I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of October 21st, 2025.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Bushnell.

Present.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Here.

Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Diaz.

She's online.

Councilmember Heinz.

Here.

Councilmember.

Thanks, Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Rumba here.

Councilmember Sidalgay?

Here.

Councilmember Scott.

Here.

Councilmember Walker.

Here.

Mayor Woodards?

Here.

Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Scott, followed by a moment of silence.

We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puala people where they make their home and speak the Lashutsi language.

Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence.

One nation.

Are there any additional modifications to the agenda this evening?

Seeing none, we will move on to the consent agenda.

I move to adopt the consent agenda, including resolution number four one seven seven nine through four one seven eight one.

Second.

Are there any council questions, corrections, or comments?

Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, the ayes have it.

The consent agenda is declared adopted.

Moving on to proclamations, recognition, presentations, and announcements.

And for student government, for the student government day proclamation, I would like to invite Anna Lee, Management Fellow in the City Manager's Office.

And I'm gonna ask Anna to be joined by Mayor Ryder Griffin and Mayor Troy Tave.

Come on up, Mayors.

Stand, I'd like you to flank.

Whereas today we welcome back students to the Tacoma Municipal Building to learn about city resources, departments, and ways they can get involved with their local governments.

And whereas the City of Tacoma recognizes that today's youth are tomorrow's community leaders, and that educating our students on local government issues and department leads to more informed residents and future voters.

I'll add, and potential council members or mayors.

Do hereby proclaim today, Tuesday, October 21st, 2025, as Student Government Day in the City of Tacoma.

And I asked the residents of Tacoma to join me in acknowledging the participants in Student Government Day.

Please join me in a round of applause.

So Anna, I will let you go first.

And then part of Student Government Day is having a council meeting, is hosting a council meeting.

And when we started 10 years ago, our first student government day had 16 students, and we had just one mock council meeting.

Today we have over 85 students from Tacoma High Schools here with us.

And so they actually had to have two mock city council meetings, and they elected mayors.

And so standing before you are the mayors who were elected this afternoon.

And so in addition to Anna making comments, I want the two mayors to share their reflections of today what they learned and why they think this is important.

So Anna, I'll let you make your comments, and then I will turn it over to the mayors for theirs.

Thank you, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and members of council.

I uh was only on the agenda because the clerk's office usually does not allow me to put placeholder names.

So uh I just want to thank uh councilmember Heinz and Walker for conducting uh class visits to promote Student Government Day.

There are 85 or so students here today, but uh there was a wait list.

We got over 131 applications.

Literally these days, the capacity for student government day is how many students we can fit in chambers.

So uh it students did the hard work of government today.

Yes, there is the mock city council meeting.

They also had to make really tough budget decisions, but uh they also saw uh four different site visits.

They went to the fire training center, the greenhouse, uh, the public work street operations building, and the commodome.

Uh and they're gonna tell you about how today went.

Yep, we're trying.

Go ahead.

Go ahead, Mayor Griffith.

I just want to give a um a warm thank you to Mayor Woodards.

I I agree.

I I mean, oh um, I I I enjoy our uh our meeting and our conversation that we had.

I found that really I like how how you I like how you how you connected with me on like a different level, other than just like I just want to say I'm I'm I'm glad I'm glad to be here.

Um I I found every every spot that we went to amazing.

I just want to say thank you guys for you know setting this up for the student government day.

I just I just want to say thank you.

Thank you.

Um thank you, Mayor Woodards, for this time uh for the floor.

Um it was a great experience for Student Government Day.

Um just going again to go to the TFD building, uh the training and seeing what the firefighters are doing on a day-to-day basis, uh, training to become Tacoma's futures firefighters uh in the Tacoma Dome as well.

Just these parts just making Tacoma outstand out there.

Um I'm glad that we got to spend uh Student Government Day with you.

Um I just thank you for everything that you've done for the city.

Uh the ups and downs, but you've never you never gave given up on the city.

Um I'd like to shout out Councilmember Bush now.

Uh, you've done a lot.

Um, and Mr.

Hines, as well as everybody here, Deputy Mayor Daniels and from Rumba, everybody uh it's just uh it's a lot, but I thank you, Mayor Woodards, for everything that you've done for the city.

And I hope uh in this next chapter that you know uh to never give up and keep fighting and you know just pray when times are tough.

Um yeah, that's it.

Mayors come back up to the podium.

Okay, yeah, yeah.

Welcome to them.

So um Mayor Troy, I'm sad.

I'm oh wait, no, no, come back up to the podium over here.

Don't go not up here.

You're gonna come up here in a minute, but come back to the podium.

Um Mayor Troy, you did not get the experience of me as a citizen testifying in your council meeting.

And I'm so sorry you missed that, but that's okay.

You can go back and watch the tape at some point if they actually recorded it.

But I don't want to ask you all if you were talking to this body and you're looking in in the audience at home who is listening.

Why do you think opportunities like Student Government Day are so important?

Um, that's a great question, Mayor.

Um important because you know, a child some like young adults like us, they might become they might want to become mayor one day, and the problems that they see out there, they might want to become here, like become like you, and just do a better change for them and the city as well.

All right, and and and mayor wright, are you why why what why do you think this is important?

I feel this is important because like a lot of kids don't get opportunities to do this.

Like I haven't heard of a student government day anybody anywhere else.

Um I'm sure they have them, but like I just like you know, just coming here, you know, like experiencing the experience.

I feel like what I'm trying to say is the experience here is necessary for different different paths of growth and development.

All right.

All right, I'm gonna let a few council members make comments.

Oh I'm gonna let a few council members make comments, and then I'm gonna have you guys come up to accept the proclamation.

We'll start with council member Heinz.

And if anybody else wants to make a comment, you can as well.

Yeah, I'll make this really quickly.

Uh, first of all, uh, thank you all for being here today.

You you warm and an old social safe teacher's heart um to see you all here.

I spent a lot of time teaching civics and encourage people to be here today.

Thank you to the Mountahoma T-Birds.

Sorry, the school I visited to bring them out here.

I see a few of the people that I I recruited.

I am a Lincoln Abe, but uh I there's a few of us here.

Well, some of the other council members are some of the other council members will share out where they're from.

But I just I just wanted to say real quickly that I spent a lot of time as a teacher trying to encourage young people to take advantage of opportunities like this because getting started with where you are right now and seeing just a small piece of what you can do really sets you on a path that really trains a lot of the future that lays ahead of you.

So thank you all for being here and so proud of this day.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Council member council member Bushnell.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

I I also make it quick as the youngest council member up here.

Oh Lord.

Cut his mic off.

Barely.

By a few by a few months.

Uh I just want to thank you all for coming out here and taking the time.

And and you do have to put your hand up and say, hey, I want to come out here and check things out and see what student government day is all about.

Um but uh don't let this be the the only time you ever come down to City Hall.

You guys are welcome here at any time uh to voice your concerns.

You know, we talk about how you are our future, but you are also are now.

Um so I think it's really important for us as policymakers, as as city staff that we hear your voice um and we make sure that our policies reflect uh some of what you have and your input.

Uh and then also uh take the opportunity to explore other opportunities to to either gain employment here at the city of Tacoma or other government jobs, uh, and then find ways uh to uh make your way down to Olympia and see that side of the the spectrum in terms of the the different uh policy making bodies.

Um so just uh continue to uh thrive and uh don't let this be the end of your engagement at City Hall.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Bush.

Yeah, did you all hear what Councilmember Bushnell said?

He said you're the future.

Are you the future?

No.

I'm sorry.

Are you the future?

What are you?

You're the present.

Are you the future?

What are you?

All right.

I don't suggest anybody tell these young people they're the future, they're not gonna take it very well.

Um and I told them that this morning.

People hear me say that a lot, but I'm but I absolutely mean it.

Um, your participation today, those of you that I got to talk to, and those I got to see in action, um, we could all step down right now, and you all could take these seats, and and the city would be in good hands.

Um, I am so proud of each and every one of you who chose to participate today.

Um, it was great to see so many of you here who were bright and curious and engaged.

Um you all look like you had a really good time, but you also look like you really learned a lot.

I do want to want to thank Anna for her hard work um for coordinating here.

There were a lot of people who helped Anna, but I think she was the lead in making this happen here at City Hall.

So can we give Anna a round of applause?

And then will all the chaperones and teachers who were here, will you please stand up or wave your hand so we can see all of you?

Thank you all so much for taking time out of your day to bring all of these students here today.

And then finally, um, I I'm not proud of this.

Um, and maybe next year when I'm not mayor, I'll have more recruitment time, but for the second year in a row, Mount Homa has the largest number of students here.

But I got but I gotta be honest, I gotta be honest.

It's it's because people came to your school, but I think it really is due to a teacher at your school who takes this day very seriously, and and I I wouldn't say she's a former activist, she's just busy on Tuesdays and can't always show up.

But I remember meeting Megan Capes when I was a city council member, and she came here to lobby the council and to to really fight for the issues that she cared deeply about.

Now she is a teacher at Mount Homa, and every year has people in her classroom and work so hard to make sure that young people are engaged.

So Megan, thank you so much.

Um if we had a teacher who was excited about the student government day as you are in every single school, we'd have to expand student government day to the Tacoma Dome because you certainly do an incredible job at Mount Ahoma.

Can we please show Miss Cape some love?

And then I just want to say this to all of you.

And whether you are 18 and old enough to vote or not, the nine of us sitting here represent and work for you.

So if there are issues or things that you want to see changed, don't just be quiet and think somebody else hasn't covered.

Use your voice.

Tell us, talk to us, send us emails, text messages, whatever it takes, because recognize that your opinion and the thoughts and ideas you have can make a difference today for other young people.

Today we have over 85.

And during the seven or eight years that we've done this, over 400 students have been here to City Hall to learn about what their local government does and what you all what jobs could be available to you all when you graduate from high school.

So I want to thank this council and councils to come and councils in the past for making sure the student government day remains a program here at the city so that you all can continue to engage.

Just to let you know how proud of you I am, how honored I am to be your mayor, and how grateful I am that while this is my last year as at student government day, I got to spend my last year with all of you.

Would the three of you please come forward to accept the proclamation?

And then we will call for a recess.

Come mayor and mayor and Anna.

Right, everybody, one, two, three.

Please join me in another round of applause.

All right.

I'm going to uh I'm gonna entertain a motion um to recess for 10 minutes so we can let the students go and um let others who are here um to testify this evening come down.

So we stand in recess for 10 minutes.

I'd like to call back to order the city council meeting of October twenty first, twenty twenty-five.

We're now going to move on to our second proclamation this evening, which is proclaiming October twenty twenty-five as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

And I would like to invite Nadia Van Adder, Assistant Director of the Crystal Judson Judson Family Justice Center, um, to the podium, along with representatives from Rebuilding Hope, Tacoma Pro Bono, Korean Women's Association, our Sisters House, Oasis Youth Center, Me Central, Pewalp Tribe Community Domestic Violence Advocacy Program, and the YWCA.

Yay.

And whereas, according to the U.S.

Department of Justice, domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner, and includes physical, sexual, emotional, economical, and physiological actions or threats.

And whereas this can happen to anyone, regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, gender identity, social economic status, or education.

And whereas, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 2021, nearly 42% of Washington women and 30% of Washington men experience inter intimate partner physical violence, rape and or stalking in their lifetimes.

And whereas the city unites with partners, including Pierce County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the YWCA of Pierce County, Crystal Judson, Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, Our Sisters House, Rebuilding Hope, Me Central, Tacoma Pro Bono, OASIS Youth Center, and Korean Women's Association to embroor to embrace the many cultural ways we can heal from violence and oppression, commit to holding space for survivors, and center those most marginalized in all of our efforts to end domestic violence.

And whereas the City of Tacoma will continue to prioritize the issue of domestic violence in our community until the cycle of violence is broken, and every resident has equitable opportunity to healthy outcomes and a thriving life.

Now, therefore, I, Victoria R.

Woodards, Mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month in the City of Tacoma, and call upon all residents, employees, and officials of the city to join and reflect upon our individual and collective responsibility as community members to help end the epidemic of domestic violence.

I will turn it over to you for comments.

Oh, you know what?

I'm sorry.

Before you make comments, I would like to call on Councilmember Rumba, who is chair of the Crystal Jets, Crystal Judson Family Justice Center Board.

Thank you, Mayor, and I want to thank all of you who work in this space and care about our community.

Obviously, when times get tough, we see more people who struggle with domestic violence and having a system like we have set up in Pierce County is really important to meeting the needs of every single individual who struggles with any kind of sexual assault and domestic violence.

We also know that those are signs of something else.

They might be related to why someone is homeless or other issues are happening in their life.

So we understand that there's there's a lot of issues in this community, but I really appreciate the work you do day in and day out to serve our community.

That's why I really appreciate the honor of being on the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center board, but also being involved with all of you and all the work that you do.

It's so important, and thank you so much for being here tonight.

Thank you, Councilmember Rumbah.

Um, and and I too just want to say um to all of you, I would just say amen to everything that Councilmember to what Councilmember Rumbaugh just said.

Um but the thing that I um as I was reading this proclamation tonight thought about the fact that the city will continue to prioritize it until the cycle of violence is broken.

And normally, you know, we we take a month and we celebrate it.

Um but I hope that there is a time where we don't celebrate this month, or the celebrating that it is a true celebration because we have ended domestic violence.

But until that happens, um the work that you all do is so incredibly important to this community.

Um I know that you are overworked, underfunded, um, but you still show up every single day, doing the best that you can to help those in need.

Um, and trust me, um, we feel it, we know it, um, but but most of all, we appreciate you.

Um it takes people who stand up in these roles that all of you possessed to do this work.

Um, but that also means that it takes its toll on all of you to do this work.

Um, but that also means that it takes its toll on all of you to do this work, and so I just want to say thank you for your commitment, and I want you to know how grateful we all are that you show up every day and stand with those who are sometimes in the worst moment in their life.

So thank you all so much for what you do, and I will turn it back over to you to make comments.

Thank you, Mayor Woodard and City Council.

We appreciate you acknowledging Domestic Violence Action Month and having us all here today and acknowledging the impact that domestic violence has on our community.

One in four women, one in seven men, and 54% of non-binary and trans individuals experience domestic violence in their lifetime, which means it really is something that impacts us as an entire community.

Domestic violence is not a private matter, it's a crime that harms the community.

It's a crime that thrives in silence and in isolation, which again means that it takes all of us as a community to support survivors and hold those that are causing harm accountable.

In our community, we have amazing and dedicated organizations, if you can't tell from all of those that are hanging surrounding here, um, that collaborate on a daily basis to provide the best care possible.

Seeing the number of organizations here today highlights the collaboration and what it truly means to partner.

And so in our community, and I know they were listed in the proclamation, but I think it's important to again just acknowledge all of the amazing organizations that do the work here.

We've got Korean Women's Association, our sister's house, Oasis Youth Center, Rebuilding Hope, the Puallop Tribes Community DV Advocacy Program, Tacoma Pro Bono, the YWCA, Me Centro, JBLM Family Advocacy Program, and the FJC.

And I'm so incredibly proud to be proud to be a part of this work and this community and these partners that continue to show up each day to support our community.

Again, I appreciate you acknowledging the work our teams do to support survivors daily, and I would encourage the community to put action into practice in supporting survivors in October and beyond.

Thank you again for your time.

And I've got Carolyn DeFord from the Pulitz Tribes DV Advocacy Program.

Great, thank you.

Twa Gulapu Gualapu Deesha, Deesha, Tsiayaya, Chalap.

Good day, my honorable friends and relatives.

My name is Carolyn DeFord.

I'm a member of the Puallop tribe.

I currently am the program manager for the Pulalib Tribes Community Domestic Violence Advocacy Program Anti-Trafficking Department and the MMIWP advocate.

I've had the honor of speaking to you in the past on MMIW, and been very grateful for the actions that the council has taken to acknowledge this crisis that affects my community.

But with that, also I want to acknowledge that domestic violence is a critical part or an integral part of those uh experiences that we face.

And that's wanted to make sure I had all my points here.

Um over 80% of Native women experience violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking in their lifetime.

Over 80%.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for every woman, and it's the leading cause of homicide for pregnant women of all races.

In our communities, our women and our children are sacred.

Our children are our hope.

And we've seen that today.

Couldn't be more proud to watch those young people come up and be uh a voice and thank you for reiterating and giving them that power because we need it, and for them to be here for these um movements.

Um thank you for acknowledging this.

It's a crisis that's taking lives every day.

Um we are finding our our missing and murdered in uh encampments.

They're losing their lives in encampments, and it's critical that if we're going to address domestic violence, we have to understand that that safety is also being um jeopardized by their ability and our abilities to keep them safely and stably housed.

Um thank you for your time.

Thank you to all of my relatives who've come to speak and share, and to everybody who's here to carry these messages forward, appreciate you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Well, can I ask all of you to come forward to take a picture with us and to receive your proclamation?

I only have 10.

Wait, everybody gets one.

Every organization gets one.

Oh, goodness.

Is there two people from one organization?

There it is.

Okay, so you're from the same.

Did you get one?

Oh, all three of them will come in the state.

Yes.

Okay.

Oh, is that?

I'm really passing.

Yes.

Okay.

Everybody, every organization has one.

Okay.

I'm going to have you guys all just take the time.

Just squish just a little bit.

I appreciate it.

Okay.

All right.

Everybody look this way.

One, two, three.

Fantastic.

We're going to do one more.

One, two, three.

Thank you all so much.

All right.

We are going to move on to public comment.

On tonight's agenda, there are two opportunities for people to comment.

Under public comment, you could speak about motions, resolutions, and ordinances on tonight's agenda.

Under the public hearing later this evening, you can speak about the proposed modifications to the 2025-2026 biennial operating budget and capital budget.

These forms are intended to give speakers the opportunity to share their viewpoints and feedbacks with the city council to aid in our decision making and are not meant to be a back and forth dialogue.

Your remarks should be directed to the city council and not to individual staff members.

If you wish, if you want to speak under the public comment period, press the raise your hand button near the bottom of your Zoom window or star nine on your phone now so we can see the number of people wishing to testify this evening.

If you are speaking in person, please sign up at the back of the room if you have not done so already.

Your name or the last four digits of your phone number will be called out when it is your turn to speak.

Clerk, will you please read?

This is the time set aside for public comment.

Speakers are asked to identify the specific legislation they wish to address.

All right, I'd like to remind everyone to please keep your comments respectful, relevant, focused, and on topic.

We strive to provide a comment period where people can feel respected while sharing a wide variety of viewpoints and acknowledge that we may hear comments that conflict with our values.

To ensure all speakers can express their First Amendment constitutional rights, we ask that you refrain from clapping, cheering, booing, or otherwise being disruptive.

You will have 90 seconds to make your remarks.

Please be mindful of the time frame.

And as always, you are not required to use all of your time to make your point.

If you cannot remain on topic, you will be given two warnings if you remain off topic.

We will have to move on and we'll end your time.

As um as we all know, um, it's election season.

And so if you are running for office or here representing a particular issue on the ballot, um please um refrain from talking about that issue or about that candidacy.

Um direct mention of a candidate's candidacy or a ballot proposition will result in the immediate suspension of the speaker's right to continue speaking at the council meeting.

Clerk, have we received any written public comment for tonight's meeting?

We've received 30 regarding ordinance 29064.

All right, thank you very much.

All right, I'm gonna start.

Um we've got uh several people who have signed up in person, and we've got um a few people who are signed up online, so I'm gonna start with uh a group here in the chambers, and I'm gonna start and I'm gonna call you up in groups of five that seem to work really well.

So we're gonna start with uh Chantel Harmon Reed, Kim Zacher, Samantha Iverson, Michelle Reich, and Thea Phoenix.

Thank you, Mayor.

Oh yes, all right.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

Council members, mayor.

Uh I am Chantel Harmon Reed.

I'm the director of the Tacoma Harris County Health Department.

I'm here regarding resolution 41782.

Uh, I'm here to thank you for your continued support of our street medicine program.

Uh, our staff are here.

Um because of your leadership and commitment, we are reaching people who we've never been able to reach before.

Uh, we've been able to reach them with care and dignity right where they are.

Uh, since this program began, we've distributed more than 9,000 food and water items, 900 hygiene kits, 800 Narcan kits, a thousand pairs of shoes and socks, over 700 backpacks and blankets, hats, gloves, and other important weather-related items.

On average, this team treats about 30 patients a month.

The most pressing medical needs we see are related to wound care and infection, chronic disease management, prescription refills, and asthma.

This work is only possible because of the strong community partnerships, including Hope, Heal, St.

Vincent DePaul, Brotherhood Rise, the Medical Reserve Corps, and We Care.

Street Medicine is a model of what happens when public health compassion and collaboration come together.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

We really appreciate it.

From the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate you believing in us and making sure that the work that we do is supporting everyone in our community here in Tacoma.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Director Reed.

All right.

Kim.

Thank you, Council Members.

Thanks for hearing from us tonight.

I'm Kim Zoker.

I'm the CEO of Comprehensive Life Resources.

We are certified behavioral health agency here in Tacoma area.

There have been many eloquent community members speaking in the last several weeks about concerns around ordinance 29064, an expansion, the camping ban.

I'd like to focus on our experience as a provider of outreach and treatment to people living unhoused.

We've absolutely seen an increase in people willing to accept services over the last several years as your own data shows.

But this did not stem from the camping ban itself.

It's tied directly to the ability for outreach teams, including Tacoma's heel team to offer individuals immediate desirable shelter options like Maureen Howard Place, Oasis Anna, and Kingfisher Village, all funded through the state's right of way safety initiative.

As these programs are reaching capacity, and no new programs are coming online, we're returning to a reality where outreach workers will spend weeks and sometimes months working with people to get onto housing waiting lists and trying to find creative one-off solutions to end their homelessness.

In this environment, our ability to locate and consistently engage with people becomes absolutely critical.

When the city moves people around from location to location, it disrupts that fragile connection.

We've had many people miss their chance to access housing and shelter when a spot opens for them because we simply cannot find them.

I'd also like to comment on the perception that referring someone to community or mental health court services as a pathway to services.

Well, I'm fully supportive of therapeutic courts model and my agencies involved in this work.

It is a failure of our society that we make people get to crisis to get the services they needed all along.

I urge you to not pass ordinate 29064.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kim.

And Kim, if you have comments that you didn't get to share, you can great.

Thank you very much.

Uh-huh.

Samantha.

Followed by Michelle.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Sammy Iverson.

Um, I left work early today to be here with you all to share my personal views.

Um, these are not the views of my employer.

I'm here today as an advocate and a keeper of many stories that have been shared with me for my past 14 years of work with unhoused young people, students, families, and folks the age of my parents and grandparents who have been outside for many years.

I would ask that you vote against the camping ban ordinance 29064.

We're in an epidemic of loneliness, according to the behavioral health experts, and I know that we're all aware of what it feels like to be lonely.

Folks are disconnected.

The local state and world news continues to be daunting.

Folks feel isolated.

I've been a witness, a listener, and an advocate to many folks who have been impacted by the ongoing sweeps in the camping bands that have caused nothing but fear, harm, loss, and trauma.

It's dehumanizing and it's not working.

Expanding this camping ban will further disconnect, alienate, and isolate our people.

We have the opportunity to think about the concerns we have in our city right now, and we can choose inclusion, connection, and safety.

We have the opportunity to slow down just a little bit and take the time to focus on solutions that won't perpetuate harm for unhoused folks.

We have the opportunity to listen to people nearest to the experience of houselessness and organized with many of the advocates here tonight.

We could work together to build build paths to stability that doesn't keep people outside in an endless cycle of crisis.

I would ask that you vote against the camping ban ordinance 29064.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Michelle, followed by Thea.

And it's still very traumatic, my experience here.

There's a psychological debilitating thing to be homeless here.

And it's last with you even uh all these years, decades later there.

And that's why I'm against uh allowing people to live on the street.

You should have a total ban, because it I'm still suffering from that issue.

And by the pastor speaking last week, 292 people died to exposure.

That's another reason.

You're allowing people to die by allowing them to live on the street.

And I know you're short of money, but you have to find resources.

You have to find your buildings, put up cots and tents.

You gotta get the people off the street and spend money on services, not uh cleanup.

And one thing on your proposal is that you do not include preschools or daycare centers when you go public schools, and you're not protecting those people, and the ban only covers these 172 areas in Tacoma.

You're just spreading the issue around and making the issue worse.

You're not solving the problem.

And uh I I really believe that you need a total ban and stop messing around with a half ban and and have measures.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michelle.

And all these things in this bag were from homeless uh people at the library, stuff they give out, and you're banning people from going to the library.

Thank you.

Thea.

Well, Thea is coming.

The next five are chewy, Jan Runbeck, Sally Perkins, Jessica Cowart, and Mickey Cowart.

Hello, my name is Thea Phoenix, speaking on the camping ban.

I'm here as a lifelong resident of Tacoma, living near encampments, and looking forward to the election coming up.

From listening to your council study meetings and the council meeting last week, I know that council member Hines has dismissed the impacts that this ban will have on house folks because this ordinance is supposed to not solve homelessness.

This ordinance is being pitched as a solution to larger encampments, which are said to be a health concern, and some people reporting they feel uncomfortable accessing some public spaces.

First, if the issue is large encampments being unsafe, there are hundreds of ways to humanely help the most people.

That does not involve a camping ban.

Second, as a parent who is quite active in the parks, libraries, and local schools in Tacoma, I can confidently say I do not feel uncomfortable accessing public spaces due to encampments.

If anything, I feel bad, possibly disturbing my neighbors as they try to survive.

They always leave enough room for me to access what I need.

The main thing that seeing my unhoused neighbors does is remind me that we need policy changes, and we need them now.

I hear that some folks complain about encampments.

It's hard to be reminded of your privilege and how tenuous every currently housed person situation is.

But that does not mean that we should make life harder for people living outside.

That is the definition of punching down.

This is being pitched as a separate from a housing solution.

But if folks were housed, all the issues this ordinance are supposed to address would be solved.

And as far as a solution, this ordinance is a very harmful one.

Why is this a proposed solution?

Why is an unhoused person's life less valuable than a house person's comfort?

Why is this deadly tool the one you reach for?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Chewy.

My name is Chewy.

On the topic of ordinance 29064, pushing the ban of homeless Americans from camping within libraries, parks, and permanent shelter grounds.

I like to remind you all the majority of the youth is homeless or on the verge of being homeless.

Though she will be pushing fresh high school graduates such as myself from 2024 to be incarcerated as a form of shelter under this local law in the making.

I know three people who is currently still homeless because I am currently in temporary housing for homeless youth returning to society norms.

I used to live in my sister's car in her care, right with her in closed parks in front of our schools to even corner sores.

There, the homeless was camped.

There would accompany us, even give us some of their resources.

Up until I was forced to part ways with my sister to continue my homeless journey outside of high school.

Luckily, I had the library and beacon youth center as a resource.

This is what you should be spending the thousands of American texts always on, not this ordinance being forced onto us youth.

Yes, I go to the library park schools, guards, school gardens and their trails near by even homeless shelters.

That was camping grounds near it.

It wish for them to find new location, but incarceration being the solution instead of being beds.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments this evening.

Jan.

Jan Runbeck, followed by Sally Perkins, Jessica Cowart, and Michael Cowart.

Good evening, Council Members and Mayor Woodards.

Thank you for uh letting us speak to ordinance 29067.

Jan Runbeck Public Health Nurse.

The poorest of the poor suffer the greatest burden of both houselessness and fragile health.

The city's camping bans have created excessive barriers to access and care by scattering the population at risk.

As a frontline public health nurse since 2007, I have seen what works to decrease both health disparity and costs to the city.

In November of 2024, the Nativity House Nurse Project was started to reduce the demand on the Tacoma Fire Department 911 responders.

By creating partnerships, the shelter nurse program has saved the Tacoma Fire Department just shy of 112,000 in the last three months alone, while costing only $30,000 for the same period.

Instead of paying for sweeps, the city could continue to support models like this, with the goal of expanding the benefit through networking with partners like Vallejo Vocations, CCS, and members of the coalition to end homelessness.

Knowing that the Nativity House Nurse Project has served hundreds of patients by working with others by being the right resource at the right place at a cost savings to the city seems like a win-win.

Knowing that camping bans have resulted in increasing the risk of poor health outcomes of the poor at a financial cost to the city seems like an exercise in futility.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jan.

Sally Perkins, District 3, Ordinance 29064.

If you are not willing to vote no tonight, please delay action on this ordinance.

Table it.

Take it up in January when the new council is seated, and you have the time you say you want to talk about the whole city strategy about homelessness.

If you take action on this punitive ordinance tonight, you will never get to the larger conversation in the future.

You'll just keep finding excuses to delay it.

We've been there and done that with you guys.

Two take the libraries out of the ban.

The libraries are the city's only consistent and accessible citywide warming and cooling centers for homeless people.

Putting them on the camping ban list will make it much harder to convince unhoused people to go there for warming and cooling and increase the risk that the city will confiscate their belongings while they're inside the library.

It will be a bait and switch.

Hey, homeless people, come warm up at the library.

Oh hey, and the city's gonna take all your stuff.

Surely we can do better than this.

Avoid the whole problem by voting no tonight.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sally.

Jessica.

Followed by Mickey.

And then Sophia.

Jake now and Rob Huff.

My name is Jessica Court and I live in District One.

In a TV interview last week, Councilmember John Hines said, and I quote, what works is shelter and housing.

It's getting people in the shelter where they have services and housing.

And I ask, what shelters?

What shelters are our unhoused neighbors supposed to go to when every shelter bed is full every night and there are still thousands of people on the streets?

People live outside existing shelters hoping to get inside.

But what are they supposed to do when every single bed is full?

Where are they supposed to go?

Exactly.

What shelters do the council members expect them to go to?

There already weren't enough beds before multiple shelter shelters closed over the summer, and now there are hundreds fewer shelter beds out there and thousands of people on the streets.

How about instead of spending millions of our dollars for the city to wage war on our unhoused neighbors, aimlessly moving people up and down the streets, arresting people for living in a tent and not a house.

We spend that money on building more shelters and tiny homes and affordable housing.

That is what works.

Moving people from street corner to street corner and arresting them for not having houses to sleep in at night does not work.

It's just cruel.

Three years of this failed survival ban experiment has shown that all this city is doing is wasting millions of taxpayer dollars, moving people around over and over again, not to mention the hundreds of people who have died on the streets because the cities took their tents and blankets, give them nowhere to go, and they froze to death.

This isn't a ban on camping.

It's a ban on survival, and it's a death sentence.

Thank you, Jessica.

Mickey.

My name is Mikey Court, and I live in District One.

I'm here to comment on the so-called camping ban expansion.

What we are talking about here is about as similar to camping as the heel team is to actual healers.

This is the same wordsmithing and work shopping the Trump administration uses to turn neighbor against neighbor.

You are following the same Trump playbook that labels hardworking immigrants as rapists and murderers.

But most of us on this side of the room know that our struggles are connected.

I love camping.

It's an opportunity for me, a person with immense privilege to spend some time in nature, to reconnect with myself and my family, to take time off work, eat a bunch of hot dogs, drink some beer, and listen to the birds sing.

What our neighbors on 11th and J who were swept this morning are doing is surviving.

It's survival.

The survival ban, sorry, go uh it's survival.

The items the so-called heel team was furiously throwing away are not camping paraphernalia.

They are their only possessions in the entire world.

Tents and tarps to keep dry, sleeping bags and blankets to keep warm, clothing, family photos, identifying documents.

Your survival ban has already killed hundreds of people.

Expanding this survival ban will kill untold more.

Vote no on bans against survival.

Vote no on expanding Trump's agenda.

Listen to your constituents.

Our lives depend on it.

Thank you, Mickey.

Um, I skipped Miranda Chipman.

Miranda, sorry.

Miranda, followed by Sophia, followed by Jake and Rob.

Rob Huff.

Hello, Council members.

My name is Miranda Chipman.

Um I am actually a social worker in the community.

Um, I've worked with youth and families for a few years now.

Um, and I've seen with my own very eyes how this ban has affected the community.

I have seen groups of homeless people being directed elsewhere because um community members are uncomfortable.

It's pretty obvious that it is not for their benefit, it is for other people's comfort.

Um, and I also want to say, I am just a community member here today.

I did not plan to say anything.

I am here because I saw something online and I was astounded that it was happening.

I don't think this should be necessary.

To me, it is obvious that we should work to prevent death and illness in the street.

When most of us are upset that we have to go in to our house outside of our heated car.

To me, it's obvious.

If you're Christian, if you're Muslim, if you're Jewish, it doesn't matter.

This affects our entire community.

People are dying, and I think it's an easy decision to vote no on this.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comments.

Good evening.

My name is Sophia Agderab, and I live in District 4.

I'm a deaconess, a member of Tacoma First United Methodist Church, and organized with Common Good Tacoma.

I'm here to register my strong moral opposition to the proposed expansion of Tacoma's camping ban through ordinance 29064.

You already have the statistics about the enormous resources spent and budgeted to create the appearance of a city addressing the needs of our own-house residents.

But if data alone were what you needed to support those trying to survive on these streets, then this ordinance that in its current form wouldn't be before you and certainly wouldn't have been rushed through in this way.

So as you consider this vote, be reminded that this expansion is death accelerating and it is a death dealing.

May I invite you to perhaps imagine the impossible.

That just as liberated futures, that just and liberated futures, as Tony Cade Bambarra wrote, can and are irresistible.

That we could be a city that collectively imagined and made decisions beyond scarcity to prioritize both resources and people.

Just look at all the people gathered here who want to build a bigger we.

Grace Lee Boggs wrote that we must seek out new ways of thinking, of doing, of being in everyday actions, and we must practice all the time.

And so we are here to practice with you because when we are all free, we are all free, we are all free.

And if no one is free, then we are all unfree.

Just as there are interlocking systems of oppression, there can also be interlocking systems of joy and thriving, not just surviving.

Jake my name is Jake now, and I'm here asking y'all to vote no on the camping ban ordinance 29064.

There is no need for an extension of the camping ban.

It is already the case that everywhere homeless people go, they are told to go away.

There's no shortage of places homeless people are banned from.

But this can't be our city policy because in order to say don't be here, we also have to say you can be here, or else we're just saying don't be.

I should credit Grit City's recent article a way forward for that nugget, but I don't have to because I wrote that shit.

I've written over and over again about the need for us as a city, as a society to see our on house neighbors and not treat them like trash and not value space over humans and not tell people to go away who have nowhere to go to.

It's traumatizing, dehumanizing, and we're better than this.

A camping ban expansion when we have less shelter beds than we did a year ago, when day centers are closed and closing and winners coming.

That's when we're trying to extend a ban on survival.

You all are elected.

Please listen to us.

You have lived experienced representatives and shelter providers and executive directors and teachers and library workers and even lowly homeless outreachers, all saying the same thing.

At street level, expanding a harmful camping ban will only increase the harm.

Harm disproportionately felt by the most marginalized populations.

Say no to this camping ban extension.

I'm begging you.

We're better than this.

Thank you very much for your comments.

Jake, Rob.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

Uh I'm Rob Huff, and I'm commenting on ordinance 29064.

Our city likes to talk about taking a services first approach to homelessness.

But what does that mean?

When a worker tells you there's no shelter, there are no shelter spaces available as they throw away your tent and your sleeping bag.

Is that services first?

When workers refuse to answer your question when you ask where you can stay tonight, is that services first.

It might help you sleep at night.

But please know a yes vote on this cynical camping ban expansion means that your neighbor who just lost her home after a domestic violence attack won't be able to sleep indoors tonight.

I know some of you don't like to think of this policy as an expansion of the camping ban, but anyone with working eyes can see that the new map covers much more of our city than the first ban that has caused so much harm since 2022.

I implored you last week.

This policy is the opposite of a solution.

It caters to the comfort of those who have a warm bed to sleep in tonight.

I ask that you rec reconsider this policy and that you delay any vote on this until a new council is seated in January.

Thank you, Rob.

All right, I'm gonna go to those who are online, and we'll start with Clarity Consulting Northwest.

Good evening, Council.

I too am here to speak on ordinance two nine zero six four.

I like um nearly everyone that has spoken before me agree that further banning so-called camping on and street living on the streets is not a solution and merely pushes the problem to another block, another neighborhood, another area.

Uh while some may feel you know temporary, feel good about having solved the homeless problem on their block, they've just created a problem for the next block down to complain about.

And I'm I'm sure you all know that these kinds of uh strategies are not effective, and I I don't know why you keep proposing them, other than that it's the kind of strategy that really favors you know, businesses and the people that that you know feel that uh having homeless people near their business really hurts their bottom line.

And I feel that you all are listening to those folks more than you are all of the many, many people who've come continuously to speak about this that have lived experience either as a homeless person or with working with uh the homeless as a service person.

It's just not the way to go, and I urge you to vote an absolute no on this tonight.

Thank you, Lori.

Jasmine Clark.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Jasmine Clark, and I serve as the Smart Justice Policy Program Director at the ACLU of Washington.

Earlier this afternoon, our organization submitted a formal letter urging you to reject ordinance 29064.

This proposal would significantly expand areas where unhoused people are prohibited from existing, establishing 10 block buffers around downtown shelters, five block buffers around shelters outside downtown, and two block buffers around every public school, park, and library.

And this is in addition to the current 200 foot restrictions near waterways.

Together, these overlapping zones would make much of Tacoma effectively off limits to people who have nowhere else to go.

The ordinance also keeps these actions classified as misdemeanors, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and or a 250 dollar fine.

And it weakens existing notice protections by allowing sweeps without advance warning under broad public safety exceptions.

Yet it includes no new housing, no new shelter capacity, and no new outreach resources to accompany its expanded prohibitions.

Tacoma has an opportunity to choose a different path, one that is rooted in evidence-based services first approaches that pair outreach and housing with limited humane enforcement.

The ACLU of Washington urges you to vote no on ordinance 29064 and instead focus on solutions grounded in housing, health, and human dignity.

Thank you, Jasmine.

Michelle Eastman Hello.

Yep, go right ahead, Michelle.

Hello, my name is Michelle Eastman.

I'm the Director of Communications for the Lived Experience Coalition, an organization, a bias for us organization of people who have experienced homelessness and housing insecurity.

And I also have studied extensively studied social policy, especially homelessness policy.

And I'm here to testify against ordinance 29064.

Tacoma and the U.S.

needs more shelter and more affordable housing, not more barriers to accessing survival tools and resources, which the camping ban would create.

Public spaces are meant for all, and without enough adequate shelter and affordable housing.

That's what will that's what's going to be happen.

So I urge you today to not adopt this measure.

This ordinance.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Michelle.

Rosemary Powers.

Good evening, Mayor Woodards and members of the council.

This is Rosemary Powers.

I speak today in opposition to the ordinance 29064.

I address alternatives described briefly in the council consideration requests of October 1st.

Instead of the amended ordinance, the document notes that Tacoma could consider a citywide camping prohibition on public property, or secondly, could adopt a set different set of buffer zones based on alternative criteria.

Regarding the first alternative as proposed, increasing the types of buffer zones already brings city policy closer to a whole city ban.

And regarding number two, no specific alternative is explored, no different set of zones or alternative criteria are suggested.

And there are not really alternatives being proposed here.

As we lose hundreds of shelter beds and with the closure of major day centers going into winter, creating buffer zones around parks and libraries is tone-deaf at best and cruel in its failure to address the wider problem.

Unhoused residents already have to leave belongings far from housing support services, and now they'll have to travel further to use the public facilities, provided it's all in our community at parks and libraries.

I don't understand why an opening to considering real alternatives was simply stated and then ignored.

It seems like an effort to amend the public policy quickly and without the usual comprehensive committee process.

The proposed amendment addresses costs of the change in purely financial terms, stating that if approved, these ordinance changes are unlikely to require immediate additional resources to implement.

But this ordinance clearly increases the costs and pain for those without housing.

I urge you to reject this amended ordinance or at least to take it now and seek real alternative comprehensive.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comments this evening, Rosemary.

Devin Rydell Kelly.

Hi, folks.

This is Devin Reddell Kelly.

I am Livin Hilltop and the co-director of Tacoma for All.

I joined the many people here speaking tonight against expanding John Hines' expensive law and order ineffective campaign.

It is forcing unhoused people out of the public sphere, the last festive democratic community in Donald Trump's America.

Adding therapeutic court and pretending it's somehow compassionate is straight up Orwellian.

It's adding a fundamentally criminalizing element to the ban.

What's most disturbing about it is that it comes after years of police in action in specific areas, then weeks of aggressive sweeping right before the election.

I looked at John Hines' PD5 C filings this afternoon, and I'll be speaking more about them in the coming weeks.

But my cursory look reveals that almost half of Hines' top donors are landlords, real estate developers, and contractors.

They're interestingly joined and shared space with tow truck drivers.

Devin, we cannot speak.

Devin, we cannot speak about campaigns.

If you want to speak about the ordinance, feel free to do that, but we can't speak about campaigns or candidates.

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought it was candidates didn't speak about their own.

Well, I will not be speaking about that.

That's great.

That's totally great.

That's totally great.

I was unaware of that part.

Well, anyway, this landlord developer cop coalition is what drove Donald Trump to power.

And as I said last week, these are the people driving the war on homelessness, war on the workers, and war on the poor.

I really don't believe that John Hines and Sarah Rumbaugh change their positions on this, but I implore the rest of you to please side with people over political opportunism, care over criminalization, and Tacoma over tope truck drivers.

Thank you.

Thank you, Devin.

Marilyn.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you, Marilyn.

Thank you.

I was having computer problems.

My laptop connection was unstable.

Okay, okay.

We still have time.

Go ahead, Marilyn.

Okay.

I am Marilyn Kimmerling.

I am in District One, John Hines' district.

I am uh calling in tonight to urge you not to pass um 2906 for the camping ban.

Um we can all agree on is that without shelter people die.

Right?

And this ban is going to increase that problem.

If we had enough shelters to safely and humanely house everybody, it would be a different story.

But there are not enough shelters.

Yes, you're building some.

Yes, you've opened some, but more have closed, and certainly the day shelters have closed, and to not allow houseless people to get warm in the library.

Please, if we had simply spent the money instead of giant rocks, which by the way are unsightly, um and and sleeps, we would have more money to put into the shelters.

Please do not put this ordinance in effect.

There is no rush to criminalize houseless people before the elections.

This needs to be considered much more carefully and much more humanely.

That's all I had to say.

No on 29064.

Thank you, Marilyn.

All right, I'm gonna move back to those who have signed in and we'll call you up in groups of five.

So we've got Brandon Simmons, Kyle Jolly Boys, Teresa Power Drudis, Alfred Kirk, and Napika Madhaven.

Ru Pika.

Go ahead, Brandon.

All right, good afternoon.

Um good afternoon, uh, mayor, council members, um, and our community.

Uh my name is Brandon Simmons.

I'm a former Marine, a member of Pierce County um COC and the founder of Schoolie Foundation.

I'm commenting um to vote no for the comment of the camping ban.

I speak not from behind a desk, but from um actually being in the encampments.

I actually go out week over week, and we actually provide food and meals.

Um, we've walked beside the unhoused and our neighbor, they're not just unhoused, but they're our neighbors.

These aren't strangers, these are part of our Tacoma family.

They're part of our community.

In 2025, during the Pitt point in time count, over 2,900 people were found living without permanent shelter in Pierce County.

11% of them, it was 11% increase in the year before.

One in 10 were veterans.

Over a quarter of them had serious mental health issues.

And one in four chronicle homeless, and six percent were seniors on fixed income.

Our team actually were part of the pit count.

I walked or drove for 18 hours that day.

And we personally heard stories.

We we communicated with people that were in our streets.

This is part of everything we do week over week.

We know as as council members, you want a humane and effective solution.

And we share that vision, but we can't keep unfo um unfunding housing in the summer and forcing people back in the streets of the winter, then removing them from the place that they feel safe.

You can't say that you you have a home, then you don't have a home, and then you can't be a part of our community.

We're clearly um when clearing camps without real solutions and alternatives.

We don't have homeless, we erase progress and breakthrough take some moments.

You're good.

Thank you.

Thank you, Brandon.

Kyle.

Mayor, you and I have been doing this a long time.

15 years, and not once have this council voted on our side.

So I'm asking you to stand with us.

And I will not be voting for the man from mayor that is behind the ban.

And I misspoke last week, Mayor.

I said the three things on this coin.

I said community, it should be unity.

And this coin has in my last 30 years of sobriety, I've helped a lot of people.

Last February, I was helping a guy at a homeless man outside my building.

He was on the other side on front of the bell on Broadway.

And I was almost maced by the security guard mayor for helping a homeless man.

So you know what Bella on Broadway did instead?

They put a lot of floodlights out and cameras to protect their sidewalk, mayor.

You see, I was on Tacoma sidewalk.

I wasn't on the property.

I was on the sidewalk.

And the solution to homelessness is spending 160,000 to date on rocks in my neighborhood.

Fourth and Tacoma Ave.

There's a Tacoma store, there's a Tacoma Tim's market right there.

There's boulders there, Mayor.

There's boulders all over Tacoma.

What are you guys doing to help the people that are suffering?

Because only 12% of people die sober, Mayor.

And I'm gonna be one of them.

Tacoma needs to do a better job.

Thank you.

And I hope they do not elect John Hines.

So Teresa, come forward, and as Teresa's coming.

I'm once again gonna make the statement.

Please do not refer to either yourself as a candidate or any other candidate in the room this evening.

Thank you very much, Teresa.

Go right ahead.

I'm Teresa Power Drudis from the Hilltop.

And three things.

I'm no you're all aware of, but I'm saying them out loud.

We had a lot of closures of shelters this summer.

We have fewer beds than we've had for quite a while.

We have two, the two largest day centers in the county, certainly in Tacoma, are closed to the day center folks.

And three, look at the weather.

Winter is coming.

In what universe does this look like the right time to expand a camping ban?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Teresa.

Alfred Kirk.

My name is Alfred Kirk, uh district number one.

And uh, you know, I am opposed to the camping ban uh resolution.

And um I was thinking, you know, in some of these areas, rather than, you know, you know, banning people from camping, you know, maybe just set up uh areas where they've got actual managed camping.

You know, it would not be a permanent solution, but um it would certainly be better than what we have now.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Alfred.

Is it Rupika?

It is Rupika.

Thank you very much, Rufika.

Hello, my name's Rupika.

I've been a teacher for 11 years and now support families experiencing homelessness, navigate resources.

Over the last year, I've heard politicians justifiably critique the dehumanizing rhetoric we're seeing at the federal level, and then turn around and advocate for a camping ban.

What could be more dehumanizing than criminalizing poverty?

I've heard two arguments for this camping ban.

The first is that unhoused people should go to shelters.

I spend a good chunk of my day calling shelters to find out they're full, or putting folks on long wait lists.

Got medication, work a night shift, have a pet, mate make slightly too much money to be eligible, but far too little for rent.

You might be out of luck.

The second thing I hear is that people don't want to go to parks because they feel unsafe.

I would ask folks to distinguish between safety and discomfort.

Does the discomfort of realizing the city is failing to support our unhoused neighbors have more weight than the actual safety of folks experiencing homelessness?

Whose safety is prioritized?

Does the camping ban increase safety for those experiencing homelessness?

We know that it doesn't.

We're in the middle of a government shutdown, and in a couple weeks, folks may be having to make the decision between paying rent or buying food as food stamps might be delayed or halted.

How many folks are one emergency from being unhoused?

What would it look like to have a humane response to the housing crisis to engage with curiosity and build relationships with the most vulnerable folks?

Please vote no on this ban.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Okay, the next five people are Sean Arnt, Lisa Kleiner, Zafira Burt, Bronwyn Clark, and Anne Dorn.

Sean Aaron, living in South End, speaking against ordinance 2964.

Although I suspect that would be different if I were invested in very large rocks.

And it kills people.

So figure out a way to uh store people's stuff rather than putting it in the dumpster, please.

Um I expect y'all to move ahead with this.

Um let me just start by saying that homelessness is a solvable problem.

Um and that I actually believe if the city had the resources it needed, um, that you guys would try to solve it.

Now, granted, I think you'd waste a lot of money on developer tax breaks.

Um and maybe some charities that don't work so well, but I think you try.

I think you try if we had the money.

But you don't have the resources you need.

And our country is backsliding fully into oligarchy, cutting funds for the needy, dissolving public services, and giving trillions to the military industrial complex.

So you're faced with a crisis, and with this policy, you are simply mediating the decline of our country, balancing human needs with the wants of the wealthy, while the rich have never had it so good, and the former can hardly be here to advocate for themselves.

So I don't hear you saying loudly enough that we are being robbed blind, that for one-tenth of the new ICE budget, we could solve homelessness in this country.

For a hundredth of the fantasy of the Golden Dale Missile Defense System, we could solve homelessness in this country.

That there is a reason for the despair in our streets, and that this is not the natural order.

I want to hear you speak louder.

Thank you, Sean.

Lisa.

Hello.

I'm Lisa Kleiner.

I am the clinical director at Critical Time Intervention Pierce County.

Um I work uh in an office downtown, and I carry a caseload.

So, and I've been doing this for about 30 years, working in social services.

Um, the past seven have been with uh the homeless population.

Um, just to give you my background.

Um I uh I just want to know, like, I know there's a map of where they can go, the unhoused community, but I just think it's silly to show where they can't go.

I feel like we need a map of where they can go.

Because that, you know, it's just craziness to me.

Like, we get it, they're not welcome anywhere, really.

Um then going into, I just want to talk briefly about the sweeps because I witnessed the sweep this morning on 11th and J.

It was it was terrible, it's heartbreaking.

These people, it was mentioned by other people that their tents are thrown away, they have three minutes to gather their things, half of them have wounds or medical problems, mental health challenges.

A lot of them are sleeping when the when these sweeps happen, so they're confused.

Um, you know, a lot of them sleep during the day because they're not safe at night.

Um, they're assaulted, they're so this community they form in their little encampment areas, the you know, the neighborhood block or whatever, they protect each other, they watch each other's stut things, just like neighbors in houses, the house folks.

We all watch each other's houses when someone's on vacation.

Same thing.

Um, the complaints about um feces or whatever, you know, different things, garbage, like supply dumpsters for these people.

Why not have uh we have uh rest stops on the highways?

Why can't we have rest stops in the town for people to go to the bathroom humanely?

Um last is just the DV victim thing that was brought up earlier.

That is the majority of these folks on the street.

They're domestic violence victims.

They are mentally ill people, they are seniors, they are they're gonna be able to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Vote no.

Thank you.

You see me.

I said it once and now I couldn't seem to find it.

Is it Zephra?

No, that's Bronwin.

Sorry, Bronwin, that is you.

Um Good evening.

My name is Zeph Herbert.

Um, and I live in District 3.

I'm commenting on ordinance 29064.

Um, please vote no on this camping ban.

In the city, there are only 850 shelter beds and over 1,000 homeless people.

And this is probably an undercount, as John Hines knows.

He claims to have participated in this count and still chose to introduce this callous ordinance.

They aren't out there for fun.

There's nowhere for them to go.

Um, this council keeps throwing money at the police budget, um, paying them over time to post stop in the left turn lane with their lights flashing.

But when it's time to fund a homeless services, the money is nowhere to be found.

This council just dedicated the month to recognize domestic violence.

When domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among women and children.

You say you want to end the cycle of violence, but you can't do that when you criminalize their survival.

Over half of these 1,000 people on the street lived in homes in Tacoma, and another couple hundred have come from Parkland and Lakewood.

These are members of our community and who need help, and there's nowhere else for them to go.

Um, please vote no on ordinance 29064.

Thank you.

Bronwyn, come on down.

That's okay.

Uh I don't have up my keep putting my glasses down, and so I can't even see.

So after after Bron, we've got Ann Dorn, Caitlin Murphy, Hesmer Mado, and Cassandra Cantor.

Go ahead, Bronlin.

Evening.

My name is Bronwyn Clark, and 29064 reads like it was written by people who don't expect to ever be homeless themselves.

I want to speak to those council members tonight.

I imagine that growing up, your association of tents was camping trips.

That's what it was for me, a middle class kid, family vacations, far from homelessness.

But a housing crisis can hit anyone.

Domestic violence, a health crisis.

My eyes were open to this in 2022 when after being a whistleblower, I was unexpectedly hit by a psychotic episode that landed me on the streets and I was picked up by police overnight.

Luckily, I had a home for them to take me to.

But what if my mental health crisis had caused me to lose my job, miss my rent, and I hadn't had a supportive family?

If a destabilizing event like that can happen to me, a highly educated middle-class white woman, it can happen to anyone.

You and I are only protected from homelessness by the layers of luck and privilege.

By voting yes, you are saying that this city's public spaces are only for people with privilege.

But our unhoused neighbors deserve to exist in them too.

They are citizens of our community just as we are.

Vote no to uphold Catherine Ushka's legacy.

Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

I'm Anne Dorn.

I'm a resident of the Fifth City Council District.

I serve as the elected chair of Tacoma for All.

I am here to speak against ordinance 29064.

Do not expand the camping ban.

This city needs to stop its war against the most vulnerable community members.

You have and will continue to hear endless testimony that this proposed expansion is not effective or helpful.

The people who are telling you this are also people who are giving their hearts, their time, their money, often in unpaid positions, to protect and defend our unhoused neighbors.

Many of these people are in this room tonight, and they are talking to you.

These are the voices you need to be listening to, not the voices who want to criminalize the act of living outside without a home, or the voices who are represent business interests who want to prioritize conditions that will maximize their profit.

I do not believe that we have to choose between having a beautiful and livable city and truly, really deeply supporting our entire community, including our unhoused neighbors.

Instead of this horrifying expansion of a failed and dehumanizing city policy, we need to get honest about what will actually work to solve this crisis.

And we have a lot of evidence.

It's housing.

When we keep rent increases stable, avoid deadly cold weather eviction, support community land trust, and take steps towards social housing.

We are moving toward a bold, transformative Tacoma where there's no need to chase our vulnerable, unhoused neighbors in an endless circle of cruelty that solves nothing.

Vote no.

Thank you, Ann.

Caitlin.

I'm speaking against 29064.

Um what is the point of a city council if it is not to make sure Tacomans are fed, to make sure Tacomans are housed to defend with your whole chest the dignity of all Tacomans.

It is unconscionable that this council, which masquerades as a democratic body, has the authority to unilaterally pass cartoonishly villainous resolutions.

This is a question of life or death, and so I'd like to use my remaining time to observe a moment of silence for the Tacomans suffering and dying right now.

For members of council who are housed, I want you to imagine that when you leave this chamber on this rainy 45-degree night, you have nowhere to go.

What will you do?

Now imagine that having nowhere to go is a crime.

What will you do?

I hope that this brief moment of silence can give the council time to examine the ethical principles they hold and decide to vote no.

Yeah, has mayor.

Yes, go right ahead.

Hi, everybody.

Hi, um, my name is Hezramada.

Um, I'm from District 4, and I'm actually an educator in the Bethel School District.

Um, I teach a variety of things, but I mostly teach family health.

In family health, we often emphasize the importance of wellness.

Environmental, excuse me.

It's all right.

Environmental wellness is one we often forget about.

And part of that is living safe in a decent home.

The reality in our capitalist society is that homelessness is an issue.

It's so disheartening to see so many students that have experienced homelessness.

I'm angry that my city has decided to criminalize people for just trying to survive.

We shouldn't pass ordnance 29064 as it only punishes humans trying to do their best to support themselves.

I would rather that my taxpayer money goes to building more homes and building um shelters.

Um next week it's gonna be November.

Are you gonna be able to live with yourself when people potentially freeze to death?

Sweeping their homes is not only cruel, it is so unjust.

I personally could not live with myself if that was the case.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you very much.

Cassandra.

Hi, uh good evening.

I'm Cassandra DeCantor.

Um, I live in District 3.

Um, I do not have any personal experience of homelessness.

I am not an activist, and I do not work in a professional capacity with the unhoused.

I am speaking in my capacity as just some lady who has been a Tacoma homeowner for 10 years.

I think that uh ordinance 29064 is a moral obscenity and an unconscionable waste of city resources, and I urge you all to vote no.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Cassandra.

All right, um, Alfie Pasquale, Gemini Null, Jeff Peel, David Chandler, and Eve Bowen.

Um, I just want to thank everyone here in chambers tonight for sharing your comments and those online.

Thank you.

Um, the you said it all, especially if if you don't talk in the mic, they can't hear you online, love.

Especially uh you with the pink hair, I really appreciate what you had to say.

Um, there's nothing that I can add that would change the council's mind.

So I want to speak to the people, those with the real power in the room.

Um, you know, together when we're united, our powers unmatched.

Um, and we need to be united to protect ourselves and each other.

Um, this camping ban is an attack on our community.

Um, if council is willing to force some of us into deadly conditions, they're willing to do that to any one of us here.

It is up to us.

It's up to us to keep us safe.

Um it's through community that we survive.

And if you aren't already, please get organized.

Join one of us.

Uh join a group like the ones here speaking and fight back.

And after, you know, after the council votes to kill our neighbors, leave these chambers not just angry, but also ready to fight back.

What you have to say and share to the community is so important.

It's vital, and we need each of you to achieve the bright future that we can only get through fighting back.

So thank you all.

Thank you, Gemini.

I also want to um echo in support of everything that's been said, especially um Ifa, which who has been coming to this uh council for years, and their name is Ifa.

Um and I I want to say I was uh, you know, I learn a lot from the people uh at these meetings, and I'm I'm really grateful uh to be to be in this lineup with so many awesome speakers.

And one of the things that I learned today uh as someone who is six days away from their due date, I'm uh nine months pregnant, uh, that the number one cause of death of pregnant women is domestic violence.

I learned that today at this meeting.

I Googled it, it's true, right?

And what would you do if you were faced between going outside and having all of your stuff thrown away or stay at home with someone who might hit you again, right?

Like this, this domestic violence, it's already been brought up, but the the homelessness and the domestic violence, it's if you actually believe and stand for what you espouse to believe, you cannot pass this.

Um, which is why I don't think that they actually stand for what they espouse to believe.

I think that there are fiscal motivations involved, which I'm not allowed to talk about because someone's running for mayor, but uh um what I'll say is if you're gonna come up here in law, the very important work that people do of getting shoes and backpacks and tens to people who need them and then spend 13 million dollars or 12 million dollars a year throwing that stuff away.

I think you got a little bit of a hypocrisy problem.

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, Gemini.

All right, Jeff.

I'm Jeff Peel, District 5.

Um I'm here to speak against the camping ban.

City ordinance already forbids excluding pets, keeping pets outdoors in inclement and cold weather, and it is absolutely disgusting that this body is contemplating spending extra resources to send the Tacoma PD to do that very thing to human beings.

Okay.

You have been brought here, put in your positions by the the people of Tacoma to be leaders to find solutions to our problems, not to kick down.

Kicking down is not leadership.

Congress uh excuse me.

Councilperson Sadalgay.

Please vote no.

Councilperson Scott, please vote no.

Councilperson Bushnell.

Please vote no.

Councilperson Walker.

Please vote no.

Mayor Woodards, please vote no.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Please vote no.

Councilperson Hines.

Please.

Vote no.

Councilperson Rumbaugh.

Please vote no.

Councilperson Diaz.

Please vote no.

Kicking down is not leadership.

Please vote no.

Kicking down is not leadership.

Please vote no.

Reaching down is leadership.

It's a sin to grind the face of the poor.

Please vote no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

David.

Good evening, Council.

I'm David Chandler.

I live on McKinley Hill in District 4.

And I'm here to speak again on 29064, the camping ban.

Expansion proposed by uh he who must not be named.

It's immoral and effective, and I add my voice to those things.

So, but I'd like to bring some other problems.

This proposal is bad law craft, and what as one professional to another, you should be ashamed.

You see, when you pass a law, it doesn't magically become reality.

You have to consider how people are supposed to understand what is and isn't allowed, how it will be enforced, and what the knock on effects will be.

This is y'all's job.

You should know this.

The current ban requires that those subject to or enforcing it know a small handful of locations, ones that are by their nature well known among the homeless population.

Tonight, y'all are voting on whether to turn this into a giant mess and set everyone involved up for failure.

With over 170 locations and defining what's not allowed, you're burn burdening people with the least access to information, and you're saddling police with an absurdly complicated line between areas of enforcement and malpractice.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to know that this myth will be enforced capriciously.

Second, I'd like to address the policy pattern that solving the wrong problem causes.

If you make homelessness less visible, you as city councilors probably stop hearing about the issue as much.

This might be a selfish win for you, but what happens when it's time for hard budget decisions down the road?

You've already done a lot to solve your homeless problem, but why are we still throwing all of this money at it?

No matter your intention, this ordinance creates an incentive structure for future councils that will lead to disinvestment in real solutions.

No to the foolish camping ban scramble.

Thank you, David.

Eve.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council.

I'm speaking against ordinance 29604.

The extension of this proposed camping ban policy is unrealistic and basically immoral.

It is unrealistic because it will not solve anything.

People will be displaced, losing much of their belongings to areas farther from where they would be receiving some kind of resource, such as being able to get a hot meal or getting more clothing and protection from the weather elements.

It's immoral because people who are unhoused will be put in a position to get sick and possibly die if this policy is passed.

What this camping ban implies is that if one is homeless, the city doesn't give a damn.

Last week, one councilperson stated that his interest is on the proposed camping ban and not to solve homelessness.

One cannot one cannot separate one from the other.

And we can't have a camping ban unless there is homelessness.

Funding for shelter spaces have decreased.

At least 200 shelter spaces since June 2025.

Where are people to go?

There was still no adequate answer to this question.

The cities say they have two therapeutic courts, one for mental health and one for community court.

If one reads the community court report made to the council in April 2024, it is required that an individual must be charged with a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor crime to gain access to this court.

This requirement creates a barrier for folks who are seeking housing.

How does this make sense?

So I urge you to oppose this extended camping ban.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jesse Jones, followed by Courtney Love, Marcus Barlett, and Michael McSwain.

I had stuff I was gonna say, but my phone died, so I'm just gonna have to go off the cuff.

I was actually in here with those kids because I did not realize that I was supposed to be upstairs or out.

And but I thought it was so cool.

Uh I was in high school 15 years ago at Mount Dahoma, so go Thunderbirds.

But um you said there was like uh 84 kids there.

Do you know that one in 30 kids experience homelessness?

There were three kids in there that did not have a home to go to.

And I just have to imagine like you guys going out there and throwing away their stuff.

Like that's that's pretty messed up.

And that makes me super sad.

And um I grew up on the South End.

I live in Central Tacoma, I'm in District 4.

Um, and I'm gonna remember how you guys vote.

Uh, because your vote for yes is a vote for cruelty, and I don't fuck with that.

Um excuse my language.

But I just hope that you guys do make the right choice that you guys are hearing our voices, we're showing up today.

I'm going to uh continue to show up because I don't know that I can trust you guys.

And when it comes time to vote, I'm so loud and I talk to everybody.

Ask anybody, I'm I'm hella talkative.

I can talk forever, and I will.

So vote no.

Thank you very much, Jesse.

Courtney.

Once again, I'm so um discombobulated, I can't organize my thoughts.

I've just got a sequence of jotted down notes.

But I uh will remind us what real sustainable solutions might be applied, like labor justice, social housing, or single payer health care, because 40% of unhoused people have a job, they just can't afford housing, and 40% of unhoused people are there for a medical emergency, not because they made a bad made a bad decision.

Um the economy is getting worse.

Three years ago when I started this work, um, 120 people a week, a week in Pierce County became homeless.

Um, so I imagine that numbers only higher.

Like people currently housed will be homeless tomorrow, like a hundred and twenty people a week at least.

This is not helpful.

Um before I get lost, um, I do want to quote Paulo Ferrer.

Um it is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well.

The oppressors who oppress exploit and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves.

Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both.

Prepare to be liberated.

Thank you.

Thank you, Courtney Marcus.

Uh hi, my name is Marcus Bartlett.

Uh, I'm a uh member of Tacoma for All.

I'm a tenant, uh, and I live in uh Councilmember Rumbaugh's district.

Uh I want to talk about what it uh to you all about sweeps.

Specifically, I want to talk about the word sweep.

Uh in our daily life, what is it that we sweep?

Uh garbage, dust, debris, uh whatever it is that we intend on throwing out.

If if this is our uh analogy for how we treat the unhoused population, it's a very telling one.

Um as you all vote this ordinance into law tonight.

I want you to imagine what it's like to have the police come to your home regularly and tell uh and tell you that you have to leave immediately.

Uh Councilmember Hines, uh last week you said that this uh ordinance is not intended on solving homelessness.

Uh so I want to point out the total lack of a solution offered by council uh as it seeks to repeal key provisions of the landlord fairness code.

Um which has kept people on their homes.

Uh the expansion of the camping ban uh is not the answer.

Michael Hello.

Umsterity politics, which this sounds a lot like to me, are used by both liberals and fascists.

And if I were such outstanding members of the community as y'all are, I would try very hard not to associate with fascism.

Uh we'll remember how you vote, and good luck.

Thank you, Michael.

Um, Jonathan Pottle.

Renee.

Is it Crenoyle?

Um, Teresa and Teresa Evans and O'Neill Arnold.

Hey everybody.

Jonathan Pottle, District 2.

I'm speaking against ordinance 29064.

Encampment sweeps disrupt personal and medical security, leading to higher usage of emergency rooms, jails, and crisis services like the Hope team, which I'll speak more about at the budget hearing.

Why not provide help rather than displacement?

Earlier tonight, you passed a proclamation recognizing domestic violence awareness month.

And you spoke rather eloquently about violence and abuse.

That got me, like others here thinking.

What would you call sweeping homeless people?

Having armed cops push them out of any stability of place when there is not enough adequate and supportive housing that meets their needs.

How is that not abuse?

How is forcibly displacing people and discarding their only possessions and not some sort of violent abusive relationship?

We heard how domestic violence is a large driver of homelessness, especially for women and children.

Do you not see the connection between your agenda items?

Look, don't pass this camping ban.

It's it's morally repugnant.

If you lack the courage to do the right thing, maybe table this and let a new council with some better, maybe more comradely members make a better choice.

Thanks.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Renee.

Okay.

Teresa?

Teresa Evans.

There she is.

Hello, Council.

Hello, Mayor.

How are you?

Good to see you.

Good to see you, Victoria.

I'm I'm Teresa Evans, and I'm in District 4, Sandashadaugues district at this time.

And um, so let's see.

I'll name you guys.

So Rambah's uh Woodards and Sadalke on this um ordinance.

So I look through it and I saw the 3,000 homeless in 2025.

I'm like, gosh, where is everybody?

I don't see this.

And I I ride my bicycle all over the place in Tacoma, sometimes 30 more or more miles in a day.

I go on the um the pipeline trail, and speaking of rocks, that was talked about a few times all along the edges, but they're great places to sit if you I when I walk.

Um because I can't walk two and a half miles without sitting, sometimes several times.

Um but and some people lay on those anyways.

Um so your ordinance, um uh 29064.

Um I just think about that and how how that works.

I don't see people, it doesn't mean I don't know if you actually need an ordinance.

We do need to take care of our our members in our community.

Um and the other thing about the domestic violence, um, some things over the last maybe 10 years.

I believe some domestic violence is actually created.

Uh for instance, my um father, when he went to hospital, St.

Joe's, um, they played violent movies and TV shows for him while he was there and he has dementia, and sometimes he does act out and hit the people who care for him.

I think it's dangerous, and we shouldn't do it.

Anyways, thank you so much.

Thank you, Teresa.

All right, the last three people, Lonaida Arnold, Barb Church, and Chris Lopez.

And a post-it note.

District two.

We need solutions that work.

Um homelessness is poverty.

We can all slip into poverty.

The camping ban does not solve our homeless crisis, especially when there are no shelters to remove people to.

I have a suspicion that that why that is why this ban has come forward because there's so many shelters that were closed in hilltop.

Unprotected from the 10 block radius now.

The recent shelter closers closures have had a devastating effect on our unhoused community and their ability to seek out the housing services which are supported through shelters.

Continually move continually moving people from place to place, makes it increasingly impossible for outreach workers to assist homeless people.

Why the rush to push through this ordinance that was just introduced last week, a week ago without committee?

This leaves us no time for a larger conversation about solutions that can work to house people and not punish them when they are at the lowest point in their lives.

This is not proper governance.

Your decisions have life and death consequences.

Take the time to develop solutions that work.

Work with the people in this room who reach out and are working with, including me, unhoused people every day.

How many of you go out on a weekly basis or daily basis to give out to unhoused people to interact with them?

Please vote no on this camping van.

Thank you.

Barb.

And after Chris will be John Wilkers Wilkinson and Talisha Board.

Hi, my name's Barb Church.

I'm a resident of Northeast Tacoma.

I didn't even bring notes today, but I have gone out with the Black Panther Party for several years to feed the people on the street to provide resources.

I'm a volunteer, I don't get paid for that.

So if any of you would like to donate any resources or money, just let me know.

But it isn't really funny.

And I can't say anything that other that I haven't said in years past, and I can't say anything that people here haven't already said.

I'm actually uh reaching a point where I wonder if anything I do say matters or makes a difference.

And I've been here longer than most of you on the dais.

Um so all I will say is look for.

No, I'm not gonna say anything.

All I all I'll say is that I'm gonna pay attention to your vote, and that a number of us will also be paying attention to that vote and to let you know that we vote too.

Thank you, Barb.

Chris?

Hell yeah.

Good evening.

My name is Chris Lopez.

Um, I work in District 2 and I spend the night on district four.

Um, I want to just tell a short, short story on like how easy it is to become a homeless.

No, I have a friend, her name is is Kathy, and uh she received a social security check of like probably 900.

Um, I pay a little bit of a thousand dollars for one studio that is 350 square feet, and Kathy cannot even afford that.

Uh it was a challenge when uh we uh when I met her.

I was working in uh in a body shop.

We were repairing her car, and I get to discover that she was living in her car at that time for two years because she went through difficulties.

Uh many people go like that, and it's easy to end with a broken heart and a broken spirit after no getting enough money to make it.

She couldn't get another job, she's 75 years old.

She shouldn't be working, right?

And uh we have to let her stay in our office for a few weeks until we contact their family, until we discover that the family is not really able to help her anyway.

So um she has no mental issues, no bad habits, but it's still it was a challenge to find someone that can rent a room for her for maybe half of what she was doing a month in order to leave some money for her.

So uh it has everything to do with what we are passing, trying to pass today, because the solution is not enforcement.

We need to find a different way.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Chris.

Johnson uh hello.

Um, so I largely agree with uh pretty much everyone here uh in regards to saying vote no on uh 29064.

Um the one thing I haven't heard though tonight uh that I think is potentially important for context.

Uh I have seen it reported from numerous outlets, including Fox 13 Seattle, that the existing camping ban has led to a 77% increase estimated in street deaths.

There are actual consequences, and the existing policy measure, whichever, it's an abject failure if it increases street deaths by 77% by regardless of any other metrics, matters, whatever.

It doesn't matter, right?

Either trying to continue or expand this is insane, it's cruel.

I just yeah, that that's really all I have to say.

77% increase in street deaths.

Thank you, John.

And our final speaker this evening is is is Talisa Board.

Hi, my name's Talesa Bode.

I am in the second district.

I haven't spoken to the council since Tacoma Paid Sick Leave happened, which was a while ago.

I am currently six months out of homelessness, and I have had my stuff taken from me.

My kids are little, and the things that they made at school are in your trash.

I have a story, just like every homeless person out there has a story, has a story about their things.

Everybody in here on this council either carries a wallet or a purse.

Those are your personal items, those are the things that you keep your personal items in for the day.

If those things were taken from you, the first thing you're gonna do is make a police report out for that, right?

Can I make a police report out because my kid drew me something that said happy Mother's Day on it?

No.

I am you're speaking to you about that.

Poverty is a policy decision.

A policy decision.

A policy decision.

I can't live here because I make too much money, a policy decision.

I can't even get medical because of a policy decision.

Everything boils down to policies decisions.

That is what the council does make decisions about the money that we give to you and being good stewards of that money.

Be a good steward of that money.

Take care of the community, the same community that your platforms all ran on that you all love so much.

Thank you.

We're gonna go ahead and get restarted.

I'd like to call the city council meeting of October 21st back to order.

We're gonna move into the regular agenda agenda.

We'll start with purchasing resolutions item 10.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41782, a resolution accepting a grant from the Washington State Health Care Authority in the amount of $1,432,000 in depositing said some into the Human Rights and Human Services Fund and authorizing an increase to and extending the contract with Tacoma Pierce County Health Department for street medicine programming through June 30th, 2027 for a projected contract total of 2,432,000 plus applicable taxes.

All right, are there any council comments or questions?

I just want to take this opportunity to thank uh former governor Chris Gregoire.

Um we have been meeting over the last several years with a group of mayors across the state of Washington in in trying to high and trying to find ways to address this particular issue that our homeless community um faces, and that is the lack of health care.

And I, as you heard from um the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department director earlier, um this has been a program that they've been able to implement and go out and care for people who don't have access to our house neighbors who don't have access to medical care.

Um and I'm grateful for Governor Greg Barr's leadership that Tacoma was chosen as one of the strike sites to pilot this project and now has received funding for an additional two years to continue this project.

It'll be an additional um 18 months.

Um I just want to express my gratitude to um the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department for stepping up and being a partner um in this work and for taking um this particular program on.

I want to thank them for all of their work, and I just want to again acknowledge Chris Gregoire for while she's no longer the governor still being um an active part of solving um issues here in the state of Washington.

So those are my uh my only comments and seeing no further comments.

All those in favor of adopting resolution number 41782 signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

The resolution is declared adopted.

Moving on to item 11.

This item will also cover item 12.

Uh clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41783, a resolution authorizing the execution of an interest-free loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation in the amount of 408,000 dollars, 480,000, accepting and depositing said sum into the Tacoma Rail Fund and further authorizing a match funds in the amount of 200,000 for the acquisition of one boom truck for heavy locomotive maintenance and repairs.

I move to adopt resolution number 41783.

Second, all right.

I'd like to call on Kyle Kellum.

Kylie, oh, there you are.

Come on, come on.

Good evening, Mayor Woodards, members of the council.

My name is Kyle Kellum, and I'm the roadmaster for Tacoma Rail.

With this resolution, Tacoma Rill seeks to enter into a loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation at zero percent interest less an administrative fee over a 10-year repayment term.

The loan was awarded subsequent to a competitive call for projects issued by Washdot, and will partially finance the purchase of a new 35-ton capacity boom truck.

This agreement numbered RRC 1010 is in the amount of 400,000, has an administrative fee of eight thousand dollars, and requires an annual payment of four 40,800 each year beginning on January 1st, 2029.

This agreement requires Tacoma Rail to provide a minimum match of 200,000 towards completion of the project.

This agreement was approved by the Tacoma Public Utility Board through resolution U-11560 on October 8th, 2025.

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much for um that question, Kyle, the presentation, Kyle.

Do I have any questions for Kyle?

All right, seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 41783 signify by saying aye.

All those opposed.

The resolution is declared adopted.

Moving on to item 12.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41784.

A resolution authorizing the execution of an interest-free loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation in the amount of 1,122,000 and accepting and depositing said sum into the Tacoma Rail Fund and further authorizing match funds of the in the amount of 469,250 to partially fund a railroad track rehabilitation project.

I move to adopt resolution number 41784.

Second.

All right, this item was just presented, and Kyle is still here if there are any additional questions.

And I see none.

So all those in favor of adopting resolution number 41784 signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

The resolution is declared adopted.

Thank you, Kyle.

Item 13.

This item will also cover items 14 and 20.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41785.

A resolution authorizing the execution of a collective bargaining agreement with the Tacoma Joint Labor Committee effective January 1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2027.

I move to adopt resolution number 41785.

Second.

All right, I'd like to call on Dylan Carlson.

Dylan.

Good evening, Mayor Woodards and members of the City Council.

I am Dylan Carlson, Labor Relations Division Manager for the City of Tacoma.

I have two resolutions and an ordinance to present this evening.

Resolution 41785 authorizes the execution of a collective bargaining agreement as negotiated with the Tacoma Joint Labor Committee for the continuation of employee health and welfare benefits for the years 2026 and 2027.

The city will continue to pay the full premium cost for dental and vision insurance for eligible full-time employees.

And employee premium contributions toward medical and insurance coverage remains unchanged.

Plan design changes include the incorporation of various state and federal mandates as well as enhanced care management services under the region's blue shield health plans.

The agreement also includes an increase in the amount paid for meal allowances from $18 to $23 per meal, an increase in the rate paid for standby assignment from $4.12 to $5 per hour, and also provides that employees will be eligible to utilize up to five days of accrued paid leave for bereavement upon the death of a family member.

The list of qualifying family members is also modernized to align with the city's existing sick leave and FMLA policies.

No additional paid leave will be provided to employees because of this change.

The city also engaged in discussions with the committee on a plan to pursue a request for proposals for our self-funded medical and pharmacy plan administrator to be effective in January of 2027.

As has been done in the past, the city will seek joint labor participation on that selection committee.

This RFP will also require the assistance from our benefits broker and result in a need to extend that service contract for an additional two-year period through June of 2028.

A future resolution for that service agreement will be presented to City Council.

Resolution 41786 authorizes the execution of a letter of agreement as negotiated with the Tacoma Police Union Local 6 commissioned unit for the continuation of employee health and welfare benefits.

The city will continue to pay the full premium cost for dental and vision insurance for eligible full-time employees.

And employee premium contributions toward medical and insurance premiums coverage remains unchanged.

Plan design change include the incorporation of various state and federal mandates as well as enhanced case care management services under the region's Blue Shield Health Plans.

Finally, ordinance 29065 provides for the implementation of the provisions of the agreement negotiated with the Tacoma Joint Labor Committee for the continuation of employee health and welfare benefits.

The ordinance modifies language to provide for the increase to the rate paid for standby assignments from four and one-half to five dollars per hour, and the change to allow employees to utilize up to five days of any accrued paid leave for bereavement upon the death of family member.

And the list of family members is also modernized to align with the city's existing sick leave and FMLA policies.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Dylan.

Do we have any questions for Dylan?

All right.

Um all those in favor of thank you for the explanation, Dylan.

All those in favor of adopting resolution number 41785 signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

The resolution is to get declared adopted.

Moving on to item 14.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41786.

A resolution authorizing the execution of a letter of agreement with the Tacoma Police Union local six commission unit regarding the continuation of health and welfare benefits.

I move to adopt resolution number 41786.

All right, this item was just presented.

Are there any additional council call questions or comments?

Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 41786 signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

This resolution is declared adopted.

Moving on to item 16.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41787.

Resolution 41787, a resolution directing the city manager to seek partnerships with other agencies to identify a location and funding options to create a new low barrier shelter site.

I move to adopt resolution number 41787.

Second.

All right, I'd like to call on Councilmember Rumba.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I'm bringing this forward tonight to direct the city manager to seek a partnership with other agencies in order to identify a location for a low barrier site and identify funding options for the low barrier site at that location.

The city's homelessness strategy includes low barrier shelter sites, and we appreciate the work of staff and constantly seeking opportunities and partnerships for increased shelter options.

This request allows us to prioritize this effort in our homeless response with hopes in finding a more immediate solution.

This resolution is about as um about us as a council setting a clear vision for a regional approach to homelessness services.

It tells the city manager that that in this moment of regional collaboration, we want the city to take a lead and pursue partnerships.

Um thank you for the to the mayor for co-sponsoring this resolution with me.

This is urgent and timely, and there is a window of opportunity we don't want to miss.

Thank you, Councilmember Rumba.

Oh, and I just I just wanted to say that um losing the 35th and Pacific um low barrier site was I think probably one of the most for me one of the most painful site um things that were that we couldn't find that was turning into affordable housing, and so I think finding a way to have more low barrier sites.

Um working with our partners is really important.

So I'm I'm happy to support this and um bring it forward.

So I hope that um my council members will consider supporting us.

Um thank you, council member Rambaugh, and I um I appreciate you bringing this forward, and I am happy to sign on as a co-sponsor with you.

Um before we stood up our our first low barrier site, um, I was a huge advocate for making sure that we had the right um kind of um shelter options for people who are experiencing homeless in our community.

Um I said this at study session today, but just like um for those of us who can't afford it, that we can choose whether we live in an apartment or house or duplex or a room.

Um we have options, and I think the our houseless community or those in our community who are homeless need to be able to have those same options to um find opportunities that meet them where they are and give them the best chance um of getting their lives back on track.

Um we um we were grateful that at our low barrier site when it was operating that we were able um to find um permanent housing for people who came into that site.

Um, but then we had to shut that down because they're actually building affordable housing, which is great that we're having affordable housing bill, but that also causes to close down that low barrier shelter.

As we are working with the county to seek to find a regional solution for homelessness, meaning that all cities and towns in Pierce County are working together to solve this issue.

Um, I think the idea of either finding another site in Tacoma or finding a site with one of our one of our neighboring partners is something that we should definitely look into.

We know that while um well, not everyone who is counted in the point time count, and we know that that's not even completely accurate.

We um we also know that all of the people who are counted, all those who are homeless who are counted in the point in time count don't actually live in Tacoma, but 90% of the services that are all that are offered throughout the county are in Tacoma.

Um, so this opportunity either to continue to make sure that we're focus on focusing on identifying a low barrier site and are working with our partners, um, I think is a good reason to bring this resolution forward and not only to direct our city manager um to move forward with this, but to remind staff who do this work every day and those in community that a low barrier site is a priority for us.

So um thank you, Councilmember Rumbaugh.

Do we have any other comments or questions?

Councilmember Daniels.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, and I appreciate Councilmember Rumbaugh for um and you mayor for bringing this forward.

Um I have questions about the timing.

I think that this resolution might be a little bit um I think it might muddy the conversation about our future ordinance that's coming up here.

Um, and I think it might give false hope to our community that all we had to do was make a resolution to do and push forward on a strategy that we already have.

And I have concerns that this is that this isn't where this lives.

I think that we could be talking about this in our budget.

I think we could have talked about this in our comp plan.

I think we could have talked about this many other times, and I just is the right time to bring this forward.

And I and I'd hate to confuse the public, um, especially if we are trying to disassociate sheltering from camping and items in the street.

And um, I just yeah, I'm gonna support this in the hopes that I'm not I'm going to vote for it in the hopes that this is what it took, but I would really be disheartened to believe that after all of the asking, after all of the time I have spent begging us to find places uh to do low barrier sheltering, that all it took was a resolution to get it done.

Um yeah, but I am gonna vote for it tonight.

Um thank you very much, Councilmember Danos, and thank you for your comments this evening.

Are there any other comments?

All right, seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 41787 signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, the resolution is declared adopted.

Moving on to final reading and reading of ordinances.

Item 17, Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29055, an ordinance granting a non-exclusive 10-year telecommunications franchise agreement to easy fiber Texas LLC to construct, operate, and repair a telecommunication system in the city.

All right, this item was presented on September 30th, 2025.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

All right, seeing none, um clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Bushnell?

Aye, Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye, Councilmember Diaz.

Aye.

Councilmember Heinz.

Aye.

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalgay?

Aye.

Councilmember Scott?

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

The ordinance is declared passed.

Moving on to title to item 18.

Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29063, an ordinance amending Title 13 of the municipal code relating to the land use regulatory code by amending various chapters to support the revised goals, policies, and objectives related to historic preservation in an updated one to coma comprehensive plan and address priorities identified by stakeholders as recommended by the landmarks preservation and planning commissions.

All right, this item was presented last week.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Seeing none, Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Councilmember Diaz.

Aye.

Councilmember Hines.

Aye.

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalga.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott.

Aye.

Councilmember Walker?

Aye.

Councilmember Bushnell.

Aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

This ordinance is declared adopted.

Moving on to item 19.

Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29064, an ordinance amending Title VII of the municipal code relating to public safety by amending various sections related to camping and storing personal belongings on public property.

All right.

This item uh was presented last week.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Councilmember Scott.

Uh sorry, thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um I just want to say I've been grateful that um we're having this conversation and that I've been able to share um my thoughts and ask questions and uh hear directly from the community with their lived experiences, their concerns, their inquiries.

Um like many others, I've had a really hard time separating this ordinance discussion from the broader question of how we continue improving our services first approach to addressing homelessness.

And I really want first to acknowledge that you know the city staff do work every day to support people in crisis and help them transition into shelter and connected to connect them to services as well as do other folks throughout the community.

Um and the work is tireless, and I I deeply deeply appreciate it.

And at the same time, um we can hold both of those truths that progress has been made in some ways and that more is needed.

Um I think we have a responsibility to keep our public spaces safe and accessible while also recognizing the humanity of those living without shelter.

I take to heart what I hear from residents who feel impacted by encampments, um, as well as from people with the lived experience of living in those encampments, um, as well as the people who serve who provide services and like and um and much needed tools and items of survival as well.

Um we really dive into it and we hear those stories, it's it's those stories that really remind us what's at stake, uh, especially when survival is on the line.

Homelessness is both complex and it's deeply human, and addressing it requires acknowledging that this crisis is not just the cities alone to solve.

Uh it demands partnership, and I'm glad you know that we're working on a unified regional approach.

Um, but you know, it also we have to have partnership among our service providers and um the community at large.

It's really gonna take all of us to address the issue in a way that we start seeing um a real difference and a real um a real progress.

Um I take this responsibility very seriously and I take it personally, and I plan to continue working collaboratively, learning from lived experiences, from data, from places that have seen measurable success from where we've where we've been as a city, um, where we might have learned our gaps are and our services and to really think creatively about how we can strengthen our response.

Uh for example, I really want to make sure that we are providing safe storage spaces, and I want to um make sure that we're expanding options and assistance for uh things that encourage the stability for those who are experiencing addiction or mental health issues or uh domestic violence or job insecurity or aging or all of the other things that we know can lead people into that cycle of experiencing homelessness and having a hard time getting out of homelessness and finding that stability again.

Um our resources are limited and our budget is strained uh for sure, but I really believe that you know it's our responsibility to try to use what we have effectively and efficiently, uh, not only to help people get housed after experiencing homelessness, but to disrupt um the cycle that leads to homelessness altogether.

Um so I just want to finish by saying that I really do believe that we can meet this challenge with uh compassion, with creativity, with accountability, and if we stay focused on both immediate needs and long-term solutions, we can move closer to a city where everyone has the opportunity for stability, for safety, and for dignity.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Scott.

Councilmember Bush now.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

And um I just want to appreciate Councilmember Scott and and and everybody uh with for their comments.

Um, you know, this is a very difficult topic uh uh for for everybody, uh everybody up here as well.

Um, and um, you know, I'm not gonna be supporting this resolution tonight.

Um but it's mainly to do with um the lack of a low-berry shelters we have within the city.

Um I think that if we are uh asking people not to stay in certain areas, that we should have a location for them to go um and to come as they are.

Um and so that's that's really kind of where I would rather uh if we have that ability to stand up a low berry shelter.

I appreciate the resolution we passed earlier, um, whether that's here in Tacoma or uh with a partner uh out and about, but it's it's one of those things that I think is really important.

And that's that's where I think having kind of a uniform policy at a regional level is really important as well.

Um, and being uh a leader uh that we are in the city of Tacoma, it's really important that we are uh conversing with our partners, not just here within Tacoma, but externally about how these policies impact us on a regional level.

And as we are kind of going through this unified regional approach, uh, which I'm very, very supportive of, and I think everybody else in the council is, um, I think it's a little premature for us to being uh making large changes to policies at this level until we have a larger conversation with our neighboring jurisdictions and how that impacts the regional approach that we're uh trying to uh stand up.

So I just appreciate all the work that's gone into this, um, and I'll appreciate all the community advocates that are out there as well as the city staff.

Um it's a really thankless job out there to they they go out time and time every single day, like many of you, um, to also try and help and support people as much as possible.

So we're gonna make sure to to thank them for the work that they're doing as well.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Bushnell.

Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I just wanted to uh share a few comments, talk a little bit as my colleagues have about the um work that we do at the city to address homelessness.

Um I wanna thank the staff for the work that they do, and I know we got a presentation on the the bigger picture a couple weeks ago, and we do quarterly, and that's been really important in looking at how we address homelessness and supporting our houseless neighbors um really as a as a whole picture.

Um and I know it's been mentioned many times already tonight uh that we are part of this unified regional approach, the URA, but that our city is really um goes above and beyond in terms of supporting the community in this space.

We have both policies and programs that are keeping people in their homes and making sure that we are supporting folks to get back into that housing when they don't have it.

I want to give a big shout out to our heel team.

And I know so many nonprofits that do this work, really appreciate the work of TPCHD, Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, and that street medicine contract that we were able to expand tonight.

So many people are putting in hard work to meet people where they are, and we certainly have more work to do to achieve the goal of ending homelessness, but we can't in the midst of that also meet our responsibility that we have to keep public spaces safe and accessible.

We have a responsibility to meet the needs of everyone in our community, and those public access points must be publicly accessible.

So when we hear from residents that can't access public facilities, we need to make sure we're acting.

The data and experiences of our heel team show that community buffer zones help us manage the impacts of encampments on our community, and our 311 data shows that those zones do not simply move encampments around the city, but that those folks have higher rates of accepting services because of our HEAL team who's out there meeting with people.

I also heard other my other colleagues talk about additional things that I think we need to be looking into and maybe have over the years, but maybe it's time to relook at that, like more public bathrooms, more public storage.

I think that this is a moment we can be adding more opportunities.

I know I heard somebody talk about urban rest stops.

Um, what what else can we do in that space?

Um so thank you to my colleagues for digging into this tough conversation over the last I think three, four weeks as we've explored this.

Um, and I look forward to more work as we move forward.

Thank you, Councilmember Walker, Councilmember Diaz.

Thank you, Mayor.

Oh, sorry to end.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I wanted to go ahead and tell folks uh a couple of things.

Um Tacoma's not alone in our housing affordability and um homelessness crisis.

This is really a national and a regional problem.

Um, as the seat of Pierce County, we've got multiple cities around us who don't provide shelter, who don't provide solutions for housing affordability, and has really made Tacoma step up.

And we have been one of the biggest providers by spending over a hundred million dollars on creating more affordable housing and shelter services in just the three years since I've been on council.

So I have a hard time hearing that we're doing nothing when we're investing a lot.

In this biennium alone, we've allocated 32 million for shelters and homeless services, and that doesn't include site hardening or encampment movement.

Obviously, we spend money on those things as well, but the vast majority of our funding goes out to service providers to help shelter and services so that even more of what we spend isn't just on the heel team.

With that said, I also don't like the disparagement of that I'm hearing about the HEAL team.

They work directly with our most vulnerable populations in our city alongside service providers.

I know that folks who are unhoused in our neighborhood, they know the folks who are unhoused in our neighborhoods.

And while they often do their work with police, they're an important part of how we lead with services and resources, so that it's not the police sweeps that we see in other cities.

I personally do not see people experiencing homelessness as criminals.

I see their humanity, I see their struggle, and I see their lack of not just money, but a true support network.

Often, my first thought when I see someone who is living outside is wondering which hole in our Swiss cheese safety net they fell through, or how did they run out of a personal support network, or what horrors or unforeseen circumstances drove them from their friends and family out into the streets?

Like many of the people we heard from tonight, it hurts my heart and it makes me deeply angry and sad at the lack of resources to catch people when they have nowhere else to turn.

I really appreciate the energies and stories of humanity that are brought forward by the folks in the room tonight.

I find it helpful and I find it hard to hear.

But I want to know where this energy was when the city was seeking legislative funding to keep our low barrier shelter say open from the legislature.

Tacoma did not signal single-handedly cause this homelessness crisis and our housing affordability crisis, and we can't solve it alone, despite how much we try.

The legislature only gave us half of the shelter funding we requested because they claim that they have their own budget issues.

Well, they refuse to tax the wealthy in our state to help provide more services for that are really needed in our communities.

At the city level, I would love to tax the rich to pay for shelter.

But quite frankly, there aren't enough huge businesses or wealthy people in the city of Tacoma to make even a dent in that funding, let alone that we don't have to be able to do that.

Council Member Diaz already.

Council Member Diaz, can you hold on just a moment?

All of you had an opportunity to speak tonight.

Nobody from this council dais interrupted you or made noise while you were speaking.

Please show that same respect to the council as they make their comments now.

I you listen, I'm I'm I'm giving you one more chance to please respect the speakers, otherwise, we will clear the chambers.

Councilmember Diaz, please continue.

Sure.

Um so I don't even think we have the authority to tax the wealthy in just the city of Tacoma.

So we need our state to step up and do that work so that we can actually help solve this problem.

So Tacoma's left to do the best that we can and keep pushing forward solutions and funding from our regional approach to homelessness.

I'm hoping that comes through for us.

In the meantime, I think my colleagues who are supporting the campaign ban tonight have a valid reaction to requests that they we get daily from across the city.

While some of the emails or complaints come in with some vile, disgusting rhetoric that is disgusting.

Um not all of them are.

Some of them come from reasonable, compassionate people who are also sick of our lack of resources and are sick of people having to fend for themselves in the outdoors.

So, with all of that said, I'm not supporting this proposal tonight because I but I just want to say that I understand how it came about.

I'm disappointed that it includes libraries when libraries are one of the only places left in our society for people to come as they are and get connected to services.

I'm also disappointed it includes a vast amount of downtown and hilltop.

And for those reasons, I just can't support it.

I can't get there.

It's a proposal that looks much better than the original Mac that came out, but it's just not to where I can comfortably feel like supporting it.

I've heard a lot of justified opposition to this ordinance, but I would really welcome more solutions from the advocates because y'all live and breathe this policy and these passions, and I think we can really action on some of those solutions.

In the last few days alone, I've heard some new ideas for getting people access to bathrooms and new shelter options that I am personally looking into in the coming weeks, and I hope to bring that forward, um, regardless of whether or not this ordinance passes.

And I also want to thank Council Member Rumbaugh for the work that she did to bring forward her resolution on what new shelter options we can try to solve, both within the city and throughout.

And um just want to thank everybody in the room for for sitting through my monologue here, but also just hearing out some of the points and really take it to heart.

Um, that we're we make tough choices up here, um, but this this one it gets a lot of publicity, but it's it's hard.

Um, and I just am grateful for y'all engaging and would hope and welcome that you walk with us sometimes because sometimes we do need you to do that as well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Sidalgay.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um I've thought, like everyone at this dais, uh, very long and hard about this, and I wanted to explain my reasoning for my vote.

Um, I'm proud that we in this city do more than our immediate neighboring jurisdictions around homelessness, but we all know that it's not enough.

And I want to thank uh others on this dais who pointed out that there were a lot of inaccurate statements made about the work of our city staff and how they go about doing that work.

We lead with compassion when we make service contact with individuals.

Um, and I want to thank them.

And like others on this council, I won't go through the list.

We've invested in a lot of uh resources and programs since this original uh legislation, be it therapeutic courts, affordable housing.

There's a whole list I could go through that I'm not going to do that.

Because the point is, even with all that, we don't have enough resources, and so that raises an important question.

As a responsible governor of this city with limited resources, how do we identify the areas we want to emphasize and focus on for outreach and connection to service with this vote after a lot of thought and introspection?

I'm agreeing with the sentiments of so many regular, reasonable people in my district who I've spoken to directly that areas within two blocks of libraries, parks, and schools should be areas we emphasize and focus on for outreach and service connection because that is what we do.

I want to also reiterate that there is a positive because for the first time in the year that I've been on council, we've had some really important intentional conversation about what we can do to continue to champion advocate and expand services around homelessness.

And I want to continue to work with my colleagues to continue to do that.

This is not an end.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Sodalga.

Deputy Mayor.

Oh, sorry, sorry, Councilmember Rambaugh, then Deputy Mayor.

Go ahead go ahead, Councilmember Rambaugh.

Um, so I I think that I want to just share a little bit of my experience with homelessness because it seems to that people think that we don't go out and volunteer and haven't done anything with the homeless population.

Um for 10 years, I um volunteered with Family Housing Network with my temple, and we provided housing to homeless families, and um we worked with St.

Andrew's Episcopal Church because we didn't have space at our synagogue, it was too dangerous because of the death threats we get.

Um so I met families that you know were something happened, like somebody um got sick in their family and they were evicted, and our our synagogue provided them meals and shelter for a week, made sure they got to school, um, made sure that they received the other things that they might need.

The one family had um they had eight kids and um she was pregnant, and um we made sure that she got the things that she needed when they moved into their new house.

And with eight kids, it takes a long time to find housing that's the right size.

And we know that in the city we're losing a lot of that shelter that families need um because there aren't large enough units.

Um after that, I joined the associated ministries board and served there for six years working on homelessness.

Um, I was there when they changed their mission to just be about homelessness.

Um, it's a fabulous organization of um faith-based people who get together and care about our community and what they need.

My husband is a superior court judge, and my experience with the justice system is that we do not try to criminalize people in every situation, that we try to find solutions.

And one of the things I've really appreciated is the work that we have with other types of um courts like community court, therapeutic court, mental health court, finding other ways to help people.

Some people um are helped by having organizations like you work with go to them and offer them services, create those relationships.

Other people need other solutions.

Um, I think that there's a lot of different solutions for one problem, and I think it's important um that we look for lots of solutions, and so this is not an answer for everybody, but maybe it will be an answer for some people that we might be able to offer them another another um type of s of solution.

And this is about more than enforcement.

We're investing in low barrier shelter options, building affordable housing as a city, and working with partners across the region to fill the gaps in our housing system.

Public spaces like sidewalks, parks, and school routes need to be safe and accessible for everyone.

And at the same time, we are continuing to invest in the resources people need to find stability and support.

I think that everybody up here on this dais cares about our community as much as everyone in the audience does.

Um, but that's why I'll be supporting this tonight.

Thank you.

Um, Councilmember Rambaugh, Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um I appreciate all of what has been said tonight.

Um I appreciate the sentiments from those that I worked with in the past in schools.

Uh that reminded me of why uh I came to do this work here.

Um it reminded me of my own story that I tend to forget what made me run for council.

I don't know if I've shared with all of my colleagues my own story of housing or my own family's experiences.

Um but I'm pretty sure that I have more than one family member that was in that list of numbers of folks that have passed away to street um homelessness.

I have trouble accepting what we are voting on tonight after looking at 85 young kids, uh thanking us for our work, knowing that the TNT reported 2,389 students homeless in 2023 to 2024, 414 of those unaccompanied.

Those are the invisible folks that we don't see in our policy.

Those are the folks that we impact day to day, and I don't think that we are doing enough for them.

Tonight we heard about them.

I couldn't help but hear the irony in the room when we talked about domestic violence.

I heard you loud and clear.

We heard our LGBTQ advocates, we heard the folks working the closest with the most vulnerable who continue to be here to give us ideas, to give us support, we can figure out how to do this problem better.

And the one thing that I can say for sure is that as long as we believe that we are not going to solve homelessness, we cannot, we will not.

Two nights ago, I heard an intense rain, and I remember waking up in the middle of the night thinking how much I used to love the sound of rain.

I used to enjoy snow in the winter, and now I can only think about how difficult it is going to these seasons, knowing that what the beautiful sound and the beautiful sight to me means life and death for others.

I want to get back to the place where we can enjoy our seasons, where we know we have done everything we can vigorously, not just performatively, where our staff knows that we have done everything we can, where we support them, where they are encouraged to try new things, to do anything that we can to make sure that we meet our goals, and that we don't just revisit them quarterly or yearly, that we are working every day to find these places and find these locations.

At minimum, I think we should consider studying, and I would never recommend a study, but I think we should study what's working because I certainly know what's not, and figure out how we can do this better, how we can analyze our budget.

I don't know.

There are so many things that we can do outside of this to get to better support our residents.

So with that, I will not be voting for this tonight.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Councilmember Hines.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

And uh I first of all I want to say thank you to my colleagues and the members of the community who've come in here and who have shared kind of their perspective on what we're approaching here.

Um I also want to thank the countless comments that were received both in writing and both in communications with me with people, members of the public who weren't able to be here this evening.

I think it's important to just recognize that while what is said in this room is important, there's also a lot of other folks in our community who weren't able to be here for whatever reason that have also been commenting and sharing their feedback about what we're doing here today.

Something I want to go back to just briefly because when I first talked about this at the beginning, I was trying to remember what I said three years ago.

And I said something about the fact that this is separate from our homelessness response.

And that's incorrect.

That's not what I said three years ago.

What I said three years ago is this cannot be examined in isolation.

It's part of a broader response to homelessness.

The council understands that we need to identify and set up more places for people to find shelter and services.

We need to collaborate with our partners more broadly to support a regional path to end homelessness, and we need to get creative and move quickly to help people move people off our streets and on with their lives.

And so my point at the beginning was that this is not separate but cannot be examined in isolation.

So since 2022, the council's continued to invest millions of dollars into shelter and housing beyond what we're doing with just addressing encampments.

We've continued we've set up multiple shelter sites, different places.

We've continued to fund.

If we want to talk specifically about the one by my house, which I know you're probably bored of me talking about, but that one was supposed to be funded until 2022, and then we found funding to 2023, then we found funding to 2024, and now it's funded through 2026, and I'm deeply proud of that.

And I think a lot of people in this room supported me when I stood up to my neighbors when they fought back about setting up a tiny home village.

Telling me that I was going to destroy the neighborhood by supporting a tiny home village.

And I keep it not just to um for no not to remind myself of how fun that conversation was with my neighbors back then, but just to remind me of the fact that sometimes we have to make tough choices to move things forward.

So I really don't want us to lose sight of the fact that our city is doing a lot.

As Councilmember Diaz mentioned, 32 million dollars in the last biennium.

Um and I've been here for five years, so we're roughly the same amount of money we're investing every year.

So I think I can confidently say that we're spending about a hundred, we've spent about a hundred million dollars to be on council on shelter, housing, services, um, really trying to meet the need that we have here.

I also want to recognize that the problem is bigger than the city of Tacoma.

And the problem is also in the county, and I I I have it's been interesting as some of the com the numbers are being thrown around.

There's both the coma numbers, county numbers.

You know, I I think it's important to talk about what we have control over and what we can do.

And one of the things that we're doing is we're, I guess, the beacon for the county.

Over 80% of the shelter beds and options and services are right here in the city.

You have a council that's committed not only some dollars, but a lot of money to helping people.

But one of the challenges you continue to run into is a challenge of encampments and the impacts they have on the community.

I've heard from multiple folks that are unable, not just unwilling.

I think we have to step back a little bit from that conversation because I think that sometimes we're too quick easily quickly to dismiss someone who doesn't maybe not want to go to a park from somebody who physically can't, because they're disabled or in their wheelchair and access is blocked.

I've heard from multiple parents of children in this conversation who've told me, you know, I live in the South End, but I can't let my kid walk to the park down the street because people are near the park or living in it, and I have to put them in the car and drive them to the north end.

I've heard from too many people in parts of our city that I don't represent that are talking about the fact that their business districts are inaccessible.

We're from business owners who are compassionate right here in this chamber, compassionate, open their businesses to people, and lost faith in what they believed in because of the impacts of this.

So what we're proposing here is really trying to address the encampments.

And I want to clarify a couple of things.

Number one, the libraries are open public spaces for anyone to go to.

Anyone can go there.

Anyone can be part of it.

Anyone can visit.

But I do worry about the fact that because of the impacts of encampments, we have some parts of our city where the parks are inaccessible to people, and other parts of the city where they're openly accessible.

And that becomes an issue for me where I have residents in the city who have to drive someplace else in order to go to the park when they could walk down the street.

And then finally the schools conversation around making sure people young people can walk to schools safely without being obstructed, without concerns, are what we're really trying to get to.

But in the end of the day, when as my colleagues said we have limited resources and limited ability to meet the need, I think it is fine for us to say that there are public spaces and places where people are vulnerable.

I guess I should chat about this.

One of the reasons we're bringing on this idea around attaching it to permanent encamp uh shelters is I've had multiple shelter operators reach out to me about the impacts of encampments nearby that have not only prevented people from accessing the shelters, being fearful from going there, but impacting their ability to do outreach.

And with search with investments for shelter services and housing, and also keep our public spaces open to the public.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Councilmember Hines.

Are there any additional comments?

Um everything has be been said.

I have nothing to add except for to say amen to exactly what Councilmember Diaz said in the Black Church.

When you say amen, that means you totally agree.

And Councilmember Diaz, um, if I could have borrowed your notes, I would have read exactly what you said this evening and appreciate um all the things that you laid out in your comments.

So with that, um clerk.

Uh this clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Diaz.

No.

Councilmember Heinz.

Council Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalgay.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott?

Nay.

Okay, I'm I'm gonna ask you all again.

You got to speak with no interruptions.

Please let us take this vote as such.

Councilmember Walker.

Aye.

Councilmember Bushnell?

Nay.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Nay.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

The res the ordinance passes.

Moving on to first.

I'm gonna call a 10-minute recess.

We stand in recess.

Interesting morning.

I'd like to call back to order the city council meeting of October twenty-first, twenty twenty-five.

Moving on to first reading of ordinances.

Item twenty, clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance two nine zero six five, an ordinance amending chapter one point one two of the municipal code relating to the compensation plan to amend several sections regarding standby pay and sick allowance with pay to align with provisions contained in agreements negotiated with the Tacoma Joint Labor Committee effective January first, twenty twenty-six.

All right, this item was presented earlier in the meeting.

Seeing then this ordinance will be set over for final reading next meet next week.

Moving on to public hearings and appeals.

This is the date set for a hearing by the City Council on the proposed modifications to the twenty twenty-five-2026 biannual operating budget and capital budget.

All right, I would like to call on Ann Andy Chirillo to begin the presentation.

State law requires that the city's biennial uh review the city's biennial budget before the conclusion of the first year of the biennium.

During the mid-biannium budget modification review process.

We review current revenues and expenditures to monitor how actuals are performing compared to our projections.

We make corrections to the budget that are discovered after the adoption in last November.

And we account for any legislative action taken by the City Council that requires a modification to the budget.

One related to fire and another for police.

This slide shows the amount of time, effort, and energy that goes into the mid-biannium budget review process.

Work began back in the middle of summer with preliminary reviews of the revenue collections and departmental operating and capital budgets.

Departments began submitting proposals in August.

Those department proposals went through many rounds of review and discussion with the Office of Management Budget as well as the City Manager's Office.

In early October, the city manager presented to the City Council the proposed mid-biannium budget modification.

The City Council has held three study sessions during October to review the proposed mid-biannual budget modification.

And it culminates here at a public hearing tonight with the goal of having a first and second reading and a mid-biannial budget modification adopted by the end of October.

Next slide, please.

The next several slides of this presentation contain detail on the mid uh the proposed mid-biannium budget modification.

They are grouped by City Council priorities.

And one final note to note on these slides, you'll see both additions and reductions included in the proposal.

Next slide, please.

The majority of changes that impact the general fund are within public safety, as can be seen on this slide.

Just to highlight a few areas.

The fire department came to you a few months ago requesting to purchase two new fire engines that cost approximately two million dollars.

We also included two million dollars for overtime in the fire department as well as a correction to the fire fleet budget that we found.

In the IT department, there's approximately $1.5 million to replace radios for police and fire.

The interim police chief, uh Chief Patty Jackson came with her team to present on the need for an in-state lateral police recruiting incentive program, which is included in this budget.

There are also funds in the police department to augment and replace aging body and dash cam equipment as well as funds to address overtime within police.

Next slide, please.

In the areas of access health and housing, the majority of additions are in the environmental services department.

These include funds to develop a wastewater facility plan, address increasing needs related to litigation, and to complete a tree planting program in South Tacoma.

Our planning and development services department asked for funds to develop pre-approved plans for six-unit detached accessory dwelling units or townhomes, as you were presented to the today at study session.

Finally, there are additional funds needed in the city's health care fund to address increased costs related to health care inflation and our workers' compensation fund to address increased cost related workers' compensation.

And finally, additional funds are needed in the city's third-party liability fund to address several large claims that were paid earlier this year.

Next slide, please.

This last slide summarizes some of the reductions that are included in the mid-biannium budget modification process.

Most of these reductions are related to holding vacant positions open for the remainder of the biennium.

Next slide.

This slide covers the grants the city has received that we need to acknowledge receipt of.

The majority of these grants are in the public works department for various street and pedestrian improvement projects, as well as a $2 million grant for a new fire station in South Tacoma and some energy efficiency work to be done at police headquarters.

Neighborhood and community services also receive several large grants from the state, one for four and a half million dollars to continue sheltering services, one for about $900,000 to increase to keep going with the street medicine program and some money for encampment cleanups that are on WASDOT properties.

Next slide, please.

This slide summarizes the mid-biannium budget modifications.

In the green column on the left-hand side of the slide shows the general fund.

There are additions of approximately 21 million dollars with reductions of 3 million for a net total of about 17.8.

The pink column in the middle is all the other funds in the city.

Again, there are about 20 million dollars in additions with 2.8 million dollars in reductions for a net total of 17.5 million.

The blue column on the right sums those together for a mid-biennium budget uh adjustment of about $35.4 million.

On the bottom there is also the revenues, uh the grants and other revenues acknowledged we received of about $37.8 million.

And next slide, please.

This last slide shows the capital budget modifications that we need to make.

Many of the items on this slide look familiar as the city receives and accept grants dollars for specific projects.

We need to increase the capital budget to account for those expenditures.

So, for example, the two million dollar grant we got for the new fire station showed up on the grant slide.

We need to amend our capital budget so we can account for the expenditures of those two million dollars within the city's capital budget so it shows up here as well.

And with that, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Andy, for the presentation.

Um there any council questions or comments at this time?

Um if if you have some you can make them.

If not, we can take public comment and then come back to the full council.

So I don't see anybody with their hands raised, so at this time I'd like to ask attendees if you want to speak under the public hearing regarding uh on the proposed modifications of the 2025-2026 biannual operating budget and the capital budget.

Please press the raise your hand button near the bottom of your Zoom window or star nine on your phone now so we can see the number of people wishing to testify.

If you're a speaking of person, I'm assuming you already went signed up at the back of the room.

Um if you have not done so already, and your name or the last four digits of your phone number will be called out when it's your turn to speak.

You have 90 seconds to make your remarks for the public hearing.

Please be mindful of that time frame.

And as always, you're not required to use all of your time.

Clerk, are we received any written public comment for the I've received any written comment for the public hearing?

We received two emails.

Okay, great.

All right.

With that, I'm gonna start by calling on Shell Rice, then Sally Perkins, and then Rob Huff.

Yes, um, show right uh on the budget there.

I would be happy if uh you put in inclusion for my recommendations I sent to the earlier a few weeks ago to fund a city team, community intervention team for to take care of the homeless issue and housed issue.

And that was what with uh the main cost for that would be a social worker to help these people.

Uh a solution.

And also to not mention in my previous letter for funding.

Uh, I wanted you to help people get services, and I think that would uh need uh funding for a vehicle uh ban or whatever with a driver to uh take these people to their needed services that the social worker would find and get them help, housing, medical, etc.

Uh that is a better use of the money than Brock's two billion dollars for cleanup, million dollars for the 11 million dollars or more you spent, and plus others, and I would like to see the money spent on the issue.

On the other issue, I'm opposed to funding for a low barrier.

Uh housing should be no for drugs.

If you want to take care of that problem, you need to hire a chemical dependency counselor.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michelle.

Sally.

Sally Perkins District 3.

The cuts to the Hope team in the mid-mod budget are so deep that they threaten the Hope Team survival.

The cuts leave only one field response team and no backup for critical hope team functions.

If you would add back the funding for a certified peer support specialist, you would get three wins.

Two field response teams would then be possible.

The team could bill for some of their services, bringing money into the city, and the team would be far more likely to get their 988 endorsement, which would allow more service and yet more money coming into the city.

When the committee community asked you for the Hope team funding a couple of years ago, we entrusted this important work to you.

The mid-mod cut endangers not only that trust, but critically important services for people in our city who are experiencing mental health crises.

At a time when anxiety and stress, both financial and personal, bear down on all of us.

The last thing Tacomans need is a cut in the kinds of compassionate and supportive services provided by the Hope team.

Add back the certified peer specialist position.

Keep the Hope team viable until financial conditions improve, and you can provide full funding.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sally.

Rob Huff, followed by Teresa Power Trudis, and then Dr.

Janice Clark.

Hi, my name is Rob Huff, and I want to comment on the mid biennium budget adjustments, specifically the decision to cut funding for the Critical Hope Team Mental Health Crisis Response Unit.

On a night when you're increasing the trauma and pressure on people who are currently homeless inside our city, you add insult to injury by limiting the availability of crisis mental health response by downsizing the hope team.

This program has been a big asset for those doing direct outreach to people who are homeless.

I ask that you reconsider this decision and return as much capability to the Hope team as possible, as soon as possible, so that this can be a robust asset for workers who are on the street and trying to help our homeless residents.

Remember what I said earlier tonight about a service first approach.

This is actually part of a service first approach.

Thank you.

Teresa.

She's gone.

Dr.

Janice Clark.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Mayor, City Council, City Manager, Attorney, and staff.

I am Janice Clark, and uh the forever founder and visionary safe homes.

Thirty years.

So not only am I the president, but I'm also a client.

Never with my parents, children, nor any other people who know love and care about me, could I ever imagine me uh being homeless with two doctorate degrees and a doctoral or candidate for doctors business administration and decades of honorable military service?

The fiscal impact, there is a fiscal and so I rise.

I'm sorry, madam mayor.

I rise to uh just uh give comments on the biennium budget numbers.

That in the uh city council action memorandum on the back there on uh one of the pages, it said there was no impact, no fiscal impact, and clearly uh today with the passing of the ordinance, there will be a fiscal impact.

So I would just ask that whoever needs to look at it to look at the fiscal impact that will address that ordinance that we pass.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Janice.

All right.

Um is Sean gone?

I have my glasses off.

I don't see Sean.

Sean Arnt is gone.

Uh I can't.

Zephra, she's gone too.

Okay.

Eve.

Did I see Jonathan?

Oh yeah, Jonathan, you're still here.

And where's Calissa?

Oh, there you are.

I can't so I can't I can't see that far.

Okay, good.

All right, everybody else is here.

Go ahead, Eve.

Uh, good evening.

I'm Eve Bowen.

Um, I'm speaking on behalf of the Hope Team.

Tacoma's non-police crisis response team, the Hope Team, was brought into existence through the consistent pressure of a broad coalition of local organizations and individuals.

This team is now facing major cuts to their service at a time when community mental health crises are skyrocketing.

Cutting these funds harm our most vulnerable people, people who are homeless, immigrants, refugees, black, brown, and indigenous people, people who are at increased risk of both anxiety and mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement, especially by police officers who have stated that they don't want to deal with people in mental health crisis or don't know how to deal with people in mental health crisis.

Given that, these circumstances require a vigorous non-police mental health crisis response, not funding cuts and eliminating positions in the Hope Team.

Instead of putting in high financial incentives to hire more Tacoma police officers, why not compromise by putting some of the financial incentive into the budget to hire a certified peer specialist, which would provide uh more support for the Hope Team?

The City Council has said that it supports the Hope Team and that it is committed to Hope's long-term success.

What are you willing to do to keep that commitment?

Thank you.

Thank thank you, Eve.

Jonathan.

Hey, I'm still Jonathan with the Air Coalition, and I still live in District 2.

Uh, you know, we wouldn't be here so late and get all rowdy if you made better decisions.

To wit, we need more mental health services, not fewer.

We're living in times that create more mental health crises, not fewer.

The Hope Team currently cannot field two complete response teams.

We can't stretch them thinner to the point of collapse with budget cuts.

Adding, not cutting or holding vacant FTEs gets the Hope Team closer to 24-hour coverage, dispatchability under 988, the ability to bill for services.

That's one hell of a return on investment of dollars in the Hope Team.

And that return, let's be clear, will save the lives of vulnerable people, people having the worst moments of their lives.

Several of you have publicly supported Hope and its mission with words, and you as a council voted to fund it.

Are you now abandoning people in crisis?

Are you abandoning the HOPE team and other responders like the fire department ambulance crews who will have to absorb the workload that will not magically disappear?

Is that what you propose to do now?

Remember, budgets are moral documents, and budget makers are expressing their values and ethics.

Don't cut funding to the Hope Team.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Calista.

Oh, Callista Brown, District 2, Mayor Woodage, and City Council members.

In 2023, you funded the Hope Team to provide compassionate professional care to residents experiencing mental health crisis.

Now we risk losing the Hope Team.

The mid-MOD budget cuts severely undermined the teens' sustainability.

They leave hope with only one functional field team and no on-call backup.

Fewer residents in crisis will receive help, fewer will be connected to post-crisis services.

The proposed buzz it cut budget cut position cuts are also fiscally short-sighted.

First, without two field teams, hope risks not receiving state certification.

Hope thereby loses the opportunity to bill for some services.

The city loses access to a funding source.

Second, without the certified peer specialist position, Hope risks non-eligibility for endorsement as a 988 mobile team, and the city loses access to a second funding source.

The solution restore the certified peer specialist position.

The Hope team's hours of operation will expand, more people will be served, and hope will bring additional funds to the city.

Restoring this position is the bridge to operational and financial sustainability for Hope, and it will expand the city's capacity to address the growing need, growing, growing, exponentially growing need for mental health crisis services in Tacoma that are non-police.

I thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Hi folks.

Um who have been much more eloquent about this than I can be.

And they're identifying resources from the state and elsewhere that they can bring in if they're able to reach this proper connection through the Chris uh team, the state and 988.

And they're so close and working so hard, and these cuts happening right now when Hope uh has the ability to really get additional funding to expand services and the follow-through on the mandate that was given by the mayor and council members of years ago.

I think it would just be really depressing.

It would be an insult to injury on top of everything else that's happening.

This is, of course, in light of also the fact that we're gonna be having the can be ban, uh cuts to the landlord fairness code on the table, and an increase in just people being precarious, unstable situations because of the economy.

We need to expand the city's intervention in mental health services, not cut it.

Uh so please restore all of the funding to the Hope team in the budget, and and thank you very much for your time.

I know it's been a long, long day.

Thank you very much, Devin.

All right, I don't see anybody else who has their hand raised online, so I will close the public comment period um and bring it back to the council.

Are there any um are there any further comments from the council?

Um city manager, I just have one.

Um and I you probably can't um answer this for me tonight, but as I look at um the Hope team reductions, which is six hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars.

Um could I ask you and and where did Andy go?

Oh, there he is.

He's sorry.

Andy, no need to come up, you can hear me for uh can I ask you all to to prepare a breakdown of all the positions that are open and what the cost of each one of those positions does and what what the what the cost is and how they function within the team.

So out of all four of those, are two of them what gets what gets us back up to where we need to be.

So just trying to understand the functions of each one of those positions.

Yes, yes, ma'am.

We will prepare that for you and provide that for you.

I can also if it would be okay to have this dialogue.

The the city council's uh consistent direction for staff and for me and for Elizabeth prior.

Yes.

Is you have been absolutely supportive of alternative response, hope, DCR programming, the CLO program, the CSO program at TPD.

Um what I have brought to you for your consideration.

I own this one in working with the team in looking at the vacancies to take a look at the question that I've kept in my mind is this community support for alternative response is endearing.

Um what is that cost to get to that 24 hour coverage?

Um and in my mind, I'm looking at the business aspect of how to get to that point.

I think in proposing for the vacancies to not be filled for 26, it gives us about a year to figure out how do we solve for X, which is about a 15 plus million dollar question.

And I will be coming to you, or the next city manager will be coming to you with a plan in how to fund that.

Um this gives us some pressure relief to not fill positions if we're not able to accomplish that.

Um that I don't want to hire positions uh that are vacant.

Um, and that was part of the reduction strategy of taking a look at vacancies across the whole general fund operations in order to save capacity so that I did not bring a reduction of a layoff plan.

Um now this is being acutely felt by our community members here in the crowd, as well as this looks very alarming, but it's my plan to work with our finance director and our fire chief to come with a plan over the next six months on how we're going to potentially have a regional call conversation on how do we get to 24 hour coverage for this.

Um and I do believe my premise, it could be something that you will not support or it doesn't prove out.

I want to figure that out.

We can come back to filling these positions if that's the case.

I'm trying to solve for X, which is how do we get to the 24 hour coverage through the 980 programs as so eloquently though spoken here?

It's tough, and that's why we're looking at vacancies to say let's hold for now to figure out how we can have that conversation with our partners at Pierce County as well as other cities on this as well.

Um in austerity, this is when we can be creative to talk about and and there's a cost to be burned for sure when we don't have um the positions that could be filled today.

Um but I'm just trying to I I'm going on and on.

It's it's late in the in the night.

I just wanted to provide that context.

But we will have that breakout for you.

Yep.

Appreciate that city manager.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um, seeing no further comments, I am going to declare the public hearing closed, and we will move back to first reading of ordinances.

Item 21, Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29066 and ordinance modifying the 2025-2026 biennial operating budget to recognize new revenues budget for resolutions passed by the council, adjust for changes and make corrections.

All right, this item was presented earlier.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Seeing none, this ordinance will be set over for final reading next next week.

Item 22, Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29067 and ordinance modifying the 2025-2026 capital budget to recognize changes and transfers, additional revenues, and budget adjustments.

All right, this item was presented.

Are there any earlier in the evening?

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Seeing none, this ordinance will be sent over for final reading next week.

Um, the public hearing was conducted earlier in the meeting, and now we'll go to unfinished business.

Is there any unfinished business?

All right, interim city manager.

Do you have a report this evening?

You know, madam mayor, thank you very much for the opportunity.

I have two quick re call-outs.

Um I'd be remiss without sharing this.

The first one is from our environmental services department.

Um, I want to celebrate one of our public servants.

His name is Eric Tate.

He's a uh environmental compliance source control representative.

Um we received a C click fix um uh 311 request at 3:30 uh in the afternoon on Friday, October 17th.

Um so just this last Friday.

Um within the course of hours, um, Eric responded to the 5,000 block of South Yacima Avenue.

Um, and he noticed that there are many dumped or left behind spilled paint cans.

Um and this is a story to celebrate not just Eric but our community as well.

Um this is along a 30-yard section of a gravel alley.

Um Eric was able to get assistance from community members.

They cleaned up the paint, they loaded the 20 to 30 derelict paint cans into his van.

He transported them to our land our transfer station for the household hazardous waste center.

And after dropping off the cans, he returned to the site and finished bagging up.

These are the quiet small stories that I want to share with you.

And he went above and beyond.

At this training, they provided just some expectations on what happens when you call 911, CPR guidelines for adults, children, and infants, the use of AED, uh overdose recognition and Narcan administration, uh foreign body airway obstruction management.

They trained 899 Tacomans at this event.

Um bystander CPR training is strongly correlated with increased survival rates for those in cardiac arrest.

And thank you to the department.

Thank you to the 899 Tacomans that came out that are CPR certified.

So with that, that's my report, Madam Mayor.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Thank you very much.

All right, we are going to um skip the committee report tonight and ask are there any final council comments?

I just want to make a really quick one.

Um when um we had student government day today.

Um one of the young people who are here um shared an event with me, and I want to share it with all of you.

It's called Tacoma's Blueprint, a discussion on housing, um, that's going to take place tomorrow at an Annie Wright School.

It's a part of the 2025 Real Lives Tacoma Speaker Series, hosted by teens from throughout Tacoma.

Um and like I said, it'll be discussing housing.

The free event begins with a dinner at 5 p.m., followed by a panel um from 6 p.m.

to 7 30, featuring Ann Jones, Dave Jones, Dina Giesen, and Jim Stretz.

Together they will explore Tacoma's housing landscape, including its history of inequity, present-day challenges, and future equitable solutions.

This event is free and open to the public.

So if you're not doing anything tomorrow night at 5 o'clock and want to go get dinner and listen to a great panel put together by uh young people from our own community, please go out and support them.

Um with that, are there any council member hind?

Uh yes, madam mayor.

I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about something I'm very excited, and many many of you maybe seen it outside as we've talked about elections.

I know we're not supposed to talk about elections, but we are doing an election.

Oh my goodness.

Yes, for the pet mayor of the city of Tacoma.

So you need to pay a fine for that.

It's all for good cause.

Um if you're fine, the money goes directly to the Humane Society.

Uh yeah, so this year we are partnering with the Humane Society to raise money for low-cost span interprograms by doing a mayor, pet mayor for the city of Tacoma.

We have um it's up online right now.

I'd encourage you to check it out.

There's multiple candidates.

Um and there's uh a dog category, a cat category, and a critter category.

Um, we're doing the primary election right now, and after the primary is conducted, um they'll move on into the general election.

Uh votes, unlike regular elections, uh, these votes are are by making donations to the humane society.

So if you're interested in the this is an election that you can actually buy.

You could buy it, yes.

So um I would encourage I would encourage anyone to check it out.

Uh and even put up your own pet for to be America to be Tacoma's next pet mayor.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Great.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Hines.

All right, are there any other comments?

Seeing none, um, thank you everyone for being here this evening and for staying late with us to those of staying late with us for those of you who are still here.

Thanks to everybody who came out earlier and testified and who stayed late to testify.

Appreciate your engagement.

And with that, Deputy Mayor, I will entertain the last motion of the evening.

I move to adjourn.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, the ayes have it.

We stand adjourned.