RULES COMMITTEE: 6/07/2023
Item: B.1
File ID: ROGC 23-226
TO: Honorable Mayor & FROM: Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Council City Clerk
SUBJECT: The Public Record DATE: June 7, 2023
May 25 – June 1, 2023
ITEMS FILED FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD
Letters from Boards, Commissions, and Committees
Letters from the Public
1. Letter from Blair Beekman, dated May 25, 2023, regarding: Blair Beekman. Thursday, May 25, 2023.....Additional ARPA funds.
____________________________
Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Clerk
TJT/tt
6/1/23, 11:52 AM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 1/2 [External Email]
Fw: Blair Beekman. Thursday, May 25, 2023.....Additional ARPA funds.
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Fri 5/26/2023 9:27 AM
To:Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]> From: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2023 8:22 AM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: Blair Beekman. Thursday, May 25, 2023.....Additional ARPA funds.
From: b. beekman < >
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2023 5:10 PM
Subject: Blair Beekman. Thursday, May 25, 2023.....Additional ARPA funds.
Dear San Jose city govt. and community,
Again, a thank you, for the city of San Jose, special public meeting, Thursday May 25, 2023, on where to place, remaining ARPA funds.
As I am learning, to better understand the issue, it seems more clear to myself, that we should not only be better respecting, new concepts of re-imagine. And its ideas, towards more community engagement practices, and to lessen the overall roles, of local police depts.
There is also, a well established, tradition, to simply keep our local police depts, just a bit distant, from the more regular proceedings, of city govt/community practices.
Local Ca. govts. have learned well, in the past decade, to support investments & budgeting, towards better human rights and immigrant rights practices, in this country. And to create limits, with investing in companies, supporting prison systems & detention centers.
And that many, small & medium sized businesses, try to work much, towards the good concepts, of living wage practices & investment.
It simply should not be that difficult, for San Jose city govt, to learn how to do the same, And to trust, that in the least, the SJ fire dept, or the SJ Housing dept, may be, a much more sound & humanistic investment strategy, Public Record: 1
6/1/23, 11:52 AM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 2/2 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. compared to, relying on a local police dept, and its easy money, with usually very close ties, to the prison/military industrial complex.
Thank you again, for allowing public debate, on this topic. It seems, San Jose is learning good compromise, with Measure E funding issues. Can there please be, more open, public debate, on where remaining ARPA funds, can be better stored, than within the SJPD budget, in order to not lose, SJ ARPA's, current spending power.
There must be other large city govt depts., that can work, in more fair-minded, decent, good terms. And compared to, police dept budgeting, that seems, would usually gravitate towards investment ideas, of continual war, the prison system, and surveillance tech, among other questionable practices.
To conclude, it seems, the SJPD, can easily slip-in, a few million dollars, here & there, into their own programs, from holding on to this extra ARPA funding. And I would guess, without much argument, from the current SJ Budget team. This should be, a lot more threatening & unsettling, than the SJFD, or the SJ Housing Dept, doing the same, if they were in charge, of this additional ARPA money. sincerely,
blair beekman