OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee Meeting - December 4, 2025

City Council — Thursday, December 4, 2025
BodySan Jose, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, December 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:26
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Okay, welcome to PISVS.

0:13

Before we begin, I want to remind the Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee

0:18

members and members of the public to follow our code of conduct at meetings, this including

0:24

commenting on specific agenda item only and addressing the full body. Public

0:30

speaker will not engage in a conversation with the chair, council

0:34

member, or staff. All members of the Public Safety Finance and Strategic

0:39

Support Committee, staff and the public are expected to refrain from abusive

0:45

language, repeated failure to comply with the code of conduct which will disturb,

0:52

disrupt or impede the orderly conduct of this meeting may result in a removal

0:58

from the meeting this meeting of the Public Safety Finance and Strategic

1:03

Support Committee will now come to order can the clerk office please call the

1:09

roll councilmember Tordillos here Casey Mulcahy Kamei

1:15

chair Dwan here thank you thank you so much we're taking a look at the nothing

1:23

on the work plans we're going right to the consent calendars there are two

1:28

items on the consent calendar do we have any public comments there is no public

1:34

comment okay is any council member have comments or concerns on the two consent

1:41

items if not would like to hear a motion please there we go we got first and

1:52

second let's vote

2:00

now we're back on item D1 is the fire department inventory control over

2:08

control substance audit report and there is a presentation PowerPoint by the City

2:18

Auditor Joe Royce, Allison Pauli and Maria Val.

2:29

Good afternoon Joe Royce City Auditor I'm joining the box by Allison Pauli and

2:34

and Maria Valle from my office.

2:36

Also in the box is Chief Robert Sapien

2:38

and Deputy Chief Steve Bowie from the Fire Department.

2:44

We're here to present the audit of Fire Department's inventory controls over controlled substances.

2:49

This audit was added to our work plan following a request from the Fire Chief in April

2:53

after containers of controlled substances were found to be damaged

2:56

and suspected to have been tampered with at a fire station.

2:59

Following an investigation, the San Jose Police Department arrested a fire captain

3:02

related to these incidents. Our audit focused on inventory controls in place

3:07

starting April 2025. I'm going to turn over to Ali who's going to talk a little

3:12

bit about the background and the findings and then we'll leave some time

3:16

at the end for the the the fire department's response and then we're

3:21

open to questions. Hello Alison Pauly from the Office of the City Auditor.

3:26

Per the city's contract with the County of Santa Clara fire has supplies of two

3:31

substances that are controlled by the DEA. These are administered by paramedics to provide

3:36

advanced life support. The two substances are morphine, used for pain management, and

3:41

midazolam, used to treat seizures and for sedation. These medications are ordered by

3:47

the EMS division and stored at a central facility until EMS staff distributes them to fire apparatus.

3:53

Our audit had two findings that focused on the two parts of this process, the management

3:59

of the medications stored on fire apparatus and the central supply management.

4:03

So our first finding focused on the fire apparatus.

4:07

The finding was that policies require securing controlled substances on the fire apparatus

4:12

but should be clarified to reflect current practices.

4:15

The first thing to note is that we reviewed the controlled substances at 17 fire stations

4:19

over several different days in summer of 2025, and we found no evidence of theft or tampering.

4:25

A few key controls to highlight that FHIR has in place.

4:30

Medications are kept locked and bolted to the apparatus.

4:35

Paramedics are doing daily verifications where they inspect every vial on their apparatus.

4:40

A witness is required to be present, and the paramedics are instructed to report any discrepancies

4:46

immediately.

4:48

Both these controls were expanded and strengthened in April and May of 2025.

4:53

FIRE uses electronic records and records in their system an ID number so that each vial

4:58

can be tracked individually.

5:01

These controls are in line with what we saw in other jurisdictions.

5:05

There are a few aspects of FIRE's current inventory management practices that should

5:09

be formalized into policy.

5:12

These include clarifying the requirements for daily and periodic reviews of the controlled

5:16

substance boxes, storage of medications on reserve apparatus, and the protocols for remote

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Homelessness█████████████18%
Transportation Safety███████████15%
Procedural█2%
Community Engagement█2%
Pending Litigation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee Meeting - December 4, 2025

The Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee met on December 4, 2025, to review two major items: an audit of the Fire Department's inventory controls over controlled substances and a status report on the Increasing Community Safety focus area. The committee also heard public comments during open forum.

Consent Calendar

  • The committee unanimously approved two consent items (no specifics provided) without public comment or discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Blair Beekman expressed concern about potential changes to the Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative (BAUASI) federal agency and urged local governments to seek clarification and input on future directions.
  • A second speaker (unnamed) noted that the city is being sued by the Electronic Frontier Foundation over surveillance technology use, arguing the police department has too easy access to surveillance and questioning the need for extensive technology. The speaker advocated for less tech reliance for public safety.

Discussion Items

Fire Department Inventory Control over Controlled Substances Audit (Item D1)

  • City Auditor Joe Royce, along with Allison Pauli and Maria Valle, presented the audit conducted after a fire captain was arrested for tampering with controlled substance containers. The audit reviewed inventory controls at 17 fire stations and the central supply in summer 2025, finding no evidence of theft or tampering.
  • Two findings: (1) Policies for securing controlled substances on fire apparatus should be clarified to reflect current practices, including daily verification, witness requirements, and plans for biometric safes. (2) Central supply management duties are too concentrated in one position (Controlled Substances Program Manager); duties should be separated for better security.
  • Seven recommendations were made, all accepted by Fire Chief Robert Sapien, who reported that most are being implemented quickly, with the longest timeline for procuring biometric safes. Interim hardened safes are already in place.
  • Committee members asked about timeline (no fixed date) and ongoing internal auditing. Chief Sapien noted daily and for-cause audits currently, with future frequency to be evaluated.
  • Motion to accept the report and refer it to the December 16 City Council meeting passed unanimously.

Increasing Community Safety Focus Area Status Report

  • Deputy City Manager Jennifer Schembri presented the report on the City Council's focus area 2.0, which uses logic models to align strategies with problems. The presentation covered indicators, goals, and lessons learned across four problem areas: emergency response, crisis response, crime reduction, and traffic safety.
  • Key data: Resident safety perception up 9% year over year; police priority one response compliance up 2% with an 8% call volume decrease; fire response compliance up 2% with 10% call volume decrease. Crimes against persons down 12%, property down 8%. Traffic fatalities down 29% year over year.
  • Notable successes: 911-988 call transfers to TRUST greatly exceeded the goal of 75 per month (193 and 178 in September/October 2025). Red light camera operations launched with high violation volumes (e.g., 400+ at one intersection in first month).
  • Challenges: Police recruitment found it difficult to meet the 40-recruit class size goal (31 hired, including 8 women). Speed camera program delayed due to federal administration actions. Negotiations with county for Mission Street Recovery Station referrals took longer than expected but are back on track.
  • Future plans: Incorporate focus area learnings into the FY 26-27 budget process with a timeline for priority setting, mayor's March budget message, and a budget study session in May.
  • Committee members expressed appreciation for the framework and the team's work. Questions covered recruitment efforts (military and local recruitment, redistricting to improve response times), automated speed camera grant funding (awaiting resolution), and the Olive Program for oversized lived-in vehicles (new inventory and permanent tow-away signage locations to be brought to council in early 2026).
  • Motion to accept the status report passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee unanimously voted to accept the Fire Department controlled substances audit report and refer it to the City Council meeting on December 16, 2025.
  • The committee unanimously voted to accept the Increasing Community Safety focus area status report.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, welcome to PISVS. Before we begin, I want to remind the Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee members and members of the public to follow our code of conduct at meetings, this including commenting on specific agenda item only and addressing the full body. Public speaker will not engage in a conversation with the chair, council member, or staff. All members of the Public Safety Finance and Strategic Support Committee, staff and the public are expected to refrain from abusive language, repeated failure to comply with the code of conduct which will disturb, disrupt or impede the orderly conduct of this meeting may result in a removal from the meeting this meeting of the Public Safety Finance and Strategic Support Committee will now come to order can the clerk office please call the roll councilmember Tordillos here Casey Mulcahy Kamei chair Dwan here thank you thank you so much we're taking a look at the nothing on the work plans we're going right to the consent calendars there are two items on the consent calendar do we have any public comments there is no public comment okay is any council member have comments or concerns on the two consent items if not would like to hear a motion please there we go we got first and second let's vote now we're back on item D1 is the fire department inventory control over control substance audit report and there is a presentation PowerPoint by the City Auditor Joe Royce, Allison Pauli and Maria Val. Good afternoon Joe Royce City Auditor I'm joining the box by Allison Pauli and and Maria Valle from my office. Also in the box is Chief Robert Sapien and Deputy Chief Steve Bowie from the Fire Department. We're here to present the audit of Fire Department's inventory controls over controlled substances. This audit was added to our work plan following a request from the Fire Chief in April after containers of controlled substances were found to be damaged and suspected to have been tampered with at a fire station. Following an investigation, the San Jose Police Department arrested a fire captain related to these incidents. Our audit focused on inventory controls in place starting April 2025. I'm going to turn over to Ali who's going to talk a little bit about the background and the findings and then we'll leave some time at the end for the the the fire department's response and then we're open to questions. Hello Alison Pauly from the Office of the City Auditor. Per the city's contract with the County of Santa Clara fire has supplies of two substances that are controlled by the DEA. These are administered by paramedics to provide advanced life support. The two substances are morphine, used for pain management, and midazolam, used to treat seizures and for sedation. These medications are ordered by the EMS division and stored at a central facility until EMS staff distributes them to fire apparatus. Our audit had two findings that focused on the two parts of this process, the management of the medications stored on fire apparatus and the central supply management. So our first finding focused on the fire apparatus. The finding was that policies require securing controlled substances on the fire apparatus but should be clarified to reflect current practices. The first thing to note is that we reviewed the controlled substances at 17 fire stations over several different days in summer of 2025, and we found no evidence of theft or tampering. A few key controls to highlight that FHIR has in place. Medications are kept locked and bolted to the apparatus. Paramedics are doing daily verifications where they inspect every vial on their apparatus.

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