Alright, so good evening, everyone.

Good evening, good evening, good evening.

Buenas noches.

Good evening.

Buenas noches.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Gracias.

Gracias.

I'd like to call this evening's order.

Uh clerk uh take the roll call.

Supervisor Tam.

Present.

Supervisor Miley.

Present.

Councilmember.

Council Member Higgins.

Here.

Councilmember Philbin.

Councilmember Rhodes.

Councilmember Rhodes, excuse.

Councilmember.

Oh, sorry.

I didn't hear you.

Councilmember Englin.

Councilmember Farmer, excuse.

Councilmember Mulgrew.

Present.

Councilmember Moore.

Rosen.

Councilmember Thomas.

Present.

Councilmember Davini.

Councilmember Fiebig, excuse.

Councilmember Davis.

Present.

Councilmember Mota.

Present.

Councilmember Widler.

Councilmember Cushman.

Councilmember Stanley.

Councilmember Marumajoko.

Councilmember Asin Nielsen.

Councilmember Rowell.

Excused.

Snow Citizens Advisory Council members.

Jake Grange, Harrison Conant and Start are excused.

Okay, so could we have um the clerk give directions for tonight's um participation and then also the of the um the interpretation by the translator?

Anna, can you give instructions for Spanish interpretation?

Yes, actually it's Mercedes.

I will be giving instructions.

I will give them first in Spanish and then I will go ahead and give them in English.

Welcome.

We have interpretation available.

If you are an English speaker to select your language, if you're using a mobile device, please tap your screen, select the three dots, select language interpretation, select English to finalize your option.

Please select done.

If you're using a computer, you will see a globe at the bottom part of your screen.

Please click the globe, select English, and you're all done.

Thank you so much.

And thank you for assigning us also to our interpretation channels for both Anna and I.

I'll pass it back to you.

You have anything else to say, Tisa?

Do you want to make an announcement about the comments?

About the what?

The comments on the item.

Yeah.

So first of all, let me just thank everyone for being here this evening.

The members of the MAC, the various Macs.

Um we've had a, you know, it's rare that we all get together like this, the unincorporated services committee for the board of supervisors and all of the uh Macs.

So thank you for being present this evening uh for this meeting.

Uh we've had a you know not many of these.

It's very rare that we do this.

Um, and also on the agenda it says public comment, but public comment is only meant this evening on the agenda item, so there's no public comment on non-agendized items, because this is a special meeting.

So the public comment that you see on the agenda is for the regular item that's on the agenda this evening.

So if folks want to sign up for public comment, please um submit a speaker card.

I also want to um uh thank uh my staff, uh Tona Heninger, my chief of staff that's over there, and Claudia Albano, uh, for working on uh this evening's meeting along with uh others who helped make this meeting uh come together.

And let me see here uh before I proceed.

Let me see if there's any uh comments from uh my colleague, Supervisor Tam.

I have no other comments other than to welcome all of you.

I'm very pleased to actually meet some of you and see most of you.

It's very rare that we get together.

Yes, very good.

And before we get into the agenda item, let me also see if the any member of any of the Macs want to make any comments before we proceed ahead.

I'm looking around.

Alright, thank you.

All right.

So let's, and also I want to acknowledge we do have a number of county agency staff as well as departments here this evening, mainly those that represent the uh unincorporated area in terms of direct services.

So I want to thank the county agency and department heads for being here this evening and any of the staff that you brought, the library, the community development agency, the fire department.

You know, I did ask the sheriff's office to bring a lot of deputies just in case anybody got rowdy.

I'm just teasing Sheriff DeFarvin.

You know I love the sheriff's department.

Um public works is public works on virtually, or is Daniel Cumming?

Do we know if Daniel's coming directly or is he going to be on virtually?

Do we know?

Okay, but I do expect Dana Well doesn't but to be here.

And I think those are all of the the five county uh departments andor agencies that provide direct services to the unincorporated area.

Okay.

With that with that being said, uh, let's have the agenda item, the unincorporated services committee action item, findings and recommendations from the unincorporated communities budget input process pilot.

And who's presenting that?

Good evening, everybody.

I'm Claudia Albano, Deputy Chief of Staff for Supervisor Miley.

I'm delighted to join you along with members of the budget justice coalition, um, to this truly unprecedented gathering of the bodies representing the unincorporated communities, to my knowledge, as this may be the first time that you've met together with the Unincorporated Services Committee to discuss the issues that you share collectively and ways that you can address them.

Next slide.

Completing this process and bringing you all together is a real achievement.

So it's important to thank everyone involved before we get going.

First, our thanks to the logistical team for making this meeting happen, to supervisors Miley, Tam, and Halbert, and their staff for their support, the budget justice committee itself for conceiving and implementing the budget process.

The Eden area, Fairview, Castro Valley Max, and the Sinnol CAC for your engagement.

And most of all, thank you to the residents and businesses of the urban and rural unincorporated areas who participated in this effort and shared theirs their opinions and experience with us.

Next slide.

The purpose of tonight's meeting per the agenda is for the budget justice coalition to present its report on the outcomes of the budget input pilot.

And to that end, we'll identify the major issues and outline the next steps and make a recommendation on a design for an annual unincorporated area budget input process.

Our presentation has four parts a brief historical context, a review of the process, findings and recommendations, and then next steps.

Before I hand it over to our next presenter, I want to offer a few framing remarks.

We're all here together to deliberate to review these recommendations and to deliver figure out how we can move forward.

This is our moment to be honest about what's working and what isn't, and what needs to change in our relationship with Alameda County so that we can build trust, communicate more effectively, and ultimately receive better service.

Let's be clear.

If you've read the report and the recommendations, you know we're proposing some meaningful and in some cases challenging recommendations.

Real change requires risk, patience, shifts in priorities, cultural evolution, resources, and a long-term commitment.

But if we choose partnership, communication, and a shared purpose, we can rebuild trust and government and strengthen service delivery across every unincorporated community.

So I'm tonight I'm asking all of us to seize the moment, commit to the work, commit to each other, and let's all take the next step together.

Alina.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Alina Farouk.

I'm the community development program manager at Resources for Community Development.

Before we jump into the findings and recommendations, I want to grind ground us into some historical context.

Since 2004, going back to the Eden Area Livability Initiative, residents and businesses in our unincorporated communities have consistently asked for a clear, structured way to provide input on the county budget.

More recently, the environmental justice element reaffirmed the need for coordinated investments and services, especially in communities that have been historically under-resourced.

In spring of 2025, my Eden Voice Fair Share report raised additional concerns about how investments are being distributed and highlighted ongoing issues with budget transparency in the incorporated area.

And then fall of this year, the uncorporated area budget justice coalition took this long-standing priority and launched a pilot budget input process.

This included six community meetings and a community survey across unincorporated areas.

The history shows that the desire for budget transparency and meaningful engagement isn't new.

It's something our communities have been advocating for over two decades.

Next slide.

The goal of the pilot was straightforward to develop and establish an uncorporated community budget input process that supports accountability and strengthens the partnership between the county and the community.

Our goal wasn't about holding meetings, but about creating an ongoing structure where residents can meaningfully shape priorities, inform decision making, and trust that their voices are being heard.

Next slide.

So starting in September, we launched the input process.

We held two community meetings that month, one in the urban incorporated area, and then another in Sunol, focusing on the rural incorporated.

And together, those meetings brought in about 126 participants.

In October, we continued the engagement by presenting to the MAC and SAC committees, including Fairview, Eden, Senol, and Castro Valley.

During that time, we also opened a community survey to reach additional residents and gather broader input.

In November, we compiled and analyzed all the data from the six community meetings and the survey responses, and today we're here to share the findings and recommendations that emerged from that process.

Next slide.

And from all of these meetings and the survey, in total, we had 106 residents participate in the community meetings, 142 residents who give input through the survey, and over 50 community members who attended the municipal or citizen advisory committee as part of this process.

Next slide.

So what was the process like?

The pilot centered on active participation and collective thinking.

Across the meetings.

Residents were guided by three key questions.

The first question is.

Sorry.

The first question is what are three major issues in the world that touch your community today?

The second question, what would you change or improve about the services you receive from Alameda County and the things Alameda County has jurisdiction over?

And then the last question, based on the outcomes of this process, what message would you want to send to the board of supervisors about your community and your neighborhood needs.

These questions were designed to move us beyond one-off complaints and towards a shared understanding of community priorities.

The process created space for collaboration, honest dialogue, and a collective vision of what responsive responsive accountable public service should look like.

Now I will pass it on to my colleagues who share the findings and recommendations from this process.

So next slide.

Good evening, everyone.

Excuse me.

My name is Dave Thompson.

I'm co-executive director of My Eden Voice.

We're a membership organization made up of grassroots groups and individuals in the unincorporated area of Alameda County.

So this is the top five concerns that came out of our survey of 142 residents, and also heard, you know, throughout the town halls that we we met with, as well as in our own community organizing work.

So what we found is that half of the respondents said enforcing local codes and regulations, which include issues around dumping, habitability, and zoning are a priority.

46% were concerned about safer roadways, especially for bikers and pedestrians.

We know in Ashland and Cherryland, particularly, and San Lorenzo, and parts of Fairview that a lot of kids and families are walking around to school, right?

And so that was a huge concern there.

Two-thirds of respondents say that public works were a priority, particularly around road maintenance and other infrastructure.

And then with the increase of climate change, we're seeing an increased concern around emergency preparedness.

Finally, 44% of respondents stated a concern about who holds responsibility for this.

Oftentimes residents don't know where to go when they have a complaint or a concern or how to follow up.

And so having coordination and ownership was a concern.

So you can read more about these findings in the appendix of the report to get more detail.

Next slide, please.

To address these concerns, that have been raised throughout the Eaton Livability Initiative, the research the coalition completed, our own organization, Might and Voice publish a report called Our Fair Share.

So all those things have led to these three primary recommendations.

One is codify a community budget input process.

So you could build on the pilot that we completed this fall and learn from other municipalities that have used participatory budgeting processes.

And there is a sample cycle on page 11 in this report of how that could potentially look calendar-wise.

And then three create more of a public service culture among agencies.

In our advocacy for resident concerns, we have had agency heads tell us that the unincorporated area isn't in their job description.

We've also heard that from supervisors that are not in this room.

So it's creating an orientation towards service towards the public in the unincorporated area feels really critical.

A first step to that could be to mandate a public service training for staff.

I'll pass it on to our coalition partner, Sandra Archuletta to talk more in detail.

Thank you.

My name is Sandra Archuletta.

I am the equity initiatives program manager for LaFa Media, and I support with various groups in the unincorporated area, including the Ashland Community Association, San Lorenzo Hayward Acres Mobilized or SLAM, Padres Guerreros that supports families with disabilities as well as seniors in action, and also support work within MEV.

So next slide.

Finding number four is acknowledgements and appreciations.

So residents express their appreciation for the unique communities, that is rural and urban communities.

They acknowledge the county's investments in the different services, community infrastructure, which include the Reach Ashland Youth Center, the Cherry Lane Community Center, Wilma Chan Resource Center, Libraries, and the Sheriff's Department.

They do acknowledge and appreciate these investments, but also want to see more.

Next slide, please.

Finding number five is agency accountability and follow-through.

Alameda County agencies and departments that create systems, protocols that log issues and communicates and communicate updates regarding how agencies and departments follow up with community members on critical issues.

This was something that was brought up by multiple community members, and it's having a clear process feels really important to them.

Number six, data and transparency, the ability to provide current updated data online to community members so residents have the necessary financial and operational data and information to engage in public discourse, provide feedback in order to be able to really participate in civic engagement in a meaningful way, making sure that there is data across all the communities that really make sense.

Number seven is community responsiveness.

The agency engagement with community members should really be tailored to the unique experience, and really the way that communities engage departments should approach communities with a level of respect and understanding that is so diverse in our unincorporated communities, both rural and in the urban unincorporated area, and make sure that they're feeling understood, included, and respected.

Next slide, please.

Number eight is leadership in problem solving.

The lack of ownership by Alameda County.

And the special districts and other public agencies to solve the problems which result in chronic problems without resolution.

It's really a loop that people are feeling.

And it's important that we establish a function within Alameda County to convene relevant parties to coordinate an internal and external cross-agency collaboration that really reaches a solution when problems do arise.

It's kind of like residents want to feel heard and that there is someone that's going to take these issues and resolve them and that there is a you know a place where these concerns are being heard and that there is accountability for them.

And number nine, establishing a communication hub.

People really want to build on and then widely promote the existing unincorporated area website to provide an online hub for unincorporated area residents and businesses regarding the resources, programs, and services, and this really includes modernizing the online technology tools needed to communicate and engage more effectively.

This really should be a hub of information where people can go from the unincorporated area because we are so unique and really get information in a centralized location that is state of the art that's updated where the information is relevant so people can really have a place where this information exists.

And I will pass it on to my colleague, Natalie.

Hi, good evening, supervisors and advisory council members.

My name is Natalie Kim, and I'm the partnership for the Base Future Fellow working with MyEden Voice and Supervisor Miley's office.

I'll be going over the next three recommendations.

So number 10 is a public service ethos.

Residents consistently emphasize wanting to feel respected and taken seriously when interacting with county departments.

Many described experiences of being dismissed or treated as an inconvenience.

One longtime Castro Valley residents share that public work staff behave as if they're doing you a favor and noted long-standing code violations with no response.

These patterns point to a systems issue that undermines trust and reinforces the perception that unincorporated communities are not a priority.

The recommendation is to strengthen customer service standards, provide training focused on community responsiveness, and implement evaluation tools that reinforce respectful engagement.

Improving the public service ethos is essential to rebuilding trust and strengthening the county's relationship with residents.

Next slide, please.

Recommendation number 11, physical infrastructure.

Across all meetings and surveys, residents emphasize that deteriorating roads, sidewalks, lighting, and chronic dumping make their neighborhoods feel unsafe and neglected.

These issues affect daily life, how people move through their communities, whether they feel safe at night, and their overall sense of dignity in public spaces.

As one resident put it, illegal dumping dumping not being clear timely impacts health and safety, worsens infrastructure, and reflects inadequate allocation of services.

The message was clear.

Communities want sustained investment in basic infrastructure and more consistent code enforcement.

Improving physical conditions is essential not only for safety and quality of life, but also for signaling that unincorporated areas matter and deserve equitable attention.

Next slide, please.

12.

Recommendation 12, empowering local governance.

Residents want clearer, more effective channels between unincorporated communities and county leadership.

Municipal and citizens advisor councils should play a central role, but many feel their input isn't taken seriously.

As one advisory council member asked, what is the point of the MAC when many departments don't follow the feedback?

Strengthening governance means clarifying roles, improving communication, and ensuring MACs and the CAC are used as true liaisons, not symbolic bodies.

This is key to making community input meaningful and building confidence in the county's decision making process.

I'll pass it back to Claudia.

Thank you, Natalie.

So you've heard a wide range of content, ideas and recommendations today.

So the natural question is where do we go from here?

How do we organize, prioritize, and process everything you've just taken in?

Each recommendation is unique, it has a different timeline, different levels of complexity, different challenges, and at the same time, many of them are interconnected.

There are meaningful ways to group, categorize, and sequence this information to support your deliberations tonight and the decision making process and to make it more manageable.

One thing is certain every recommendation carries budget implications.

And if the saying is true that you fund what you value, then the first step is to clarify exactly what you value.

This budget input process has shed important light on what that means.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer an approach for discussing these recommendations and identifying the first steps towards implementation.

This slide, the next three slides organize the recommendations in two ways.

One, by time frame, short, medium, or long term.

Two, by type of strategy, whether technological or administrative, structural or policy related, or requiring a shift in organizational culture.

We've also grouped them into families of similar recommendations to help show the relationships amongst them.

This slide focuses on short term recommendations.

At the top of the recommendation to formalize the community budget input process, this item is specifically on tonight's agenda for your discussion and action.

It stands alone and can be addressed independently this evening.

Below the dark line are the two short term recommendations that are primarily technological and administrative.

They center on transforming our unincorporated area website into a fully functioning communications hub with current and complete data, information, and links.

A practical first step is to request that the CAO or whoever is the appropriate body to assign in a permanent webmaster to the unincorporated area website.

This would allow us to build on the improvements already made by Supervisor TAM's office, specifically Celine Huang, and begin shaping the communications hub we've been discussing.

From here, the hub can be scoped and costed out.

We view these short term actions as more realistic and a place to begin now.

Next slide.

This slide highlights the medium term recommendations.

At the top is the recommendation to develop an office of unincorporated communities.

This work is already underway.

The Board of Supervisors recently approved funding for a consultant to scope what an office could look like.

That report is expected in about six months.

Because of that, this recommendation is already in motion and be considered on its own or put aside for tonight.

The next three recommendations shown below the dark line form a family initiatives focused on building a strong customer service ethos within the county.

The first step in that direction is training.

These recommendations could be jump started by collaborating with the county's training department and human resources to explore customer services protocols and training options for relevant agencies and departments, particularly public works.

Ideally, this training would also connect with the short-term recommendations just discussed that are related to customer service technology and the communications hub, since effective customer service ultimately depends on having the right tools and systems in place to work.

Next slide.

This family of long-term recommendations requires four key elements to come together to be successful, which is why these items fall into this long-term category.

Staff training that translates that ethos into day-to-day practice, the right technology and tools, such as customer service software and a fully functioning website or communications hub to make that service model work in reality.

It also needs dedicated funding to implement and sustain these efforts.

When these four components are in place, meaningful organizational cultural change becomes possible.

But that kind of shift takes time and a sustained commitment from both the county and the community.

That's why we're recommending beginning with short-term actions focused on technology and training that create the foundation to build on and scale from there.

Throughout this process, we've heard a consistent message from residents.

Yes, they want pothold filled filled, they want an efficient permit system, they want reliable code enforcement.

But what prevents these issues from growing unmanageable in the first place?

It's ongoing annual dialogue, a process for discussing what's working and what isn't between unincorporated communities and county agencies.

That kind of regular communication builds understanding and respect rather than frustration and helps counter the cityism that takes root in people when they feel unheard, and ultimately it's will strengthen our democracy rather than eroding it.

So next slide.

So let me close by saying this.

The budget justice coalition has completed its process, it's presented its findings, its recommendations, and a proposed design for an annual budget input process.

Now the next steps rest with you, the representatives of the unincorporated communities.

It's your turn to deliberate to decide and to take action.

Together, you have the opportunity to shape a different future.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I want to thank you all.

Thank you all for the presentation.

I know many of us didn't receive the presentation until maybe a week or so ago.

And I know county department heads and agency heads are here this evening too and can answer questions if MAC members or Lena and myself have questions of any of them.

So I just want that to be acknowledged, and I know a lot of work went into this.

And I do feel uh this is all iterative.

You know, it's all evolutionary process because you know, when I got on the board, we only had one MAC, Castro Valley.

Now we've got um two additional MACs, uh not counting Sunol, and we're looking to develop a MAC out in um East County, the rural area as well.

And all and I do know and I respect everybody on the MAC, both uh present members as well as former members, because I know all of you volunteer your time, and you're all um dedicated and you have the best of intentions.

Uh, and by law, MAC's our advisory, that's why it's a municipal advisory council by law, California law.

So I just want the MAC members to know we do value your service because I can tell you before we had the additional MACs, I would spend my staff and I would spend countless, countless, countless hours in Fairview, of which I know some of the Fairview residents know historically, as well as working with folks in Ashland and Trillian.

And so the MACs do a major service because a lot of things that the MAC takes up, Castro Valley, Fairview, uh Eden, but for you being there to hear from the community to be officials of the county, um, all that would be coming to the Board of Supervisors.

So I do want to know we do value uh your service.

Uh so I just want that to be stated, and so uh the community's um preparation of this is I think it's all iterative.

Um, yeah, we've gone a long way uh on this journey.

The journey's not over, quite frankly.

I don't know if the journey will ever be over because it's sort of like what have you done for me lately.

So that's kind of how I see it.

So I just want to kind of add that as a context for all of that this evening.

So what I'll do is open it up to Supervisor Tam, see if she has comments, questions, and then I'll recognize members from the various Macs.

Thank you, Chair Miley.

I really appreciate the presentation, a lot of thought went into the recommendations, and uh I appreciate the prioritization between the short term, the midterm, and the longer term.

Um, there's a couple questions that came to mind because I'm one of the New York board members.

I don't have the tenure that Supervisor Miley has with 24 years.

So I just want to understand.

So Eli started in 2004, and then we're now in 2025.

So in 21 years, all we had was a general plan and six meetings.

No, there are people in the audience and people on the MACs that know with Eli phase one and phase two.

You know, we had a charred with about 400 to 500 people on a Saturday.

Um, we had a lot of stuff that came out of Eli Phase One that created the Ashland Reach Center, they laid the groundwork for the Jury Land Community Center.

Uh, there were countless meetings with special districts with other members and entities from the communities.

So there was a lot through Eli Phase 1 and Phase 2 from 2004 through 2016 or 17 with a governance committee, et cetera.

So once again, I think they're trying to be uh abbreviating things as opposed to getting to uh a lot of specificity, even with the general plans.

You know, at one point um Fairmont Terrace was in the Eden General Plan, but we had maybe 400-500 people from Fairmont uh basically revolt and say when we wanted to be part of the Casher Valley General Plan, and that part of the Eden general plan.

So we had to accommodate that.

Um, additionally, over the course of time uh with the uh environmental justice element.

Before that, we had uh the wellness element, which was adopted in Eden.

Um, but Castro Valley didn't adopt it.

Uh, and I can't recall, I don't think Fairview adopted it either, and that laid the groundwork for the um environmental justice uh element that ultimately came along.

So I mean, if we were to outline chronology in the very detail, there would be countless meetings over the course of 20 plus years that would demonstrate a significant community engagement.

In fact, uh, you know, to be honest, I'm disappointed in the level of community engagement here.

140 people, 120 people, 104 people.

That's not very significant to me when I think of the unincorporated area with over 150,000 people.

Um so I'm just being honest.

I'm not being judgmental, just want to be honest about that.

Um, but that hopefully that provides a little context.

Yeah, that's very helpful.

Uh, the reason I'm asking is because in 2004, uh residents at that time had already demanded a clear process or budget input, and I'm just trying to understand how that got manifested or incorporated throughout the last two decades.

Well, yeah, Claudia's gonna wants to come and speak.

Um, I know with Eli Phase One, we focused on the reach center, we focused on the um Jair Line Community Center, we focused on supervised July Bicker and I made a commitment that our representatives on the Planning Commission would come from the unincorporated area because the board was appointing people to serve on the planning commission who came from Oakland and other places.

So we made that commitment to demonstrate the ability for the unincorporated area to have more control in the decision-making processes.

I know we also committed to when we make appointments to the MACs and other bodies to uh um to um what's the word uh publicize that for more transparency uh so at least to have folks have a 30-day notice so that they knew we were making appointments.

Uh so we didn't put a lot of emphasis on the budget from Eli phase one.

Eli phase two was more around governance, and that's when Claudia came on staff and kind of led that effort for me.

Go ahead, Claudia.

So I I think the answer to your question, Supervisor Tam, is that the urban unincorporated area was not a cohesive body.

People from one community didn't necessarily know the leadership in other communities.

Um there hadn't been a significant um development of the institutional groundwork, like the development of the MACs, the creation of My Eat and Voice as a community organization.

So it took over 20 years really to build the civic infrastructure upon which the political will could then come through.

You have to have institutions like community organizations and MACs and the Ashland Cherryland Healthy Communities Collaboratives and things like that that help the issues grow and develop over time.

So we're sort of at a point where things are beginning to coalesce.

I mean, you know, the governance committee of Eli, 10 years ago were talking about the need for a MACS, the need for a budget input process, the need for an office of unincorporated communities, but it has taken this long to actually build those things.

And I think that's why it's taken so long because it is was not cohesive.

I mean, it's still not cohesive, but they're at least now we have the civic infrastructure upon which to build.

Does that make sense?

Thank you.

That's very helpful.

I understand some of the disparate uh interests that probably made it more complicated to bring the cohesion that you talked about together.

Um and so when uh Natalie talked about having more meaningful engagement at the MAC levels, uh how how has that been?

I mean, the MACs reform what in 2019 or so I mean the other than the Castor Valley MAC, the Fairview and the Eden area MAC are are very young.

But I think that it's really about um clear training and clarifying what is the role of the MAC, what are they allowed to do, where can their leadership in their community be a bridge between the community and the county?

You know, how can we uh strengthen that role as advisory within the law?

Um I think people are very frustrated that you know they give comments and it seems like it's just perfunctory.

Um, and I think that in order to make it more meaningful for everybody, there needs to be um training and there has to be technology, and there has to be um more county systems that allow everybody to come together and deliberate in a more meaningful way.

So on a practical level, um, I think that that MAC members need to understand what Nate said, that it is an advisory role.

What okay, so that means that you you don't get to make decisions, but perhaps we could add BZA powers to the MACs, for example, to strengthen their role.

Perhaps if it is advisory and you're a community leader, what is your responsibility to bring issues forward to communicate back to the communities that you live in?

So to strengthen that whole system, that whole effort, I think that's what the spirit of that was.

And I'm looking at you, Chuck, because I just remember your frustration dripping at the Castor Valley budget input process about your frustration about that.

I got a comment on that you'd like, because I will tell you that uh the Castle Valley Mac has been around probably I think the longest, and I I feel like we have a very, very good relationship with the different departments in the county.

Um because of the the length of time we've had to organize and get better at what we do, we're much better at it.

I think that what find what we find very frustrating is that we are an advisory body, and um and we're seen often by that, and and what concerns me about this entire document is um it doesn't it's it covers the entire area, but it really is not specific to Castor Valley because we've been doing it a very long time now.

Um and uh we have a pretty solid group on the Mac.

One of the frustrating parts is we have three supervisors of unincorporated areas.

We have a hundred and a hundred and forty-seven thousand unincorporated bodies.

We have sixty-five thousand in Castro Valley, uh, maybe sixty-six thousand, but yet when something comes up, the three supervisors that represent the unincorporated area have an idea of something they would like to support in their particular area with their constituents.

But two other supervisors don't have any, and they vote on it, and we're often shot down in the unincorporated area because the two supervisors are not engaged in the community, which our supervisor happens to represent, and I feel like he does a very, very good job of representing it.

I have a very, I have a very good relationship with all of the departments public works.

You get to know them the FAR department I mean I know that I can call Willie any time there's something going on and he'll come.

I would encourage the other Macs to start developing relationships within the department heads and strengthened a relationship to get these things done um you know it it frustrates me the process of the entire county of voting on what goes on in Castor Valley.

We don't vote on what goes on in Hayward.

I don't vote on in Oakland but why do the supervisors in those areas that don't represent us weigh in on what we're doing and what our budget looks like and what are some of the priorities we did in our community so that's the frustrating part.

And let me let me just provide a little context and I recognize Sally.

When we started Eli Phase one we looked at area planning commissions as a way of giving an incorporate area more of decision making authority because planning the planning commission has a decision making body.

Right now we have a countywide planning commission we could have area planning commissions one for cash valley one for Eden one for Fairview as an example there was not the support to go down that road when we've moved ahead with uh the notion of having MACs I know Keith's in the um audience Keith Barrels and some of the others felt it would be important that we establish these MACs so that these Macs could get the same level of experience that Castro Valley has received over the course of time.

But in order to do that once again Cash Valley could be a MAC and then the same members could adjourn and then be an area planning commission and you'd have decision making authority but the board have to approve that we just haven't pursued that yet through lafco some of you will recall LAFCO did a study to look at annexation of the unincorporated areas one big unincorporated area city various cities to kind of get a sense of that so the reason you're not treated like Hayward in Oakland is because you're not a city if you want to be a city be a city.

If you want to be part of a city when Hayward wanted to annex Therry land said no way we don't want to be a part of that and I know Fairview doesn't want either so the point is that's how you get to be the city authority um in addition you know Clay lives in Kensington and they have community service districts so that maybe provide a specific authority over a specific aspect of uh community services in their community so that's another avenue to give you more authority so there are ample examples and once again as Colin pointed out we we have now my invoice which does a good job of bringing the community together we have um the Eden area collaborative which does a good job of bringing a lot of folks together so we have that civic infrastructure and we're at a place now where we can go to another level should that be the desire so I just wanted to provide a little context here.

Yeah I just wanted to clarify um the Fairview Community Club was for I'm not sure when it was for them it was certainly up and going in the early 90s and they were the entire Fairview community all over those hills.

And whenever something came up when it came to development or changes, you'd have a hundred hundred and fifty people in the room every time.

You might for the regular meetings have an empty room or five or six people, but if issues came up, you had a hundred, hundred and fifty people in that room.

And so Fairview community is not new.

And we have been working with Public Works and with code enforcement and with all of those departments with frustration.

And I think one other comment since I have the mic, the one time, it's probably not the only time, but the one time I am physically aware of where all of the MACs came together with a recommendation of opposing the housing element and the Board of Supervisors ignored it.

And that was I understand it wasn't every, but I'm just saying, and that goes to your point, Chuck, about supervisors voting on things that they are not concerned about because they don't have unincorporated areas within their purview.

And so if we're gonna build trust of being advisory, then we need to feel like the board is listening to what we have to say, and on that item the MACs were unanimous.

Not that every member was behind it, and every, but mostly the MACs were unanimously on the same page.

But but Fairview community is not new, and we're not new in terms of coordinating efforts to defend the lifestyle of our community.

So I just wanted to say that.

So where I was going with this was uh because Supervisor President Halber and I serve on the budget work group, and we're looking at the budget input process and and prior unincorporated services committee meetings.

We talked about a budget liaison going to every MAC, bringing the information back to the board when it comes to the budgeting priorities and what was needed in specific areas, and to kind of consolidate it because, you know, for example, on the housing element, when the board of supervisors met to talk about the issue, we had community groups that I assume went to the MACs that came and told us, for example, my invoice was very um clear that they believed it was important to have a housing element that looks at affordability in this area, and so I don't know how to distinguish between them coming directly to us and they're going to the MAX.

So I would say that on pay, is it page 11?

Yeah, page 11 is um the idea that is really more goes beyond just having a budget liaison attend MAX because the question I would say is what are they gonna talk about?

They're gonna say what the county budget system, the county budget process is going on, they're gonna relay information, but how is that liaison going to relay information back from all of the um the MACs about their concerns to the county budget process?

So what we're saying is that you need an annual or maybe every other year process similar to this, where you go to MACs, you go to the community and you say, How's it going for you with your services?

What are you concerned about?

And that we use the ensuing time to to address those issues.

But that process of going to the MACs, like we just had over the last couple months, is coordinated and synced with the county budget input process.

So by the time the agencies come and make their budget presentations, they've already had dialogues with uh this budget input process for the unincorporated area and are aware of what it is that the community cares about.

Now, whether or not it turns up in their budget, that's another story, but at least we're having this opportunity to dialogue with them periodically about more nuanced uh unincorporated area issues that I think get lost if you're just relying on one unincorporated area rep going to the MAX, you know, getting information and trying to get that into you know the minds of the supervisors or the agency directors.

I just think that's not realistic.

So that this, although it seems more complicated, at least in in our view, that we lift we are lifting up some issues that have been chronic, like this public service ethos, the need for communication hub, website, and communication, for example, that have gone unaddressed for a long, long time, even though you know people say it a lot, but there's no process to bring it forward and enter it into the political dialogue.

Thank you for that clarification.

I'm confused by it because I was sitting here listening, and um are you saying that we need a third organization or an organization in between us and the supervisor to communicate this budget to us and us back to the supervisor?

No, I'm just saying we need a budget input process so that that each Mac and the community at large can talk about how the services are working for them and what isn't working and what kind of message would they like to send the county in terms of the budget?

So it's not it's just a process, it's not another body.

I I okay, I'm just confused because when I read through this document and 70 some pages, you know, and reviewed everything and set in that meeting.

I felt like the meeting was set up to draw a conclusion of a unincorporated services management department or something that we would all work through that would coordinate uh a common message to the board of supervisors or something like that.

And um, you know, that didn't come out of the that I participated in.

I mean, this isn't about that.

I mean, the idea of an office of unincorporated communities is a is an issue, but it's being handled in a different way, it's being scoped right now.

The purpose of this meeting is to talk about at least one thing is a budget input process uh for the MACs and for the community, then incorporated communities to have a way to have a more nuanced dialogue with the county about the services that they receive.

I completely understand that, but we we went into this meeting with no spreadsheets, no um uh no population, um, no revenue generated from different areas, uh, not an understanding of what public works.

I know most people think public works, I heard sidewalks and roads.

Well, most of the roads money comes from gasoline tax.

And most, and I don't believe that the county gives any money to the planning or to the public works department for roads and so on.

That's all comes from the state fund.

And every most of the people I talk to thinks, well, we just asked the county for it, they'll come fix the road, or they'll take off this curb, they'll do this, they'll do that.

And there's it needs to be a better understanding of where that money comes from.

That's absolutely right, and that's why a process like like this, if it happened yearly or every other year, helps educate people about what is real and what isn't real, what they can expect and can't expect, but right now it's rather uh for most people, not you, but a lot of people, it's very amorphous.

Um, so I think that I'm gonna just stop there.

Yeah, sure.

Sorry.

So through the exploration of our research, we found that it's less so about the money, but the execution of the projects.

So for things about the roads and the infrastructure, there were I think there's 28, if I'm recalling correctly, capital improvement, major capital improvement projects.

And what we found is that there's only one program manager overseeing 23 of those.

Is that is she being supported sufficiently enough to execute these in the timely manner that we're learning about, right?

Um, a lot of these projects are things that have been chronic issues and ongoing.

So, why hasn't it been feasible?

It been feasible for the county to oversee that and manage that in an efficient manner.

So it's less so about the dollars being spent, but in the execution and the systems that exist.

I completely understand.

If you want to just say one more thing, is that why we're not why aren't we talking about spreadsheets here?

We're not we're not talking about spreadsheets and actual money because we have to start with what people are care about today.

Right, and so it's important for folks to show up at their Mac meeting and share what their concerns are and what they need so the Mac can go back to their supervisor and say, hey, look, uh, we need this road fixed over here, or we need these sidewalks over here.

We have regular meetings where we talk about what we need done in whether it's a road improvement, uh a bicycle lane improvement, or a downtown improvement or revis revisiting the downtown plan.

So we have regular meetings talking about this, and it I just don't want uh supervisor uh Chan to think that uh think that we are not doing this or it hasn't been done.

I can just tell you that we do do it, we do share it with um Supervisor Miley, and um, and when we need help with three votes, I usually call Supervisor Albert or Supervisor Tan and say this is an issue, you know, that's gonna come around.

You would you know so I mean there isn't it's just about the Castor Valley Mac though.

Well, I I understand that, but I don't want to be lumped into a group of a document here that that all of us are having a struggle here because I mean that's the purpose of putting it out there so that you can have a discussion about it.

And this isn't this isn't forcing you, this is just our recommendation for the budget justice code.

Okay, other folks who want to weigh in on, then um I'll be daily.

Okay, go ahead.

I have it not back and forth, it does not work on our side.

Um, you do you want to come up here?

No, it's not a part.

Well, wait, this sounds like it now, Taylor.

So it's the uh okay.

Um everyone can hear me.

I think this is a really important thing for us to have.

So, what you may not be aware of is that I was appointed to the budget um workshop process.

I think that was something that possibly was not known by everyone.

Um, and from a I was there as a just a community member representative, very excited to be a part of that process.

I think it's pivotal, great opportunity to voice some perspective from the community.

I have finance and budget experience, so that was exciting, and I was looking for the spreadsheets.

Where are the spreadsheets?

There are no spreadsheets, and that's the thing that I think is really difficult for the community is you get this document and it's basically done.

At least that was my perspective.

I was able to attend one meeting and my experience with this.

There have been four that I could have attended, was that the notice period for members is non-existent.

So people that work in the county get advanced notice, their schedules are considered, but community members get less than 24 hours notice half the time.

The requirements 24 hours, so they get 24 hours most of the time.

But if you work full-time and you have the experience and the skill set to contribute, you don't have that.

So you have people just a small segment that want to contribute, and as you've said previously, we have a huge community that want to see where our money and tax paying dollars are going.

We don't have that.

So I actually think that what's being proposed.

Now, obviously, there are a lot of questions about how it would be executed, which need to be answered, but this is so important.

The amount of people are saying, where is our money going?

What is it doing?

We're going out to those agencies.

Some phenomenal sheriff's department, I see all the time.

I'm so happy.

Like we have a neighborhood watch now that you know you're there all the time.

But there are other departments that aren't here, maybe that we don't have that same advocacy for.

So what I would say is that we need something like this for equal treatment, accessibility, integration of our thoughts to actually see the hard work that we know you're doing at the forefront.

So while we have to think this through, I want to be a part of this process.

All members do.

If you don't give me notice as a taxpaying community member that has to go to a job full time to be able to be here and volunteer, how can I participate?

But yeah, you give public, you you give the employees of the county notice.

So that's one thing of I'm one representative, we're trying to expand this.

Sorry for the long rant, but I just think that it's really important to have those voices, and I think that there are clear limitations.

My understanding, I went every single time I couldn't attend a meeting because I had a work commitment because I got less than 24 hours notice, I reported it.

I don't think that that went up the chain all the time.

And there are a number of reasons why that might be, but I don't think that's acceptable.

When I want to be present every single time, every EMAC, I'm there.

So we need our voices.

I'm really glad you guys are here today, and that we have this opportunity for it, but there's a huge gap.

We've seen that, and that's where I'm very happy to have this.

And I think that more than ever, if we execute this properly, it's a huge value to our community.

Thank you.

So I really like the idea of having more transparency in our budget, seeing the line item details, we can actually see where the money flow is going.

I came in with a lot of questions tonight as well.

No spreadsheets saying where is this being driven from?

It came out very quickly.

And to Supervisor Tam's point, 20 plus years ago when we were trying to accomplish this.

A lot of the issues that surfaced in here, A were very different by community.

Um but B, with only 142 responses out of 162,000 in the county was surprising to see.

That's a very small sampling.

A lot of my focus said a lot of the issues that showed up in here, we probably could have all sat down and written this list, and they've been known issues for quite some time.

And I would really hope that however this moves forward or forms, there's gonna be a process in there that starts making change, you know, whether it's dealing with county agencies or getting responses, whatever the known issues are in there, diving in and figure out what are the root causes of what's causing it.

Is it truly staffing?

Is there peer reviews going on?

You know, in the corporate world, if I don't do my job, I'm getting fired.

Period.

You you perform or you're out, and it seems to be a very different culture at times where you know, oops, sorry, we lost 1.6 million dollars because we forgot our bad, and that doesn't fly.

So I was very curious to see how this the flow was gonna look.

You know, is this a new agency?

I think we talked on that a little bit.

Our new body, or are they reporting to the MACs?

Are they in partner with the MAX?

Um, I do believe the issues we identified should have gone out to a much wider field looking for feedback.

But I think there's a lot we can do with the feedback that we did receive in saying, how can we better the county by taking this data, working it into our budgeting process, being transparent, and really impacting what's going to change as a result?

So that's my two sets.

Uh, Dan, I see you reaching with a mic.

There's some hands up across the way uh as well.

Um, I think all of us uh Mac members ought to remember this is not our agenda, we don't have an action item tonight.

Uh the supervisors have an action item, and I think it's to perhaps uh promote these 12 items uh to the full board uh with a recommendation.

Um a lot of the crosstalk that's going on right now between Claudia and Chuck talks about a general idea of of more budget involvement versus specificity, and we don't have any specificity.

The two items that I'm most concerned with uh on this agenda um is uh uh uh of course the office of of uh uh unincorporated services, and am I to understand that the consultant has already been hired?

Okay, so it the funds have already been designated to hire a consultant with a six-month project to look into the office of unincorporated services.

Yes, because I could I could I could see some pros in that, I could see a lot of cons in that.

Uh Claudia, if I can make a recommendation that that perhaps the very first meeting of of that consultant is with an all-MAC meeting again, and that we try to have a round table format where we can exchange ideas.

I I heard uh uh Supervisor Miley and Halbert uh at a recent transportation meeting talking about uh it's a nuance of of uh uh resource management versus uh large parcels, but recommending that there be committee meetings outside of a formal setting where people can actually exchange ideas.

So perhaps the very first meeting for that would would be to hear.

I'm very skeptical.

I could see a lot of downside in creating that office.

So I would definitely come to that meeting with some biases and some and some opinions as to what might work and what might not work.

Um, but as far as our our uh supervisors tonight in being able to have an action item, I think almost all 12 of these items are lacking specificity.

Um where there's not enough.

I mean, the devil is in the details.

Um so I I applaud it.

I think that a lot of these aspirations should continue to be worked on.

Um, you know, having agencies be responsive.

Yeah, that's easy.

Uh uh, you know, being more reactive, being uh more community oriented.

Those are great aspirations.

I'm not sure that the recommendations that we send to the full board of supervisors that said we really want people to do their job in a friendlier, more responsive way.

Um, so it's it's nice to talk about these things.

Uh, budget, again, you have to be into the details.

Um, I think a lot of people, you said you had a lot of budget experience.

I I before I became a farmer, I was a CPA.

So I I understand numbers and I like spreadsheets and stuff like that.

But um uh but budgeting is is beyond a lot of people's scope.

I I mean if if you think about it, the county is very much like the federal government.

So many of the dollars are already designated.

They're designated to the health care, they're dedicated to the fire department to the sheriff's department, they're not discretionary.

Uh, and of course, we do want feedback where possible on discretionary items.

Um, but I would recommend that any community organizations that without the data that suggest that they're being severely underfunded by multiple millions of dollars, be very careful of making those.

I've seen the analysis and it failed.

It was not factual enough.

It was done with a dull crayon and not a sharp pencil.

So if we're gonna have people involved in the budget process and community organizations making allegations that they're losing millions of dollars, they better know their information.

And I assure you they don't.

They don't know the revenues, they don't know the expenses, and the expenses are very hard to allocate by region.

Um so uh I'm in favor of the general idea of more transparency and more involvement in the budgetary process, but it's a very slippery slope.

A lot of the funds are already spoken for.

Um you might have communities.

I I'm from Castor Valley.

We always think that we're overpaying.

Um and we probably are.

Uh in fact, in the LAFCO analysis of us becoming uh a city, there's this idea that because we're gonna have a uh negative impact on the budget that we're gonna have to pay alimony for a 10-year period.

Well, that's in and of itself kind of evidence uh that you're overpaying.

But that doesn't necessarily affect how the Board of Supervisors are going to allocate the funds that they have to allocate.

It's really their job.

I'd love, I'd I'd love to do the budget.

Uh this gal and I could do it, uh, but but uh but the board is super it it is a it's a bigger process, and again, I'm gonna just caution the community organizations that at times become very powerful with what I consider a little bit of wild allegations, um, run them through your Mac.

Get your Mac.

Um I'm I'm a little disturbed that that we have less Mac people at that podium and more community organizations, because I think the community organizations should go to their MACs and the Macs should bet what they have to say.

Um so I perhaps said too much, but I I don't think you guys have an easy action item tonight.

Yeah, thanks, Dan.

And let me just before calling Diane.

Let me just say that um once again, we want all Mac members to feel at liberty to express your opinions, uh your concerns, et cetera, how you see it, you know, no judgment.

Um but as you know, Dan pointed out, the county's budget is over $6 billion dollars, probably less than 10% of that is discretionary, maybe about $500 million or so, something, I don't know.

Uh off the top of my head.

And then, you know, Todd mentioned the private sector folks who get fired.

Well, this is the public sector.

We have we have bargaining units and civil service and things of that nature.

So we just can't summarily fire people.

So and then, you know, I make it a practice.

The board, we have direct hires, like Sandy's a direct hire, the fire chief's a direct hire, they're hired to run their agencies or departments.

We don't micromanage.

The board is a micromanaged, so uh we hire them and they report directly to us.

So I just want to once again continue to try to put certain things in the context.

But we want all MAC members to feel free to express your opinions.

And uh thank you, Taylor.

Uh, Diane.

Okay, I think this does work.

It just doesn't have a light on it.

Um, with regards to the um Office of Unincorporated Communities, I let me that wasn't my main point, but since you brought it up, that's the only thing that looks very specific on here.

And truthfully, when I read it, my every time I read it, I write down, is this physical or virtual point of contact?

Because I remember long time ago, several years ago, people from San Lorenzo, we had an office in San Lorenzo that um um Supervisor Tim's and supervisor um Wilmachan had an office here.

And we'd always go, why do we have to go to Witten into Hayward to get forms for you know tree trimming permits or something like that?

And so I think that it's come up like, oh, a physical office where that we can go to to get forms or turn in plans or whatever.

But when I read this, then I'm thinking, what do they mean physical or virtual?

Because if we have one point of contact and Cherry Lynn Ashland, San Lorenzo areas down here, and then we combine with uh the rural areas out there, where's a single point of contact could be miles and miles away from the residents and whatever area this single point of contact isn't there?

So that was one thing that just kept going through my mind.

So I'd be interested in hearing kind of where how this has progressed to, if it's you know, virtual or um physical.

The other um things that I really want to that always came out when I was reading these um 12 points was the same things.

Well, I don't know who could disagree with them, right?

They're pretty general, be transparent, be truthful, be courteous, everyone be trained in when people call.

But my mind goes to, but how do you do that?

Where's the logistics?

Um, how do you make that happen?

So then I went to page 11 in the big handouts that we got that I had read, and it's oh, this is how it happens, page 11.

Oh, in next month, right?

In three weeks, we're supposed to, there's engagement with departments as budget requests are formalized.

Engagement by whom uh, you know, is this just the counties making their request?

Because then the second part that's supposed to start from March to April, says resident engagement and partnership building.

And I'm thinking, oh, we're back to residents doing stuff.

No, but then under that it says initial budget work work group meeting.

I go, oh, we don't have a work group meeting, do we?

I mean, that's gonna in two months we're supposed to be, well, we this work group meeting is looking at request.

But where does it work work initial budget work group meeting?

I didn't see any place in our documents that says how we get a work group.

Where does that come from?

Who where's that come from?

Like Taylor said the EMAC, we had one.

Taylor was on that like the last year.

I guess that's this budget year, the ones that's ending.

But I got copied on those notices, and I get a copy on Friday, but there's a meeting on Tuesday.

They they go, oh, well, I have to go because I just got copied.

But how can how can you know if you don't have a schedule ahead of time for when meetings are supposed to happen, what month, what days, what time, something like we always know when our Mac meetings are, but all of a sudden there's a budget work group.

So I apparently there either is one or somehow between now and March we're supposed to form one.

And then when you go on on this schedule you know around but those are like the initial like um early early um stages what Claudia was talking about the short term things and that's in a couple of months but I don't know where that comes from and then I start thinking okay money a lot of people brought up potholes a pitdly little thing right number of potholes but potholes so if public works looks at that and says oh we have more potholes to fix let's put some more money in the potholes but where or do they just drive around up and down Hisperian and say oh there's a couple potholes we better fill those or or do they get information from residents from really us who live in our areas that this particular street intersection whatever there's potholes here not not there where you're fixing them.

So you can sit in an office and allocate money more money to potholes but if you don't know what potholes you're supposed to be filling but then say well we used up all the money on potholes yeah but where'd you fill them you know I've been going over the same pothole for 10 years.

So you know I know it's kind of it's pitiful and nitty gritty but if you want to keep track of things how do you how do you know where to do them trees you know we need the county to do tree service okay well we'll come once a quarter once every other week once a month in these areas well some areas have a whole lot more trees than other areas um if you do it every quarter there's a whole lot more leaves on the ground in what September through December or so than between February and March.

So it it just seems to me it just needs to be more specific than just X amount of money spread percentage wise there and there are now good we did it we put more money and it's all it all went somewhere but the streets still flooded because the leaves didn't get picked up where the leaves were in the season that they were there.

So I didn't mean to rant on either but I did read this and started to think at all these little details and how do we really do it that's basically my question how do we do it?

Yeah thanks Diane because you know counties are not good at municipal government that's not why we're structured we're arms of the state so we're not good at municipal government that's why you have cities and cities theoretically are supposed to do a better job of everything you talked about than counties because counties are almost arms of the state to take care of safety net services for marginalized populations that's our focus that's our mission that's our mandate we're arms of the state the the office unincorporated services we've hired a consultant who'll explore all of those things it's once again it's an exploratory process nothing's been decided I've just allocated the money to take the next step to explore that as a possibility.

Thank you Chair Martin I was hoping that um Melanie Atendito the deputy county administrator uh could come up and uh the need is there to talk about um a point of contact with the office of unincorporated services but I think um Melanie can help sort of outline how our budget processes flow when we need information but I think Diane you're correct it's very department driven the county administrator relies on the public works department to engage with the communities in terms of what public works projects need to be funded but most of the public works projects that are funded are not necessarily from the county's general fund that you know they they flow from the state and the federal government through and and the own flood control district and so there's there's a there's a whole sequence that um may not at this point uh be implementable in the terms of this proposed process so Melanie can help explain you know how by April the county administrator needs information and you know by May we we meet and but you can go ahead sure thank you supervisor for the question so um I think what's important to underscore in the dialogue thank you Melanie Atendito deputy county administrator um what's important to underscore about the county's budget process is that the board does have an adopted maintenance of effort policy and what that means is when the departments submit their budget requests it is supposed to be aligned with that maintenance of effort policy um so there isn't really a structure for new requests if you will to come in their charge is essentially to submit a budget that represents the cost of continuing to do business at the same level and that cost always goes up the cost of providing those services always goes up because the cost of staffing always goes up the revenue however does not grow at the same pace which is why we have uh funding gap every year and the role of the budget work group traditionally has been to help provide guidance um on that high level process and how we uh the the manner in which we close the funding gap uh that we have every year so um what previous speakers have said is correct um and what supervisor miley said earlier is is certainly correct um our role as a county agency as a subdivision of the state is really primarily dictated by our our mandated programs um over two two thirds of the county's budget comes from state and federal sources and so the discretionary component is is really quite small and then when we're talking about the municipal services it's true that the uh I think I said this in a previous presentation um unincorporated services but the general fund component that public works receives is very small um compared to its entire budget it's really funding I think just the surveyors and the crossing guards so if you think about the the size of their budget with respect to roads and flood control um it's a incredibly small components a fraction of a percent I think and we've been at least in the three years I've been on the board we've had a funding gap every single year and we've had to close it to the tune of usually ranges about a hundred million dollars or or less and um each department has to come back and tell us where they're gonna cut where they're gonna freeze positions and this coming year we have even more uncertainty because of significant cuts in the federal government's uh funding for mandated programs when it comes to medical HUDs reducing their funding um we're gonna be seeing uh new requirements for SNAP, CalFresh which are also mandated programs and and that's going to be an even I think taller challenge for a lot of our departments.

And I would just add on to that with prop one passing you know I supported Prop one so we put more money into housing but the point is Prop one took money away from mental health prevention and so it's like we raw Peter to pay Paul because mental health prevention is extremely important.

So we're gonna have to figure out in that 75 million dollars we're gonna have to figure out how we're gonna address that major problem because if we don't address mental health prevention people have been clamoring they don't want to have mental health services in the jail well without prevention we're people might end up in the jail or or or shit they might end up um you know deceased.

So that's a big issue then you think about um the Alameda Health Systems the county's hospitals they're looking at potentially 100 million dollar deficit maybe two years down the road or or more so there's all these complications going to yeah and and they told us that um they've sent out notices to the unions because they're planning on laying off 372 workers of which 56% will be in management.

Supervisor Miley and Tan, we keep we're talking about money, and I don't think we could ever understand where the money comes from or the amount of money and where you guys are as a group are distributing the money.

Really, I think when I listen to everything, it's about services.

And you know, our services from public works.

Are we happy with it?

And should we be asking for more?

Uh services from uh code enforcement.

Are they providing the services that we expect them to provide?

Are they meeting our expectations?

And I think a lot of it I heard in our meetings was don't confuse Earth with results.

You know, let's start seeing some more results from some of these groups.

And um, we're really talking about, you know, when you say um sidewalks, those are services provided because we could never figure out in a group how much money you're gonna give us for a sidewalk or screen, but we can certainly send you a note saying, hey, um, downtown needs to have their trees removed, or we can do this, or we need services on that.

I think really what we should be taking a look hard at is how do we get the services we need to service our community and what's important to our community so that we can come back and say um and give that to our supervisor, and you could look at it and say, Well, geez, Chuck, we didn't get this money because you know uh we're not getting the fuel um cash money uh from the I think it's 85 cents a gallon we pay for road tax because we're selling more battery cars now, and battery cars don't pay for fuel and road tax, so that revenue stream is gonna dry up or get less.

So there's a lot of things that are going on that that we could never get our arms around, and I don't even want to try to understand the complexity of the county budget.

But what I would like to do is continue to share with our supervisor, these are the areas that our community is coming to the Mac meeting and saying we need, and we need, you know, we just streamline the build the um the um permitting process.

It's very painful to go through permits in our area.

I hear it day in and day out from the county.

Uh I mean the contractors.

I mean, there's a lot of things that we could share, um, that I think we really would satisfy a lot of the issues here of um, you know, and they're going to be different in every community.

Cherry Land's gonna have a whole list, it's gonna be different.

Um Fairview is gonna have a list, it's gonna be different.

And Castro Valley's gonna have a list.

Solo's gonna have a list.

And I it's up to our elected official to help us with the decision of whether we're gonna get it or not.

So that's kind of where I'm at in this thing.

I just to say, like he said, we could give public works twice as much money, but would they care?

The problem that I'm hearing from Claudia and their whole initiative is you can't put a price on caring.

We can hire somebody in office to pretend they care.

But I mean, even with these low numbers on the survey, it seems like we don't even care.

Maybe the only people who care in this room, right?

So we need to maybe get more engagement and like they said, get more participants.

And I would also question whether the results, I don't know what they did in 2004, but I would figure even in 20 years it's gonna be the same thing.

Hopefully, not that's why we're here.

But I do have that cynicism is that a lot of this stuff sounds good, but it's not enforceable, right?

You can say, okay, here's a billion dollars.

Do they want to answer our phone when you know we call them and say, oh, just use the app?

We get dismissed, you know.

Yeah, it would be great to have a good relationship with public works, but they don't seem to want to talk to us, they want to do the minimum.

They say, complain about it.

We do, and then maybe a year later they do something about it.

But like you said, it's it's more a sentiment that I feel like, yes, we should do all this stuff, and it is a good step.

I'm for this cause, whatever you want to call it, right?

And getting these initiatives and finding people to hear us, right?

But I I do have a fear that it's gonna take another 20 years, and maybe we'll get two max.

I mean, I'm hoping later this actually has real world results and not just keep talking about the same things over and over.

Thank you, supervisors, and thank you, Claudia and team for the presentation and the work.

Um and thanks for all the Mac folks that have weighed in tonight.

Um the term budget justice um strikes in my mind budget injustice, and I don't I don't believe that budget injustice has been done creating victims.

I don't believe that.

Um I believe the budget process is the is the budget process, and yes, the community wants needs um participation in that process because we're affected by it.

Uh we want transparency, but I I'm just just my personal thing, um, justice seems to me to be misapplied here.

Um also um for supervisors making monumental momentous decisions, you know, the the folks that have weighed in the residents that have participated so far total up to about 300.

Um that's two one hundredths of one percent of the population of the unincorporated communities, and making making decisions based on that might not be the inclusiveness that you normally shoot for.

Um I would like to see a bigger sample, much more community input than two one hundredths of one percent.

Um I do have difficulty with the concept of an office of unincorporated communities.

It to me it just it seems um bureaucratic, more than redundant.

Um, you know, we have um we have agency heads that are that are making upwards of a quarter million dollars a year, and the solution to non-cooperation or non-ummunication is not to bring in another agency director at a quarter million dollars a year, it's to get the ones that are here to work better together.

And like Todd was saying, um, you know, in the corporate world, uh I was involved in a silo war in an earlier in an earlier incarnation, and it was very patiently explained that if I couldn't play nice in the sandbox and get it done, um my boss would find someone who would.

And that level of accountability, I think is is what's missing.

Um it's let's see where is it finding 12 number eight.

Establish a function within Alameda County to convene relevant parties, coordinate internal and external cross-agency collaboration to reach a solution when problems arise.

Why can't existing leaders do that?

Why do we have to bloat the government again?

Um at the taxpayers' expense to get communications to happen, to get responsibility to happen.

Chuck talked about um services.

You know, if I'm focused on my customer, my client, I'm too busy to argue with you about whose responsibility it is.

The focus, if if the focus is on the community, um, I'm not gonna argue.

I'm gonna say I'll find out for you, I'll get that answer, I'll make it happen, I'll coordinate across departments.

That's that's I hope what a good leader does.

Um the other comment is um finding number 12, empowering local governance.

I don't see maybe Claudia, you can elucidate a little bit, but I don't see where this the current um situation with the MACs uh is lacking in terms of um being substantive liaisons that communicate local priorities effectively to Alameda County leadership.

Um I'll ask my county supervisor, do you get surprised um hearing things from the community that that have been through the Mac or haven't been through?

I mean, do you feel you get representation of the community through the Mac?

Oh certainly.

And everything that comes to the Mac, all of the Macs, everything that comes to you, a lot of it stops there.

Never even sees the board of supervisors.

Okay, yeah.

Thank you.

Um so I'm not sure.

I'm not sure that's um germane to what we're trying to do here.

Um I do have a a question from Claudia.

Can you tell me how many non-county employees are part of the budget justice coalition?

Approximately.

How many non-county employees?

Um the majority are members of community-based organizations.

Um I can I can go through and give you an accurate account, but I would say most everybody is a resident of the unincorporated area.

I mean, I'm not.

I mean you're a county employee.

I am a county employee.

I'm looking for for residents, citizens, coal group groups that you yeah, I mean I would I don't know.

Warren, you may have a better understanding.

I mean, I don't know, I would say 75, 80 percent of them are residents.

How many um how many folks in the coalition are Castro Valley residents?

One, two, three, um, okay, and uh um so this is Warren Cushman, and first of all to respond, there uh and and all the organizations that have um been involved with the coalition, there definitely are people who live in the unincorporated area, and I do want to speak to this as someone who has been following the process of the coalition.

Uh and I want to speak to a couple of things.

Uh, first of all, I think it's important to point out that as I I may have heard earlier, that the unincorporated area is a very diverse area.

There are a lot of different kinds of diversity involved in the unincorporated area.

I happen to be a renter, I'm totally blind, obviously.

So, you know, there are people who represent different worldviews and points of view in the unincorporated area, and I think what I try to do is when I'm uh connecting with this sort of a uh of a community discussion is to think outside my own comfort zone and my own box.

I think that's important to do here because uh, you know, these are weighty issues uh with um important implications.

I do think that the uh idea of progress.

Um I used to I used to be a part of a group that used to talk about line upon line, precept upon precept, and that concept is is germane here.

Uh, you know, we we've heard that the first efforts um to strengthen the uh the unincorporated area began in the early 2000s, uh at least the modern efforts.

And so, um, you know we we want to see progress.

I think there are some pieces here that uh can uh generate progress.

Um I do think training and technology are are things that uh make sense.

I think that relationships between the community and the county departments and the improvement thereof makes sense.

Uh I think that we can uh try to find uh places where the community can come together and uh move forward with some of these pieces, maybe not all 12 pieces, but I do think that the effort here uh is uh a good place to start.

And I think we should be uh encouraging one another to try and pick the low-hanging fruit and move forward with a couple of recommendations in the short term.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Under creating accountability through partnership.

I think you folks nailed it.

Beneath these specific needs, however, lies a foundational demand for systemic reform centered on accountability, transparency, and coordination.

There it is.

If those are worked on, if those are hammered at, if those are implemented via policy, we don't need another layer of bureaucracy, another layer of confusion to the public.

I believe strongly that those things can be implemented without additional burden to the community.

Thank you.

Angela, who else is over there?

And that's uh who?

Chris.

Uh let's see.

I'll speak.

Ray, okay.

I'm going to give you an opportunity to all those speak.

Uh before I open it up to the public.

You know, we're gonna we're gonna finish by nine o'clock.

So we've got time for public input, but I'm gonna make sure all Mac members have a chance to either ask questions, make comments, or whatever.

So, at the ready.

But wait a minute.

I think Ray was going to go next, and then you, Chris.

All right.

Um, it is good to be here.

I live in Cherryland, I represent Eden area Mac.

Um, I'll try and just highlight things that I haven't heard, and then at the end, maybe I'll just reemphasize what I've heard that I strongly agree with.

When I look at the when I look at the findings and recommendations, what jumps out to me is firstly, let's make sure we're starting off from the right set of top community concerns.

So you've listed five here.

I'm not sure I've and maybe these are just from the survey responses.

Okay, because I can tell you for a fact uh from the Cherry Land community gathering input, uh, the community meeting as well as the Mac, we had other top issues, and I think it speaks to some of the comments about our diversity as unincorporated areas.

One size doesn't fit all, but where it does, let's take advantage, and then where it doesn't, let's make sure we focus on that.

So, for example, housing affordability came up and supervisor.

When you talked about proposition one, that made me smile because that's a big issue in Cherry Land.

Um, public safety came up.

So when I see all the sheriff uh folks represented here tonight, thank you for being here.

Um your voice is important and needed.

We talked about wanting the sheriff and CHP to come as one unified voice.

Uh when you share with the Mac and just have that dialogue with both law enforcement offices, and then um, yeah, when the gentleman from Castor Valley spoke about relationships with department heads, you know, we're still a new Mac.

I'm a relatively new Mac member.

We don't have that muscle yet in terms of how to do that.

We shouldn't duplicate efforts, but where there are best practices, we should share those.

So I've taken a lot of notes from tonight.

So then assuming we get the right top community concerns, the other thought I had was when it comes to the findings and recommendations.

Uh my personal opinion, I disagree with what's laid out short, medium, and long term, but more than that, I think what I would actually add to the table represented here are two columns.

The columns being the root cause for why what we're trying to solve and why, and then also uh something representing cost, and I know we've talked about being careful with numbers, but complexity is often a good measure of that in terms of time and/or resources that's actually needed to go ahead and implement a recommendation.

And I think when you add those two dimensions, you get a better sense of what exactly are we trying to solve and why.

So when the lady spoke up earlier about the 28 infrastructure projects, 23 of which are overseen by one project manager.

And I'm sure that there are other examples that perhaps explain why public works is such an issue.

Potentially need help and what that help looks like, right?

So that we're solving the right problem the right way.

So not just budget but numbers, so a baseline for where we are today versus where we want to go.

So the information shared tonight about what's discretionary versus mandatory spending is very helpful, but it would be really useful to map those top concerns not just to the findings and recommendations, but also to to begin to get a sense of how much has been spent on some of these top concerns historically versus um how much may need to be spent in the future, right?

And it can be directional, it doesn't have to be exact, but just giving giving us a way to prioritize as a community and inform the supervisors, I think will just help with more clarity and more of the detail and specificity that folks have talked about tonight.

And then again, just to repeat engagement, I think is our collective problem.

I'm also concerned at the lack of survey responses.

But look, I as a Mac member, I want to I want to sit outside my public library.

I want to go to the community and canvas people and get more input if that's what it takes, and I think we should commit to getting more engagement.

So thank you.

Yeah, let me um let me kind of present a concrete situation that we work through and I I think would reflect some of what we're going on sidewalks on D Street.

You were intimately involved in that process.

And backing up, um, let's remember that the staff that serves as community ombudsman nowadays, uh, or the people on your staff, right?

And you you have the same budget as supervisors that don't have unincorporated areas.

Okay, so let's this something's a little bit as a resident of an unincorporated area, something's a little out of whack though, and that's my personal observation.

Um so these streets are pretty major thoroughfare, and fair view small.

But D Street is a big wide thoroughfare.

Gets a lot of traffic, and um we finally we finally got sidewalks on there.

Okay, and which is important because a lot of kids are walking to school there, and they're also walking down to San Felipe Park, they're looking down to uh Sulfur Creek.

Uh and historically we've had that there have been traffic issues, you know, uh um injuries and fatalities of students going to and from school.

Um stay on it.

We worked for a long time to try and get the county attention um to get sidewalks and um some people do we have anyone from hard here peters in the back uh we talked hard into reacting quickly and I think Nate you helped with that process and talked to them and we got a within six months of bringing the that to Hard's attention they get they put sidewalks in in front of San Felipe Park that's like a 100 yard stretch is that and anyway and and it it that that worked nicely so to get sidewalks on the rest of D Street for the so the kids can walk to school and and not have not dodge traffic we we started a uh uh a petition campaign and that went on for Dale you're in the back there how how long did the petition campaign go on we had meetings with the the uh at at the schools probably a year right just you know this is the community engagement stuff and and you know with a lot of help from your office mate um because we couldn't get anyone else's attention in the in the county um you know we don't have a budget for streets and sidewalks we can't look down and say hey the county's gonna spend this much money um we don't there's not a master county list that shows hey we have all these areas that don't have sidewalks and you know these are the priorities it it may exist but it's it's not public information bottom line is we we finally got uh public works said hey we're gonna we're gonna do something about your uh your sidewalks on D Street in Fairview well then and uh check I guess you brought up the where's the money come from right and back then we had annual grant cycles so we cut we we lost the cutoff we come in like second you know for a couple years in a row and that pushed us out um bottom line is they they broke ground in 2012 no they broke ground in 2020 no they were supposed to be done in 2022 they broke ground in 2020 was about COVID the process started in 2012 it's still not done but the uh two years into the process was when the the SB1 money that's the the get the new gas tax money came in and made it easier so we don't didn't have to fight for money every year and then uh it moved into the design phase and it it sat there for a couple years in the design phase and we we didn't get any feedback we we you know we had to push uh finally when we got a Mac um we got a little more Jews and bottom line is uh nobody in the county except us in the community groups was looking after that stuff.

And if we get a supervisor other than Nate in there, uh is that is that supervisor gonna consider fair view important enough so that our needs are looked after.

Again, the uh Chuck and Bill and Dan both brought up the issue of you know, we gotta get three of you guys, you know, to get anything through.

And uh so how does this stuff getting old uh you know how's how does this tie into what we've got here?

Well if this if this organization is just gonna be another layer of bureaucracy, well, it's not gonna do anything for us.

But if this organization has got some mojo, got some juice um with the agencies that provide our services, then you know I think I think we we're what we'd all be for it.

And my my personal concern is, you know, what happens when what happens to my community when Nate Miley's gone.

I know I can go to Nate's staff and be reasonably assured that my community's concerns are gonna be addressed and looked after.

You know, sometimes I have to nag them and you know uh me Nate, I don't go away.

Um so I you know, I'm in favor of this is all apple pie and hot dogs and baseball, but uh if it's just one more level of you know giving us the runaround, uh, yeah, I'm I I'm just uh I'll I'll throw my hands up.

I don't think I don't think it's um the intention is to create another labor bureaucracy, nor is the intention to kind of give the run around this that and the other.

The intention is regardless of who the supervisor is that the community is getting quality services, regardless, that we've put in place the infrastructure to ensure that.

Nothing's perfect because I've told people even if we create an office of unincorporated services, it's not a panacea.

I mean there are cities who are suffering, and they've got all the structures of a of a municipality, and they're still suffering.

Some cities that are manage better than other cities, so uh Office of Unincorporated Services is not a panacea, but the the thought is it would add value.

That's the thought.

Uh who else?

Uh thank you, and I'd like to thank the supervisors for convening this meeting.

I think it's been long overdue.

Throughout this, one of the things that sort of pops out at me is when we talk about strategy type is organizational culture.

And I think that plays a major role in throughout this whole process.

I worked for public agencies, I'm a retired public works director and been a city traffic engineer for a number of agencies.

Always had the yes we can attitude.

I don't get that feeling with the county.

It sort of, yeah, we'll get back to you when it's convenient and lacking follow-up.

I agree with a lot of what has been said by the other uh uh council members, and I'm not gonna um repeat a lot of those things, but again, I think we need to look at the organizational structure from the top to the bottom, where the top is sharing a belief as yes we can help you and get projects done rather than some other excuse.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay, Vanessa.

Yeah, I'd like to share my appreciation as well for you guys um coming and convening this.

Uh this is such an amazing space to be with fellow council members and to be able to hear this.

Claudia, thank you for putting this together.

I'm learning so much for context.

I'm a new board member or um council member, and I have picked up on a lot of the comments that have been made and feel like the fact that we're having this conversation is allowing at least me to learn how we can be more effective at the Fairview Mac.

I think there was some good examples of how there's been a long history of how we've built up infrastructure for our unincorporated unincorporated areas, and that infrastructure, I think what we could do at this point is utilize it a bit better.

It has been mentioned a couple of times, this idea that there's some lack of clarity around our roles in the Mac.

And you know, I think it was pointed out by Chuck and Sally as well that there have been recent examples of the Mac having lots of community input.

I mean, like the first Mac meeting I had I came to it, there was probably a hundred people in the room, and people were expressing themselves, and there were there were definitely people engaged.

We have an engaged community.

Um, Chris gave a great example of community coming to run together around D Street.

Um, we had a huge fight around the Thurston Gate where people were coming out and very vocal.

We have a very involved community.

There's an it's not, there isn't a lack of our ability, I think as Mac members to be in touch with what it is that uh the community is is interested in in having and they're not shy about coming to us and talking to us about it, but there's been recent examples of the community being very clear about their voice, the MAC trying to honor that, respect that, and share what we believe, you know, the board should know and and support and get outvoted.

Um, and those are things that are directly affecting our communities, and so we have like the point is is that we've spent all this time building up these Macs in this infrastructure.

We don't have a lack of involvement, we have um some issues and in the way in which we're currently utilizing our Mac boards, and I personally like the idea of reconvening as Chuck had um mentioned earlier, if we're gonna continue these conversations and do some like cross pollinization around like how we're supporting each other.

How do we as Mac members leverage those department leads and have more of a voice in being able to build those relationships and move stuff?

We could help each other in doing that.

How do we what is our responsibility and how do we move that information within our community?

What responsibilities do we have to notify our communities and to work with them?

Those are really important, I think, ways that we could clarify our roles and be better at what we're doing, and I think we have the capacity to do that.

And I don't I don't personally believe that creating an office around that is necessary.

I think we have some of the infrastructure in place.

I think we just need to be a bit smarter about how we're leveraging it.

Um the last point I just want to make, it's interesting that there's gonna be a consultant coming on board, and I really appreciated you referencing this idea of the county being an arm of the state, and that you know, the municipality concept, and that there are plenty of cities that are already doing this work.

Like, like I'm hoping that the consultant can pull some ideas from how cities do it.

Maybe there's a good example there that we could replicate.

So thank you.

I say that I'm jealous of these other Macs because we've never gotten really that many people in our Eden Mac for whatever reason.

And in my opinion, I'm representing Ashland.

They have another.

And the same people, I feel like even this Mac is too San Lorenzo focused.

And the people who do come in consistently are also San Lorenzo.

I would suggest even more Macs that maybe are even more specific because as he said, it takes people to get out and represent who they are.

But here I still feel like I represent San Lorenzo.

And regardless, we don't have those kind of numbers.

So obviously, in terms of engagement, I'm jealous of you guys seem to be getting something that we aren't yet.

I can, yes.

Having a full room is not always a blessing.

And if you want to fill it up, use your phone.

Use your phone.

Find an issue that you're passionate about and call 10 people and ask them to call 10 people, and you'll get people in the room.

Um thank you, supervisors, and thank you, Claudia, and everyone that presented.

Um as similar to Vanessa, I'm fairly new to the Cash Valley Mac, and I I think I explained the time that we did the exercise that there's very vague um uh what role I play, right?

I get questions from the community, they'll email me or talk to me, I'll ask public work.

Um, you know, can you provide me with X or Y?

And I get no response.

I get oh, it's working fine.

I didn't get no calls on that issue, so it's fine, but that's not what I can tell the community, right?

Do you want me to send that message?

That it's there's a disconnect, and so being someone that's new, we really need to kind of step back.

The report is great, and how everything is kind of you're you're thinking about it, but I think we need to step back and really um tell the story on what what can we really do to represent our community, and is someone gonna listen?

Are they gonna take those action items back?

And are they gonna follow up?

Because right now no one's following up.

I don't get that sense, and I'm new and I'm just like trying to, you know, in engage and I don't feel like I'm getting the information that I need in order to go back.

Um I am um similar to what Ray said, I think the resident participation um is very low, and so I don't know if this is a good representation of where we need to go because it's just such such a low population on um the overview of what folks are kind of considering or so.

I think we would we'd maybe do a 2.0 and kind of get some more feedback on some of the residents' participants because there might be some missing elements there.

Um, yeah, but overall, thank you.

That's all I have.

I just want to make a couple uh hopefully positive comments.

But Ray triggered something when Ray said um all the the um sheriff's deputies and the fire department being here, and we've always had well, we I'm speaking for San Lorenzo because I live here and we've had the homes association for a long time.

We've always had good relationships with um with the fire department and and the sheriffs, and I just started thinking well, why is that?

You know, well, they're here, we talk to them face to face, and why we're asking them for help most of the time, unless they're arresting us, hopefully not, but um, so most of the times we're asking for help, and I think maybe we're looking at things upside down because we're looking at the top and we're saying, Well, supervisor um Miley and Supervisor Tam and all that board of supervisors, but I think you're you kind of hit the nail on the head when when people call the county, they're asking for help.

Even if they're complaining, they're asking for help, and I think that at very initial person to person-to-person contact can make such a big difference.

I mean, I love meeting sitting here with all of you and hearing people and looking at people.

It's it's how we relate to each other.

So, so you know.

When I saw this thing, service ethos.

What the heck does that mean?

You know, I kind of brushed over it, but maybe it means the very first people that we contact is some telephone person who's going, I don't know, let me look and see who I refer you to.

Maybe those very first people are the most important people that we talk to in the county.

You know, maybe that's where that little spark of, oh, somebody's listening to me, you know, matters.

But I just really appreciate that who's there.

Everybody who's here is here.

People are online, and I just think that people talking to people is just the way to go.

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you for the presentations, and thank you for allowing this.

All right.

So, you know, like I think Claudia mentioned, democracy is not a spectator sport.

So, all right, so let's see if we can hear from the public.

Oh, oh, I forgot Tojo.

How can I forget Tojo?

Thank you, Mr.

Malley.

Um, thank you, Claudia and the whole team.

Excellent presentation.

But as the previous speaker said, lack some specifics, but we could work on work on that.

Some of the things I have talked about in uh Mac meetings is uh streamlined the process for new business permits.

Uh the businesses coming into unincorporated area and Castro Valley have a hard time compared to Dublin or Livermore, everything is in one house.

People tell me, hey, it's tough to start something.

I'll give an example.

Right now, Rudy's donuts bought by somebody takes six months to, he told me it's going to take six months for him to start it.

So we should help him out.

You know, it should be streamlined to maybe help him out to make it one month or two months just to start the business going.

Um, second thing I want to mention is, as you said, Mr.

Miley, uh, three board of supervisors represent the unincorporated area and Castro Valley, right?

Is that I think if there is an impactful impactful recommendation or uh for the area, um, I think the other board of supervisors should recuse themselves, and you guys should make the decision for us.

So, I mean, I'm just saying that because there's a lot of imp stuff that comes up.

Um, you know, and then it should be done.

That's just my personal opinion because a lot of stuff comes in unincorporated area, which doesn't impact the board of supervisors from the other side.

Um, and then community engagement.

I'll talk about higher avenue.

It's it was on our agenda a couple of weeks ago.

Um, higher avenue.

Uh, there was issues about sidewalks, right?

Improving sidewalks and um improving bike lanes and all that stuff.

Three folks, three folks who lived on hire, showed up.

Like you said before, when you do workshops, you should have more people responding to the stuff.

Uh 1011 is not enough, and this place should be packed with more people.

No, uh so the impact community engagement.

Um, there's we should do something to uh get to other cultures.

Um I mean, I talk to my buddies sometimes, some of the buddies I don't want to use names.

You know, we're immigrants, we're going through a visa process, our stuff.

So we this is not important for us.

So as uh Claudia said, community engagement is important, we should get into the community.

People who live on hire, people who live on other streets, when their stuff comes up on the agenda, we should have a better system to let them know what's going on.

Um what else?

Final thing.

Uh, when Mac recommends something, um, and when it goes to BCA or the planning department, sometimes we say seven nothing on an issue, and it gets turned around and voted against us.

So we look kind of stupid.

Hey, did we do something wrong?

So that is so we should have a little bit more power, and they should seriously look at what we are recommending, recommending, and uh make it impactful for us, what we're doing.

Um, and that's it, and also the last thing I want to say is when you get a building permit, people complain in the county office.

One office doesn't talk to the other office, and people get a hard time, they're getting a run around back and forth to different offices.

So again, I'm going back to streamline the process, making easy for people who are uh construction doing construction and building homes, and that's all I have.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I want to add one more thing.

Um, so one of the other um issues that we had is um the street vendors.

That was a very big topic in um Cashville Valley, and our community is very passionate about it.

They feel that um we're not really doing anything about it.

Um so we did have um, I guess the new formed committee of court enforcement, public health and the sheriff's department that um is kind of coming together to um do some sort of enforcement.

But the questions that I had, um, it was very defined on what the code enforcement's position is and what they do, what they find, they can give tickets, they can continue to find, find, find this one vendor got maybe a hundred tickets right for throughout the year.

Okay, so what's the next step?

The next step.

Public health needs to get involved, right?

Public health is like, yes, I can confiscate the food, but I can't confiscate the equipment.

Why can't you do that?

Um, I don't have the equipment to to take away the the stuff, right?

I'm like, okay, so what how much does it cost?

I don't know.

Well, how would you solve for that?

I mean, you're you're part of this community now.

Have you asked your supervisor or manager, like, you know, why, you know, can I have that budget, or if I can't have the budget?

Um, have you asked the Cashavali Mac for, you know, can you ask to see if the supervisor could provide $25,000 to solve for this in your community?

So I just I just I don't feel like there's they're coming with resolutions or suggestions that would um allow us to come back to to you all and say, hey, we need these things in order to make um what our community members are asking us to to align to and and kind of get a resolution for the for the street uh food vendors.

That's all.

I have one last thing, too.

With you when if you get around to me.

Um you were talking about giving Castor Valley Mac some authorities.

I think Fairview has a very strong constituency, they have a very strong communication network to get people out to an important.

Um, I'll use the word events, it's the wrong word.

I'd like to be on your list, not I.

I'd like Fairview to be on your list of a group that is in a position to make valid recommendations based on community support, and so I think you know, we're in line with Castor Valley for that kind of stronger input because we've got the network to get the word out, and people come out when they know that it's important.

Thank you.

All right, so uh give the Mac members a chance to talk again, but I want to open it up to the public.

How many speakers do we have from the public?

How many thirty?

Okay, so we're gonna give folks at least we'll give them a minute, and if they go over a minute, we'll give them maybe another 30 seconds or thereabouts, but um go ahead, call the speakers T Samuel.

And if the speakers could really um use their minute, minute and a half to the best of their ability.

So go ahead, Peter Rosen, Bruce King.

Hey, Seuss Romero.

If somebody wants to cede their time to Peter, they can do that.

Thanks.

Thanks, Nate.

Um, I'm speaking on my own behalf.

I want to say thank you, everyone, for this.

We, as Claudia remembers and Keith and I were joking about the big Mac, we've joked about a Big Mac for years through the Eli, and I went to a lot of those Eli meetings.

So, Supervisor Tam, I was talking to Claudia, and I there were there were at least a hundred meetings that we were at for those.

Um I want to speak as a person who supported the creation of the Eden Mac and the Fairview Mac.

I even went to the board of supervisors.

We did this through Eli.

This was a big part of the process.

I have some concerns about not so much the budget thing, because I think we really need to do that.

In fact, that's something we were trying to dial down for years through Eli, was to try and dial down some specifics and accountability, and we talked about somebody being a liaison in the budget.

But more importantly, I'm more concerned about this office and the role in it.

I don't see an org chart.

I don't know if it's going to be parallel to the Macs.

I don't know if it's going to have authority.

Um for instance, is this person gonna or this staff position going to actually magically be able to get the data and budget information or hold code enforcement and public health and environmental health accountable when the Macs have been saying things multiple times and none of this has happened?

Are they gonna are they gonna have superseding authority over the Macs?

Is the Mac going to have to listen to what this person says?

Or if if you know two of the Macs say one thing and another Mac says something else, how are they gonna decide what they're gonna go to the supervisor?

Are they gonna be uh another barrier between the board of supervisors and the Mac?

Because the Macs are our voice for the community.

And your time so thank you very much.

Um it's about outcomes, is my is my thing, and I have lots of questions and hopefully we can have more workshops about this before it gets implemented.

Okay, thank you, Peter.

I appreciate Hard a lot.

And I know you weren't speaking for hard.

If I may, um Melanie O'Brien, Deputy County Council.

I just want to emphasize tonight that the public speakers should speak on the item at issue that's on the agenda.

We can't have any general public comment for items not on the agenda tonight.

Just a reminder.

Thank you.

Can you call like three speakers in a row?

Hello, Bruce King from Castro Valley.

I think transparency is an overarching issue when you look at a lot of our departments and things.

I know how hard the county workers work.

They're but they're stretched, and but I can't often figure out even what their organization is.

I can't figure out any email addresses, who to contact, I can't see any documents.

I keep vast records of going back 20 years that of things that uh the county should keep online.

So I think we but we need to set some standards for transparency.

And when I look look at hard, a couple years ago I was like, I can't figure out how hard works, and then all of a sudden they seem to turn around.

And I asked the general manager, oh, well, what happened?

He says, Well, I hired a person who manages transparency and accountability, and we just won an excellence award because we set we met certain standards, but I think the board of supervisors has to oversee this new office of account of incorporated services, and and tell them you have authority to set certain standards, and we want to see you help our departments and districts incorporate the standards.

And if they don't, somebody's gonna be accountable.

Thanks.

Hey, Suze Romero, Colonel Sandoval, Rex, Wocanegra, Nancy, Risval, Deeza.

If you folks can all line up, it'd be faster.

Perhaps read them again.

If you hear your name, come and speak.

Yes, Ania Lopez.

Ashley Acosta.

Buenas tardes.

Agradezco la opportunidad de estar aquí.

So you said, Alameda, my experience, my conviction that nuestras voces realmente importa.

It's fundamental Podamos involucrarnos directamente atrás.

My principal prioridad is la seguridad via especial del ruido, la contaminación generando trafficos pesados, las conductas insegura in el volante.

Estos affectas, nuestra bebida, the vida.

I felt like that was hard to hear.

Can we have the translator just read off of our paper for translation, please?

Thank you.

Yes, anything.

Okay.

I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you today.

My name is Yesenia Lopez.

I volunteer in the unincorporated area of the county of Alameda.

My experience with SLAM has filled me with a lot of pride, and I want to reaffirm my conviction that our voices really matter.

I'm here today to defend the creation of the Office of Unincorporated Communities and the implementation of a formal participation process for the unincorporated area budget.

It is fundamental that residents like me are able to get involved directly in the decisions about the budget that affect our day-to-day.

Sorry, that the uh security is vital, especially in face of the increasing okay, uh for and in the increasing sound contamination generated by traffic and the uh um not the same, and uh unsafe driving conditions, these factors affect our community health, our well-being, and our quality of life in all of the community.

For this, we need to be have structures that are formal and that guarantee that our concerns are heard and in a in an effective way.

Oh good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Jimena Bugarin, and I live in the unincorporated area, and I wanted to say that our communities they're diverse culturally, linguistically, and general generationally.

We need and in my community, I always think like we need services that respect and reflect that reality.

And many residents in the unincorporated area that I live in have experienced interactions where they don't feel understood or welcomed.

That should never happen when someone seeks help from their government.

We ask the country to strengthen training and engagement practices so that all residents, youth, seniors, renters, immigrants, business owners, feel included and respected.

Then because of this, we create strong relationships, and we built it, we built this with the government where the government meets this with the people and we find common ground.

That's all.

Thank you.

Santos Acasta, Ashley Espino.

Um, I appreciate this opportunity to be here today and contribute to this important discussion.

My name is Ashley Acosta, and I'm a student in unincorporated Alameda County.

After participating in SLAM, I feel a real sense of belonging and pride.

That's why I'm here to here to support the Office of Unincorporated Communities and a formal uh community budget input process.

Residents need a real voice in how our sources are used.

My biggest concern is traffic safety because decreased property values and this means that areas with high traffic accident rates or unsafe traffic conditions may see a decline in property values.

People are less likely to want to live in a neighborhood where it feels unsafe to walk, bike, or drive.

This directly impacts our quality of life.

Allowing our input in the budget will help us fix this problem.

That's it.

Thank you.

Um, hi supervisors.

My name is Ashley Godoy.

I live in the unincorporated area.

We appreciate the incredible assets that have been built, like community centers, youth programs, and libraries.

These investments show the power of what thoughtful planning can accomplish.

But we need to ensure these kinds of improvements and are distributed fairly to all neighborhoods, not just some.

Equity means every resident benefits from the same level of safety, opportunity, and care.

Community members want to see continued progress, especially in areas still waiting for long overdue investment.

Let's keep growing, but let's grow together equitably.

Thank you.

Um greetings to you all.

So my name is Oscar Gonzalez.

I live in the unincorporated area.

And you know, my community, you know, my neighborhood is neglected, and it's clear as day with the crock sidewalks, illegal dumping, and just run down streets.

As you can see from that description, it's not a really pretty site.

Not many residents and visitors alike would want to look at it.

You know, it makes the community just look dirty, and it's clear that the government isn't supporting it as much as it needs.

And yeah, thank you.

So is it?

Uh, well, speaking from my personal experience, I'm talking about Cherryland, Western Brotherhood.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

And then Anthony Iskander to Nguyen, Brooklyn, Morado.

Go ahead.

Hello, my name is Santos, and I live in the unincorporated area.

Floods, wildfires, and other emergencies are becoming more frequent.

Too many residents don't know what to do or where to go when a crisis hits.

Preparedness saves lives, but only if every resident can access information and guidance quickly.

Systems, emergency response resources, and education efforts specifically for unincorporated communities.

When we are prepared, we are resilience.

Thank you.

Oh, yep, perfect.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today and participate in this important discussion.

My name is Brooklyn, and I'm an employee of Unincorporated Alameda County.

As a public health professional, I want to emphasize that civic engagement as a social determinant of health can shape how a community's quality of life and even their health outcomes.

I'm here today to express my support for the formalization of a community budget input process.

This process would boost civic participation, enhance social cohesion, and all around improved trust in the legal system.

So I do live in Oakland, but I do work in the unincorporated area in these communities and with these community members.

It is really disappointing to see a lack of community input and processes that impact all of us.

As I understand, the supervisors also live in Oakland, and so I'm sure you both are aware that we do have an input process for our budget.

In the spirit of equity, which you both do exemplify through all your dedication to our community, we ask for your support.

As Claudia put it earlier, you fund what you believe in, and that is equity.

So by formalizing the budget process for unincorporated Alameda County, we will have a more equitable budget process, similarly to those of Alameda or Oakland or even Berkeley, which already have budget processes in place.

Even though we are not considered a city, does that mean we deserve less as unincorporated Alameda?

Um good afternoon.

My name is Ton Wynn and I live in the unincorporated area of the Alameda Um County.

Families deserve to feel safe walking, biking, or driving on our streets, yet speeding at an unsafe intersections put children, older adults, and everyone at risk.

Traffic safeties, investments like crosswalks, lighting and speed, enforcement prevent tragedies before they even happen.

We must prioritize areas around schools, bus stops, playgrounds, and high high schools and schools in general with high traffic or commo commercial buildings.

That's all.

Aidan MScua, Isabel Arguleta, Raymond Du Argelena, Delilah Orozco.

Hello, my name is Aidan, and I live in the unincorporated area.

When we need information like how to get services, where to report an issue, and what's happening locally is too hard to find.

I think we need a single, well-maintained place to access updates, forms, and services.

And it must be available in multiple languages and formats that are easy for families to use.

Clear communication keeps people informed, safe, and engaged.

Confusion does opposite.

A modern communication hub would transform how residents and government work together.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Raymond Norchaleta, and I live and work in the community or in the unincorporated area where code violations go unchecked, and the community pays the price for it in health risks, safety hazards, and a decline in our environment.

Strong enforcement protects families and keeps neighborhoods livable.

Too often there is a long gap between reporting and resolution.

We ask for a more responsive code enforcement system with timely follow-up and communication back to residents.

Every neighborhood deserves to feel cared for and protected.

Thank you.

Okay.

I live in Cashew Valley.

I think you should listen to the community and their recommendations to make the community a better speech.

And clean communities.

Thank you.

Maria Gonzalez, Keith Barrows, Rosemary Vasquez.

Hi, my name is Delilah, and I work in the unincorporated area.

Many residents have said that dealing with different agencies can feel discouraging.

Some even felt like they were treated as a burden instead of a value member of the community.

We deserve customer service that recognizes we pay into the same system as city residents and should receive the same level of service and respect.

Thank you for your time.

So now the first time before we have this wasn't Mac?

It doesn't matter.

Okay.

Okay.

Um, good evening.

My name is Rosemary Vasquez.

I live in Ashland.

I I bleed Cherryland.

So you understand where I'm coming from.

So I feel um that right now we're talking uh politics, which is the fear of losing uh momentum to uh the fear to feel um the fear that you're gonna lose power.

And what we're asking is to see the possibility that this office in this where we're um proposing in front of you will actually enhance your services.

Every single MAC in here has never attended one of our meetings at the family resource center at Cherry Land Elementary, which is by the way, the largest school in this uh Hayward Unified School District, right in the smack of Cheryland, right next to Ashland.

So when we're talking about talking to public, you don't sit and wait for people to come.

You get up from your seats and you go where the families are.

You provide interpretation, and you give a space where everybody thinks welcome.

So I will I just ask you, please look at on the other side.

You're not losing strength, you will gain something, which is beautiful in your community.

Thank you.

Keith Maryland Lorenzo, um, I just the first thing I want to say is I'm very happy to see the Big Mac come back to the room that it was conceived in in March of 2016.

Um it's nice to see the Big Mac.

I'm disappointed there were no fries made available.

Um I I agree, engagement is uh is key, but more engagement is key.

And uh I I would hope, and perhaps they are, I don't know, but perhaps the local organizations that um that have come up in recent years, uh such as SLAM and MEV and Ashland, um Ashland Association, the Cherry Land Association and the Sandler's Home Association.

Um I would hope that uh that they would come to their MAC.

Uh here at Eden, um I live in San Lorenzo Village, but when uh when we were going through the Eli process, um I was on the governance committee um through Eli phase one and two, and I would say if I missed any of the governance meetings, you could count them on one finger.

Um, and uh that was the reason one of my main concerns about wanting to establish at Eden Mac was I knew that Cherryland and Ashland in particular needed to have more representation.

So here in San Lorenzo Village, we had the homes association, which was close something, but uh so please uh your organizations in Ashland and Cherry Land, please make yourselves uh available to the Mac.

Come and come to their meetings and address.

And if you already are doing that, forgive me, I might not just be aware of it.

The idea about the liaison, the Amazon was something that came up during Eli.

Um, and it was it was it was in direct conflict in competition for having an Eden uh an Eden Mac and a free review Mac for them.

Okay, but I'm okay.

Um, oh I hate when that happens.

All right, I'll shut up.

Alden Morgan, Dale Silva.

Hello, everybody.

My name is Halden Morgan.

I work with the Alameda County Housing Provider Resource Center, and we do serve unincorporated Alamina County for housing providers, but about 80% of the calls that we get in are from renters.

I did go to Claudia's workshops, I went to several of them, and I think one thing that I think uh it's kind of passed over that I heard a lot in in those those spaces was people in the community unincorporated, they feel that they're putting in so many taxes into the county, the county pool, but they're not really getting a return on their investment.

So that's just something I want y'all to think about.

You know, there's a lot of talk about red states, blue states.

There's that kind of sentiment that I'm hearing in the unincorporated Alamina County.

And I work uh with ACHP RC, and we have a space, we have a table outside at the Hayward Hall of Justice every Wednesday to help with UD court and eviction court, and out there, we deal with a lot of renters coming out of eviction court where there's just a disconnected services.

Uh and um through my work, I'm trying to work with other organizations.

My uh what is it?

Uh I'm can't remember that off the top of my head right now.

But the thing I think right now that's really important for us moving forward is to take the learnings from this study and really try to incorporate more voices from the community because that's what democracy is.

And I do want to applaud all the young people that were here, even though they're not here right now.

I think that's the direction we need to be headed.

Thank you very much.

Dale Silva.

Hi, I'm Dale Silva.

I live in Fairview.

I'm speaking as an individual.

I'd like to speak in support of having an office of unincorporated services.

This process that we're undergoing is to figure out a way to get a to get a community priority translated into a budget item.

What would do we want as a community?

How do we get that to appear in the budget?

And this office would be perfect for that.

For example, if an Mac or a community group wants um uh speed humps, bulb outs, sidewalks, expand a park, put in um uh that kind of thing, physical structure things, budget item things.

They invite the uh uh services person to the meeting, the issue is discussed, and it winds up in the budget.

That's the vision, and there it's discussed and processed.

Um, right now we do that with the county supervisor's office, but they have a lot on their plate.

This would make one person, one office accountable, and Chris, to your point, it would be there throughout the regimes, uh, whoever's supervisor we would have this person to rely on.

They're also there to it's cited, described as an institutional uh anchor for residents.

Questions may be asked, and we all get them, we all see them.

Where do I go?

Do I want to start a um daycare center in my home?

What do I do?

Um do I go to uh building or zoning or public health?

Well, the zone, this office of incorporated services would be there as a resource to tell them and to see them through the process.

Uh, someone says, I I have I I've applied for this.

Where is it?

Um, thank you.

Your time's on.

Okay, thank you.

Oh uh, yeah, all right.

Thank you.

Caller, you're on the line.

You have 90 seconds, Kelly.

Thank you.

The website portal proposals today sound like a utopian pipe dream techno fix, not a practical structure to address the county's incompetence and disregard for customer service.

So I have uh some a few modest suggestions.

Establish legally recognized local service units, like county service areas or community service districts covering all unincorporated neighborhoods.

Define an unincorporated services budget center with separate fund accounting.

Melanie Atendito can do this, give the municipal advisory councils budget authority.

This is they can do it.

They can do it and participatory budgeting.

Us adopt standardized service levels metrics and service level agreements, publish reports, audits, and annual service scorecards.

Uh the maybe the uh municipal advisory councils can help with that too.

Set up a transition plan and a timeline.

And remember just one project for you.

Remember the D Street sidewalk?

We talked about that for like uh 20 minutes.

Well, it turns out that according to what Supervisor Miley is hearing from his public works agency, that project is 95% complete as of uh two months ago, and they spent five million dollars, and it's scheduled for completion this month, already this month.

Thank you.

Bobby, you're on the line, you have 90 seconds.

Bob Clore, Resident of Fairview.

Um I want to speak for a moment about this process um as it went on a road show to the other Macs.

I can't speak for uh how it was presented in any of the other maps other than Fairview, but I know that uh as the agenda is item went through all the stages of the presentation.

Ideas bounced back and forth only between staff and the five council members.

Post it notes stuck up all over the walls, item agenda one.

Okay, bye.

Item agenda two, same process.

There was no public comment or public opportunity to comment on any of the parts of this agenda item until the very end.

And I feel like our public comments just fell on death fears because staff and the council members had already made up their minds about what the important issues were for Fairview.

We had no public input at all I'm not saying that what our council members didn't come up with were good ideas, but they took no public comment several of you have talked about how you want the public to be involved hey guess what how about start listening to the public take public comments up front so you can hear what the public has to say before as a council member you formulate your opinion thank you caller you're on the line you have 90 seconds Teresita de Jesus represented Alameda for master the 22 años de aportación presupuestaria del condado de Alameda iselto ilegal de Darcus que genera grave para residents for example ilegal continua lo largo de la calle is 14 claridad sobre que sucede después de reportan las inquietudes los residents presentan quejas pero raro quién is responsible atenderla se standard or si stagando segmental asunto erosiona la confianza y las personas ignoradas lo que pedimos is simple un system consistente y transparente para la communication documentada la rendición de cuentas y el segmento por partes del condado, una oficina centralizada presupuestaria garantizar la communication este estabilizada y los residents would facilitate el estado de sus inquietudes.

Gracias por su tiempo indo los matos can we get a yeah translator please Anna are you going to interpret yes Sandra no Sandra will translate.

My name is Teresita Jesus and I live in the unincorporated area of Alameda County I'm here to express um she also mentioned that she is part of Padres Guerreros Seniors in action and she is also the treasurer of the Ashland Community Association.

She is here today to express her firm support at the creation of the um a formalized budget process and the establishment of an office of unincorporated communities.

One of the biggest issues that happens here in our community is the genera degravity as well as what it is the serious risk that our communities are facing.

Oh, it's an English on the back.

There you go.

Thanks, Tedita.

One of the most persistent challenges we face is illegal dumping, which creates seriously safety hazards for residents, workers, and businesses.

For example, there's been continuous legal dumping along East 14th, despite multiple complaints from the community.

The problem is not open only the dumping itself, it's the lack of clarity about what happens after our concerns are reported.

Residents submit complaints, but we rarely know who is responsible for addressing them.

What actions are being taken or whether the issue is being followed up on at all.

This uncertainty erodes trust and leaves people feeling unheard.

What we are asking is for a simple and consistent transparent system for documented communication, accountability, and follow-through from county agencies, agencies that exist to serve the public.

A centralized office and formal budget input process would help ensure that responsibilities are clear, communication is standardized, and residents can easily track the status of their concerns.

These structures will not only improve service delivery, but also rebuild confidence that the county systems are responsive, accessible, and working in partnership with the community.

Thank you for your time and for your commitment to improving the unincorporated areas of Alameda County.

And she would also like to share that access to interpretation and the ability to participate equitably is really important, and I completely agree.

Linda.

Thank you.

Hi, this is Linda Tangren from Castor Valley.

I read the document, and I do not believe that this is the answer to what ails the unincorporated area.

The repeated complaint in the unincorporated area is the lack of services and the coordination of projects department to department.

There are over 10,000 employees in the county.

These are the questions I pose to you today.

Why do we have a problem with delivery of services?

Do the principals and budget development handicapped departments in providing the services?

Is that the issue?

Departmental policies delay the delivery of services.

I think these are things that when people ask about transparency, this is what they are asking about.

But I think we have to define transparency.

I think we have to define a lot of the things that are being asked here.

You can list all these things down, but there are no definitions to it.

What are you really asking for?

And uh Supervisor Miley, I want you to remember that I have done a lot of good things in this town.

So when I make this statement, keep that in mind.

Nancy, you're on the line, you have 90 seconds.

Hello, my name is Nancy Refaldiza, and I want to talk about the importance of public work and our unincorporated community.

My experience with Islam showed me how powerful community voices can be.

It reminded me that when residents speak up together, we can bring real change.

I am here today to express my support for the creation of the Office of Unincorporated Communities and the formalization of the community budget input process because public work is essential to our daily life, and our voices to guide the priorities.

Public work is responsible for so much.

Our roads, sideways, street lights, drainage, park, and public spaces.

When these service work well, our neighborhood feels safe, clean, and care for.

But when they don't, everyone feels the impact.

In the unincorporated areas, we especially need strong public war support.

Many of our streets need repairs, better lighting, and safe sidewalks.

We also need solutions for heavy traffic, unsafe driving, noise, and air pollution.

These issues affect our health and our quality of life.

I am asking for continuous investment, transparency, and collaboration in public work planning.

Our community deserves safe road, clean space, and reliable service, just like any other part of the county.

Thank you for listening and thank you for supporting stronger public work for all of us.

Brenda, you're on the line, you have 90 seconds.

Yes, thank you, Brenda Clark from Fairview.

Definitely echo what Bobby said about the MAC acting as individuals instead of considering public comments on this particular list of what they feel is important.

It's not the MAC members.

But their agenda is prepared in such a way where they hear it.

That's not in our purview, you can't put that on there.

There is no old business.

And this has been my main complaint.

So if you really want the input of the 10,000 people who live in Fairview, please listen to their comments first before acting and make sure your agenda is formulated in such a way that public comments come first before consideration of the board, uh the commissioners, council members' opinion.

Because that's the break, I think.

I think if you knew going in that you're listening to 10,000 people and we were being represented that way, um, I don't think it's the board members' fault.

I think it's the way that uh the county is preparing the agenda.

Thank you.

Caller, you're on the line.

You have 90 seconds, Maria.

Hola.

My name is Maria Gonzalez, resident de la area no incorporada, Cherryland.

Y estoy aquí para expresar my preocupación de la necessidad del alumbrado public y Western Boulevard.

Tiran mucha basura todo el tiempo.

Thank you.

Ada, you're on the line, you have 90 seconds.

Hello, this is Aida Sizova speaking.

I am work at the Dilmachan Family Resource Center.

I'm a program manager over there, work for La Familia, and I have been um uh involved at some capacity and um before at the Mac, and I'm really happy to share the space today and to express my support of creating an office for the unincorporated uh services and the creation of a budget for it.

Um, and that will be it.

Thank you so much.

Matthias, you have 90 seconds.

Hello.

Yes.

Hello, supervisors.

My name is Matthias, and I volunteer in the unincorporated area.

For decades, our communities have asked for the same thing.

Fairness, we contribute taxes and deserve the same level of access, service, and accountability expected anywhere else in the county.

This budget input process has offered hope, but hope must be matched with long-term structure, policy, and investment.

We urge you to adopt these recommendations and maintain strong partnership with residents to monitor after progress after year after year.

Let's ensure that the unincorporated area finally receives the representation and resources we've been advocating for.

Thank you.

Caller, you're on the line.

You have 90 seconds.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Oh, hi.

This is this is Henry Levy, Hank Levy, treasurer's tax collector.

I just want to tell everybody I've been listening since six o'clock.

And uh I'd like to think that our department, I'm glad that the business license tax division wasn't criticized tonight.

I appreciate that.

But it has been in the past, and we're listening.

And uh I think I'd like to say that what I've gotten out of this meeting is earlier comments about government ethos and the yes we can attitude.

And uh so if anybody has any issues with our department, please feel free to reach out to me personally.

Um and I'll I'll make I'll make something happen.

And and just one more thing.

We've been working very closely with uh the community development agency, mostly with the economic development folks.

So we're working as hard as we can, and we're we're we're we're leaning into working with this with the community and the business community, especially.

Thanks.

Rex, you're on the line, you have 90 seconds.

Uh hi, supervisors.

Uh, my name's Rex, and I live uh in an unincorporated area.

Uh some issues in our communities require uh collaboration across different agencies.

Uh when responsibility is unclear and nothing changes.

Um we need a structure that says someone will take the lead until the problem is solved.

The community should not be left navigating multiple departments while concerned grow worse.

Uh leadership means stepping in and coordinating solutions, not passing the baton.

We're asking the county to ensure there's always an owner for cross-agency challenges.

There are no more speakers for this item.

All right.

And turn it back to see if there's any um final comments, remarks, suggestions from uh Mac members before I see what Supervisor Dan would like for us to do.

Hello.

I just wanted to say I appreciate Dale Silva's explanation of the um office.

Um I didn't clearly understand that previously, and I appreciated the way in which you explained that it could function.

And it I think then listening to the subsequent comments from the community, it sounded like potentially had the ability to resolve some of the issues that we were hearing.

So thank you to the um public for for commenting, and thanks, Dale, for helping me understand that deeper.

Uh, just wanted to show appreciation to all the kids that spoke up, came up, and uh that was community engagement.

Appreciate you.

If you're listening, that's what we need to do.

Future is you, so please continue to come and speak up.

Second thing, appreciate the sheriff's department and all the enforcement and unincorporated areas.

Their response time is pretty quick.

Uh I'm not saying that community says that they come up pretty quick, very respectful.

Uh, thank you for your service for all the shares you're here.

Take care.

Okay, Nick.

Okay.

Um, you know, I I come out of the corporate world for 40 years.

Um, I am building grocery stores, and often we had strategic planning sessions.

And what I got out of this meeting was the baby go back in RMAC and one of our general purpose meetings, ask the community to come in and give me a list of what what do they want because often we'll have a meeting with 20 or 30 people, and um so I I think that uh as a Mac member or chair, um, I need to do probably I could do a better job of probably reaching out and saying show up because if you want something, you've got to tell us what you want, and because our supervisors do listen if they know what we're need what our needs are, and I will tell you that my experience has been our department heads.

I can't think of well, I won't say that.

Most of them listen really well and will provide the services that you need.

Um, and far as code enforcement, I you know, um that is an area that I I think I heard everybody loud and clear is very frustrated with.

Um, and I will go back and say that I don't need to know what the budget is, because I couldn't begin to understand the complexity of it, and but I do understand what services are, and I can ask for more services or different services for our community if they ask us, and um, so I I think it's all about services because um I don't know what you're paying, I don't know your union contracts, I don't know a lot of things that would pertain to that budget, but um I can certainly convey um better service or service needed.

So that's what I got out of this group, and I appreciate the all the feedback from the community loud and clear.

Thank you.

Yeah, I just want to share one thing that I've taken out of this meeting, and I I appreciate everyone who's been here to participate and voice their concerns.

Uh when they were talking, my from my perspective, it sounds like those younger Macs haven't established those relationships with the county uh department heads, and they tend to be the ones who are advocating for this new position to coordinate for unincorporated areas.

I just encourage them to um meet with uh the department heads and uh invite them to your Macs and get to know them and establish those relationships.

So we may not need this um advocate.

I don't want to wrap up on too positive of a note, so if I could be a little bit negative, uh the for the uh for the Eden Mac, you talked about nobody showing up to your meetings.

Almost all the speakers tonight were from your territory, um, so somehow you're being undercut.

Perhaps county agencies and staff should listen to you guys and should direct some of the community organizations to work with with you.

Consult with us, we'll help you, but I don't know who the budget coalition is.

That's not a county uh department, they seem to have more power than you guys.

My Eden voice seems to have more power than you guys.

You guys were put in these positions, so take that power back.

Um Chuck is really good with working with the agencies.

Um we're happy to to work with you guys and to tell you some strategies that work with us, but uh I'm sorry, again, I don't want to be positive, I'm gonna be a little negative.

I think county staff might be undermining your credibility.

We picked a Mac format.

Let's use the Mac format, and you guys can engage with it with your community.

You might have to have more meetings a month.

Uh they might last for three or four hours.

Um, but but I think that that things should be funneled through through you folks.

Thank you for all the work you've put into this.

I think tonight surfaced a lot of needs, desires, and wants really from our entire community.

And whether it follows forward with this format or maybe some learnings out of tonight on, we clearly heard a lot of what people are looking for.

You know, this, like you said, this is the first step, and I think it's a huge opportunity for all of us.

You've got a lot of the leaders from all over the area and all the agencies and all the different communities here.

It's a great opportunity for us to figure out what do we do with this information.

Where can we make some positive impact?

Yeah, maybe this does spur some new ideas as well, maybe it parallels, maybe it doesn't, but I think we got great information that we could actually take action on and deliver a positive impact back to our communities with.

Navigating for personal services.

How do they navigate the website?

How do they find who they need to go to to get um this approval or that approval?

For broader concerns, um streets that need to be repaved, um, traffic that needs to be addressed.

Those are issues that need to come to the max, and the max take those to the Board of Supervisors.

I certainly know that we have done that, and I can hear that that Castro Valley is, and probably Eden as well.

And if the individual if the people get that they're being listened to, they will come.

And I think we'll have more people coming to our regular meetings if we get back to them on more of their individual items.

So thank you, Bobby and Brenda, for those uh specific that specific feedback.

Um I can't help but agree with you.

So we're gonna I hope as a Mac that we'll get together, we're not allowed to get together.

That's tough.

We're not allowed to get together, but somehow we need to get together to change up how we do business without getting together.

So you all know what I'm talking about, so yeah.

Thank you.

She didn't say that, can it council?

We don't want to break the Brown Act, get in trouble.

Sally, I know what you're talking about.

And to your point, and and uh for all the staff and the uh the public providing input that thank you very much.

Especially I guess most of the young folks have gone home, which is is a healthy thing, right?

They have homework and stuff like that.

Um, you know, important stuff.

Uh and Sally, but more to your point, you know, we have conversations outside of the Mac stuff, and I've been around a long time, and often Sally is lost, you know.

Who do I call?

And she'll call me and I'll hopefully send you to the right place, but never really sure.

But um, and as fellow Mac members, I uh most of the people in in Fairview know who I am and know how to reach me, uh, much to the chagrin of my wife.

Um but that you know that that's a service, you know.

I I think I take it on when I when I took the job.

And I know your staff they take the they take it on when they take the job, although your staff's a little better compensated than we are.

But there's nothing I can do.

But to all you folks out there, thank you very much.

Sandy, I recognize you there, and we've we've spent a lot of time uh I hope it it's been productive for you and the sheriff and and fire folks and in Hayward were or hey in Fairview.

We're blessed to have our own fire department, and uh it's governed by uh our neighbors.

You know, we have an elected board there, and it's it's really nice to matter of fact.

One of the newest board members city is sitting on my left here.

And uh I'd like to acknowledge him as I'll wrap up, thanks.

Just one last thing.

Every time I hear something from somebody else, but we mentioned code enforcement.

Um we didn't talk about it very much, but my two cents words on that is I think we need to have more proactive code enforcement and not everything be complaint driven, and that probably would increase the budget for code enforcement.

All right.

Hi, Warren Cushman here.

Uh I want to say I I like the suggestion by one of the members, one of the Mac members to have a closer relationship um with community, and I I think that's what I intend to do as as a Mac member to connect with community, including my invoice and other organizations that represent community.

I think it's responsible for us to do that, and it's something I intend to do.

I also think on a positive note, uh, I I do think that the people who stepped forward to present today uh did so with uh with an important uh feeling that there needs to be change in the community.

Now we can deliberate as to how that works.

We can deliberate as to what we like and what we don't, but I think it's important to give credit where credit is due and talk about how important change is in the unincorporated community.

And it's clear that some things do need fixing.

I'm not gonna elucidate that right now, but I do think uh we do we can do better, and the community wants us to do better.

Thank you.

Okay, so I need more Mac members, all right.

So uh Supervisor Tam wanted me to um to speak first.

Um the uh top two recommendations a process, a budget input process, and that's even what the PowerPoint uh in the title on the agenda was unincorporated community budget input process.

So I do uh think it's important that we figure out if their mechanisms for um uh improving that process based on the feedback we've received verbally as well as um any feedback uh in writing here, and um once again I've said this at the unincorporated services meeting in the past.

I would like, and it's come at the board meetings too, uh, when we were voting on the uh county budget.

I would like for um the budget committee for the board of supervisors, which is Supervisor Halbert and Tam, to figure out how we can improve uh the process uh for the unincorporated area based on, you know, you've come up with um this diagram on page 11.

Um proposed community involvement budget process cycle.

Now, maybe this is a good cycle, maybe it isn't.

Uh, but I I would really like for that um committee, and I don't direct that committee, um, to go back and work with the county administrator's office, and I'm not only listening as well to see whether or not there are things we can do to improve the budget process.

I know there are things we've already done, and maybe uh we can report out on that as well at a future unincorporated uh services committee, but report out what on what we've already done, but also continue to see how we can improve the process.

Um we've got some recommendations uh in terms of how we might pursue that.

So I think that's directly related at uh tonight's agenda as item number one.

That's the first thing I would uh suggest, and then I've also suggested too that part of that process uh include the MACs, because the MACs are the official community arm for the county.

Um we cannot bypass the MACs.

The MACs need to be a part of that process, um, and may you know, and once again, I'm not gonna go down any particular um route in terms of what that might look like, but I really do think we need to struggle with that, and I'm hoping that I can get Supervisor Tam and Halbert uh to look at that because you know, the three of us, Tam, Halbert, and Miley, we represent the unincorporated area.

David's got the rural area, uh, East County.

I represent one portion of that.

Uh Lena's got a portion of the urban area, and I've got a portion of the Arabian area, and um Lena's reminded me that I've got 80% of the 87% of the unincorporated area.

Um I think if I can get the two of them work with the county administrator's office to take what is here, take what we've heard this evening, and come back to the unincorporated services committee with um some suggestions and recommendations that we could then uh hear and vet publicly, and then uh and then maybe uh hopefully if it includes the MACs, just send it to the MAX so the MACs have a chance to um apply on on the process that we might be um uh considering in the future.

So that's the first thing.

And then the second thing uh in terms of recommendations, uh number two was the office on incorporate services, and as Claudia's already pointed out, the board's already made a decision to explore that.

Once again, no decisions have made on if we're gonna create this office, but it's another step in terms of of looking at the potential for this office because I've heard feedback from folks this evening.

Some like it, some don't like it, uh, some have questions about it, some are very much supportive of a potential office.

But once again, um I know Dale kind of spoke about how it might work.

Peter had questions about it.

I know um Vanessa got a little bit more clarity, but none of this has been decided.

None of it's been decided.

That's why I've already agreed to utilize some of my office's budget uh resources to pay a consultant, which the board has approved, uh, to begin looking at what an office of unincorporated services might, you know, what its scope of service uh scope of work would be.

Um would it be one person, two people, uh, where would it be housed, um, what would interest responsibilities be, etc.

So none of that.

None of that has been decided, and there are no hidden agendas because I can't even tell you if the board would support it.

Maybe the board would, maybe the board won't.

I know for a fact, Lena, so as Dan pointed out this evening, and I co-signed that the counties dealing with a lot of um financial fiscal uncertainties.

We are in this a storm because of the administration in Washington making certain actions that are affecting counties, as well as as an example Prop one passing in this state, and how that's affecting us well out of Sacramento.

Uh so there's a lot of things that we've got to consider that are directly in line with mandated responsibilities to ensure safety and that services.

An office of unincorporated services is not a mandated responsibility, so the board of supervisors might decide we don't need an office, but maybe we'll decide we'll need an office because it adds value to our ability to ensure appropriate delivery of services in the unincorporated area, efficiencies in an uncorporated area, and maybe it'll help us raise additional monies for the unincorporated area.

All of that are possibilities, but we don't know any of that just yet.

That's why we're gonna have this consultant do this um six-month uh study, and then the board will review that and decide um the next steps.

Because we do think if the board wants to pursue this, there are some next steps associated with creating this this office of unincorporated services.

So I just want to be clear, nothing has been decided on that.

Um then I just want to mention, you know, the county does not return to source in terms of uh its discretionary resources.

If we return to source, our discretionary resources would be going to the communities that produce the most taxes.

Um the money that the county raises that is discretionary doesn't go back to those communities where we raise the most money, it goes back to where the needs are.

So if you're pointing out needs and services and things of that nature, that's where we need to invest our discretionary revenue.

And we've heard over time code enforcement is one of those things.

I'll just tell you anecdotally, in the past, when we had redevelopment, we use redevelopment money to bring on additional code enforcement.

Uh, and we targeted in Turin, for example.

Um, we no longer have redevelopment monies.

So I know it's up to the agency uh to figure out how we can get additional resources into uh code enforcement, because people are asking for that, with this like the sidewalk vending ordinance example.

Uh, so we need to figure out how we can get more resources there.

Uh, and so that's something I know the agency, um, the community development agency is struggling with, so we can uh indicate uh that level of services that people are expecting.

The um the other thing I would say is uh I know the Macs are frustrated in terms of when you make recommendations to the board that you want to see the board uh rubber stamp those recommendations.

If we did that, then you wouldn't be advisory.

Um, and under the law, you are advisory.

So I mean we've had this conversation in the past, some of you are new.

I would suggest that probably 90% of the things that ultimately get to the board from the MAX, we support.

And if it's not 90%, it's I know it's greater than 75 or 80 percent.

I'm sure of that, but there are some issues like the housing element, um, like um the um the uh what was it?

Uh the dealing with the um the mutt butt mutton busting, uh that issue.

Uh, there were some issues, mud and busting.

Some of you are in the hack area know about that, uh, where the board has not supported um what the community wanted, but I think uh greater than 75% to 80%, it just is uh supported, and we often ask what's the position of the MAX.

And when the MACs and the BZA and the planning commission are generally on the same page, I think the board generally supports that.

But by law, um your advisory, and if we were doing if we were just rubber stamping everything, I thought I think there would be uh potential legal challenges uh to that.

But Sally asked, and I know Chuck's been clamoring about this as well.

We can explore how we can provide more decision-making authorities to the MACs, either as area planning commissions or even giving you BZA authorities in one sense, and we have we've had legal analysis on this in one sense, you would be sitting as a Mac, then you finish your Mac business, adjourn, and then you could be um reconvene and um become either the area planning commission or BZA.

Um, so we have to talk more about that because I think some of that's new to a lot of folks, but we did look at that back in the early 2000s, but maybe we're at a point now where we need to earnestly pursue that with a couple of the MACs that are at the maturity level to undertake that responsibility, and if we did that, we'd have to see how that uh would impact the present BZA and the present planning commission, because you know the staff only has so much capacity.

So if we create additional BZAs and we still have the other BCA and we still have the other planning commission, Albert, wherever he is around is somewhere in Sandy I mean their staff then would have to do even more work than what they're presently doing.

So we only have so much capacity.

So we have to really look at that very carefully um it would help you with decision making but we might not have the ability to pull that off and be effective um and then the final thing I would say is I don't have said a lot recommendations three three uh to twelve I would like and if supervisor Tam is supportive of this I would like for recommendations three to twelve to be referred back to the county uh agencies and departments that's a library CDA Fire Sheriff and public works to look at recommendations three through twelve and um give us your thoughts on these in some cases they're complaining a lot of the complaints around public works but I don't want to just say it's all about public works but I'd like to look at recommendations three through twelve and and report back to us at the unincorporated services committee and the public would be privy to that on your responses to these recommendations.

That's what I think should be done and then based on those responses we can determine if we are actually undertaking and doing that or if we need to do more associated with that um or if we have to hold certain county department heads or agency heads the chief the CDA director the public works director the librarian more accountable now remind you the sheriff's elected so we can't we know the board we don't boss the sheriff around we have budget authority but we don't boss the sheriff round and besides she has a gun and a badge so that's what I suggested recommendations three through twelve because I do think it's important you know um Claudia the budget justice committee and and others they spent a lot of time working on this they went to a lot of meetings they put a lot of thought into it Natalie etc so I don't think we should just dismiss it we should really look at what they're what they've come up with and then respond to that okay so that's kind of where I am I said a lot to Professor Tan uh let's see what you uh have to say thank you Chair Miley I defer to you because you have 87% almost 90% of the unincorporated area but uh this is my first big the level of engagement and especially um the mentoring of the young people to speak uh is very impressive because you know everybody here all the members that spoke even the ones that were not that outspoken uh they care very deeply about the unincorporated area they very much want to see the unincorporated area shine and succeed and and that is all what we're doing right now where we may have different approaches we may have different impressions of what an office of unincorporated area means but um one of the things I've observed in terms of the culture of the board of supervisors we put a lot of deference into supervisor miley when it comes to the unincorporated areas even the supervisors that do not represent the unincorporated especially after supervising Miley yelled at one of them but that that was ever since then whatever he wants goes with the unincorporated except for some things that have countywide implications um but uh you know all kidding aside his staff and his uh service to the unincorporated has been phenomenal you see it when you guys talk about permitting you know he the the transportation and planning committee gets on it uh in terms of streamlining business licenses you know we we talk about that with CDA we try to get public works to be more responsive when it comes to the sidewalks we didn't know that some people in the welling didn't want sidewalks and the other people do want sidewalks so we're trying to reconcile the two but I I think um going forward I'm comfortable working with the county administrator's office and uh supervisor halbert president halbert on trying to find a way in which we can uh make our budget process more um engaging with the unincorporated community and and we'll talk about what that could look like in specificity maybe it might uh require that we work with the consultant that is under recommendation two to help us convene or facilitate another big Mac meeting and then maybe like parse out the services that are tied to the unincorporated area I think that um the issues around the remaining recommendations three to twelve there they're more about the culture of government it's it's being responsive having good commit community services um making sure the community is aware of what services we have because you know a lot of them didn't even know what the Wilmachan Family Resource Center offered and getting that information out there you know it's it's a two way street we have to do a better job of it as well as making sure they knew and and maybe that involves trying to work with um a more robust um website or other technological uh resources that we can use so I you know I I'm supportive of where you're going with this in terms of you know working on a better budget input process uh working um since we already spent your money on the consultant for the unincorporated um services office and um moving forward in working with all the departments to be more responsive to the unincorporated area.

So you're I just want to reiterate reiterate so we'll bring back to the unincorporated services committee Tona who's on my staff and once again I think um Chris mentioned it uh it's not as though Lena's office my office get additional resources or Albert's office get additional resources for the unincorporated area and as we put out counties are different than cities um we have the same uh all five of us uh supervisors have the same responsibilities even though three of us represent uh the unincorporated communities whereas everybody else um the other two just represent cities that have you know city councils city managers um uh mayors etc so we have all the responsibility that they have plus the unincorporated area but we don't get additional resources uh to undertake that so I just wanted to emphasize that so I want to have supervisor dam I think supported this I want to have the uh she's gonna talk talk to Supervisor Halbert and work with the county administrator's office on the budget process and I'd like to have that hopefully with Supervisor Tams agreement have that uh report back to the committee corporate services committee at some point uh next year so we understand what the thinking is around that process um got a lot of possibilities and then also I'd like to have the the county administrators office to report back on what they've undertaken already to improve the process because I know they've done stuff then and then we can you know it's a public meeting everyone can listen to that and if necessary we'll we can refer things to the MAX.

Vim uh we'll have the Office of the Corporate Services will take a look at that and see what the consultant comes up with and we'll report back on that as well.

Once again, nothing's been decided on creating that office.

We're just exploring it.

We uh we'll need to ponder the whole thing around um two of the Macs interest in getting more decision making authority.

How we might approach that, because um you've expressed that interest.

And then I do think Dan was right.

The uh EDMAC, if folks aren't coming to you, you um we need you to do a better job of helping you ensure that people are respecting you and coming to you as the voice.

The county's and body for the unincorporated area of Ashland, Cherry Land, and San Lorenzo.

Then um, and then recommendations three through twelve.

I'd like to count the five county agencies and our departments to look at those and then be prepared to come back at an incorporated services committee meeting to talk about um your thoughts on how if you're implementing those, if you're not implementing any implementing them, or what you're doing to address what they've come up with around those um uh recommendations three through twelve.

And I'll rely on Tona to figure out uh with Supervisor Tam's office when we'll get all this uh scheduled for unincorporated services next year, because I don't think we'll be taking taking it all up at one meeting.

Okay, so it's about 9 30.

It's been a very lengthy evening.

We've heard a lot.

I appreciate everybody who's stayed for this and folks who are online who've listened to it.

I definitely appreciate the Macs, because once again, I know you guys don't get paid to do this.

We get paid, Lena and I, you hire us, we've got staff that get paid, but I know you don't get paid.

So the fact that you sacrifice your evening to listen to this and be a part of this, I think is really important.

And I think a number of you have expressed how you've learned from this, but also how this has been not only informative but might be helpful as you move forward and with your responsibilities on the Mac.

Now, if we have to convene another one of these, we'll consider that.

We're not opposed to it, but we don't convene these lightly.

When we do convene these, we want it to be because it's really significant and important that we do that.

Okay, happy holidays.

We're adjourned.