Personnel & Public Employees Committee Special Meeting on Measure U Advisory Committee – Feb 19, 2019
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Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting – February 19, 2019
The Personnel and Public Employees Committee held a special meeting on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, Sacramento, to review applications for the Measure U Community Advisory Committee. The committee discussed selecting members for Seats J (taxpayer organization representative), K (housing/homelessness expertise), L (youth, ages 16–24), M (economic development), N (trauma/mental health/crime reduction), and O (youth/adult education/public health/environmental justice). Over 190 applications were received, reflecting strong community interest.
Discussion Items
- Application Review and Eligibility Verification: Councilmember Ashby noted that applicants self-selected categories and may not meet official criteria; she requested verification by the City Clerk and City Attorney. Examples included Nicholas Hydorn (Common Cause) possibly qualifying for the taxpayer seat (J) and Amanda Blackwood (known taxpayer advocate) not having checked that box. Councilmember Hansen pointed out that an applicant from Hacker Lab likely does not meet the taxpayer organization definition. Residency eligibility was also questioned for one candidate (Cahim Morton).
- Interview Process and Timeline: Mayor Steinberg suggested interviewing a broad pool (30–35 people) with two-minute slots, then slotting selected individuals into appropriate categories afterward. Chair Carr emphasized the need for a quick timeline to avoid delays in disbursing Measure U funds; interviews were scheduled for the following week (February 26). The committee agreed to vet the list within 36 hours, publish an agenda by Thursday, and aim to complete appointments by the end of March. Councilmember Hansen noted that some council members had not yet submitted their final selections; a cutoff date was discussed, with the possibility of the committee filling those seats if names were not provided.
- Potential Overlap with Investment Committee: Mayor Steinberg mentioned that some applicants might be better suited for the city manager‐appointed Investment Committee, allowing cross‐placement.
Key Outcomes
- The committee provided direction to the City Clerk to verify eligibility of the 37 candidates on the tentative list (including residency, category fit, and potential conflicts) within the next 36 hours.
- Vetted applicants will be invited to interview before the Personnel and Public Employees Committee on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. If needed, an additional meeting will be scheduled in early March to finalize appointments.
- The committee will notify council members who have not yet submitted their selections to do so by a date certain to narrow the interview list.
Meeting Transcript
Certainly. Member Ashby. Here. Member Hansen. Mayor Steinberg? Chair Carr? Here. We have a quorum if you're here today to speak to the committee. Um please fill out a speaker slip. You'll find them in the back window and turn into the assistant clerk. You would also see the assistant clerk for these speaking and listening devices. This would be the time to turn your cell phones and any other devices to silent. Would you please uh join me in the pledge to the flag? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America into the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible of liberty and justice for all. Okay. We have one function to perform at this meeting. We received a hundred and ninety applications for the measure you advisory committee. The members have selected the names of the people that they think should be considered. And you also have a handout with those names by seat. So the task before us is to decide how we are going to go about selecting the members for the measure you oversight committee. Councilmember Ashby. Thank you, Chair Carr. Uh I know that the clerk has brought forward a compiled list of sort of our first take at these, but um I had a couple questions, and I think Councilmember Hansen has some similar questions. I want to uh make sure in our I think we probably we might need to go through one more round of looking at the names, and the reason why is because the folks that the categories I do not believe were verified by the clerk. So for example, in category J, where the person needs to come from a bona fide taxpayer organization, that may be confusing to the person filling out the form whether or not their organization is qualifies under bona fide taxpayer organization, and I don't know if the folks selected would meet our official criteria based on the city attorney's review. And I also believe there may be some people on our list that could potentially be in that category. For example, Nicholas Hydorn is works for Common Cause, which is a pretty well-known organization that gets involved in taxpayer discussions, so that might be one, or I notice there are at least two candidates that are involved with the Metro Chamber that might be considered uh a bona fide taxpayer organization, but I would need to compare that against the folks that have applied looking at their applications. I'm not sure if it meets and all three of the candidates in that or all of the candidates there that have been selected by council members also qualify in other categories, so they potentially could be. And I would also like to know since we're trying to reduce numbers, if any of our council colleagues, besides obviously the three or four of us have made their final selections as well, because if they have that might be in another individual that we wouldn't interview because they're going to be in a council seat. There are um candidates and they are not on this list. Right. Uh well they are on this list. They have been they have been nominated or they have not been nominated. I will double check right now, but I believe they've been removed from what's in front of the case. Let's be clear. I think for council member carr, council member Hansen, councilmember Harris, and myself, we have identified our person, and they have been removed from this list. The other council members and mayor have some people in mind, and those people are still on this list. Correct. I'm gonna give you a really great example. Flo on Flohan. We all call her Flo. She is still on this list, but I also know that the council member from District Five is giving her strong consideration. So and I think intends to choose her if not selected by this committee. So it I think we there might be an opportunity. I know some of my colleagues want to pare the list down. That might be another way. Just those are the three ways I'm thinking of. Yeah. I also I personally added Cahim Morton on here, but Councilmember Hansen believes he may no longer be eligible based on residency.
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