Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

San José Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee Meeting – October 15, 2026

City Council — Thursday, October 15, 2026

BodySan Jose, California

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, October 15, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:17:12

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:13

Thank you for your patience.

0:16

Okay.

0:18

Good afternoon and welcome to public safety finance and strategic support committee meeting.

0:24

Members of the public attending in person or online may provide comments on matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body.

0:32

Speaker must comply with the city codes of conduct for public meetings, including in the agenda.

0:39

Conduct that materially disrupt the meeting or interfere with other ability to participate may result in muting, removal, or other action required by law.

0:51

If you are participating by phone, press pound, I'm sorry, star nine to raise your

Unassigned speaker

0:58

hand

Speaker 1

0:58

when your item comes.

1:00

This meeting of the public safety, finance, and strategic support committee will now come to order.

1:05

Can the clerk office please take order?

1:07

Yes.

Speaker 2

1:08

Councilmember Tordillos.

1:10

Here.

1:10

Casey.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Mulcahi.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Come.

1:14

Here.

1:14

And Don.

Speaker 1

1:15

Here.

Speaker 2

1:16

You have a quorum.

Speaker 1

1:17

Thank you so much.

1:20

Item one been deferred.

1:23

This item.

1:24

So we're gonna go to the next item would

Unassigned speaker

1:26

be

Speaker 1

1:27

retirement investment annual report.

1:32

And that would be presented by John Flynn.

1:37

John Flynn, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Retirement, and Jay Quan, Chief Investment Officer, Office of Retirement Services.

Speaker 3

1:59

Afternoon,

Speaker 4

2:00

Council Members.

2:02

John Flynn,

Speaker 3

2:03

CEO of the Office of Retirement Services.

2:06

I'm here today to introduce Jay Quan as our uh new Chief Investment Officer, and uh Jay is going to be presenting today.

Speaker 5

2:15

Good afternoon, Jay Kwan, Office of Retirement Services.

2:18

I'm here to present the report of annual investment returns for the Federated System and Police and Fire Department retirement plans.

2:26

You

Speaker 6

2:26

may

Speaker 5

2:27

remember that the plans assume that the investment portfolio earns a certain rate of return every year for both plans.

2:34

That assumed rate is currently 6.6%.

2:38

I'm happy to report that the plan returns for the prior fiscal year were 13.6% for federated and 13.1% for police and fire.

2:48

So uh to be explicit, the returns for both plans were in excess of their assumed rates.

2:56

Performance was largely driven by global stocks, which returned about 20% over the fiscal year.

3:01

Uh returns for other asset classes were more muted, but given that approximately half of the assets of either plan are in stocks, that was a fairly good uh allocation.

3:12

Uh so to reiterate, returns were

Unassigned speaker

3:14

good,

Speaker 5

3:15

double the discount rate, and in fact, they've beaten the discount rate for the past four years.

3:21

I'm gonna stop here for any questions, but in uh as a default, the recommendation is that the committee accept the annual pension and health care investment performance report for the police and fire plan and the federated system for fiscal year 2025-26.

Speaker 1

3:39

Look, do we have any public comments?

3:41

No, no public comment.

3:43

Well, thank you so much.

3:44

Thank you for the uh short presentation.

3:46

I'm gonna go to my colleagues, uh Councilmember Casey.

Speaker 7

3:53

Right on, thank you, Mike.

3:55

And uh Jay, uh, I'm gonna make a motion to accept the report.

Speaker 8

3:58

Second.

Speaker 7

4:01

No other

Speaker 1

4:02

comments.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████51%

Personnel Matters███████████████17%

Emergency Management██████████████16%

Public Finance████5%

Technology and Innovation████4%

Public Health████4%

Procedural██2%

Public Comment█1%

Summary of Proceedings

San José Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee Meeting – October 15, 2026

The Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee (PSFSS) met on October 15, 2026, at 1:30 PM in a hybrid format. The committee reviewed three annual reports: retirement plan investment performance, police recruitment and hiring, and fire department operations. All reports were accepted unanimously after presentations, discussions, and public comment.

Public Comments & Testimony

Brian (on Police Recruitment): Commented via Zoom, suggesting the police department create shows depicting real police work (investigative and community interaction) to improve recruitment. The police captain acknowledged the suggestion.
Brian (on Fire Department Operations): Asked whether the fire department tracked emergencies linked to unhoused individuals or fires in specific areas. Staff noted that data was not currently studied at that level.
Open Forum – Daniel (in person): Stated he witnessed a sexual assault eight years ago and has struggled to address it, feeling labeled as incompetent. He asked for assistance. The committee directed a staff member to follow up.
Open Forum – Brian (on Zoom): Commented on public safety related to driving, urging drivers to obey traffic laws to reduce accidents, which in turn reduces calls for police and fire services.

Discussion Items

1. Retirement Plans Investments Annual Report (CC 26-109)

Presenter: John Flynn (CEO, Office of Retirement) and Jay Quan (Chief Investment Officer, Office of Retirement Services).
Key Details: For Fiscal Year 2025-2026, the Federated City Employees' Retirement System returned 13.6% and the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan returned 13.1%, both exceeding the assumed rate of 6.6%. Performance was largely driven by global stocks, which returned about 20% over the fiscal year. The plans have beaten the discount rate for four consecutive years.
Committee Action: Councilmember Casey moved to accept the report; seconded and passed unanimously.

2. Police Department Recruitment and Hiring Activity Report (CC 26-111)

Presenter: Captain Mike O'Neill (Bureau of Administration) with Deputy Chief Dwyer.
Key Details:
- 116 police recruits and laterals hired in FY 2025-2026, including 11 direct laterals (officers returning to SJPD).
- Applications rose 162% year-over-year, but only 2.5–4.3% of applicants per academy class become hires (class sizes 30–38; academy capacity is 60).
- Sworn staffing: 1,167 budgeted positions, 1,061 filled (106 vacancies). However, only 897 officers are “street ready,” and patrol staffing stands at 457 officers spread across 16 districts, 3 shifts.
- Separations: 120 total, including 38 unprojected (unexpected) vacancies.
- Gender representation: 12.74% female sworn (officer rank: 14.6%; sergeant: 4.2%; lieutenant: 9.8%). The department signed the “30 by 30” initiative aiming for 30% female by 2030.
- Recruitment strategies: digital outreach (Epic, Cal-Hi Sports), Wednesday Night Fitness, military Skillbridge program, and a cadet program (59 cadets; over half female).
- Early non-selection process to disqualify applicants with integrity issues, past criminal conduct, or failure to follow through, reducing background investigation costs.
Councilmember Inquiries: Chair Doan asked about patrol officer distribution per shift (approx. 68–75 per watch, minimum 68 on midnights) and the ideal staffing level. Staff noted San Jose is likely the lowest-staffed department of its size in the nation; one historical estimate suggested 400–500 additional officers were needed 20 years ago. Councilmember Kamei requested year-over-year data on gender representation to track progress toward the 30 by 30 goal. Councilmember Mulcahy asked about FY 2026-2027 trends and the cost of processing increased applications; staff noted early non-selection controls costs.
Committee Action: Councilmember Kamei moved to accept the report; seconded and passed unanimously.

3. Fire Department Operations Annual Report (CC 26-113)

Presenter: Assistant Chief James Dobson with Fire Chief Robert Sapian Jr.
Key Details:
- Service area: ~979,000 residents across >200 square miles.
- FY 2025-2026 call volume: approximately 110,000 calls, a decrease of about 1.4% (1,000 fewer calls) from FY 2024-2025. EMS calls accounted for 66,000 (60%) of total calls.
- Response time performance: City target of 80% of calls within 8 minutes; actual average was 63%. County EMS Code 3 performance averaged 85% (county target 90%).
- Unit Hour Utilization (UHU): 28 response units exceeded the 10% threshold; 4 exceeded 20%. High call volume concentration in downtown core (Station 26 had 5,701 incidents, highest).
- Initiatives: CAD-to-CAD link phase 1 active; next-gen 911 phone system planned for FY 2026-2027; traffic signal preemption pilot; closest unit dispatch implementation delayed to Q4 FY 2026-2027; community paramedicine mobile care unit launched October 1, 2026 (awaiting state authorization through Santa Clara County).
- Fire station construction: Station 32 (scheduled completion Oct 2026) faces operational funding challenges; Station 36 (bid proposals winter 2027, completion winter 2028). A grant application for 7 firefighter positions was not awarded in the initial round; further rounds remain possible.
Councilmember Inquiries: Chair Doan questioned the impact of high UHU and the domino effect on response coverage; staff noted need for more resources or reduced call demand. Chair Doan asked about planning for resource needs when new stations open; the city manager's office noted that operational costs are forecast in base budgets but may be deferred during deficit years. Councilmember Kamei asked about the community paramedicine program's state authorization status and timeline; staff confirmed the application was forwarded and that mobile integrated health activities have already begun.
Committee Action: Councilmember Kamei moved to accept the report; seconded and passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

All three reports accepted unanimously:
- Retirement Plans Investments Annual Report (CC 26-109) – accepted.
- Police Department Recruitment and Hiring Activity Report (CC 26-111) – accepted. Committee directed staff to provide year-over-year gender representation data in future reports.
- Fire Department Operations Annual Report (CC 26-113) – accepted.
Work Plan item deferred: Item CC 26-120 (Downtown High-Acuity Referral System) was deferred as previously directed.
Staff follow-up requested: The committee asked staff to reach out to the public speaker (Daniel) who reported witnessing a sexual assault.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you for your patience. Okay. Good afternoon and welcome to public safety finance and strategic support committee meeting. Members of the public attending in person or online may provide comments on matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body. Speaker must comply with the city codes of conduct for public meetings, including in the agenda. Conduct that materially disrupt the meeting or interfere with other ability to participate may result in muting, removal, or other action required by law. If you are participating by phone, press pound, I'm sorry, star nine to raise your hand when your item comes. This meeting of the public safety, finance, and strategic support committee will now come to order. Can the clerk office please take order? Yes. Councilmember Tordillos. Here. Casey. Here. Mulcahi. Here. Come. Here. And Don. Here. You have a quorum. Thank you so much. Item one been deferred. This item. So we're gonna go to the next item would be retirement investment annual report. And that would be presented by John Flynn. John Flynn, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Retirement, and Jay Quan, Chief Investment Officer, Office of Retirement Services. Afternoon, Council Members. John Flynn, CEO of the Office of Retirement Services. I'm here today to introduce Jay Quan as our uh new Chief Investment Officer, and uh Jay is going to be presenting today. Good afternoon, Jay Kwan, Office of Retirement Services. I'm here to present the report of annual investment returns for the Federated System and Police and Fire Department retirement plans. You may remember that the plans assume that the investment portfolio earns a certain rate of return every year for both plans. That assumed rate is currently 6.6%. I'm happy to report that the plan returns for the prior fiscal year were 13.6% for federated and 13.1% for police and fire. So uh to be explicit, the returns for both plans were in excess of their assumed rates. Performance was largely driven by global stocks, which returned about 20% over the fiscal year. Uh returns for other asset classes were more muted, but given that approximately half of the assets of either plan are in stocks, that was a fairly good uh allocation. Uh so to reiterate, returns were good, double the discount rate, and in fact, they've beaten the discount rate for the past four years. I'm gonna stop here for any questions, but in uh as a default, the recommendation is that the committee accept the annual pension and health care investment performance report for the police and fire plan and the federated system for fiscal year 2025-26.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com