Memorandum — San Jose City Council, January 14, 2025

COUNCIL AGENDA : 1/14/2025
FILE : 25-015
ITEM : 3.3

TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND FROM: Toni J. Taber, MMC
CITY COUNCIL City Clerk

SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: December 17, 2024

SUBJECT: Access to and Use of Neighborhood Blight Programs by Traditionally Marginalized Communities Audit Report

Recommendation

As recommended by the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee on December 12, 2024, accept the report on an audit of access to neighborhood blight programs by traditionally marginalized communities.

CEQA: Not a Project, File No. PP17-009, Staff Reports, Assessments, Annual Reports, and Informational Memos that involve no approvals of any City action. (City Auditor) [Neighborhood Services and Education Committee referral 12/12/2024 - Item (d)5]

Office of the City Auditor

Report to the City Council
City of San José

ACCESS AND USE OF

NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT
REDUCTION PROGRAMS:

BEAUTIFYSJ CAN

CONTINUE AND EXPAND

ITS EQUITY EFFORTS

Report 24-08
December 2024

This page was intentionally left blank

200 E. Santa Clara Street, San José, CA 95113
Telephone: (408) 535-1250 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor/ Office of the City Auditor
Joe Rois, City Auditor
December 5, 2024

Honorable Mayor and Members
Of the City Council
200 East Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113

Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs: BeautifySJ Can Continue and Expand Its Equity Efforts
The BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs provide a variety of services, including illegal dumping and graffiti removal; neighborhood beautification, litter pickups, and volunteer events; and grant programs to promote neighborhood association engagement and support. BeautifySJ is located within the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS). Residents access services under these programs in different ways, such as through San José 3-1-1 (SJ311), the PRNS website, and other means. The FY 2024-25 Adopted Operating Budget for these programs was $10.3 million.

The objective of this audit was to assess access to and use of BeautifySJ’s Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs by traditionally marginalized communities.

Finding 1: Priority Communities Have Received the Same or Higher Levels of Service From Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs. Residents from priority communities, typically including traditionally marginalized communities, were able to access and use the BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs at an equal or greater level as other areas of the city. We found:
 Priority communities received a higher proportion of
BeautifySJ grants and du mpster days than other
communities.
 There was no discernable difference in timeliness of
graffiti removal or illegal dumping responses across
neighborhoods.
 BeautifySJ can maintain and review disaggregated
program data to ensure continued equitable access and
use of its services.
 Language translations can be improved across different City platforms, (including SJ311) and PRNS can expand
access to volunteer events by providing accessibility
information.

Recommendations: The
Administration, PRNS, and the
Information Technology Department
should:
→ Maintain and review disaggregated
data on BeautifySJ services to
ensure continued equitable service
delivery.
→ Improve translation options and
guidance for SJ311 and the grant and
volunteer websites.
→ Include accessibility statements for
volunteer events.
4 This report has 6 recommendations. We plan to present this report at the December 12, 2024, Neighborhood Services and Education Committee. We would like to thank the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department, the Information Technology Department, the Finance Department, and the Office of Racial and Social Equity for thei r time and insight during the audit process. The Administration has reviewed the information in this report, and their response is shown on the yellow pages.

Respectfully submitted,

Joe Rois
City Auditor

Audit staff: Brittney Harvey
Michael O’Connell Jr.

Adrian Perez
Peter Childs (Stanford in Government fellow)

cc: Jennifer Maguire Jon Cicirelli Angel Rios Khaled Tawfik Nora Frimann Andrea Flores Shelto n Olympia Williams Andrea Aguiar Omar El-Qoulaq Namrata Batra Agrawal Claudia Chang Zulma Maciel Raania Mohsen Alice Vurich

This report is also available online at www.sanjoseca.gov/audits

T able of Contents
Cover Letter ........................................................................................................... 3 Background ............................................................................................................. 7 Finding 1
Priority Communities Have Received the Same or Higher Levels of Service From Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs .............................. 15 Priority Communities Received Services at an Equal or Greater Level ................. 15 Residents Can Access Services in Multiple Ways, Although the City Can Increase Accessibility of Digital Platforms and Communications ............................ 22 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 27 Appendix A
Audit Objective, Scope, and Methodology ...................................................... A-1 Appendix B
Healthy Places Index Quartile Scores for Census Tracts in San José ........... B-1 Appendix C
San José Equity Atlas Scores for Census Tracts in San José ......................... C-1 Appendix D
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Equity Priority Communities in San José ................................................................................... D-1 Administration’s Response ................................................................. yellow pages

T able of Exhibits
Exhibit 1: Accessing Illegal Dumping and Graffiti Removal Services ................... 8 Exhibit 2: BeautifySJ Volunteers Program ............................................................ 10 Exhibit 3: BeautifySJ Dumpster Day Events .......................................................... 10 Exhibit 4: BeautifySJ Grant Program ..................................................................... 11 Exhibit 5: Multi-lingual Flyers Can Inform Residents of Information to Beautify Their Neighborhoods ............................................................................... 12 Exhibit 6: BeautifySJ Grant Funding Targeted Priority Communities .............. 17 Exhibit 7: More Dumpster Day Events Were Conducted in Priority Communities Than If Equally Distributed Across Neighborhoods .................... 18 Exhibit 8: More Services Are Requested in Priority Communities Than Other Areas of the City ........................................................................................... 19 Exhibit 9: Illegal Dumping Removal Timeliness Was Consistent Across All Areas of the City, Including Priority Communities .............................................. 20 Exhibit 10: Graffiti Removal Timeliness Was Consistent Across All Areas of the City, Including Priority Communities ......................................................... 21 Exhibit 11: SJ311 Website Partially Translated Website Into Spanish .............. 23 Exhibit 12: San Francisco Public Works Event Page Includes Accessibility Information on Volunteer Events ........................................................................... 25

7 Background
In his 2023 March Budget Message, the Mayor provided the following direction.

To ensure we continue to make progress toward a more just and equitable future, the City Auditor is directed to prepare and publish an Information Memo that explores the scope and costs
associated with conducting an audit of access to and use of our most critical city services in traditionally marginalized communities, including recommendations for impr oving the value the City is delivering to residents who most need these services.

Subsequently, the City Auditor issued a memo proposing a series of audits to address the breadth of critical se rvices that the City provides. 1 This is the first
such audit and it is focused on access to BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification Programs within the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS).

Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods was one of the foundational goals and encompasses the work of BeautifySJ. For this reason, these critical neighborhood- focused services were identified for this audit.

In its October 2024 City Council Focus Ar eas status report, the Administration reported that in FY 2023-24 just 36 percent of respondents to a resident survey reported that the appearance of San José overall was “very clean” or “somewhat clean”. However, 70 percent rated th eir neighborhood as “very clean” or “somewhat clean”.

BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification Programs
The mission of BeautifySJ is “to support residents’ efforts at reclaiming their public space and to empower residents to aesthe tically demonstrate their pride in our City.” The BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs support residents’ needs through services such as:
 Graffiti removal
 Removing and Preventing Illegal Dumping (RAPID)
 BeautifySJ grants (including neig hborhood association engagement and support)

1 The City Auditor’s Memorandum can be found at
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/99564/638231383930770000.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 8  Neighborhood litter removal, neighborh ood beautification (including dumpster days), and volunteer events
In FY 2024-25, the Adopted Operating Budget for these programs was $10.3 million.2
Residents Access BeautifySJ Programs in A Variety of Ways The process for accessing Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs varies depending on the program.

Illegal Dumping and Graffiti Removal Services
Both graffiti removal service and illega l dumping pickup can be accessed through the City’s San José 3-1-1 (SJ311) website, phone application, by email, or by calling 3-1-1. The process for accessing these services is outlined below in Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 1: Accessing Illegal Dumping and Graffiti Removal Services

Source: Auditor observations based on online material and staff interviews.

2 In FY 2024-25, PRNS restructured the budget for the Commu nity Services Division, separating Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification into its own budget program.

1. Submittal
Service requests are submitted through
SJ311, online, by phone, or through email.

2. Response
Service requests are routed to the
appropriate team (RAPID or Graffiti
Removal contractor)

3. Service
The assigned team responds to the service
request, taking before and after pictures of
area.

4. Closed
The service request is closed, and the
customer is notified if they have an online
account.

Background
9 In addition to eradication efforts, PRNS has begun to focus on outreach and education to reduce graffiti and illegal dumping. BSJ Proud is an outreach and education campaign to motivate reside nts, neighborhoods, and businesses to reduce illegal dumping and blight. PRNS reports they recently signed a partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes to pr omote the program through in-stadium advertisements, and a community event. BeautifySJ staff also provide presentations on litter prevention at some local schools educating students about the impacts of littering and how they can reduce litter in their communities.

Additionally, PRNS has begun efforts around enforcement to deter illegal dumping.

PRNS has eight cameras to monitor high-volume illegal dumping hotspots to act as deterrents, and to capture illegal dumping as it happens. If the cameras capture sufficient evidence to issue a citation, th ey may forward it to Code Enforcement for review and enforcement, as appropriat e. PRNS reports they will be adding a new position to aid in these efforts.

Volunteer Events, Dumpster Days, and Grants
The process for accessing BeautifySJ vol unteer events, dumpster day events, and the BeautifySJ grant program differ from the graffiti removal and illegal dumping requests. To access volunteer events, indi viduals interested in participating will register through an external volunteer website.
3 Dumpster Day events are
coordinated by BeautifySJ staff in communi ties most impacted by illegal dumping, or neighborhood associations can request an event to be held in a designated community.

3 PRNS also offers volunteer opportunities for cleanups at locations such as parks and hiking trails. These volunteer events differ than the ones offered by BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction programs, which focus on neighborhood and creek beautification.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 10 Exhibit 2: BeautifySJ Volunteers Program

Source: Auditor observations based on staff interviews and online material.

Exhibit 3: BeautifySJ Dumpster Day Events

Source: Auditor observations based on staff interviews and online material.

1. Recruitment

BeautifySJ posts events through the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department accounts,
recruitment at events and through neighborhood
associations.

2. Application

Volunteers can fill out an application on an external
website where they can also be notified of future events.

3. Event Attendance

Volunteers attend the event where they help beautify
their neighborhoods.

4. Reporting

If they receive supplies, volunteers report the total
amount of trash collected.

1. Event Request

City staff, City Council Offices, or neighborhood
associations request a dumpster day event to be held in a designated community.

2. Outreach and Beautification

BeautifySJ, City staff, City Council Offices, or
neighborhood associations notify community members
about event. BeautifySJ staff assist in location cleanup prior to event.

3. Dumpster Day Event

Garbage bins are dropped off at event location and
community members from that area can dispose of
unwanted items until bins are full.

4. Post Clean Up Activities

BeautifySJ staff conduct post event cleanup such as
collecting flyers and other cleanup activities.

Background
11 The BeautifySJ grant program is accessed through the WebGrants platform. To assist in accessing the BeautifySJ gran t program, staff conduct multiple pre-cycle grant proposal workshops and question and answer (Q&A) sessions. Both the pre-cycle proposal workshops and the Q&A sessions are offered in-person, via video broadcast, and by phone. Additionally, translation services are available for both in-person and virtual attendees.

Exhibit 4: BeautifySJ Grant Program

Source: Auditor observations based on online material and staff interviews.

Multi-lingual Efforts to Engage Residents
BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs have made efforts to increase service accessibility. BeautifySJ has multi- lingual flyers about program information for grants, graffiti, and illegal dumping. BeautifySJ staff reported that they hand out these flyers at events like Viva Calle or as door hangers when working in neighborhoods.

1. Submittal

Participating groups complete a grant proposal and submit it online via WebGrants.

2. Evaluation

Grant proposals are evaluated based on the project
descriptions, outcomes, location, and budget.

3. Draft Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is drafted
between the City and the participating group.

4. Funding Awards

Grant funding is awarded to participating groups via debit cards or bank accounts.

5. Mid-Year Report

Participating groups submit a mid-cycle report to update how funds have been used and projects completed.

6. End of Year Report

Participating groups submit an end of year report to
describe how funds have been used and projects
completed.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 12 Exhibit 5: Multi-lingual Flyers Can Inform Residents of Information to Beautify Their Neighborhoods

Source: Spanish flyer provided by BeautifySJ.

The City Is Working to Integrate Equity In Its Programs And Services In 2024, the City Council adopted
Council Policy 0-22, Equity Values And
Standards Policy. This policy
establishes an implementation
framework and expectations of City
departments to advance racial and
social equity.
4 According to this policy the City’s
Office of Racial and Social Equity, is to
“provide strategic support to City
departments in their efforts to
advance racial and social equity…”
The Office is a resource to all City

4 Initiation of this policy came after voters approved an amendment to the City Charter requiring the Mayor and City Council to adopt and maintain "a statement of values, as permitted by law, promoting racial and social equity, inclusion, and racial and social justice” among other impr ovements. The policy can be found online at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/113950/638599303957800000.

City’s Definition of Racial and
Social Equity

“The condition that would be
achieved if one’s group identity –
based on categorizations that have
experienced discrimination including
race/ethnicity, color, disability,
neurodivergence, religion, age,
citizenship/immigration status, gender
expression, sexuality – no longer
predicted, in a statistical sense, how
one fared in society…”
Background
13 departments and has established multip le tools for departments to use to intentionally consider equity in their work.
 The Racial and Social Equity Action Plan is a template that serves as a place for City departments to outline goals and programs that advance racial equity within its workforce and services.
5  The Racial Equity Impact Assessment Guide serves as a tool for City staff to utilize for sample questions , examples, and key information to consider racial equity into programs and policies.
 The Budgeting for Equity Template is a guide for departments to identify resources to further their equity work. It incorporates principles such as how to focus on impact, establish accountability, and use data to budget for equity.

These along with other tools from groups like the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)6 can help to promote considerations for equity in City services.

To assist local, regional, and state govern ments in achieving these objectives, the GARE organization offers several resource s, including guides for developing and implementing Racial Equity Action Plans.

Equity Lenses Can Help to Provide Understanding Where Areas of Greater Need Are
The Office of Racial and Social Equity emphasizes that in addition to race, intersectionality requires systems to consider other social identities and how they are related. Using equity lenses that consider social identities, in addition to race, helps capture individual lived experiences.
 The Healthy Places Index (HPI) 7 is a project of the Public Health Alliance of Southern California that makes data available through an open data platform to support efforts to prioritize equitable community investments, programs, and policies. Community indicators like education, job opportunities, and cl ean air and water are considered and factored into a combined score. These are then ranked on a quartile system from 1 to 4 of all Census trac ts in the city, where 1 indicates less healthy community conditions and 4 indicates more healthy community conditions. See Appendix B.

5 Council Policy 0-22 requires City departments to develop Racial and Social Equity Action Plans on a timely and periodic basis. These are posted on the City’s website at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/office- of-the-city-manager/racial-and-social-equity/racial-and-social-equity-action-plans. 6 GARE is a national network of government entities focused on advancing racial equity in government, supported by over 13,000 racial equity practitioners across 400+ jurisdictions. 7 Information on the Healthy Places Index can be found at https://www.healthyplacesindex.org/.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 14  The San José’s Equity Atlas 8 is a tool created by the City to help departments inform equity work. Considering racial and income data, census tracts are assigned a score of 1-5 for each. The combined score can range from 2-10, with higher scor es signifying higher proportions of people of color and lower household income. See Appendix C.  The Equity Priority Communities by the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC)9 are census tracts within the Bay Area with significant concentrations of underserved populations incorporating demographic factor s such as race, income, English proficiency, disability status, and age. Census tracts can be classified into one of the following groups: High, Higher, Highest, or not an MTC Equity Priority Community (None). See Appendix D.

For the purposes of the report, we used ea ch of these lenses to identify priority communities and understand how they may be receiving services.

8 The San José Equity Atlas can be found online at https://gis.sanjoseca.gov/maps/equityatlas/. There are efforts underway in other jurisdictions to implement equity atlases. The Bay Area Equity Atlas is another example which looks at an expanded series of indicators across the area.
9 Information on these priority communities can be found online at https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/transportation/access- equity-mobility/equity-priority-communities.

15 Finding 1 Priority Communities Have Received
the Same or Higher Levels of Service
From Neighborhood Blight Reduction
Programs
Summary
Based on program data, residents in priori ty areas of the city received services from the Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs at an equal or greater level. PRNS has awarded a higher proportion of BeautifySJ grant funding for priority communities than if funding was spread equally across neighborhoods.

In addition, priority communities have seen a higher proportion of dumpster days, and there has been no discernible difference in the timeliness of graffiti removal or illegal dumping responses among neighborh oods. Some programs, such as the BeautifySJ grant program, have made an e ffort to advance equity by focusing on priority communities of San José. To ensure continued equitable access for its services, PRNS should begin to maintain and review disaggregated data on BeautifySJ services to priority comm unities. The Administration can make additional improvements by updating re sources and web platforms to ensure compliance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines, as well as including accessibility statements for volunteer events.

Priority Communities Received Services at an Equal or Greater Level Based on program data, there did not appear to be barriers to access and use of the Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs. Generally, Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beauti fication services provided equal or greater levels of service to priority communities within the city.

Some Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs Served Priority Communities at A Greater Rate Than Other Areas of the City There have been some efforts in the Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs to address equity in access and use of services. Previously, BeautifySJ grant program staff conducted an analysis of BeautifySJ grant awards to understand who was applying for grants an d where grant funding was being used.

This analysis led to programmatic ch anges to increase accessibility and participation from priority communities in San José. As a result, the grant program identified several steps to remove barriers to access and increase program participation in priority communities. These changes include:

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 16  Establishing an emerging neighborhoods category to increase participation in underserved communities. This allows neighborhoods that do not have a formal neighborhood association to still participate in this program.  Adding bonus points for proposals th at target projects in Priority Neighborhoods as identified by the Youth Empowerment Alliance, Project Hope neighborhoods, and MTC Equity Priority Communities. This ensures that priority communities are receiving program resources.  Establishing an eligible service provid er list. All approved grantees from the 2024 cycle of grant awards are eligible to complete a simplified Request for Proposal (RFP) for the next two grant cycles instead of having to complete a grant proposal through th e WebGrants platform each year.

The simplified RFP process requires le ss detail from the grant applicant and is easier to complete.
 Implementing the option for grantees to receive grant funding awards through debit cards in lieu of requiring the group open a bank account.

This broadens the opportunity to participate.

The impact of these equity efforts can be seen in the data on locations of grant recipients. In the 2024 grant cycle, the BeautifySJ grant program provided more grant funds to priority communities than would be expected if there were an even distribution of grant funds across San José’s census tracts.

Finding 1
17 Exhibit 6: BeautifySJ Grant Funding Targeted Priority Communities

Source: Auditor analysis of the 2024 cycle of BeautifySJ grant aw ards data, disaggregated by equity lenses. For each equity lens, priority communities are aligned in the bar on the left.

Notes:
 Data includes review of 72 of 76 grant agreements which were executed and uploaded to GILES as of September 2024.
 For MTC Equity Priority Communities, “Priority Communiti es” indicates areas which have been assigned High, Higher, or Highest. For the Healthy Places Index, census tracts with a score of 1 or 2 have been grouped to indicate communities with less healthy community conditions and considered “Priority Communities”. For the San José Equity Atlas, census tracts with scores of 6 or greater indicate higher proportions of people of color and lower household income which also indicate potential “Priority Communities”.

BeautifySJ Beautification Program Also Provided Greater Coverage to Priority Communities Through Dumpster Day Events
BeautifySJ dumpster days also provided greater coverage to priority communities highlighted in the Healthy Places Index, San José’s Equity Atlas, and the MTC Equity Priority Communities. For instance, dump ster days conducted more events in census tracts with a Healthy Places Inde x quartile score of 1 or 2 than would be expected if there were an even distribution of events.

Results are broken out across three
equity lenses. For each equity lens,
results for priority communities are
displayed in the left column, with
results for all other communities
displayed in the column to the right.

The corresponding black line for
each bar represents what would be
the result if awards were equally
distributed across census tracts.

Results show that more grants were
distributed to priority communities
than would have been if grant funds
were distributed equally across all
communities.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 18 Exhibit 7: More Dumpster Day Events Were Conducted in Priority Communities Than If Equally Distributed Across Neighborhoods

Source: Auditor analysis of dumpster day events FY 2023-24, disaggregated by equity lenses.

Note: For MTC Equity Priority Communities, “Priority Communities” indicates areas which have been assigned High, Higher, or Highest. For the Healthy Places Index, census tracts with a score of 1 or 2 have been grouped to indicate communities with less healthy community conditions and considered “Priority Communities”. For the San José Equity Atlas, census tracts with scores of 6 or greater indicate higher proportions of pe ople of color and lower household income which also indicate potential “Priority Communities”.

There Are Higher Levels of Service Requests for Illegal Dumping and Graffiti Removal in Priority Communities
There are more illegal dumping and graffiti removal service requests in priority communities than other areas of the city. In FY 2023-24, there were 14,300 graffiti service requests in Healthy Places Index quartiles 1 and 2 and 9,000 in quartiles 3 and 4. Additionally, there were 20,200 illegal dumping requests in Healthy Places Index quartiles 1 and 2 and 8,000 in quartiles 3 and 4 for the same fiscal year. This has been consistent for the last three fiscal years.

0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Priority
Communities
(High, Higher,
Highest)
Other
Communities
(None)
Priority
Communities
(1 and 2)
Other
Communities
(3 and 4)
Priority
Communities
(7, 8, 9, and
10)
Other
Communities
(2, 3, 4, 5, and
6)
MTC Equity Priority
Communities
Healthy Places Index San José Equity Atlas
The columns in the chart display the
percentage of Dumpster Day events
in FY 2023-24 across priority and
other communities using the three
equity lenses. For each equity lens,
results for priority communities are
displayed in the left column, with
results for all other communities
displayed in the column to the right.

The corresponding black line for
each bar represents what would be
the result if events had been equally
distributed across census tracts.

Results show that more events
occurred in priority communities
than would have been if events were
distributed equally across all
communities.

Finding 1
19 Exhibit 8: More Services Are Requested in Priority Communities Than Other Areas of the City
Source: Auditor analysis of SJ311 service request data for illegal dumping and graffiti removal for the for FY 2021-22 through FY 2023-24, disaggregated by Healthy Places Index quartiles.

Despite More Service Request s in Priority Communities, the Department Met Timeliness Targets for Graffiti Removal and Illegal Dumping Service Requests Across All Areas of the City
Despite more service requests occurring in priority communities, the City and its contractor have responded to requests for service within equal timeframes regardless of where the request was made. This is consistent for timeliness of response for graffiti removal and illegal du mping service requests. Over the past three fiscal years, staff met their timeliness targets for service delivery of graffiti and illegal dumping removal across all areas of the City.

Overall, BeautifySJ Removing and Prev enting Illegal Dumping (RAPID) staff responded to 83 percent of service requests within five business days in FY 2023-

24. As shown in Exhibit 9, there was no significant variation across locations and priority areas.

-
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
18,000
21,000
FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24 FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24 Graffiti Removal
Priority Communities (HPI 1 and 2) Other Communities (HPI 3 and 4) Illegal Dumping
Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 20 Exhibit 9: Illegal Dumping Removal Timeliness Was Consistent Across All Areas of the City, Including Priority Communities

Source: Auditor analysis of SJ311 service request da ta for illegal dumping in FY 2023-24, disaggregated by equity lenses.

Note: For MTC Equity Priority Communities, “Priority Communities” indicates areas which have been assigned High, Higher, or Highest. For the Healthy Places Index, census tracts with a score of 1 or 2 have been grouped to indicate communities with less healthy community conditions and considered “Priority Communities”. For the San José Equity Atlas, census tracts with scores of 6 or greater indicate higher proportions of people of color and lower household income which also indicate potential “Priority Communities”.

Overall, 85 percent of graffiti removal service requests were responded to within 72 hours in FY 2023-24. As shown in Exhibi t 10, this was consistent across all service areas.

83% 83% 84% 81% 84% 82% Target, 80%
within 5 business
days
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Priority
Communities
(High, Higher,
Highest)
Other
Communities
(None)
Priority
Communities
(1 and 2)
Other
Communities
(3 and 4)
Priority
Communities
(7, 8, 9, and
10)
Other
Communities
(2, 3, 4, 5, and
6)
MTC Equity Priority
Communities
Healthy Places Index San José Equity Atlas
Finding 1
21 Exhibit 10: Graffiti Removal Timeliness Was Consistent Across All Areas of the City, Including Priority Communities

Source: Auditor analysis of SJ311 service request data for graffiti removal service in FY 2023- 24, disaggregated by equity lenses.

Notes:
 For MTC Equity Priority Communities, “Priority Communities” indicates areas which have been assigned High, Higher, or Highes t. For the Healthy Places Index, census tracts with a score of 1 or 2 have been grouped to indicate communities with less healthy community conditions and considered “Priority Communities”. For the San José Equity Atlas, census tracts with sc ores of 6 or greater indicate higher proportions of people of color and lower household income which also indicate potential “Priority Communities”.
 The goal for graffiti removal is within 72 hours from notification, however it excludes weekends and holidays. For gang and offensive graffiti, BeautifySJ has set a goal of removing graffiti within 24 hours, however that is not separated from the data.

Measuring Performance in Prio rity Communities Can Ensure Continued Equity Within Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs can further support equitable service delivery by me asuring service delivery in priority communities. The Equity Values and Standards Policy (Council Policy 0-22) offers City staff a framework to advance racial and social equity through City programs.

For example, the Policy provides instructio ns for implementing the practices to advance racial and social equity:
 Use disaggregated data for analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data.
 Proactively assess prog ram operations including routine, major, and retrospective activities.
85% 85% 84% 85% 85% 85%
Target, 80%
within 72
hours
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Priority
Communities
(High, Higher,
Highest)
Other
Communities
(None)
Priority
Communities
(1 and 2)
Other
Communities
(3 and 4)
Priority
Communities
(7, 8, 9, and
10)
Other
Communities
(2, 3, 4, 5, and
6)
MTC Equity Priority
Communities
Healthy Places Index San José Equity Atlas
Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 22 The City's Office of Racial and Social Equity maintains the Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA), a resource guide that he lps departments consider racial equity outcomes when shaping policies, practice s, and programs. The REIA emphasizes that advancing racial equity requires the setting of goals and measures to track progress, with the recognition that strategies must be targeted to close the gaps.

In addition, the Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE) identifies performance measurement as a requisite for advancing equity through government programs.

As previously discussed, BeautifySJ Grant s program staff have used disaggregated program data to understand who was part icipating in the program, where grant funding was being allocated, and identify potential barriers to access and use of the program. From this analysis, staff were able to identify potential barriers to access and use of the program and proposed changes to mitigate these barriers and increase program participation in prio rity communities. Regularly reviewing disaggregated program data for the ot her Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs would help ensure continued equity in access and use of these programs.

Recommendation:
1: To ensure continued equity of service delivery for the BeautifySJ Blight Reduction and Beautification programs, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should create a process to maintain and review disaggregated program data using an equity index for each of its programs to evaluate equitable service delivery on an ongoing basis.

Residents Can Access Services in Multiple Ways, Although the City Can Increase Accessibility of Digital Platforms and Communications
As noted in the Background, the public can access Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs through phone or email. Additionally, the public can submit service requests for graffiti an d illegal dumping removal using the SJ311 website, application, or phone line.

SJ311 Experienced Translation Issues on Its Website and Phone Application and Was Not Fully Translating Information to Spanish and Vietnamese
At the time of the audit, the SJ311 website and phone applications were not fully translating content into Spanish or Viet namese. Customers who register to use SJ311 can set their preferred language to English, Spanish, or Vietnamese. When functioning properly, this prompts the website and phone application to translate information such as service requests. The Information Technology Department Finding 1
23 (ITD) was notified and are working to re solve this issue. Exhibit 11 shows the SJ311 website partially translated into Spanish.

Exhibit 11: SJ311 Website Partially Translated Website Into Spanish

Source: Auditor analysis of a portion of the SJ311 website as of August 2024.

SJ311 Should Include Chinese Translations for Its Various Platforms Additionally, SJ311 does not have pres et translations for residents whose preferred language is Chinese, despite it being spoken by over 5 percent of the city’s population. The agreement with the vendor for SJ311 only requires them to provide translated interfaces into English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

The City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines (6.1.10 of the City’s Administrative Policy Manual) outlines requirements for departments to make information available into other languages when appropriate. The Policy identifies Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese (inclu ding Cantonese and Mandarin) as the standard for translations of docume nts, signage, call tree instructions, interpretations, and other items identified in the policy.10 According to ITD, translation for Chinese is planned for a future SJ311 update.

External Websites for Grants and Volunteers Are Limited to English External websites for volunteer opportuni ties and grant applications are only available in English. These language lim itations may discourage residents from

10 The City Auditor issued Language Accessibility: The City Can Strengthen Efforts to Address Language Equity Across its Services in March 2024. The first recommendation from the audit was for the Administration to develop mechanisms and procedures to monitor language accessibility of common points of customer contact across departments, including phone trees, translations of vital documents, and signage posted at City facilities. In the most recent status update from the City Manager’s Office, they reported working on a th ree-phase plan to translate department phone trees, which involves creating a list of frequently contacted numbers, phone tree updates, and phone tree translation into languages spoken by at least 5 percent of the city's population.

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 24 applying to volunteer opportunities or grant funding for communities to contribute back to their neighborhoods.
 Grant platform – The City’s grant platform, used for BeautifySJ grants, does not translate information in to a user’s preferred language.

Additionally, the agreement for the gr ant program’s website was expired at the time of the audit. Langu age and web accessibility should be addressed in the next Request for Proposal (RFP) for this service.  Volunteer website – The volunteer website is used by BeautifySJ for individuals seeking to volunteer for li tter pickups. There currently is no option specifically on the website for volunteers to select a preferred language other than English to interact with the site. According to the vendor for the City’s volunteer website, there are different ways for the information on the site to be translated into a user’s preferred language.11 However, at the time of the audit, instructions on how to do this are not found on the City or PRNS’ website.

The City’s Website and Digital Services Governance Policy (1.7.9 of the City’s Administrative Policy Manual) states that the City has a goal to continuously improve page translations on City webs ites and within connected transactional applications.12 The City uses a variety of approaches including manual translation, Google Translate, and Google’s machine learning language translation tool. The City can take steps to ensure the pub lic using these external sites receive information in their preferred language, either through the next RFP with the grant platform or instructions on how to use alternative ways to translate the volunteer website.

BeautifySJ Can Provide Accessibility Information About Volunteer Opportunities
The BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Redu ction and Beautification program can better inform potential volunteers about events by including accessibility statements in event postings. This may include providing information about physical spaces where events are occurring, such as whether the ground is mostly flat or if the cleanups occur along a creek. This can help individuals decide whether to volunteer. Currently, event postings do not include such information.13

11 This includes forced translation links or using Google tr anslate through the browser. The Language Access Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10) instructs departments to make sure that for web-based translations “[c]ustomers should be informed that these web-based translations may contain translation errors.” 12 This policy also provides guidance on website accessibility standards to ensure compliance with laws such as from the Americans with Disabilities Act. In April 2024, the Federal Register published the Department of Justice’s final rule updating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This includes specific requirements for local governments on how to ensure web content and mobile applications are accessible to people with disabilities. The City would be expected to ensure compliance by April 24, 2026.
13 BeautifySJ posts volunteer opportunities on Facebook, Ne xtdoor, and Eventbrite through the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department website.

Finding 1
25 The City and County San Francisco has made efforts to inform potential volunteers about conditions at volunteer events. It has used accessibility features on its online event postings that include information such as whether the events have accessible bathrooms, are on mainly flat ground, or have wheelchair ramps. See Exhibit 12 for an example.

Exhibit 12: San Francisco Public Works Event Page Includes Accessibility Information on Volunteer Events

Source: Accessibility statement from the San Francisco Public Works Department Beautification Day event posting.

The City of San José prioritizes an incl usive and barrier-free environment so that people with disabilities have equitable access to City services and programs. In its Disability Inclusion Equity Pledge, the City commits to prioritizing event accessibility that includes accommodations language on invitations for all events that the City hosts and sponsors. Also , the City’s Language Access Manager and Disability Affairs Officer have developed an accessibility statement that City staff can use to provide equitable access to m eetings and events. Adding accessibility information to volunteer events can help move the City toward that commitment.

Recommendations:
2: To ensure residents who speak languages other than English can request services, the Information Technology Department should work with its vendor to immediately fix the Spanish and Vietnamese translations on the SJ311 website and mobile application.

3: To ensure accessibility of langua ges in accordance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10), the Information Technology Department should incorporate languages spoken by 5 percent or more of the po pulation into the SJ311 website and mobile application, as well as the 3-1-1 phone tree.

4: The City Administration should, in its next Request for Proposal for a grant platform, require translated information and ensure web accessibility in accordance with the City’s Language Equity

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 26 Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10) and Website and Digital Services Governance (1.7.9).

5: To improve communication about Neighborhood Blight
Reduction and Beautification volunteer events, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should include accessibility statements in advert isements or notifications for BeautifySJ-organized volunteer events.

6: The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should provide translated guidance of how to use BeautifySJ's volunteer website in languages identified in the City's Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10).

27 Conclusion
Residents in priority communities across San José used the City’s Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs at an equal or higher level than other areas of the city. Despite more illegal dumping and graffiti removal service requests occurring in priority communities, the City and its contractor responded to requests for service at equal levels regard less of where the requests were made.

Some programs, such as the BeautifySJ gr ant program, have made an effort to advance equity by focusing on priority communities of the city. To ensure continued equitable access for its services, PRNS should begin to maintain and review disaggregated data on BeautifySJ services to priority communities.

Additionally, some digital access points are limited and only available in English. For instance, translation services for the SJ311 website and mobile application were not working properly at the time of the audit. Also, other websites, such as for the grant and volunteer programs, were on ly available in English. The City Administration should update access points to ensure compliance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines, as well as including accessibility statements for volunteer events.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Finding 1: Priority Communities Have Received the Same or Higher Levels of Service From Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs.

Recommendation #1: To ensure continued equity of service delivery for the BeautifySJ Blight Reduction and Beautification programs, the Depa rtment of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should create a process to maintain and review disaggregated program data using an equity index for each of its programs to evaluate equitable service delivery on an ongoing basis.

Recommendation #2: To ensure residents who sp eak languages other than English can request services, the Information Technology Department sh ould work with its vendor to immediately fix the Spanish and Vietnamese translations on the SJ311 website and mobile application.

Recommendation #3: To ensure accessibility of lang uages in accordance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10), the Informat ion Technology Department should incorporate languages spoken by 5 percent or more of the population into the SJ311 website and mobile application, as well as the 3-1-1 phone tree.

Recommendation #4: The City Administration should, in its next Request for Proposal for a grant platform, require translated information and ensure web accessibility in accordance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10) and Website and Digital Services Governance (1.7.9).

Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program 28 Recommendation #5: To improve communication about Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification volunteer events, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should include accessibility statemen ts in advertisements or notifi cations for BeautifySJ-organized volunteer events.

Recommendation #6: The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should provide translated guidance of how to use Beautify SJ's volunteer website in languages identified in the City's Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10).

APPENDIX A
Audit Objective, Scope, and Methodology

A-1
The mission of the City Auditor’s Office is to inde pendently assess and report on City operations and services. The audit function is an essential elemen t of San José’s public accountability, and our audits provide the City Council, City management, and the general public with independent and objective information regarding the economy, efficiency, effectiven ess, and equity of City operations and services.

In accordance with the City Auditor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Audit Work Plan, we have completed an audit of access to and use of critical services by traditionally marginalized communities – BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification pr ograms. The audit was conducted in response to direction from the Mayor to explore an audit scope in this area in the March 2023 Budget Message.

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan an d perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findin gs and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

The objective of this audit was to assess access and use of BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs by traditionally marginalized communities. We sought to understand the relevant internal controls around access of use of BeautifySJ Neighborhood B light Reduction and Beautification programs. We did not review all internal controls over all BeautifySJ operat ions. We have performed the following to achieve the audit objective:
 To understand City policies and procedures pertaining to language and website accessibility we:
o Reviewed the following Citywide policies:
 Language Equity Policy & Guidelines [City Policy Manual (CPM) 6.1.10];  Website and Digital Services Governance (CPM 1.7.9);
 Equity Values and Standards Policy (Council Policy 0-22); and  CSJ Translation Technology Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). o Interviewed staff from the City Manager’s Office of Racial and Social Equity, and the Office of Communications.
 To understand the BeautifySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs and how the public requests these services, we interviewed staff from:
o Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department and o Information Technology Department.
 To identify priority communities that potentia lly contain traditionally marginalized communities, we reviewed:
o The Public Health Alliance of Southern California’s Healthy Places Index, o The City of San José Equity Atlas, and
o Equity Priority Communities identified by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

A-2
 To assess the access of services in identified priority communities, we:
o Reviewed and compared service requests for illegal dumping and graffiti service requests across priority communities and other parts of San José for FY 2021-22 through FY 2023- 24,
o Reviewed and compared Cycle 6 (2024) BeautifySJ project locations, identified in the grant agreements, across priority communities and other parts of San José, and o Reviewed and compared FY 2023-24 dumpster day events across priority communities and other parts of San José.
 To understand customer satisfaction around the Ci ty’s efforts around beautification and overall cleanliness of the city, we re viewed Focus Area Community Survey responses to questions regarding perceptions of city cleanliness for FY 2023-24 Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4.  To understand accessibility requirements and ac cessibility features offered for volunteer opportunities, we:
o Reviewed the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II), and o Reviewed the City and County of San Francisco’s Public Works website.

The Office of the City Auditor thanks the Park, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department, the Information Technology Department, the Finance Department, and the Office of Racial and Social Equity for their time and insight during the audit process.

APPENDIX B
Healthy Places Index Quartile Scores for Census Tracts in San José

B-1

Source: Auditor created map based on data from the He althy Places Index for San José. Information on the Healthy Places Index can be found at https://www.healthyplacesindex.org/ Notes:
 The Healthy Places Index (HPI) is a project of the Public Health Alliance of Southern California that that makes data available through an open data platform to support efforts to prioritize equitable community investments, programs, and policies. Community indicators like education, job opportunities, and clean air and water are considered and factored into a combined score. These are then ranked on a quartile system from 1 to 4 of all census tracts in the city, where 1 indicates less healthy community conditions and 4 indicates more healthy community conditions.  Some census tracts do not have data available from the Healthy Places Index due to their exclusion criteria.

B-2
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APPENDIX C
San José Equity Atlas Scores for Census Tracts in San José

C-1

Source: Auditor created map based on data from the San José Equity Atlas. The San José Equity Atlas can be found online at https://gis.sanjoseca.gov/maps/equityatlas/.

Note: The San José’s Equity Atlas considers racial and income data. Census tracts are assigned a score of 1-5 for each. The combined score can range from 2-10, with higher scores signifying higher proportions of people of color and lower household income.

C-2
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APPENDIX D
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Equity Priority Communities in San José

D-1

Source: Auditor created map based on data from th e Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

Information on these priority communities can be found online at https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/transportation/access-equity-mobility/equity-priority-communities.

Note: The MTC Equity Priority Communities are cens us tracts within the Bay Area with significant concentrations of underserved populations incorpor ating demographic factors such as race, income, English proficiency, disability status, and age. Census tracts can be classified into one of the following groups: High, Higher, Highest, or not an MTC Equity Priority Community (None).

D-2
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TO
: Joseph Rois FROM: Jon Cicirelli, Dir. PRNS
City Auditor Khaled Tawfik, Dir. IT
Drew Corbett, Dir. Finance
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: December 3, 2024
______________________________________________________________________ Approved Date
12/4/2024
SUBJ
ECT: RESPONSE TO THE AUDIT OF THE BEAUTIFYSJ PROGRAM: ACCESS

AND USE OF NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT REDUCTION PROGRAMS

BACKGROUND
The Beautif
ySJ Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs provide a variety of services, including illegal dumping and graffiti removal; city-wide beautification, litter pickups, and volunteer events; and grant programs to promote neighborhood association engagement and support. Residents access services under these programs in different ways, such as through San José 3-1-1 (SJ311), websites, and other means.

The FY 2024-25 Adopted Operating Budget for these programs was $10.3 million.

BeautifySJ is located within the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS).

In the 2023 March Budget Message, the Mayor provided the following direction.

To ensure we continue to make progress toward a more just and equitable future, the City Auditor is directed to prepare and publish an Information Memo that explores the scope and costs associated with conducting an audit of access to and use of our most critical city services in traditionally marginalized communities, including recommendations for improving the value the City is delivering to residents who most need these services.

Subsequently, the City Auditor issued a memo proposing a series of audits to address the breadth of critical services that the City provides. 1 This is the first such audit and it is
focused on access to Beautify San José (BeautifySJ) Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification Programs within the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS).
1 The City Auditor’s Memorandum can be found at
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/99564/638231383930770000.

JOSEPH ROIS, CITY AUDITOR
Subject: Response to the Audit of the Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs

Page 2 of 5 ends

Also inc
luded in the 2023 March Budget Message, the Mayor gave direction for the City Manager to bring greater organizational focus, staff resources, and governance-level goals to a small number of foundational goals or focus areas. Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods was one of the foundational goals and encompasses the work of BeautifySJ.

The objective of this audit was to assess access to and use of BeautifySJ’s Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification programs by traditionally marginalized communities.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE
Finding 1: Priority Communities Have R eceived T
he Same or Higher Levels of
Service From Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs.

Recommendation #1: To ensure continued equity of service delivery for the BeautifySJ Blight Reduction and Beautification programs, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should create a process to maintain and review disaggregated program data using an equity index for each of its programs to evaluate equitable service delivery on an ongoing basis.

Administration’s Response: The Administration agrees with this recommendation.

Green
: The BeautifySJ Program will establish guidelines and determine what equity index the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department will use to evaluate the neighborhood blight reduction programs identified in the audit. The program data will be reviewed annually to evaluate equitable service delivery and to make program adjustments as needed to ensure services are delivered equitably.

Target Date for Completion: September 2025
Recommendation #2: To ensure residents who speak languages other than English can request services, the Information Technology Department should work with its vendor to immediately fix the Spanish and Vietnamese translations on the SJ311 website and mobile application.

Administration’s Response: The Administration agrees with this recommendation.

JOSEPH ROIS, CITY AUDITOR
Subject: Response to the Audit of the Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs

Page 3 of 5 ends

Green
: The Information Technology Department team is working with its vendors to resolve the language translation issues and restore the translation for Spanish and Vietnamese in the SJ311 application.

Target Date for Completion: March 31, 2025
Recommendation #3: To ensure accessibility of languages in accordance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10), the Information Technology Department should incorporate languages spoken by 5 percent or more of the population into the SJ311 website and mobile application, as well as the 3-1-1 phone tree.

Administration’s Response: The Administration agrees with this recommendation.

Green: This item is planned in the Information Technology Department’s SJ311 2025- 2026 Strategic Plan for the SJ311 applic
ation to support Chinese Traditional and Chinese
Simplified.

Target Date for Completion: June 30, 2026
Recommendation #4: The City Administration should, in its next Request for Proposal for a grant platform, require translated information and ensure web accessibility in accordance with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10) and Website and Digital Services Governance (1.7.9).

Administration’s Response: The Adminis
tration agrees with this recommendation.

Yellow: The City Auditor’s recent report highlighted limitations in the webGrants platform, including its inability to provide multilingual support and its expired license agreement.

These issues impede accessibility and hinder compliance with the City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines (6.1.10).

The Finance Department, as the primary user of the WebGrants platform, is committed to addressing these concerns in collaboration with City Administration. a. Short-Term Actions:
 The Finance Department’s Purchasing Division is finalizing a two-year extension for the current WebGrants license. This extension will ensure uninterrupted service while allowing sufficient time to develop a comprehensive RFP.  During this period, the Finance Departm ent will engage with the vendor to explore enhancements to the current platform, incl uding the incorporation of multilingual functionality to align with audit findings.

JOSEPH ROIS, CITY AUDITOR
Subject: Response to the Audit of the Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs

Page 4 of 5 ends

b. Long-Term Plan:
 The Finance Department will spearhead the dev elopment of an RFP for a new grant platform that fully complies with the City’s Language Equity Policy. The new platform will prioritize accessibility features such as multilingual support, enhanced user experience, and adherence to best practices in digital governance.  T his process will involve consultation with key stakeholders, including the Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department, the Office of Racial and Social Equity, and the Information Technology Department, to ensure the platform meets both operational and equity goals.

Target Date for Completion: Target Date for Completion 4a: June 30, 2025 Target Date for Completion 4b: June 30, 2026

Recommendation #5: To improve communication about Neighborhood Blight Reduction and Beautification volunteer events, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should include accessibility statements in advertisements or notifications for BeautifySJ-organized volunteer events.

Administration’s Response: The Administration agrees with this recommendation.

Green: PRNS will add accessibility information to advertisements and notifications for BeautifySJ organized volunteer events beginning January 2025.

Target Date for Completion: January 2025

Recommendation #6: The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should provide translated guidance of how to use BeautifySJ's volunteer website in languages identified in the City's Language Equity Policy & Guidelines (6.1.10).

Administration’s Response: The Administration agrees with this recommendation.

Green: PRNS staff will develop multilingual materials that provide guidance on how to utilize the BeautifySJ volunteer website in languages identified in the City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines (6.1.10).

Target Date for Completion: May 2025

JOSEPH ROIS, CITY AUDITOR
Subject: Response to the Audit of the Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs

Page 5 of 5 ends

CONCLUSION

The Department would like to extend its gratitude to the City Auditor’s Office which dedicated their time to the completion of this audit. It has been a positive experience that yielded opportunities to improve these services that the Department provides to the residents of San José.

/s/ /s/

JON CICIRELLI KHALED TAWFIK
Director of Parks, Recreation Chief Information Officer and Neighborhood Services and Directo r of information Technology

/s/

DREW CORBETT
Director of Finance

For questions, please contact Olympia Williams, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Deputy Director, Community Services Division, at [email protected]

Namrata Batra Agrawal, Information Technology Department, Enterprise Supervising Technical Analyst at [email protected]

Drew Corbett Finance Department, Acting Director of Finance at [email protected]

San Jose City CouncilJanuary 14, 2025

San Jose City Council
January 14, 2025