Good morning everyone. Chair Jennings apologizes. He had a family emergency he needed to attend

to so I am stepping in for today. Welcome to the personnel and public employees committee. The

meeting's now called to order. Jacob would you mind calling roll? Thank you chair. Member Telemontes.

Here. Member Vang. Here. Chair Jennings is absent and vice chair Kaplan. Here. We do have a quorum.

Can I now request that Vice Mayor Telemontes lead us in the land acknowledgement and the pledge.

All right. Please rise for the opening acknowledgements and honor of Sacramento's

indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nisanom people,

Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Patwin-Wintun 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 act of 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, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. Our first order of business today is approval of the consent calendar. Do we have any public comments on the consent?

Thank you, Chair. I have no speaker slips for consent.

Colleagues, do we have a motion?

I'll move it.

Moved by Talamantes. I'll second.

Second by Council Member Vang. All in favor, aye?

Aye.

Aye. Consent calendar passes. Now we are moving on to item two. Jacob, would you mind calling the item?

Thank you, Chair. The next item is the review of applicants for the City of Sacramento Community Police Review Commission. The seat needing recommendation today is seat K. The requirements for seat K are as follows. A member of between the ages of 16 and 22 years at the time of appointment. We have three qualified applicants today. Our first applicant is Lindsay Escobar.

Does not appear that they. And just to be a reminder for the record, these are for 16 to 22 year olds. So they might be at summer school or some other event. So it is absolutely okay. They're not here.

Our next applicant is Julian Gounder. They do not appear to be in the room as well. Our final applicant is Xochimilco Espinosa Salazar.

Good morning. Good morning. She's just passing around my resume.

Any time you want to start. You have two minutes.

I just want to thank you guys for the opportunity to speak. My name is Xochimilco Espinosa Salazar. And I'm here to respectfully ask for reconsideration for seat K on the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission.

I'm interested in continuing my service on the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission because I truly believe in the power of accountability and community voice in shaping public safety and accountability.

I first joined the commission in February of 2022 as a senior in high school. And over the past few years, I've grown alongside it.

I've developed a strong understanding of how the commission operates, not just in meetings, but in the behind the scenes work that keeps it running.

I've helped coordinate outreach, participated in ad hoc committees and created our social media account to engage the public.

I've maintained consistent attendance, built strong communication with other commissioners and stayed committed even while balancing my responsibilities as a full time student.

I want to continue serving because I care deeply about this work and the direction this commission is hitting in.

I bring a young community centered perspective and a passion for law and justice that aligns with the commission's goals. I'm excited to see how we grow and I want to help shape that future.

One of the questions was what was what qualifies you for the position. Not only have I served since 2022 on CK, but I currently sit on an active ad hoc committee outside of the commission.

I've interned with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and focused on outreach and federal case research.

I'm also full time political science major at Sacramento State and I'm pursuing a minor in criminal justice.

And I'm the co-president of Metra Sac State chapter and the PR chair for my sorority at Sac State. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Vice Mayor Talamantes.

Oh, any questions? No questions, but just really wanted to thank you. Oh, should I wait?

Vice Mayor. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I wanted to nominate Sotamiko for her nomination for this position.

For reappointment. Well, thank you. I'd heartily second and I hear a third coming in.

Yeah. You know, Council Member Vang.

Council Member Vang. Yeah. I just wanted to say, you know, in addition to being just a full time student already and so many extracurricular activities, really appreciate you stepping up to want to serve again on the commission.

And it's absolutely folks like you that that that we need to center. And I I look forward to being the third person to support you on this and hopefully we can get this going. So.

And I just want to say and echo my colleagues. Congratulations. You have a bright future ahead. But this committee also has a history of believing and supporting those who have already dedicated a lot of time. And I think your voice and knowledge on the police commission is absolutely needed to continue. So we are happy to first second and nominate you to continue your service is a CK.

First and second. All in favor. Aye.

Thank you. Good to see you. Thanks for coming. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

All right, Jacob, let's move to item three, which is applicants for the city, City of Sacramento Housing Code Advisory and Appeals Board.

Thank you, Chair. The seats needing recommendation today for the Housing Code Advisory and Appeals Board is seat B.

The requirements for CB are as follows. The member must have an expressed interest or demonstrated history of involvement in the provisions of the city's housing code.

We have one qualified applicant for review today. Clancy Taylor.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning. Thank you for having me here today. So I just want to address you all. And besides saying thank you, just want to express my appreciation for being here.

So housing really is my professional life. I'm an AICP certified planner and I spend all day looking over policies, procedures, code standards, all this really fun, ticky tacky stuff that my bosses and all these folks say, go Clancy, go worry about this stuff.

And then I come back and get to say, hey, this is what's in the best interest of the community, of the residents and the people we want to serve.

What is actually in the interest of the public good? So I get to spend all day doing this really fun behind the scenes stuff that no one wants to touch.

And what I want to do is actually give back to the city of Sacramento because my work primarily looks at the state and federal sectors, which is all well and good. Don't get me wrong.

However, I live in Sacramento. I live down in district six. I see the issues and I want to actually be able to use all this crazy knowledge in my head that I'm be honest is not the most fun stuff to talk about at parties, but it does matter.

It's the true intersection of really what government says we want to do, because honestly, some of the stuff that comes to this board may be the only time the residents are actually interacting with the city.

And we owe it to everyone to actually do this with the residents in mind, with the city in mind and with the public good in mind.

So what I'm hoping to do bring all this wild knowledge and experience to this board and commission with an equity center with a resident centered approach.

So thank you all for your time today. And I look forward to answering your questions.

Thank you so much. Council member Vang.

It's Clancy, right? Correct. Yes.

Okay. First, I just really want to say thank you for submitting an application and also your energy, which is very much always needed in the chambers.

Um, and really appreciate you stepping up to share your knowledge and expertise.

Um, and with that, I'd be happy, happy to put a motion on the table to appoint Clancy Taylor for seat B, uh, on this, um, on this board.

Have a motion.

And I'm happy to second it and agree with council.

I'm happy to see you with council.

My Vang's comments.

Your energy is fabulous and keep up the nerdiness on housing.

The world needs more nerds like us that are excited about government and giving back and using our expertise to the best of our ability.

So congratulations.

And I too want to echo, but also call out if you read her application, she was in the peace corps in Albania from 2017 to 2019.

So you also bring worldwide experience, which should be called out.

So I do want to echo, um, uh, being a policy nerd is kind of a special thing that doesn't get called out as being as great as it is all the time.

It should be.

So I am, uh, happy to see this move forward and we have a first and a second all in favor.

I welcome to the family.

Thank you all.

Have a great one.

All right, Jacob.

Now we are moving on to item four, which is review of the applicants for the Sacramento housing and redevelopment commission.

One thing I do want to call out, um, uh, Clancy, since we just appointed you.

Um, do you still want to come up or are you good?

Cause generally we don't appoint one person to two commissions.

You want me to come up there?

Can I just project?

You can project.

I was like, I'm good.

We got one.

And I think there's three other well-qualified folks that can speak on that position.

And for the record, Clancy did call out from the audience that she's good and, uh, we can move forward with the three applicants before us.

Okay.

I was also going to ask, do we need public comments on any of these items?

Um, were there any public comments on any of these items, Jacob, that I have conveniently forgotten?

Thank you, member Vang.

I very much appreciate it.

For the record, there were no public comments on items two and three.

Um, we do have for item five.

So I will remember that.

Yeah, we, and we do not have any for the upcoming item four, which I will now announce.

Thank you.

Okay.

So item four is review of applicants for the Sacramento housing and redevelopment commission.

The seat needing recommendation for today.

Recommendation for today is seat B.

Uh, the requirements for seat B are as follows.

Member, um, my apologies.

Uh, the member is appointed by the city of Sacramento, uh, with approval from the council is not an elective officer or an employee of the city or county.

Uh, we have four applicants for review today.

Uh, our first applicant is Jonathan cook.

Uh, good morning.

Thank you for having me here.

I just, uh, wanted to express my interest in this seat working as the executive director of the Sacramento housing alliance.

I have deep experience working on affordable housing at the local, regional, state, and federal level.

And in particular, I'm wanting to give back by serving on this advisory board as they look at recommendations and support SHRA and their importance of the budget.

And, uh, bring those items before both the city of Sacramento and their role, as well as the county of Sacramento.

Uh, my experience for over 10 years working with low income residents and clients and both the housing and social service space.

I feel it really prepares me for this position, having a deep understanding of working with boards as well as the work that the, uh, housing authority does.

In particular this moment, we, uh, see a lot of challenges that are facing housing authorities across the nation with a lot of proposed cuts.

And so wanting to continue to really support residents, the work that we do, uh, to be able to work with residents, uh, throughout the city and the county.

And so thank you for your consideration and happy to answer any questions.

Okay.

Any questions at this time?

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next applicant is Michael Flamante.

They do not appear to be in chambers this morning.

Uh, our next applicant is Brooke Miller Jacobs.

Hi, good morning, everyone.

Uh, I am interested in serving on this board of commission for a couple of different reasons.

The first one that I think is the most important is I live right across the street from an SHRA managed property.

So I see on a daily basis, the living conditions and the violent crime issues that are happening specifically at Marina Vista.

And I want to make a difference.

You know, I don't want to be a person who just goes, okay, let me complain and move on.

Like I have this time in my life where I'm given this opportunity to go ahead and do something about it.

Uh, I w I believe that SHRA should not only provide housing for individuals, but also provide housing that is safe and decent for all of their residents.

This is my opportunity to make a difference.

And that's even what the housing authority of the County of Sacramento says in the AO ACOP document that they want to implement a policy designed to help create and maintain a safe community.

So my knowledge and my experience actually is my deep care for it.

And my deep desire to do something.

See change happen here, please.

But as an event planner, I have the skills to make timely and informed decisions.

I'm goal oriented, detail oriented, able to successfully manage a budget and meet goals, timeframes.

And I always have a plan B.

I have a proven track record of problem solving and have extensive experience dealing with different constituents, uh, as such as the legislature, UC faculty, students, and these students have broad and varying backgrounds.

I have over 10 years of experience dealing with complex university policies and procedures.

So I bring detail oriented problem solving skills to like, let's, let's try something.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Um, and again, there's no public comments on this.

Um, before I turn it over to vice mayor Talamante's, um, I do have a count question for legal counsel.

Um, thank you.

Uh, we'll let the call my colleagues and I debate just for a quick second.

I do want to stay for the record.

I don't expect you, uh, city attorney to have an answer, but just want to clarify for the record.

Um, uh, Mr. Cook is, uh, executive director of a nonprofit, but his board members are generally developers in the low income community that, uh, SHRA tends to work with.

I just want to make sure if he moves forward is an appointment that there is no actual conflict because those, uh, low income housing developers, uh, also, uh, provide the funding for, uh, his organization.

I'll speak without my microphone.

Um, I, I, that is, I don't have an answer for you today.

I can look into that if, if Mr. Cook moves forward and have an answer for you before, well, before we get into, uh, the council meeting.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Um, vice mayor Talamante's.

Um, and so once we have the city attorney's blessing, I'm happy to make a motion to nominate Mr. Cook to, um, this appointment.

Uh, council member Vang.

Uh, thanks.

Um, so one really quick, I think it's good just to make sure that we get clear on that clarity on that.

And wanted also to check, is there a rush to point today if we have to wait for the next meeting?

I just want to make sure.

Um, maybe I'll look at city clerk or just thoughts on that.

Cause I think it's important just to make sure we have information in front of us.

Uh, per the recommendation today, um, uh, this item can be continued if additional discussion, uh, is needed at a, at a, at the next meeting.

Okay.

When's the next meeting?

Just July.

July.

Correct.

Typically.

If, if you'd like to move this item to that meeting, we definitely could.

I know typically it's for the review of, um, charter officers, but it could be the first item.

Okay.

If we get, if we get clarity, I mean, I, I think it would be good just so it's not something if, if there is more information that is needed.

Um, we don't push things to make sure we do this, to do this right.

Are you okay with that?

Council member Talamante's.

So you're saying to move this item until we get.

The legal clarification.

Yeah.

Just, yeah.

But I did actually have questions for both the candidates though.

Just okay.

Cause is that okay too?

Yeah.

So, um, can I ask, let's go with, is it Brooke?

Ms. Michelle Miller Jacobs.

Yeah.

Um, and I'm going to ask this for both folks.

Um, the housing, you know, as you know, housing and homeless is one of our top priorities as a city.

We talk about this a lot.

Um, and it really demands, and I am only speaking for myself as a council woman that really demands that we have, um, both solution to address some of the crisis that we're seeing.

And just want to just to ask you like what your thoughts are as, um, if you get appointed as a commissioner, just, you know, your thoughts and solutions and ideas.

That's a really good question.

And so I think it's a multi prong approach.

I don't think there's one solution fits all of our homeless or even our opioid crisis or any of the issues we have here in this city.

But yes, it is being able to put our homeless into housing, but I want it to be safe housing.

I want it to be safe housing for those families.

Okay.

So I don't have the answer of how to do it and how to do it in the budget, but that's my main goal.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

And then Mr. Cook, if you can come up as well.

Same question.

Yes.

Um, I think we're doing a lot of that work already continued demonstrated, uh, policies that lead to that success with permanent supportive housing.

A lot of that work that the city and county are doing with SHRA in partnership, um, using those funds and leveraging light tech and the state funding to be able to help locals to meet the gap financing that affordable developers need to be able to provide that.

And continuing to have a housing first approach, which I know that as a story does as well.

So wanting to continue that wanting to empower our residents and make sure that we have affordable homes for everyone who needs them.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Um, so I would, yeah, I would, I think it'd be important just for, uh, this, uh, committee to have the legal clarity on that.

So I would actually recommend that we move this item to the next, just to make sure, um, if that's okay with council member bang, if you had clarity, do you have any questions?

If you had clarity, do you, uh, would you, do you are comfortable with one candidate or you want a further discussion?

Um, because next meeting would also have, uh, chair Jennings, um, to weigh in as well.

Yeah, I think, I think we, um, let's wait for the next meeting.

I think it'd be good for chair Jennings to weigh in as well.

I think that's solid.

Okay.

Yeah.

Um, I, uh, I'm supportive of moving this to the first item, uh, after consent, uh, with clarity from, from council as well as to get it.

Um, from chair Jennings.

Um, I just want to note for the record that there's a lot of conversations being had about,

around SHRA at the county and here at the city of Sacramento, especially with our joint powers agreement measure O.

And so I think that filling the seat is, should be a priority for us.

Um, as we navigate these kind of uncharted, you know, territory of how we're going to proceed, um, as an organization.

And so it needs to come back to personnel ASAP and then to, and then city council.

Mr.

City attorney, do you feel like it would take too long?

Like there would be any reason why you wouldn't be able to get the information in the next couple of weeks?

No, I just don't have enough information from you right now.

Okay.

Then, then I, I feel comfortable, uh, and agree it's a priority.

Okay.

And that's fine.

Okay.

We will, we will wait and this will come forward, uh, to the full commission, uh, next month, uh, as the first item.

Thank you, uh, so much.

We will now move on to item five, which is the city of Sacramento disabilities advisory commission,

20, 24 annual report and 25 work plan.

Good morning committee.

My name is Jesse Gothen.

I'm with the city public works department engineering services.

And more importantly, I'm the staff for the disability advisory commission.

I'm joined here today by both current and past chairs who will be presenting.

This is the second time the DAC has come before the committee and the DAC is pleased to present this report on schedule.

This report was drafted in open discussion over a period of four DAC meetings.

The report highlights the accomplishments, the work plan and the recommendations.

With that, I'm happy to introduce former chair, Mosami Crowley and the current chair, Sylvia Kramer.

Good morning everyone in the audience online and to the council members present and to the staff.

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to put a face to some of the works that we've been doing.

The report is very thorough.

The 21 pages have been vetted very intensely as one of the senior chair people.

I was the vice chair, chair and commissioners.

And we've had a very long timeline to really change the mindset and have a shift in perspective, which the other commissioners today will have an opportunity to discuss.

So what we're going to do is we're going to just tag team to make sure.

But for the record, I wanted to, as on page five of the report, I did want the public to be aware of how we have changed the commission lens on how we approach projects as well as community engagement in our respective districts as one voice.

So on behalf of everyone in the past and present, I wanted to take a moment to represent the main tenants on which we work together.

And I'm pleased to know that with the full commission now with the Disability Advisory Commission, that these have been agreed upon with multiple people from the past and present.

And in particular, there have been five chairs and five staff people.

And I'm pleased to report that this represents a new era, I believe, that there is a not only singular voice, as I mentioned, but there's a perspective that now all the different commissions and the council, regardless of district, can really tackle the bigger issues and ensure that there is that lens on how to consider the language and the

the culture and the inclusivity that we pride ourselves in as a city.

So the Disability Advisory Commission, we represent an inclusive, friendly and welcoming public meeting space to model how our city hosts all public meetings and facilities that meet accessibility requirements and provide independence and freedom to all who choose to participate.

We bring community level eyes on the projects that the city is delivering.

We are important, we are very important to the economic development of these projects, particularly as we consider those complexities of public works, not being engineers and also deferring to city attorneys for when we have questions.

Our volunteer efforts are also a learning curve.

And in a short amount of time, we are very proud that the economic impact to the city is providing is is presented when providing accessibility improvements across all areas of participation within city projects.

We seek to be a unified body and a modern voice to the city council.

And that's particularly the commission wanted to highlight how we navigated as a commission during the time that there were no meetings held and there was that technology and how we were able to be present regardless of those limitations.

And that shows the commitment in which regardless of ability and technology access, we made that effort.

We encourage commissioner engagement in doing the business of the deck with a focus on stakeholder contributions to the city with annual recognition of the Tim Haley Award nominees.

And this most recent is something worthy to review again and it's very impactful to our communities.

We appreciate the city hosting all public meetings and facilities that meet accessibility requirements that are inclusive, friendly and welcoming to all actions like improving the doors to the city council chambers.

And I giggle because something so fundamental and being able to meet in chambers where you have the technology to provide a multitude of accessibility, I encourage you all and those in the community to constantly reengage and give that feedback.

Now that there's a modernization of how the city is communicating with the community and how we can access the chambers in a comfortable way to be able to present our best selves and points of view to all different commissions and the council.

We continue to advocate for making it easier to comment on city items at all city board commission meetings, as I just mentioned, and we will continue to advocate and partner with the city to be inclusive employers for individuals with disabilities.

And this is an area where it's described in the charter and our responsibilities.

And as the report indicates with the recommendations before us from 2023 and 2024, this last item, it will ensure that those employees within the city do not feel that there is any sort of restriction or barrier to be able to be seen as valuable constituents and

be able to apply for positions so there is diversity and inclusion within the staff.

With this, I thank you for your attention.

I'm going to turn it over to the current commission chair, Sylvia Kramer.

Sylvia Kramer.

Ms. Kramer, you can also use the microphone right in the middle, just right there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And thank you members of the board for allowing the DAC this time to speak.

I want to thank my fellow past commissioner for speaking to you all today.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

And like I said, the DAC, we are working to try to make this city a more inclusive space for people with disabilities.

Not only for right now, but for future generations.

I know that a lot of times, especially with a board like ours,

you're not always going to have a full board because you never know what you're going to get.

In my past experiences, when I've been in school,

I know my school district was not prepared to handle conditions like mine

or fellow disabled students.

I'm hoping that we can work towards making Sacramento that special place for them

where they don't feel excluded, where they feel that they can get around safely

and feel included in their community.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Chair Kramer.

Jacob, do we have public speakers?

Thank you, Chair.

I have four speakers this morning.

Our first public speaker is Mo Crowley.

I wanted to take the time to remove the formality.

It's been a labor of love.

And in the time that I've been a commissioner, we have lived in three different districts.

And my daughter went from being legally blind with cerebral palsy and unable to access the community she was in

and going to school to the good works of what the DAC did in order to provide crosswalks and housing opportunities.

So the reason I put the speaker slip in is just to highlight that we take a very personal approach to how we live in the city.

And as volunteers, it's very challenging to not understand how government maybe works.

I'm a graduate of the city academy, citizens academy.

That's how I became involved.

But I wanted to just share that sentiment that you take a blind, disabled person who's on a wheelchair and very fragile,

and she's thriving because the city listened to what we had to say personally.

My daughter wanted to be here today, but what was a priority was for her to be able to go to school.

So I just wanted to say that it's not a minor thing to be able to take the work that you're doing seriously,

but as volunteers, it's a labor of love.

So with that, I just yield my time.

Thank you so much, Ms. Crowley, for telling us your personal story and how this impacts you.

It does mean a lot to all of us.

Our next speaker is Alice Mercer.

Hi, Alice.

Hello.

I am now a former DAC member, but I wanted to be here because I did have a part over in this annual report,

and I wanted to point out just some things from my personal point of view and now as a private citizen.

The DAC now has a quorum.

This is critical.

It shows that you have made this a priority, and it helped us do our work.

The annual report process this year went much smoother because of that,

and also all of us sort of getting our sea legs on that and the experience,

and now we have the muscle memory, and the staff support was fantastic over on that.

So I feel like we've got a good process going forward.

And the door improvements, that's super critical.

Having, we have a commission member now who is in a power wheelchair,

and on the times I've had to bring my husband, this makes it a little easier getting through.

I'm going to talk about just really briefly some of the stuff that maybe is not so great.

We have six holdover issues on that report from the prior year,

and while these things require time and deliberation, they should not be sitting out there forever.

Looking forward, hopefully, I want to say that I think there's a sense over on the commission

that we are about more than just the hard infrastructure and that barred and settlement,

and we are embracing it as a commission, and we need the city council to embrace that.

And there are two things to look at.

There's a really big emphasis now on quick building,

and I think there are short-term solutions to some of our hard infrastructure,

but we need to keep in mind, too, that we need to not just build it quick but build it right,

and you may need to stage things and start with temporary things that involve lines and signs,

but not to give up on going over and doing those hard improvements like ramps and the rest.

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Our next speaker is Brandy Tuzon-Boyd.

Welcome, Brandy.

Farther there than it looks.

Good morning.

My name is Brandy Tuzon-Boyd,

and I just recently completed my term as a member of the Disability Advisory Commission.

Today I'm speaking in support of Recommendation 1 to reinstate the citywide ADA coordinator position.

This is not a new concept for our city.

We previously had an ADA coordinator within the then Office of Civil Rights.

Reestablishing this position is a vital step towards equity and inclusion.

Just as the newly filled language access coordinator position provides a citywide lens

to ensure access for those with limited English proficiency.

An ADA coordinator would serve a similar role, offering a global view across city departments

to ensure policies, programs, and projects are truly inclusive of people with disabilities.

It's disappointing that staff referred Recommendation 6, 7, and 8 to the Diversity and Equity Manager,

despite this very committee requesting last year that these same recommendations be forwarded

to the racial equity committee for discussion and consideration.

That did not happen.

Instead, the DAC received documentation via email where the word disability was mentioned

a handful of times as fulfillment of these recommendations.

This falls short of both the spirit and intent of these recommendations and what inclusion actually means.

If we are serious in this city about access, equity, and inclusion,

inclusion, then the city must take concrete steps, not symbolic ones, for our brothers and sisters

with visibles and invisible disabilities to feel truly included.

In the words of disability advocate Robbie Crowe, you can't just tell disabled people

that they're being included.

You need to show it in your actions.

Inclusion isn't something you say.

It's something you do.

Inclusion means removing the barrier, not just acknowledging it.

And inclusion isn't about saying the right words.

It's about making the right changes and doing the right things.

Thank you.

Thank you, Brandy.

Thank you for your comments.

Our final speaker is Keith Ellis.

Welcome, Keith.

Thank you.

I'm Keith Ellis.

I have the pleasure and privilege to serve as the current Vice Chair of the Disability Advisory

Commission.

And I want to echo and uplift all the previous speakers and their comments because I agree

wholeheartedly with them as well.

I'll just use myself as an example.

To speak before you today, it was inaccessible.

It was a piece of paper that had to be hand filled out for me by a fellow commissioner.

That's not accessible or acceptable in my view.

Online e-comment is great.

But if someone wants to come here, there should be an accessible way for them to sign up as

other similar governing bodies do.

The University of California Board of Regents has an online way of signing up for public comment.

Why doesn't the City of Sacramento?

They also accept e-comment as well.

So, I just want to use myself as that example because these things are really important for

everybody to engage with every part of the city from the City Council on through to all of our commissions

and all the experiences we do.

I do want to uplift again some of our successes as was mentioned the doors to the City Council.

We're working on how to do public events.

We just had Sacramento Pride.

How do we make those events more accessible and inclusive for all on a larger scale throughout the city?

All these things matter to everyone.

And I do want to thank the city for the investments that have been made in revitalizing

and enhancing a lot of the accessibility features throughout our city, including the pedestrian buttons,

the curb cuts and curb ramps and the like.

These are very, very important features for people like me and others to be able to fully live here

and work here in the City of Sacramento that we love so dearly.

You have 10 seconds.

Thank you, Mr. Ellis.

Yeah.

Council Member Vang.

Thank you, Vice Chair.

First, I just wanted to take this moment to thank all of the commissioners who came today

and also former commissioners who term has expired.

Thank you so much for your tireless advocacy and also wanted to thank former Chair Crowley for your service

and your presentation and current Chair Kramer as well.

Thank you so much for being here today.

I do just want to share that, you know, I believe my colleague agrees with me when we say that we do take your recommendations very seriously.

And I have the outline in front of me in terms of what has been pushed over from 2023.

And so I just want to acknowledge that on record.

And I will uplift a few that you have the commitment from me in terms of a few of the recommendations.

So for example, even the training recommendation about the city's mandatory diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging training for our elected officials in particular.

Those are curriculum that is constantly being updated.

And so making sure that we actually get your insights on that is going to be of most importance.

And so you have my commitment at the next racial equity committee meeting that I will be providing direction to city staff as we're always updating the mandatory training.

It is something that's new, right, that CPS is providing for current electives and new electives.

But it is the curriculum is constantly changing.

And I think it's really important to make sure that it's also informed by community.

So you have that commitment that I'll make that direction at the next racial equity committee meeting as chair.

And then I will also say, even though we don't have as many meeting in a year, it's not an excuse to not have the DAC come and actually present.

And so I am also making a commitment as chair that within the how many meetings we have left, I would love for you all to come as well and also present.

I think that's really important.

I think that's really important.

So you have that commitment from me as chair of the racial equity committee.

And then on recommendation one in particular, I know that I've had conversation with members of the DAC as well.

As you know, we are in a budget deficit, but it is no excuse, right?

It's really about our priorities.

And so as you know, we just voted last week on our budget.

And so we should prepare for next budget to have that conversation.

And so I'm just flagging that for the DAC as well.

And that I'm actually in full support.

I do think it's really important to have a city Y coordinator because there's that intentionality that happens.

You see this with the language access coordinator as well.

And so you have my commitment that I would do my very best to vocalize for that.

And hopefully we'll get the full mayor and council to support that.

And so those are all my comments.

And I just want to say thank you so much for being our eyes and ears on the ground.

And also pointing out blind spots that the city has and even blind spots as an elected official that we will miss as well.

And that's the reason why we have this commission to hold us accountable.

And I really just want to say thank you so much for that.

And so those those are all my comments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Vang, just a couple of comments I want to follow up on.

Madam Clerk is in our audience.

And I know you will begin working on how to make online public comment an option that is accessible.

I know we don't have to reinvent the wheel.

So whatever and whomever we need to copy to get that in place.

I don't think that is something I think we can all be unanimous on this.

And if we need more of my colleagues to talk to you so that you feel like you have council direction.

But I don't feel like we need to have council direction to make something like that accessible.

And then one of the things I had asked the clerk so that we and thank you Alice for your comments on the work plan.

This really is the intent is when we put it in place.

And one of the next things I've asked for consistency on each one of the work plans is when there's a recommendation that we actually have staff comments.

So that you know like okay staff has seen it here are staff comments.

Then it is up to us on the council what direction we want to take on it.

Just having those recommendations out there without the balance like you said kind of leaves the commission hanging.

So I know that is coming.

But I'd also like to request because I don't think this takes council direction.

One of the things recommendation to it said that the city should provide instructions for the public utilizing closed captioning.

Can we that can just be added to the website IT.

It shouldn't be really that difficult to add instructions of how what's the best way to access that.

Because somebody who is visually impaired at least gives them the ability that that instruction can be read to them.

So it's something else or impaired in some way that makes it accessible for them.

And then I'm really interested in recommendation five because that would really apply to all boards and commissions and having staff comment on what does that look like.

And or does it become a standard for the city of Sacramento to post hey this commission is being met meeting here's the agenda coming forward.

But I just want to thank all the commissioners past present who are here all your time energy effort.

I say your commission is truly a model of what we need to do with our boards and commissions here in the city of Sacramento is we have people who are volunteering and taking their time and have lived experiences that you are making us a better city because we are listening to you.

So thank you for that.

I look forward to having this move forward and just I know staff will follow back up with the DAC commission on some of the direction that has come from us on next steps but job well done.

Thank you for all that you do for your community and to make the city of Sacramento accessible for everyone.

Thank you for all my time.

Thank you for all the time.

With that any other comments.

We'll move it forward to Council for adoption.

Is that a motion on the table.

Are you making a motion.

Do we need a motion or does it just move.

Oh we do a motion directing staff to forward the annual work plan to the city council for review.

Yes.

Okay, I will.

I will second your motion.

All right.

And with the comments.

I'm typing an email to my staff to make sure they follow up on the items.

I just literally said on the diet because there's a few action items that I need to follow up on.

So.

Okay, great.

Sounds good.

Motion and a second.

All in favor.

Aye.

Aye.

That is moving forward to Council.

We are now at public comment.

Jacob, do we have any public comments?

Thank you, Chair.

I do have one speaker set up for matters on the agenda.

Brandy Tuzan Boyd.

I will move on board.

Welcome Brandy.

Hi again.

A little less formal.

So my hair was brown when I started serving on the DAC.

Just kidding.

It has been a pleasure serving on the Disability Advisory Commission.

We saw some successes.

For example, moving from the small conference room, which wasn't actually accessible to our members that use motorized wheelchairs, to city council chambers, to the doors being accessible here in this meeting space.

But as you've heard, there's still some work to be done.

For example, making all of our public meetings more inclusive and accessible.

One of those options is the ability to participate virtually, which was something the DAC was promised post-COVID.

Digitizing speaker sign-up slips, which has already been covered.

And also making those restrooms here in the lobby truly accessible so our participants from the public can be independent and not ask for assistance to use the restroom.

In addition to the citywide ADA coordinator, I appreciate the support that I heard in your comments.

I just want to also encourage the city to consider adoption of an inclusive hiring policy, which would also encourage, as our previous commenters mentioned, individuals with invisible disabilities to feel like this is a place that they would truly want to come and work and add to our community.

Finally, I know I've met with every one of you that are sitting on the dais and I just want to continue to be a resource and someone that you reach out to and include as the city moves forward.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, Brian.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments, Chair.

I have no more speaker slips.

All right.

With that, I'll call this meeting adjourned at 1150.

Great job.

We finished early.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.