* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:09:50] HI. [00:09:50] I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2026. UH, CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COUNCILMAN [00:10:01] ALLEN. PRESENT VICE CHAIR URANGA. PRESENT CHAIR RICK SODI. HERE WE HAVE A QUORUM. PERFECT. UH, FIRST ITEM PLEASE. ITEM ONE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETINGS OF MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH AND TUESDAY AUGUST 18TH, 2026. [CALL TO ORDER] I HAVE [ROLL CALL] A FIRST AND THE SECOND. UM, ANY COMMENTS FROM MY COUNCIL? COLLEAGUES? SEEING NONE, UH, WE CAN TAKE, UH, WE CAN DO PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. AT THIS TIME, IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. [1. 26-55881 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Budget Oversight Committee meetings of Monday, August 17, 2026 and Tuesday, August 18, 2026.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] SEEING NONE, CHAIR. OKAY. THEN WE CAN MOVE TO A VOTE. NO PROBLEM. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM PLEASE. ITEM TWO IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION ON THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND COUNTY MEASURE ER OVERVIEW. CAN I GET A FIRST AND A SECOND PLEASE. ALRIGHT. I THINK WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM OUR WONDERFUL DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND [2. 26-55882 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the Health and Human Services Department and County Measure ER overview.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] MEMBERS OF THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PROPOSED MEASURE ER FUNDING PLAN AS OUTLINED IN THE MAYOR'S FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS MEASURE ER PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OFFSET RECENT FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FUNDING REDUCTIONS AND SUSTAIN PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR LONG BEACH RESIDENTS. TODAY I'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED FUNDING STRATEGY, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND FOCUSES ON RESTORING SERVICES, SUSTAINING ONGOING PROGRAMS, STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH CAPACITY, AND MAXIMIZING FUTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. THANK YOU. MEASURE ER WAS APPROVED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY VOTERS AND ESTABLISHES A DEDICATED LOCAL FUNDING SOURCE TO HELP LOCAL HEALTH JURISDICTIONS RESPOND TO REDUCTIONS IN STATE AND FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FUNDING. UNDER THE MEASURE, THE LONG BEACH AND PASADENA HEALTH DEPARTMENTS WILL SHARE A DEDICATED PORTION OF MEASURE ER REVENUES. FINAL ALLOCATION, METHODOLOGY, AND TIMING ARE STILL BEING FINALIZED BY LOS ANGELES COUNTY BASED ON CURRENT ESTIMATES. LONG BEACH YEAR ONE FUNDING IS ESTIMATED TO BE $6 MILLION BECAUSE OF A NINE MONTH COLLECTION PERIOD. BEGINNING OCTOBER 20, 26 YEARS TWO THROUGH FIVE WILL HAVE A FULL YEAR COLLECTION AND IS ANTICIPATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY SEVEN TO 8 MILLION ANNUALLY. ALTHOUGH THOSE AMOUNTS REMAIN SUBJECT TO FINAL COUNTY APPROVAL BECAUSE FINAL FUNDING ALLOCATIONS AND TIMING HAVE NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A PHASED FUNDING STRATEGY THAT RESTORES FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED REDUCTIONS FIRST, WHILE PRESERVING FLEXIBILITY FOR FUTURE APPROPRIATIONS. TODAY'S PROPOSAL REFLECTS THAT RECOMMENDED APPROACH. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. CONSISTENT WITH THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS, THE DEPARTMENT IS PROPOSING TO INVEST MEASURE ER FUNDING ACROSS FOUR PRIORITY AREAS. OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS RESTORING REDUCTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED BUDGET. NEXT, WE PROPOSE SUSTAINING EXISTING PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THE LOSS OF TEMPORARY GRANT FUNDING. WE ALSO RECOMMEND STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS THAT STRENGTHEN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY. FINALLY, WE RESERVE FUNDING FOR GRANT MATCH REQUIREMENTS THAT ALLOW US TO LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES TOGETHER. THESE INVESTMENTS HELP STABILIZE EXISTING PROGRAMS WHILE STRENGTHENING THE DEPARTMENT'S LONG-TERM CAPACITY TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. SLIDE FOUR. THANK YOU. THE FIRST PRIORITY IS RESTORING REDUCTIONS INCLUDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED BUDGET MEASURE, ER WOULD FIRST RESTORE CRITICAL STAFFING THAT SUPPORTS PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AND DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS. [00:15:01] THESE RESTORATIONS HELP MAINTAIN PROGRAM CONTINUITY, PRESERVE OPERATIONAL CAPACITY, AND SUPPORT THE SERVICES OUR COMMUNITY RELIES ON EVERY DAY. BY RESTORING THESE POSITIONS, FIRST, THE DEPARTMENT CAN STABILIZE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS BEFORE MAKING ADDITIONAL STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS. NEXT SLIDE. THE LARGEST SHARE OF FUNDING IS DEDICATED TO SUSTAINING ONGOING PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS. AS TEMPORARY FUNDING SOURCES EXPIRE, MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY TEMPORARY STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING THAT IS EXPECTED TO EXPIRE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. THIS INVESTMENT HELPS ENSURE CONTINUITY OF CLINICAL SERVICES, COMMUNITY OUTREACH, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, OLDER ADULT SERVICES, AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN THOSE PROGRAMS. THIS CATEGORY REFLECTS THE MAYOR'S EMPHASIS ON PROTECTING EXISTING PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES BEFORE EXPANDING NEW INITIATIVES. ONCE EXISTING PROGRAMS ARE STABILIZED, THE DEPARTMENT PROPOSES STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS THAT STRENGTHEN PUBLIC HEALTH CAPACITY AND ENHANCE OUR ABILITY TO DELIVER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. THESE INVESTMENTS EXPAND CAPACITY IN AREAS SUCH AS TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTION, COMMUNICABLE DISEASE RESPONSE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COMPLIANCE, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, AND REVENUE GENERATING PROGRAMS, INCLUDING CMA AND CAL AIM. THESE INVESTMENTS IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO EMERGING PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS WHILE STRENGTHENING LONG-TERM OPERATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE FINAL CATEGORY SETS ASIDE FUNDING TO MEET LOCAL GRANT MATCH REQUIREMENTS. MAINTAINING THESE MATCHING FUNDS ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE FOR FUTURE STATE AND FEDERAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL RESOURCES, AND PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY TO SUPPORT MANDATED PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AS FUNDING NEEDS EVOLVE. NEXT STEPS AS MENTIONED, ALLOCATION, METHODOLOGY, AND TIMING ARE STILL BEING FINALIZED BY LOS ANGELES COUNTY. WE ARE IN ACTIVE TALKS WITH THE COUNTY AND PASADENA TO BUILD CONSENSUS ON THE DISBURSEMENT METHODOLOGY, WHICH WILL LIKELY BE POPULATION BASED FINAL FUNDING ALLOCATIONS AND TIMING WILL REQUIRE APPROVAL BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. IN CLOSING, THIS PROPOSED FUNDING STRATEGY REFLECTS THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS BY RESTORING FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED REDUCTIONS, SUSTAINING ONGOING PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS, STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH CAPACITY, AND POSITIONING THE DEPARTMENT TO LEVERAGE FUTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR KING. UM, I WILL ASK MY COMMITTEE COLLEAGUES IF THEY HAD ANY, UM, QUESTIONS ON THIS PARTICULAR PRESTI, VICE MAYOR ARANKA. UH, VERY SHORT QUESTION. UH, WHEN IS THE, UH, ER, UH, WHEN KICK IN, WHEN COLLECTION BEGINS OCTOBER 1ST? WE ARE UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME OF WHEN DISBURSEMENTS WILL OCCUR. A MEETING ON YESTERDAY, IT WAS DISCUSSED AS MONTHLY. UM, IT COULD BE COST REIMBURSEMENT. THAT'S STILL TO BE DECIDED BY THE BOARD IN SEPTEMBER. OKAY. THAT WASN'T MADE CLOSE ATTENTION AT THE TIME. DOES IT HAVE A, A SUNSET? IT DOES. IT IS A FIVE YEAR, UM, FIVE YEARS MEASURE. YES. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN ELLEN? UH, YES. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD, UM, TO SEE YOU. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK DURING LAST WEEK'S, UH, BUDGET, UM, I WAS GLAD TO HEAR, UM, THAT WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING AHEAD TO FY UH, 28 AND, UH, WE'VE ALREADY HEARD IN THIS BOC UH, COMMITTEE ABOUT ALL OF THE IMPACTS ACROSS ALMOST EVERY AREA IN, IN PUBLIC HEALTH. SO I'M GLAD THAT THIS PRESENTATION, UH, CLEARLY, UM, EXPLAINS HOW MEASURE ER, UH, WILL PROTECT, UH, THOSE ESSENTIAL SERVICES. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, I'M, UH, ESPECIALLY PLEASED TO HEAR HOW THE PLAN WOULD RESTORE 12 FULL-TIME POSITION. SO, SO THAT IS HUGE. UM, AND I KNOW IT, LIKE YOU SAID, AT SUNSET'S IN 2031, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN USE ITS TIME, UM, TO, UM, YOU KNOW, STABILIZE THESE SERVICES, STABILIZE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO PURSUE REIMBURSEMENTS AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, GRANTS AND [00:20:01] JUST SUSTAINABLE, UH, FUNDING, UH, UH, UH, UH, SOURCES. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY. IT'S GREAT. GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU. THANK YOU. UH, YES, AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, DIRECTOR KING. I KNOW WE'VE HAD YOU UP HERE ON THE HOT SEAT, UH, QUITE A FEW TIMES ON THIS, THIS, THIS, UH, THE BUDGET SEASON. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME OF US VALUE SO MUCH THE WORK, UM, OF OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND UNDERSTAND HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO SO MANY AREAS OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CITY AND MANY OF THE PRIORITIES AND INITIATIVES. UM, AND SO I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO A, GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE BREADTH OF THE WORK OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, RIGHT? AND THEN ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY THE FUNDING AT THE LOCAL, STATE, COUNTY, FEDERAL LEVEL IS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT TO THE WORK, UM, OF OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT. UM, 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTAND JUST ALL THE THINGS, UH, THAT YOU ALL HAVE YOUR HANDS IN, UH, ACROSS THE CITY, AND THEN ALSO THE IMPACT YOU HAVE REGIONALLY, RIGHT? MM-HMM . UM, WITH THE, WITH THE WORK WE'RE DOING HERE AROUND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, HOMELESSNESS, ALL OF THAT. SO, THANK YOU. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, AGAIN, I I, I HATE TO CALL IT DOOM AND GLOOM, BUT YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE REACH OR PRE PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, RIGHT? MM-HMM . I THINK MADE THE OUTLOOK LOOK BLEAK. YES. RIGHT? AROUND OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE WORK WE WERE DOING TO SUPPORT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO I, THE GOAL WITH THIS PRESENTATION WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE A LITTLE HOPE, RIGHT? IT'S TO SHOW THAT THERE WERE, THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES ON THE HORIZON, RIGHT? WITH THE PASSIONS OF MEASURE ER. UM, AND SO POTENTIALLY THERE ARE WAYS FOR US TO NOT ONLY RESTORE, UH, SOME OF THE CUTS THAT WE ARE, WE'RE PROPOSING, BUT ALSO TO EXPAND, RIGHT? UM, AND THEN ALSO I THINK ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS HEALTH STUDY. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST DEEPLY ENCOURAGED TO SEE THE REAL POTENTIAL RESTORATION, UM, OF OUR CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES. YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE TO THANK VOTERS, RIGHT? FOR, FOR PASSING THAT MEASURE, UM, IN JUNE TO APPROVE THAT, THAT 0.5% SALES TAX. UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER RANGA MENTIONED, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT GIVES US, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF BREATHING ROOM UNTIL FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. UM, AND I THINK THE PROPOSED TIERED PRIORITY FRAMEWORK THAT YOU PRESENTED HERE REALLY DOES STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCE. UM, IT ACTUALLY SUSTAINS EXISTING SERVICES. IT EXPANDS KEY CAPACITIES, AND IT LEVERAGES THE EXTERNAL FUNDING THROUGH, UM, OUR GRANT MATCHES. UM, I'M HAPPY, I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT CATEGORY ONE RESTORES, THOSE 12 VITAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY, UM, CONSIDERED FOR, UM, ELIMINATION. YOU KNOW, AND WE THINK ABOUT ISSUES AROUND HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH, FAMILY AND EARLY CHILD SUPPORT, RIGHT? CLINICAL, OPERATIONAL FOUNDATIONS, RIGHT? UM, SO MUCH THE WORK OF OUR CLINICS, RIGHT, TO SUPPORT JUST BASIC HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, AND THEN BEYOND RESTORATION, WE'RE STRENGTHENING OUR DEFENSES AGAINST, I THINK, THE FEDERAL CUSTODY DEFUNDING. UM, AND I'M EAGER TO SUPPORT THE EXPANDED CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CAPACITY THAT YOU PUT IN HERE, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO EXPANSION OF OUR TB CLINIC. YES, I KNOW SOMETIMES, UH, THOSE OF US HERE IN THE UNITED STATES WON'T NECESSARILY THINK ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS THIS MUCH, RIGHT? BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT STILL, UH, IMPACTS US SIGNIFICANTLY TODAY. UH, THE EXPANSION OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TO BOL TO BOLSTER VECTOR CONTROL AND SAFEGUARD OUR COASTAL WATER QUALITY. UM, AND THEN ALSO INFECTIOUS DISEASE, RIGHT? EXPANSION OF OUR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE. AND HI, UH, HIV, UM, CALLI TO ENSURE WE ARE PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE TO EMERGING, UH, HEALTH CRI CRISES. UM, AND SO I THINK THIS FUNDING WILL STRATEGICALLY DIRECT BENEFIT THOSE WHO FEEL THE HEALTHCARE CUTS THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE HEALTHCARE CUTS ARE FELT DEEPEST BY OUR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, OUR OLDER ADULTS, AND OUR UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS. UM, AND SO AGAIN, UM, I REALLY DO CELEBRATE THE WORK THAT I THINK THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO WITH THIS FUNDING. UM, BUT I DO WANT US ALL TO REMAIN SOBER AROUND THE FACT THAT WE MUST REMAIN FISCALLY DISCIPLINED. UM, AGAIN, MEASURE ER IS A FIVE YEAR MEASURE SLATE AS TO SUNSET IN 2031. SO I THINK WE MUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WE TALKED ABOUT IMPLEMENTING, UM, AS PART OF THE HEALTH FUND STUDY. UM, AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE WELL POSITIONED, UM, WITH THIS, WHEN THIS BRIDGE FUNDING ENDS. UM, AND SO, UM, I AM, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGING YOU ALL, AND I'M SURE YOU ARE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT COUNTY ALLOCATION, UM, REALLY ALLOWS THE CITY TO DO WHAT IT NEEDS, UM, AS WE'RE DOING THOSE NEGOTIATIONS. UM, AND I'M, I'M WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST AS YOU PRESENT THE WORK OF THE CITY, UM, AND THE NEED TO PRIORITIZE AND UPLIFT, UM, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. AND WITH THAT, I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, I KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA BEGIN COLLECTING REVENUE, UH, STARTING OCTOBER 1ST. DO WE HAVE AN IDEA AROUND THE TIMELINE FOR FINALIZING THE NEGOTIATIONS AROUND THAT FUNDING SPLIT? UH, WITH THE, UH, BETWEEN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND THE CITY OF PASADENA ON A MEETING YESTERDAY WITH THE COUNTY, UM, WE REPRESENT 77% OF, UH, THE POPULATION, UH, I'M SORRY, OF THE AMOUNT THAT WOULD BE GIVEN. 77% WOULD COME TO US, 23% WOULD GO TO PASADENA OF THE 1% THAT WE WOULD GET. UM, WHILE IT DID INDICATE THAT IT WAS FOR CORE PUBLIC SERVICES, IT CAN BE A BIT DIFFICULT TO DEFINE CORE PUBLIC SERVICE BECAUSE THAT CAN INDEED LOOK DIFFERENT, UH, FROM HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO HEALTH DEPARTMENT. [00:25:01] UH, SO POPULATION BASED IS WHERE WE PRETTY MUCH LANDED ON THIS. AND SO THAT WOULD BE THE SPLIT OF THE 1%. UNDERSTOOD. AND THEN, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, FOR US AND FOR EVERYONE WATCHING, UM, WHEN WE, WE SAY NEGOTIATIONS, SO THOSE NEGOTIATIONS ARE HAPPENING WITH THE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF PASADENA, JUST BETWEEN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND THE CITY OF PASADENA. HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO WHAT WAS, UM, PUT FORWARD ON YESTERDAY IS THAT THEY HAVE PUT FORWARD A NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS THAT WHERE PASADENA AND LONG BEACH CAN AGREE AND PRESENT TO, UM, THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A COMMITTEE OF NINE THAT WILL BE APPOINTED, AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WILL OVERSEE THAT COMMITTEE OF NINE. BUT WHERE WE CAN AGREE THAT WILL GO FORWARD AND WHERE WE CANNOT AGREE, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY WILL WORK TO MEDIATE THOSE SITUATIONS AND ALSO ADMINISTER, UM, OUR GRANT FUNDING. UM, UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, I WILL MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME. IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM, SEEING NONE, CHAIR. OKAY. THEN WE CAN MOVE TO A VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM, PLEASE. ITEM THREE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A SECOND PRESENTATION ON PROPOSED CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. STAFF CAN BEGIN WHENEVER THEY ARE READY. UM, PARDON ME, CHAIR. DID WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. UH, KEVIN RYER, [3. 26-55883 Recommendation to receive and file a second presentation on Proposed Civil and Human Rights Investment Screening Policy.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR. I'M JOINED TODAY BY DEPUTY FINANCE DIRECTOR AMANDA HALL, BY CITY TREASURER HANK KIM, AND BY DEPUTY CITY TREASURER AND INVESTMENT MANAGER CHRISTOPHER OIE. WE ARE THE SAME FOUR WHO, UH, BACK IN OCTOBER IN THESE VERY SEATS IN THIS VERY CHAMBER, ANSWERED THE MANY PERCEPTIVE QUESTIONS FROM THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION WHILE THEY WERE EVALUATING AND CONSIDERING THE, UM, CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. AND WE'LL BE READY AT THE END OF THIS SEVEN SLIDE PRESENTATION TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AS WELL. SO THIS IS PART TWO OF THE PROPOSED CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY PRESENTATION, UH, THREE WEEKS AGO. TODAY, I PRESENTED PART ONE, WHICH WAS, UM, A RESTATEMENT AND AN ANALYSIS OF THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY AS ADOPTED BY THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION BACK IN OCTOBER. AND AS PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL A MONTH OR TWO LATER, UH, AS PASSED ON TO THE CITY COUNCIL A MONTH OR TWO LATER, UM, BY THE CITY MANAGER. UM, SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THAT POLICY AND SUBSEQUENT RECOMMENDATION FROM THE EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK, WHICH WAS THE ORIGINAL PROPOSER OF THE SCREENING POLICY TO THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STAFF HAVE BEEN MEETING OFF AND ON ON POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS CHANGES TO THE POLICY. UH, AND THOSE ARE, THOSE CHANGES ARE WHAT THIS COMMITTEE ASKED US TO RESEARCH AND COME BACK TODAY, THREE WEEKS LATER ON. SO THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION IS ABOUT, UM, UH, RECENTLY SUGGESTED CHANGES AND, UH, THEIR ASSOCIATED COSTS. SO THERE ARE THREE SIGNIFICANT RECENTLY SUGGESTED CHANGES TO THE PROPOSED CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY, AS IT WAS FORMALLY ADOPTED BY THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. UM, THE FIRST ONE IS TO REPLACE THE PRESUMPTION OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH AN EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLIANCE STANDARD. IN, IN, IN MY SHORTHAND FROM THREE WEEKS AGO. IT IS TO THE, THE, UM, THIS SUGGESTED CHANGE IS TO EVALUATE, UM, INVESTMENTS MADE BY THE CITY TREASURER AS, UM, INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, AS OPPOSED TO THE ORIGINAL POLICY, WHICH SAID, UM, THEY'RE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO DIVEST OF EXISTING INVESTMENTS UNTIL WE COULD PROVE THEY HADN'T COMMITTED ANY OF THE SIX, UM, PROHIBITED CATEGORIES. SO THAT'S BIG CHANGE NUMBER ONE, BIG CHANGE NUMBER TWO, RECENTLY SUGGESTED BY THE LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK, [00:30:01] AND WITH WHICH, UH, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STAFF STRONGLY AGREE, IS TO COMBINE, UH, REPORTING TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC ON SCREENING POLICY COMPLIANCE WITH THE EXISTING CITY INVESTMENT REPORTING, WHICH THE CITY TREASURER DOES ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. SO THAT REDUCES THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN. THERE'S LESS, UH, THERE, THERE ARE FEWER DOCUMENTS COMING TO CITY COUNCIL, BUT THE SUBSTANCE IS STILL THERE BECAUSE WE WOULD REPORT ON ADHERENCE TO THE, UM, INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY AS PART OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING. AND THE, THE THIRD RECENT SUGGESTED CHANGES TO ADD A SEVENTH CATEGORY TO THE LIST OF PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES FOR ENTITIES THAT THE CITY TREASURER WOULD INVEST IN. AND THAT'S, UM, A BEHAVIOR HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH, UH, IMMIGRATE US IMMIGRATIONS AND CUSTOM CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. AND THAT'S, UH, THE LAST ITEM IN BOLD FACE IN THE LOWER RIGHT ON THIS PARTICULAR SCREEN. YOU ALSO ASKED US THREE WEEKS AGO TODAY, HOW WOULD WE GO ABOUT VETTING THE VARIOUS INVESTMENT OPTIONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE, UM, PROHIBITED CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITY. AND, UH, AND, AND BY SWITCHING TO AN EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLIANCE STANDARD, YOU, UH, WE WOULD, WE WOULD NEED SOME VETTING APPROACHES. AND THOSE ARE SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE. AND THERE'S KIND OF THREE CATEGORIES OF, UM, OPTIONS FOR US TO DO VETTING SHOULD THE FULL CITY COUNCIL ADOPT THIS POLICY AS PART OF THE NEXT FORMAL INVESTMENT POLICY REVIEW. UM, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, UH, IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD OF SOMETHING CALLED ESG, THAT'S ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE, OR ESG VETTING, THAT'S VERY COMMON IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD AND ON WALL STREET AND INCORPORATIONS EVERYWHERE. UH, AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS ALREADY EXISTING, MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALREADY DO SCREENING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE COMPLIANCE. BUT THOSE, THOSE VETTING OPTIONS ARE, UH, A LITTLE MORE GENERAL THAN THE, UM, SEVEN PROHIBITED CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITY UNDER THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. SO WE MIGHT HAVE TO GO TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS, OF THIS SLIDE AND LOOK AT SOME SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE, WHICH, UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY IT'S UNIVERSAL, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE ENCOMPASSING THAN THE SOMEWHAT NARROWER ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE. SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOFTWARE THAT FOCUSES ON, UH, THIS, THIS SOFTWARE CALLED RE REP RISK FOCUSES ON CORPORATE MISCONDUCT, ENVIRONMENTAL HARM, LABOR ABUSE, UH, AND EVEN, UM, IMMIGRATIONS AND CUSTOMER AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, UH, COMPLIANCE EXPOSURE, WHICH IS GETTING MUCH CLOSER TO WHAT THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER OF THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY PROHIBITS US TO INVEST WOULD PROHIBIT US TO INVEST IN. THEN THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARES THAT ARE MORE ALIGNED TO WHAT THE POL THIS POLICY IS GETTING AT THAN THE TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE DATA PLATFORMS I MENTIONED ON THE LEFT. AND THEN FINALLY, IF WE WANTED TO GO WHOLE HOG AND SPEND A LOT OF MONEY, WE COULD, UM, WE COULD ENGAGE AN ADVISOR OR A CUSTODIAN WHO ARE REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORS TO APPLY ON A TRADE BY TRADE INVESTMENT, BY INVESTMENT BUSINESS, UM, POLICY RESTRICTIONS FOR THE ENTIRE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. UM, BEFORE WE EXECUTED A TRADE, THIS WOULD BE, THIS WOULD BE PRETTY MUCH OUTSOURCING THE VETTING TO A PRIVATE COMPANY, UH, OR COMPANIES. IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHO RESPONDED TO A SOLICIT TO A PROCUREMENT SOLICITATION, UM, RATHER THAN CITY STAFF, UM, USING, UM, THE VETTING OPTIONS THAT I'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED AND USING THEIR BEST JUDGMENT. UM, BUT THOSE ARE, SO THOSE ARE THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, THREE DIFFERENT WAYS, THREE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO VETTING POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD FALL UNDER THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. SO HOW MUCH WOULD THEY COST? UM, I'LL READ THEM BECAUSE THE, UH, THE CENTER SQUARE IS OBSCURED, UH, FOR TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE DATA PLATFORMS, PROBABLY IN THE MID, PROBABLY IN THE 30 TO $80,000 A YEAR COST FOR A SUBSCRIPTION TO EITHER, UM, MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INDEXING OR SUSTAINALYTICS, UM, FOR THE SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE. THAT'S THAT SECOND CATEGORY THAT I SAID A MOMENT AGO WOULD BE, UH, UM, A FINER MESH AND MORE CLOSELY TAILORED TO THE, UH, PROHIBITIONS ON THE SEVEN BEHAVIORS THAT THE SCREENING POLICY WOULD PROHIBIT. UM, THAT MIGHT BE UP TO $40,000 A YEAR, UH, [00:35:01] FOR GETTING THE INFORMATION THAT WE WOULD THEN INTERPRET AND APPLY TO POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS. UH, AND THEN I MENTIONED THE EXPENSIVE ONE. IF WE WANTED TO GO HO HOG ON AN ADV ON OUTSOURCING IT, UH, ANYWHERE FROM TWO BASIS POINTS, THAT'S TWO ONE HUNDREDTHS OF 1% TO EIGHT BASIS POINTS OR EIGHT, ONE HUNDREDTHS OF 1% PER YEAR OF ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT. UH, BUT THAT'S A HALF MILLION, ALMOST $2 MILLION OF ANNUAL COST FOR FULLY OUTSOURCING THE SCREENING AND THE VETTING TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. SO THOSE ARE THE VETTING OPTIONS. AND YOU ASKED ABOUT THE COST OF THE OPTIONS. AND THEN, THEN, AND THEN IN A MOMENT, I SHALL NEVER FORGET WHEN THE CHAIR ASKED FOR COMPARISON OF CITIES, AND I GAVE HER TWO UNIVERSES, AND AS A PROFESSIONAL STATISTICIAN, SHE SAID, DO BOTH. WE HAVE THE CITY COMPARISON WITH OTHER, UH, LARGE CITIES AND NEIGHBORING CITIES ON THE COMPOSITION OF THEIR INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEES. UH, THREE WEEKS AGO, I MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT HOW LONG BEACH, FOR A LONG TIME HAS HAD AN INTERNAL INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, CONSISTING OF REPRESENTATIVES, TWO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE, UH, OPERATING AND ALSO THE OPERATING DEPARTMENTS WHO HAVE A BIG FINANCIAL STAKE, WHO HOLD MOST OF THE CASH INSIDE THE TREASURER'S INVESTMENT POOL. SO FIRST, THE LARGE CITIES, UM, OF THE SIX OTHER LARGE CITIES WE LOOKED AT, UH, ONLY, UM, LOS ANGELES AND ANAHEIM HAVE AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. OAKLAND FRESNO, BAKERFIELD AND SACRAMENTO DON'T HAVE WHAT LONG BEACH HAS. AND INTERESTINGLY, NEITHER LOS ANGELES NOR ANAHEIM, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THERE ARE NO REPRESENTATIVES, ELECTED OFFICIALS ON THERE. WE, IN LONG BEACH, HAVE REPRESENTATIVES OF TWO ELECTED OFFICIALS 'CAUSE THE DESIGNEE OF BOTH THE CITY ATTORNEY AND OF THE CITY AUDITOR SERVE ON THE INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, THAT, THAT OVERSEES AND GUIDES WHAT HANK IS DOING AS CITY TREASURER. UM, THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE NEIGHBORING CITIES. AND, UH, OF THOSE 17 NEIGHBORING CITIES, ONLY TWO HAVE AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. CARSON HAS ONE, AND TORRANCE HAS ONE. EVERYBODY ELSE, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE NO COMMITTEE LIST, DOESN'T EVEN HAVE ONE. SO WE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, COMPARED WITH OUR NEIGHBORS, UM, WE ARE MORE COMMITTED TO AN AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAN PRETTY MUCH ANYBODY ELSE. OTHER IMPACTS, THIS IS THE LAST SUBSTANTIVE SLIDE OF THIS PRESENTATION. UM, WHAT WOULD BE THE EFFECT FROM DAY TO DAY, WEEK TO WEEK OF ADOPTING THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY? WITH THE RECENTLY SUGGESTED CHANGES THAT I WENT THROUGH ON THE, UH, FIRST AND SECOND SLIDES, UM, FOR PRE-TRADE OPERATIONS, THERE WOULD BE, UM, AN INCREASE IN INTERNAL STAFF TIME FOR THE CITY TREASURER'S OFFICE FOR AUDIT AND REPORTING. WE WOULD, UH, INCORPORATE OUR SCREENING POLICY AND COMPLIANCE INTO THOSE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORTS. AND THAT TAKES SOME INTERNAL STAFF TIME, BUT IT'S NOTHING LIKE THE ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS THAT WERE IN THE, UM, FIRST VERSION OR THE OFFICIALLY PASSED VERSION OF THE SCREENING POLICY THAT WENT THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL, THE, UH, EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. AND THEN FOR THE PORTFOLIO AND THE YIELD, IT'S REALLY HARD TO SAY, UH, IF THERE WOULD BE AN INDIRECT FINANCIAL IMPACT, IT, UH, THE SCREENING POLICY WOULD REDUCE THE UNIVERSE, BY DEFINITION, IT WOULD REDUCE THE UNIVERSE OF POTENTIAL, UM, PRIVATE FIRMS IN WHICH TO INVEST. BUT IT WOULDN'T SHRINK IT NEARLY TO ZERO. UM, NOT AT ALL, BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY, MANY FIRMS THAT UNDER CALIFORNIA STATE LAW AND THE CITY COUNCIL'S OWN INVESTMENT POLICY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CITY TO INVEST IN, THAT WE DON'T THINK WOULD FAIL THE VETTING PROCESS THAT I'VE JUST DESCRIBED. SO AS A RESULT, THE, UM, THE EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS BUDGET CONCERN THAT I EXPRESSED THREE WEEKS AGO ABOUT THE POLICY, THE SCREENING POLICY AS FORMALLY, UM, ADOPTED OR, UH, RECOMMENDED VOTED ON BY THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, THAT EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM DROPS AWAY. THERE'S NO BUDGET PROBLEM, BECAUSE NOW WE DON'T HAVE TO DIVEST OURSELVES OF ALL SECURITIES AND THEN PROVE THAT THEY'RE OKAY BEFORE REINVESTING. SO WE DON'T REALLY SEE MUCH, UH, BUDGETARY IMPACT FROM ADOPTING THE POLICY WITH THE THREE SUGGESTED REVISIONS. UM, AND, AND WE HAVE NOT ONLY DO WE NOT HAVE AN OBJECTION TO THE, UM, PROHIBITION ON ICE, UH, ON COMPANIES THAT DO BUSINESS WITH ICE, BUT ONCE AGAIN, FROM THE STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE LONG BEACH VALUES ACT AND, AND THE CITY'S LONG TRADITION. SO WITH THOSE THREE CHANGES, UM, OUR OBJECTIONS KIND OF FALL AWAY, UH, WITH THAT, AMANDA AND HANK AND CHRISTOPHER AND I ARE READY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. [00:40:02] UH, WELL, I'M GONNA MOVE TO, I'M GONNA ASK MY, UH, MY COMMITTEE COLLEAGUES IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY A MUCH MORE OPTIMISTIC LOOK THAN THE PRE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION THAT WE RECEIVED. UM, VICE MAYOR, OUR COUNCILWOMAN VICE MAYOR. YEAH, JUST A COMMENT. I'M GLAD TO THAT, UH, WE ARE A MAGNIFICENT SEVEN , AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW THAT BASED ON THOSE SEVEN CRITERIA, WE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO, UH, REPHRASE THAT. WE'LL NOT ACCEPT THOSE INVESTMENTS FROM THOSE COMPANIES. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT DEPENDS ON THIS, ON THE VETTING PROCESS THAT WE DO, RIGHT? YEAH. BUT YEAH. BUT, BUT, UH, AS OF NOW, BUT YOU, THE CAVEATS IN THERE THAT, THAT SAY THAT IF YOU'RE WITH THIS OR THAT YOU'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA INVEST IN YOU. THAT'S CORRECT. IF THE VETTING, IF ANY OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN FAIL THE VETTING PROCESS AS A RESULT OF THE SCREENING POLICY, THEN THE CITY TREASURER WOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO INVEST IN THEIR SECURITIES. THAT'S CORRECT. THEN THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD INSURANCE. THANK YOU. YEAH, I, YOU CHAIR, UM, WELL, I, I'M RELIEVED. I WAS REALLY WORRIED ABOUT THAT $8 MILLION NUMBER. SO, UM, TO HEAR THAT THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE ANYMORE. UM, THAT'S GREAT. AND THEN JUST TO, UM, SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANY IMPACT THEN ON OUR, OUR CURRENT STAFF. EVERYTHING COULD BE DONE, UH, IN HOUSE, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO OUTSOURCE ANY OF THESE ADDITIONAL REVIEWS. LET ME TURN THAT OVER TO CITY TREASURER, HANK KIM. SO IT WOULD REALLY DEPEND ON, UH, WHICH, UM, IF YOU, CAN YOU GIVE THE SLIDE WITH THE POTENTIAL VETTING OPTIONS? YEAH. SO WHICH VETTING OPTION, UH, THE CITY DECIDES TO GO WITH? UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE WANT JUST A FULL, A FAIL SAFE, UM, METHOD OF SCREENING ALL OF OUR INVESTMENTS AND REPORTING, UH, IT WOULD BE THE ADVISOR CUSTODIAN ROUTE. BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY CARRIES THE HIGHEST COST. SO IF WE WANT TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, A SLIGHTLY LESS COSTLY SOLUTION, WE WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE TO, UH, UM, UH, USE A ESG PLA DATA DATA PLATFORM IN CONJUNCTION WITH SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO ONE CANNED SOLUTION THAT WILL ENCOMPASS ALL OF THE CITY'S NEEDS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO EFFECTIVELY, UM, VET AGAINST THE SEVEN CRITERIA. SO WE'D HAVE TO USE A COMBINATION OF SOLUTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COVERED ON ALL THESE FRONTS. SO THE ANSWER IS, IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHICH SOLUTION THAT WOULD DE DRIVE THE COST. AWESOME. GREAT. UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, I THINK YOU ANSWERED A LOT OF OUR QUESTIONS. UM, I HAD A COUPLE OF FOLLOW UP, AND SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DON'T, AS RIGHT NOW, WITH THE CURRENT, UM, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, UH, LIKE AS THE KEVIN REPER SAID, THE OBJECTIONS, UH, DEFINITELY FALL AWAY. SO THEN THE QUESTION, IT BECOMES, SO THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE, UM, OF HOW WE WOULD IMPLEMENT THIS. UH, AND SO I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS JUST KIND OF TO CLARIFY AROUND OUR THOUGHTS AROUND, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION, UM, SO, AND WHAT THE IMPLEMENTATION, THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO SPECIFICALLY, UM, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, UM, HOW DO YOU THINK THE CITY WOULD DETERMINE WHETHER A COMPANY IN OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO MEETS OR VIOLATES THE CRITERIA? SO IS THIS BASICALLY WE'RE JUST KIND OF, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO GET AN IDEA FOR THE, LET'S SAY WE, WE GO WITH THE ESG AND SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE AS A COMBINATION, RIGHT? SO ARE WE THEN SUBMITTING OUR INVESTMENT PROFILE PRO PROFILE TO THEM? HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES THAT PRO, CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH HOW THAT PROCESS WOULD WORK? DEPUTY FINANCE DIRECTOR AMANDA HALL, WILL TACKLE THAT ONE. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, IN WORKING WITH, UH, THE, WHAT'S BEFORE YOU ON THE VETTING OPTIONS? WE'D WORK, UH, WITH THE ESG DATA TERMINAL AND THE SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE. SO AS NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES COME ABOUT, WE WOULD UTILIZE THESE TOOLS TO ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T GO AGAINST ANY OF THOSE PROHIBITED SEVEN CATEGORIES. SO ONCE WE IDENTIFY THOSE SOFTWARES AND IMPLEMENT THOSE, THAT'S HOW WE WOULD GO ABOUT THAT. OKAY. AND THEN THE SOFTWARE DOES IT, IT FLAGS IT THEN FOR CITY STAFF, AND THEN CITY STAFF THEN DETERMINES OKAY. WHERE EITHER DIVESTING OR NOT NO LONGER GOING TO CHOOSE TO INVEST, OR IF WE WERE GOING TO INVEST, WE'RE NO LONGER GOING TO INVEST IN WHATEVER THAT INSTITUTION IS? THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. VICE HEAD OF VICE HEAD OF FOLLOW. AND A FOLLOW TO THAT, IS THERE A, A CRITERIA THAT SAYS THAT WE CAN ASK THOSE FIRMS TO MAKE CORRECTIONS? AND IF THEY DO, WHEN WE SWITCH OUR, OUR, OUR, UH, OUR, UH, UH, DECISION ON THAT, WE COULD ASK THOSE FIRMS TO MAKE A CORRECTION, BUT WITH NO DISRESPECT TO THE LITTLE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PAY THE SLIGHTEST AMOUNT OF ATTENTION TO [00:45:01] A REQUEST OR A DIRECTOR FROM THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO SPEND ANY STAFF TIME ASKING 'EM TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR YEAR. FAIR QUESTION THOUGH. UM, AND THEN, UH, A FOLLOW UP TO THAT IS, DOES IT FLAG LIKE A, IS IT LIKE A, A YES NO KIND OF FLAG FOR MOST OF THESE SOFTWARE? OR IS THERE KIND OF A GRAY AREA WHERE POTENTIALLY STAFF MIGHT HAVE TO DO A LITTLE BIT ADDITIONAL RESEARCH TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT QUALIFIES OR NOT? I THINK IT COULD ACTUALLY BE A BIT OF BOTH. I THINK THERE WOULD BE SOME AREAS WHERE IT WOULD BE MORE BLACK AND WHITE, AND THEN SOMEWHERE IT WOULD BE MORE GRAY, WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO EXERCISE JUDGMENT AS TO WHETHER WE WOULD WANNA CONTINUE INVESTING IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA OR THAT PARTICULAR SECURITY. UNDERSTOOD. AND SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING INTERNALLY, CITY STAFF WOULD DO BASED UNDER THE CRITERIA THAT'S PASSED, THAT IF WE, IF WE PASS A RECOMMENDATION OR A POLICY, YOU WOULD USE THAT POLICY THEN TO APPLY THAT TO WHATEVER THAT GRAY AREA IS? THAT'S CORRECT. UNDERSTOOD. UM, ADDITIONALLY, SEVERAL CALIFORNIA JURISDICTIONS HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UM, INVESTMENT SCREENING, DIVESTMENT OR SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT POLICIES. UM, HAS FINANCE CONDUCTED ANY RESEARCH INTO HOW THOSE JURISDICTIONS HAVE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED THEIR POLICIES, UM, WHAT VETTING MECHANISMS THEY USE, AND THEN POTENTIALLY WHAT LESSONS CAN LONG BEACH LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE? SURE. I COULD TAKE THAT ONE. SO THE, THE ONLY, UM, IT'S A COUNTY INVESTMENT POOL. UH, I CAME FROM THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO WHERE AT THAT TIME WE HAD IMPLEMENTED, UH, AN ESG POLICY. UM, AND WE LOOKED AT VARIOUS SOFTWARE OPTIONS, UM, THE, THE ESG DATA PLATFORMS. AND SO I THINK WHAT THEY ENDED UP DOING WAS SUBSCRIBING TO, UH, ONE OF THESE, UH, ESG DATA PLATFORMS. AND, UH, AS PART OF THEIR VETTING PROCESS, THEY WOULD, UM, PUT THE COMPANIES THAT WERE CURRENTLY ON THEIR APPROVED LIST OF ISSUERS THROUGH THE ESG FILTER, UH, AND DETERMINE, SO THE PLATFORM WILL, WILL, UH, CREATE A SCORE, AN ESG SCORE BASED ON THE CRITERIA THAT THE COUNTY HAD, UM, ASKED IT TO EVALUATE. AND BASED ON THAT SCORE, THAT ESG SCORE, IT WAS REALLY UP TO STAFF TO EITHER KEEP IT ON THEIR APPROVED LIST OR REMOVE IT. AND IT WAS AN ONGOING SURVEILLANCE PROCESS. SO EVERY QUARTER, UM, IT'S EXPECTED THAT STAFF WOULD REEVALUATE EVERY CORPORATE ISSUER ON THEIR APPROVED LIST TO SEE IF ANYTHING HAD CHANGED. AND, AND THEN ALSO MAKE A DETERMINATION WHETHER A SPECIFIC COMPANY SHOULD BE REMOVED OR ADDED BACK ONTO THEIR APPROVED LIST. AND SO IT'S AN ONGOING, UH, SURVEILLANCE, UM, OF THE, OF THE CURRENT ISSUERS. UH, AND THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT WAS IMPLEMENTED. GOTCHA. YEAH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, I THINK, UM, IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, I THINK THEY'RE SMALLER THAN US, BUT LIKE THE CITY OF RICHMOND, I BELIEVE, HAS PASSED SOMETHING. AND I BELIEVE ALSO, WAS IT ALAMEDA COUNTY? I FEEL LIKE THERE'S ANOTHER COUNTY THAT ALSO HAS AN INVESTMENT SCREENING PROCESS, UH, PROGRAM BESIDES, OR POLICY BESIDES, UH, SAN DIEGO. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. WE'VE LOOKED AT CITY OF RICHMOND'S LANGUAGE VERY CLOSELY, AND YES, THEY HAVE SOMETHING, THEY HAVE A SCREENING POLICY TOO. YOU'RE CORRECT. OKAY. UM, AND THEN, UM, I THINK YOU'VE ANSWERED THIS ALREADY, UM, BUT I'LL JUST TO GET IT ON RECORD, BE CLEAR. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, BUT I THINK A LOT OF THE CONCERNS AROUND, UM, THE IMPACT TO OUR CITY'S FINANCES HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED WITH THESE AMENDMENTS. UM, BUT IN YOUR MIND, UM, WHAT IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE APPROACH THAT CAN GIVE THE CITY A RELIABLE, TRANSPARENT, AND DEFENSIBLE, UH, SCREENING PROCESS? UM, AND CAN WE ACCOMPLISH THIS USING OUR EXISTING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO CREATE A NEW EXPENSE? I THINK THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO. UH, USING THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SCREEN POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS AGAINST THE SEVEN CRITERIA. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO IMPLEMENT, UM, ONE OF THESE VETTING OPTIONS, PROBABLY COMBINATION. I THINK THAT'S THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO EFFECTIVELY SCREEN AGAINST THE SEVEN SPECIFIC CRITERIA. UNDERSTOOD. UM, AND THEN A FOLLOW UP TO THIS WOULD BE, AND THEN MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR, UM, MAYBE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SLASH THE, THE CITY ATTORNEY. UH, SO IF THIS COMMITTEE WERE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION AROUND THIS POLICY AND THEN THE AMENDMENTS, UM, AS PART OF THE BOC RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT'S THE LANGUAGE THAT WE WOULD THEN USE, UM, AROUND, UH, WHAT WOULD, WHAT WOULD BE THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE FOR THE BOC RECOMMENDATIONS IF WE WANTED TO SAY, YES, WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT THE POLICY WITH THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS AND THEN PRESENT THAT TO CITY COUNCIL? LET ME GO FIRST. UH, THE CITY COUN, UH, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT BRINGS THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED INVESTMENT POLICY TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, EVERY DECEMBER OR JANUARY. OKAY. AND, AND THAT'S NOT JUST OUTTA THE GOODNESS OF OUR HEART. THAT'S A STATE LAW REQUIREMENT. [00:50:01] SO, UH, AS A PRACTICAL MATTER, UM, IF COUNCIL TELLS US TO INCORPORATE THIS POLICY INTO THE CITY'S EXISTING INVESTMENT POLICY, WE'D COME BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL IN DECEMBER OR JANUARY, UM, WITH REVISIONS THAT INCORPORATE IT. UNDERSTOOD. UM, AND THEN A FOLLOW UP TO, SO IT WOULD NEED TO BE PART OF THE BOC RECOMMENDATIONS, OR WOULD NOT NEED TO BE PART OF THE BOC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. THAT'S MY QUESTION TO EITHER BUDGET OR, UH, CITY ATTORNEY. OKAY. BUDGET CITY ATTORNEY ARE ANSWERING, I'LL ANSWER. UM, THE, THE, THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT DOESN'T CARE WHETHER IT'S PART OF BOC OR PART OF A SEPARATE COUNCIL ACTION. EITHER ONE WILL GIVE US PRETTY CLEAR DIRECTION ON WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH THE, UH, NEXT INVESTMENT POLICY THAT WE BRING TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN DECEMBER OR JANUARY. EITHER ONE'S FINE. UNDERSTOOD. UM, AND THEN A FOLLOW UP TO THAT WOULD BE, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS MOVING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE, RIGHT? SO THERE CAN BE A POLICY, RIGHT? BUT THEN WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE IMPLEMENTATION WOULD BE. UM, SO WHEN YOU ALL COME TO SAY, YOU SAY, WE ALL AGREE THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANNA DO, YOU ALL COME WITH THE, UM, WITH THE INVESTMENT PLAN BACK TO CITY COUNCIL. UM, HOW DO WE THEN GET A PRESENT? WOULD YOU ALL THEN PRESENT TO US THE POTENTIAL LIKE IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS THAT WE COULD USE? IS THAT THEN A CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING AT COUNCIL AROUND RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND WHAT THAT WOULD BE? WHAT DOES THE IMPLEMENTATION, THE CHOICE OF THE TOOL, AND THEN THE IMPLEMENTATION LOOK LIKE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INPUT FROM THE, UH, CHOICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL? WELL, IF WE, IF WE GO WITH THE, ONE OF THE FIRST TWO VETTING OPTIONS, OR BOTH OF THEM, THAT'S NOT A BIG ENOUGH DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT IT WOULDN'T COME TO CITY COUNCIL. SO THAT CAN BE DONE THROUGH A PROCUREMENT THAT'S SIGNED OFF ON BY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE BY THE CITY MANAGER. IF WE WENT WITH THE THIRD, THE FULL OUTSOURCING, THAT'S A HALF MILLION TO 2 MILLION A YEAR. UM, THAT IS A RECOMMENDATION OF A DOLLAR AMOUNT HIGH ENOUGH THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL. UNDERSTOOD. UH, AND SO THEN A FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT IS ADDITIONALLY GONNA BE, UH, KEVIN, IS, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE LOOKING AT ESG SOME SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE, BUT I'M ASSUMING THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPECIALIZED RISK SOFTWARE, UM, AND I'M SURE THE COMMUNITY HAS A LOT OF PERSPECTIVES ON WHAT THEY THINK MIGHT BE BETTER, BETTER CHOICES THAN OTHERS. UM, HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES CITY COUNCIL INPUT AND THE COMMUNITY INPUT GET INFUSED INTO THE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CHOICE THAT WE HAVE IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, REFLECTS BEST WHAT THE POLICY INTENDS? I GOTTA THINK ABOUT THAT ONE. PLEASE DO. SO, UM, OKAY. I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FROM MY COMMUNITY MEMBERS? ALL RIGHT. THEN WE ARE GONNA MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME, IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS AGENDA ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM SO WE CAN GET A COUNT. IT LOOKS LIKE WE, SO FIRST, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE REALLY GOOD WORK ON THIS. UM, WE'VE WORKED HARD AND THE COOPERATION HAS BEEN AMAZING AND VERY POSITIVE. ONE LIKES A CITY THAT TALKS TO THE CONSTITUENTS ABOUT OUR CONCERNS AND OUR, OUR ISSUES. SO, AND I'VE LIVED IN A LOT OF CITIES, SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON I'M, I'M NEVER LEAVING LONG BEACH. UH, AND SO THANK YOU. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE OTHER IDEAS WE'VE HAD ABOUT PHASING IN, WHICH DOESN'T AFFECT THE POLICY ITSELF IS TO TRY ONE OF THE FREE OPTIONS IN SCREENING AND MOVE TO MORE ONE OF THE MORE, AND WE KNOW THAT FREE MEANS LESS GRANULAR, UH, PROBABLY I DON'T, BUT IF WE WORKED FROM THAT FORWARD TO MAKE SURE WE COULD LOWER THE COST, BUT WHATEVER THE, UM, FINANCE, WHATEVER COMES, COMES ABOUT AS SCREENING, UM, INSTRUMENTS, I THINK WOULD WORK. UM, AND AGAIN, WE CAN START WITH THE CHEAPER OPTION AND SEE HOW WELL THAT WORKS. UM, BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE CITY, FOR BOTH CITY COUNCIL AND UH, CITY STAFF FOR THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING ON THIS. THANK YOU. NATA, NEXT SPEAKER. HI, MY NAME'S KAREN HARPER, AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE, AND I'M ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK. AND MY MISSION IS TO COMPLIMENT AND PRAISE ALL OF YOU FOR THIS STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS AND EVOLUTION TO A REALLY EXCITING PLACE WHERE WE CAN BE SO PROUD OF WHAT OUR CITY MONEY DOES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. [00:55:02] HELLO. BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. NICE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN. UH, FERNANDO, COMMUNITY LAWYER WITH . UM, HAVING NOT BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THIS, UH, INVESTMENT SCREENING CONSIDERATION, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE SUPPORT IN THE CITY EVALUATING, UH, INVESTMENT DECISIONS TO ENSURE, UM, ETHICAL INVESTING. SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE WORK ON THAT. UM, I GUESS JUST A COUPLE OF IMMEDIATE COMMENTS THAT COME, CAME TO MIND FROM WATCHING THE PRESENTATION. UM, I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO EXPLORE EXPANDING THE ICE CRITERIA TO DHS, UH, WIDE. UM, AND CONSIDERING EXPANDING THIS FRAME OF THINKING, UM, TO ALIGN WITH OUR LONG BEACH VALUES ACT, UM, ASKS, I KNOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE BUDGET RIGHT NOW, UM, BUT I THOUGHT IT, I WOULD BE REMISS TO NOT MENTION, UM, THAT ONE OF THE DEMANDS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, IS COMMITTING TO NOT CONTRACTING WITH VENDORS THAT HAVE A HISTORY OF SHARING OR SELLING DATA TO DHS. UM, AGAIN, I KNOW THE FOCUS TODAY IS THE BUDGET, UH, BUT THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS ALIGNS WITH THINKING ABOUT INVESTMENT, UM, OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE CITY IS LOOKING INTO TO, YOU KNOW, ETHICALLY INVEST, RIGHT? I THINK IT ALSO, UM, ALIGNS WITH CONTRACTING TOO. UH, SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT. UM, AND THEN, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING BACK TO COMMENT A LITTLE BIT MORE FOCUSED ON THE BUDGET IN A MOMENT. UH, BUT JUST WANTED TO FLAG THOSE COUPLE OF THINGS THAT CAME TO MIND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, SEEING NO ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE TO A VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM, PLEASE. ITEM FOUR IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE COUNCIL DISTRICT CORRESPONDENCE. THANK YOU. OH, CAN I GET A FIRST AND A SECOND PLEASE? UM, UH, REBECCA, CAN YOU GO THROUGH, CAN BUDGET GO THROUGH JUST WHAT THE, UM, JUST THE HIGH, HIGH LEVEL WHAT THE CURRENT CORRESPONDENCES, UH, ARE? YES. WE RECEIVED ONE, UH, REQUEST FROM COUNCIL DISTRICT NINE, UH, TO PRIORITIZE UP TO $200,000 IN ONE TIME, FUNDING TO COMMISSION AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY LONG BEACH [4. 26-55884 Recommendation to receive and file Council District correspondence.        Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE FEASIBILITY STUDY BUILDING UPON THE CITY'S PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED FIRE OPTIMIZATION AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ANALYSIS. THANK YOU. UM, I SHOULD GIVE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND HERE, UM, ON THE REQUEST. SO THIS REQUEST, ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO CONSIDER PRIORITIZING UP TO $200,000, AGAIN, IN ONE TIME, FUNDING TO COMMISSION AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY LONG BEACH FIRE, UH, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, UM, AND GOVERNANCE FEASIBILITY STUDY. SO THIS RELATES DIRECTLY TO PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE HAD IN COUNCIL, UH, REGARDING THE COMPOUNDING FISCAL AND OPERATIONAL PRESSURES ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM. AS OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE DEMANDS, CAPITAL NEEDS AND OPERATIONAL COSTS CONTINUE TO GROW, I THINK WE MUST BE PROACTIVE, UH, HAVE A PROACTIVE LONG-TERM APPROACH TO ENSURE THESE ESSENTIAL SERVICES REMAIN RELIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FOR OUR RESIDENTS. AT ITS CORE, THE GOAL OF THIS FEASIBILITY STUDY WOULD BE TO HAVE AN OBJECTIVE COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES NETWORK. UH, IT IS A SET, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE ESTABLISH A CLEAR BASELINE OF THE RESOURCES CURRENTLY SUPPORTING OUR FIRE AND EMS OPERATIONS, MAP OUR PROJECTED SERVICE DEMANDS, AND IDENTIFY RECURRING OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS. UM, FROM THAT BASELINE, THE GOAL OF THE STUDY WOULD THEN TO BE TO EVALUATE OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN OUR EXISTING CITY GENERAL FUNDING MODEL AND COMPARE THOSE DIRECTLY WITH ALTERNATIVE MODELS AND GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES. THESE ALTERNATIVES COULD INCLUDE, UH, DEDICATED LOCAL REVENUE MECHANISMS, JOINT POWERS, AUTHORITIES, REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITIES, UM, OR THE POTENTIAL FORMATION OF A DEDICATED FIRE DISTRICT. WE SHOULD NOT PREDETERMINE ANY GOVERNANCE OUTCOME, BUT WE DO NEED TO ENSURE THAT OUR FUTURE DECISIONS ARE GUIDED BY OBJECTIVE, FINANCIAL, OPERATIONAL, AND LEGAL CRITERIA. SO RATHER THAN STARTING FROM SCRATCH, I THINK THIS FEASIBILITY STUDY WOULD BUILD DIRECTLY UPON SEVERAL KEY ANALYSES ALREADY UNDERTAKEN BY THE CITY. THESE PREVIOUS STUDIES THE CITY HAS COMMISSIONED, INCLUDING THE MARCH 31ST, 2025 FIRE OPTIMIZATION STUDY, WHICH EXAMINED OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, COST RECOVERY OPPORTUNITIES, AND FIRST INTRODUCE THE ALTERNATIVE FUNDING CONCEPTS SUCH AS THE FIRE DISTRICT, UH, THE MARCH, ALSO THE MARCH 31ST, 2025, A LS DATA FOLLOW-UP REPORT, WHICH PROVIDED, UH, CRITICAL DATA ON ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT RESPONSE TIMES, AMBULANCE AVAILABILITY, AND HOSPITAL WALL TIMES. UH, AND THEN LASTLY, THE SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2025 PARAMEDIC ASSESSMENT UNIT FIRE ENGINE PILOT PROGRAM, WHICH EVALUATED THE CONVERSION OF BASIC LIFE SUPPORT ENGINES INTO PARAMEDIC CAPABLE UNITS TO EXPAND OUR ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT REACH ACROSS THE CITY. BY BUILDING ON THE FINDINGS OF THESE PREVIOUS REPORTS, A COHESIVE FEASIBILITY STUDY, UM, WE WOULD BE, WE WOULD BE BETTER ABLE TO EVALUATE ALL OF OUR LONG-TERM OPERATION OPTIONS TOGETHER UNDER A CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK, RATHER THAN REVIEWING THEM IN ISOLATION. UH, THIS WILL PROVIDE US AS POLICY MAKERS, OUR LABOR PARTNERS, AND THE PUBLIC WITH A TRANSPARENT FACTUAL FOUNDATION REQUIRED TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF FIRE PROTECTION AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES IN LONG BEACH. AND SO, I'D LOVE THE CONSIDERATION OF MY COMMITTEE COLLEAGUES. OKAY. GO NEXT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN [01:00:01] ALLEN. YES. UM, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY A THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD, AND I AM EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF TAKING A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT HOW WE CAN SUSTAINABLY FUND OUR FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. SO, AS WE HEARD EARLIER, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S PRESENTATION, UM, IN, UM, ANO IN ANOTHER MEETING, UM, WE HEARD A NUMBER OF TIMES THAT THE CITY HAD NO RESCUE UNITS AVAILABLE, UH, AND, UH, AND FROM APPROXIMATELY 150 INSTANCES TO AROUND 30. SO, I MEAN, THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE, UH, IMPROVEMENT. AND I THINK THOSE NUMBERS AND THOSE STATS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT WHEN WE HAD INVEST AND STAFFING AND RESOURCES IN OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE SEE REAL MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS. AND THAT IMPROVEMENT CLEARLY SHOWS THAT IT'S POSSIBLE WHEN WE INVEST IN PUBLIC SAFETY AND GIVE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT THE RESOURCES THAT IT NEEDS. UM, SO I AM VERY SUPPORTIVE OF, UH, PROVIDING A $200,000 FOR AN INDEPENDENT FEASIBILITY STUDY. AND I THINK, UH, THIS STUDY WILL, UH, ALLOW US, UH, TO, UM, TO LOOK AT POSSIBLE FUNDING AND, UH, GOVERNANCE MODELS SO THAT THE FUTURE DECISIONS ARE BASED ON A COMPLETE AND OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS. UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRE CHIEF. IS HE HERE TODAY? YES, WE DO HAVE THE FIRE CHIEF HERE. OKAY. AS HE MAKES HIS WAY UP. AND I'M SORRY, CHIEF, BECAUSE, UM, I HAVE BAD EYES AND WITH THESE LIGHTS, I CAN'T EVER SEE WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE, SO I'M SORRY I DIDN'T EVEN SEE YOU OUT THERE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. AND, UM, AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU JUST ANSWERING A COUPLE, UH, QUESTIONS. SO I KNOW, UM, THAT THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT HAVE, UH, DONE CONSIDER CONSIDERABLE WORK OVER, UH, THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS EXAMINING FIRE AND, UH, EMS, UH, OPERATIONS, DEPLOYMENT REVENUES, AND, UH, SERVICE DELIVERY, UM, MODELS. BUT, UM, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT HAS THAT WORK, UM, ALREADY ESTABLISHED? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. SO JUST, JUST LIKE YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, LOOKING AT TERM DELIVERY MODELS REALLY MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR THIS COMMUNITY. UH, THE WAY WE PROVIDE EMS SERVICES, JUST LIKE YOU STATED, WE, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WE IMPLEMENTED SOME ADDITIONAL PARAMEDIC RESCUES. WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, IMPLEMENTING A PEAK LOAD UNIT, WHICH WAS BASICALLY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. AND THAT HAS REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF TIMES WE'VE BEEN OUT OF RESCUES. LIKE YOU STATED, THERE WAS, UH, APPROXIMATELY AROUND 150 TIMES WE WERE OUT OF RESCUES LAST YEAR. AND COMPARED TO THIS YEAR, SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY BEEN AROUND 31 TIMES. SO I AM IN FAVOR OF LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODELS, OBVIOUSLY. UH, I MEAN, EARLIER THIS YEAR YOU RECEIVED A STAFF STUDY REPORT ON THE ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODEL, UH, THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT CLOSELY. AND FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, UM, WHAT SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS STILL REMAIN UNANSWERED, IF ANY? WELL, UM, SIGNIFICANT QUESTION IS BASICALLY THE, THE, THE FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? AND, AND HOW DO WE ADDRESS OUR ONGOING BUDGET? THE CHALLENGES ARE THERE IN REGARDS TO, UH, STAFFING AND RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. WE APPRECIATE ALL THE INVESTMENTS THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS OUR, OUR STAFFING. BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH RESOURCES, UM, AND THEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN FUTURE YEARS, UM, THE BIG QUESTION IS DO WE HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING TO SUPPORT THOSE OR, OR TO ADDRESS THOSE CHALLENGES? OKAY. AND, UH, THE DEPARTMENT WAS AGAIN, ASKED TO IDENTIFY SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS, UM, DURING THIS, UH, CURRENT BUDGET CYCLE. SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW ARE FISCAL CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING THE OPERATIONAL AND RESOURCE DECISIONS THE DEPARTMENT IS HAVING TO CONSIDER? WELL, THE REDUCTIONS THERE WE'RE GONNA PROPOSE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. UM, YEAH, THAT, THAT WILL, UM, WHEN YOU ELIMINATE A ENGINE COMPANY, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ENGINES RESPOND FROM FURTHER DISTANCE AWAY, WHICH WILL INCREASE RESPONSE TIMES. WHEN YOU'RE CONVERTING A ENGINE TO AN OVERTIME MODEL TO SAVE FUNDS, UM, YOU'RE INCREASING THE WORKLOAD ON MY MEN AND WOMEN. SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN REGARDS TO ELIMINATING POSITIONS, ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS AT OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS, YOU START TO REDUCE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUR LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, BEYOND THE INDIVIDUAL RESOURCE, UH, REDUCTIONS, IS THE DEPARTMENT ALSO EVALUATING [01:05:01] CHANGES TO SERVICE DELIVERY, OR WHICH TYPES OF CALLS RECEIVE A FIRE DEPARTMENT RE UH, RE RESPONSE? YES. UH, ARE OPERATIONS BUREAU UNDER THE DIRECTION OR UNDER THE COMMAND THAT DEPUTY CHIEF FARLEY IS LOOKING AT? SOME OF OUR, UM, TYPE OF CALLS THAT WE RESPOND TO THAT, UH, REALLY DON'T NEED A FIRE DEPARTMENT RESOURCE. UH, THESE ARE REALLY, UH, NON-EMERGENCY CALLS. THEY COULD BE HANDLED BY ANOTHER DEPARTMENT. UM, SO WE'RE CLOSELY LOOKING AT THAT AND SEEING HOW WAYS WE CAN REDUCE SOME OF THESE 9 1 1 CALLS. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, IF YOU WERE LOOKING AHEAD, UH, 5, 10, 20 YEARS, UM, FROM NOW, WHAT PRESSURES DO YOU SEE ON, UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND EMS DEMAND DEPLOYMENT, AGING FACILITIES AND APPARATUS? UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. WELL, 10, 15 YEARS FROM NOW, I, I HOPE I'M FISHING . UM, I HOPE YOU ARE TOO. YEAH, WELL, I, I'D LIKE TO GO BACK. SO IF I WENT BACK 15 YEARS, THE DEPARTMENT HAD A APPROXIMATELY, UH, 438 FIREFIGHTERS SERVING THIS, THIS COMMUNITY RESPOND TO AROUND 50,000 9 1 1 CALLS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE PROJECTED TO START FISCAL YEAR 27 WITH APPROXIMATELY 393 FIREFIGHTERS. THAT'S 45 LESS FIREFIGHTERS THAN WE HAD 15 YEARS AGO. AND WE ARE RESPONDING TO AROUND 67,000 9 1 1 CALLS. THAT'S 17,000 MORE 9 1 1 CALLS COMPARED TO 15 YEARS AGO. AS I LOOK INTO THE FUTURE, 10 TO 15 YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT I SEE IS THERE, THERE IS GONNA BE AN INCREASE IN 9 1 1 CALLS, UM, IN THE HIGHER DEMAND PLACED ON, ON OUR, UH, FIREFIGHTERS IN REGARDS TO INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, I BASICALLY HAVE FOUR FIRE STATIONS RIGHT NOW IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID IN NORTH LONG BEACH AT COUNCIL DISTRICT NINE. I HAVE AN AGING TRAINING CENTER THAT, UM, NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED ALSO. SO THERE'S SOME INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES AND THEN SOME RESOURCES. BUT WHAT I DO SEE AS A CHIEF, THE CURRENT DEPLOYMENT MODEL WE HAVE IS AROUND 75 YEARS OLD, NOT JUST LONG BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S COMING OUTTA VIETNAM WAR THAT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE ANYMORE. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS, DELIVER THAT FIRE RESTAURANT EMS SERVICES. AND I THINK THAT I, UM, I HAVE A, A, A COMMAND STAFF TEAM AND WORKING WITH LABOR AND BRINGING EVERYBODY TOGETHER AND WORKING WITH LOS ANGELES COUNTY EMS AUTHORITY TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN DELIVER THAT EMS SERVICE AND BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE. IN ADDITION, ALL WAYS WE COULD DO ALSO FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES. SO IF WE COULD CHANGE THE ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODEL, HAVE MORE OF A, A, A SUSTAINABLE BUDGET TO ALLOW SOME OF THOSE CHANGES OCCUR, I, I THINK THE FUTURE'S BRIGHT. SO IN YOUR PERFECT WORLD, WHAT WOULD THAT CHANGE LOOK LIKE? WELL, IN MY PERFECT WORLD, IT WOULD BE, UM, FIRST OF ALL TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIMES THAT WE GO ON NON-EMERGENCY CALLS AND TO BE ABLE TO USE OTHER RESOURCES IN THE CITY TO HANDLE SOME OF THESE NON-EMERGENCY CALLS THAT WE'RE RESPONDING ON. ON THE EMS SIDE, I THINK THERE'S AROUND 85% OF MY EMS CALLS THAT COULD BE HANDLED BY ONE PARAMEDIC. IT DOES NOT NEED TWO PARAMEDICS, BUT I DO NEED TWO PARAMEDICS ON SCENE TO HANDLE THE OTHER 50% THAT ARE VERY HIGH ACUITY, ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT CALLS. AS THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY CHANGES, I'M SEEING A LOT LESS OLDER BUILDINGS. I'M SEEING A LOT NEW BUILDINGS, JUST LIKE WE SEE DOWN THE STREET HERE IN OCEAN. THEY'RE SPRINKLERED, THEY HAVE FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS. SO I, I HOPE TO SEE A REDUCTION IN, IN FIREFIGHTING. UM, SO MAYBE WE COULD, WE COULD LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS AND IN REGARDS TO HOW WE USE OUR ENGINES, OUR FIRE ENGINES AND FIRE TRUCKS. BUT I CAUTION THAT BECAUSE I DO SEE AN INCREASE IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND THAT AS A FIRE CHIEF CONCERNS ME 15 YEARS AGO, WE WERE ONLY DEALING WITH HYDROCARBONS SUCH AS GASOLINE AND DIESEL AND KEROSENE, AND WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN BATTERIES AND HYDROGEN AND NITROGEN. SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF DIFFERENT SPECIALIZED UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY TO HANDLE THOSE TYPE OF CALLS IN THE CITY AND IN THE PORT OF LONG BEACH. AND THEN, UM, AS, AS SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A, UM, A HIGH RISE, ARE WE, UH, AND WE SEE THAT OUR BUILDINGS ARE BEING, THEY'RE GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER AND HIGHER. ARE WE PREPARED AND EQUIPPED TO, FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE HIGH RISE FIRES? WELL, THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION. YEAH. WHAT DO YOU HAVE HERE ON THE SEA OF LONG BEACH? YOU HAVE A MIXTURE OF HIGHRISES. SO YOU DO HAVE SOME OF THE NEWER HIGHRISES. THEY HAVE STATE OF THE ART, FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS, AND I'M VERY GLAD FOR THAT. AND I'M VERY GLAD FOR THE FIRE CODE. BUT WE DO HAVE SOME HIGHRISES THAT ARE NON SPRINKLING, [01:10:01] AND MY MEN AND WOMEN HAVE TO BE READY TO HANDLE THAT TYPE OF INCIDENT. SO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH, UM, I, I DO WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NEXT DOOR, WHICH IS OUR FIRE STATION ONE. 'CAUSE IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO MITIGATE THOSE EMERGENCIES, TO PUT ENOUGH FIREFIGHTERS DURING THE INITIAL PART OF THAT EMERGENCY TO EFFECTIVELY EXTINGUISH THAT FIRE. SO IN THE FUTURE, YES, YOU WOULD NEED TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL UNITS AT STATION ONE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD ADDRESS THOSE HIGH RISES THAT ARE NON SPRINKLERED AND, AND IT'S MORE LABOR INTENSIVE TO MITIGATE THAT INCIDENT. OKAY. THANK YOU CHIEF. AND THEN ONE LAST QUESTION IS, UH, GIVEN THE WORK ALREADY COMPLETED AND THAT CHALLENGES, UM, THAT YOU'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED, WOULD AN INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE ANALYSIS LIKE THE ONE BEFORE US, PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION TO THE DEPARTMENT AND POLICY MAKERS AS WE MAKE THESE LONG-TERM DECISIONS? I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? SO BASICALLY OUR, OUR, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT, UM, THE, THE ANALYSIS THAT WE'RE DESCRIBING, UM, DO YOU THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT? ABSOLUTELY. THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT INFORMATION. NOT JUST FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT FOR OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO, TO BE ABLE TO EDUCATE ON WHAT EXACTLY WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THAT GOOD SERVICES CITY OF LONG BEACH. ALRIGHT. WELL THANK YOU CHIEF. I APPRECIATE YOU ANSWERING ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN ALLEN, UH, VICE MAYOR. ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS. UH, WE CAN GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME. IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC LIKE SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, HONORABLE CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE LONG BEACH FIREFIGHTER ASSOCIATION, WE STRONGLY SUPPORT TAKING THIS NEXT STEP FORWARD. UM, MY NAME'S LAMONT NGUYEN. I REPRESENT OUR FIREFIGHTERS HERE IN LONG BEACH. UH, YOU'VE HEARD TODAY ABOUT THE WORK THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE, UH, AND THE CHALLENGES THAT FACE OUR FIRE AND EMS SYSTEM, UH, AS THE CHIEF HAS SO ELOQUENTLY DESCRIBED, UH, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER STUDY SIMPLY TELLING US WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW. UH, WE NEED TO ANSWER THE LARGER QUESTION OF HOW LONG BEACH SUSTAINABLY FUNDS FIRE AND EMS FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN THE FUTURE. WE'RE NOT ADVOCATING FOR A PREDETERMINED OUTCOME. UM, WHETHER THE ANSWER IS STRENGTHENING THE EXISTING CITY MODEL AS THE CHAIR DESCRIBED WITH BETTER COST RECOVERY, DEDICATED REVENUES, POTENTIAL FIRE DISTRICT, OR EVEN A REGIONAL MODEL, UH, OR SOME, SOME COMBINATION OF THOSE OPTIONS, UH, WE SHOULD PUT THEM THROUGH THE SAME INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS AND LET THE EVIDENCE LEAD US. UH, WHAT MATTERS TO OUR MEMBERS IS THAT THIS PROCESS IS INDEPENDENT, COMPREHENSIVE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY ACTIONABLE. WE CAN CONTINUE ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES ONE BUDGET CYCLE OR ONE RESOURCE AT A TIME, OR WE CAN FINALLY EXAMINE THE STRUCTURAL ISSUE THAT KE KEEPS BRINGING US BACK TO THIS PROBLEM. UH, WE APPRECIATE THE CHAIR'S LEADERSHIP IN MOVING THIS FORWARD AND LOCAL 3 7 2 LOOKS FORWARD TO BEING A CONSTRUCTIVE PARTNER, UH, AS WE MOVE THIS WORK AHEAD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, SEEING NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTERS, I WILL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, AND WE CAN MOVE TOWARDS A VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. UM, UH, FINAL ITEM, ITEM FIVE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A LIST OF FOLLOW-UP ITEMS FROM THE BUDGET HEARINGS AND OR BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETINGS. THANK YOU. UH OH. CAN I GET A FIRST AND A SECOND? THANK YOU. UM, DID WE RECEIVE THE FOLLOW-UP YET? WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THE TFF. IT ACTUALLY GOT PUBLISHED THIS MORNING, SO WASN'T ABLE TO BE ATTACHED TO TODAY'S AGENDA, BUT IT WILL BE ATTACHED TO NEXT WEEK'S, UH, BOC MEETING. OKAY. AND THEN IT WILL BE, BUT IT'LL BE POSTED TODAY ON THE CITY MANAGER'S WEBSITE. YES, IT IS POSTED. OKAY, GREAT. UM, I WILL TAKE ANY, OH, UM, CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE JUST [5. 26-55885 Recommendation to receive and file a list of follow-up items from the Budget Hearings and/or Budget Oversight Committee meetings.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] FOR THE PUBLIC, UH, WHAT WERE THE FOLLOW-UPS, UH, IN GENERAL OR THE FOLLOW-UPS THAT ARE IN THAT DOCUMENT? YES, IT WAS FOLLOW UPS FROM BOTH THE BUDGET HEARINGS AND BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETINGS ON AUGUST 11TH AND AUGUST 18TH. UH, THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT REMOVING ENGINE 14 FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. HOW DOES THAT INCREASE RESPONSE TIMES? THERE WAS INFORMATION PROVIDED ON, WELL, EMPLOYEE WELLNESS IN THE FIRE AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENTS. AND THERE WAS ALSO A QUESTION ON THE VIBE CITY BRANDING OR TOURISM BRANDING AND WHERE DID THE FUNDING COME FROM. WE ALSO ADDRESSED THE COMMUNITY MICRO-GRANT PROGRAM WORK AND, UH, HOW THAT PROGRAM WOULD BE ADMINISTERED. AND THEN WE ALSO ADDRESSED, UH, IF PROP H FUNDS ARE FULLY PROGRAMMED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED BUDGET. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, ANY COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? SEEING NONE, UM, WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME. IF ANY MEMBERS OF [01:15:01] THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. SING NONE CHAIR. OKAY. UH, WE'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND MOVE FOR THE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. GREAT. UM, AND THEN WE WILL DO A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. AT THIS TIME, IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. HELLO AGAIN. BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, UH, FERNANDO, COMMUNITY LAWYER WITH OR, UM, AS Y'ALL KNOW, UH, ONCE AGAIN, ADVOCATING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND. UH, WE RECOGNIZE [PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Budget Oversight Committee on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.] THE BUDGET DEFICIT THE CITY FACES, BUT WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, UH, HAVING BILLIONS IN FUNDING, IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT WE AS A CITY HAVE AS A ROBUST LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND AS POSSIBLE. THE JUSTICE FUND COALITION, UH, HAS IDENTIFIED COMMUNITY NEED FOR THE JUSTICE FUND TO BE 3 MILLION IN STRUCTURAL FUNDING GIVEN THE CITY'S CURRENT SITUATION. UH, WE'RE HOPEFUL OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING GOING TO THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND. UM, AND IN ADDITION, I'M SHARING SUPPORT FOR CITY WORKERS, UH, FACING LAYOFFS, UM, TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO SAVE THEIR JOBS, UM, AND BUDGET PRIORITIES FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS, INCLUDING 2.2 MILLION FOR RIGHT TO COUNCIL AND 200,000 IN COUNTY MEASURE A FUNDS FOR CLT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. HI COUNCIL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE. UH, I'M ARLO ALLEGRE. I'M A RESIDENT OF D SIX, UH, BUT I'M ALSO WITH THE FILIPINO AMERICAN CENTER IS FROM DISTRICT SEVEN. UM, YEAH, AND I'M ALSO HERE TODAY WITH THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND COALITION. UH, BEFORE I START, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT THIS HAS BEEN A TOUGH BUDGET YEAR AND APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL FOR ALL THE HARD WORK IN NAVIGATING LIKE THE, UH, THIS DIFFICULTY. UM, I WANNA FIRST UPLIFT THE JOBS OF CITY EMPLOYEES, MOST, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO, UM, PROVIDE BASIC SOCIAL SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR WORK AS NONPROFITS HERE IN LONG BEACH, TOGETHER WITH THEIR WORK AS CITY EMPLOYEES ARE REALLY PROVIDING THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS. UM, AND YEAH, I SPEAK HERE TODAY ALSO ON BEHALF OF THE COALITION TO ASK THE COUNCIL TO, UH, SUPPORT IN ALLOCATING $3 MILLION IN STRUCTURAL FUNDING FOR THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND. THIS FUND, UH, REALLY IS HELPING CRITICAL FAMILIES, UM, ESPECIALLY, UH, FOR US WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH DISTRICT, UH, WITH, UM, RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT SEVEN. UM, WHILE ACKNOWLEDGE, AGAIN, STILL ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS IS A DIFFICULT BUDGET YEAR, UM, AND ALSO DIFFICULT BUDGET YEARS AHEAD OF CALLING ON THE COUNCIL TO, UH, WORK WITH US, PARTNER WITH US AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO 3 MILLION. WITH THAT, I UPLIFT THE MAYOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS OF 1 MILLION TO THE JUSTICE FUND AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE WORKING WITH Y'ALL TO, UM, GET TO THAT 3 MILLION. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SEEING NO ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTERS. UM, I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE, FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.