4/15/22
TO: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC FROM: Carlos Velazquez
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: CITY ROADMAP: DATE: April 15, 2022
COVID-19 RECOVERY TASK FORCE
Approved Date
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the status report on the activities and accomplishments of the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force as part of the approved City Roadmap for FY 2021-2022.
BACKGROUND
On March 16, 2021, the City Council approved the City Roadmap (Roadmap) for Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The Roadmap is a tool and process for prioritizing and implementing strategic and complex change initiatives. It is organized by eight enterprise priorities with 41 initiatives. “COVID-19 Pandemic: Community & Economic Recovery” is one of the eight Enterprise Priorities. The initiatives driving this Enterprise Priority are:
1. Housing Stabilization;
2. Re-Employment and Workforce Development;
3. Small Business Recovery;
4. Food and Necessities Distribution;
5. Digital Equity;
6. Child Care; and
7. The Build Back Better COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
At the August 23, 2021, Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee meeting, staff provided an overview of the role and responsibilities of the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force (Task Force), the proposed Task Force composition, and ideas on the Task Force process and community engagement. Feedback from CED Committee members included that the Task Force have a specific focus on supporting small businesses and stabilizing families in the communities that have been most impacted by the pandemic. CED Committee members suggested the use of committees to expand the reach and engagement of the Task Force work with the community and partners and to leverage the work of the Health and Racial Equity Task Force, Greater Downtown San José Economic Recovery Task Force, and philanthropic organizations as ways to support the goals of the Task Force. The CED Committee accepted the CED AGENDA: 4/25/22
FILE: CC 22-104
ITEM: (d)2
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
status report and directed that staff return in January 2022 for a verbal report and update of the Task Force.
On September 21, 2021, the City Council approved the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force membership of 55 organizations. In completing the nomination process, staff contacted each organization to obtain the names of the primary and alternate representatives to serve on the Task Force. Staff issued an Information Memorandum on October 27, 20211 to inform the City Council of the final Task Force membership.
At the January 24, 2022, CED Committee meeting, staff provided a status update of the COVID19 Recovery Task Force, summarizing the accomplishments of the first three meetings:
1. November 9, 2021, Meeting - An orientation for Task Force members, including a review of the role and responsibilities, meeting procedures and Brown Act overview, group agreements, and meeting schedule.
2. December 9, 2021, Meeting – A presentation from City staff on the Recovery Initiatives, including how Task Force members can assist.
3. January 13, 2022, Meeting – A discussion on the 31 committee ideas submitted by Task Force members
Feedback from CED Committee members included a desire for the Task Force to provide initial ideas on recommendations in spring 2022 that could be considered during the City’s FY22-23 Budget process and that the committee work should be informed by the existing City Roadmap Recovery Initiatives. Additionally, CED Committee members commented that the Task Force should explore non-American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding sources to support the Task Force work and recommended actions.
ANALYSIS
COVID-19 Recovery Task Force Committees
At its February 10, 2022, meeting, the Task Force voted to establish nine committees. Since this time, committees have met to develop committee descriptions, select chairs/co-chairs, decide on other individuals and partners who should be part of the committees, review existing Recovery Initiatives, and begin to determine data needs. Figure 1 below provides the name of each committee and its initial description.
1 https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/79041
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
Figure 1: Task Force Committees and Initial Descriptions Committee Name Initial Description
Childcare, Early Care and
Education, and Youth
Development
Expanding affordable childcare; educating and connecting families to childcare, before and after school programs, and other youth development programs.
Community Engagement Engaging community members and residents by listening and learning about what is needed for recovery across all subcommittees; engaging residents and businesses;
identifying barriers (to getting services), gaps, and
priorities; and ensuring effective communication strategies to reach various demographics.
Community Health and Wellness Fostering physical and mental wellbeing for all age populations; educating and connecting individuals and
families to resources.
Data and Budgeting Gathering data and prioritizing data to use; developing metrics to measure progress/impact, and ensuring the
budget process is equitable.
Housing Sustaining rental assistance efforts; accelerating affordable housing production; and creating pathways to
homeownership.
Recovery for Airport, Hotel &
Arts Workers
Ensuring airport and hotel workers, as well as those in the arts sector, are included in recovery, and that the City and community are preserving and expanding on the assets and experiences of local workforces to enable the hospitality and arts sectors to rebound.
Supporting Small Businesses Increasing access to capital; improving digital capabilities; assisting with lease negotiations and regulatory
requirements (e.g., ADA compliance, sick leave, and sexual harassment requirements; recruiting workers; connecting owners, workers), single mothers to daycare providers;
pivoting business models; assisting with language barriers; educating and connecting small businesses to incentive
programs and other resources, and encouraging the use of local arts in marketing.
Workers’ Health, Safety, and
Rights
Promoting workplace health, safety, and justice to help ensure a full and fair return to work for San José businesses and workers.
Steering Committee Coordinating with staff to co-create Task Force meeting agendas, establish a governance structure and parliamentary procedures for meetings, and ensure collaboration among committees. Comprised of the chair/co-chairs of the other eight committees
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
Committees are in the process of finalizing goals, determining data needs, inviting other community members and partners into discussions, and developing engagement and outreach plans. This process will ultimately inform potential strategies and recommended actions that will be developed and incorporated in the final Task Force report.
Proposed Framework for Developing Recommendations
As part of the City of San Jose’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force, each committee has a broad latitude in designing their respective meetings, membership, and approach. By the end of the Task Force process, each committee will have designed a set of preliminary recommendations that will be reviewed and vetted by the rest of the Task Force.
To ensure that the final set of recommendations is consistent across committees, a proposed framework has been developed and is being reviewed by committees. The proposed framework seeks to align the scale of recommendations across committees while still providing flexibility for each committee to design their own topic-specific recommendations.
As proposed, the Task Force recommendations will be divided into three hierarchical categories:
Goals, Strategies, and Actions. As shown below, each category is intended to work together to create a clear and actionable way forward, recognizing limited resources. • Goal: Each goal is an aspirational area of change that captures the San Jose community’s values and direction for the COVID-19 recovery. Goals are the highest-level category for the recommendations, and each committee is encouraged to propose up to three goals related to those hardest hit by the pandemic.
• Strategy: Each strategy is a specific approach to guide decision-making and to address inequities exacerbated by the pandemic that will make progress toward reaching the committee’s goal. Strategies are the middle-level category for the recommendations, and each committee can propose multiple strategies. A strategy can generally be a policy, plan, program, or partnership. Strategies will be developed from the committee descriptions identified by committee members and informed by best practices, relevant data, and input from community members.
• Action: Each action is a specific task that will implement one of the strategies toward achieving the goal. Actions are the lowest level category for recommendations, and each committee can propose multiple actions for each strategy. An action can generally be a process, step, or other specific implementable tasks.
Figure 2 provides a summary of the proposed framework for the recommendations. Additionally, committees are considering designing their actions to include timelines, measures, and responsible entities. This will ensure greater accountability and transparency in the implementation of the final proposed recommendations. Figure 3 provides the proposed template that committees can use in the recommendation development process.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
Figure 2: Proposed Framework for Recommendations
Figure 3: Recommendation Template
Committee Goal:
Strategies
Key Data &
Community
Input
Metrics Actions Estimated
Timeline
Responsible
Party(ies)
Connection to
Other
Committees
Strategy 1:
1. 2.
3. Action 1.1:
Action 1.2:
Action 1.3:
Action 1.4:
Action 1.5:
Strategy 2:
1. 2.
3. Action 2.1:
Action 2.2:
Action 2.3:
Action 2.4:
Action 2.5:
Strategy 3:
1. 2.
3. Action 3.1:
Action 3.2:
Action 3.3:
Action 3.4:
Action 3.5:
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
Data Gathering and Budgeting
The Task Force has established a Data and Budgeting Committee to support the work of the other committees. Its purpose is to gather data, develop metrics, and compile tools to ensure an equitable budgeting process is used across all committees for Task Force-wide understanding and application. The Committee’s work will be in alignment with the Task Force goals to ensure funding and implementation produce impact. The Committee is working to define two to four “metrics of success” for each committee and is also developing a process to collect and analyze metrics to inform the Task Force work.
Community Engagement
With many individuals, families, and business owners still experiencing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic today, the City and the Task Force recognize the need to both improve education about existing programs through outreach and engagement and to implement best practices that facilitate genuine community feedback leading to the identification of new program ideas and solutions.
It is crucial that the Task Force engagement approach is inclusive of the community voices that have been impacted by the pandemic. For engagement to be effective, community voices must be gathered and heard in an authentic way that is reflective of the diversity and cultural sensitivity required for a high-quality engagement process. This process will embody the following engagement principles:
• Listening deeply
• Collaborating ideas/solutions
• Recognizing and building from resident experience
• Staying adaptable
• Remaining patient
• Refraining from being extractive
• Providing resources
• Being accessible
• Making space
• Thinking long-term
Working with the consultant team, the Community Engagement Committee has proposed the following community engagement strategies and tactics:
• Community Survey – foundational set of standardized questions, yet customized to communities as appropriate.
• COVID-19 Recovery Report and Survey Consolidation – gathering existing community reports and survey results; conducting an analysis that will augment community input.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
• Storytelling Project – compiling quotes and photographs of community members, painting a vivid picture of COVID-19 impacts.
• Engagement Toolkit – a collection of resources, including marketing collateral, for committees to host their own activities/events.
• Promotores Model – with funding allocated in the City’s Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget, grants will be made to community-based organizations (CBOs) that have Promotores trained to reach residents where traditional outreach and engagement strategies do not work. Promotores are uniquely qualified to address the needs of under-resourced communities because they reach community members where they are; they speak the same language, share a common culture, and connect with people. • Lived Experience Group – ten trusted ambassadors on the ground gathering insights and carrying out activities/events; information gathered will be shared with committees to inform recommendations and final report.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The next Task Force meeting is scheduled for May 12, 2022. It is anticipated that community engagement activities will launch in late May/early July and continue through August. The Task Force will review and analyze community input and develop recommended actions in September and October, with the final report to be submitted to the City Council in November 2022.
CLIMATE SMART SAN JOSE
The recommendation in this memorandum has no effect on Climate Smart San José energy, water, or mobility.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s website for the April 25, 2022, CED Committee meeting.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-010, City Organizational and Administrative Activities resulting in
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022
Subject: City Roadmap: COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
no changes to the physical environment.
/s/
Carlos Velazquez
Assistant to the City Manager
For questions, please contact Carlos Velazquez, Assistant to the City Manager at [email protected].