DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Manager
SUBJECT: Public Safety Committee: Adopt a Resolution Establishing the Council Public Safety Committee, Dissolving the Police Department Community Advisory Panel, and Consolidating the Council Airport Committee with the Council Infrastructure Committee
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) establishing the Council Public Safety Committee, dissolving the Police Department Community Advisory Panel, and consolidating the Council Airport Committee with the Council Infrastructure Committee.
SUMMARY
On October 24, 2023, Council directed staff to return with a resolution to establish a Council Public Safety Committee and dissolve the Police Community Advisory Panel. Council also requested that staff review the structure of all the Council Committees and identify opportunities for consolidation. This report provides a summary of existing Council Committees, a recommended format and possible topics for a Council Public Safety Committee, and the recommendation to consolidate the Council Airport Committee with the Council Infrastructure Committee. Staff is seeking feedback from Council and recommends adopting the attached resolution.
BACKGROUND
One October 24, 2023, Council held a Work Session to review and discuss recommendations from the Community Services Commission (CSC) and Police Community Advisory Panel (CAP) ad hoc committee regarding changes to the CAP to increase transparency. At that meeting, Council discussed options and directed staff to return with a resolution to establish a Council Public Safety Committee and dissolve the CAP. Council also requested that staff review the structure of all the Council Committees and identify opportunities for consolidation.
Structure in Other Cities – Public Safety Committees
Staff has evaluated 13 surrounding Bay Area jurisdictions to get a sense of other Public Safety Committees and their structure. Staff identified 6 out of 13 jurisdictions that had a Public Safety Committee or similar body. All jurisdictions have committees that are comprised of council members and all committees meet monthly. The six committees that were identified as having a Public Safety Committee are shown in the table below. Attachment III provides detailed information on the committee’s scope and other information that was evaluated.
Jurisdiction
Meeting Body Name
Meeting Frequency
Committee Composition
City of Belmont
Public Safety Committee
Monthly
Councilmembers
City of Berkeley
Public Safety Policy Committee
Monthly
Councilmembers
City of Oakland
Public Safety Committee
Monthly
Councilmembers
City of
San Jose
Public Safety, Finance & Strategic Support Committee
Monthly
Councilmembers
City of Emeryville
Public Safety Committee
Monthly
Councilmembers
City of San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee
Monthly
District Supervisors
Current Subcommittee Structure
There are currently six Council Standing Committees and one Task Force, each comprised of three Council members. The role of each Standing Committee is to review, consider, and make recommendations on items before they appear before the full Council. A list of the staff report items for each Standing Committee from November 2021 - November 2023 is attached to this report (Attachment IV).
Committees meet on a monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly basis per the meeting schedule shown in the table below.
Council Committee
Meeting Schedule
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Airport Committee*
Quarterly, 4th Thurs
Appointed Officers Committee
As necessary
Budget and Finance Committee
Monthly, 1st Wed
Economic Development Committee
Monthly, 1st Mon
Infrastructure Committee**
Quarterly, 4th Wed
Homelessness-Housing Task Force
Quarterly, 1st Thurs
Sustainability Committee
Bimonthly, 2nd Mon
Proposed Public Safety Committee
Quarterly, TBD
*Recommend consolidation with the Infrastructure Committee and to change schedule to bi-monthly **Recommend changing the Infrastructure Committee schedule to bi-monthly on the even months
DISCUSSION
Based on Council’s direction at the Oct 24 Work Session, staff has prepared the attached resolution, which does the following:
Establishes a Council Public Safety Committee.
Dissolves the Police Department’s Community Advisory Panel.
Consolidates existing committees by dissolving the Airport Committee and moving its items to the Infrastructure Committee. After a review of the Airport Committee’s establishment documents, staff has determined that ground leases do not need to be reviewed by a Council Committee, which will reduce the number of agenda items transitioned to the Infrastructure Committee.
The City Manager and Acting Police Chief met with members of the Community Advisory Panel on Monday, November 27 to receive feedback on the new proposal. Three members attended the zoom meeting and there were mixed reactions to the proposed dissolution of the CAP. All members expressed gratitude for being able to serve on the CAP and all acknowledged that the CAP was not really ever able to accomplish its original intent and purpose for a variety of reasons. One member expressed strong disagreement with the Council’s direction to staff and indicated that she would be sending additional comments directly to the City Council.
Recommended Structure and Timeline: Public Safety Committee Staff is proposing that the Public Safety Committee be comprised of three Council Members, like the other Council Committees, and that it initially meet quarterly. The City Manager’s Office will be responsible for overseeing the administration of the first two meetings. Staff will evaluate after the first two meetings if the administration should alternate between the Police and Fire Departments or remain within the City Manager’s Office. The Police and Fire Departments will be responsible for preparing the staff reports and presentations.
Staff is proposing the Mayor appoint the three Council Members to the Committee by early January with the first meeting being held in February. At the first Committee meeting, the three appointed members will have an opportunity to determine the schedule of items for the coming year. At the annual Strategic Roadmap retreat in February, the full Council will have an opportunity to identify priority public safety items for FY25.
Transparency and Public Participation
The Public Safety Committee will be governed by the Brown Act and will adhere to the same structure as all Committee meetings, including:
Agendas and staff reports will be published at least 72 hours in advance for public review.
Meetings will be fully open and accessible to the public.
Meetings will include an opportunity for comments from members of the public.
In addition, staff will provide the following features to further enable public participation:
Staff will create an “interested parties” email list and provide meeting reminders several weeks in advance with a list of upcoming agenda topics.
Meetings will be held after 5:30pm to better accommodate public attendance.
Meetings will be hybrid so members of the public can watch and provide comments remotely. Recordings will be posted online for those who are unable to attend.
Members of the public can provide written comments ahead of time, which will be provided to staff and Committee Members ahead of the meeting.
Recommended Agenda Items for FY24 and FY25
Staff has identified the following items to be considered for agenda topics in the first year of meetings. Staff is seeking feedback from Council at this meeting if there are items Council would like to prioritize first for the Committee’s agenda.
Item
In Strategic Roadmap/Budget
Response statistics
These appear in summary format in the budget document departmental metrics Presentation of department annual reports with metrics
Some of these metrics appear in the budget document departmental metrics HEART program updates
Roadmap Project Q1: Continue to implement and measure the HEART Pilot Program Dispatch updates
Roadmap Project Q2: Implement the recommendations from the Dispatch Assessment Emergency Management Plan review – Council’s role in an emergency Roadmap Project Q8: Update comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Use of drones in Fire response
N/A
County Ambulance request for proposals
Roadmap Project Q10: Explore solutions for ambulance transfer Police building design
Roadmap Project N17: Provide a needs assessment/preliminary feasibility report on a new Police Building, including a funding mechanism Police training curriculum and schedule
N/A
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program changes N/A
AB 481 annual report (military equipment use policy)
N/A
Hazmat program updates
N/A
Aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle replacement
N/A
Public safety technology
N/A
Consolidation of Council Airport Committee with Council Infrastructure Committee Staff has evaluated options for consolidating existing committees and is recommending dissolving the Airport Committee and moving its items to the Infrastructure Committee. Staff is proposing the Infrastructure Committee meet bimonthly on even months instead of its existing quarterly basis. The Infrastructure Committee will alternate meeting locations between City Hall and Hayward Executive Airport to ensure Airport tenants have convenient opportunities to attend meetings. After a review of the Airport Committee’s establishment documents, staff has determined that ground leases do not need to be reviewed by a Council Committee, which will reduce the number of agenda items transitioned to the Infrastructure Committee.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff resources associated with the changes to the committees will be absorbed into the FY 2024 adopted budget. There is no additional fiscal impact from this agenda item.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item is in support of the Council's Strategic Priority: Enhance Community Safety & Quality of Life. The table above shows the Roadmap projects that are recommended items for this Committee to review.
NEXT STEPS
If Council adopts the attached resolution, staff will conduct the necessary tasks to wind down the CAP, consolidate the Airport and Infrastructure Committees, and prepare for the first meeting of the Public Safety Committee in February. At the February Strategic Roadmap retreat, staff will provide Council an opportunity to review the FY25 work plan for all Council Committees, including the Public Safety Committee.
Prepared by: Irene Perez, Management Analyst
Mary Thomas, Assistant to the City Manager
Recommended by: Garrett Contreras, Fire Chief
Bryan Matthews, Acting Police Chief
Approved by:
_________________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6389892&GUID=55CF18D6-34E4-462A-B9BB-7C68305AE6A5&Options=&Search=