Letters from the Public - 2 of 6 — San Jose City Council, March 21, 2023

3/20/23, 12:33 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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CC 3-21-23 3.5
Dan Belveal <
Sat 3/18/2023 7:29 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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We support The Mayors directive to keep mobile home parks protection.

Dan Belveal

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I strongly support Mayor Mahan's directive as quoted below.

Caroline Thomas <
Sat 3/18/2023 9:15 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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“Many of the recommendations outlined above will help facilitate faster construction of much needed affordable housing. Beyond making it easier to build affordable housing, we need to preserve our greatest existing stock of naturally-affordable housing: Mobile Home Parks. Residents of mobile homes are more likely to be lower income and older communities that have few other housing options. To protect these neighbors, the City Manager is directed to change the General Plan’s land use designation for the remaining mobile home parks not yet redesignated from multifamily residential to “mobile home” park, and begin allocating the funding needed.”
As a mobile home park resident, this is very important to me.

Regards,
--
Caroline Thomas

3/20/23, 12:41 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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CC 3-21-23 item 3.5
BARBARA LABUSZEWSKI <
Sun 3/19/2023 2:53 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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I support Mayor Matt Mahan’s directive re Mobile Home Parks:
"Beyond making it easier to build affordable housing, we need to preserve our greatest existing stock of naturally-affordable housing: Mobile Home Parks. Residents of mobile homes are more likely to be lower income and older communities that have few other housing options. To protect these neighbors, the City Manager is directed to change the General Plan’s land use designation for the remaining mobile home parks not yet redesignated from multifamily residential to “mobile home” park, and begin allocating the funding needed.”
Barbara Labuszewski

CC 3-21-23 item 3.5
Daniel Lewis <
Sun 3/19/2023 5:52 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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To the city council..

I strongly support Mayor Matt Hahan's directive. Affordable housing is shrinking. “Many of the recommendations outlined above will help facilitate faster construction of much needed affordable housing. Beyond making it easier to build affordable housing, we need to preserve our greatest existing stock of naturally-affordable housing: Mobile Home Parks. Residents of mobile homes are more likely to be lower income and older communities that have few other housing options. To protect these neighbors, the City Manager is directed to change the General Plan’s land use designation for the remaining mobile home parks not yet redesignated from multifamily residential to “mobile home” park, and begin allocating the funding needed.”
I have another 10 years on the land lease at which time I will be 84 years old. If I am told to vacate the property, I will have nowhere to go, let alone trying to move a manufactured home. While a manufactured home does not seem to be of value to many, it is important to me since it is all I can afford.

Thanks
Dan and Christine Lewis

3/20/23, 12:42 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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CC 3-21-23 item 3.5
Alice Orth <
Sun 3/19/2023 8:49 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>
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I support Matt Mahan directive on changing the General Plan's land use designation for the remaining mobile home parks not yet redesigned from multifamily residential to "mobile home" park, and beginn allocating the funding needed.

We need this done to keep people in their mobile homes as many have few other housing options.

Thank you for your positive action on this matter.

Alice Orth

3/20/23, 2:14 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Agenda Item 3.5 (3/21/23 Agenda) - Mayor's Budget Message Cathryn Hyde <
Sun 3/19/2023 9:15 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
1 attachments (325 KB)
CSJ Budget Response 3-2023.pdf;
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Attached, please find a letter from Community Health Partnership urging a specific budget allocation for implementing the recommendations of the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.

Cathryn Ming Hyde
Deputy Director of Policy & External Relations
Communit
y Health Partnership
Phone:
https://www.facebook.com/communityhealthpartnership
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AACI • Gardner Health Services • Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley • Mar Monte Community Clinic • North East Medical Services Peninsula Healthcare Connection • Planned Parenthood Mar Monte • Ravenswood Family Health Center • RotaCare Bay Area School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County
COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIP, INC., a consortium of community health centers March 19, 2023
Mayor Matt Mahan and San Jose City Council
San Jose City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 94113
Dear Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers:

I am writing on behalf of Community Health Partnership, Inc. (CHP), an association of ten community health center organizations that provide primary care, behavioral health, and other related services to residents of San Jose. The vast majority of patients served by our members are Medi-Cal eligible and live below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is less than $55K per year for a family of four. Our members serve San Jose communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that is why several of CHP’s Board of Directors (who are the CEOs of the community health centers) served for six months on the City’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. Additionally, I had the honor to serve as Chair of the Community Health and Wellness Subcommittee and CHP staff member, Patty Diaz, served as co-chair of the Community Engagement Subcommittee.

In November of 2022, the San Jose City Council approved the recommendations of the City’s COVID-19 Recover Task Force. These recommendations focused on:
 Community Health and Wellness
 Community Engagement
 Childcare, Early Care and Education, and Youth Development  Housing
 Just Recovery for Airport, Hotel, and Arts Workers
 Supporting Small Business
 Workers’ Health, Safety, and Rights
In light of the work done by the Task Force, and the unanimous adoption of its recommendations by the City Council, we were disappointed that there was no specific reference in the Mayor’s Budget Message to allocate funding to implement those recommendations to work towards meaningful COVID-19 recovery for impacted communities. Therefore, we ask that subsequent FY24 budget documents reflect a financial commitment to the recommendations of the Task Force. As the Chairs and members of the Community Health and Wellness and Community Engagement Subcommittees, we offer our assistance to provide input for a budget proposal.

CHP would also like to express concern for the Mayor’s proposal to divert Measure E funds, one of the only significant sources of funding for preventing homelessness and creating interim and permanent housing, to pay for a locked psychiatric facility. Measure E funds should be allocated, as intended, for the prevention of homelessness through cash assistance, creating interim shelter solutions, and investing in long-term permanent affordable housing. And, while we acknowledge the Mayor’s mention of supporting racial equity, we strongly believe that implementing the recommendations of the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force would lead to improvements in quality of life, financial recovery, and community wellbeing to those families that would otherwise be left behind.

The recommendations of the City’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force must not be shelved. It deserves a budget allocation for FY24. The City can advance equity in recovery from the pandemic by moving forward on key priorities of the Recovery Task Force to address the continuing needs of the communities hit hardest by the pandemic, especially families and children. To this end, the City should budget an additional $2 million to further high priority and high impact recommendations.

As an association of ten community health center organizations, our mission has focused on health and community engagement-related priorities, as reflected by our specific work on the Task Force. However, we strongly believe that the work of the full Task Force warrants a continued commitment and financial investment by the City of San Jose to achieve recovery and health/racial equity for all residents of San Jose.

Thank you for your consideration and please know that this organization stands ready to assist the Mayor, Council, and City Staff to ensure that meaningful recovery begins now.

Sincerely,
Dolores Alvarado, MPH, MSW
Chief Executive Officer
Community Health Partnership

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Support for the Arts - City Council Item 3.5 - March 21, 2023 Stephanie Metz <
Mon 3/20/2023 8:56 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Mahan, Matt <[email protected]>;District1 <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;District2 <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;District3 <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;District4 <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;District5 <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;District 6 <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev <[email protected]>;District7 <[email protected]>;Doan, Bien <[email protected]>;District8 <[email protected]>;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;District9 <[email protected]>
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Honorable Mayor and City Council,
My name is Stephanie Metz and I am an Arts Advocate. I am writing to you today regarding Item 3.5 on your agenda for Tuesday, March, 21, Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor's March Budget Message.

As an Arts Advocate, I believe that arts and culture are essential to the economic, social, and civic wellbeing of our city. I appreciate the Mayor’s intention in his March Budget Message to explore additional funding to support our arts community and other initiatives to improve the vibrancy and quality of life in San José (p. 25).

In order to achieve the Mayor’s goals and create a more sustainable arts and cultural community in San José, I call on you to take the following actions:

1. Direct the City Manager, beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-2024, to reapportion the current General Fund allocation from the City’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) equally across the remainder recipients of TOT funding: the Office of Cultural Affairs — including Cultural Grants Programs — the Convention and Visitors Bureau (Team San José), and Convention and Cultural Facilities;

2. Direct the City Manager to work with local stakeholders including SJAA to identify budget policy strategies to guide the long-term investment of the TOT to better serve the arts, culture, entertainment, and hospitality industries — which play a large role in generating the TOT — and return to Council within the next fiscal year with strategies for consideration and implementation;

3. Direct staff from the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs to develop a framework for a Private Percent for Art policy, common in other Bay Area cities, which has been on the City

Council’s priority list for more than three years; and

4. Direct staff to explore a pilot program to employ Artists in Residence within City departments to apply a creative, problem-solving lens to some of the City’s intractable challenges and help build deeper civic engagement in the policy making process.

I am proud to stand with San José Arts Advocates to support these priorities for preserving, protecting, and promoting our creative community, which collectively generates hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact for our city, creates thousands of jobs, inspires us to engage, and improves the quality of life for all of our residents.

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

Regards,
Stephanie Metz
District 4

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Support for the Arts - City Council Item 3.5 - March 21, 2023 Karen Kienzle <
Mon 3/20/2023 9:46 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Mahan, Matt <[email protected]>;District1 <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;District2 <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;District3 <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;District4 <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;District5 <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;District 6 <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev <[email protected]>;District7 <[email protected]>;Doan, Bien <[email protected]>;District8 <[email protected]>;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;District9 <[email protected]>
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Honorable Mayor and City Council,
My name is Karen Kienzle, and I am an Arts Advocate and a proud new resident of San Jose. I am writing to you today regarding Item 3.5 on your agenda for Tuesday, March, 21, Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor's March Budget Message.

As an Arts Advocate and arts professional for more than two decades, I believe that arts and culture are essential to the economic, social, and civic wellbeing of our city and to the individual well being of those who inhabit it. I appreciate the Mayor’s intention in his March Budget Message to explore additional funding to support our arts community and other initiatives to improve the vibrancy and quality of life in San José (p. 25).

In order to achieve the Mayor’s goals and create a more sustainable arts and cultural community in San José, I call on you to take the following actions:

3. Direct staff from the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs to develop a framework for a Private Percent for Art policy, common in other Bay Area cities, which has been on the City Council’s priority list for more than three years; and

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

Regards,
Karen Kienzle
Resident of San Jose, District 3

3/20/23, 2:23 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Support a San Jose budget for All!
victoria Partida <
Mon 3/20/2023 1:37 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>

San Jose City Clerk Toni Taber,
Please support the San José Budget for All asks — as put forth by many community organizations, including Silicon Valley Rising, the South Bay Labor Council, the Latina Coalition, the Asian Law Alliance, and Planned Parenthood (Mar Monte).

As a San José resident, I am writing to ask for your support in shaping a City Budget that prioritizes the needs of working families and upholds our values as a community. In order to properly address economic, racial, and social inequality, we need a budget that ensures we are building a City for every resident, family, and neighborhood.

I, like many others, was disappointed by Mayor Matt Mahan’s budget message released on March 13th which pays lip service to multiple priorities, while still excluding a large number of residents — in particular Black, Latino, and AAPI communities as well as other immigrant and low-income residents whose neighborhoods are historically underfunded.

Moreover, the focus on “cleaning up” and other short term solutions such as using a large chunk of resources on interim housing that merely hides and postpones our housing crisis, raises questions regarding whose priorities are reflected in this message — the people of San José or the real estate interests aligned with the Mayor? We cannot afford a San José budget that does not address the most urgent needs of our most vulnerable communities. I am joining together with my community to ask you to prioritize a City Budget that includes workers, parents and children, includes all neighborhoods, and our most vulnerable residents. A budget that goes beyond the surface, and addresses the root causes of inequality in our City.
victoria Partida
San Jose, California 95122

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Support a San Jose budget for All!
betsy carr <
Mon 3/20/2023 1:37 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>

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Support a San Jose budget for All!
<
Mon 3/20/2023 1:42 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>

3/20/23, 2:25 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Mon 3/20/2023 1:49 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Mahan, Matt <[email protected]>;District1 <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;District2 <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;District3 <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;District4 <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;District5 <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;District 6 <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev <[email protected]>;District7 <[email protected]>;Doan, Bien <[email protected]>;District8 <[email protected]>;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;District9 <[email protected]>
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Honorable Mayor and City Council,
My name is Frederick Liang, and I am an Arts Advocate. I am writing to you today regarding Item 3.5 on your agenda for Tuesday, March, 21, Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor's March Budget Message.

In order to achieve the Mayor’s goals and create a more sustainable arts and cultural community in San José, I call on you to take the following actions:

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

Regards,
Frederick Liang
Arts Administrator in San José
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Support for the Arts - City Council Item 3.5 - March 21, 2023 San José Arts Advocates <
Mon 3/20/2023 1:52 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Mahan, Matt <[email protected]>;District1 <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;District2 <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;District3 <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;District4 <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;District5 <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;District 6 <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev <[email protected]>;District7 <[email protected]>;Doan, Bien <[email protected]>;District8 <[email protected]>;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;District9 <[email protected]>
Cc: Wilcox, Leland <[email protected]>;Shannon, Jim <[email protected]>;Adams- Hapner, Kerry <[email protected]>;
Klein, Nanci <[email protected]>;Maguire,
Jennifer <[email protected]>;San José Arts Advocates < You don't often get email from Learn why this is important

Honorable Mayor and City Council,
Please find attached a letter from San José Arts Advocates on behalf of our creative community related to the Mayor's March Budget Message for FY23-24 (Item 3.5 on the Council Agenda for 3/21/23) and funding for arts and culture programs.

Thank you as always for your service and for your consideration. We stand available as a resource for any of your questions or initiatives related to the arts in San José.

Regards,
SJAA Core Team
Web: sjartsadvocates.org
Social: @SanJoseArts
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San José Arts Advocates
sjartsadvocates.org | | @SanJoseArts

March 20, 2023

Honorable Mayor and City Council,

On behalf of San José Arts Advocates (SJAA), we are writing to you today regarding Item 3.5 on your agenda for Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor's March Budget Message. SJAA is a collaborative of the San José creative community dedicated to education, advocacy, and action to support arts and culture.

We believe that arts and culture are essential to the economic, social, and civic wellbeing of our city.

With that in mind, we appreciate the Mayor’s intention in his March Budget Message to explore additional funding to support our arts community and other initiatives to improve the vibrancy and quality of life in San José (p. 25). The arts, entertainment, and hospitality industries were the first to be decimated by the pandemic and will be the last to fully recover — if they ever fully recover.

In order to achieve the Mayor’s goals and create a more sustainable arts and cultural community in San José, we call on you to take the following actions:

3. Direct staff from the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) to develop a framework for a Private Percent for Art policy, common in other Bay Area cities, which has been on the City Council’s priority list for more than three years; and

We hope you will support these priorities for preserving, protecting, and promoting our creative community, which collectively generates hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact for our city, creates thousands of jobs, inspires us to engage, and improves the quality of life for all our residents.

To quote the Mayor in a recent San José Spotlight article, “we can move the needle on these issues if we focus our attention, our creativity and our resources on them.” We couldn’t agree more, and we look forward to bringing more creativity to City Hall.

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

Sincerely,

San José Arts Advocates Core Team

www.sjartsadvocates.org

cc:

City Manager
Budget Director
Economic Development Director
Cultural Affairs Director

3/20/23, 2:55 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:54 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Linda Scheer <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:07 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]> Cc:

Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

·
Dear Mayor Mahan & City Councilmember Davis,
I have been a resident of District 6 in San Jose since 1984.The public library system has enriched my life during all that time. I look forward to my trips to my local library. I would hope for and expect a level of support as outlined below to keep it thriving and available.

With respect,
Linda Scheer

If local government budgets truly reflect the values of the communities they serve, I believe the City of San José’s budget should prioritize our public libraries.

As we continue to recover from the pandemic, it is critical that the San José Public Library has the resources it needs to serve our most vulnerable neighbors and build a more equitable, educated, and engaged community.

Significant cuts to Library services in the previous years should now be fully restored to pre-pandemic levels and library hours expanded to include Sunday hours at all library branches.

When library funding increases, our community is safer and stronger . An increase in library funding correlates with an increase in library usage. Greater library usage increases the overall literacy skills of our community, which creates more economic opportunity for its members and boosts our local economy.

Library fines and the fear of accruing them pose a significant barrier to the most vulnerable adults in our community and prevent them from using the Library.

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Fines-Free For All will support the recovery of highest-need communities and make the Library a welcoming and safe space for everyone.

Any continued cuts to Library hours, services, and staff will only exacerbate the growing digital divide in San José, which existed before COVID-19 and will continue to persist after it — unless we invest in solutions now.

The Library has taken the lead in implementing the City’s Education and Digital Literacy Strategy, which has become even more critical since COVID-19. Continued funding for those positions and hotspot connectivity is needed to sustain and build on this work.

I appreciate the Mayor and City Council’s continued support and investment in the City’s Digital Inclusion efforts, including community Wi-Fi, hotspot lending programs, expanded broadband connectivity, and digital literacy education, and ongoing support for fines free for youth and seniors.

I call on city leaders to fully fund our Library in order to ensure equity of opportunity for all of our residents.

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:55 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Micah Mok <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:12 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

To whomever it may concern,

Good aernoon! I want to priorize the Library in the Mayor's budget. I believe that the public system represents a safety net and prevenon method for people in high likelihood of becoming homeless. Having free access to amenies such as career training, study spaces, and research tools helps all cizens, but helps those at risk the most.

Please priorize the Library in the Mayor's budget.

Thanks,

Best,
Micah

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:55 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Bey Verhoeven <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:14 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

Dear City Council,

Public libraries should be a priority in the city's budget.

Please restore all hours and services to pre-pandemic levels.

Libraries are a vital resouce that can be used by all citizens of our city.

Research has shown that library access increases the overall literacy of our communities.

I am asking you to fully fund our San Jose Library.

Sincerely,
Betty Verhoeven

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FW: Support a San Jose budget for All!
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:55 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Jamie Keith <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:15 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Support a San Jose budget for All!

3/20/23, 2:57 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Jamie Keith
San Jose, California 95126

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FW: Letter to CSJ from REAL Coalition re Item 3.5 FY23-24 Mayor's March Budget Message
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:55 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Alan Gouig <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:07 PM
To: The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: Reed, Jim <[email protected]>; Gomez, David <[email protected]>; Sandoval, Vanessa <[email protected]>; Arreola, Kiara <[email protected]>; Nguyen, Lam <[email protected]>; Madero, Angel <[email protected]>; Groen, Mary Anne <[email protected]>; Fleming, Jonathan <[email protected]>; Fabro, Alex <[email protected]>; Hughes, Sco <sco[email protected]>; Dexter, Michele <[email protected]>; Kyra Kazantzis < Yvonne Jimenez < Subject: Leer to CSJ from REAL Coalion re Item 3.5 FY23-24 Mayor's March Budget Message

Dear Mayor Mahan and City Council,

Please see aached a leer prepared by the nonproﬁt Race Equity Acon Leadership (REAL) Coalion regarding Item 3.5, FY23-24 Mayor’s March Budget Message.

We look forward to your discussion around this. Thank you for your consideraon.

Regards,
Alan Gouig | Policy & Advocacy Associate | he/him
Silicon Valley Council of Nonproﬁts
Web: svcn.org| Twier: @SVCN
This email and any ﬁles transmied with it are conﬁdenal and intended solely for the use of the individual or enty to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please nofy the system manager. This message contains conﬁdenal informaon and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute, or copy this e-mail.

1 | P a g e

March 20, 2023

San José City Council
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara St.

San José, CA 95113
Sent via electronic mail

REAL Coalition Letter Re: Item 3.5 Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor’s March Budget Message
Dear Mayor Mahan and City Council:

This letter was prepared by members of the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition.

Background
The REAL Coalition sent no fewer than three letters to the Mayor and City Council regarding the transition committee process and reports, expressing disappointment in the Mayor’s Transition Committee process and the failure of the committees to address important strategies, especially many that would further racial justice and equity. In response to the strong voice of community- based organizations and allies, a number of our priorities appear in the Mayor’s March Budget Message.

While we acknowledge this movement in response to our requests, we write to express concern relating to a number of the Mayor’s proposals, ask that additional important priorities be added, and more detail be included in some of the priorities that do appear in the Budget Message.
• The proposal to raid Measure E funds–which is one of the only significant sources of funding for preventing homelessness and creating interim and permanent housing–to pay for a locked psychiatric facility is outrageous.

This plan would drain the fund of every last dollar of Measure E funding for 10 years. Measure E funds should be allocated in the balanced way that it currently is: preventing homelessness with cash assistance, creating interim shelter solutions, and investing in the long-term solution of permanent 2 | P a g e

affordable housing.

• Likewise, we strongly oppose the criminalization of homelessness by creating no-encampment zones. We have a shortage of extremely affordable housing and expending our resources on punitive solutions will not solve that problem. We should not focus our attention on knee-jerk, band-aid solutions that criminalize poverty and hide the problem of homelessness, but instead should keep our eyes on the ball.

• Although the Mayor’s Message speaks to racial equity at the end of the message, we need to put our money where our mouth is. We should advance racial equity work in the City of San José by ensuring that City positions dedicated to this work are filled. In light of failure to hire key positions in Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services; Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement; and Transportation, those positions should be converted to permanent Program Manager positions.

• Although the Mayor’s Message acknowledges the work of the Recovery Task Force, it does not call on a budget allocation for FY24. The work of the Task Force shouldn’t sit on a shelf. The City should advance equity in recovery from the pandemic by evaluating and moving forward key priorities of the Recovery Task Force, in order to address the continuing needs of the communities hit hardest by the pandemic, especially families and children, in partnership with the County and other partners. The City should budget an additional $2 million to further high priority and high impact recommendations. As staff the Council Committees assess which priorities to move forward, the Task Force should be consulted as appropriate.

• For the past several years, the REAL Coalition has been advocating for the City to improve its approach to civic engagement. We have seen some promising examples of deeper community engagement in how the City handled the Recovery Task Force, the Youth Empowerment Alliance strategic planning process, and the Reimagining Public Safety Community Advisory Committee (RiPS) process. Council should earmark at least $500,000 for developing an enterprise-wide civic engagement strategy, including a civic engagement policy and framework, training for staff, high 3 | P a g e

level coordination, and work with a diverse group of community members to develop this strategy. Although the Office of Racial Equity is doing great work in creating San José 4 All in co-creation with the community, this type of approach should be embedded across the City, in the context of a City- wide policy. And while we acknowledge the Mayor’s instruction to the Administration to include funding for continuing the promotoras pilot, we request specificity. The City should continue the promotoras pilot started last year with an additional investment of $500,000 and work with philanthropic and nonprofit partners to seek philanthropic and other partner investments in the model.

• As described in the Mayor’s message, we ask Council to fund and move forward with a planning process to implement a community-based interpersonal violence prevention and response pilot, and work with Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence and the Coalition to design a plan. This will further public safety reform by moving forward key and achievable priorities identified in the Reimaging Public Safety (RiPS) report.

We ask for a specific allocation of $400,000 to ensure a robust community- centric approach.

• Lastly, Council should double down on the City’s investment in prevention and intervention of violence by adding $5 million to the San José Bringing Everyone’s Strengths Together City-Wide Appropriation. Whereas the Mayor acknowledges the importance of prevention and intervention in his message, the budget should express this stated value.

We are interested in the references in the Message to divert calls from 911 and other possibly innovative ways to move away from unnecessary policing and carceral approaches. We call on the City to involve the community at a deep level in these conversations. The REAL Coalition stands ready to participate in these dialogues and to support the City in bringing the voices of community members with relevant lived experiences to the table. We appreciate the Council offices that engaged in dialogues with Coalition members during this process.

Please consider this letter signed by 46 nonprofit and ally members as you decide what action to take on March 21. You can reach REAL by emailing

4 | P a g e

Sincerely,
Vaughn Villaverde
AACI
Sandy Perry
Affordable Housing Network
Almaz Negash
African Diaspora Network

Maritza Maldonado
Amigos de Guadalupe

Richard Konda
Asian Law Alliance

Elisa Koff-Ginsborg
Behavioral Health Contractors’
Association

Josh Selo
Bill Wilson Center

Greg Kepferle
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara
County

Frederick Ferrer
Child Advocates of Silicon Valley

Dolores Alvarado
Community Health Partnership

Erin O’Brien
Community Solutions

Pete Settelmayer
Downtown College Prep

Shawn Gerth
Educare California at Silicon Valley

Beth Leary
Family Supportive Housing

Veronica Goei
Grail Family Services

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez
Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley

Alison Brunner
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley

Dr. Angelica Cortez
LEAD Filipino

Gloria Baxter
Lighthouse of Hope

Gisela Bushey
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen

Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez
MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura
Latino Americana

Carmen Brammer
Political Strategist & Community
Advocate

Héctor Sanchez-Flores
National Compadres Network

5 | P a g e

Colsaria Henderson
Next Door Solutions to Domestic
Violence

Eva M. Terrazas
Pacific Clinics

Heather Cleary
Peninsula Family Service

Elizabeth Molina
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte

Sharon Winston
Project HIRED

Nathan Svoboda
Project MORE

Dontae Lartigue
Razing The Bar

Kathy Cordova
Recovery Café San Jose

Poncho Guevara
Sacred Heart Community Service

Wisa Uemura
San Jose Taiko

Vanessa Shieh & Jessica Paz-Cedillos
School of Arts and Culture at Mexican
Heritage Plaza

Gabriel Hernandez
Sí Se Puede Collective
Kyra Kazantzis
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits

Raj Jayadev
Silicon Valley De-Bug

Sheri Burns
Silicon Valley Independent Living
Center

Josefina Aguilar
South Bay Community Land Trust

David Cox
St. Joseph’s Family Center

Marie Bernard
Sunnyvale Community Services

Tomara Hall
TEYA (Teachers Empowering Youth
Activists)

Yvonne Maxwell
Ujima Adult and Family Services

Kevin Zwick
United Way Bay Area

Sujatha Venkatraman
West Valley Community Services

Lucila Ortiz
Working Partnerships USA

Adriana Caldera
YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley
6 | P a g e

About the REAL Coalition
The REAL community of nonprofit leaders and allies has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially-just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge. The REAL Coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food distribution, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGTBQ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, and intermediary organizations, and others. Over 125 organizations have participated in the REAL Coalition.

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:58 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Nicole Hancock <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:15 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

The San Jose Public library has been a huge resource to me. Reading is so vital to expanding our minds and our hearts, making us more empathetic humans by walking in the shoes of others and seeing different world perspectives. I understand the pandemic caused budget cuts to the library and hope that funding can be restored to pre-pandemic levels--particularly to restore library hours and including Sunday hours at all library branches.

While I don't use them personally, I know the library system offers a lot of programs and resources to our community and hope that the City does all within its power to help the library help us San Joseans.

Thank you,
Nicole Hancock
San Jose, 95117

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:58 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Sco Whelton <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:20 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

Greetings, I am writing you as a resident of the Almaden Valley regarding Agenda Item 3.5 to be discussed in the meeting at City Hall tomorrow. Our community library, as well as all libraries in our city deserve the highest level of support possible. That can be provided by the City of SJ's budget and your advocacy. Libraries positively change lives.....please consider the following:

· If local government budgets truly reflect the values of the communities they serve, I believe the City of San José’s budget should prioritize our public libraries. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, it is critical that the San José Public Library has the resources it needs to serve our most vulnerable neighbors and build a more equitable, educated, and engaged community.
· Significant cuts to Library services in the previous years should now be fully restored to pre- pandemic levels and library hours expanded to include Sunday hours at all library branches. · When library funding increases, our community is safer and stronger. An increase in library funding correlates with an increase in library usage. Greater library usage increases the overall literacy skills of our community, which creates more economic opportunity for its members and boosts our local economy.
· Library fines and the fear of accruing them pose a significant barrier to the most vulnerable adults in our community and prevent them from using the Library. Fines-Free For All will support the recovery of highest-need communities and make the Library a welcoming and safe space for everyone.
·
Any continued cuts to Library hours, services, and staff will only exacerbate the growing digital divide in San José, which existed before COVID-19 and will continue to persist after it — unless we invest in solutions now.
·
I call on city leaders to fully fund our Library in order to ensure equity of opportunity for all of our residents.

Sincerely,
Scott Whelton

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:58 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Krish Venkataraman <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:19 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; The Oﬃce of Mayor Ma Mahan <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

Mayor Mahan & Councilwoman Davis,

I am really shocked to find out that the Mayor's current budget proposal considers public libraries as 'Not Basics'! This is totally misguided and I want to strongly raise my objection to this thinking & approach.

The Public Library is where the community gathers to learn, and grow. Please don't even in your dream think of defunding the San Jose public libraries. You should try to increase the funding to make them modern and current, and enable them to keep up with the technology. Please assure the shocked citizen's of San Jose that you've dropped your idea of defunding San Jose public libraries & plan to support them 150%. Appreciate your attention and look forward to your response.

- Krish Venkataraman

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FW: Agenda item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:58 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Meta Karmin <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:22 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda item 3.5

I want to emphasize the importance of priorizing support for the Public Library in San Jose Mayor's budget. The library is used by cizens of all generaons from toddlers to elementary,and high school students and adults of all ages. Access to the library is a very important part of cizens' lives and so It's important to provide the library with full ﬁnancial support. I live in district 10 and my councilman is Arjun Batra.

Regards, Meta Karmin

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FW: Agenda Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 2:59 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Shashank Sharma <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 2:30 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 3.5

Hi Team,

I am Shashank and I am Masters student in San Jose State University. I would like to request Mayor to priorize library in Mayor's budget. It would be really helpful. We need the library to be open 24 hours. It helps students study and gain knowledge.

Regards,
Shashank Sharma

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Agenda Item 3.5
Carol Christensen <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:32 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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I believe that keeping the library open should be a priority for the SJ budget. I read that safety was a top priority for the mayor. It is clear that the library is important to the education and safety of the community. It is a source of information about the community and a safe place where children can spend time after school doing homework, meeting friends, or simply reading.

As a long contribution to SJPL I urge the mayor and city council to maintain and, when possible, increase the SJ Public Library budget.

Carol Christensen
Professor Emeritus San Jose State University
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We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity.
—George Takei

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Agenda Item 3.5
Tina W <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:38 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Please prioritize the public library in the Mayor's budget.

I've been a library card holder for over 50 years and utilize the services of the library every week. I view it as a public necessity.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,
Tina White

Agenda Item 3.5
Sadie Marashi <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:40 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Please priorize the funding for the Public Library and fully fund the Library Department to restore all open hours to pre-pandemic levels, maintain Sunday open hours, and pay for crical staﬀ posions.

Nothing is more crical to our society than having a full funconing Public Library.

Thank you for your consideraon

Sadie S. Marashi, QPA, ERPA

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Tel:

Fax:
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To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communicaon (including aachments) is not intended or wrien to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (1) avoiding tax related penales under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promong, markeng or recommending to another party any transacon or tax-related maer(s) addressed herein

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Budget Priority
<
Mon 3/20/2023 2:43 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Please make San Jose Public Libraries a priority in the budget planning! Libraries should be open as many days and as many hours as they were in the pre-pandemic days and with adequate staff. They are such an essential, incomparable resource for all San Jose residents.

I've been using library services all my life and as a senior citizen committed to life- long learning, I am still taking advantage of many services and offerings.

Life is enriched by libraries.

Thank-you,

Mary Steward

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Stacey Petty <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:43 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Council,
Please prioritize libraries again. Return hours to pre-pandemic levels. Maintain Sunday open hours.

Fund critical staff positions. Libraries are an easy source to help people during these struggling times.

Thank you,
S
tacey Petty
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3/20/23, 3:36 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Jan Cooper <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:44 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Dear City Councilors,
I know San Jose has too many important priorities for the funding dollars available—that will always be true. Your job is difficult.

As a voting citizen of San Jose I urge you to fully fund one of our most democratic (small d) and valuable resources—our public library system—including maintaining current hours.

Our libraries provide the tools we need to become good citizens, whether we’re new to the US or have lived here all our lives. It reduces the alarming divisions and disinformation that are hallmarks of today’s America. It makes accurate information, valuable skill-building classes and unmatched pleasure available to every single person in this city and county.

Please fully fund this incomparable service. Our city will reap the rewards.

Thank you,
Janet Cooper
San Jose
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Please prioritize Agenda Item 3.5
vacarpio <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:48 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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I encourage the Mayor and City Council to fully fund the Library Department to restore library open hours to pre-pandemic levels, maintain Sunday hours, and fill critical staffing positions.

I cannot stress enough the enormous contribution our libraries make to our downtown and neighborhoods. From promoting literacy and self education, to augmenting public and private school source materials to our student population, to providing employment resources to job seekers, to making computers and online databases available for use by the public, to having a treasury of knowledge and information reflected in its book and multimedia collection.

Please provide a copy of my email to each Council member and to the Mayor. Thank you.

Virginia Carpio

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Kathy Fanger <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:51 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Dear Matt and council members,
Please support Libraries by extending hours to 7 days. Our patrons need the technology and resources to assist them. It closes the gap between the haves and have nots. Plus Libraries are good warming centers and cooling centers.

Kathleen A F
anger
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Agenda Item 3.5
Sonia Nagda <
Mon 3/20/2023 2:53 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Hello Mayor Mahan,
My name is Sonia Ashok, I am a career coach in San Jose, a physician DEI advocate, and a huge reader and supporter of the public library system.

I urge you to FULLY fund the public library, including restoring open hours to pre-pandemic levels and making the library fines-free. Building a stronger community in San Jose means creating opportunities for all residents to have a safe space to get access to educational and enrichment materials, including digital services.

The public library is a basic necessity for San Jose. Please make the budget a reflection of this value that we hold for our community.

Warmly,
Sonia
--
Sonia Nagda Ashok, MD MPH

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Agenda Item 3.5
Tom Olson <
Mon 3/20/2023 3:15 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Dear City Council Members,
I am writing to express my strong support for fully funding the San Jose Public Library system. An accessible, welcoming library is one of the key hallmarks of a city that values and respects its citizens, and believes that everyone has the right to be well educated and informed about the world we live in.

That means branches in every neighborhood, and hours that are accessible to working people and students.

Among the many terrible things the recent pandemic did was to teach us to lower our expectations - to make us think we can live without shared public spaces: live music, street festivals, restaurants, and, yes, libraries. It isn't true - we need these things to be a city worthy of the name. Now that COVID is more or less under control, we should place a high priority on bringing these things back. Again, as a resident of San Jose I urge you to fully fund our public libraries. regards,
Tom Olson (District 6)

Agenda Item 3.5
Allie Ottoboni <
Mon 3/20/2023 3:18 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Hello there,
Please prioritize funding for San Jose Public Library. The Library plays a critical role of community builder, access and support throughout the city.

Thank you,
Allie Ottoboni

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Agenda Item 3.5 March 21 meeting
Judy Rookstool <
Mon 3/20/2023 3:26 PM
To:City Clerk <[email protected]>
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Members of the San Jose City Council,
I believe literacy, citizenship, and workforce development support are extremely important functions of the San José Public Library system and should be reflected in the City of San Jose budget. There are many local problems to address, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what reflects the values of our community. We must provide resources to our libraries to serve all the community, including our most vulnerable members.

The library system has endured cuts in staff and services any number of times - - threatening this pre-eminent institution which was favored in a bond issue to provide services to all. Even recent limited restoration in a previous budget left shortages in staff and hours of operation throughout the system. Continued cuts to hours, services, and staff will only restrict use of the Library and contribute to the growing digital divide in San José.

The Library has taken the lead in implementing the City’s Education and Digital Literacy Strategy. Continued funding for staff, digital literacy education, and hotspot connectivity is needed to sustain and build on this work. Greater library usage increases the overall literacy skills of our community, which creates more economic opportunity for its members and boosts our local economy.

I implore city leaders to fully fund our Library in order to ensure equity of opportunity for all of our residents.

Sincerely,
Judy Rookstool, District 6

3/20/23, 3:58 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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Support a San Jose budget for All!
Rubye Wood <
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Rubye Wood
San Jose, California 95111

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Support a San Jose budget for All!
Gustavo Gonzalez <
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Gustavo Gonzalez
San Jose, California 95116

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Support a San Jose budget for All!
Nathan Temiquel <
Mon 3/20/2023 3:53 PM
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Nathan Temiquel
SAN JOSE, California 95126

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City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 3/20/2023 4:02 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Neil Park-McClinck <
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 4:00 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Support a San Jose budget for All!

As a San José daytime worker, I am writing to ask for your support in shaping a City Budget that prioritizes the needs of working families and upholds our values as a community. In order to properly address economic, racial, and social inequality, we need a budget that ensures we are building a City for every resident, family, and neighborhood.

I believe the Mayor's message still excludes a large number of residents — in particular Black, Latino, and AAPI communities as well as other immigrant and low-income residents whose neighborhoods are historically underfunded.

Moreover, the focus on “cleaning up” and other short term solutions such as using a large chunk of resources on interim housing, with less emphasis on permanent options.

We cannot afford a San José budget that does not address the most urgent needs of our most vulnerable communities. I am joining together with my community to ask you to prioritize a City Budget that includes workers, parents and children, includes all neighborhoods, and our most vulnerable residents. A budget that goes beyond the surface, and addresses the root causes of inequality in our City.

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Neil Park-McClintick
Cupertino, California 95014

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Support for the Arts - City Council Item 3.5 - March 21, 2023 Carman Gaines <
Mon 3/20/2023 4:16 PM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Mahan, Matt <[email protected]>;District1 <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;District2 <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;District3 <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;District4 <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;District5 <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;District 6 <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev <[email protected]>;District7 <[email protected]>;Doan, Bien <[email protected]>;District8 <[email protected]>;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;District9 <[email protected]>
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Honorable Mayor and City Council,
My name is Carman, and I am an Arts Advocate, Arts Administrator, and lifelong resident of San José. I am writing to you today regarding Item 3.5 on your agenda for Tuesday, March, 21, Approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Mayor's March Budget Message.

In order to achieve the Mayor’s goals and create a more sustainable arts and cultural community in San José, I call on you to take the following actions:

2. Direct the City Manager to work with local stakeholders, including SJAA, to identify budget policy strategies to guide the long-term investment of the TOT to better serve the arts, culture, entertainment, and hospitality industries — which play a large role in generating the TOT — and return to Council within the next fiscal year with strategies for consideration and implementation;

3. Direct staff from the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs to develop a framework for a Private Percent for Art policy, common in other Bay Area cities, which has been on the City

Council’s priority list for more than three years; and

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

Regards,
Carman Gaines
Resident of District 3

San Jose City CouncilMarch 21, 2023

San Jose City Council
March 21, 2023