AgdaPkt 2020-10-26 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: Ian A. Walker To: GRP -City Council Subject: Public Comment for Agenda Item 8A - Oct. 26, 2020 Date: Monday, October 26, 2020 6:11:01 PM Good evening, My name is Ian Walker, I'm a resident of Redwood City, and I just celebrated my sixth wedding anniversary last week. As the council knows, we are living in extraordinary times. Life -altering crises are hitting us back-to-back, and in situations like this, there is no such thing as "back to normal;" there is only the path forward. There are three points I want to make regarding this budget and what it means for our path forward. 1. First, as someone with nearly a decade of experience in public service, I would like to commend the city for its efforts to minimize layoffs of city employees. But we all know the worst is yet to come, and the impacts of COVID will not be over any time soon. 2. That brings me to my second point. This year saw record -shattering fires throughout the bay area, and some parts of the state are still burning as we speak. Estimates show the risk of fire only getting worse in coming years, so it is not only foolish but DANGEROUS to be reducing the city's firefighting capacity. If anything, we should be INCREASING our fire department's resources, as well our programs to help residents deal with the effects of COVID. Looking at the revised budget, I appreciate the fact that the largest portion of the cuts comes from the police department. However, all of that money is from unfilled vacancies; reclaiming that unused money should be an automatic "gimme." Police are the biggest part of the budget, some of the highest-paid employees, and the least useful in dealing with the specific challenges in front of us. Instead of cutting life- saving services like our fire department and other programs that directly serve the public, we should not be afraid to bust open the police piggy bank so that we can protect our other vital services. s. Finally: COVID response. I was HORRIFIED to see the city announce that high-risk enclosed businesses such as gyms, movie theaters, and indoor dining were being reopened, even as experts are already predicting a massive spike in COVID cases over the winter. This creates a danger that reaches far beyond the people who choose to enter these businesses; infection spreads, and the virus isn't going to take a break just because we're tired of it. By rushing into reopening instead of setting up programs to help everyone be able to stay home and isolate responsibly, we are truly sacrificing grandma to save the market. Frustratingly, what we've seen in this crisis is that the city council loves to take credit for things it didn't start, but pass the buck on the things it could actually do itself. Recently, the council congratulated itself on a limited mental health response pilot, which was actually initiated by the county. But when the city was asked to protect renters and homeowners with mortgages from evictions during COVID, the council chose to do nothing and "hope the county would take action." Well, now it's too late; shortly after that discussion, the state past a new law blocking cities from passing new eviction protections. Similarly, the council continues to ignore the recommendations of the policing and equity study THAT IT COMMISSIONED. There's been no reduction in policing, no meaningful oversight, no redirecting of police funds into the programs we actually need. The councilmembers have repeatedly claimed they're just being "slow and careful." But we all know the difference between slow and careful, and deliberately killing action by dragging it out. It is long past time for Redwood City to get serious about climate, about COVID, and about racial injustice and the inherent dangers that police pose to the community. The city council exists to serve the people of Redwood City, and the budget is its truest statement of morals and priorities. What the city council is doing tonight is committing very polite, well-mannered violence against the people of Redwood City.