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MEETING MINUTES OF THE
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
AND MEETING OF THE WHOLE
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2023
The Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee Meeting was held in a hybrid format, in the Council Chambers and from remote locations. The meeting convened at 1:32 p.m.
Present: Councilmembers - Jimenez, Doan, Kamei, Torres, Batra.
Absent: Councilmembers - All present.
Staff: City Manager’s Office, Lee Wilcox; City Attorney’s Office, Terra Chaffee; Mayor’s Office, Sara Garcia; and City Clerk’s Office, Yasmin Johnson.
B. Review of Work Plan
None provided.
C. Consent Calendar
D. Reports to Committee
Motion: Upon motion by Councilmember Sergio Jimenez, seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan and carried unanimously, the orders of the day were amended to hear Item D2 first and D1 second on the agenda. (5-0.)
1. Gender-Based Violence Response and Strategy Annual Report.
SJPD, Sexual Assault Investigations Unit Commander, Ken Tran; SJPD, Sexual Assault Investigations Unit, Senior Analyst, Angelie Donzanti; SJPD, Research and Development Unit, Lieutenant Paul Hamlin, and Bureau Investigations, Captain Jason Dwyer offered the presentation and responded to questions.
Public Comments: Blair Beekman provided public testimony regarding the item. (Item Continued on the Next Page)
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D.1 (Cont’d.)
Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei addressed page 13 of the Memorandum from Deputy Chief of Police, Anthony Mata, dated March 16, 2023 regarding the “Challenges and Moving Forward”. Kamei asked how many analysts there currently are and what the submitted Budget Proposal to fund an additional analyst would contribute to the department. Sexual Assault Investigations Unit, Senior Analyst, Angelie Donzanti stated she’s the only analyst currently for the entire department. Kamei requested it be noted that there is only one analyst and requested consideration of an additional analyst to be moved forward as part of the budget process for the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Omar Torres, seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan and carried unanimously, the Committee accepted the 2021-2022 annual report on the Police Department’s Gender-Based Violence Response and Strategy, including detailed sexual assault crime statistics and trends, housing opportunities, and an update on the implementation of the Sexual Assault Bill of Rights. (5-0.)
2. Downtown Quality of Life Initiative Status Report.
Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, Blage Zelalich; San José Police Department, Captain Carlos Acosta; Deputy Director, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Rachel Roberts; and Division Manager, Housing Department, Kelly Hemphill offered the presentation and responded to questions.
Public Comments: (Zoom speakers) Blair Beekman and Paul Soto offered public comment regarding the item.
Motion: Councilmember Omar Torres accepted the status report. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan.
Friendly Amendment: Councilmember Arjun Batra requested that staff investigate the implementation of technology that is capable of automatically tracking a callers information when requesting help regarding People Assisting the Homeless (PATH). The friendly amendment was not approved by the maker of the motion.
City Manager’s Office, Lee Wilcox stated the item is agendized to accept the report, additional directions cannot be made at this time. He offered a commitment that Division Manager, Housing Department, Kelly Hemphill and Deputy Director, Housing Department, Ragan Henninger would follow up with Councilmember Batra offline regarding his request. Wilcox also informed the Committee that additional directions would have to go through the Joint Meeting for the Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole (ROGC).
Action: On a call for question, the motion carried unanimously, the Committee accepted the status report on the Downtown Quality of Life Initiative, including efforts related to crime reduction, blight mitigation, social services coordination, quality of life metrics, and communication. (5-0.)
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3. Fire Department Call Volume Status Report.
SJFD Fire Captain, Mark Thomas and SJFD Fire Chief, Robert Sapien offered the presentation and responded to questions.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Omar Torres, seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan and carried unanimously, the Committee accepted the status report on Fire Department call volumes, including opportunities to triage calls for service so that departmental resources can be maximized to lifesaving and fire mitigation calls. (5-0.)
4. Innovation and Technology Projects Status Report.
Chief Information Officer, (IT) Information Technology Department, Khaled Tawfik; Assistant Chief Information Officer, IT Department, Jim Bersig; and IT Products-Projects Manager, IT Department, Shirley Duong offered the presentation and responded to questions.
Public Comment: Blair Beekman offered public comment regarding the item.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Arjun Batra, seconded by Councilmember Bien Doan and carried unanimously, the Committee accepted the verbal status report on innovation and technology projects, highlighting the condition of efforts, initiatives at risk along with mitigation steps, and completed projects. (4-0-1. Absent: Torres.) • Open Forum
1. Blair Beekman spoke to citizenship policies and hate violence issues. • Adjournment
Councilmember Sergio Jimenez adjourned the Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee Meeting at 3:58 p.m.
Minutes Recorded, Prepared and Respectfully Submitted by, ________________________
Yasmin Johnson
Deputy City Clerk, City of San José
SJ/yj:PSFSSmin_3-16-23