Personnel and Public Employees Committee Meeting – March 12, 2024
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Personnel and Public Employees Committee Meeting – March 12, 2024
The Personnel and Public Employees Committee (PPEC) met on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in the Sacramento City Hall Council Chamber. The committee reviewed applicants for two city commissions and interviewed three firms to conduct the recruitment for the next City Auditor. Public comment was received on several items.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of February 13, 2024, Meeting Minutes (File ID: 2024-00313): The consent calendar was moved by Member Maple but no second was obtained. The transcript indicates the chair declared the consent calendar approved after a voice vote, but the minutes state no action was taken due to lack of a second. This discrepancy is noted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Consent Calendar & Preservation Commission: Shelby Gothier Owensby addressed the committee, urging the city to commit public employees to deep cleaning and sanitation efforts, referencing the COVID‑19 pandemic. She also suggested adding tours, shuttles, workshops, and genealogy programs at historic preservation sites to generate revenue and education.
- City Auditor Recruitment Item: Shelby Gothier Owensby also submitted a speaker slip for this item but left before being called.
Discussion Items
Preservation Commission Appointments (Seats B and D)
- Seat B (Architectural Historian): Three applicants were interviewed: Patricia Ambacher, Ella Cross, and Chandra Miller. Each described their qualifications, experience with historic preservation, and knowledge of Secretary of the Interior standards.
- Seat D (Licensed Contractor): One applicant, Salvatore Ricca, was interviewed. He shared his background in renovating a historic building at 2124 P Street and his passion for preservation.
- Committee Deliberation: Vice Chair Maple moved to recommend Patricia Ambacher for Seat B and Salvatore Ricca for Seat D. The motion was seconded by Member Valenzuela and approved unanimously (4‑0).
Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Appointments (Seats C and F)
- Seat C (Business/Technical Expertise): Only one applicant, Spencer Eberle, appeared. He expressed concern about deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs, and highlighted his experience with participatory budgeting and the City Management Academy.
- Seat F (City Resident Receiving Utility Service): Applicants Gerald May, George Rutledge, and Derek Schmidt were not present; Daniel Mendoza withdrew. Gerald May was nominated based on his application.
- Committee Deliberation: Councilmember Talamantes moved to recommend Spencer Eberle for Seat C; Councilmember Valenzuela amended to also recommend Gerald May for Seat F. The amended motion passed unanimously (4‑0).
City Auditor Recruitment – Firm Selection
- Three firms presented: Coffin Associates (in person, represented by Amanda Kreller), WBCP, Inc. (via Zoom, represented by Wendy), and Stafford HR Consulting (via Zoom, represented by Cindy Stafford).
- Each firm described its recruitment process, sourcing strategies (including passive candidates), and approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Committee Deliberation: Councilmember Kaplan highlighted the importance of council involvement in hiring city auditor. Councilmember Talamantes asked about strategies for finding passive candidates and assessing political savvy. Vice Chair Maple noted that all firms were similarly priced and praised their qualifications, but gave a slight edge to WBCP due to its emphasis on diversity and its database. No formal vote was taken; the committee directed staff to contract with WBCP, Inc. to conduct the City Auditor recruitment.
Key Outcomes
- Preservation Commission: The committee recommended Patricia Ambacher for Seat B and Salvatore Ricca for Seat D to the Mayor and Council.
- Utilities Rate Advisory Commission: The committee recommended Spencer Eberle for Seat C and Gerald May for Seat F to the Mayor and Council.
- City Auditor Recruitment: The committee directed staff to engage WBCP, Inc. for the recruitment process, with a timeline of approximately 12–16 weeks.
- The meeting adjourned at 12:09 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I would like to call the personnel and public employee committee to order. Um, will the clerk please establish a quorum? Thank you, Chair. Councilmember Telamontes? Here. Councilmember Valenzuela. Here. Councilmember Maple? Here. And Chair Kaplan. Here. We have a quorum. Councilmember Talamantes. Would you do our land acknowledgement and pledge, please? Please rise for the opening acknowledgments. In honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Patwin Wintoon peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous People's History, contributions, and lives. Thank you. Salute, pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Thank you for that and welcome everyone. If somebody is here to um for on an appointment item, don't worry, we will call you up. If somebody is here for public comment on the items not on the agenda, please come up and fill out a speaker slip. Um and reminders, just so that everyone has a chance to address council. Um members are the public are asked to observe rules of decorum and rules of decorum are outlined in the in the back of the chambers here, and come like public comments shall be restricted to addressing items in front of the personnel and public employee within our jurisdiction. So I know I won't have to worry about that of yelling and shouting and uh mean words from the audience today. I'd like to move forward on our agenda. So the first item of business is the consent calendar. Do I have any comments, concerns, questions? I'll move consent. And then do we have somebody here to speak on consent? Yes, Chair. I have one speaker slip from member of the public. Uh Shelby Gothier Owens B. Uh for the consent calendar, yes. If you have comments pertaining to the consent calendar and the personnel and public employees committee. So um my name is Shelby Gothier Onesby, and I'm attending this meeting because um there's a lot of um not just being a ex-state employee or city worker, even as a guard, we're still city workers. And um, I believe that you know, we need to start committing some of our public employees and personal employees and local and people to commit time to clean up Sacramento, um, and to create a system for deep cleaning to commit to deep cleaning and sanitation to um because COVID is not here, like China did a deep cleaning system. We need to follow that and clean. There's like, you know, my lift drivers and everybody just like we talk about this all the time from people from San Francisco, Rowan Park, and there's just not just feces, but just so many diseases, and we walk and we touch and we go in the hospital, and sometimes they don't have enough employees to clean that. So we need to start helping the local community and just everyone in small businesses and the capital just by cleaning um to where people are just power washing, whether it's someone volunteering or we pay them through a stipend or something or a grant. So um, I just feel like there's so much work to be done, and this is just the beginning. I yield my time. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. I have no more speakers, Chair. All right, we have a motion and a second.
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