Personnel and Public Employees Committee Meeting – July 22, 2025
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Personnel and Public Employees Committee Meeting – July 22, 2025
The Personnel and Public Employees Committee met on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in the Sacramento City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting included a consent calendar approval, annual reports and performance evaluations for three City Council appointive officers (City Attorney, City Auditor, Director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability), an authorization to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for performance review facilitation and attorney‑investigator services, and an informational item on the Executive Director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. All items were approved unanimously. One public comment was received.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of June 17, 2025, Meeting Minutes (File ID: 2025‑00177): Passed unanimously (motion by Councilmember Vang, second by Member Kaplan).
Discussion Items
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Item 2 – Annual Report and Performance Evaluation for City Attorney (Susana Alcala Wood) (File ID: 2025‑01081): The committee received the annual report and passed a motion (Jennings/Talamantes) to forward it to the City Council for review. The City Attorney presented highlights of her office’s work, including litigation results (e.g., $13.4 million settlement for the water meter program, successful defense of inverse condemnation and cannabis permit lawsuits), the launch of a “Justice League” to monitor federal actions affecting the city, and achievement of a Gold Seal from the State Bar of California for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Committee members praised her leadership and asked about alignment with the new city manager, budget growth (from $9.9M to $14.7M over five years, primarily due to salaries), and proactive measures to protect residents’ rights. Unanimous vote.
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Item 3 – Annual Report and Performance Evaluation for City Auditor (Farishta Ahrary) (File ID: 2025‑01080): The committee received the annual report and passed a motion (Kaplan/Talamantes) to forward it to the City Council. The City Auditor reported completing eight major projects in FY 2025, including audits of police military equipment use, the ethics commission, animal care services, and homeless response. She noted a 57% work plan completion rate due to a 20% vacancy rate, but 95% of audit recommendations were accepted by management. The office passed an external peer review. Committee members commended her collaborative approach and expressed support for filling vacancies with the right talent. Unanimous vote.
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Item 5 – Annual Report and Performance Evaluation for Director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability (Dr. LaTesha Watson) (File ID: 2025‑01085): The committee received the annual report and passed a motion (Vang/Jennings) to forward it to the City Council. Dr. Watson reported a 71% decrease in improper search and seizure allegations from their peak in 2022 (205 allegations) to 2024 (59 allegations), attributing the improvement to the 2023 audit and subsequent training. Community engagement activities rose from 4 events in 2020 to 158 in 2024. The office is fully staffed with 10 positions. Committee members highlighted the importance of transparent oversight and coordination with the City Auditor’s standards. Unanimous vote.
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Item 4 – Annual Report and Performance Evaluation for City Clerk (Mindy Cuppy) (File ID: 2025‑01082): Continued to the August 12, 2025, meeting.
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Item 6 – Authorization to Issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Performance Review Facilitation and Attorney‑Investigator Services for Council‑Appointed Officers (File ID: 2025‑01364): Passed unanimously (motion by Member Kaplan, second by Member Talamantes) to authorize Human Resources to solicit qualified vendors or law firms for these services.
Information Items
- Item 7 – Annual Report for Executive Director of Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (La Shelle Dozier) (File ID: 2025‑01086): Informational item only; no action taken.
Public Comments & Testimony
- One member of the public, Lambert Davis, spoke positively about the City Attorney, City Auditor, and Director of OPSA, praising their community engagement and professionalism.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approval of the consent calendar.
- Annual reports for City Attorney, City Auditor, and Director of OPSA forwarded to City Council for review (all unanimous).
- Item 4 (City Clerk) continued to August 12, 2025.
- RFP authorization approved unanimously.
- Meeting adjourned at 12:55 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome you to the regular meeting of the personnel and public employees committee on this date, July the 22nd, Tuesday, July the 22nd at 11 a.m. Will the clerk please do the roll call? Thank you, Chair. Vice Member Telemontes. Member Kaplan. Councilmember Vang's currently absent. And Chair Jennings. Here. Thank you. We have quorum. Great. Great. Vice Mayor Telemontes. Would you lead us in the land acknowledgment and the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Happy to do so. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's Indigenous People and Tribal Lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanam people, Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Mewak, Patlin Winton peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria. Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the NAT people who came before us and stalk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today and the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous People's History Contributions and Lives. Thank you. Salute. I pledge allegiance to the United States. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Thank you, Vice Mayor. All right. First on our agenda today is our consent calendar. Item one is the only item on the consent calendar. Do I have a motion? I'll move the item. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, abstain. Let the record show we are unanimous in improving the committee meet meeting minutes. Item number one. We will now move to item number two. Chair, just for the record, there were no public, there's no public comment for the consent calendar. Thank you very much. Okay. So item number two is the annual report and performance evaluation of city council appointive officer city um city attorney. Um but before we get started on that, um the annual process presentation from our direct reports. I want to outline the process. So today we'll hear from three, and then on August the 12th, or another date after that, we'll hear from the remaining three. Okay, so it'll be the clerk treasurer and city manager next time. That's correct. Okay. All right. So with that, we will move to item number two.
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