Then we can sintonizar la transmission de las juntas del Concilio completamente in Spaniel usando el sistema SAP através de los canales Kevin Pantalla.

She prefiered la transmission des un dispositivo mobile, or para discargar la agenda de la Junta de Hoy, visite la pagina web de la Ciudad de San Antonio, SA.KOV Diagonal TV SA.

Good morning.

The time is now 9.02 on September 11th, 2025, and the meeting of the San Antonio City Council is now called to order.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Corr.

Councilmember Castillo Angiaono.

Present.

Councilmember Via Gran.

Here.

Councilmember Mungia.

Present.

Councilmember Castillo.

Here.

Councilmember Gauban.

Here.

Councilmember Alarete Cabito.

Here.

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

Councilmember Spears.

Here.

Councilmember White.

Mayor Jones.

Here.

Mayor, we have Quorum.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

As we know, September 11th is a very solemn day in our country for many of us.

I know we still remember where we were that faithful day when we were horrifically and cowardly attacked cowardly attacked.

I myself was uh a junior at Boston University, uh Air Force ROTC cadet, um, and many of the people on my floor when I was a resident assistant were from New York.

Uh, so very much uh felt, unfortunately, the immediate impact of the loss of life, and and frankly, what that also meant for my generation of fellow service members who knew uh that our fate uh would be much much different.

Many of us, I was studying Japanese and East Asian studies at the time, and that was would not be as helpful as I once thought it would be.

Um, I want to honor the memory of the 3,000 folks that were lost.

I want to um honor the service and sacrifice of the the first responders that day.

Um, and I want to also make sure, certainly here in Military City USA, um, those that have deployed in response to those, we know um that that was the first and the only time uh that the most important security alliance that has ever existed, uh, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was ever has ever invoked Article 5, which is an at an attack on one is an attack on all.

And I know here in Military City USA we uniquely appreciate uh the importance of our partners and allies, uh and this day is just a reminder of why it's important that we we hold those dear given what may what may happen.

So please um join me in a moment of silence as remember uh the victims of 9-11.

I'd like to recognize Councilmember White to introduce introduce today's invocator.

Thanks, Mayor.

It's my privilege today to uh introduce Reverend Marchine Pawell Chish, who was born on July 31st, 1983 in Poland.

He was ordained to the priesthood on May 30th, 2009.

Uh, following his ordination, uh Father Martin served in in uh Playa del Carmen, Mexico from 2009 to 2016.

He then continued his ministry in Edinburgh, Scotland, uh, as well as in Poland from 2016 uh to 2018.

On November 1st, 2021, Father Martin was assigned to St.

Helena Catholic Church here in San Antonio, where he currently serves as a pastor.

A significant milestone in his vocation came on October 17th, 2022, when Reverend Archbishop Gustavo Garcia Siller uh formally uh incarnated him into the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Uh beyond his uh priestly ministry, Father Martin enjoys movies, music, and traveling.

He has a strong appreciation for new technology, particularly Apple products.

Passionate about meeting new people and experiencing different cultures.

He is fluent in Polish, Spanish, and English.

Father, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you very much.

In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit.

On this day, September 11, we pose with reverence to remember a tragedy that changed our nation 24 years ago.

We hold in prayer the souls of the departed, the families who grieved, and all who still carry the wounds of that day.

Teach us, O Lord, that true peace is never automatic, but requires constant effort.

Daily work in justice, in mercy, and in love.

Strengthen them with wisdom and courage as they deliberate and decide.

May their work always safeguard the security, prosperity, and well-being of this city.

Inspire them to remember that every ordinance, every decision, and every policy is not about abstract ideas, but about real people.

May their labor so that every person, every human being without exception, feels welcome, respected, and truly at home in San Antonio.

Bless Lord our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, and our families.

Help us to be a community that embodies compassion and hospitality, where peace is not only desired, but practiced in daily life.

And reminds us that in building peace locally, we contribute to peace in the wider world.

And with a lighter spirit, Lord, we entrust you even our roads, especially those in northeast, like O'Connor wrote, that they may be renewed with curse so that our residents may travel safely and with less frustration.

For even these small things, the well-being of our people is served.

Sent upon us, God, your Holy Spirit of unity and love.

May all we do be rooted in justice, crowned with peace, and marked with gratitude.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

And may Almighty God bless all of you in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Thank you, Father.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which he stands.

Today we are also recognizing his Hispanic Heritage Month, and I will read the proclamation.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

I make a motion to approve the minutes.

Thank you.

Okay.

Please vote.

Okay.

The motion carries.

Thank you.

And now I will read the proclamation.

Whereas the San Antonio de SCS de Siempre Commission will host Fiestas Patria San Antonio, a celebration and commemoration of Mexican Independence Day.

And whereas on September September 16th, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo initiated the fight for independence from Spain for Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chile, as he called the people to action with the ringing of church bells and the historic El Grito de Dolores.

And whereas the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture, in partnership with the San Antonio de SCS de San Bereit Commission, established in 1994, will host a series of cultural events, programs, and educational endeavors in September and October to commemorate Fiestas Patrias and Hispanic Heritage Month.

Now, therefore, I, Gina Ortiz Jones, mayor of the City of San Antonio, in recognition thereof, do hereby proclaim September 15th to October 15th, 2025 to be Hispanic Heritage Month in San Antonio, Texas, and call on all residents to join in on the events and programs that celebrate the legacy of our city's rich and diverse Hispanic heritage.

Thank you, Mayor.

If I may, I would love to have the DAC State's Commission Chair, Olivia Flor, um Olivia Ortiz come and speak, if that would be okay.

Sure.

Olivia Good morning.

I'm Olivia Ortiz, Chair of the San Antonio DSC Space Commission.

Thank you for recognizing the commission this morning and allowing me to say a few words.

This year we commemorate the 31st anniversary of the commission, which was established in 1994 under the leadership of Councilmember Juan Solis.

In June 2024, City Council recognized its importance and re-established the commission.

The commission's mission is to support the community's efforts to provide residents and visitors with programs and events that celebrate Latin American histories, cultures, and art.

Events include tomorrow's El Grito program and this weekend's Fiestas Patrias, both at Historic Market Square and Saturday's parade along Guadalupe Street.

These events, including the annual Mariachi Festival, Diesistas Chariada, are included in the Fiestas Patrias Hispanic Heritage Month calendar at sa.gov.gov slash arts.

We invite you to join us at these wonderful celebrations.

I hope to see you there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any council members that would like to speak?

Councilman Via Garan.

Thank you, Olivia, for speaking.

Thank you to the uh the entire Ortiz family who is here today.

If you guys could stand up and and girls so they can recognize you.

This truly is a family affair.

Uh, when I asked for you guys to serve, thank you.

I can sit down.

Um when I asked y'all to serve, I asked you to serve with this incredible committee.

So I can can I get the rest of the committee members that are here to please stand for the DSCCS de September committee.

So this group.

Thank you, thank you, uh Gabriel.

Um and everyone who's continues to serve on this committee, telling the story, telling our history is so important, and it's so important for the youth that are in the crowd today.

And I am just so excited about um this year and the celebration and what we've done to move that forward.

Uh was glad to be there at the announcement that we had over at Plaza de Armas.

And this is a celebration of our culture.

This is a celebration of our story.

This is a celebration of San Antonio.

No matter where you come from, this is the San Antonio story.

And if you are living in San Antonio or a San Antonian, this is part of your story.

So I encourage you to come out, enjoy.

We I'm hoping the weather stays this beautiful because last year it was humid, so I look forward to seeing everybody out tomorrow evening as we do the grito, and the mayor gets to actually viva tomorrow.

So um I I look forward to it.

Thank you.

Uh, and um thank you again for your service, Olivia and Ortiz family.

Thank you.

Chair Mungia.

Thank you.

I just want to say thank you to the Ortiz family also for leading this effort this year.

I know this is a great event um every year to recognize the um Mexico's independence and our cultural history here in San Antonio.

So I look forward to being there this Friday also.

And I'm very, very excited to hear that the mayor will be doing a grito on Friday, so I'll be recording that also.

But thank you all for all your work on this, and we appreciate it.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

And thank you to the Ortiz family as well for taking on this role in ensuring that we continue to shepherd this very important event.

Of course, as you mentioned, extremely grateful for Councilman Juan Solis for his leadership, and of course, former councilwoman uh Lourdes Calavan from District 5 for ensuring that we continue to have uh this great event, and I'm looking forward to the parade, which is in the historic west side of District 5, um, right next to the Avenida de Guadalupe.

So grateful for the leadership of Cabro Velazquez.

But I'm very excited because the Grand Marshal will be former Mayor Ron Nuremberg, and we miss him dearly, so it's a great opportunity to come out, enjoy West Side businesses, and to just celebrate and honor the history as a councilwoman and Jin.

Thank you, Mayor.

Chair Galvan.

Thank you, Mayor.

And thank you to the Ortiz family and everyone on the DSC SAS commission.

Uh I see uh the district six appointee Richard Gonzalez here as well.

And so I just want to say thank you all for being here today to be your part of this uh first step for this year's uh celebration for the Hispanic Heritage Month.

Uh as a history person, as someone who really hoped uh honed in on and focused in college about uh Latino history uh Latin American history, it's something that's always crucial to remember too that uh not only for our culture of our people but the history of our people and the diaspora throughout uh Latin America, that the first start, right, on the 16th, led to a wave of revolutions throughout Latin America to fight for independence the same way that our country did as well.

Um and so understanding that history that only played with our people, but with uh the folks here in San Antonio, of course, it was the around at the time, as well as Texas and the long history that led beyond that, uh that continues to shape us here today.

I'm excited to celebrate with you all, whether it's in the historic west side or throughout the rest of the city, and hopefully some events in District 6 too.

If we can always partner on that, let me know what we can do together.

Um, because our folks are also eager to continue to celebrate these pieces.

That's part of our culture, part of our heritage, um, and again, part of our history.

So thank you all for the work you're doing, and happy to be a partner in that.

And to my not quite prima, but somewhere, I'm sure somewhere, Lourdes Galvan, who also does the work here.

Thank you.

Chair Aldre Gavito.

Uh thank you.

I just wanted to also give um recognition to the Ortiz family.

They're wonderful.

Thank you so much for y'all's leadership and doing all the work as well as all of the commission members.

I know that there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes um to make this happen for our city.

So thank you for all y'all's efforts.

Um, should be a great week, and I did not know Mayor Nuremberg was gonna be the Grand Marshal, but we'll be sure to check it out.

And um thanks again for all y'all's efforts.

Thank you.

Let me echo my thanks uh to where we I'm sure we are primas at some point.

Um the the Ortiz family.

Um I got to actually see their latest contribution to our city uh as they did the print for the 10th annual World Heritage Festival, the the 10th annual, the ride, the walk, the run.

Um thank you again for all that you do for our community and for your leadership on in so many ways, uh, Cruz and Olivia.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Spears.

Well, I also wanted to say thank you so much for all of your hard work.

I'm honored to uh be here to recognize the Hispanic Heritage Month and the immense contributions to our city um and this Hispanic community.

Our whole city, our the culture, the economy, and all of our neighborhoods are shaped by the Hispanic traditions and values and leadership here and from all our smaller our small businesses, education, public service, art, our Hispanic heritage.

It's the heart of our identity here in San Antonio.

So I'm really grateful to celebrate and uplift this history and recognize the hard work that's being done here today, and to build opportunity for our next generations.

So I'm proud to stand with my colleagues as we honor the resilience, creativity, and strength of our Hispanic community.

So thank you very much.

Okay.

Is there any objection to taking the consent agenda before the individual items so that we may clear the business for the day?

No.

Okay.

There is no objection.

Items five through 22 are on the consent agenda.

This means they will be considered as a group and there will not be a staff presentation unless pulled for individual consideration.

Are there any items council members would like to pull from the consent agenda to be heard today individually?

I'd like to pull item number seven.

So number seven.

Councilwoman uh Dante Gavito would like to pull item seven.

Any further?

Okay.

Madam Clerk, do we have any members of the public signed up to speak on the consent agenda?

Jack.

Okay.

Just Jack Finger.

Okay.

Um we have one individual that has signed up.

I will uh Mr.

Jack Finger.

You have three.

I have this.

Oh.

Um, sir, you have three minutes.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh please understand we could barely hear you in the microphone.

Do you see I have two minutes or three minutes?

Sir, you have three minutes.

Thank you.

Um, also earlier couldn't hear you.

Can you tell me what items were pulled for individual consideration?

It was item number seven.

So okay, very good.

Thank you.

Okay.

Umor, other members of the council for the work, my name is Jack M.

Finger.

One or two items I wish to bring to your attention on today's agenda.

Um, item number number 22 is about uh what you call affordable housing.

I call it uh welfare housing because uh basically uh people are gonna who uh are not gonna be paying their full amount of their rentals.

Who makes up the difference?

We the taxpayers make that up.

Yeah.

And uh item number 22 deals with an apartments over in district six, Mr.

Galvine.

That that's your area, Teasel Road area.

In fact, I looked at the backup documents, I noticed that uh the area median income.

People who are going to be allowed to uh move into this uh if they only make the amount of money of only about say 30 percent, 50 percent, or even only 60 percent of people who in that area what their incomes are, if you make less than that, you uh you you you you got a free pass.

You can get move into those apartments but for for a much smaller amount.

And and that's Teasel Road.

And you see, and uh we're gonna be shelling out well, nearly four million dollars on that.

Our tax dollars on that, sir.

You know, I don't know if you're concerned about it, but whether people in your area w want to know that uh welfare recipients are going to be living right next to them in Teasel Road, but uh I I think you may want to uh like a take a closer look at that there, sir.

Uh big concern.

Other uh items wish to bring to your attention on this part of agenda.

I uh I couldn't help noticing uh a couple of items regarding the legal settle settlements.

I think it's item number 19 and 20.

They both had almost the exact same wording on it.

I was a little confused until I talked with one of your city attorneys about this, and and they said, No, Jack, is it is a two different settlements or two different people were uh riding in the same car at the time when they were hit by by some uh uh city employee there, you see.

So I say, well, okay.

It almost looks like some some lawyers trying to horn in on the action here, you know.

I mean, you can understand that, you know.

But uh also why uh does the you know if a city employee is responsible for this, I usually ask, well, does the city employee ever get punished for this?

I mean, after all, he's requiring us to shell out our money on it, and if he wasn't guilty of this, it didn't go to court.

Well, this gets still gets on his record.

And what what is he supposed to do?

I mean, uh what he or she is supposed to do, have his on the record for the rest of their life, even though they weren't guilty of anything.

You know, yeah, I think that something is wrong here, and y'all need to re-re-look at that there.

Thank you.

Okay, all individuals signed up have spoken.

Is there a motion to approve uh the consent agenda with exception of item seven that's been pulled?

Okay.

It is moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda minus item seven.

Council members, are there any highlights or questions about the consent agenda?

Excuse me.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor.

I wanted to highlight an item of appointing Sandy Millman Ramirez, the San Antonio de SCCA's commission.

And what a perfect day to do so.

Well, we're kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month.

Sandy's here with us today.

Sandy, would you please mind coming to the podium?

Sandy Milman Ramirez is a district seven resident has and has spent most of her life in San Antonio growing up right near Woodlawn Lake and graduating from Trinity University.

She had a very successful career as a thought leader like liaison in the pharmaceutical space, working her way up to a director before recently retiring.

She has been recognized for her inclusive collaborative nature, which I'm sure will translate well to the work on this commission.

Since her retirement, Sandy has gotten more involved in the San Antonio community, dedicating her time to volunteer work.

She volunteers every week with St.

Bridget's Food Pantry and has also volunteered with the Christian Ladies Society of Louise, Christian Ministry Services, and the Trinity University Mentor Program, Habitat for Humanity, and the Kids Can Food Service Project.

Sandy's willingness to serve others and her love for San Antonio and its culture make her a wonderful addition to this commission, and I'm so thankful to make this appointment today.

Thank you, Sandy, and please welcome uh Sandy to this commission.

Thank you.

Chair Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'm excited to highlight three folks that I get to appoint to commissions today.

So uh Carla Griggiolo, Jean Russell, and Melanie Menenez Gonzalez, if y'all will please stand.

So these three fierce women are amazing leaders in our community.

Carla Gargiolo is going to be reappointed to the San Antonio Public Library, and I know Councilman Via Gran will appreciate that when you start off as an employee of an organization, being a board member, you get to have a different insight.

And so she has started off as an employee of our library system and now gets to serve on the board and does a great job leading and making sure we're all really engaged there.

Jean Russell is the CEO of CAS Schools.

I think it's one of the highest performing network of schools in our uh area and does so with great partnership with our school districts and truly shows what's possible for personalized learning in different industries for all of our kiddos at the high school level.

So I'm excited to appoint her to the early childhood board that oversees pre-K for SA because her leadership, knowing what kids need to graduate at the 12th grade, is really critical to be able to help support our amazing pre-K for SA program.

So I'm excited to see your leadership there.

And then Melanie Menendez-Gonzalez is the founder of K Means What?

It's a blog blog in our community.

She's a Latina blogger, and she talks to so many amazing leaders.

We were actually in the Latina Leadership Institute together.

So I'm really excited to appoint her to the mayor's status for women aboard, and I know you're gonna be an amazing leader on that board.

So thank you all so much for your volunteer service on these committees.

Thank you, Mayor.

Chair Vegan.

Thank you.

I'd like to highlight item six, closing four unimproved paper alleyways, in which NHSD, on behalf of Mission Trail Community Association, is requesting to close, vacate, and abandon four unimproved paper alleyways and requesting a 25-year term encroachment permit for multiple existing encroachments within a 10-foot-wide paper alley area.

Um, if approved, the closures will be incorporated with adjacent properties and the encroachments will be legally permitted, allowing for Mission Trail Community Association, which will provide utility repairs and replacement, street paving, lighting, and fencing improvements.

And they're all doing this with the help of ROC USA.

This was part of our ship goals to bring more diversity to our affordable housing.

I want to thank the team that made that happen.

I see Veronica and Ian here.

We got creative and we may now we're taking the next steps as the city showing our commitment and saying if we have alleyways we're not using, and we have a community that's ready to use them and maintain them.

We're gonna we're we're going to let that this happen and move forward.

So this project, again, Rock USA, which works out of the Northeast and has come to Texas to come and help with this, uh, is going to support the Mission Charles Community Association by helping them manage the community operations and long-term financial stability.

And this is just a win.

So I I wanted to highlight that because we know we've been talking alleyways this uh budget session, and this is one way we can um reuse our uh ability to kind of give that back to the community and make sure that we have the community taking care of it.

Thank you, Mayor.

Okay.

Uh there being no further discussion, there's a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda except item seven that's been pulled for individual consideration.

Please vote.

Okay.

The motion carries.

We'll get started with item four.

We'll get started with item four.

The time is now 9 31 a.m.

in the combined public hearing for the public and tax rate is now open.

Madam Clerk, please read the caption.

Item four is a public hearing on the city's 2025 ad velorum tax rate for the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget and the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget.

Okay.

The Office of Management and Budget has a presentation.

Good morning, Mayor City Council.

My name is Justina Tate.

I'm the budget director for the City of San Antonio.

Today I will provide a brief present presentation for the public hearing.

So the purpose of today's public hearing is to gain feedback from the public on the proposed city's property tax rate as well as the proposed budget.

Today is the second of two public hearings that have been held.

Our first public hearing was on September 3rd, last Wednesday, and today is the second one.

These public hearings are in addition to 11 town halls that will that were held across the city, and that was inclusive of a youth town hall that was held as well.

Our total city uh our total proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 is $4 billion.

This is made up of three major components, the first being our restricted funds at about 1.2 billion dollars.

Second, our capital budget at 1.1 billion dollars, and the general fund at almost 1.7 billion dollars.

And the general fund provides uh funds for the city's basic services to include public safety, parks, infrastructure, libraries, and code enforcement, to name a few.

So I do want to mention that included in the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget, there is no property tax rate increase.

The tax rate remains at 54.159 cents per 100 of evaluation.

This is the 33rd consecutive year without a property tax increase.

We received our certified role for property tax in July of this year, and based on that certified role, we are seeing that our base values are decreasing by about 0.9%, and our new values are growing about 1.67%.

1.76%.

As a reminder, the budget does include almost 152 million dollars of property tax relief.

This includes exemptions for homesteads, over age 65, disabled persons, as well as child care providers.

And this also includes the tax freeze, a tax freeze for over age 65.

Now I wanted to highlight that we do have several fee and uh several fee and rate adjustments that are included in the proposed budget and have been presented as part of the budget presentations over the past several weeks.

In accordance with the new state law regarding food establishment fees, I wanted to highlight the changes that are proposed to the fees and and were included in the health department's budget presentation.

On December 1st, food established establishment fees will be assessed based on gross volume of sales rather than the number of employees.

These fees are being recommended to partially recover the cost of providing food safety and inspection services to the community.

Finally, I wanted to highlight the next steps in our budget process.

So this concludes our public hearings for the budget process.

We have two more uh budget work sessions next week prior to the uh recommended uh proposed budget adoption on September 18th next Thursday.

That concludes my presentation.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for the presentation.

Uh we have several members from the public that have signed up to speak.

Um I'll call the individuals um up.

You each have three minutes to speak.

All individuals um the well, we'll have three minutes, groups of three or more will have a total of nine minutes.

The first individual is Audra Atsker, followed by Alison Homgrouser.

Good morning.

Um my name is Alison Hom Crozier.

This is Audra Asker.

We are um here on behalf of an organization, and we're wanting to combine our time.

That's fine, go ahead.

Thank you.

Good morning.

My name is Alison Hahn Crozier, and I'm the grants and impact manager at the Rape Crisis Center.

As RCC marks 50 years of service to the San Antonio community, we are renewing our commitment to provide comprehensive trauma informed services for survivors of sexual violence and their families, including crisis intervention and basic needs assistance, advocacy and case management, and counseling.

RCC is grateful for our longstanding partnership with the Department of Human Services, and over the years, city funding has helped to sustain and grow our advocacy program.

I'm here today to share RCC's concerns about the impact of decreased funding on essential services for survivors.

Before I took my current role at RCC, I spent years as a part-time advocate and volunteer, sometimes sitting beside a survivor past midnight before catching a few hours of sleep and then heading to my full-time job and early childhood education.

I endured the late nights because I could clearly see and feel the difference it makes when survivors are heard, believed, and respected.

During their early interactions with survivors, advocates offer options and empower our clients and their families to make well-informed decisions while building relationships that lead to further engagement with services.

Under state law, sexual assault survivors have the right to have an advocate present for medical and criminal justice system events, and only organizations designated by the Office of Attorney General as Sexual Assault Programs are permitted to provide these accompaniment services.

In addition to 24-7 crisis response, advocates provide ongoing safety planning and case management, encouraging survivors to leverage their strengths, mobilize resources, and pursue their self-identified goals for recovery and well-being.

In the past year, a shift in Bear County's forensic nursing program, combined with improved coordination with SAPD, led to an increase in requests for forensic exam and law enforcement interview accompaniment.

Through a mobile forensic nursing and advocacy partnership, survivors can now receive emergency care at the hospital of their choice, and advocates travel to meet them, visiting ERs in all 10 city council districts.

The Rape Crisis Center has stepped up to meet the growing demand for services, and as a result, our agency has exceeded the performance target established in our current DHS contract.

With the goal of reaching 400 survivors per year, the advocacy program served 441 clients in FY24.

Within the first 10 months of FY25, advocates have already helped 653 survivors navigate the medical and criminal justice systems and access resources in our community.

When delegate agencies were notified in March that the consolidated funding process would be delayed, RCC expected that the eight-month contract extension would provide much needed stability at a time when we are facing reductions in federal and state funding.

Instead, we learned in August that our contract amount for FY26 had been cut in half, reflecting an overall decrease in funding allocated for domestic violence prevention and intervention.

This funding cut would result in the loss of part-time advocacy positions that are crucial to providing an immediate response for every survivor and ensuring coverage for overnight accompaniment requests and overlapping cases.

RCC respectfully requests that our FY26 funding be restored to the amount that our agency received in FY25.

This would allow our advocacy team to fulfill the statutory role of responding to all accompaniment requests while providing the flexible longer-term support that helps survivors and their families regain stability and work toward healing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kayla Carter, followed by John Bachman.

You each have three minutes.

Survivors of domestic violence, and we also advance mental health and wellness, promoting economic empowerment, and strengthening public health through direct services.

We are a critical part of the DHS ecosystem, receiving referrals from places like Rape Prices Center, Family Violence Prevention Services, and Center for Health Care Services.

This is why we were incredibly shocked to learn that our contract was not renewed in fiscal year 26, despite receiving rent written confirmation earlier this year from the contract management staff that we could anticipate an extension through May of 2026.

Seems like that's a trend.

When I sought clarification, DHS informed me that our funding sources were ARPA dollars ending in September 30th, 2025.

While I understand ARPA's limits, this explanation directly conflicts with the city's earlier reassurances, relying on those assurances.

We budgeted accordingly.

This contract represents a significant portion of our operating budget as a small nonprofit, covering staff salaries and contractors who deliver these essential services, like individual counseling and group support for survivors.

We have been told that there will be a competitive RFP process that will open later this year with renewed contracts beginning in June of 2026.

That would be ideal if we could also meet the gap.

And the city would honor its prior commitment to extend our contract through May.

Without it, we are facing a $92,000 deficit and funding gap from October through May, a gap that we were told would not exist.

Like any business, we rely on accurate information for our contracts to make sound financial decisions.

These communications from the city gave us every reason to believe that our contract would be extended.

Today we respectfully ask for the city to uphold its commitment to allocating that $92,000 to extend our contract through May of 2026.

This is not only about funding, it is about trust, it is about accountability, it is ensuring the care for all of San Antonio's residents who count on us and rely on our support.

Thank you for your time and your thoughtful consideration as you finalize the budget decisions.

Thank you.

John Bachman.

Followed by Molly S.

Okay.

Molly S.

Followed by Jack Finger.

Okay.

Thelmus Thelma Gonzalez, you'll be next.

Madam Mayor, other members of our illustrious San Antonio City Council for the record, my name is Jack M.

Finger.

Last time I presented on this subject, uh, had so little time, didn't have uh all I could do is flip a few things on the audio visual, and you didn't really get a chance to see it.

So I made uh third this time around, I've made about 13 packets of this presentation, one for each of you and one for the city manager, the city manager, city manager, and the uh city attorney there.

So I'll hand these to the city manager right now.

So I want to offer some, I'm trying to offer you some unique ways where you can cut your budget deficit.

Yes, our tax dollars are work, and uh yeah, kind of uh a little startling at times, but uh this is where where you we you are spending our tax laws on it's the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.

They had a recent uh uh presentation about sex work, yeah, pro-prostitution thing.

Flip that over, Mr.

Audiovisual man, and you'll see another explanation about more of what basically what to that they are doing over there.

Yeah.

Now, Mr.

Audiovisual man, show this shows everybody exactly how much the Esperanza is getting from us.

Yeah, Rose Peace and Justice Center, 391,844.

This is past year's budget here.

Yeah, and you know, they're not the only ones in that list that uh are doing these kinds of things, but um I think flip that over, that might have some more information.

Yeah, this is what we are spending on the whole arts department, 13 million bucks.

You may want to find ways to cut all that, especially when they are doing things like this as you have just now seen.

And another department you may wish to cut uh entirely is something called the uh diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Here's my question Is this department really needed when the top is city elected official is is the person white, male heterosexual, or is the person Hispanic, female, homosexual.

Now, if the if it's a letter B, well, by golly, why would we on earth need a diversity equity inclusion uh department when the whole city is uh has become very open-minded on these things?

Yeah, I think uh just maybe, oh, and before I leave, you know, we also talked about the tax rate.

Now, you saw the figures where whereby the average the property tax order he the our rent our levies have gone up two or three percent, but instead of our tax rate going down a commensurate amount, two or three percent, you let us remain the same.

For the you know, you really should make up for the last several years of tax increases.

Uh the the average person trying to keep up with that, uh a 10% reduction would be an honest step in the right direction.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thelma Gonzalez, followed by Yvette Ramirez.

Good morning.

My name is Thelma Gonzalez, and I'm the treasurer of the San Antonio Farmers Market Plaza Association.

I'd like to pass my time over to the President Iber Ramides.

Good morning, mayor and council.

Um I'm happy to be here today to follow the grito that's coming to Market Square.

It's um very well needed, and we really appreciate having that uh annually at Market Square.

We're here today on behalf of the tenants, employees, and small businesses owners at Historic Market Square to ask for immediate relief for um through August of 2026.

The Department of Center City Development has informed the businesses that they have secured a um contractor for this long overdue HVAC system that will be placed in the farmers market building.

While we appreciate and fully support these critical upgrades to this project, it forces 48 small businesses and over 100 of their employees to vacate the space for over five months.

This disruption will come compound financial losses and displace more than 100 employees that who are who will have to seek unemployment compensation just to survive.

Last night I took the time to calculate just my business alone, how much I've contributed to the enterprise fund, as well as the tax, the sales tax directly to the city of San Antonio.

In the past five years, my store alone, it's a small business, uh contributed 64,000 plus in rent, 48,000 in sales tax, totaling about 112,000.

Now, if you multiply that by the 48 businesses that are currently there, and mine's one of the smaller ones, we've contributed over 3 million in sales tax, 2.3 million in rent, and more than 5.3 million directly generated from this one building alone.

We matter.

Our businesses matter, our employees matter.

We market square matters to us.

We respectfully ask the city to continue the construction mitigation grant program and to develop a comprehensive written plan in partnership with C C DO and the economic development to help us weather the storm.

Without relief, many of these businesses will fail.

Market Square is a cornerstone of San Antonio culture, history, and tourism.

Supporting these small businesses and their employees during this difficult transition will demonstrate to the citizens of San Antonio that not only the city invests in the future through projects like Marvel, but it also honors the past.

Supporting us through this transition isn't about survival.

It's an investment in San Antonio's heritage, its economy, and its future.

I thank you very much for giving us this time and listening to our plea here and hoping that we will have your support in the future.

Thank you.

Molly S.

I see has has entered the question.

So I actually prepared something for um the other uh one for the animal abandonment, but I thought I lost my opportunity for the um budget.

But I think everyone here actually knows how I feel about the budget.

Um, and I know councilman Council Woman Castile, you know very well how I feel about the budget.

Um severely need to how many more minutes do I have?

Oh, it doesn't show.

Um really need to um think about the unhoused community because like I said, over and over and over and over and over and over again, people are dying left and right in the streets.

I don't know if y'all really understand or care about that issue.

Um considering that Govito and white and some others, I forgot who from the last council signed Eric Walsh's request to sweep people on a more readily basis.

That's just causing more travesty and tragedy among the unhoused community.

So and I don't think y'all are really thinking enough about the unhoused community.

So especially since I did see that commission that I mean, sorry, didn't we like Commissioner City Manager Walsh is proposing to do another 1,800 sweeps of people.

So can you please reconsider that and take that out of the budget?

Because sweeping does not result in helping the unhoused community unless your goal is to actually let them die.

Then I guess your goals met.

Thank you.

Councilman White.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um I just wanted to comment that I am very pleased that we're not raising the tax rate on the citizens of San Antonio.

Um I also want to uh commend my colleagues that that joined with me uh last term to maximize uh the property tax homestead exemption.

Um our people pay too much in in taxes already, and anything that we can do to lessen the tax burden on them, we need to continue to do.

Um we've all know we've got a budget deficit here, uh, but we do not have um a revenue problem here.

Uh this is a spending problem.

Uh City of San Antonio spends uh too much money in areas where where we should not be spending it.

Uh and so I hope that as uh this body continues to move forward and look at ways that that we can improve our city uh that we won't consider any options that uh place additional financial burden uh on the citizens of San Antonio.

Thanks, Mayor.

All individuals signed up um to speak have spoken.

The city council will formally consider and adopt the FY2026 budget and vote on the proposed tax rate for tax year 2025 at its meeting on Thursday, September 18th, with 26, excuse me, um September 18th, which begins at 9 a.m.

and will be held in the council chamber.

Having heard all comments from those persons wishing to speak on this item, the public hearing is now closed.

The time is now 9 54 a.m.

Okay.

We will now move on to council discussion.

What?

Sorry.

Okay.

As no other council members have um signed up to speak.

Um, this item is for briefing only, so no action will be taken.

Item number seven was uh polled by councilmember Aldrete Gavito for individual consideration.

Uh Madam Clerk, please read the caption.

Item number seven is an ordinance amending chapter five of the city code entitled Animals to Prohibit the Abandonment of Animals.

Okay.

Is there a motion and a second for approval so we may begin discussion?

So move.

Second.

It has been moved and seconded to approve item number seven.

Would council member Aldre Gavito uh like a staff presentation?

Um I'm good.

Do y'all need a staff presentation?

I do.

Okay.

Yeah.

Good morning, Mayor and Council.

Uh I'm John Gary, the director for animal care services.

And we did put together a brief uh presentation that uh we'll go over.

And uh I just want to start off first by kind of giving a background of how we got to where we are today.

Um the CCR was uh submitted by Council District 7 on March 11th, 2024.

Um the initial uh when it was initially done, uh the goal of the CCR was to formalize San Antonio as a bird sanctuary uh to to borrow the capture killing, shooting, trapping, removal, or relocation of birds by untrained unlicensed individuals.

And then there's two other uh options that were put forth as well in the CCR.

Uh one was allowing ACS to humanely capture, remove, and relocate PFAL or other exotic birds only after taking community input into account, whereas the benefits of relocation outweigh the cost to a sanctuary or rescue within city limits.

And the second one was creating an ordinance to only allow licensed permitted handlers to remove and reload relocate PFOW or other exotic birds.

The CCR was then presented to governance on April 12th, 2024, and then again uh presented to public safety committee on September 17, 2024.

Uh the CCR uh was also presented for public input.

Uh District 7 and ACS hosted town hall on February 25th, 2025 to gather feedback from the residents of those impacted neighborhoods where the PFOL are prevalent.

And then ACS also presented to the the issue to our Animal Care Services Advisory Board on March 19, 2025.

Uh CCR was presented again to the public safety committee on April 15, 2025, uh presented proposal to conduct a population count, establish P file management plan, and promote coexistence with P file in the impacted neighborhoods.

And then also a chapter 5 update to prohibit releasing a P file within the city during this process.

It was recommended by myself, the director, to include all animals and not just P file in this ordinance.

So the proposed ordinance as it is uh is was proposed today is abandonment of non-lifestock and livestock animals, excluding uncaptured wild living creatures, is a violation of Texas Penal Code, and depending on the circumstances is a class A misdemeanor, state jail felony or felony of the third degree.

So currently, by state law, abandonment is illegal.

This B section, which is a new section, it shall be a violation of this code for a person to intentionally knowingly or recklessly abandon or release any animal anywhere in the city that has been trapped and within a person's control and possession, except if the person is trapping and releasing the animals as authorized by section of this chapter or by state law.

A violation of this subsection is punishable as described in 521.

521 is our our schedule of uh basically our fees for our for our ordinances for our offenses in our ordinance.

Um minimal fine of 500 and a maximum of 2,000 for the first offense.

Uh second offense is a minimum of a thousand, a maximum of two thousand, and third and subsequent offenses are two thousand.

Again, currently in the Texas Penal Code uh 40 42.092, it prohibits someone from unreasonably abandoning an animal in their custody.

Uh that is a class A misdemeanor in this in state statute.

And then the proposed ordinance and city code uh in our chapter 5, it's gonna add a new abandonment section to chapter 5 of the city code, uh, which would be a class C misdemeanor.

Our recommendation, our staff recommendation is to approve uh the ordinances for you today.

Uh with the approval of this ordinance, we will continue to communicate with our community uh to educate them and to ensure they understand the laws around animal abandonment.

So we do recommend that the ordinance be approved.

Thank you, Mr.

Gary.

We have several members of the uh public that have signed up to speak on this item.

Mr.

John Bachman is not here.

Okay.

Miss Kirsten Nickel.

Ma'am, you have three minutes, and she'll be followed by Molly S.

Thank you.

I need to pull up a minute.

Thank you all very much for hearing me today.

Um first I want to thank Mr.

Charlie Kirk.

I know that many of us didn't agree with all his words, but he did remind us that we all have a voice.

As far as the chapter five amendment, my concerns are if I catch a hummingbird that's hit my window, I rehab it, I release it, I could be fined.

If I um if the old lady down the end of the street finally feeds that poor starving little dog, she can be fined.

We're not worrying about the man that's releasing his boy dog to get some.

The lady abandoning the family dog because her kids went off to college.

It will impact my neighborhood, one block outside the city limits because of the way it's written, because within the city limits, you will be fined.

But if you come on out to Leon Springs and you dump them out there, it's no big deal.

So my elderly neighbors are going to be taking in y'all's animals.

It's a poorly written amendment.

I don't know why it's being rushed.

Thank you, Mayor, for slowing this down.

It doesn't need to be rushed.

We already have laws on the on the books through the state that follow this.

We don't need to rush this.

We need to slow it down.

You need to hear the voices of us, the rescuers that are out there that could possibly be fined by this.

If I spay a dog that's been having litter after litter, and I release her back out there because I want to stop the cycle, you're gonna find me.

So please listen to our voices.

And at this point, I don't feel they're being listened to.

Prove me wrong.

Molly, Molly S.

followed by Jack Finger.

Hi.

Um this item of finding people on abandoned animals.

Thank you, Mayor, for pulling it from last week's agenda.

The council would have once again voted on prematurely on an ordinance that would do nothing to bring resolve to our dog crisis or animal crisis.

We already have a state-intense law, like the young lady said.

And as I understand, that doesn't deter people from being an ass and abandoning their pets.

It doesn't.

ACS and 311 agents are the real culprits, the real causes of our current dog crisis, along with illegal dog backyard breeders and people who are unfortunately too irresponsible or unfortunately unable to care properly for a dog or cat.

In addition to ACS, making it too darn easy to adopt a dog, they also have these surrender dog fees.

311 agents have always, they've always been telling people to just release the dog back into the wild.

It's true.

That video that No Kill Shelter has put out on TikTok, it's true.

311 agents have always told people that is the reason why we have the crisis.

Because we're being advised by city staff to just release the animals back in the wild.

And if they're not able to wait for the dog catcher.

The no-kill shelter group is not the only group who may be fined, punished for trying to be good Samaritans.

There are hundreds of autonomous dog and cat advocates who help and serve animals.

How do you think I learned to be the passionate house's human advocate?

All these animal advocates are going to be fined on accident because they do things that ACS often lacks the time, ability, and willingness to do.

Attempting to serve hundreds of stray dogs and cats, colonies all over the city and county, serving their immediate needs of starvation, thirst, and other medical needs.

Please vote no to this amendment to punishing to some to some people because what may look like abandonment is really the advocate, the animal advocates are serving life-sustaining food and water and medical.

Not to mention evicted renters.

That's where I come in.

Evicted renters.

I've spoken with hundreds of them on the right to counsel line at TRLA.

They often get denied assistance from an ACS because they don't have this required ACS surrendering fee.

If they don't have money for rent, how are they going to have money to pay this fee when they have to surrender their fur baby?

This ACS fee needs to cease for these people attempting to do the right thing.

So please work.

I'm almost done.

Please work more with these experts like the no-kill shelter and other animal advocates experts before prematurely voting on this ordinance that will punish the wrong people.

You may submit the rest of your comments for the record if you'd like.

So, yeah, um some things holes I I'm looking at is uh well I looked at the the backup documents 90 percent of the backup documents talks about the pea fowl, the bird, the bride of bird there, which is fine if you want to uh um not abandon them, but you gotta remember they're birds and they can fly, and they may abandon themselves.

I mean, how do you herding uh birds?

Similarly, how do you hurt in say cats?

You ever heard this person trying to herd herd cats?

Now they can they easily could cross any border, unlike dogs, you know.

So, yeah, um big question mark there.

And also the um the the person who came up with this idea, the backup doctors, like I say, 90% of it deals with a P fell.

Only the last 10% says something about all animals.

It's like some committeeman must have said, hey, before we vote, make a big decision on this to recommend it.

Why do we make it for all animals?

Huh?

And say, Yeah, yeah, let's do that.

All animals.

Okay.

Does that extend to say roaches or bugs or anthlies, ants?

I mean, if somebody wanted to get picky about this, they could uh ask you about about those those very items or and uh yeah.

The uh and like as mentioned earlier, what about the little old lady who has say a big German shepherd?

She can't keep it anymore.

What does she do with it?

I mean, that's it's a legitimate question that that may come up in some situations.

Has this thing addressed all these little aspects that you're going to have some some big problems with there?

Uh you may want to postpone it a little bit longer to you get solid answers in all this stuff.

Thank you.

Kelly Walls, followed by Kelly Walls is the final speaker on this item.

Good morning.

I'm Kelly Walls, and I've been an animal rescuer in San Antonio for the last 20 years.

The inclusion of item seven on today's agenda that proposes to amend Chapter 5 to prohibit the abandonment of animals, signals that both city council and city staff feel entitled to pass laws with zero substantial input.

As Mr.

John Gary admitted, this CCR was basically hijacked by ACS with no input from the general public.

The CCR connected to this agenda item strictly dealt with protections for PFOWL.

At no time at all during the April 15 meeting in which the public safety committee members voted to advance the CCR for council vote, was any other animal mentioned.

Yet somehow behind the scenes, additional language was included to address the trapping and abandonment of all animals.

This abandon, or I'm sorry, this amendment is so poorly written that it actually makes it more difficult to prosecute animal abandonment cases.

Now, if this passes, you can only prosecute an individual if they are witnessed both trapping and abandoning the animal.

So while this amendment would make it very easy to prosecute children who capture and release frogs and tadpoles at local parks, it will make it very difficult to prosecute individuals who abandon their dogs and cats.

After working 20 years as a rescuer, I can assure you that owned pets typically are not captured before they're abandoned.

Most cases of pet abandonment simply involve opening the front door and allowing a pet to leave, vacating an apartment or home, and leaving the pet behind, or simply walking the pet into a park and leaving the pet behind.

Because none of the pets in these particular scenarios were captured prior to the abandonment, the animal or the owner cannot be prosecuted under the ordinance.

This amendment also prosecute, I'm sorry, penalizes good Samaritans who find animals are and are instructed by 311 or ACS to return the animals back to the street.

While Jeff Coyle and ACS may tell you that it does not occur, 311 open records request for the audio regarding calls for animal pickup prove that they're lying to you.

Please vote no on item number seven.

Bring it back, allow public discussion, and then let's have a discussion on what really causes animal abandonment, including ACS's failure to address calls for assistance from good Samaritans and pet owners who are desperate to find placement for animals they no longer can care for.

Thank you.

Ma'am, you can submit your comments for the record if you'd like.

Okay.

We have several council members that have signed up to speak.

Uh Chair Alderte Gavito.

Thank you.

I pulled uh this item because there has been a lot of discussion, and I want to use this opportunity to get clarification.

But first off, I do want to thank no kill SA.

I want to thank animal advocates.

Kelly, I know that you're wonderful.

Thank you for making sure that the city is held accountable and making sure that our furry friends also have a voice at the table.

John, thank you for giving the background on how this came to be.

Um this is a needed change that came out of collaboration with animal care services and the community.

Um I do want to note that my office will still continue to work with our neighborhoods about specifically about PFOL.

This ordinance won't change that.

Uh this ordinance is just one more step in the right direction of making San Antonio a safer place for animals.

Um we do need to change the culture of animal ownership and the treatment of animals in our community.

End of story.

So with that, I do want to uh call up staff to clarify some things.

John, um where is John?

I I also thank you for clarifying that this ordinance will work in concert with state abandonment laws.

Um we we know that complementing the state laws that we know that this ordinance complements the state abandonment laws, so thank you for for making that clear.

So um I I want to address a lot of the questions and concerns raised here and online over the past week.

So there have been concerns raised about Section B of the proposed ordinance where it says trapped.

Andy, can you or someone from the legal team define what trapped means in the city code?

Councilman.

I'll ask Joe Nino to go up there and I don't uh and provide some guidance in terms of what is trapped means.

Okay, thank you.

Good afternoon, good morning.

Joe Nina City Attorney's Office.

Trapped is basically has the general term that would then you define it, it's an enclosure that traps an animal for lack of a better word.

So would using the word trapped in this ordinance require that for some reason for someone to be cited or convicted, they must have caught an animal with a physical trap.

That's correct.

Okay.

So would this section apply to an instance where a little kid catches a frog or catches a bird, keeps it for a while, and then releases it back into the wild?

Well, we talk about animals, we're talking more domesticated animals.

I think it's easy to uh under state law, uh the act of abandonment and an unreasonable act, uh, unreasonable abandonment is uh is against state law right now.

So this is just an extra tool uh that basically uh like you indicated the initially started with PFOL and the trapping of P file and then moving up to another location within the city.

So the uh the extra tool in here was the trapping aspect of it.

Councilwoman, to give you a more specific answer.

This this does not apply to a 12-year-old releasing a frog from a jar.

I appreciate that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, uh Andy and Joe.

So in the act of TNR trap neuter and return of feral cats, is that protected here?

Uh yes, Councilwoman.

The uh it's clear in the ordinance that if they are uh trapping and releasing legally, which uh our chapter five does make it legal to release cats, then that would not fall under this ordinance.

Perfect.

And I'm glad because my cat, Meowmex is a is a community cat, and you can always tell because they have their little ear snips.

So thank you for that.

So by which ordinance or law do we know that trap and release of feral cats is protected?

Uh it's protected under in chapter 5, uh 5-154 is is where the uh in our chapter 5.

It's also protected in the State Penal Code under 42.092.

Perfect.

Thank you.

And I do also want to give a shout out to all the people uh the animal advocates hard work who do trap and release cats.

Um I know that it's tough.

Um and and we we we thank you for your work.

So what if someone has traps out and accidentally catches a raccoon or possum?

Are they liable to be cited if they release it?

No, no, they would not be.

There's clear language in there that talks about recklessly releases and so trapping the raccoon and then re-releasing it would not be fallen under this ordinance as well.

Okay, and so if someone wants to remove a wild animal from their property like a rick raccoon, so they trap it, they are protected.

Yes.

And under what penal code?

Uh again, under the state uh penal code for 42.092, there's protections there.

The state does have the requirements, but they're the responsible for enforcing that's not something we enforce at the city level.

Perfect.

Is trap neuter and release TNR of dogs protected?

No, there is there is no uh TNR of dogs currently in the city of San Antonio.

Um and so nobody.

So why not?

Well, dogs, uh unlike cats can pose a danger if you if you release them back out.

There's a there's the potential that they pack up and can create a danger for our community.

Perfect.

That makes complete sense to me.

There have also been reports that be people have been told by animal care services or 311 to put animals back where they found them, which would contradict to this proposed ordinance.

So does ACS currently advise people who have found animals to put them back where they found them?

What we do is we recommend that residents, if they're not able to keep and care for the pet to don't take it in.

That that's what we recommend.

Uh and then call it into us so that we can get it on our call uh volume.

Okay, thanks.

Um, Jeff, this question might be for you.

Does 311 currently advise people who have found animals to put them back where they found them?

No, what John said is exactly correct.

Um when people call having seen a stray, the we ask them to file a stray report that ACS then uses that data to be able to go do sweeps at a later date.

Um in the past, people have called having taken possession of a stray, and that's what's led to some of the confusion.

They say, what do I do with this animal?

So the primary message from the 311 callers is that unless you can hold and care for that animal, you should not take possession of a loose or stray animal.

Rather, you should file a report and let ACS use the data as part of their sweeps process.

Got it.

Thank you.

Thank you all for that clarification.

Because yes, we we do need to make sure that animal care services and 311 are in lockstep with how they are advising residents on this.

Um Andy, briefly, what is the difference between a Class A misdemeanor and a Class C misdemeanor?

Once again, Councilwoman, I'll call on Joe who's our prosecution expert on that.

Councilman, yeah, class A misdemeanor is up to one year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.

Class C's are just fine-only offenses.

Okay, thank you, Joe.

So what is the benefit of adding this ordinance and making abandonment at Class C misdemeanor as opposed just to sticking with state law?

You know, this is just another tool to add.

Remember, ACS investigators have the discretion whether they're going to file a case or not.

So depending on the circumstances, facts determinants on what the liability is.

Uh like I indicated under state law, the the act of unreasonably abandoning an animal is already a state uh violation.

And adding the word trapping to this is just kind of kind of focuses it on on trapped animals and makes those as classes.

It's just another tool.

Okay.

So can briefly, because I know I'm uh uh coming up on time, can you walk us through whether or not this will make it easier for ACS and the judicial system to hold folks accountable for animal abandonment?

Well, what it what it does is it allows us to do what the what the CCR was put in place to do.

It allows us to hold people accountable.

Uh example how the CCR kind of came into play was residents were trapping and then taking PFA and releasing them to other parts of the city.

And so what this additional uh piece does is allow us to enforce uh that and prohibit people from doing that.

Okay.

If if I could add to that, Councilwoman, it also allows that prosecution of the ordinance would fall under our city's prosecution team versus the DA.

Perfect.

Thank you, Andy.

Thank you.

Um, what resources, and again briefly, because I do I'm coming short on time.

What resource, or I'm not sure if we're stopping the clock for their answers.

What resources and support does ACS offer people who are considering surrendering their animals?

Well, obviously the goal is to not take in the animal out the shelter.

And so what we do, we we try to provide things, especially neuter, collar, leashes, microchip, food, uh any kind of type of resources that they may need to try to keep the pet in the home, and then we give them uh advice on how they can re home the pet themselves.

Perfect.

So thank you all for answering my question.

If and when this ordinance goes into effect, I would ask that we do public outreach and education to let people know their options if they find a stray or injured animal and their best course of action.

This should include information about what to do with both domesticated animals and wild animals.

Um as I've mentioned before, the issue of animal dumping in our city is out of hand and it is already illegal.

Uh we we have seen deaths in our community.

We have to make this right.

It should never never be okay to dump a dog.

Um this is complimenting the laws that already exist.

This ordinance change is a no-brainer, and I ask my colleagues for support on this item.

Thank you.

Chair Via Gran.

Thank you.

And I I will be supporting this item today, and I do thank all the animal activists who came up and spoke.

And I understand clearly your frustration and um wanting to make sure that those of you who are rescuing and those of you who are not able to take care are not getting uh in in trouble for this.

And it is my commitment to you all to work with Director Gary on making sure that we are not we when we we do this, we know who we're looking for.

And it is the people that come to the South Side in my district, uh, go by the river and just drop a box of puppies there, and that has happened.

So that that is where my concern is and why I'll be supporting this today.

The other thing this conversation that we're having, this process began with Mayor Costro and trying to make sure that we made people understand when you say hello, when you decide to adopt, you have a responsibility to find out and and prepare yourself for when you have to say goodbye, whether that is re-homing the animal or having to put the animal down because they're suffering.

So this is start.

So think about how long ago Mayor Costro was here, and we they started with those little advertisements where all the council members were holding their pets or a rescue and taking pictures and encouraging you to spay a neuter.

So now we're here, and we need to get the message out that when you say hello to a dog, and if you're in your neighborhood and you want to say hi and maybe throw them a milk bone, where whether versus, hey, come on in, I think I want to house you for a while, um, puppy.

We need to tell them what what the rules are as we do this and understand and let everybody know what sort of state we are in when it comes to our animals and where our um our animal care services is, where our rescues are, because they are at the limit too.

We hit a pandemic, everybody thought it was a good idea to get a pet, and now they're sitting there thinking, how do I re-home this this pet?

And it is going to take time.

There are not people out there just looking for for your dog to come in, especially if they're not trained.

So we need to have an education.

We need our owners to take responsibility.

But right now, I think this is a good first step.

I hear your concerns.

My office and is willing to work if you see that the these that there are bad patterns where rescues are getting there, but I think I feel confident in working with you that you have put the um put the information out there so that we can help if if this does become a problem.

I think we do need to make sure that um 311 and ACS is clear in terms of what what you're gonna do, what you can and can't do.

Uh I gave them some food.

I put out a thing of water.

Oh, I'm I have them in my yard and they're staying with me for three days.

Now I need them gone because they don't get along with my other dogs.

So I think we need to have that conversation as we do the public input on what we can and can't do and how we move that forward.

And I encourage everybody out there who who loves dogs or who wants to foster to get plugged in with one of these rescues because we need we need to do more.

Um, and we need to make sure that we understand the responsibility it is to be a pet owner.

As a pet owner of two, and when I let walk into my house, and that's when I knew he's she's mine, there's no sending her back.

Um, you do need to be prepared for for all of that as you come in.

And I appreciate how uh ACS and rescues have helped me along the way to make sure that they're taken care of and they get their shots and and with the behavior and um the behavior concerns we have.

So thank you for this.

I look forward to supporting it.

I I know I know there was some confusion with the C CR process, but this has been long time coming regarding what we're doing with our pets and how we get how we get our uh kill rates lower.

Thank you.

Councilman White.

Thanks, Mayor.

Uh, I just want to begin by thanking uh Councilwoman Aldrette Govito for the really uh amazing work on this.

Um and and Councilwoman Via Gran brings up a great point.

I didn't even know the history that this started with uh with Mayor Castro, and then of course, in in our last term, um the councilwoman um initiated this through through the CCR process, and I was pleased that that Mayor Nuremberg and the governance committee um moved it along, and then it went to the public safety committee where uh councilwoman Corps and I uh as well as as Councilwoman Aldrette Govito, we uh we heard this, I think at least a couple of times.

There was engagement uh with ACS, there was engagement uh with other members of the community, and we arrive at a place where uh we have a a proposed new order ordinance that I think is gonna go some ways to to deterring the bad behavior that we've seen in our community uh for a long time.

Um abandoning animals is is just simply wrong.

I think it's it's cruel to animals, and I also think in many cases it it poses a a public safety risk uh to our citizens that that you know we've all we've all seen.

And so um this to me is is is really good work by the council.

I'm pleased that that we've arrived here uh today, and I look forward to uh supporting the the new ordinance.

Thanks, Mayor.

Councilwoman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, year after year, what we continue to hear from San Antonio residents through the budget survey is the need for increased animal care service support.

And what I continue to hear from District 5 residents is the need for stronger accountability in terms of uh irresponsible pet ownership and in terms of actions of abandoning animals.

District 5 receives several thousand calls regarding animal care uh needs throughout the district and what that means and what district five residents are asking for is for more sweeps and most importantly, accountability.

Too many San Antonio residents uh continue to uh be concerned with their public safety when walking the streets throughout San Antonio.

San Antonio residents have lost their limbs and their lives because of this issue.

And this is an issue that we should continue to discuss with urgency and importance because this is something that is overall impacting folks no matter what part of the city you're in.

Uh, it's a public safety concern.

So I'm extremely grateful for the the leadership of Councilwoman Adarete Gavito, whether it's working alongside Dr.

Corr and I to establish a West Side span neuter clinic or increasing fines for aggressive animals.

This is something that's reflective of what San Antonio residents are demanding.

Uh but with that I'm extremely grateful for the leadership of John Gary and of course the legal team for refining the language to ensure that uh it's enforceable and there's that accountability piece.

Uh, I'm grateful for uh Brad on the ACS team, right?

Because each council member before it gets put on the agenda, we all each get uh briefings at a one-pager, right?

So there's no surprises when we get up here.

There's opportunity to learn and understand what the issues may be, ask those tough questions and potentially refine the ordinance.

Uh so I'm grateful for for Brad for having that conversation to talk about you know how this will impact uh our community.

Now, one of the concerns that I did hear from district five residents, and I I did hear that uh, but I heard in a response that it would not apply.

But can you uh clarify, for example, if Miss Garcia on Thorigon Street is taking out her trash and her dog runs out of the yard, would this ordinance on abandonment impact Miss Garcia's dog running out of her yard No, I mean the ordinance of wood impact would be free roaming, right?

The dogs are in loose boat, you know, we're gonna work with those residents, and that would not fall under this ordinance.

Thank you.

Thank you for that clarification because that's the concern that I heard.

Um glad and I I walked them through section B of the ordinance, which says it intentionally knowingly or recklessly abandon or release of any animal anywhere in the city that has been trapped and within a person's control and possession.

So glad that it's explicit within the language that it wouldn't apply to individuals whose dogs just run out of the gate.

Um that's an issue as well, but it wouldn't apply to this ordinance, is my point.

Um again, right?

No matter where you live, no matter your income, abandoning animals is an act of cruelty and irresponsibility.

An abandoned animal can become a dangerous to our community due to neglect, injury, and fear.

And I'll be supporting this today because District 5 and San Antonio residents expect urgency on this issue.

Again, too many lives lost, um, and too many folks losing limbs, and too many folks fearing walking their neighborhood.

Uh, and they expect that we take every opportunity to make changes and increase accountability in terms of animal care service.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Any other council members like to speak on this?

Councilman Corr.

Thank you, Mayor.

When we think about our our major issues with ACS, we have to think both proactively and then also reactively as to issues that are happening.

So proactively, like councilman mentioned, making sure we're spaying and neutering more, making sure we're doing more education so our community knows what responsible pet ownership looks like, building those relationships with CASA that we've talked about with that cost of program.

But then also when there are issues, we do have to have consequences, and so this one actually addresses that.

So I wanted to thank both of you all for your leadership.

Thank you for taking a policy idea and making sure that it's more comprehensive because that's what we need.

You've been doing a great job since you've been over there.

Um thank you so much, Mayor.

Uh Chair Galvan.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you uh to my council colleagues for pulling the item, uh having this conversation uh today.

I know it's been a big topic, of course, uh over the last week, but also uh amongst residents in my district and throughout the city about what this really means, right?

And so I'm grateful to have the questions answered a bit more today uh by Director John Gary, uh talk a bit more about what this could mean, what this could impact could have and will have, right?

Um I share a lot of the sentiments and uh statements made by Councilmember Castillo, of course, when working in her office.

Uh I handled those calls, they took those in, heard that from the residents and saw it physically, right?

When we would go out and talk to residents, we would see a loose dog.

We would have to be prepared to make sure that we were also not endangering ourselves doing this work.

Um we knew what it took, right?

Same thing is true in district six, just across commerce, just across all highway 90, just across 34th Street.

We share these a lot of these same issues uh with loose and dangerous dogs in our streets.

Um our residents are asking for change, they're asking for and demanding that we really do something serious on this, and it has to be a care and stick model, right?

It has to be accountability, but also processes to make sure that there are actual pathways to not only education on this piece, but also to spay and neuter services, but also to uh expanded services for uh for shelter space um and all these different pieces that have to come together uh to make sure that we are being uh responsible for our pets, not only individuals, but as a community too.

Um so I I also want to thank uh ACS for the uh proactive work y'all did.

You know, I think uh well the CCR did focus on PFOL, right?

Understanding that that language can be applied further on, updating and standardizing that language throughout our city codes uh is a crucial work uh and important proactive work to do too.

And so I want to thank you all, ACS as well as the attorney's office for seeing where those pieces can uh overlap and can expand.

Um I do I I do share a little bit about the process piece just because looking at the presentation, um I didn't see that this went to the ACS advisory board.

Um, and I'm not too sure if it in the public safety meeting um if there was more conversation about this expanding.

That being said, understanding that the work is urgent, understand that the work is proactive work, I get why it has to come to a session really quickly.

Um but I think you know, in the future, whether it's the this department or other departments making sure that we continue to have that kind of role of the public input is important to me.

Um I think important to this body too to continue to hear what these changes will look like, especially on hot topics, important topics like this.

Um but again, I want to thank you for the proactive work, and I appreciate again looking at it from a view of saying how can we just standardize this across the board and address an issue that's already been identified by community, by this council, by committees.

Um share my support again for this work, um, and of course, continuing to look at our budget as well as other opportunities to continue funding this work uh and the spay and neuter space and the shelter space, as well as the education space.

I think a lot about when we changed the rules uh from the last CCR about uh more aggressive or more fines for aggressive uh and dangerous dogs.

We went out there, right?

The team in District 5 and I, we went out there uh when I was still a staff member into Lumar Park when it was freezing cold, and we still talked to folks.

I think Jungry, that was one of your first weeks uh hearing sentence or here at the city that we went out there uh and did that education, right?

Not only to say here's like uh the resource we have available for folks who have pets and maybe have not or reached out for spay neuter services or for uh uh food or shelter spaces for their um or outdoor shelter for their animals, but also right talking about here's a flyer with everything going on that we're changing, right?

It doesn't have it's not gonna affect you right this second, right?

We just want to let you know beforehand because we know that this can impact somebody who may not know, who may not be used to this with these changes.

And I think that same amount of effort has to go through with these kind of pieces, especially when it's such a uh important topic as animal care services, loose dogs, and all these different pieces here.

So again, thank you for the work, and I'll be supporting this item.

Thank you, Mayor.

Has everyone who has spoken on this item spoken?

That would like who's interested in swinging.

Okay, great.

Um, I've got a couple of questions, um, Andy, from a legal standpoint.

Um, what is the difference exactly between uh the state's uh clause of unreasonably abandoning and then how we have defined it uh to intentionally knowingly or recklessly abandon?

What exactly is the difference in that?

They're very similar, Mayor.

Um the uh because you have a higher uh liability in the state law, uh probably you have a higher uh standard in terms of intentionality.

Um but other than that, they're very similar.

Correct.

Can you clarify that?

Because the states says unreasonable and ours specifically says intentionally under state law, they use the word unreasonable because I think it's one of those they want to focus on the actual release of the animal itself.

If the animal is was basically released to a animal shelter, for example, no issue.

However, if you release that animal in a in the woods, for example, without any food and care, then you know that that's what makes it unreasonable.

So I think that's the that's how state law is basically is uh created their state statute.

Um I mean, just for clarity's sake and implementation, then um would there be value in implementation for making those that that verbiage the same we we can do that as well uh Mr.

Gary Um Thank you for the the presentation.

Thank you for briefing me um uh the pre-brief on this as well.

During that discussion, um you stated that this ordinance change would have, quote, minimal impact.

Why did why do you assess that?

Well, the reason why we're studying minimal impact is because uh abandonment is challenging uh to enforce.

And so uh we receive you know, probably around 400 or so complaints a year, and very few are we actually able to file charges because it's it's very difficult to catch someone in the act of doing it.

So that's why we say minimums, because the cases are few.

Okay.

So with a minimal impact uh with the ordinance change, I guess just give folks a reference point.

I mean, how many how many cases this year of abandonment have you um were you able to pursue successfully?

We had about a half dozen over the last year.

A half dozen, okay.

Uh Mr.

Gary, um, if we wanted to address some of the concerns that have been raised today during during public comment and to ensure we had at least one uh public uh hearing on this or public engagement with folks, how soon could you do something like that?

Uh I can make myself available.

It's very important to me to be available to our residents and answer their questions.

So I appreciate that because I I was, you know, in reading about this and and some and hearing about some of the the pushback, I was concerned that some of the folks that I would think would be natural allies of our work to address this issue, which I can empathize.

I mean, uh when my mom tells me she's got to walk around the duck pond with a stick, I don't like that, right?

And she does that because of, you know, she's scared of the dogs that are that that may be walking around that are unleashed or what have you, not that they're necessarily abandoned, but I can empathize with my colleagues that also see this as a as a public safety safety issue and and hear it from their community.

I do think it's important though, um, given uh the the change here and how um again the original uh uh CCR again I I commend uh councilwoman Alderte Gavito for for trying to address this um and uh specifically that the Peacock and PFOWL issue um understand your intent that there may be broader um applications.

I think though, in looking at the expansion, I think as has been raised in public comment and by some of my colleagues, um, additional clarity on on implementation would be would be helpful um at the very least, and making sure that there's um uh clarity on on the difference in the state uh legal language as well as our own definition.

My concern is well, um, when we think about the the the frankly the kinds of people that end up abandoning their animals, um, oftentimes, as we heard yesterday evening, it's folks that can't afford to take care of their animals.

And you know, regardless of of the um it's no judgment on them.

Um I think I'm also just cognizant of the fact that as we enter into a very difficult fiscal and and economic environment, um, more people on fixed income may be faced with unfortunately having to um uh make a decision about how whether they continue to take care of their animal.

So um can you speak to the the um impact you think it'll have um when we look again at at folks that are likely to do this on fixed income, abandoning their animal, the likelihood of the the deterrent effect of the penalization and given their frankly lack of ability to pay.

Well, I think um you know the people that are doing this are are you are irresponsible that and we're holding those people accountable.

What I would what I would encourage is if we have residents who are going through something that's required them to not be able to or have the ability to care for their pet, reach out to us.

I I mean I'll I'm just gonna tell you I I've been in shelters all over this country and visit with directors all over the country, and there's no community doing what San Antonio is doing as far as the what's available to our residents for resources.

So I would encourage any resident that's finding problems or trouble with their any type of care they need to reach out to us, and we could probably help them get what they need to be able to keep their pay to keep their pet in their home.

That's our number one priority, keeping pets and people together.

And so I would encourage them to reach out to us so we can help them.

As we are um finalizing our budget, can can you speak to um uh whether the resource uh the requested budget that you've submitted, if folks did call to ACS, right, and they did want to hand over their animal to to ACS because they can no longer take care of it and they are now familiar with the new penal uh um penalizations as a result of this of this proposed change.

Um do we have the capacity to take those additional animals?

No, not really.

We stay in capacity.

Well, our first uh goal is when the resident contacts us that needs to simulate their pet is to get down to the reason why.

If it's medical or the pet is a poses a danger to them or the community, we're we're gonna prioritize that one.

Uh if it's something that they may need, just need resources to be able to keep their pet, then we're gonna work on giving them the resources that they need.

And if they truly just no longer can keep their pet, we'll we're gonna work with them to give them advice and and try to help them re-hone the pet on their own prior to coming to us.

And that's gonna always be our priority to you know, keeping animals out of the shelter, it's got to be a huge priority for us.

But at the end of the day, we're gonna be here to support our residents, and if they truly need to get their pet into the shelter, we will work with them to find a way to do that.

Okay.

Thank you for for that very helpful explanation.

I'm I'm thankful that your um the way in which you've also approached this process um has helped underscore that um we can do a lot of work directly with the staff.

Um CCRs um may sometimes be needed, um, as your example shows, they may not be, right?

Um so I want to thank you for the ways in which um you've made that point.

Um you like to add anything else?

No, that's okay.

Thank you, Mr.

Gary.

Okay.

Um councilwoman, I I echo our um our colleagues' uh appreciation for your for your leadership on this issue, um, as well as um want I hear the urgency from community members.

I I do think it's important in light of what we've heard today, um, and in light of even some of the questions from from this dais that we uh work to um clarify those things very quickly.

Um I think this is very close.

Um if I may, this is what I recommend.

I recommend um that we ask legal uh to um ensure that the language at the state level and at the at the city level is the same, so there's no confusion there.

I would also ask that C that that ACS develop a very um uh detailed uh uh communications uh plan on on what these things would would it mean because I think some of the instances that were raised here um and raised by no kill San Antonio are very concerning, um, and we just don't need that misinformation or disinformation out there.

Um uh councilwoman, I would also think it's important and frankly, uh you know, have it in D7.

Um, I think a public opportunity for folks to to weigh in on this, I think is important and will only make it stronger.

Um and uh once those things are are complete, um, I think we can move on this very quickly.

Um so what I propose is those actions happening um between now and the next available A session, uh, which would be October 2nd.

Um and if those things are able to happen by then, then we um we could put it on consent agenda.

Um may I ask if you have any feedback on that?

Thank you.

I think uh we did clarify a lot of questions and concerns today, so thanks again for staff on clarifying that.

I do also um in my last comments talked about the um importance of education and communication to our residents.

I know that councilwoman Terry Castillo talked about block walking.

I mean, but I think that's what this needs.

So, you know, we're good as is.

Thank you.

To clarify, you'd like no public input on this ordinance change.

Just to clarify.

Yeah, okay.

There was well, no, there was public input on this, and we've heard we've all received feedback from our residents about this.

Um we can't delay on this issue any longer.

Dogs are dog and abandoning animals are a problem here.

Thank you.

Are we are we ready to vote?

Not yet.

Okay.

Yeah, thank you.

Again, I can appreciate my my colleagues' willingness um and uh to to lead on this issue.

I think implementation and how we do things is just as important as the idea because again, it could be counterproductive as some of those in our community that really should be our strongest allies on them, and their strong opposition to this ordinance as written, um, as well as some of the uh frankly uh lack of clarity that it sounds like would not take very long, but would in fact make this more um easily enforceable and easily more easily understandable by the public on top of their um not having been uh a this did not go through the the um the ordinance changed uh the expansion did not go through through committee um and there was not a a public engagement specifically on the expansion.

Okay.

Um I understand my colleagues would like to move forward on this on this though, as as written.

There being no further discussion, there's a motion and second for approval of item number seven.

Please vote the motion carries.

The next item is the city manager's report.

Eric, do you have a report today?

Yes, ma'am.

One uh one item I wanted to share with the council.

I'm proud to uh share with the council that um Annie Segovi, our city attorney will be honored um next weekend on September 20th, as uh by the San Antonio Bar Foundation uh as the outstanding lawyer for community service award.

Um so congratulations to Andy and his work.

Uh the the award recognizes a lawyer who has demonstrated outstanding service uh to our community and recognizes individuals that exemplify goodness in the legal profession as as his skills were always needed um uh for our organization while also maintaining the highest level of professionalism and exceptional skills as a counselor and as an advocate.

Uh we have prior prior um uh recipients of this have included uh former judge and mayor Phil Hardberger and uh the Reverend Claude Black.

So Andy is entering uh honored um Hall Halls there uh with this recognition.

Andy's been in the city attorney since 2016.

Uh he leads uh an expert group of of uh of uh attorneys and paralegals, some of which are in the room today, and uh I can't thank him enough for his work for our organization uh in our community.

So congratulations, Andy.

And uh that's it, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um if I may, if I may, Mayor, can I make a course please?

Obviously, this was a surprise.

I was wondering why I needed 30 attorneys for an ACS item.

Um I do want to thank uh uh the the mayor council and Eric and all the staff for all their support uh for what we do.

Uh I'm accepting the honor on behalf of the great team I have.

Uh they're a wonderful team, they're committed to doing what's best from both a professional standpoint and from a community standpoint.

Uh they're committed uh to each other as well to make sure that we hold each other accountable and that we uh have a work environment in which everybody comes to work wanting to do the right thing and actually enjoys coming to work.

So I really do appreciate them all for doing that.

That's always a collective effort, and uh thank you all for doing that.

And I and again I I'm accepting that on behalf on behalf of them because they're they're I I'm privileged to be associated with such a wonderful group of people.

So thanks, Eric.

Thanks, Mayor and Council.

I really do appreciate it.

Congratulations, Andy.

Uh, we have one uh point of personal privilege by Councilwoman Spears.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um on this truly sombre day, I want to pause to honor Charlie Kirk.

He's a he was a devoted husband, loving father, and man of deep Christian faith.

Charlie's life reflected his commitment to family, faith, and principle.

And he built his life with his wife, Erica, and their two young children, grounding his family in love, purpose, and conviction.

He believed deeply in the importance of freedom, personal responsibility, and civic engagement, encouraging others, especially young people, to stand for their values and contribute to their communities.

His legacy reminds us that faith and family are the foundation of strong communities, and that living boldly according to your beliefs strengthens both private and public life.

As we reflect on his life, let us recommit ourselves to these same principles, supporting families, fostering civic responsibility, and serving our communities with courage.

Charlie would remind people that we are called to be like salt and light to work to change the world.

Charlie himself said he wants to be remembered for his courage to defend his faith.

Let's commit to honoring his life and legacy as a city and a nation by abandoning violence and instead embrace the goodness in one another.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Um I think uh as we all recognize it's unfortunately a very uh charged environment.

However, nobody um in our country, nobody in our country, regardless of where they are on the on the political spectrum, uh, should ever have to live in fear of um of violence in such way.

Uh certainly should they they should not have to uh experience political assassinations as as such, and I know as elected officials uh we um honor that, we recognize the weight of our words and the weight of our actions.

Um and uh my thoughts are certainly with uh the the Kirk family.

The time is now 10 54 um a.m.

and this meeting is adjourned.