of questions related to the amendment of the city charter in regard to sections 401.5, Ethics Code, 402, Council Compensation, 611, Capital Improvement Funds, 702, City Clerk Authority, 703, City Attorney Authority, 1002, Civil Service, and 1103, Bonds,

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

as amended within the exhibit, the language pertaining to the City Clerk and City Attorney Purchasing Authority, and a separate resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana setting forth the language of ballot titles for city charter amendments amendments regarding cleanup of obsolete sections, civil service ethics code, city clerk and city attorney authority, and council compensation to be included on the ballot for the 2024 general municipal election.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Thank you. Is there a motion?

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

I'll move to approve.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Second.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Phan, seconded by Council Member Becerra to approve the two resolutions as just read into the record. Council Member Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 17

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

council member hernandez yes council member lopez council member penaliza no council member vasquez yes mayor pro tem fan yes mary mesqua no vote is five eyes two nays nays by mayor mesqua and council member penalosa motion carries

Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem and Council members we have one last item to to go through on this and the Council had previously taken action to approve a ballot measure related to proposed city charter amendments concerning non-citizen voting as was spoken about today by a number of public speakers the city is now facing a legal challenge not to the substance of non-citizen voting but to the way that the ballot measure question was posed and language that was included within that ballot question that has that has been submitted you can at this point choose to do nothing with this

resolution and leave it as is or you could choose to amend the ballot question to remove the language that is subject to the legal challenge that is ending and the City Council has been given legal advice on these issues and I will leave it to you as to whether you choose to take action or not. Are there

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

any questions, comments, action item council members? members.

City Mayor, this is Councilman Vasquez. Thank you very much. I move the motion to leave it as is with the language that we have that includes parents and taxpayers. We have merged the Solid Defense with the ACLU about the wording and they've given our support given the support to the city to defend the wording so I move to move this forward

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

I'll second the motion with a comment I am supporting this motion keeping it as it is because when we talk about non-citizens the majority of people who are non-citizens are of adult age working class people people who play who pay taxes people who are raising their children and family. The language I find to be unbiased, it is simply describing who non-citizens are. Non-citizens pay over $145 million in taxes in Orange County today. We make up a bulk of the workforce here in California, and Orange County wouldn't be the county that it is without

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

non-citizens. The task that we have in front of us is going to be decided through a democratic process and ultimately if our voters decide to extend non-citizen voting rights to our neighbors that'll be done through a democratic process a yes vote enshrines it as local law and if our voters aren't in favor of that through a democratic process they can vote no to keep things the same at the end of the day we are simply giving our voters the ability to decide through a democratic process and I'm supportive of that so I'll second your motion councilmember

David PenalozaItem 17

bravasquez thank you are there any other comments mayor this is a councilman penalosa i have a comment go ahead i just wanted to thank the city attorney in the city attorney's office and at the same time apologize on behalf of my colleagues i you know i've said it before but i'll say it again you know we have a very uh talented city attorney's office that you know Back in September and October, when this item came before us in open session, they brought forward neutral, adequate ballot language that we should have adopted then.

David PenalozaItem 17

But the city council and at the open city council meeting pulled language out of the air. I don't know why, but they did. That included the term parents, which, by the way, you know, it is using the term parents is insensitive to people who are not parents and are trying to conceive and probably can't get pregnant and can't have kids. So shame on that, first of all, and trying to use language to persuade the public when they go to the vote. This is simply being done so that when somebody goes to the ballot box, they read, oh, yeah, of course parents and taxpayers can vote.

David PenalozaItem 17

But it's trying to be disingenuous and trying to persuade and influence the voter, which is what my colleagues here are trying to do with this language. So it's unfortunate that this is now going the way it is. Thank you, Madam City Attorney, for providing the neutral ballot language that you did last fall in open session when this was first before us. You know, that's what happens when we rush things, as the City Council, you know, did at the time. So thank you, but I will not be supporting this because of that.

David PenalozaItem 17

And, you know, just we are getting someone's challenging this in court and the public knows about this, that it's being challenged legally. And it's unfortunate that we will go and continue to waste the taxpayer money, taxpayer dollars to try to fight this. Again, it could just be adopted with neutral language, not saying don't adopt the measure. but the city attorney's office provided us with a neutral ballot question that accomplished the same thing that you all are trying to accomplish with this ballot question but you're trying to

David PenalozaItem 17

be cute with the language so with that mayor those are my comments i will not be supporting the item

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

thank you councilman panalosa anybody else otherwise another remark go ahead i could

bear you here go ahead okay i'll try and speak up um i'm supportive of this and uh uh just to uh council member from the low side doesn't always take the advice of the city attorney there's been instances where he goes against the advice and i too uh know that we have an amazing city attorney in the office and we expect the policy to be done by us and the defense of our choices to be done by the city attorney and i know that staff will work as hard as and do

their due diligence to do the the work that we cut out for them thank you thank you are there

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

any other comments yes madam mayor just a very brief one i just wanted to share um that i think it's it's important council member um penyelosa brings up um inclusive language because he's right it is important that we as a city are inclusive of our neighbors who can't have children as somebody with a background in early childhood education the term parent is an inclusive term it doesn't single out of gender for instance the term mom or dad is exclusive the term parent is also inclusive of people who aren't able to have children adoptive parents or parents step parents or parents caregivers or parents they grandparents

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

parents who are raising their grandkids oftentimes take on a parental role and so i thank council member penulosa for the opportunity for us to expand our language and challenge us there but in challenging us there i will be more mindful moving forward but with a professional background in in serving families here in orange county i do find that the term parent is very inclusive but i welcome the opportunity for us for us to expand our language and be more inclusive thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Thank you, Councilman Hernandez. There are no other comments?

Mayor, if I may, I just wanted to let the council know that if you're going to keep the resolution as is, there's not a need for a motion. Perfect.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

There's no need for a motion, so we're going to keep it as is.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

I do want to clarify, Mayor Pro Tem, Madam City Attorney, so the attachment exhibit B, excuse me, exhibit 3, resolution re-proposed ballot measure, it's page 17-59 or 1191 of the PDF. It contains, it says, shall the City of Santa Ana City Charter be amended to allow by the November 2028 general municipal election non-citizen city residents to vote in all City of Santa Ana municipal elections? So you just want to clarify, so we're clarifying that if we do not want to take any action regarding this item, we don't have to because

we've already done so in the fall correct correct that's right this was only giving you the opportunity to make a change in response to the lawsuit if you wanted to if you declined to do that then the action you previously took would stand as is thank you thank you to you both and

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

i guess i'll use this as my three minutes um well thank you for that clarification and thank you to to my colleagues for bringing this item. I am supportive of keeping it the way it is. We get challenges up here on the dais all the time for different policy issues. We've gotten challenges, whether it's rent stabilization, whether it's the short-term rentals, whether it's anything else. And I think that this is an important enough issue to fight and and to say where we stand. As someone who represents a community that did not have representation, as an Asian-American elected official,

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

as a Vietnamese woman who is representing a community that fought to have districted voting in this city because the Vietnamese community did not have representation when it was citywide, I know what it's like to grow up in this city and not have a voice. I know what it's like to go to City Hall, and my mom cannot communicate with anyone. anyone. I know what it's like to call in and not have anyone be able to help you because we don't have the cultural competency or the language ability to do so. And having someone who represents that community and has fought consistently for that representation, I feel we have made a difference.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

And let's look back at what it was like when we had citywide elections. When we had citywide elections only, we know that north side and south side had a lot of influence in this city because they have very high voter turnout, and that's amazing. I think that's awesome. But what we do know is at the end of the day, while this city council has continued to elevate and consider issues that affect our non-citizen residents, not every council is going to do so. Not everyone who sits on this dais is going to care unless they can get a vote from you, and I think that's important.

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

The last thing I will say, as the only immigrant sitting on this dais who had to swear to defend the Constitution to become an American. Being a citizen does not guarantee you the right to vote. We take voting rights away from people all the time. Being a non-resident is not always your fault. It's not always financials, and it's not always something within your control. And as a city made up of immigrants, families of immigrants, and of people who support this immigrant community, I think it's really important to give them a voice, our non-citizens a voice,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

in local elections. Thank you. So with that, I would just ask Madam City Attorney and Mr. City Manager that you come back and give us updates on the cost of the lawsuits, the cost of what this is going to take from our general budget to address this, if you could, please. Thank you.

David PenalozaItem 17

Mayor Emescu, this is Council Member Pabellosa. I would like to make a motion to kill this item entirely to avoid the problem you're making a motion to to kill this item yes

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

is there a second I'll second let's prepare to vote madam mayor I would like

Thai Viet PhanItem 17

to make a sub motion to keep the resolution language as is as adopted in

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

the fall of 2020 second your sub motion mayor pro tem fan madam clark you take a vote please

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

this is a vote on the sub motion by council member fan i'm sorry mayor pro tem fan seconded by council member hernandez to keep the ballot language as adopted in fall of 2023 council member becerra no councilmember hernandez glad okay councilmember lopez councilmember penaloza no councilmember vasquez yes mayor pro tem fan yes mary mesqua no the vote is four eyes three

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

nays nays by mayor mesqua and council members becerra and penaloza motion carries to retain the original ballot language question question language thank you madam city

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

attorney we go with this item we have for us nope that item is all done you

can proceed to your next item thank you anything councilmember Lopez has a

Jessie LopezItem 17

procedural question I believe yes I do and a city attorney on agenda item 17 is Is this the last of it or is it going to come back?

Number 17 is all done. The ballot measure language will move forward. The city clerk, the only remaining actions to take is procedural things, which will set the arguments for each of these ballot questions. The city council would have an opportunity to rescind any of these items or would have to do so before the deadline. And I asked the city clerk to give you that date.

Jessie LopezItem 17

Okay, good to know. just because I'm still struggling with my earlier decision.

Okay. What is that deadline, Ms. City Clerk, that they would have? Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

So to follow up on that, the statutory deadline for submitting ballot measures to the Orange County Registrar of Voters is August 9th. However, at the very next council meeting on July 16th, we'll be bringing forward resolutions for you to set regulations for arguments and rebuttals. And so you would be seeing these, at that time, three charter amendments that are currently or ballot measures that are currently been approved by this body the one related to the rent stabilization ordinance the cleanup measure actually it's for I apologize the cleanup measure the council compensation and the non-citizen voting all right we're good

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

I don't know other questions comes in Lopez you're good okay item 18 council Council Member Hernandez and Council Member Vasquez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Today, June 4th, 2024, we are going to be discussing a proposed cigarette litter abatement tax. We are discussing considering providing direction to the city manager, the city clerk, and city attorney to prepare necessary documents to propose a cigarette litter abatement tax. This is in response to the City of Santa Ana's budget deficit projections due to the sunset of Measure X in 2030. We would like for our city to introduce a measure on the November ballot that would charge the tobacco industry a fee per pack sold for litter removal and to alleviate budget woes.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

cities like San Francisco as well as cities like Richmond have already created these fees that have generated upwards of five million dollars in their general revenue fees that is a tax generating you know fee that can help our city create a surplus so that our parks and our libraries and our general services don't suffer and so that we also don't have to cut vital services like our police department this is going to ensure that we are proactively over the next six years building a tax generating revenue that can ensure that

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

the city does have an additional bracket of tax that also is addressing a concern in the Santa Ana community and that's secondhand smoke many of our children have been exposed to the dangers of tobacco we recently made a bold decision to ban flavored tobacco here at the Santa Ana City Council. This is about keeping our streets clean, ensuring that we remove one of the most common forms of litter we see all throughout Orange County is cigarette butts. We have a department that is constantly picking up cigarette butts, whether it be in front of libraries, parks, sidewalks, or community centers.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

This is an issue that affects residents everywhere. If we can get in front of this issue and address the dangers of tobacco, We keep our community safe. We keep it clean by having a fee that goes toward our general services. At the end of the day, this is about ensuring that we are preparing for the sunset of Measure X by creating an additional fee that can help the city balance our budget. I don't want us to get close to 2030 and for us to be scrambling and cutting essential city services. I want us to prepare accordingly. We have an opportunity to put this on the ballot.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

it our voters would be able to decide if they're in favor of this with their vote voting in favor enshrines it and allows us to come back at a later date and create parameters around this fee I support us protecting our taxpayers and us taxing an industry that is lucrative tobacco is an industry that will always exist in California but it is not one that is as strongly regulated as it should be i think that us addressing both the pollution and the fact that we have a budget deficit this is a win-win for children and families and it's a win-win for taxpayers

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

that concludes my comments thank you councilman hernandez councilmember vasquez yes thank you

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

very much i i want to thank councilmember hernandez for his leadership with us and And we have to start being creative. We have to start looking at our city and where we can create revenue. Last year, from last year to this year, we rose our revenue by under 2%. We lost revenue on sales tax. So we're going to have to look. We're going to have to be creative and do the work. And for us to continue to do this, i'm glad that we have finally have an economic development uh department or we're increasing it

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

under uh intern sitting manager uh and this is just step one we still have a lot of work to do and i'm looking forward to working with all of you to make sure we take the next steps thank you

Phil BacerraItem 18

thank you any council comments at this time mayor um i i have a question for my colleagues who brought this forward. When you guys say that you want to tax the tobacco industry, walk me through how that goes. Are we sending a bill to Philip Morris? How does that work? Because if you're saying we're going to just tax cigarettes, right? So in other words, we're going to pass the tax onto the user, which would be our residents. I understand that. Not sure whether I'd support taxing our residents more, but if you're going to tax the tobacco industry, I'm intrigued. How

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

does that work that's a great question council member that is a question and a conversation we would have to have should the voters vote in favor of this we would be able to come back and create an ordinance right now is in front of us is if we are going to provide direction to our city attorney our city clerk and our city manager but i do want to expand upon what other cities that have passed the cigarette litter abatement tax have done cities like richmond and san francisco have created a fee per pack. So let's say a consumer goes into a smoke shop and they buy a pack of cigarettes.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

In cities like San Francisco, that fee may be $1. And let's say in the event that we have a business who is selling these packs of cigarettes with this fee, a business would then follow up with the city. They would have a specific department, similar to how we have the rent control ordinance, where then they would ensure that those fees are paid to our city. um similar to any other tax like the taxes that we do have in place for a business to open a smoke shop they do have to go through our licensing with our city they do have to pay taxes so it would be

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

very similar to what we already have implemented but i i don't want to get too far into a conversation that would be premature but just for clarity that is what some of the cities that have already passed fees very similar to what we're discussing are doing well thank you for that

Phil BacerraItem 18

councilmember hernandez and you know i've lost both my parents to smoking so i'm in no way shape or form sympathetic to that activity but having said that i'm also not sympathetic to continuing to figure out or i'm sorry continuing to try to claw our way out of our financial situation on the backs of our residents by continuing to tax them i may not agree with those that smoke but i don't want to continue to tax and tax and tax our residents because that's what this proposal is. So while it says tax the tobacco industry, and I'd be right there with you if I could send

Phil BacerraItem 18

a bill straight to the tobacco companies, but that's not how this will be implemented. It will be taxing our residents who just happen to smoke. And if that's the path we're going to go down, what other activities are we going to tax going forward? Again, our residents already today, right now, have the highest sales tax in all of Orange County. And now we're talking about more taxes. I don't know that's the way to go. I appreciate that my colleagues have looked at other cities and how they've done it, but the fact that they're not ready to propose something

Phil BacerraItem 18

more concrete, maybe that means there's more homework to be done. So tonight I won't be supporting it. If they want to come back with more homework having been done, maybe. But again, fundamentally right now as we stand today having the highest sales tax in Orange County, I can't support yet another tax on our residents because that's what this would be thank you

David PenalozaItem 18

thank you any other comments by council mayor i have a comment uh this is mr i just want to say that i um initially was supportive of the idea of the a tax on what i thought would be the cigarette cells which we realize that we're preempted by state law which is you know like we are with many other things but um i uh after hearing councilman i mean i have to agree it this isn't something that i don't see us being able to implement or manage unless we're going to send a bill to philip morris there's no way that we would be

David PenalozaItem 18

able to do this and this isn't the you know this is a pattern that we keep doing uh we keep approving things and ordinances and sending things to the voters without any uh any thought on what it means five years down the road.

David PenalozaItem 18

So everything from the implementation of it brings me back to the creating our own elections department and the RSO and it all. You know what? We'll worry about what it means later. Let's just approve it tonight and get on with it. No, you know, these things, every decision we have up here has a consequence and we need to start focusing on that so I am NOT supportive of it unless we are going to be building the tobacco industry which I don't think could we could do or how that would happen I would hope that my colleagues who maybe

David PenalozaItem 18

do a little more research on what this means and how we could move down this path but not supportive of it tonight thank you thank you any other comments

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I have one comment.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Go ahead, Councilor Vasquez. Thank you so much. All of our revenue, even if they're grants, are coming from taxes. And this is how we create revenue for the city, regardless of where we may raise them from. This is the first time Council is coming to propose a, you know, we're going to have a full $30 million coming up in 2029, 2030. 30 and we are trying to you know put a piece you know cover up the dam a little bit before it all

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

breaks as taxes lower and we're going to need to support our city somehow and this is this is what this proposal is doing this could be in the range of four to six million dollars which is 20 percent of we will be losing we're not increasing our sales tax that highly we did super like i said we're under two percent raised last year to this year it's very short but yet we can we do keep spending so when we do propose a way to create revenue i hope you would all go for it thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

thank you counselor vascos counselor hernandez can i ask you a question absolutely um so what you're asking is for the city manager and staff to explore this um is that what i'm hearing you say

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

yeah the only reason why i didn't want to discuss parameters as far as a fee as well as the processes is because i didn't want this direct this charter amendment to include provisions where we're essentially creating parameters for for the cigarette litter abatement tax i want and i trust that our city attorney our and our city manager and our city clerk can work collectively to bring us what they feel is going to be the best option and then the council would decide i figured i wanted our city staff to be able to to to bring something to us at a later date as as evidenced

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

by the request of of item 18. i trust that our staff have looked at the cigarette litter abatement taxes across different municipalities and that they would bring us back something that is robust and fair and equitable we do have a third and that's that's ultimately should the voters want to support this we would be able to safeguard and create parameters through an ordinance and the conversation that we have here today is more about providing direction rather than some of their particulars as to how are we going to collect fees what is the amount because our

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

city staff may have differing opinions as to what this amount may look like or what a process um you know is better suited for our city could look like and i i want to leave that to to them to do that there's an abundance of research they can look to and based off of my conversations with our city attorney this would be the the best approach was for us to confer over if this is something

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

that the majority of us would like to move forward thank you for that explanation um so i wanted to make sure it was just to explore the item because when you say san francisco and richland and i get a little you know kind of sets me i'm like oh no i don't want to be like them um court per councilman becerra and everybody else that always says it yes we pay the highest taxes our residents our Our constituents are always talking about it, complaining about it. I believe none of us were on this dais when that tax went out to the voters. And now we're seeing receipts that are actually itemizing the tax.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

And so it comes out to 9.25 when the tax, you know, our constituents add it all up. So I just want, you know, when you're talking about direction, because if you look at San Francisco, they had to file quarterly reports. They had to pay a tax. They had to pay a late fee and they had to pay an admin fee. So if you're asking the city manager to and staff to come back with information, like what is it going to cost the city? How much revenue? I don't want us to just pull an amount of revenue out of our hats. I want them to be able to tell us a roundabout or almost as accurate as possible.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

What would the revenue look like? What is the economic impact? Would it be another tax to go out to voters or is it just taxes for small businesses? is i'm a little confused because it will affect our small businesses in the city so um yeah i just want to be mindful i mean i'll i'm gonna i'll support it with you councilman hernandez because only because i'll be really clear this is not we're not making a motion tonight we're not giving direction to the city manager the city attorney say yes put this out come back we're giving you we want this what we're saying is to go out do your research find out all the information you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

can the good the bad and the ugly and then bring it back to us and then at that time we would discuss it and vote on it is that what i hear you saying that is correct mayor mesquite i say things a little different than you i just get down to the point right

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

hey we're on the same we're at the same page that's all i'm concerned about okay and i just

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

want to be clear because you know we're talking about a tax and you're going to have the san any unified school district put out a bond i believe the college is putting out a bond and so there's gonna be a lot of things on the november ballot but you're not giving a timeline for this so this may not be on the november ballot maybe it'll be in two years from now if it ends up even

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

going that way there's certainly a possibility that staff can bring us this item at a later council meeting and the council can certainly look to go to the 2024 election or 2026 but that is certainly a possibility and um we'll leave it i guess you know to our city staff to bring it to us at a later date and then i'm i'm happy for us to to revisit this conversation then

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

thank you are there any other comments for council members

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

so um i guess you need direction from four of us right i was like wait a minute that's correct no i'm going that way mr city manager um i want to just make sure we have direction from four I don't think you do. Do we have direction for four?

Jessie LopezItem 18

MPT is trying to make a comment. Right. Oh, go ahead.

Alvaro NuñezItem 18

I count three.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Yeah, thank you. So thank you for bringing this item. I guess I struggled with it because whenever we try to do something, I try to think about, OK, what is the purpose? If the purpose is to generate revenue, find another way of generating revenue in the city, then I would need to see how imposing this you know abatement tax would actually generate revenue because let's say it is five million dollars or however much it is I don't know what the sales level of cigarettes is in the city of Santa Ana and and to see what that is balancing in with the cost of

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

administration and the regulatory scheme that we would have to implement right to do that as well as the impacts on any potential decrease in sales of cigarettes in the city. If the goal is to make it cigarettes less affordable therefore decreasing the use of cigarettes in the city, I would be supportive of that. As someone who was raised in a community where the majority of men smoke cigarettes and as As someone who was raised in a household with two fathers, my biological dad and my stepdad, who both had smoked cigarettes,

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

and as someone who was raised with asthma because of it, I know of the important and negative health effects of cigarette smoking, and I would be fully supportive of an item that would make it less interesting, less easily accessible, and less affordable for people to smoke cigarettes here in the city of Santa Ana. We already have terrible air pollution. We already have lots of negative health effects, and we already have a population that's vulnerable, that has less access to health care, and that requires support. I would support that.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

But if the goal is to generate funds, I would want to see maybe an initial round of study to show what is our cigarette sales tax? Do we even know what our sales is and whether it would actually do anything for us to be able to implement a program? to help pick up litter or anything like that. So that's where I'm at. So I guess I would be supportive of it, but I guess in an initial basis, not any deep consultant work, maybe just look through some of our finance teams, tax collection, if there's anything like that. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I'm in agreement. I don't wanna hire consultant or anything like that, spend money for this. So, Mr. City Manager, do you have direction?

Alvaro NuñezItem 18

Yes, we do. So we'll do the research. We'll try to maybe we can fulfill both goals, right, how to minimize or increase tax-based purpose, minimize the usage of nicotine sales, right, minimize bureaucracy, and enhance a better administrative process and if we can't then we'll tell you no we cannot so

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

we'll do the research I think that the important the other issue that was brought up on my side was the effect on businesses right because they would have to pay a late fee they would have to pay this fee there's four fees they pay looking at San Francisco and other cities that have it so I also want that information because I'm not supportive of you know this affecting small small businesses to the point where they are no longer in our city because we want we want businesses to come to our city so i mean we can look at our do they have to file quarterly reports

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

what are they paying what's a late fee what's an admin fee all of that mr city manager understood councilman hernandez councilman vasquez any other things no that is it madam mayor thank you Thank you. Let's go to item 19. This is the last item before we go to city manager comments and council comments. I brought this forward similar to item 18. It is just for direction to providing direction to the city manager to meet with different agencies for an interest in launching a street medicine program with Cal Optima. I believe he had a meeting with them already. We've had meetings with them before.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

We submitted an application when they opened the RFP. We did not get it. It went to, I believe, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, and Garden Grove has a phenomenal street medicine program as well. Matter of fact, they're going into their phase two of street medicine. And the reason that I brought this up, because, you know, we already have CityNet that we spend $3.8 million. It's a non-law enforcement approach. Street medicine is a non law enforcement approach to address the needs that we have in our city.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

You know, we get calls or emails from our constituents about, you know, Johnny's here, he looks sick, or, you know, Johnny's here, he looks like he's, you know, like he's deceased on the sidewalk. We get calls for different medical needs by our homeless population. And so I'm not asking to bring a program to the city of Santa Ana where they got a building and people go there because we have a whole second floor of a shelter that is not being used. And I'm sure the city manager and staff can get very creative.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

What I'm asking is that we give direction to the city manager to explore working with Cal Optima, maybe the Wounded Walk OC, maybe Ultamed to look at street medicine, because what it does is provides mobile physician and pharmacy care for the folks who need it on the streets. and it also provides mental health services. And so it frees up our police, it frees up fire, it frees up our paramedics. And so I'd like us to give the city manager direction to say, yes, please go forward, get that information for us, bring it back to us. What is the cost, if any? Can Cal Optima or any other group pick up the cost?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

Can we partner with them? We have to do something about the homeless situation. The point of time count, we went up, I believe the number is 800 homeless people in our city. We did not decrease. We increased. And so I do not want the homeless, you know, I don't want another 800. That's not what I'm asking. I want to be really clear on that so the constituents understand. What I'm asking is that we provide care for those that are on the street that are not at a cost to us, that we reach out to Cal Optima when they open up, I believe, in January for an RFP process,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

but in the meantime giving the city manager direction to meet with them and any others that are interested in working with the City Center and a partnering with them even the county to provide street medicine for our homeless population again the wounded walk OC already does that they do a phenomenal job garden Grove has it and I'm has it we post Mesa will be starting it and so I really am just looking for a partnership so that we can address the needs of our of the homeless in our community and it not only benefits the the homeless, but it benefits us as constituents because then they would get the assistance they

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

need and we wouldn't see them on our streets dying and sick or, you know, and I've received calls or emails and I'm sure all the council have about, you know, so-and-so's on the street, he looks very ill or she looks very ill. I called the police. They go out there, they're calling the task force team to come out and do a medical evaluation. That takes hours, hours, hours, and it takes a police officer time, fire department time. And so this would really bolster our services. And we would be able to partner up with Cal Optima to have a mobile physician in pharmacy care and mental health in the city of Santa Ana. We have the largest

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

homeless population. And we, in my opinion, as the mayor and meeting with constituents and speaking with different people and different groups, it's working in other cities. I don't know why I could not work here in Santa Ana. And again, I'm not asking that we place a program in our city with a building similar to MHA. That is not what I'm asking at all. This is street medicine where they go out in vans. And so they're not taking up office space here in our city. Now, the city manager may come back with something that says, oh, they're going to use the shelter second floor

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

to, you know, maybe do some mental health counseling. Well, that would be great. So in my opinion so with that i'll open it up for any comments or questions thank you madam mayor

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

i just wanted to share my support here um and thank you for bringing this item forward i think it's it's important that we take as much off of our police department as possible so that they can focus on emergency responses and as we can see um i think having a continuity of care in the community where we're able to address addiction and the intersectional issues that come with homelessness, this is going to help us with public safety. It's going to help us with addressing homelessness, and it's going to help our police department respond to those vital emergency calls that we get. So I think this is going to be instrumental

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

in building a foundation of trust between our residents, community services, and law enforcement. So I am in favor of this. just want to give our city manager direction to bring this back thank you thank you any other

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

comments yes please hello thank you mayor for bringing this forward this is positive work that we should be be doing and i appreciate it i just want to let the city manager as well that i'm in supportive of this and uh i'm sure supervisor segmento is open to have those conversations AS WELL. I'VE TALKED TO HIM ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST AND HE'S OPEN TO WORKING WITH SINANA. AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS IN JANUARY. THANK YOU.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS?

Jessie LopezItem 19

NEW SPEAKER YEAH. SO I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM. IF THE PUBLIC WILL RECALL, YOU KNOW, WE DID A CAL OPTOMA PRESENTATION SO THAT THE PUBLIC COULD START LEARNING ABOUT this at my request and so I I do you know I'm very supportive but I think that we also have to address the self-imposed barriers that the council has potentially may be adopted which would fully or maybe prohibit some of the work that the street medicine whether it's through Cal Optima or wooden walk as the mayor said deliver in the city and so I have no doubt that you

Jessie LopezItem 19

know hearing from the majority of the council that staff will do that research with cal optima i don't think that it will benefit our city our constituents our community as a whole if we ignore the concerns that they have about our current code and if we're truly to be supportive and see this program be successful then the council has to be ready to amend the code if necessary and so again very supportive of the program i want to do anything that i can in my capacity to ensure that we deliver comprehensive health care to individuals that are unhoused through a street medicine model thank you are there any other comments

David PenalozaItem 19

i have a question i just wanted to voice my support for your item to see what staff could bring back um i would say that that many of the things that we've uh many of the ordinances that we've enacted and taken and and done um we should be able to to work with cal optima and say hey you're going to develop a program that's going to accommodate not only our our city but the laws that we have also placed put in place so we there's ways to work together and collaborate so very supportive of it happy to see what staff will bring back thank you i have mayor i have a

Phil BacerraItem 19

question and that is so everybody's talking about policies that we need to change so educate me on that what what policies is Cal Optima dictating that we need to change I'm sorry I think there

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

was only one council member that stated that not everybody so council member Lopez could you

Jessie LopezItem 19

no I don't think that this is procedurally the appropriate time the question before me is do I support the program or not I do I'm letting you know what some of the concerns are if you're not interested you know don't waste people's time thank you so we're having a dialogue up here

Phil BacerraItem 19

and i'm asking for my colleague to provide input but you don't want to okay that's fine thank you

Jessie LopezItem 19

she should state what those are mayor this is mayor yes procedurally i don't know what's so difficult to understand we've been advised by the city's attorneys before that these items that are brought by the council are not items to be discussed fully in greater detail again the question before me is do i support you know us working with cal optima to bring this program to better service our constituents the answer is yes councilmember lopez these items are for

Phil BacerraItem 19

council discussion what the idea is is not to burden staff with questions so if a council member asks another council member a question there isn't a prohibition on responding so i asked you a question if you don't want to answer it that's fine you gave your direction good for

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

you gold star that's it so mayor this is mayor pro tem fan may i make my comment please yes please go ahead thank you i am also supportive of this item mr city manager we have talked at length about the need to collaborate and work with cal optima the county orange county social services agency and and any government entity that represents and services Santa Ana residents, right? And so I would say for me, the first thing we have to do in working with Cal Optima and wanting to build a new relationship that frankly we did not have,

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

that we did not have, is to stop making our government, our fellow government agencies who serve our Santa Ana residents get business licenses. we make Cal Optima get business licenses in the city to hold a health fair in conjunction with Orange County Social Services Agency the county and the city of Santa Ana so in order for us to continue to build this partnership to bring street medicine to the city of Santa Ana and to serve the residents who receive Cal Optima which included myself as a kid those are the barriers

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

that I think that we need to address in collaboration with our county partners and

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

agencies thank you thank you ma'am for your time so Mr. city manager there's several stuff here that have had meetings with Cal Optima I know since I've been elected can't speak previous but since I've been elected I have been meeting with them and having conversation and so it sounds like you have your direction is that correct

Alvaro NuñezItem 19

Yes, we do. But just for clarification purposes and then full disclosure, we had a meeting already with some of the KEL-APTO leadership last week. So one, it is our intention to try to maximize partnerships with anybody that can help Santa Ana. I'll say that bluntly. It's definitely our objective to minimize any bureaucracies that inhibit that level of assistance. But my commitment is one, and I'll say it this way, my flagship is one, Santa Ana. What benefits Santa Ana? What benefits the residents?

Alvaro NuñezItem 19

And so when I'm called with meetings, whether it be with the county or the state or federal agencies is how do my city benefit? and to the extent that I can minimize any of those challenges that it inhibits that's what we would do but never compromise and also what I think benefits our city and so we have three partners and I think partnerships we share a 50-50 responsibility with all agencies that are willing to help and also take our perspective in full understanding but that being the mandate definitely would make it work so it sounds like you have your direction

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

thank you mr. city manager it sounds like you have your directions that correct yes that's correct great thank you at this time let's go to city manager comments well you have any comments mr. city manager it's just the

Alvaro NuñezItem 19

one I just made about Cal Optima so we met with him is I intend to follow up also with the county public health and using supervisors at a mientos assistant to probably make those collaboration with Department of Social Services services, obviously, and the county public health department. One of those aspects, listen to my next comment, which is the needle exchange program. As we indicated at our last meeting, we had already met, had a meeting with the Department of Public Health. We are looking now to establish a meeting with the Department of Public Health, Dr. Aragon himself, and members of the community.

Alvaro NuñezItem 19

So he has agreed that he's willing to make with community organizations. So we're trying to schedule that meeting with the agency and the neighborhood associations and any nonprofits that are willing to participate. So stay tuned for those dates, and we'll provide that as soon as we can confirm a meeting. That's it. Those are my comments. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

Thank you, Mr. City Manager. Council Member Vasquez, comments, please.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want to say I'm currently in Naleo in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a Latino conference paid for by the city. And I'm hoping to learn a few things on housing or the unhoused or any way of raising revenue from the city. That being said, you know, we've had a rough three weeks in Santa Ana. And like you said, I did go to the school board. My intention was that they keep two programs that are very near and dear to me. One was the bridge program, which gives summer school for graduating eighth graders going into ninth. Usually there is no summer school for those 13 year olds.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

And I want to make sure that the district knows that we need them as a partner to invest in youth, to have that program that supports those kids that were otherwise and most of the other times would be on the street. And I taught bridge and I had a great time with the kids. I hope they do keep it. I also asked them not to defund enrichment program that's been going on for a few years. And that's where teachers make up their own curriculum, make fun curriculum that's interesting but educational to students where they recruit students to come in and do work. That's another way that they're investing.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

And I'm hoping that they'd also keep that program alive. As the more kids we have off the streets, the better we are. This investment in youth is kind of rough. I have people on social media asking me what am I doing, and what I'm doing is making sure we have programming for youth that did meet with the family of the child on Bishop, and thank you for your leadership on this, Councilmember Hernandez and the city manager for coming with me to visit the family.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

and we took resources to the family and had a conversation. And the thing that took me, you know, without asking or prompting, the dad said, we need more youth programming. We need to have places for our youth to be. And I was taken, you know, I was taken by his words and I will carry them for me for as long as I'm in this office to always support youth, youth to mitigate the issues that we have right now in the cities. The other boy who tragically passed away, I knew Angel.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

Angel wasn't my student, but he's a Valley High School student. And he would come see me, he would look for me to talk to me and he'd throw jabs at me and he was a funny kid. and the last time I saw him was at his graduation for alternate ed graduation. And I was happy to see him graduate. I gave him a big hug. He was very happy to see me as well. And I'm going to miss all those smiles. But what we do is we help these families. We support these families. I don't apologize if I don't go on social media to get points or to get likes.

Benjamin VazquezItem 19

I'm doing work and I continuously do this work because I love it. I'm here for families and for the children of Santa Ana. With that, I want to say thank you to everybody who supported these families and went to the cremese and helped out. I hope to reach out to Angel through Kenship, Angel's family, through this mentors, which is Kenship, with Ramsey. And a good night. That's all I got.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

Thank you, Councillor Vazquez. Councillor Lopez?

Jessie LopezItem 19

Yeah, you know, I want to start off along the same lines that Councillor Vazquez was talking about. And I think it's important that we all acknowledge the shooting, not just the one that happened on Flower and Bishop, but the other one as well. And, you know, I think for me, when I heard that a 27-year-old man thought that it would be okay to go after a 13-year-old boy, I think what world does this person live in that he thinks that this is acceptable, that this is okay, right?

Jessie LopezItem 19

And then I think about what are the conditions that are making these things happen in our communities, understanding that I live streets away, blocks away, and the reality for families in one part of Ward 6 or Ward 2 or Ward 5 or Ward 4, Ward 1 are different sometimes than the realities of the families of Ward 3. And so I think it's really important for us to think about really the deep rooted conditions in the city that are attributing to this senseless, it's senseless violence that are taking young kids from their families.

Jessie LopezItem 19

I cannot even begin to imagine what that pain must be like. And I think overall, it's just really tragic. And again, really utterly unacceptable. I think also about, we must come together in this moment in time as a community, be respectful with the family,

Jessie LopezItem 19

be respectful about the process. I wanna thank the department, they acted very quickly. they apprehended an individual within days if I'm not mistaken the district attorney's office just released a press release given an update on the cases of these individuals and again to councilmember Vasquez's point we in this time of mourning it's a very real experience for families I urge everyone to reflect on the impact of the tragedy to reflect on their actions to give the family space you know and as we've heard already not to be using these these real life experiences

Jessie LopezItem 19

that are so hurtful to some people as political theater i think that is unfair to the families we can have discussions about what should happen moving forward but we must be respectful about something that nobody here is experiencing in the way that they are in this moment And to that point, you know, city manager, I often follow what other cities do. The city of Long Beach just released a plan this summer and how they plan to support the youth and prevent gang violence or in general just violence. They're actually going to be waiving all the recreational fees citywide.

Jessie LopezItem 19

Maybe that's not something we can do, but I am asking that internally staff have a conversation. about what are the programmings that we can support, move forward, expedite to keep young people, especially during the summer times, busy, occupied, in safe spaces, in community centers. Again, going back to those master plans with the school district, what sites can we keep open for those sites to be community hubs? They're doing a lot of things in Long Beach, and so I encourage you to look at their summer plan to see if there's anything that we can adopt

Jessie LopezItem 19

that is going to help our families here. Moving on from that, I just want to announce very quickly that we have office hours at Edna Park this weekend at 10 a.m. The Parks and Recreation team is hosting Juneteenth at Centennial Park this weekend as well, and I want to congratulate Floral Park for once again being named a neighborhood of the year being named a neighborhood of the year by neighborhood USA it's a wonderful recognition it's a contribution to our city and I know that families and Floral Park work really hard to maintain and have what they have and so I hope if you're not familiar

Jessie LopezItem 19

that you walk around or drive around respectfully and get to know the different neighborhoods in the city thank you thank you councilman hernandez thank you madam

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

mayor i want to start by thanking the public as well as our city staff for today's meeting and my colleagues for the work that we did to move the city's business forward i did want to talk about the city of santa ana paying for my travel and lodge i will be flying out tomorrow to vegas i would have been there today but i wanted to handle city business i will be flying out tomorrow and i I will be at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Conference representing Santa Ana. I wanted to talk about the heartbreak and anguish that one of our neighbors, many of our neighbors are going through.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

We lost a young man in Daniel Vargas, a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the very community he was raised in. This young man went to Mendez and was going to go to Santa Ana High School. I want to take this opportunity to demand justice for Daniel Vargas and thank our police department for catching the shooter as quickly as they did. These types of arrests bring the community closer together. When we lose young children to gang violence and we don't see the closure that the

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

families deserve, families are impacted for generations. We know that young people dying Dying in Santa Ana is not new. I implore the city of Santa Ana to resource that neighborhood more than we ever have. To work with Public Works Department on strengthening the lighting that we have. Increasing the amount of time that we have lighting there. Having our patrol officers be in that neighborhood more frequently. Increasing the city's presence at the apartment complex where this shooting occurred. I would like to see the city rent an apartment and have a nonprofit program in that apartment complex where the shooting occurred.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

I don't want the city to be this far away from this tragedy. I want us to be in the trenches where the shooting occurred because there are families who don't feel safe. I want our police department, I want our family justice center, I want our parks and recreation departments to visit this family. in the next 30 days. And I want our police department to have a continuity of care for this family beyond this year, beyond the two years. We need to continue constant communication with this family and with our neighbors there because young children dying in our neighborhoods should not happen.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

There's nothing normal about children dying in Santa Ana. I want to denounce the gang violence that is happening in the city and ask our neighbors to please stop it. There is nothing gangster about shooting at vulnerable children. You are not welcome in our community if you are going to inflict violence on children in our neighborhoods. We are going to send an emphatic message that you're not welcome. And I ask my neighbors that if you see suspicious behavior, call our police department. Normalize getting involved and raising your voice. We need to come together now more than ever

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

and set our differences aside so that we can create a bridge for safety and children, we shouldn't have to worry about if our kids are going to make it home safely because a 27-year-old man is shooting at them. And so I want us to respond in both having on-the-ground emergency responses present, but I also want us to be proactive in building and maintaining relationships with everybody who's been impacted by this tragedy so that we can ensure this doesn't happen to any other families moving forward thank you to our city manager and Sylvia Vasquez with the city manager's office for visiting this family talking to them in a language

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

that they can understand meeting them where they're at I want to thank my colleague councilmember Vasquez as well as our mayor for visiting the Kermess we need to be at the forefront of these issues and not hide from the fact that children are dying in our city this needs to end we need to have a unified front on how we're addressing violence and i believe we need to to act immediately i would like to see our city have a conference where we can address and listen to the to the public their concerns we need a town hall where we bring our gang prevention experts together our police department

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 19

gang interventionists non-profit partners like kid works and we work together on solutions that

Phil BacerraItem 19

concludes my comments thank you thank you council member sarah thank you madam mayor i want to take the opportunity to thank our police officers for apprehending the suspect in the shooting that we're all talking about i think it's good that we're all talking about this because it's important to realize crime is not going down we're seeing shootings we're seeing homicides and frankly i I can't say that I'm shocked when you have 45 funded vacancies in our police officers or our police department. So that to me shows me, among other things, that it is imperative. And I'm going

Phil BacerraItem 19

to say, I'm going to look over at our acting chief. We need to recruit. We need to fill those positions. Thank God tonight this council did what it's supposed to do, which is adopt a budget. We're in the clear. We've got two readings under our belts, so now we can move forward. So I look to our acting chief, I say, let's go get these recruits. Let's fill those positions. Also, in addition to the shooting we had down on the south end of town, next to the county flood control channel, we had a person who was residing in the county's flood control channel come out

Phil BacerraItem 19

and assault two young children who are students at MacArthur Junior High. I want to thank the mayor and I want to thank our acting city manager Alvaro Nunez for working to get a fence installed between the bike trail and the county flood control channel. Enough is enough. We have such neglect in that flood control channel and I appreciate that the city is taking the initiative to make sure that we protect our children so that they're not continuing to be harassed by folks that are being left to reside in the flood control channel to deal drugs from the

Phil BacerraItem 19

flood control channel and now add to the list assault children at bus stops right next to the flood control channel. I also want to announce that on Saturday, July 6th, I'll be hosting my office hours over at the Sagerstrom Triangle across from Salaback High School, which as I say that out loud, that sounds weird, right? The Sagerstrom Triangle across from Salaback High School, but it's on Sagerstrom Avenue. So it's right there at Sagerstrom and Shelton. We'll be be there Saturday, July 6th. And I don't know why nobody else has said it up here, but I'll say it.

Phil BacerraItem 19

I want to wish everybody a happy 4th of July. It's going to be the 248th anniversary of declaring our nation's independence from Great Britain. So I'm looking forward to the celebration. I wish Hawk was here. I'd get to say, hey, looking forward to the celebration at Centennial Park that Parks and Rec puts on every year. And it's an amazing event. So I'm looking forward to seeing everybody there celebrating again our nation's independence and with that we'll see everybody back here on july 16th so have a a good uh holiday break and we'll see you back then thank you

David PenalozaItem 19

thank you counselor and panalosa please thank you mayor i just wanted to uh first off i want to thank our parks and recs department uh and hawk if he's still in the room director scott for the incredible movies in the park series that you guys have been hosting uh the first one was just two weeks ago at Memorial Park and the turnout was incredible. There were so many families out there, so many kids, so many people out for the night to enjoy the movie. It was freezing, definitely doesn't feel like summer, but I'm happy that the weather has been warming up a little bit.

David PenalozaItem 19

So thank you. My hat's off to Parks and Rec for the incredible work that you're in executing that. The other thing I'd like to mention is that I am currently teleconferencing from Las Vegas at the Naleo Conference, which is a national association of Latino elected and appointed officials. The city paid for my travel. It's definitely been a very informative and learning day one. One of the sessions that I attended today was on disruptive models to accelerating the job entry. And it's something that I've been, I've brought up to city staff

David PenalozaItem 19

in the past, and I've been thinking about more and more, and it's, you know, basically with the evolving workforce dynamics, employers are increasingly redefining job entry requirements, moving away from that traditional prerequisites like post-secondary degrees. And this shift is being now across the country, being noticed that this shift is needed in order to accommodate the new workforce. And we're not the only ones struggling to fill vacancies. It's many

David PenalozaItem 19

Many industries across this country and public agencies, public and private across this country, are struggling to fill vacancies in departments because of also the requirements that are being required by employers, not just in experience but credentials as well. So that's something that us as a city, we got to start looking into and seeing where we could be more flexible when it comes to experience and various city departments. So that was a very interesting session today. I, like my colleagues, also want to send my condolences to the family.

David PenalozaItem 19

And, you know, it's definitely frustrating and, you know, not so much sad anymore, but just frustrating that we can't get a grip on the violence that is happening here in our city. And, you know, not just in our city, but across the state. I wish I could say it's nationwide, but it's sadly plaguing this state more than others. So we definitely need to see what we can do there and make sure that resources are available to that family. City Manager Nunez and Deputy City Manager Vasquez, thank you for going out there on Saturday.

David PenalozaItem 19

And thank you for stopping by my neighborhood afterwards to look at the various code enforcement issues and public works issues that we're having. Thank you for that. And with that, Mayor, those are my comments for the evening. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Bruton.

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

Thank you, Mayor. So in Vietnamese, we don't say.

Mayor, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I would just point out we've lost quorum here. How did we lose quorum?

Phil BacerraItem 19

I don't think we're conducting any business at this point. This is just comments, correct?

Correct.

Phil BacerraItem 19

but all right ty no motions no ordinances nothing okay so we did i'm sorry madam city attorney so

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

thank you councilman becerra but i want madam city attorney we are not making any motions and we're just giving our closing comments is that we're still within our legal realm correct

yes i just wanted to alert you to the issue that we've lost quorum just so everyone's aware

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

well thank you for sharing that with us and i'm very sorry about that so mayor pro tem No ask, please.

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

Why me?

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

Yes. So I just wanted to share in Vietnamese, we don't say, you know, share you my condolences, you know, to send you my condolences. We say,

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

and chia buông, right? Chia buông means to share in your grief. And I think that we've had too much of that here in this city. and I think that we've grappled with that issue all night up here on the dais talking about public safety and how to address violence and among our community members and I think that this council the staff and anybody who works within our community are trying to find ways to address that issue but it's going to to require all of us working together. And I think that we are, I believe that we are gonna continue

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

in a trajectory of positive change. But I think that requires collaboration and some compromises because we all have a lot of ideas. We just have to take a shot at, or we have to take a chance at implementing those ideas. And with that, just to leave us all, at least on my notes, on a brighter note, Yes, we have Happy Independence Day, July 4th, to everybody. It's always a time that's a big celebration for my family and I, as my husband's a veteran. But also, I want to wish my husband a happy anniversary.

Thai Viet PhanItem 19

We're celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary on July 2nd, which is the day that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed. Fun fact. So, you know, super patriotic up here. And then finally, finally, thank you to you, Council Member Lopez, for your certificate of recognition today and celebrating and recognizing the trans community. Because I was in Chicago this past weekend celebrating my sister-in-law Vatsala's wedding to her spouse who is a trans woman. And so love is love is love. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

Thank you Mayor Pro Tem. So I just wanna share, thank you to Santa Ana police department for making arrests regarding Daniel Vargas' shooting and the other two people that were shot with that. I really want to thank Santa and PD. They moved very quickly. A council member indicated, you know, getting the Family Justice Center involved and the police department to pay attention to this family. Correct me if I'm wrong, Chief. We send families, put them in contact. Actually, we do a warm handoff to Waymakers, very good agency. They They provide services and victim services to the families. And so it's not work for the police department.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

It's actually way makers who police agencies work with. The Family Justice Center revolves around domestic violence and yes, can do some other violence, but the needs of gang violence, the way makers are experts in this area and they work with multiple police agencies. So the family has been connected to them. You know, one of the council members earlier talked about respecting and and taking jabs and whatnot and so i find it very interesting that you know even though we say we don't want to do that to each other we continue council members continue to do that so i did go on social media and i did post a video that says if you see

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

something say something and it wasn't for points it is so that the community understands if they see something just say something and then we posted the number for santa ana pd whether it it helped or not, I don't know. But as the mayor, it is my responsibility to do those things because I believe it is because I want the community to know that they have support. And so I will always post those types of videos and know it is not for points or likes. It is because I am an involved mayor. I am the most involved mayor this city has ever had. I am out in the community. I talk to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

people i answer the phone i answer my emails i have coffins with the mayor so nothing i do is for points i want to be very clear on this because tonight several comments are made about jabs and insults and i take them every single meeting and i usually stay quiet but i'm not going to stay quiet on this because it's on the back of children that were shot and died this child this child this 13 year old daniel that shot and he died and then there was two other shootings on that street and And then the MacArthur Intermediate Fundamental Incident where two children were assaulted by a homeless person.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

And yes, Councilman Becerra and I went out there, addressed it, made a video, and met with the city manager. And staff are now working on putting that fence up. That is not political points. That is doing the work. And that is what I was elected to do. And I will continue to do that. Again, not for points. People post things about something that happened 50 years ago.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

I don't really care about 50 years ago. What I care about is what's happening today in my city. That's what's important. So if you're going to say, let's not jab, let's not do insults, then if you're going to preach it, make sure you practice it, please. Because it's very rude and it's very immature to say, let's not do this. Be nice. Don't hit me. And then you turn around and you hit people with jabs. It's very unprofessional. It's very immature. mature. So I also want to say not only thank you to Santa Ana PD, but I also want Santa Ana PD to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

please give us a record or data actually at the next council meeting on how many citations that you're going to give out this 4th of July. We have a problem with illegal fireworks in our city. It is like a war zone on the 4th of July. It's not good for any of us. It's not good for our community members. It's not good for our animals. It is just not good. And I know it's also not safe for fire and police so chief if you can get that information after the 4th of july i would really appreciate i'm not giving you direction the city manager can work with you um i also want to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

thank staff for all the work that they've done the city manager's office all of the staff and everything that was presented to us tonight and with passing of the city budget we're going to have five part-time police officers the 960s that i brought up several weeks ago bringing retired retired police officers b that we could put out the So I'm happy that we pass was no fuss, no muss on t measure X oversight commi important committee. And for letting sharing with two and Ward six. We need on the measure X Oversig

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

committee. They are a very critical committee that looks at Measure X for us, meets with Kat and her team, meets with the city manager, shares lots of information around Measure X, and it is very important that those positions be filled. So Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 6, if we can please get those filled, that would be wonderful. I am also in Las Vegas at the Nileo Conference, and I've been here multiple times. Every year, it gets better and better, And I want to thank our city attorney, Sonia, for giving a breakout session today. It was called the Imperative for Ethical Leadership Among Latino Policymakers.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 19

And our city manager, thank you for doing a wonderful job today, not only representing Santa Ana, but discussing ethical leadership. And I really appreciate it. And I learned a lot. And so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. And with that, happy Father's Day to all the fathers that celebrated this weekend. again, father, whether you're a grandpa, deal, brother, sister, whoever, I mean, brother or son, you're raising children, happy Father's Day. Fourth of July is coming. I hope to see you all at Centennial Park. And the next meeting is on, Madam City Clerk, July 16th. Great, thank you, July 16th, and this meeting is adjourned.

Recording stopped.