Sacramento Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting - June 29, 2021

The Sacramento Personnel and Public Employees Committee (P&PE) held a special teleconference meeting on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 10:03 a.m. to 11:14 a.m., in accordance with Governor's Executive Order N-29-20 and the City's COVID-19 local emergency resolution. Chair Angelique Ashby (District 1) presided with members Katie Valenzuela (District 4), Sean Loloee (District 2), and Jeff Harris (District 3) present, constituting a quorum. The meeting covered three agenda items: staff recommendations for a new Animal Welfare Commission Ordinance, interviews for the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee, and establishing annual performance metrics for City Council appointive officers.

Item 1: Staff Recommendations for a New Animal Welfare Commission Ordinance

Phillip Zimmerman, Animal Care Services Manager, presented initial recommendations for a new Animal Welfare Commission, highlighting three major changes from the current committee structure: (1) standard four-year term limits, (2) a city of Sacramento residency requirement (the current advisory committee allows Sacramento County residents), and (3) requiring meetings to comply with the Brown Act as public meetings rather than being held at the shelter. Zimmerman noted a community survey is being finalized with the city auditor's office and would inform additional recommendations.

One public caller expressed confusion about the proposed changes, stating they were unsure if the changes were good ones. The caller argued that the current committee's purpose already covered policy and legislative advice, questioned whether four-year terms and city residency were truly standard across all 33 city boards and commissions (noting only 21 of 33 use four-year terms), and expressed concern about a sunset clause not seen in other boards.

Councilmember Harris questioned the proposed quorum of five of seven members, asking why not the standard four-member quorum; Zimmerman acknowledged it may have been a typo. Chair Ashby clarified that the proposal would not go to the Law and Legislation Committee—P&PE handles its own committee and commission changes and would forward directly to the full City Council. Ashby stated the three governance recommendations (term limits, city residency, Brown Act compliance) should be non-controversial and directed Zimmerman to include them in his final proposal. Councilmember Valenzuela emphasized the importance of continuity and institutional knowledge, citing a returning applicant who has been patiently waiting for the committee to restart. Harris also asked about staggering terms and how the two-full-term limit interacts with an initial one-year term; Zimmerman clarified appointees could serve the initial term plus two additional four-year terms. No formal vote was taken; the committee provided direction for staff to return with a more complete package.

Item 2: Interviews for the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee

The committee conducted interviews for seven seats (A through G) on the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee, continuing from March 9, 2021. Three candidates withdrew prior to the meeting: Christopher Wooten, Ashley Hoffman, and Robert Shanks. Twelve candidates were interviewed live, with five additional applicants not present:

• Cynthia Karsten (Seat A) – Board-certified veterinarian specializing in shelter medicine, a field focused on individual animal care, herd health, and population management.
• Kenn Altine (Seats B, C, or D) – CEO of the Sacramento SPCA, served on the committee in 2017-2018, 10 years in animal welfare, runs one of the largest spay/neuter clinics in the nation performing more than 18,000 surgeries annually, and serves on the state animal welfare association legislative committee. He emphasized the partnership between the SPCA, Front Street Shelter, and county shelter.
• Denise Bell (Seats C and D) – Retired pediatric nurse performing trap-neuter-return for cats in the community for 7-8 years, engaging with residents about city shelter needs.
• Elise Mize – Grew up in Meadowview and lived in Del Paso Heights, administers the largest lost-and-found Facebook group for the Sacramento area, fosters for a rescue, and noted she lives in Sacramento County (approximately one mile from the shelter director), making her potentially ineligible if the city residency change is adopted.
• Julie Virga – Sacramento native, longtime volunteer, foster, and fundraiser for Front Street Animal Shelter, and a real estate broker who served on Sacramento Association of Realtors committees.
• Dawn Basciano – Born and raised in Sacramento, lead project manager for the Office of Legal Services at the State Department of Public Health, with background in project management, policy, regulatory development, and community engagement. Ashby noted she was the lone candidate from District 1.
• Linda Morgan – Coordinator for community outreach, education, and intervention at Sacramento Feral Resources (8 years), focused on feral cats and proactive rather than reactive approaches.
• Dawn Tomita – 53-year Sacramento resident, described having four rescue dogs, over 50 adopted hamsters, three rabbits, a cat, and currently fostering two kittens; she expressed a desire to help Front Street improve.
• Hilary Bagley-Franzoia – Recently retired veteran prosecutor from the DA's office who worked on animal abuse and cruelty cases for 30 years, chaired the Sacramento County cruelty task force, and worked on anti-pound seizure and euthanasia reform initiatives.
• Jessica Rewers McCabe – Master's degree in public policy, adopted her dog from Front Street, worked on the collaborative "There is No Poop Fairy" social outreach video and Pups in the Parkway program.
• Kathleen Garcia – Registered nurse with prior service on the previous advisory committee, worked with former staff member Gina Nepp on a zip-code-based statistical survey of community perceptions of the shelter 3-4 years ago, and adopted a special-needs dog from Front Street 11 years ago.
• Leah Morris – Retired after 40 years in human health care as a family nurse practitioner, including early team-building for Covered California, with experience in program development, legislative process, and serving families facing stress or loss.

Chair Ashby requested that staff assess whether Hilary Bagley-Franzoia might qualify for additional seat categories beyond those she initially identified, given her extensive cruelty-unit experience. Ashby also asked Philip Zimmerman to consider expanding the commission from seven to nine members to accommodate the high level of qualified interest and diversity of perspectives (citing the varied animal interests represented, from hamsters to rabbits to cats and dogs); Councilmember Harris noted that a nine-member board would also make the proposed five-member quorum work. The committee continued the item to the next meeting for nominations, and Ashby encouraged applicants not selected to reapply. The clerk noted there were no phone callers for this item.

Item 3: Establishing Annual City Council Appointive Officer Performance Metrics and Evaluations

Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk, presented a request from the Mayor to create clear communications and metrics for performance evaluations of direct reports to the City Council, with P&PE serving as the reviewing body. Chair Ashby noted a related request is coming to P&PE to annually review city committees and commissions, and suggested the two efforts be combined for efficiency. Councilmember Valenzuela recommended starting with the charter-mandated job descriptions as a foundation and soliciting input from each charter officer on goals they have set for themselves and the feedback they would find most useful.

The committee directed staff to: (1) prepare a schedule of when reviews would be due, (2) list all individuals covered, (3) have the City Attorney create a checklist of charter-required duties for each office, and (4) have the City Clerk reach out to each charter officer to prepare their own checklist of responsibilities. Chair Ashby specified the format should be checklists, not essays. Councilmember Harris noted that prior work with former Councilmember Larry Carr on linkage policies had already established evaluation frameworks for direct reports, and he agreed to meet with the City Clerk to walk her through those documents. Councilmember Loloee emphasized that reviews should not be late, and the schedule should allow sufficient time for items to reach the full council in a timely manner. The committee discussed that substantive performance reviews would occur in closed session per California HR law, while conversations about roles and duties would happen in open session. The City Clerk anticipated returning to P&PE with a proposal in August.

Key Outcomes

• The committee provided direction to staff on the Animal Welfare Commission Ordinance, directing that the three governance recommendations (four-year terms, city residency, Brown Act compliance) be included in the final proposal, with further recommendations to follow the community survey. No formal vote was taken.
• The committee interviewed 12 candidates for the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee and continued the appointment item to the next meeting for nominations.
• Chair Ashby requested staff consider expanding the Animal Welfare Commission from seven to nine seats.
• The committee directed the City Clerk, City Attorney, and charter officers to prepare schedules, checklists, and charter-required duty lists for the annual performance evaluation process, with a proposal expected back in August.