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Record of Proceedings

Law and Legislation Committee Meeting – September 15, 2020: Workforce Equity and Redefining Public Safety

Law and Legislation Committee — Tuesday, September 15, 2020
BodySacramento, California
SessionLaw and Legislation Committee
DateTuesday, September 15, 2020
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:08

Okay, uh welcome everyone.

0:10

I want to call this meeting of the law and legislation committee to order.

0:15

Uh please call the role to establish a quorum, Madam Clerk.

0:18

Thank you, Councilmember Harris.

0:20

Here.

0:21

Vice Chair Hansen.

0:24

Councilmember Getta.

0:25

Here.

0:26

And Chair Shaneer.

0:28

Here.

0:31

Okay.

0:32

Anything you need to read?

0:34

Okay, we are good to go.

0:36

We have uh our consent calendar and then two important items today.

0:42

And so let's go ahead with the consent calendar.

0:45

Uh any comments on the log?

0:47

Yeah, Chair.

0:48

Um, I do have a comment.

0:50

Uh I'll move consent.

0:52

Uh, do we have a date certain yet for bringing back the leaf blower restriction ordinance?

0:57

Uh we're looking at October to see where we are on uh the agendas.

1:03

So we'll get back to you this week.

1:06

Okay, I bring it up because you know, in this period of AQI and the unhealthy zone, we've seen an awful lot of leaf blowers out, and um, I've received many, many calls about this.

1:18

So I think the time is appropriate to bring it back as soon as possible.

1:23

Thank you.

1:23

Okay.

1:24

Well, second motion and uh concur.

1:28

All right.

1:28

So I have a motion and a second.

1:30

Please call the roll on that item.

1:32

Thank you.

1:32

Councilmember Harris.

1:34

Aye.

1:37

Hi.

1:38

Councilmember Getta.

1:40

Hi.

1:40

And Chair Shaneer.

1:42

Hi.

1:45

Okay.

1:46

So that vote is unanimous.

1:48

Uh we will move on to item two, which is strategic actions on workforce equity.

1:55

Um, let me just say a couple of words.

1:58

Uh, and then I want to turn it over to Mr.

2:00

Gera to say a couple of words before we get started.

2:03

And this is something that he has worked hard to bring to this committee.

2:07

Um, we as a council have it's it's really interesting looking at a completely empty chambers here.

2:14

Um, but we we as a council have made it a priority to look at gender and race and do the work that is necessary to make this city um really looking forward about how we work together, the diversity of the city, the diversity of the city workforce, but then also how we work with our communities.

2:39

Um we have a lot of work to do, but where we started was hiring uh a diversity officer here to take charge on the work itself.

2:52

Ami Barnes has done a wonderful job over the last year and a half, and we are here today not to make great decisions, but to learn where we are as a stepping stone towards the goals that we have and think hard about what we should be doing to move the process forward.

3:13

Um the community really has called for this, and I think that this council has responded and said this is a priority, starting from gender equity, which we've been working on for a couple of years, but then also um to equity across the board.

3:32

We are doing something today that generally would take a full day, and we're gonna fit it into a couple of hours here working with race forward.

3:41

Um but but they have been doing this work across the state of California with the administration and I think our experts in the field.

3:52

So I I'm excited about this.

3:54

I'm excited to again get an update on where we are to understand what we need to do.

4:01

This is there's no silver bullets to this.

4:03

This is a lot of hard work within the departments in the city, and then a lot of hard work with the council and the community.

4:11

But I truly believe that we're up for it, and I'm looking forward to moving forward.

4:17

So, Mr.

4:17

Gera, do you have a few words you'd like to say to help us get started as well?

4:21

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Racial Equity Committee█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Public Safety█████████11%
Workforce Development███████9%
Community Engagement██████8%
Procedural████5%
Youth Services███4%
Equity Analysis██2%
Public Health██2%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Law and Legislation Committee Meeting – September 15, 2020: Workforce Equity and Redefining Public Safety

The Sacramento City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee met via teleconference on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, from 1:03 p.m. to 3:26 p.m. The committee considered three agenda items: the consent calendar (Law and Legislation Log), a discussion on strategic actions for workforce equity, and a resolution to redefine public safety. The meeting focused on advancing racial equity within city government and broadening the definition of public safety to include youth-focused prevention services.

Consent Calendar

  • The committee unanimously approved the Law and Legislation Log (File ID 2020-00969) as part of the consent calendar. Councilmember Harris inquired about the timeline for bringing back a leaf blower restriction ordinance; staff indicated a possible return in October 2020.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 2 (Strategic Actions on Workforce Equity): No public comments were received.
  • Item 3 (Resolution to Redefine Public Safety): Two callers spoke in support:
    • Mia Mooreweather, speaking on behalf of Sacramento Kids First (District 4), expressed full support for the resolution, stating that broadening public safety to include youth-focused prevention services is essential for healing youth who have suffered marginalization and trauma. She emphasized that youth should be recognized as leaders and experts in their own lives.
    • Emily Kawada, Chair of the Sacramento Youth Commission (District 1), thanked Councilmember Schenirer for engaging the commission and noted the commission’s unanimous vote to support the resolution. She highlighted that the resolution incorporates youth voice through survey results and quotes, reflecting a more inclusive approach.
  • Written support from the Sacramento Kids First coalition, representing 26 community organizations and 1,215 members, was also submitted and made part of the agenda.

Discussion Items

  1. Strategic Actions on Workforce Equity (File ID 2020-01101)

    • The committee received a presentation from Race Forward (Jesse Lobos and Nora Liu) on models and best practices for elected officials to advance racial equity. The presentation covered the history of structural racism in government, the importance of disaggregating data by race, and the use of a Racial Equity Toolkit (six steps) to transform policies and practices.
    • Aimee Z. Barnes, Diversity & Equity Manager, presented the city’s workforce equity efforts since joining the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) cohort in December 2018. She outlined the draft Race and Gender Equity Action Plan for workforce equity, which includes a 43-point equity assessment strategy, departmental equity teams, and performance indicators.
    • Councilmembers discussed the need for a working group, performance metrics, and sustained community engagement. Councilmember Schenirer committed to forming a working group with the mayor and bringing quarterly reports to the council.

  2. Resolution to Redefine Public Safety (File ID 2020-01070)

    • D’Angelo Mack, Director of State Policy for Public Health Advocates, presented the resolution on behalf of a community collective. He explained the process of engaging youth and community-based organizations (over 25 groups represented at a February 2020 town hall) to redefine public safety to include youth-focused prevention services, emergency response, and a clear acknowledgment of historical structural racism.
    • Chair Schenirer emphasized that the resolution is a policy statement, not an immediate operational change. It broadens the definition of public safety beyond police and fire to include prevention programs, youth development, and community-based services.
    • Councilmember Harris expressed support for the resolution but noted the need for a broader conversation on family structure, economic opportunity, and the role of the Office of Community Response. He requested feedback from public safety representatives. The resolution had been shared with police and fire chiefs and was well-received.
    • The committee voted unanimously to forward the resolution to the City Council for consideration.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: The Law and Legislation Log was approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Workforce Equity: The committee received and discussed the presentation. Next steps include forming a council-staff-community working group, developing a work plan with community engagement, and providing quarterly reports to the council.
  • Resolution to Redefine Public Safety: The committee passed a motion (4-0) to forward the resolution to the City Council for full consideration. The resolution is expected to be placed on a future council agenda.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:26 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, uh welcome everyone. I want to call this meeting of the law and legislation committee to order. Uh please call the role to establish a quorum, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Councilmember Harris. Here. Vice Chair Hansen. Councilmember Getta. Here. And Chair Shaneer. Here. Okay. Anything you need to read? Okay, we are good to go. We have uh our consent calendar and then two important items today. And so let's go ahead with the consent calendar. Uh any comments on the log? Yeah, Chair. Um, I do have a comment. Uh I'll move consent. Uh, do we have a date certain yet for bringing back the leaf blower restriction ordinance? Uh we're looking at October to see where we are on uh the agendas. So we'll get back to you this week. Okay, I bring it up because you know, in this period of AQI and the unhealthy zone, we've seen an awful lot of leaf blowers out, and um, I've received many, many calls about this. So I think the time is appropriate to bring it back as soon as possible. Thank you. Okay. Well, second motion and uh concur. All right. So I have a motion and a second. Please call the roll on that item. Thank you. Councilmember Harris. Aye. Hi. Councilmember Getta. Hi. And Chair Shaneer. Hi. Okay. So that vote is unanimous. Uh we will move on to item two, which is strategic actions on workforce equity. Um, let me just say a couple of words. Uh, and then I want to turn it over to Mr. Gera to say a couple of words before we get started. And this is something that he has worked hard to bring to this committee. Um, we as a council have it's it's really interesting looking at a completely empty chambers here. Um, but we we as a council have made it a priority to look at gender and race and do the work that is necessary to make this city um really looking forward about how we work together, the diversity of the city, the diversity of the city workforce, but then also how we work with our communities. Um we have a lot of work to do, but where we started was hiring uh a diversity officer here to take charge on the work itself. Ami Barnes has done a wonderful job over the last year and a half, and we are here today not to make great decisions, but to learn where we are as a stepping stone towards the goals that we have and think hard about what we should be doing to move the process forward. Um the community really has called for this, and I think that this council has responded and said this is a priority, starting from gender equity, which we've been working on for a couple of years, but then also um to equity across the board.

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