Alameda County Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting – March 24, 2026

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors held its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with four members present (Supervisors Marquez, Tam, Miley, and Fortunato Bass) and President Halbert excused. The meeting included multiple proclamations honoring community leaders and retiring county officials, votes on consent and regular calendar items, and closed session reports.

Closed Session Report

• Settlement Approved: The Board approved a $75,000 settlement in the case of Sanchez v. City of Hayward (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. 3:14-cv-01394-AGT). The vote was unanimous (Supervisors Miley, Halbert, Tam, Marquez, and Fortunato Bass voting yes).

Proclamations and Commendations

• Women's History Month (Item 52): The Board proclaimed March 2026 as Women's History Month and honored five women: Dr. Rose A. King Etua (engineering education), Jennifer Hawkins (Union City Family Center), Jane Garcia (La Clinica de la Raza, retiring), Terracita de Jesus (community advocacy), and Dr. Aisha Mays (Dream Youth Clinic). Each honoree spoke.
• Commendation for Donna Ziegler (Item 53): Recognized for 26 years of service, including 14 years as County Counsel—the first woman and first African American to hold that role in Alameda County. The Board also authorized adding seven new positions to the County Counsel's office (Item 26, part of consent calendar).
• Commendation for Tim Dupuy (Item 54): Recognized for 26 years of service as Chief Technology Officer, CIO, and Registrar of Voters. Under his leadership, the county was named the #1 digital county for large counties twice.
• Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (Item 55): Proclaimed March 2026. Honored Friends of Children with Special Needs, now serving over 1,500 families.
• Senior Nutrition Month (Item 56): Proclaimed March 2026. Noted that Alameda County's nutrition programs provide over 600,000 home-delivered meals, 130,000 bags of groceries, and 200,000 congregate meals annually.
• Weights and Measures Week (Item 57): Proclaimed March 15–21, 2026. Recognized staff who inspect over 72,000 measuring devices and 4,800 weighing devices countywide with only 8 FTEs.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes Approval: Approved minutes from March 10 (two special meetings) and March 16 (budget workgroup).
• Consent Items (58–61): Approved unanimously.
• Mass Motion (Items 2–51, excluding certain items): Approved with comments on specific items. Included approval of item 26 (seven new County Counsel positions).

Discussion Items

• Items 14 and 15 – Epic EHR Implementation and CalAIM: Supervisors Marquez and Fortunato Bass expressed support for the Epic electronic health record system implementation, noting its long-term benefits. Supervisor Fortunato Bass highlighted the use of MHSA trust funds and the need for fiscal prudence given federal funding uncertainties. Interim AC Health Director Anika Chandry confirmed that the MHSA trust fund had been set aside for technology and that the Epic go-live is approximately one year away.
• Item 18 – Illegal Dumping Conference: Supervisor Miley promoted the 5th Annual Statewide Illegal Dumping Conference, April 30–May 1, 2026, in Alameda County, sponsored by Waste Management.
• Item 38 – Interim CIO Appointment: Appointed Rom Gura Murphy as Interim Chief Information Officer, effective March 29, 2026, at biweekly compensation of $12,065.60, pending a permanent recruitment. Murphy expressed commitment to maintaining the team's award-winning performance.
• Item 39 – Alameda Health System (AHS) Budget Strategies: The Board approved short-term measures to assist AHS with its FY 2025–26 budget imbalance: (1) reducing the specialty mental health contract payment withhold from 20% to 10% effective immediately, and (2) amending AHS's debt repayment agreement to increase the fiscal year-end net negative balance limit to $100 million for FY26 and FY27, and increasing the intra-year maximum from $50 million to $100 million for those years. These measures aim to offset the $14 million fiscal impact of deferring planned reductions in force (delayed until June 30, 2026 per Board direction). AHS leadership thanked the Board for creative collaboration. A subcommittee task force will address long-term solutions.
• Items 33 and 47 – Ordinances:
  • Item 33: Approved second reading of salary ordinance amendments (unanimous).
  • Item 34: Items B and C (first reading of salary ordinance amendments and MOU changes) were continued to the next regular meeting for correction. Item 34A (first reading of MOU amendments) passed and will return for second reading.
  • Item 47: Approved second reading of a traffic code amendment for unincorporated areas (unanimous).

Public Comments & Testimony

• On Agenda Items (early session): Samuel Ramey and others spoke on items 6, 11, 12, 19, etc., referencing complex legal claims, but time expired on most.
• On Non-Agenda Items (end of meeting):
  • Harold Bryant: Expressed frustration with illegal dumping in Oakland, alleging vendors are unregistered and that enforcement officials (Ronald Browder, Antonio Golair) are not performing their duties. He urged Board action.
  • Another speaker made references to military orders and claims of planted nuclear warheads, identifying as a prisoner of war.
  • A speaker advocated for alternative medicine over conventional medicine.
  • Kelly: Cited a Mercury News article from Thanksgiving 2025 criticizing the county's litigation strategy as costing taxpayers millions, and noted that the legal staff grew 43% (from 35 to 50 attorneys) over 15 years while county population grew only 6%.
  • Wendy Peterson (Senior Services Coalition): Urgently warned that Area Agency on Aging (AAA) RFPs are delayed; current contracts expire June 30 (99 days away). She requested stability and continuity for seniors.

Key Outcomes

• Approved Settlement: Unanimous approval of $75,000 settlement in Sanchez case.
• Approved Proclamations: All five proclamations and commendations were adopted.
• Approved Consent and Mass Motion: All items except those pulled for comment were approved.
• Approved Interim CIO: Appointment of Rom Gura Murphy effective March 29, 2026.
• Approved AHS Budget Strategies: Measures to reduce fiscal pressure on AHS, including contract payment withhold reduction and debt repayment modification, effective immediately.
• Approved Ordinances: Items 33 and 47 adopted; Item 34 continued for correction.
• Directed Deferral of AHS Reductions: Continued deferral of reductions in force until June 30, 2026.
• Noted Future Actions: AHS subcommittee task force to address long-term budget issues; AAA procurement timeline concerns to be addressed.

Adjournment

The meeting reconvened from closed session without additional reportable items and adjourned.