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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-1-31 LEGISLATIVECITY OF SANTA ANA SPECIAL MEETING LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MINUTES January 31, 2018 An audio recording of this meeting is available on the City of Santa Ana website, CALLED TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 12:09 pm by Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez at City Hall Ross Annex, Room 1600. ATTENDANCE Members Present: Councilmember Vicente F. Sarmiento Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez Staff Present: Judson Brown; Sonia Carvalho; Julie Castro -Cardenas; Robert Cortez; Yesenia Cruz; Casey Elliott; Rosa Flores; Jorge Garcia; Raul Godinez; Nicole Houston; Maria Huizar; Daisy Perez; Norma Mitre -Ramirez. Also present were Chris Townsend, Casey Elliott, and Corrie Williams from Townsend Public Affairs; Dan Maldonado and Leslie Pollner from Holland & Knight via telephone. Public Comments i No Comments Election of Committee Chair and Vice -Chair MOTION: Nomination of Councilmember Sarmiento for Committee Chair. MOTION: Sarmiento SECOND: Martinez VOTE: AYES: Sarmiento, Martinez NOES: None (0) ABSTAIN: None (0) ABSENT: None (0) 2. Review and Approve of Meeting Schedule MOTION: Review and Approve Committee meeting schedule for 2018 MOTION: Martinez SECOND: Sarmiento VOTE: AYES: Sarmiento, Martinez NOES: None (0) ABSTAIN: None (0) Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 1 ABSENT: None (0) 3. Approval of Minutes of the October 4, 2017, Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Committee Meeting MOTION: Approve minutes. MOTION: Martinez SECOND: Sarmiento VOTE: AYES: Sarmiento, Martinez NOES: None (0) ABSTAIN: None (0) ABSENT: None (0) AGENDA ITEMS 4. Federal Legislative Update from Holland & Knight Leslie Pollner started the updated by talking about the President's State of the union speech and items that impact the Federal level: immigration, DACA and homelessness. Funding Package will be debated and will have significant impacts to Santa Ana. A lot of uncertainty at this point. Chair Sarmiento stated he would like all the updates that are provided by Lobbyists to be connected to issues with Santa Ana so that the information is relevant. Verbal report okay but as they go through the updates, see how updates relate to Santa Ana, such as streetcar, immigration, sanctuary city, and exposure on grants. Like to see a connection to what Santa Ana will experience as a benefit or detriment to what is being done in Washington, tie to what we have pending. Dan mentioned the funding package that is being discussed at the Federal level has an impact to the OC Streetcar, Home funds, CDBG, 2020 Census. DACA discussion at the federal level affects people that live in Santa Ana that are DACA recipients. Vice -Chair Martinez, mentioned Census 2020 is critical this year and it's vital that the City collaborate with local, regional, and state organizations to establish an effective strategy to obtain an accurate count. Not about dollars but about redistricting. Dan Maldonado mentioned constitutionally, apportionment of seats is critical. If depress count, money that should come to California and cities is much lower; even without a change in budget numbers. Dan suggested partnerships with groups such as NALEO and SCAG, as mentioned by Vice -Chair Martinez. MPT Martinez asked how can Holland and Knight track and monitor the Legislative Platform and monitor high priority items, track those priorities so we can report back to City Council so they understand the direction the committee is going. She mentioned the meeting minutes of this committee are not very detailed. We should ensure that we have some wins for those items on the Legislative Platform at the end of the year rather than just monitor issues. Dan Maldonado said that they would come back with some action items for specific items on the census. He and Leslie are having meetings and discuss on policy and agency side. Special Meeting -Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31,1018 Page 2 Chair Sarmiento stated that because the Committee meets quarterly, it's important we really focus on key issues. Marijuana — Attorney Session uncertainty for states like California who has legalized marijuana. Amendment to appropriation bills that says federal funds cannot be used to prosecute legal marijuana establishments. An effort to legalize marijuana generally and language being looked at. Immigration — Chair Sarmiento funds that we could potential lose because of our sanctuary city status. We are on a list of target cities. No funds for COPS grant but UASI funds received. Local cities should have a seat at the table to decide how funds are allocated. MPT stated she would like to see a monthly report giving updates on legislation and our top priorities, did they pass or not, going into next session. Also, receive a list of grants that are available at the Federal and State level. She asked if we directed City Attorney to put a memo together find Elected Officials were arrested because we are a sanctuary city, and would the City cover the legal expenses. She mentioned we've never had a citizenship ceremony in the City, could we have that. What are the requirements, how much does it cost? Homelessness - What are ways of laws & funding that could mitigate homelessness, what are ways that we can work better with the State/County officials to establish pilot programs and identify ways to receive additional funds for drug and mental pilot programs? Funds go to State and County, doesn't go to local level — how can we receive funding to provide housing for homeless individuals. Innovation - Cyber Security — need to obtain additional funds at local level. Could we use UASI funds to help with Cyber Security measures? Not much funding is dedicated to this issue. We need fiber network funds to bridge the digital divide. Would be nice to have a Smart Streetcar. The OC Streetcar does not have funding to provide WiFI on the Streetcar. Chair Sarmiento reiterated the monthly report address the key issues of the Committee. He would also like information on Opportunity Zones included. Vice -Chair mentioned first time buyer program and related legislation, look at the lending criteria and how we can work to promote homeownership locally. State Legislative Update from Townsend Public Affairs Casey Elliott stated they provide monthly reports in the fashion requested by Chair Sarmiento and Vice -Chair Michele Martinez. Opportunity Zones - Casey Elliott spoke about GoBiz. GoBiz recommends City should send them a letter with relevant data and criteria indicating the City is interested in the opportunity zones and has a district that would qualify for Opportunity Zones. Sexual Harassment - Legislation that is coming up that relates to Sexual Harassment in the workplace that will affect government and local elected officials. Elected Officials could be personally liable for costs employers encumber related to Sexual Harassment. Bills have not moved through legislation yet. Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 3 Chair Sarmiento asked the City Attorney if we defer to the State or if we have our own internal policy? City Attorney Carvalho mentioned we have a harassment policy that was updated in the last two years to address an issue we had. We have policies that guide us but recommends we do best practices review as it's been a while since this has been done. Chair Sarmiento recommended a draft policy to address subordinate relationships. Since we had an incident in our City, we identified someone who could do this for us. requested that the draft policy on subordinate relationships be brought before the Legislative Affairs Council Committee. He also requested that sexual harassment training or updates be brought forth to EEs and City Council so that we are up to date with this policy/practice. Vice -Chair Michele Martinez asked if we have a policy for employees to report a hostile work environment and what the process is. City Attorney Carvalho mentioned we must investigate all incidents reported. She stated all departments has a process they use. Her office has prepared a detailed process with samples and this was presented to the Personnel Department. MPT Martinez recommended she and City Manager bring back one citywide policy they recommend for the City Council to take action. Vice -Chair Michele Martinez directed Councilmembers to consolidate the sexual harassment policy citywide that would also apply to elected officials. Chair Sarmiento indicated perhaps this could be covered under the Code of Conduct Policy, which will be discussed a little later in this meeting. State Budget — the Governor presented his budget mid-January, which will be revised in May 2018. Governor fully funded the State's Rainy Day fund, which maybe debatable. No Place Like Home Funding and SB2 Funding will most likely be the bigger funding sources for housing & homeless. Home Funding funds go to the County first, then the City. SB2 funds go directly to the City. Jorge Garcia stated that Big 11 is advocating for state match of funds, dollar for dollar, to go directly to cities. Not a lot of details but Chris mentioned that the Governor's Budget includes $20M set aside for Census preparation. Cannabis - State is working on issuing licenses, no policy changes suggested this year thus far, emergency regulations are still in effect. State is welcoming any feedback from local jurisdictions to include in the permanent regulations for cannabis. Chair Sarmiento are there any bills that are expunging marijuana charges and asked TPA to track this item. Cannabis grant funding opportunities — what are the opportunities at the state level? The grants may come before the 19-20 Budget. Public Safety grants will be the first to become available to help with the enforcement aspect of cannabis. SB 649 — Carryover from last year, Wireless Communications. Chris Townsend reported President's national security council is looking at federalizing transmission infrastructure for 5Gs that need to be installed. Chair Sarmiento mentioned to staff to work closely with our TPA's so they can identify opportunities for the City. He also mentioned the homelessness crisis that needs to be Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 4 addressed at the local level and we need to do a better job about tracking the issue and identifying ways to address this problem. They can bring items to the committee that is right for our City so we can be more proactive. Vice -Chair Martinez asked can TPA if they can start the dialogue with Nguyen & Daly to carve out additional funding for County Seat cities like Santa Ana to receive additional funds to address homelessness. Also, work with legislators for active transportation funding. The RFP process takes too long. Civic Center Masterplan - who can the City speak with to create a Civic Center Masterplan and find out why the State Building was vacated. We would like to know why the building was vacated. 5 & 6. Review and Discussion of Legislative Scorecard 2017 and Legislative Platform 2018 Jorge Garcia spoke about the Platform format changed to add more detail and add our accomplishments. Would like to discuss agenda item #6, if okay with Chair. We changed the 2018 platform based on feedback from this committee. Wanted to be more direct and be more specific to Santa Ana's needs. One on one meetings were held with department heads for their input. Would like to have a one-page document of 2018 priorities. If agreed, we can revise so the City Council can adopt. Jorge Garcia outlined the new guidance document on the letters of support/opposition so the process is not vague but clear to all. Guiding principles are the same. This is for State and Federal issues. Jorge would like the yearend scorecard to show performance measures. Chair Sarmiento asked language on the third item on first page under Community Safety be added so it reads "enhancing public trust and accountability°. Vice -Chair wants Outreach and Engagement add Naturalization Ceremony. She also requested that the local elected officials come to the Legislative Affairs Council Committee meeting to provide an update or full City Council, make this an institutionalized practice. Vice -Chair Martinez asked if IT can add a legislative dashboard to the City's website so that we can show the legislative progress. Jorge Garcia reported he is meeting with the local elected officials on a quarterly basis. Citywide Communications Update Chair Sarmiento asked for an update on the search for a Communications Manager, City Manager Godinez reported that there is one candidate who is a finalist. He is negotiating, trying to work out a modified work schedule; part of the delay has to do with the work schedule. The City Manager wants to create an internal work schedule policy if we agree to let the individual to have a modified work schedule. Vice -Chair Martinez forgot to mention that the TPA identify any potential dollars that will help with seismic retrofitting to prepare for a large earthquake. Vice -Chair Martinez stated on communications that this is one of the most important positions that the City Manager will hire, so the person should be well versed in the social media platform and have excellent story telling/writing capabilities. It will be imperative to Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 5 I 9. 10. how we communicate to residents and business. This position cannot be a traditional civil service job but the position needs flexibility and work remotely so we need to be flexible. Chair Sarmiento stated he hopes we don't go out to recruit again. This will be an untraditional position and we need to have resources. We need a sophisticated communications team. We should consider a contract employee like our City Attorney. He mentioned no one from the public is at this meeting and we need to message the Council Committees meetings more to the public so that there's residents in attendance at the meetings. Chair Sarmiento expects that we have someone hired by the next Legislative Affairs meeting, either full-time or contract. Vice -Chair mentioned we have the platform to communicate our public meetings and that we need to be creative to engage the community. Grants Update Jorge Garcia briefly mentioned that CEFA total number of our expenditures for Federal Grants is $60M, which is up from last year. The numbers should continue to increase if we continue to secure grants. Review and take position on Legislative bills We don't have anything. This will be a recurring item as items come up in legislation. Every Councilmember will receive copies of letters and reports so everyone is aware. Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy City Clerk of the Council Maria Huizar stated there has been a collaborative effort by three departments: City Manager, City Attorney and Clerk of the Council to produce a policy. Asking committee if they would like to assign to a department. Vice -Chair stated this is overdue and is still missing some items such and doesn't want to move forward if everything is not in place. A Sexual harassment policy needs to be in place that applies to Executive team, including Mayor and City Council and Executive Directors. Need a comprehensive approach. Does not necessarily need to come back to the Committee but can be taken to Council. Chair Sarmiento wants the following included in the policy: o Sexual Harassment o Disclosure of relationships (Elected, EMT, Commissioners, and appointees) o Identify if you've received sanctions by the FPPC o If you are a lobbyist o Identify if individual working with former employee o Identify what relationships the contractors have with City staff and/or officials Chair Sarmiento stated this should be brought back to work on the ancillary items then take to the full City Council. Vice -Chair stated contractors should be included. City Manager stated this policy is titled "council censure of conduct policy to enforce Ethics Policy" seems to be Council focused. Clerk Huizar stated this was the direction of previous Committee to apply only to elected officials and would not be open to the public to file Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 6 complaints, but Councilmember to Councilmember. Chair doesn't want this to be an instrument that can be used against each other. Clerk Huizar stated for clarification, when code of ethics was first implemented, felt it was a value based policy. The directive is not to have some sanctions in place for those who signed the policy. Chair Sarmiento would like to include options and alternatives on punitive measures/sanctions that could be incorporated into the policy. Vice -Chair Martinez mentioned the Sunshine ordinance and asked if staff and City Council is in compliance? Staff are having meetings that don't appear on the posted calendars. When does the City Attorney conduct an investigation. When she feels an investigation is warranted, she needs to obtain authority from the City Manager. We need to revise the charter to give the City Attorney authority to move forward with investigations. Chair Sarmiento thanks staff for putting all this together. He mentioned if an item is time sensitive and there are too many items on the agenda, the item could get pushed to another meeting so we keep this meeting on track. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS • No Comments FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS f None ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 1:54 pm. The next Committee will be held at noon on March 28, 2018. vxa_C w Rosa Flores Recording Secretary City Manager's Office Special Meeting - Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes January 31, 2018 Page 7