Thread by @OpenPaloAlto

Big agenda today. CC currently in closed session abt potential lawsuit by NAACP re: Foothills Park access.

Update on Race & Equity Work @ ~7:10
Oral Communications @ 7:30*
Consent Calendar @ 8:05*

More in replies...

Discussing participation in San Mateo County Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) @ 8:20*
Approval of $1.3M Contract with Baker Tilly for Internal Auditing Services and Appointment of City Auditor @ 9:15*

*Scheduled times. Will likely be delayed.

Tune in here:
and/or check out the agenda/Zoom link here: cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/fileba…

Open Session now slated to begin at 7:20pm. Hang tight everyone 😊🌲

Overheard on a hot mic 🎙

"Alexa, stop. Alexa, tell me my latest notifications."

Open Session beginning now at 7:24pm. They will return to the closed session item at the end of the meeting. City Manager Shikada is giving a presentation re: Race and Equity Updates.

Tonight's presentation is focused mostly on providing a visualization of how the CC should proceed w.r.t. policing.

Below is a general flow of how the City is proceeding with these plans:

Chantal Cotton Gaines gave a brief rundown of policing practices #1 and #3 in terms of areas of concern and options for the CC to consider. See below.

Palo Alto City’s Independent Police Auditors (IPA) Michael Gennaco and Steve Connelly (who have met with the Transparency and Accountability Ad Hoc before) are now in conversation with the CC and the Staff.

IPA's primary responsibility is to "review all complaints that come into the city that turn into investigations by the PD"

The investigation is done by the PD, findings fwded to IPA office for review, then a public report is issued and given to the City Manager.

Before the public report is issued, there are discussions with the PD, a confidential draft is shared with the Chief to corroborate facts, a draft is shared with the police association, then a legal review with City Attorney, then presented to City Manager.

Twice a year, IPA releases reports that evaluates the thoroughness, objectivity, and disposition (whether findings are based on facts and evidence) of investigations conducted by the PD.

CC has given special assignments to the IPA. Early on the issue of whether PAPD should have tasers was handled by an Ad Hoc, chaired by Gennaco (non voting). Ad hoc recommended taser authorization

IPA reviews every time that a taser is used by PAPD to see if use was appropriate.

Gennaco: Since George Floyd’s tragic murder, many looking for oversight, community engagement, reimagining & reinventing police. PA at least has had some oversight. Doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but that’s a testament to poor foresight of predecessors on Council/leadership.

Gennaco: In PA, our use of force review is much narrower vs. other cities. Only cases we look at are officer involved shootings, taser use, or when a formal complaint is filed -- nothing else.

Ex. K9s, batons, pepper spray, takedowns control holds, less lethal force, 40mm. None is looked at w/o a formal complaint.

Gennaco: We don’t look at things like hiring practices, background checks, recruitment/promotion/evaluation processes, claims/lawsuits, internal complaints, for the PAPD, but we do all these things for other cities that we are Independent Auditors for.

📣: Thank you for the first Study Session since the IPA was brought in 12 years ago.

📣: Do you still interview complainants in the IPA offices to avoid direct interaction with the PD? Substantial body of evidence since 12 years ago that shows tasers are very dangerous + lead to suits against the Cities. Thoughts on a review of tasers?

No more public comments.

DuBois: IPA used to present to CC and work with HRC. Again, costs money to pay these guys (ha ha)… maybe we should have them present to CC more to keep CC more in touch with policing.

Gennaco: Sometimes, we won’t always look into all employee complaints for larger cities (just a small sample). However, for a city the size of PA we would look into all complaints that result in an investigation. Reviews aren’t restricted from publishing in any cities.

Kou: (To Staff) If we want to look at systemic issues we have to look @ the citywide scale. We have a good police force, good PD, lots of good police persons. Thoughts on Government Alliance on Race and Equity framework?

Shikada: We are now a member of GARE.

Kou: Should other councilmembers learn about GARE? It looks at budgeting & policy decisions, which seem to be important for addressing systemic change.

Shikada: If CC decides GARE is the way to go we will put together a presentation.

Kou: At the County meeting, Mr Gennaco was a speaker there where he presented on 8cantwait policies and their implications. Is that something we are ready to integrate with PA’s Police Policy Manual?

Shikada: Staff is finalizing the policy actions.

Kou: Does IPA look at police union contracts?

Gennaco: We sometimes do look at police union contracts to what degree they have been impediments to police reform and accountability.

Cormack: I’m confused. We have a study session on Race & Equity work which I prepared for, and we have a presentation on Independent Police Auditing today… Mayor Fine, which one are we supposed to be addressing?

Fine: We should be focusing our time on the IPA today given that Mr Gennaco and Mr Connolly are both here.

Cormack: Wasn’t clear to the public on the staff report or the title.

Cormack: (To Chief Jonsen) Have the recommendations from the June report been implemented?

Jonsen: So frustrating, trying to hit these buttons. When we get reviews back from auditor, 99% of the time we immediately implement the change to policy/procedure.

Cormack: Someone remind me what happened with school resource officers?

RJ: That’s a contract that was terminated by the school board. It was discontinued.

Cormack: (To the IPA) I know we have a "less lethal" weapon that is utilized and is not a taser. I would be interested in a better understanding of the compare and contrast as it were.

Jonsen: I came to PA bc it holds such a high standard for the PD. I'm extremely (x2) impressed with the work that the PD does reviewing use of force. CC’s role is to make sure we are transparent/hold people accountable. Look fwd to working with IPA. Open to criticism/dialogue.

Kniss (to Jonsen): I remember in the past, you and I used to meet every month or so. It would be helpful and instructive to do ride alongs for the other council members.

Jonsen: Yes, many of the council members have done so recently.

Fine: I agree with more regular check-ins.

Fine: What would expanded accountability look like? Some cities have citizen oversight committees, some have IPAs report publicly. Is there a point that we expand accountability that it is diffused so much that it isn’t effective?

Gennaco: In PA, there was a time when we were regularly reporting to your HRC. Could be resurrected if there is interest. Used to have an opportunity for CC to engage every 6 months about police, which could be helpful.

Jonsen: So many moving parts to the police reform equation, just want to make sure it’s well thought out. So many things are happening at state and local level. Too many agencies doing reviews might lead them to be very watered down.

Connolly: We work with a couple of cities with a hybrid-models, which have formal engagement from residents, without taking away PD responsibilities. Having a more formal engagement/feedback for the public and the community that could be helpful.

Cormack: Problems we are trying to solve: 1. Actual and perceived targeting based on race, reducing likelihood of force, matching our communities needs to the right department or service. Looking forward to timing and transparency moving forward.

Cormack: Would be appropriate to make an employee survey of the entire city, incl. the PD, w.r.t. matching our communities needs to the right department or service.

Officers should protect each other by intervening and preventing career ending incidents.

Cormack: Welfare checks are in the top 3 things police are called for. Would be worth looking into that as a potential avenue for creation of a new department.

Kou: City should prepare to encourage state legislators to push forward new CA legislation, SB731 + SB76 to make sure we have police accountability. Would also like to know more about the scope of IPA.

DuBois: Can we modify the scope of the IPA, given the contract we just signed?

Gaines: Yes, if both parties agree.

Kou: What does IPA's community engagement look like?

Gennaco: Simitian encouraged us to set up listening sessions, which we did. Two 90 minute sessions of community engagement. Total 500 people in two sessions on Zoom.

Kniss: Thinking about what the police can do with the public that leaves a lasting impression. Is it appropriate for our residents to do ride alongs?

RJ: We do that, but during the pandemic we are not doing it as much.

Kniss: Everybody loves the firefighters but they feel a little more hesitant around the police. My goal is to have people feel comfortable with the police 😊

Shikada: New “less-redacted” PA Police Policy Manual is online. Thank you to the police and city attorney for getting that updated. Much more information is available online now. (Link: cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/fileba…)

Oral Communications:
🗣 Just a reminder that you are being sued because you chose to water down the opening of the park a couple of weeks ago.

Consent calendar passes 6-1 with Tanaka dissenting, explained that cannot approve of item #6 without actually seeing the new rates.

Attachment for item in question:
cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/fileba…

City Manager Updates:
Join virtual meeting Wednesday 6pm on Halloween planning in Palo Alto to share and discuss ideas about how to celebrate this year:
bit.ly/2FUK4ON
#halloween #Paloalto

Residential Parking Permit #RPP enforcement will begin in the middle of this month. Warning period will precede citations. Other time limits throughout the city will not go into affect.

Some progress around airplane noise: have been working with Menlo Park to set up some noise monitoring.

Next up, Item #10, Should Palo Alto withdraw from the San Mateo County Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID)?

Full packet:
cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/fileba…

Background: 20 of 27 properties of hotel properties polled in Palo Alto wished to withdraw from the SMC TBID, prompting Council's discussion tonight on whether or not to withdraw.

Rep for Comfort Inn: All the motels except for one want to opt out. They have received 0 dollars and 0 room nights from the visitor's bureau.
COVID-19 has changed the industry, we are all losing money.

John Hutar, CEO of San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau: We're working hard to restructure and adapt to help hotels attract more visitors in these new times. We've generated generated $2.7 million in revenue for hotels from group nights since 2015.

Public comment:
🗣 Please settle the Foothills matter tonig-

Fine: Sorry we have moved on to the next item.

🗣 The Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce's visitor's center will lose funding if the city backs out of TBID.

🗣 For a small motel like us, participation in the TBID makes absolutely no sense.

Public commenters on TBID withdrawal:
🟩🟩🟩 3 - Please withdraw
🟦 1 - Please keep visitor's center funded
🟥 1 - Open Foothills Pa- [cut off]

Fine: We had a pretty contentious meeting on this last year, because we didn't understand the data. The data is now abundantly clear. Maybe there is an opportunity in the future to work with the TBID again, but we have to listen to our hotels.

Kniss: What can we do to keep Chamber of Commerce funded?

Shikada: If you're considering a General Gund allocation, you will get update on financial situation soonest by 10/18. This is tragedy of the commons. People think it's important but not important enough to pay for.

Tanaka moved, seconded by DuBois to withdraw from the SMC TBID.

Cormack: I will support this. Last year I voted against withdrawing because we didn’t have the data yet. I don't want anyone to view this as a failure. Many things have changed since then, including how people book their hotel rooms.

Motion passes unanimously. City will take steps to withdraw from San Mateo County Tourism Business Improvement District.

Next Item #11: Approval $1.3M Contract with Baker Tilly for Internal Auditing Services and Appointment of Kyle O'Rourke as City Auditor.

Full packet:
cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/fileba…

Background: On the table is 21-month contract not to exceed $1.3M with Baker Tilly for internal auditing services. They will report directly to Council (not Staff), with operational supervision by Policy & Services Committee.

cont'd: Kyle O'Rourke, to be appointed as City Auditor, had 'excellent' references, will be on-site representative for Baker Tilly.

Internal auditing is getting outsourced following Council direction in Feb 2020.

Filseth: Some trade-offs between having an internal operation and going outside. The internal could know our org better, especially in the early stages, while a big external operation can bring in relevant experts and domain knowledge. Baker Tilly eminently qualified.

Public Comment:
Former PA Auditor 🗣: Tonight Council is actually being asked to dismantle the City Auditors office and lay off their 3 remaining positions. Please engage a recruiter to hire a new City Auditor.

Kniss: Seldom has a candidate been quite so thoroughly vetted. Thank you Eric Filseth for your work, you have handled the process beautifully.

Fine: We were really blessed by a number of qualified applicants. This will require close collaboration between the Council and your [O'Rourke's] team.

Cormack: Second the comments about the breadth of expertise that Baker Tilly brings, especially on utilities and construction.

Council voted unanimously 7–0 to approve contract and appointment of O'Rourke.

The new City Auditor O'Rourke:
Please feel free to reach out at [e-mail]

Council will conduct the remainder of tonight's meeting in closed session, to continue discussion of the Foothills lawsuit.

Thank you all for following along!

See you next week