All right, good afternoon, everyone.

And welcome to the public safety committee meeting of April 15, 2026.

Our committee leads on Sarah Jordan will provide information instruction for the public to participate in today's meeting.

Sarah, please proceed.

Thank you, Chair Von Wilpert.

Well, members of the public are able to attend the meetings in person.

This meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform.

Members of the public who wish to provide testimony via a call-in or internet-based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first.

This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business.

We appreciate the public's cooperation.

Chair.

Thank you.

I'll now call the public safety committee meeting of April 15, 2026 to order.

Sarah, please call the roll.

Vice Chair Kempio.

Here.

Committee member Campbell.

Committee member Whitburn.

Chair Von Wilpert.

Present.

Also attending the meeting today is Jill Christiak Chris Chick, Office of the City Attorney.

Baku Patel from the Office of the IBA and Coda Seizer from the Office of the Mayor.

And if you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of the committee room and place it in the box indicated at the table at the front of the room.

Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management.

In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins, and members of the public can join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link, which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage.

To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, please dial 1669-2545252 and when prompted, input webinar ID 161-398-0110144 pound.

This information is also available on the agenda and it will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item.

Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be a delay.

And please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak.

If you wish to speak to a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand by speaking the by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're calling participant by pressing star nine on your phone.

If you raise your hand during the non-comment period, your hand will be lowered.

Chair.

Hearing none, do we have any requests for continuance?

Hearing none, let's begin with our consent agenda.

Um Sarah, please.

Uh oh, do we have any requests to pull from consent?

Okay, hearing none, um, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Chair.

The public comment period for the consent agenda is now open.

The consent agenda includes items number one through three.

Item one is the approval of the committee minutes from March 11th, 2026.

Item number two is the authorization to execute a second amendment to the contract with SBCS cooperation corporation, excuse me.

And item number three, second amendment to the agreement between the city of San Diego and Texco doing business's auto-return to provide management and dispatching services.

Towing services, excuse me.

Um, each speaker will have one minute per item, up to three minutes, if you can please indicate which item or items you'll be speaking to.

We will begin with in-person testimony.

Allegedly, Audra, if you would please please approach the lector, and you have indicated you wish to speak to all three consent items.

So I will place three minutes on the clock for you to manage.

So with the minutes.

The fact that the city is complicit because you guys are on the property, you see what's going on, you are witnessing the atrocities and it still continues.

And the concerns of Stephen Whitburn being very good friends with Dr.

Teresa Smith makes me wonder if there's kickbacks coming to him in some way because it's pretty concerning that you know none of that kind of stuff gets written in the minutes.

So I would appreciate if when the minutes are being taken down and I'm addressing Dreams for Change and your guys' being there on the lot, that that is reflected in my comment because when you're taking that out, it it doesn't show what I'm really saying.

I mean, you're talking about me addressing two men that came from B lot that were complaining about things that I've been telling you guys about for a very long time, and it went unaddressed.

So I think that you guys need to be more specific because it needs to be reflected in the record that there is um negligence happening instead of hiding it.

So with uh number two, this SBCS cannot be trusted.

I'm wondering how much money they're taking from these contracts with the 750,000 more that they're getting in a not to exceed amount of 1.25 million, um, because the county of San Diego gave them six million dollars of ARPA funds to open the transfer site that Stephen Whitburn refused to talk about when I asked him why there are military-age men being brought over to the elementary school and bring brought out in white buses.

So they took two million dollars for four months and three weeks of work to pay their employees.

They took one third of the money, which is ridiculous.

I don't know how many employees you could possibly have that you would have to pay two million dollars to over a four-point month period in three weeks.

So uh my concern is that they many NGOs are money whores will come and do anything um to get the money um from a grant, uh, but the money that they are actually spending to provide these services, I don't find that it is a reflection of um good money um management and spending.

And so for this uh towing services, this is interesting because it's like TexCo is doing business as auto return, and now is auto-return holdings doing business as CFC C A holdings.

It's like how many doing businesses as do we need to do with that?

And my concern is that when the San Diego police department brutally assaults someone like Andrea Epping and leaves her uh keys and belongings on the ground after that happens, so that her vehicle gets stolen, then it goes into the tow yard, and the police department won't take responsibility for their negligence in that, and then she has to pay a thousand dollars.

So it seems like it's quite a racket that's going on with these towing companies, especially when the San Diego police department is complicit in the fact that cars are being stolen, and then you guys get a profit off the back end of that.

So there's a lot of negligence going on, and that's a huge public safety threat.

Thank you for your testimony.

That concludes comment here in chambers.

So I'll begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to speak to the consent agenda when I give you permission to speak.

If you'll please indicate which item or items you'll be speaking to, starting with Kathleen Lippett, please unmute and let us know which item or items you'll be speaking to.

My apologies, you changed uh non-agenda public comment to the end of the meeting, and that's what I wish to speak to.

So thank you.

Our next speaker is Lori Saldania.

I've given you permission to speak.

If you can please indicate which item or items you'll be speaking to on the consent agenda.

Uh, thank you.

Yes, I'd like to uh start with item one approval of committee minutes.

Okay.

Uh just the one item.

Uh well, also item two, the uh no shots fired related violence reduction program.

Um regarding the committee minutes, I agree with the previous speaker that there's not a lot of detail on what people's concerns are being expressed or what concerns are being expressed by people.

Uh it's a bit vague, and in some cases, there are acronyms used that make it difficult to know.

For example, what Francine Maxwell was discussing when she provided testimony on the CPP.

It would be helpful to have the full name of an agency or organization uh to help people better understand what's being discussed.

I will say this about the concerns about the sleeping uh site that this is sexual assault awareness month, and one of the concerns for safety in those sites is not having a secure place for people uh that is regularly patrolled by either police or other public safety officials.

So I hope this committee is going to address sexual assault awareness month as as part of April.

And uh in terms of item two, uh the the amendment on the no shots fired gang-related violence.

Uh, you know, I I want to acknowledge the the work of an organization that provides trauma-informed support services and services for formally incarcerated people.

Um, one of the things that the women's legislative caucus in Sacramento worked on were women who were incarcerated and the challenges that they faced when they returned to their home and and the community.

Um, and what we also learned is that many men who returned to their community had been traumatized, had been sexually assaulted, brutalized in other ways.

And so I hope that these programs are dealing with survivors of sexual assault that they're dealing with other people who have, again, as part of their trauma-informed services, support services, because what we know is people who were harmed often harm others.

So I'm glad that there is a prevention program helping with that.

And again, in light of April being sexual assault awareness month, perhaps they can address how they manage that in their programs.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is phone number ending in 870.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

You'll have one minute per item.

And if you can please indicate which item or items you'll be speaking to on the consent agenda.

Two and three.

All right, two minutes, please begin.

Thank you, Sarah.

Uh Joy Sanyaka.

Um number two, um, no shots fired gang-related gun violence reduction program.

Love it, love it.

EOC, the agreement is exempt from workforce report as it is a nonprofit organization.

Uh, yet in the um, and oh, excuse me.

So the subcontractor on this is Sharpat Outreach Ministry of Charity, Apostolic Church.

I don't know that church, but thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Uh, I was confused on the uh workforce stuff because there is a workforce report for SBC.

Uh and I I could probably understand it if I studied it more, but I wanted to put that out there for you.

So uh the workforce report for SBC has 407 employees, all admin.

239 are Hispanic Latino female.

70 of that category are male.

So that's uh amazing.

I love the words community healing, community trust.

Now, in the staff report, please add communities to the key stakeholders and community outreach efforts that was missing, and it's really shows that uh missing part.

Uh love to all, all of you are my heroes.

Uh number three, uh TEGS Co.

Doing business as auto return, EOC question who is CFKAA holdings.

Uh 15 employees, so exempt from workforce report, yet the workforce report is in the backup.

So software application and management of the computer operated towing dispatch center.

Um, the I love software, cost neutral, offset by the tow.

Thank you.

This does conclude your two minutes.

Thank you.

And the final hand up in the queue is Judy Strang.

If you can please unmute and indicate which item or items you'll be speaking to on the consent agenda.

Good afternoon, public safety.

I wanted to speak to one and three.

All right, two minutes on the clock.

Please begin.

You bet.

In the minutes uh last month, I spoke to the emergency medical response audit.

And my concern was uh the genesis of my talk was the cost that poor health has and poor health emergencies have to our first responders, and somehow that got lost in transcription.

And I noticed one of the other speakers, and I remember the talk spoke to drug-impaired alcohol-impaired driving and its role on our roads and keeping them safe, and what a public safety problem that was.

And I just did want to mention since it's April now, that it is alcohol awareness month, and that that's kind of one of the centerpieces of April is alcohol-impaired driving.

So that was a wonderful introduction that we had in the month of March.

And it is, I would agree, very difficult to see how the things that are important to us get lost when the minutes are done.

Although I've taken minutes and meeting notes, and I know how hard that is, so I appreciate the effort.

But somehow the mark is missed when we had things to share.

Um I guess I would just want to emphasize that it's extremely expensive to the city.

The response that our first responders have to make to the problems associated with alcohol tobacco and marijuana drugs, regardless whether they're police or medical.

And we need to remember when we look at budget items that public safety and its costs are a huge portion of it.

And if we could be a little more prevention focused up front, we'd save ourselves more money at the end.

And thank you to the police department for the signs that are hanging over the freeway right now, reminding us about driving alcohol and drug impaired.

Yay, police department.

Thank you for your comments.

And the five-minute timer has expired.

So this concludes testimony on the consent agenda items one through three.

Thank you very much.

And I'll now take any committee member comments, questions or a motion beginning with uh Vice Chair Camp Edo.

I'll move approval of the consent agenda chair.

Thank you.

Now, Councilor Campbell.

I will second that motion.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

We have a motion and second, and I just have a few comments on the uh second amendment to the contract for the no shots fired program.

Uh, thank you very much to our police department for working with the community to prevent gang violence.

And also, we had a whole presentation from the no shots fired program at an earlier committee meeting.

So if you want to hear about the great work they're doing, please check back in the archives of this committee meeting because we had a wonderful presentation about the incredible work they do to intervene with the police department.

Today is just about approving the contract to renew it, so we do continue the great work on gun violence revention.

And with the second amendment um with the agreement for towing dispatch services, this is simply a dispatch program.

This is not deciding when or how cars will be towed.

It's simply so that when it does a call comes in, um, this is how we're going to get the the dispatch done.

And with that correct opposite, I'm getting the nods correct.

Okay.

Um, so with that, let's take the vote on the consent agenda.

And the consent agenda passes unanimously 3-0 with council member Whitburn absent.

All right, thank you very much.

Okay, that brings us to our next item, item four, which is um Sarah, please.

I'm sorry, which is our discussion agenda.

Sarah, please introduce item four.

Thank you, Chair von Wilbert.

Item number four is the proposed amendments to the City of San Diego's earned sick leave and minimum wage ordinance to enhance the city's ability to combat wage theft.

And if you're watching on City TV or the live stream online, you'd like to dial in to speak, please call 1669-2545252.

Inputting webinar ID 161-398-0144 pound.

Chair.

Thank you.

And I have a few introductory comments before we hear this item today.

Um, thank you to my team for doing such a great job on this.

You know, the genesis of of the item today on wage theft enforcement came at our December 12th, 2025 special meeting of the select committee on addressing the cost of living.

Uh, it was the Center on Policy Initiatives gave an information informational presentation regarding the state of wage theft and how it detrimentally affects workers here in San Diego.

It was that that time though, our team noticed a deficiency in San Diego's earned sick leave and minimum wage law, which prohibited our city attorney, our enforcement arm from actually prosecuting businesses who broke the law and steal their workers' hard-earned wages.

So today we're here to fix that.

Um, you know, people in San Diego are working harder than ever, working longer hours and still struggling to make ends meet with the cost of living in our region.

And the least we can do is make sure that they are being fully compensated for the wages they have earned.

Uh but right now, under the current ordinance, there are limitations.

The city does not have explicit authority to recover unpaid wages for workers to prosecute businesses when they break the law, or to recover for overtime.

And that responsibility would fall entirely on the worker themselves to prosecute their own case, which is incredibly hard to do.

And it shouldn't be this way.

The city should have their backs.

This is also for fairness to law-abiding employers who are doing the right thing, actually paying their workers are being undercut by employers who are breaking the law.

So I'm happy to turn it over to my staff.

Thank you again for everyone for being here, and I'll let you take the presentation away.

Thank you, and good afternoon, Chair Von Wolpert and members of the public safety committee.

My name is Justin Garber.

I'm the deputy chief of staff for Council District 5, and I'm joined by AJ Baker, our senior policy advisor for Council District Five.

Today I'll be presenting a proposed amendments to the City of San Diego's earned sick leave and minimum wage ordinance to strengthen enforcement and better combat wage theft.

This item is about ensuring workers are paid what they are legally owed, while giving the city stronger tools to hold bad actors accountable.

Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers the wages and benefits they're legally entitled to.

This can come in many forms, including denying legally required meals and rest breaks, failing to pay overtime, misappropriating of tips, requiring off the clock work, denying earned sick leave, making unlawful deductions, or failing to reimburse employees for work related expenses.

These practices disproportionately impact low-income workers and undermine fair competition for law abiding businesses.

Wage theft is not an isolated issue.

It is widespread and persistent across the country.

According to the U.S.

Department of Labor, more than one billion dollars in back wages and damages were recovered for over 615,000 workers between 2021 and 2024.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, 259 million dollars was recovered for nearly 177,000 workers nationwide.

It is important to note that tracking back wages and damages recovered often come with lag in data and delays.

But these numbers do highlight both the scale of the problem and the importance of strong enforcement mechanisms.

Under our current ordinance, the city does not have explicit authority to recover unpaid wages on behalf of uh workers, unpaid wages and damages on behalf of workers.

That responsibility responsibility falls entirely with individual employees who often lack the resources or the ability to pursue legal action.

Additionally, the ordinance ordinance currently explicitly states that violations cannot be prosecuted as misdemeanors or infractions.

This limits enforcement tools and reduces the ability to deter repeat or willful violators.

Without meaningful consequences, bad bad actors can continue to exploit workers with limited accountability.

The current ordinance also does not expressly allow for recovery of unpaid overtime wages under the city's framework.

And in some areas, the language is not fully aligned with state law or other local ordinances, such as the city's hospitality and minimum wage ordinance.

These gaps create inconsistencies and reduce the effectiveness of enforcement.

First, it would give the city standing to seek damages on behalf of workers.

Secondly, it would authorize misdemeanor chargers charges for employers who commit wage theft.

And third, it would allow both workers and the city to recover unpaid overtime wages.

Together, these changes would significantly enhance accountability and enforcement.

Today's proposed action is requesting the committee authorize the city attorney's office work with Council District 5 to develop amendments to the city's City of San Diego's earned sick leave and minimum wage ordinance.

To one, give the city standing to seek damages on behalf of aggrieved employees under the city's MWO.

Two, to authorize the city to bring misdemeanor charges against employers who commit wage theft in violation of the city's MWO.

And three, to permit aggrieved employees and the city to recover unpaid overtime wages under the city's minimum wage ordinance.

In closing, strengthening this ordinance is about fairness, accountability, and protecting workers across San Diego.

It ensures that the law has real consequences and that workers are not left to navigate these challenges alone.

Thank you for your time today, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

All right, thank you very much for the presentation.

Sarah, please proceed with any public comment.

Thank you, Chair.

We've received two slips here in the committee room.

I'm so sorry, hold on.

I apologize.

But Coop Patel with the IBA's office would like to make some comments.

Uh thank you, Chair.

I just wanted to briefly comment uh that our office has now officially started our review of the mayor's proposed budget, and we are scheduled to release that review in two weeks on April 29th.

As it relates to today's discussion, uh, we would want to note that the proposed budget includes changes to the city's minimum wage program, including the addition of two positions that support the recently approved hospitality worker minimum wage and traffic control worker minimum wage ordinances.

Uh, in addition to that, there is a proposed reduction of one of the two current staff members that support the minimum wage program's investigations.

We are still working to understand that impact of those changes on the minimum wage program, but would want to flag that there may be impact to the department's ability to investigate minimum wage and earn sick leave violations as a result of the proposed budget changes.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much.

And apologies.

All right, now please will see with any public comment.

Thank you, Chair.

We'll begin in-person testimony with allegedly Audra, and you will be followed by Luca Barton.

Each speaker will have two minutes.

And so I'd like to know how much the city makes off of these court proceedings, even though money goes to these people, how much is the city pocketing and that?

And it's just interesting when we live in an inverted world, and you guys engage in wage theft, I would say, with everything that you do, because people work very hard, and you guys take their money and throw it away, and we're always in a constant deficit.

I mean, look at that salary ordinance that passed yesterday.

That was pretty sad to see that there was so much wrong with it, and yet you guys are forced to pass it.

Or you're breaking your charter rules.

So you like put yourself in positions where you have to do that, and then the mayor can go ahead and get it, you know, put in whoever he wants, and we pay for that.

The people pay for your wages, even how much you guys make up on that dice is pretty crazy that you make more than Congress.

And then we're sitting here talking about wanting to protect people's wages.

Of course, you should, but you also shouldn't engage in the same.

It's very hypocritical to, you know, talk about, you know, addressing the cost of living when what pretty much every time you guys are in the chambers, you up the cost of living astronomically.

I mean, even just with the the trash theft that's happening.

It's like you're gonna get billions of dollars with how much money you're taking from the people just to give them new trash cans when they already had another one.

It's like so it's very like a slap in the face to the people when you're like, I want to protect you.

Well, protecting them would also be not to engage in the same thing.

Because I feel like everybody has Stockholm syndrome, and they come up and they thank you guys, and then they'll thank you for this, right?

But they're also not paying attention to what you guys are really doing, which is stabbing them in the back and taking the hard-ended money.

And um, it's just really sad to see.

So my hope is that you guys would course correct and that you would start to see things from off the dais and in a people matter, and like put yourself in their position and see if you would really do the same thing or if you wouldn't.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Luca Barton Hello, I am Luca.

I'm here representing the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.

We represent over 130 unions, over 200,000 union workers and union families across the region.

Uh wage theft is a crisis in this country.

It costs workers in the United States 50 billion dollars a year.

It dwarfs every other form of theft combined.

Yeah, we don't hear it on the news.

It dwarfs ra robberies, burglaries, car thefts, all of it.

And it's happening to the people who can least afford it.

And I know about wage theft firsthand.

Years ago, I worked at a sandwich shop community up in LA.

Uh, luckily they're gone.

Uh, they stole all of my tips and some of my wages.

When I brought it up, I was berated by their attorney through email.

It took me a full year to get my wages and penalties back by going through the Department of Labor Standards enforcement.

And I was lucky because I knew my rights and I knew that I could go that route.

Um I I was privileged enough to wait.

I had savings, I had family support, I had stability.

But most workers don't have this, and that's why this is so important.

That's why these amendments are so important.

Uh, giving the city standing to seek damages on behalf of workers, including unpaid overtime and authorizing misdemeanor charges against bad employers who steal wages are real tools, real deterrence.

A message that the city of San Diego that in the city of San Diego exploiting workers will not be tolerated.

So we want to really thank council member Marty Von Wilpert for uh in her team for bringing this forward and making this uh a reality.

And to the rest of the committee, please support this item.

Workers are counting on you.

Thank you.

That concludes testimony here in the committee room.

So I'll begin the five-minute timer for those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide a comment on item number four and as a reminder, each speaker will have two minutes.

We will begin with Andrea Ebbing.

Please unmute and begin.

Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing.

I appreciate that we are in public safety committee uh looking to protect the rights of people who you know earn minimum wage or um wage theft victims.

But I would encourage everyone to take a look at the people who take the time to present to you on a weekly basis ideas like drone shows for SeaWorld.

Like that was just approved with Joel Ocava and the voice of San Diego, you know, is touting it.

But I did bring that up at the city council.

I bring up pretty good ideas.

I participate, and I am a victim of like multiple incredible violent crimes that took place right in front of your face.

And I have zero protection, none, zero.

But the officers, I don't know if they're under the wage protection, but the 24 officers that stood by and didn't respond to calls while they were on overtime, which we paid them 145 million dollars of overtime.

24 of them.

I couldn't get a non-emergency response for days, hours, days.

But somehow, when I was within inches of my life in front of 40 children by Officer Anthony Warren, 24 officers came to watch and laugh.

And I looked up their tax records, and I found that some of them had about a hundred thousand in other pay, in addition to the regular pay and overtime.

Some of them had 3,000, 10,000, 20,000, 40,000, 4,000.

Some of the rookies had a 500 and a thousand of kickbacks for defendants and rehab programs that I've been blowing the whistle on.

So I would just say all around, you know, maybe just take a look at like who's stealing money, who's laundering money, who's in front of you, begging you for help to be protected as victims in San Diego.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is phone number ending in 8700.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

You will have two minutes.

Love this ordinance.

Now, here's what came forward a few minutes ago.

The budget is has been issued, I believe.

I want to speak to the public and to everyone.

Don't do what I just did.

Because when the IBA gave us that terrible information about what could happen to supporting this program to a certain degree, not eliminating it, but you know, not fully being there for it.

I found myself getting negative about we're not going to make it through the budget in good shape.

Don't do that, everybody, anybody.

I'm I just caught myself, and I'm not gonna do it.

We're gonna support this program.

We're gonna support our people.

And this budget isn't gonna knock us down because we're gonna fight, and we're gonna make sure that we take the opportunity to seize whatever we can that's coming forward.

We're gonna meet the moment, regardless of what the moment brings us.

So I'm just very passionate about this because I was shocked that I could feel my energy dropping, and I don't usually do that.

And so I had to get that off my chest.

So thank you for listening.

And and I I really appreciate your listening.

So I just love this program.

I talk to young people, they're all working two, three jobs.

The parents aren't there with the kids.

They're out there trying to make ends meet.

And the city in the past hasn't even been able to legally help them in on this this fraud.

So I'm just thrilled that we're doing this.

Thank you, everybody that's making it happen.

And and the cost of living committee people.

I just love you to pieces for that.

So uh stay together and stay positive.

And my key word is opportunity.

Love to all.

Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Judy Strang.

Please unmute and begin.

You will have two minutes.

Good afternoon, public safety committee.

Um on the face of it, I greatly support the concept.

I'm assuming this is for residents who aren't hired by the city of San Diego because you must have an internal process to take care of your people.

And I apologize for the phone in the background.

And so, on behalf of the residents of the city of San Diego, this on the face of it sounds good.

However, we had a presentation of Board of Supervisors that the Board of Supervisors was establishing internally with their lawyers, this very same type of program of protection for the residents of in this case the entire county, but it would certainly include the city of San Diego.

And somehow or another, they needed a much larger, elaborate program that even exists in the district attorney.

And the district attorney came and spoke to how this is part of the heart of what they want to do at the district attorney is to protect the residents of the county.

And I assume that must mean the city of San Diego.

And that a lot of folks, employees who have problems, there's more than just one of them, and the company that they're involved with is more than just one company.

So it allows the district attorney to go after companies that have established these policies or at least practices that harm our uh citizens here in the city of San Diego as they go to work.

So I'm a little concerned about where is this program operating from?

Is this the city attorney's office?

How does it compare to what the district attorney is doing and how it compares to what now the county wants to do, which is a really large and heavily funded and heavily resourced with staff and make sure there is a duplication of services.

There seems to be at least the duplication of goals.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comment.

And with the five-minute timer expiring, this concludes testimony on item four.

All right, thank you very much.

Um, thank you to the my staff for the incredible work on this.

Thank you to the San Diego Labor Council for coming and supporting.

Um, and thank you to the Center on Policy Initiatives who highlighted the city's inability to actually prosecute wage theft as a misdemeanor.

And um, I will make the motion to um uh approve staff's recommendation.

And also there are very different roles for the city attorney and the district attorney.

Um, you know, the city attorney is the only one authorized to prosecute misdemeanors in the city of San Diego.

The district attorney, of course, prosecutes felonies, but the wage theft is so rampant in our city, and workers are so vulnerable that we need all the enforcement hands on deck that we can have.

Um right now, workers have to go to the California state level for the California Department of Labor to try and prosecute their wage theft.

And that shouldn't be the case here in San Diego.

We should be holding employers accountable.

So I'm happy to make the motion to approve staff's recommendation, and I'll now turn over to Vice Chair Campillo.

Thank you very much, Chair Von Wilbert, and thank you to your staff for their good work in this uh today, looking at an opportunity to strengthen a very fundamental principle of fairness in our city.

When you work a long day, you deserve fair pay.

And of course, wage theft isn't a series of isolated incidents, it's a widespread problem affecting workers across every community and every industry in small ways and in big ways, and it piles up over the course of time.

So when workers are denied their overtime and forced to work off the clock or stripped of their own wages, and their families are the ones that suffer.

Uh honest businesses are undercut by people who break the rules as well.

Uh we have to remember that there are businesses that are keeping track, are paying to have that accountant make sure every dollar is paid out appropriately, and they look around and see the city not enforcing the rules.

They say, why should they follow the rules?

So this is really about fairness and making sure everyone follows the law.

Amendments to the minimum wage ordinance would give the city the tools, as you've explained, to hold bad actors accountable and recover unpaid wages on behalf of the workers and prosecute the violations that are necessary.

Uh, they it strengthens enforcement, protects responsible employers, and sends a clear message that we're not going to tolerate this in San Diego.

Uh, as the presentation pointed out, billions of dollars are stolen from workers every year.

Uh that's uh just think of the multiplic multiplicative effect of having another billion dollar of wages in families' pockets that's spent in the economy three, four, five times over.

That's that's keeping more than five billion dollars out of the economy.

Uh, this is really something that affects us all and that everybody should be concerned about.

And I'm really glad that our committee and you are concerned about it.

I'm concerned about it, and so I will second the motion.

Thank you very much.

All right, thank you.

That I think concludes our council for comment.

Um, and now I'll take the vote.

And item four passes unanimously three zero with council member Whitburn absent.

All right, thank you very much.

Thank you to my staff, thank you to the my colleagues.

We will be bringing forth a fully approved city attorney vetted ordinance for full committee uh hearing pretty soon.

And uh now that brings us to the end of our discussion agenda, and we will proceed with non-agenda public comment.

Um Sarah, please proceed with non-Ope.

Hold on.

Sorry, I'm not in my here.

We go.

Um the council members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings.

Sarah, now please proceed with non-agenda public comment.

Thank you, Chair von Wilbert, per rule 2.7 on agenda public comment as an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of this committee.

Each speaker will have two minutes.

And again, if you're watching on City TV or the live stream online, please dial 1669-2545252.

Inputting webinar ID 161-398-0144 pound will begin with testimony here in the committee room, allegedly, Audra.

If you would please approach the lector, and you will have two minutes to provide your non-agenda public comment.

And the fact that she was talking about her experience at Los Calinas, and women who have lost their children are being put in solitary confinement, strapped to beds, and being on suicide watches because they had their child ripped from their womb.

And um, it's very sad to see that that is being seen as a psychotic episode and a reason for Anthony Warner, um, officer badge number 1665 of the San Diego police department to brutally assault her and claim that he got bit and that he can't work.

Well, he never told her that she was under arrest, and he never treated it alike an 11550 or a 5150.

Yet he went out of his way to slam her head into the ground, knowing that she had an aneurysm, he also maced her in the face.

And now she's going to be charged with a felony.

It's very concerning because I'm concerned about Falk Ambulance and uh the San Diego police department and Prop 36 and how it's being used.

Because Andrea's been exposing the fraud that's been going on with that, including with some or Stefan.

And now I believe that they're going to use that on her to force her into some kind of treatment, which her ex Matt Bruin is actually complicit with the DA and puts people through these program, they get kickbacks for, and you drug people and you know, just keep them in the system.

But it's very concerning that when you are exposing something that you're treated like you're having a psychotic episode.

But honestly, the burden of knowledge compels you to speak.

And so it may seem crazy when you're talking about women that have lost their children and your concerns about them, but it shouldn't be a reason for an officer to brutally assault a woman.

Thank you for your testimony.

I'll begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide non-agenda public comment at this time.

Each speaker will have two minutes, and we currently have seven hands raised.

We'll begin testimony with Lori Saldania.

Please unmute and begin.

Uh yes, thank you.

So here we are back in April, which is uh denim day coming up to recognize that uh we need to do a better job in the city of San Diego and really everywhere to protect women from sexual assault and make sure that when they are assaulted, that they have access to justice by reporting their crimes, going through the sexual assault evidence kit process, but most importantly, here in San Diego, having the results of those kits tested.

So it's been over a year, or well, coming up on a year since the public safety committee held a hearing and disclosed that that uh the police department disclosed that they had thousands of untested evidence kits in their possession, going back in some cases decades.

And when they finally, because the state law changed, thanks to pressure from legislators to force them to test those kits.

It was only then that they came to your committee and acknowledged hundreds of perpetrators who were identified through those DNA results, had apparently never been prosecuted because they had not been identified and then had that information sent to the district attorney's office.

Raoul Campillo was horrified.

The chair of this committee was horrified to hear these testimony that the information from the police officers who came in.

But what I have not heard or seen from this committee is what you have done since then to make sure that those cases are being followed up, that the people who trusted the police department to test those kits and turn them over to the justice system ever received justice and went through a court proceeding.

So you still have time.

I hope that someone is going to bring forward another resolution this year.

And I encourage you to make sure whatever resolution and proclamation is done, includes some follow-up.

What justice has been made available to those thousands of women, mostly women and men, to be identified or to get justice in the system.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Francine Maxwell.

Please unmute and begin.

Francine Maxwell, Southeastern San Diego resident.

It's interesting when the chair talks about others being held accountable, but she doesn't hold herself accountable for the fact that CPP is at a standstill.

Again, we understand POA and meet and confer three, four years, but the fact that we're still sitting without an attorney, multiple empty seats.

The city council is in charge of the CPP.

So somebody make it make sense why we're not holding the city council accountable for the way that the San Diego police department is having little to no oversight.

Measure B was passed across the aisles, across boundaries, across redlining in our history.

And the fact that this city council just sits like crickets, the fact that San Diego Police Department is not having oversight is just amazing to me.

We know that public safety is so important.

And the survey, the budget survey, spoke to it.

A KPBS article on 6524 talked about 47th and Fairmont, the Webster area for a fire station.

Why hasn't that been brought to the council?

NOP was sent out 1124.

Why hasn't we talked about it?

Public safety means for all.

So this seems to me that if all of this was happening in 2024, environmental studies, NOPs, KPBS articles, press conferences.

Why haven't we found out where this is being hidden?

Because 28 million unfunded was the first um estimate for this, and we need a regional park there on 47th.

We don't need a new fire station, but we do need a fire station.

My skyline fire station is still in a tent and a trailer.

I'm not understanding why that's not on the schedule.

And you guys are talking about it.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Thank you for your comment.

Our next speaker is Andrea Ebbing.

Please unmute and begin.

Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing.

Laurie Saldania, I think that was Laurie Saldania speaking first on virtual.

And I just wanted to say, Raul Campillo, if it did horrify you, uh, but the rape kits and my beatdown didn't horrify you, and my child abduction, the attempted murder, and the five years of malicious prosecution, very obvious created contrived falsified cases and false imprisonments of a district seven resident, and then my brutal beatdown in front of 40 children in a park which has no lights and no cameras.

If that doesn't disgust you, maybe my open rape kit will disgust you.

It took six hours with Palomar Health.

Uh, she said I was the most injured person she's ever seen head to toe because of Anthony Warner.

And God bless you, Audra, thank you so much for your comments earlier.

Um yeah, I was I was deeply disturbed about what I saw at Las Colinas.

I also live in this neighborhood, and I know everyone in my neighborhood.

And these kids are, you know, I I don't want them to go to jail.

I want them to play sports and make good decisions.

And these kids are skaters, and I'm a skater, and I was talking to them about an experience that I had.

Yeah.

That was my experience.

I went to a place that was absolutely terrible that you do not want to go to, but I only went there because I got a falsified case against me.

A 100,000 dollar warrant was issued for my arrest for getting brain surgery, life-saving brain surgery for ruptured aneurysm on November 4th, 2025.

And anyone listening, including you up there on the dais, you know that is atrocious.

That is a vulgar display of public corruption.

The fact that had to spend eight days in Las Colinas right before being released to be almost beaten to death with shingles, denied my antivirals, denied my antibiotics with 230 over 110 blood pressure is unacceptable.

Thank you for your testimony.

The five-minute timer has concluded.

We have five hands remaining in the queue.

We will take no other callers beyond these five hands.

Kathleen Lippett, please unmute and provide your non-agenda public comment at this time.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Wilperton committee members.

My name is Kathleen Lippett.

And due to my research background and drug policies, I would like to address the issue of city smoke shops selling items that they are not permitted to sell per AB8, which was signed October 2nd, 2025 by Governor Newsom.

That required hemp derived intoxicants are only to be sold in licensed dispensaries.

Kratom, also known as 70H and Delta 8, is routinely sold in the open in these unregulated, not overseen smoke shops.

They are not allowed to be sold anywhere in California.

As well as the city of San Diego.

If the city is serious about regulating dispensaries and trying to minimize their harmful impacts, preventing unfair competition from unpermitted pot shops and unregulated smoke shops should be important to you.

Prevention colleagues in San Fernando Valley visited 300 of their 352 smoke shops.

And they found that they were continuing to sell these banned products.

Significant legislation such as AB8 is important to protect, but it doesn't do any good if it's passed and not enforced.

It was passed to help protect consumers by stopping the sale of illegal intoxicating hemp products being sold statewide.

Please listen to also to whistleblowers such as the original and Andrea Ebding.

Also, Lori Saldaña and Council Member Tempio.

They are to be lauded for their concern for the state for the city's failure to test every single rape case.

The broken windows theory is something that you all should look at.

It's important.

Thank you for letting me speak.

Thank you for your comment.

Becky Rapp, please unmute and begin.

Good afternoon.

My name is Becky Rapp, and I come to speak today to this committee out of gratitude to the mayor's office for prioritizing public health in its mayor's draft 2027 budget because at first glance it does not appear that funding has been included to launch the socially equitable cannabis program.

For many community members, this comes as a relief.

Residents across San Diego are asking for a renewed focus on public health and safety while making responsible fiscal decisions.

Implementing the socially equitable cannabis program would require substantial city resources as well as compound very real public health and behavioral health challenges our city is already facing.

Emergency room physicians and healthcare providers are increasingly speaking out about what they're seeing firsthand.

Rising cases of marijuana related emergency visits, including psychosis, anxiety episodes, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

Consequences that have the potential of permanently altering the brain, the developing brain.

These patients, these patients are showing up in our hospitals, and it's affecting families across our city.

I urge this committee to hear directly from local medical professionals.

Please invite emergency physicians, behavioral health experts, and public health leaders to present data and share their real world experiences from the front lines.

So let's reevaluate the current program in place and prioritize the health and safety of our residents.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Phone number ending in 870.

You can unmute by pressing star six.

Now coming up in June, more in full since that presentation of the last one.

So I'm excited about that.

And yesterday I Googled 911.

And wow, is it details?

Very confusing.

And just didn't feel right, but there's a lot of stuff out there that they're presenting to the public.

So question folk contract.

When we were working on the contract a while back, uh, there were data presented which was very good on the ambulances responsive and so forth.

So I don't know how that fits into what's being presented to us now on the response uh improvement that's needed.

Now AMR part of the whole deal.

Uh they're part of a contract.

I understand now, I don't get it.

So I'm excited about the uh this changes my topic just slightly.

I'm excited about the real-time operation center, the RTOC.

The RTOC is focused on proactive crime fighting and efficient resource management adapting to the current needs of the department, SDPD and the community.

The RTOC is a great step forward for public safety of both officers and public.

Now let's repeat that with a great step forward for the public.

So SDPD, you know, I love you.

I give you high signs when I see you on the road.

Sometimes even a hard hand.

Thank you.

This does conclude your time.

Thank you for your comment.

Thank you, Sarah.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Madison.

Please unmute and begin.

Hi, thank you.

I'm here to speak about a growing public safety concern, which is impaired driving associated with high THD cannabis.

Specifically the very real challenges this creates for law enforcement.

Our recent study made something clear, which is that we do not have a reliable practical way for police officers to measure marijuana impairment at the roadside like we do with alcohol.

There's not a THC breathalizer to measure levels of impairment that would we have for blood since it's processed differently in the body.

This leaves our police officers in a difficult position.

So even as marijuana use becomes more normalized and accessible, the enforcement has not kept pace.

Officers are forced to rely on subjective observations and limited testing methods, which are harder to defend and apply consistently.

At the same time, we know THC re impacts reaction time, coordination, and judgment, all essential for safe driving.

The risk is real, but our ability to act on it is limited.

When you combine increased access to high potency products with these enforcement gaps, it creates a serious public safety issue.

More use means more impaired drivers, but not more effective enforcement.

As you consider policies around expanding marijuana storefronts, I urge you to think about the burden that's places on our police.

We should not expand access faster than live enforcement with the tools they need to keep our roads safe.

A safety first approach means recognizing that this gap still exists and not allowing more marijuana storefronts.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

Terry Ann Skelly, please unmute and begin.

Good afternoon, public safety chair Von Wilbert.

My name is Terry Ann Skelly.

I came to public safety today to share with you a growing concern at my planning group, reference to uh tobacco and marijuana, secondhand smoke and vapor on our hiking trails and our small sidewalks that connect the neighborhoods in my area and around the areas that they go to in San Diego to attend events and enjoy a night out a night out.

The tobacco and marijuana litter is also noticeable.

I recently received a fact sheet from Americans for non-smokers' rights entitled Facts About Secondhand Marijuana Smoke.

Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights, the 40-year-old premier nonprofit organization promotes prevention and education about smoking, vaping, and secondhand smoke and vape.

It has been their role to expose the tobacco industry's interference with public health policies.

Ultimately, their intent is to create a smoke-free vapory generation of Americans that rejects tobacco use and it's savvy to tobacco industry's marketing tactics.

Over the last five years, Americans for non-smokers' rights has added marijuana to all of its educational prevention efforts.

Their fact sheet states that I quote secondhand smoke, secondhand marijuana smoke and vape contains many of the same cancer-causing substances and toxic chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke and vapor.

Now could be a great time for the city to consider a ban of public marijuana and tobacco smoking, smoking and vaping in our public areas.

Thank you for hearing my concerns this afternoon.

Thank you for your testimony.

And the final caller in our queue is Judy Strang.

Please unmute and provide your non-agenda public comment.

Good afternoon.

And thank you for this opportunity.

It was not my goal to speak what will now be three times.

I had thought and had arranged with an associate so that I could speak shortly after two when I thought non-agenda public comment was going to be.

And I just want to add my voice to those who find speaking here difficult and have to arrange our work life around it.

My colleagues and other associates are good to me because they they understand the passion I have to protect children.

So they assist by uh letting me be a voice for them.

And thank you for that opportunity.

I would again like to stress how valuable prevention is to cost.

I'm glad to see the mayor's budget is out, and I like that there will always be uh more of an emphasis on what we can do up front, and so we're not funding programs that only cause problems instead of solve them.

And I would call to our attention again for our first responders that any survey you look at for first responders, the things that they are most often called out for those things associated with disorderly or destructive conduct or mental health problems, neighborhoods disputes, welfare checks, and as they put it, behavioral health crises.

When you take a look at all of these things, and also high frequency repeated calls for the same people related to their drug use.

When you look at all these things, they have that commonality that if we could do more up front for people's alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and drug use, we could save ourselves a great deal of money out the back with public safety personnel and programs.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony and chair.

This concludes non-agenda public comment.

All right, thank you very much, everyone who participated in today's meeting.

I will now adjourn this meeting of the public safety committee meeting to our next regular scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 2 p.m.

We are adjourned.