City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being with us. It's always a blessing when we have a full house. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Arvin City Council, the successor agency to the Arvin Community Redevelopment Agency, the Arvin Housing Authority, and the Arvin Financing Authority. Today is July 14th, 2026, and I call this meeting to order at six o'clock. a few housekeeping. If you could please put your cell phones on silent during the meeting. If you need translation, you know that we have a quality translator and we have translating devices. They're in the back. The great thing about the devices is that if you're also hearing impaired, you can also use the devices to hear the proceedings clearly. And if you need assistance, we have staff that can provide assistance. Okay, so you need to turn. So if you went and got a device, you need to turn on the device. And if you need support with that, please. I know it could be tricky. I didn't know how to turn it on the first time. So if you need support, we can get support. Our translator will support you. And the top button turns them on. We will not start. Everyone has the device if you need it and the translating services so that everyone can fully participate in our meetings. If at any point you need support, if you raise your hand, it'll be very easy for our city clerk or anyone else to assist. Okay? All right. Fantastic. Okay, we're going to begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. So please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic

under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Please be seated. Roll call, please.

Council Member Tarver.

Present.

Council Member Horton.

Here.

Council Member Reyes. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Perez.

Here.

Mayor Calderon.

Here. Thank you. We will commence with agenda item one, approval of the agenda as to form. Are there any comments from the public on this item?

Good evening, everyone. My name is Estela Escoto, and I am a resident here in the city of Arvin. Solamente tengo un comentario que decirles que si antes de que se vayan a hacer su junta cerrada, no lo hacen más tarde porque muchas de las personas que venimos a estas reuniones, pues venimos de los trabajos, la gente está sin comer y se han escuchado comentarios de que a veces salen de la reunión cerrada muy tarde y por eso a veces no nos podemos esperar, nos tenemos que ir a casa porque hay que preparar comida y todo.

Well, before you start, I would just like to make a comment, if it's possible, before we start the session, because sometimes it ends so late. I would like to ask, you know, when we come here, many of us come here after work, we haven't eaten, and we heard that sometimes when you go to closed sessions, sometimes it takes a long time and you finish later. and we have to go home because we have to prepare dinner. So I was wondering if you can do it earlier.

I was hoping that you can do that for the community because most of us, we are coming after work and we haven't eaten yet. Thank you.

Buenas tardes, mi nombre es Sandra Angel, residente de Arvin.

Good evening, my name is Sandra Angel, I'm a resident here in Arvin.

Igual que doña Estela, también vengo a pedir que si se puede dejar la sesión cerrada para otro tiempo y pasar adelante a lo que venimos la mayoría de la comunidad, a lo principal que es ver el jefe de policía. Pero sobre todo, sabemos que es una comunidad que viene de trabajar a veces de fuera de files y venimos a veces, como dice ella, sin comer. Somos amas de casa, también que los niños tenemos que llegar a asistir. Y cuando se van ustedes a puerta cerrada, a veces duran horas, dos horas, a veces bastante, y nosotros tenemos que proseguir con nuestra rutina del día.

Just like my colleague, I would like to also ask you if it's possible to leave the closed session at the end and start taking the items that are more pressing, like, for example, the chief of police. And as you know, many of us come from far away. We come from the field. We come after work, and we haven't eaten. Many of us are housemakers, and we have to feed the children. Sometimes we see that when you go to a closed session first, sometimes it takes hours, maybe one or two hours. And we were wondering, you know, if it's possible to start with the open session first so that we can go with our routine and tend to our families. Thank you.

Thank you, and I hope you take our comments.

Muchas gracias. Any other comments?

you good evening hello hello resident my name is nora and i just want to second that motion um is there a reason why we put closed session items in the front versus at the end i have no problem staying here but i am aware of the other residents and their needs and so it would be really kind to be able to accommodate them only just because it's a big meeting and there's a position that they want to oversee. Just my concern.

Thank you very much. Any other comments?

Hello. Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. I'm here tonight to talk about time, specifically the time of the hardworking people of Arvin. This is a working class community. Many of us are up long before the sun, managing operations in the field, in warehouses or in local classrooms, putting in long demanding hours. When we finally clock out, our first priorities are getting home, having dinner with our families, getting the rest that we need and wake up to do it all over again. But we also care deeply about the future of this city. We want to be part of these conversations that truly shape our daily lives, like giving our input and support in selecting a new chief of police or weighing in on the critical transportation and transit funding issues our city is facing. The problem is when these major public interest items are pushed down the agenda, buried behind closed session readouts and lengthy administrative delays, you force working folks to make an impossible choice. Participate in your local government or take care of your family. My request to you tonight is simple, and it requires no budget to fix. Restructure the meeting agendas. Please move the most important public items to the very top of the open session. Let the people of this community weigh in on the vital issues like law enforcement and transit first. Give us the opportunity to fulfill our civic duties and still make it home to our families at a reasonable hour. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comments.

Good evening. My name is Ruben Moreno-Perez, and I am a resident here in Arvin. Okay. Okay.

I work at IKEA, and I know that there are many people that also work there. It's an average of about 50 and 20 people, and I was told that you are planning to cancel the bus route that takes us there. And I think that is very important to continue to have this bus because that is the only way we are able to save a little bit to be able to get to our work.

Right now, we're commenting on the order of the agenda. But we are going to have an opportunity to talk about transportation specifically. And I would love for you to stay to share your thoughts. comments and your perspective. That said, we have not made any decision as a council about canceling any buses. So whoever shared that with you is not peddling in fax.

Gracias.

Any other comments? Seeing none, are there any comments from the council?

No. I don't have a problem with moving closed session towards the end to give everybody an opportunity to voice their concerns.

Got a motion on that?

You motion that? Is that a motion? Can we make sure that we can respect the wishes of the community asking us to move closed session? It doesn't have to be, I think, all the way to the end of the meeting because one of the things is we can move what we've, I think one of the recommendations was only put the ones that are the most pressing, it sounds like, which is chief and transit. the top before we go into closed session and then the other items could stay after we come back from closed session so that whoever's on hold doesn't have to wait that long we just go into closed session for two items chief and transit then we go into closed session and come back to take care of all the other business that would be my motion do i have a second second Okay. Do we have a roll call?

Yes, ma'am. So for clarity, that is item 5B and 6A will be discussed after number one and prior to item 2A.

right so motion from the mayor and motion a second from council member horton that's right so we're going to move every we're going to move those only those two items up to above um yeah closed session so it's going to be and then everything else everything else will be so we're going to start with the chief so roll call for rule of the agenda with those changes council member tarver

Yes.

Council Member Horton.

Yes.

Council Member Reyes. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Perez.

Yes.

Mayor Calderon. Yes. The motion carries 5-0.

This is why it's wonderful when you come and you join us. As we say, it's the community. You have the power and we're here to represent you and to listen. Listen as an act of love and service. So with that, we're going to begin with the Chief of Police. Let's see. I'm looking at...

5B.

5B? B. Yep, that's right. So, consideration and approval of the Chief of Police Employment Agreement with Cecilio Velasco, and it's a pleasure to see you here, Chief Velasco, sitting up front. Staff, can you please read your staff report?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. This presentation is going to be in three parts. Number one, the city manager will read the staff report because it is well written and very important that it gets put into the record verbatim. After that, Acting Chief Huggett will say a few words about Mr. Velasco. And I appreciate Mr. Velasco being here. I believe he would like to address the public after that point. So three points, okay?

Okay, so it'll be the city manager followed by our acting chief of police, Chief Huggett, followed by Chief Velasco. Okay, great.

All right. Over the past several months, the city of Arvin conducted a comprehensive recruitment process to identify the city's next chief of police. Following an extensive review of applicants, the field was narrowed down to the most qualified finalists. The final candidates participated in a rigorous evaluation process that included a written exercise, two oral board interviews, and assessment center designed to evaluate executive leadership, decision making, communication skills, and organizational management. All finalists performed exceptionally well throughout the process. Following completion of the recruitment and the evaluation process, the city manager selected Cecilia Velasco as the candidate best suited to lead the Arvin Police Department into the future. Chief Belasco brings more than 21 years of progressively responsible law enforcement experience and a demonstrated record of executive leadership, fiscal responsibility, and organizational improvement. We're going to pull up the staff report now so the audience can follow along. So just pause for a minute here. Mr. Velasco currently serves as Chief of Police for the City of Avenal, where he oversees all department operations, personnel, budgeting, strategic planning, policy development, and community engagement. Prior to his appointment in Avenal, Chief Velasco served with the Delano Police Department as Commander and acting chief of police after previously serving as sergeant, detective, and police officer. He began his law enforcement career with the Cocoron Police Department in Kings County. Throughout his career, Chief Velasco has directed patrol operations, criminal investigations, internal affairs, professional standards, emergency management, recruitment, hiring, training, and organizational development. He has successfully secured and administered more than $1 million in state and federal grant funding to improve staffing, equipment, technology, traffic safety, and community policing initiatives while demonstrating strong financial stewardship. Chief Velasco has earned a reputation as a collaborative leader who values partnerships with employees, residents, businesses, neighboring law enforcement agencies, and regional public safety organizations. His commitment to professional excellence is reflected by his California post executive certificate and his continued pursuit of a master's degree. As a lifelong resident and law enforcement officer leader in California's Central Valley, Chief Velasco has developed strong relationships throughout the region. He is also fluent in Spanish, providing an additional asset in serving the diverse Arvin community. Staff recommendation. One, approve the employment agreement between the city and the chief of police subject to approval to the city attorney as to form and completion of any revisions, and two, authorize the city manager to exclude the employment agreement on behalf of the city. Fiscal impact. Mr. Velasco will be provided with a two-year contract with a salary of $141,564.80 plus benefits, and this amount is included in the City of Arvin's general fund budget for fiscal year 26-27. Okay, taking a break from the report, I have interviewed and spoken with Mr. Velasco, Chief Velasco, many times, and I know he'll be a great fit for the City of Arvin. Now I'm going to toss it over to Acting Chief Huggett.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. I am Acting Chief Joseph Huggett from the Arvin Police Department. Late in 2025, the City initiated a comprehensive recruitment process to select the next Chief of Police. Following the completion of the process, the city manager selected Velasco as a candidate best qualified to serve as Arvin's next chief. So why Chief Velasco? Chief Velasco has over 21 years of progressive law enforcement experience. Chief Velasco also has executive leadership experience as a police chief, commander, sergeant, detective, and officer. He has a proven ability to lead organizations, build strong teams, and strengthen community partnerships. Chief Velasco has deep roots within the Central Valley with a strong understanding of the communities we serve. He is fluent in Spanish, allowing him to communicate directly and effectively with a large segment of our community. Now I'd like to give you my perspective. Having served as interim police chief for nearly the past year, I've gained firsthand understanding of this department. I've seen the dedication of our employees, as well as challenges this organization has worked through over the past decade. At this stage in the department's history, strong and stable leadership is essential. In my professional opinion, Velasco possesses the experience, integrity, leadership, and judgment needed to successfully lead this department into its next chapter. I respectfully recommend the City Council approve the appointment of Cecilia Velasco as the next Chief of Police. I believe this appointment represents another important step toward providing long-term stability, continued progress, and excellent service to the residents of Arvin.

Thank you, Chief Huggett. Chief Velasco, if you will please

Good evening, Honorable Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the City Council, City Manager, members of the community, and guests. Thank you for the opportunity to be here this evening. It is truly an honor to be considered for the privilege of serving as the next Chief of Police for the City of Arvin. Some may wonder why someone who is already serving as the Chief of Police would choose to come to Arvin. The answer is simple for me. Throughout my career, I have never chased titles. I have chased opportunities to make a meaningful difference. Arvin represents that opportunity. After more than two decades in law enforcement and having the privilege of serving as chief of police, I have learned that the most rewarding part of this profession is not the rank you hold, but the people you serve and the impact you can make. I believe Arvin is a community where strong relationships, collaborative leadership, and a shared vision can accomplish great things, and I want to be a part of that future. Every community faces challenges, but I have always believed challenges present opportunities to strengthen organizations, build trust, and leave things better than you found them. If I am entrusted with this responsibility, I will lead with integrity, accountability, transparency, and respect. I will support the men and women of the police department. We're collaboratively with city council, city manager, city staff, our community partners, and most importantly, the residents of Auburn. Before I close, I would like to share one final thought. Leadership in public service often comes with scrutiny. I understand that. People may hear opinions or speculation, especially about those invisible leadership positions. I simply ask to be judged by my character, my actions, and my record of service. For more than 20 years, I've had the privilege of serving the public with integrity and professionalism. I have never had a break in my law enforcement service, and I have always left every agency in good standing. My reputation has been built over decades of service, difficult decisions, and a commitment to doing what I believe was right for the communities I served. If you place your trust in me tonight, I promise to earn it every day. My goal is to not simply serve as a chief of police, but to leave the Arvin Police Department stronger than when I found it, and help ensure that every resident feels safe, respected, and proud of their police department. Thank you for your time, your confidence, and your consideration. I look forward to serving the city of Arvin.

Thank you, Chief Velasco. Are there any comments from the public at this point? Go ahead. You have three minutes. Yeah. Two minutes in English and three minutes and four minutes. If you need translation, you have four minutes. And if it's in English, it's two minutes.

Go ahead. Should I do it in Spanish so I get more time? Anyway, I just want to thank you for your time. I am a resident. Decided to come back a couple of years ago and set roots. I was raised and born here. Approaching the podium with a heaviness, I do believe that what Chief just expresses sounds a great speech, it really does. But my question, and I think I can speak on behalf of residents that I haven't talked to, but my question is to, I don't come to criticize, I come to encourage and to challenge. How can, as residents, how can we trust you with major decisions when we're in a deficit? Right? As public officials appointed by the people to speak on behalf of the people, you have failed us. So just because it's a big position, I get it. There's a lot of people. But it starts from the custodian up to the chief of police to the city manager. But my concern is if I can't trust you with a budget, and transparency sounds great, but when we don't live it, It's fake news, right? Accountability sounds great, but whenever we don't live it out, it's fake news. So my concern as a resident and then making a big decision, I don't know Chief Velasco, correct? Velasco? I don't know him personally. I am though very thrilled that we are in the midst of hiring a chief of police because safety should be a priority as a city. I walk at 9 o'clock at night, Chief, and I want to feel safe when I'm walking with my 8-year-old and not afraid that something might happen, which I've never had that fear. I will say I actually feel comfortable enough, but safety should be the main concern. But I think as a resident, I speak that if we can't trust you with the budget, how can we trust you guys to make major decisions? I leave with hope, though, encouragement. No, that's okay. She can finish her thought. That we... My heart is really here. What was your name again? Nora Perez. Nora Perez. My heart is truly here. And just to brief, Arvin gave me the first opportunity. This is my first job. I worked at City Hall. I started as a receptionist and promoted to accounting.

Well, welcome back. We're happy to have you. Well, Nora, let me answer your question. Yes. Because I do think that it is absolutely imperative that everyone in our community know how we've been governing. Let me just finish the thought, please. Because your question was, how can we trust you as a council to make such an important decision to approve the employment agreement of our chief of police if we are facing a deficit? Let me respond. Yes? Yeah. For over the past four months, we have been examining our budget department by department, line item by line item, revenues, expenditures, and our debt obligation. Like you should. Absolutely. That is absolutely. That is the most important process. is that we pass a budget, a responsible budget, a budget that reflects our priorities and our values and the community that we hear. If you could, yes. I am sorry. That's okay. I'm just going to finish my thoughts. Because I think this is, your question is so important. I want everyone to hear, please. As your mayor, and I can also speak to the vice mayor, we voted on our first budget last year, fiscal year 2025-2026. That was the first budget that we have voted on. This will be our second budget. And all of the meetings, because we are absolutely committed to transparency, we ensured that the direction to staff was that we have the technology in this room so that all of our meetings are recorded live, are translated in English and Spanish, live up on our website, that the agenda and all of the materials are put out for the community to access. Everyone's invited so the meetings could be inclusive. We began the budget process last year and at the time our city manager was A city manager and a finance director. Okay? Had those both roles. We have since changed that. We were presented with a budget. And again, that was... We were presented with a budget in the spring. That means that we were here governing for about three months at that point. We were presented with a budget and we became that process. We invited everyone to come. Because we want everyone to be a part of this. It's... Our budget, it belongs to all of us. Our revenues are our tax dollars, and our expenditures are the city services that we provide. And so, at the time, yes, when we passed the budget, we had a $470,000 deficit. And at the time, the decision was made not to reduce spending, but to dip into our reserve to cover those $470,000. We were presented with a budget that had revenue projections, okay? Because we're projecting out into the future. Correct. And so we did not cut spending because we were informed by our staff, and it's all recorded, that our revenue projections were going to continue to be I'm on an upswing according to six-year trends and so that we could rest assure that we were going to make up that 470 and then some. At the time I said it, it's on the record, it's recorded, that I believed those revenue projections were rosy, too optimistic. I was concerned. And I did say that I wanted us to come back and do a mid-year review because of what we were already hearing anecdotally from the community. You'll all recall that in January of 2025, we had Operation Return to Sender, where both ICE and Border Patrol came to Kern County and we heard from our residents that this is not a targeted operation, that they were out by the 58, the 178 in Shell, over by Johnson's Farms, over on Rancho, over, they were all in different places where our farm workers go and work every day. It caused fear and sheer panic for seven days. From that moment, we began to hear from our small businesses that folks were not coming to their restaurants, to their places of business. For those of us who are educators, you'll recall that folks were not taking their kids to school. Staff from Clinica Sierra Vista were telling us the doctor's appointments were cancelled. Now, that happened. And that has had a real impact. But it wasn't just that. We also have Inflation. The price of everything has gone up. We're all living it. We're all feeling the pain of it. And there's been even more uncertainty. Tariff wars that have created even more chaos. And what happens is that you have people that are not making more, but they're having to figure out how they're going to make ends meet. You couple that with the fact that a lot of our farm workers were so afraid, and that's our economy, that's our community, that we're going out to the fields. And they were not going out to work. So they did not have money that was coming in, but they still have their expenses. So now you have absolutely less that you're earning, and everything's still as expensive. So what happens there? People hoard what they have, so they're spending less. They're not going out for services. They're not going out to the restaurants. That hit our sales tax revenue. We have seen a 30% hit in our sales tax revenue quarter after quarter. And we're not alone because CalMatters did an investigative study that shows that there are cities like us throughout the Central Valley, like Fireball, that are seeing the same thing. So this is something now where we were hearing anecdotally, and now we've seen the data bear it out. In addition to that, we have faced major challenges, and that's why I invite everyone to please read the staff report. It's only six pages that was presented to us, not at the last meeting that was a special meeting, but the meeting prior to that, okay? That report... It details all of the issues, both systemic and structural, right? Things that have happened, like for example, the city of Arvin faced a cease and desist order from the department, the state water board, where we could no longer issue hookups to our wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater treatment plant is key to economic development. What does that mean when we cannot, as a city, issue sewer hookup permits? It means that the housing developer that was out there building those homes south of Sycamore, that had to cease, and those houses could not be completed. It means that our small business owners here in the Yemeni community that have a project on Sycamore and Meijer, we can't issue it, they have to stop their project. Economic development happens when we are able to issue these permits and folks can come and grow and develop here. We have not had significant economic development in the city. And I don't have to tell you that. All you have to do is drive down our main street to see all those empty parcels. Now, that issue was exacerbated because the little development that we did have, it had to stop. And that cease and desist has been put in place since 2023. At the beginning of the spring, we're going on almost four years now.

Okay. No, I'm not finished. Okay. Are you going to let me talk? No, it's not.

Because you're giving me a good story. I'm not giving you a story. But it doesn't take accountability. I'm not going to debate in this moment. No, it's not a debate. Ma'am, please, let me finish for the benefit of the community, because this is really important for everybody to hear. And I want you to understand why we're facing a deficit, please, because this didn't happen from one year to the next. No, it doesn't happen overnight. Again, the Water Board said, fix that issue, because you're facing a $10 thousand dollar a fine a day. You need to fix it. How much is it going to cost us? Five million dollars to go out there and fix the water ponds. But why? What puts so much pressure on these ponds? And this is something that the community needs to understand. That's why the work we do is so important. The city of Arvin, for generations, and Mr. Tarver can attest and many others who worked out in the wastewater treatment plant knows that that wastewater treatment plant in rural communities, the way it functions, many of us don't think about when we flush the toilet where that goes. It goes out to reservoirs. They look like ponds, literal reservoirs on the corner of Sycamore and Rancho. And what happens is the water there is processed by the corporation Veolia, taking all the gunk out. And that water that's left, gray water, it's used to spread into the fields. But you can't... water the food that we are going to eat, the fruits and vegetables, you can only water animal feed. What animal feed is water intensive? Alfalfa. So for generations, they've been growing alfalfa out there. But what happened? Why did we get issue that cease and desist? Because it turns out that for generations, the city of Arvin had an agreement with Freedom Farms, farmers, that was three generations of farmers farming out there. And there's a pipeline that the city built because this relationship, they have thousands of acres from the treatment plant all the way out to Edison. That gave us access to even more land so that the city could grow because those reservoirs were not built holding ponds. They were simply reservoirs where you're processing that water and quickly spreading and irrigating it throughout the fields. But do you know what happened? That relation with Freedom Farms was severed. And we had a new operator. Apotheos started farming. And when that happened in 2021, that Apotheos was given the contract to be the farmer, we no longer had access to that pipeline and thousands of acres. all we had access to was 240 acres that belonged to the city of Arvin. What did that do? We no longer had the capacity to spread that water because there's 1 million gallons of water that comes out of there every day. So we have been working hard to make sure that not only do we repair the pond, but also that we have the land capacity to spread the water. And that's what we've been working on. But again, people will ask, but wait, Why are your legal bills so expensive? That's the other piece. Our legal bills doubled, and that was over budget. But why was that? Because we needed to fix a lot of issues that we have inherited. And that meant getting specialized water attorneys that could come with us to the water board. so that we can repair that relationship and we could work with them so they could lift the cease and desist and allow us to issue new sewer hookups again. It meant in addition to that paying our current city attorney. This has eaten into our reserves. In addition to that, in January of 2024, the council who was here prior voted to give our police officers a 20% raise in perpetuity, in perpetuity. And in the staff report, and everyone could go see it, it says, if you do this, you don't have the money coming in to pay for it. You're going to be eating into the reserves. They passed it anyway. That has also cost for us to spend more. In addition to that, the city of Arvin has had debt obligation that we've carried since 2008. We got a $7 million bond to purchase land, like on Main Street, for example, for economic development purposes. We're still paying that back. We took out another loan, $5 million, to build one for economic development. We're still paying that back. So the city also has debt. And I want to say this. Perhaps often... You think, for example, the last time the city of Arvin had a one sales tax increase. You'll remember. It was in 2008. Mr. Tarver was the mayor back then. The city has grown significantly since then. Significantly. I remember when I was here, just like you, when I was growing up, there were not houses south of Sycamore. All of those new housing developments and all of the housing developments here over by Varsity, the city has five parks. seven government buildings, an expanded city that now has 20,000 beating hearts, although I believe that it's more than that because our city also doesn't complete the census. Why am I trying to say that to you? Because that requires city services and city services cost money. Offering them police so people are safe, fire, picking up the trash, sewer, cleaning the streets, maintaining streets that have been in bad disrepair, in bad disrepair. And so folks will say, but I pay my property taxes. Why isn't that enough?

Because property taxes, I'm not finished and I have the floor, I am the mayor.

Property taxes, property taxes, ma'am, property taxes, Don't go and stay 100% here. Everybody knows when you pay your property taxes to the county, we get a portion of those property taxes. And those property taxes are being used to pay back our loans, to pay back that debt. What stays here is sales tax revenue. And that's why economic development is key. Because the sales tax stays here 100%. And what I want to say to you is, when we haven't had any economic development, then we haven't had retail and commercial. We don't have sales tax. So we've had the city grow. We've had city services for the city. All of those costs go up and our city now is facing this hole, a hole that all of us, we've inherited the debt. We didn't cause it. We've inherited it. But we are here to find solutions to this issue. And that's what we've been working on, which is why we have a budget where we've eliminated $1 million from that budget. We cut $1 million in spending. That's 10% of our budget. When you cut a million, you know what you're cutting? You're cutting services. And who provides the services? City staff. It means layoffs. That's what we've done here in the city. And so we actually went back to the city manager and said, you know what? That's not enough. We need you to cut even deeper. And so that's what we're doing to be responsible. Because we said, and I'm here. that in this next budget, we will not touch the reserve, not by one penny. You should have never touched the reserve. You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. And I take full responsibility as the mayor. I take full responsibility for voting for that first budget and for dipping into $470,000 of reserves. And I will take responsibility, and you can count on me, because I trusted in that moment the professional recommendation. However, you know what? Okay, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And this is why we directed the city manager to come back with more conservative revenue projections, cut deeper, because we will not pass a budget in our city where we touch that reserve because it's dangerously low. It's at $300,000. Imagine that. when it should be at $2.5 million, and we're at $300,000. This is why we have then come to the community, because we're cutting and reducing spending. So we've addressed the spending issue. Now we have to address the revenue issue. Since we haven't had economic development in the city, and we want to make sure that these cuts and all this is short-term, and painless as possible for a short amount of time. You know what we did? We unanimously, the five of us, we passed a 1% sales tax measure. We didn't raise your taxes. We're saying let the community decide. Let the community decide. So this November, Arvin residents will be able to decide if they approve a 1% or not. Because that 1% sales tax increase will bring in an additional $2 million, which will not only allow us to shore up our reserves again, but to also have that financial stability where we can continue the good work of fixing what the community has asked us to do, infrastructure. And in 2016, which is almost over a decade ago, there was a study that said Arvin had $30 million, $30 million in projects. in road repair that's called deferred maintenance. We deferred it, we didn't do it. So you're asking me, how can you trust us? How can you trust us to make this decision? And what I'm trying to suggest to you is, We have been working tirelessly and perhaps many times because we only meet here twice a month. All of the work that happens where we're all looking at this and meeting with staff and exploring solutions because we don't want to lay anybody off. None of us got elected to lay any city employee off because they're also public servants and they work hard every day to deliver. And so that's what we're faced with and it might even be deeper and more painful. We're trying to be responsible. And if you stay for that second part of the agenda, you're going to hear that there's going to be a transit, a transportation conversation. Because we're looking at all revenue sources and how we can make sure that we are investing that money for the best return for the city. And I welcome you to stay. But I hope. that I know if this response is longer than you expected, I thought it would be important for the community to hear, because that's why we're in a deficit.

And how come you didn't do it before if you felt it was important for the community to do?

I have done it, and meetings after meetings, my colleagues will adjust.

No, you could have made, just like saying, I'm the mayor, I have the floor, which is not the point, but just like you said, we're here to listen, we're here to serve. You weren't listening to me. You actually took authority, and you shut me up. Hold on, and it's not that I'm blaming this administration. I'm just saying somewhere down the line, nothing happens overnight, somewhere down the line, we failed as city council and mayor officials. It's been a transition over the cost of years. that we're in this situation. All I want to know is as a resident is, okay, you know, I drive around, I see the park, I spend four months out of the year in the parks, right? I just want to make sure that I speak on behalf of the residents that in a piece of advice that you build that bridge, not just law enforcement, but that you build that bridge with community where they can start trusting you. And what you display today was not trust.

I hope I can earn your trust over time, Nora. I would love for us to sit down together. Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you and God bless you.

I'm sorry if this took longer than expected. Thank you. I apologize. Thank you. Any other comments?

Good evening. My name is Rosa Magana, and I would just like to ask a question. I would like to know why the manager, Jeff, didn't renew Alex's contract when the report, the grand jury report proved that the crime index went down from 2022 to 2024. Are there any other comments at this point?

Oh, the renewal of the contract, Jeff?

It's a personnel decision. I have no further comment.

Thank you. Go ahead. You have the floor.

Okay. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and fellow residents. I know emotions are running high regarding the leadership of our police department. It is understandable some members of our community bonded with the former interim chief. However, as a city, we must make decisions based on facts and integrity, not nostalgia. The uncomfortable truth is that our previous chief failed to disclose a past conviction for criminal fraud involving the theft of police union funds. A badge requires absolute public trust. There is a profound difference between clinging to a flawed leader out of familiarity and a decisive hiring of qualified and fully vetted professionals whose record is beyond reproach. Arvin's moving forward the right way. Thanks to recent laws like Assembly Bill... All right. Thanks to recent state laws like Assembly Bill... eight forty seven a senate bill sixteen municipalities now have unprecedented access to unretracted unredacted police personnel files and misconduct disclosures city now has a legal mandate and the tools to perform rigorous diligence to ensure we never hire in the dark again unfortunately rather than supporting this step toward transparency Some are intentionally spreading misinformation about our incoming candidate. People are taking the current spread of misinformation about an unrest in Avenal, which is strictly a budgetary dispute between the city council and the Kern County Firefighters Union over creating a homegrown fire department, and falsely claims the new potential chief is fleeing malfeasance. This is a dangerous game. I want to remind everyone that words have legal consequences. Falsely accusing a professional of malfeasance to damage their career is defamation. Under California Civil Code Section 46, broadcasting false statements that injure someone in respect to their profession constitutes slander and And it opens this spreading these rumors to direct civil lawsuits from the victims of those lies. This city doesn't run on sound bites. Let's stop the rumor mill. It is time to support the city through its vetting process, welcome a qualified leader with a clean record, and focus our energy on keeping Arvin safe. Thank you for your time, and I hope that you vote to hire this candidate as our new chief of police.

Thank you for your comment. Any other comments from the public?

Good evening, Mayor and council members. I'm here to talk about the new chief of police. Hearing Jeff... And the previous chief, 21 years of experience is a long time. And him being bilingual and English and Spanish, and you need to pick up some Arabic. There's a lot of Arabic community here. And with his experience, I hope you guys do make the right decision and get him on board.

Thank you so much, Sala. Any other comments?

Buenas noches. Mi nombre es Francisca Rangel. Con permiso de la señora alcaldesa y la mesa directiva,

Good evening. My name is Francisca Raquel. And if I am allowed.

With the permission of the mayor and the board, I'm going to be brief. I want to say a few more words. I want to say a few more words. Thank you very much.

Mayor, you allow me and all the directives. I would like to welcome the chief of police and I see that he has a lot of experience and I would like to wish him and hope that he does a very good job. May God bless him and I hope that he comes here with a lot of respect, integrity, and transparency.

Transparency. Any other comments?

Good evening. My name is Jeanette Schumacher. And I want to say that I heard all that experience that he has. And I've been here, I live here in Arvin for 21 years. I moved from Camarillo. And I see beautiful improvements in the city of Arvin, you know, in the past 21 years. There are some bad things, but... They're all improved, and you guys are doing a wonderful job. It takes time for things to happen, you know? And I don't want to see really bad things, and social media is really bad, you know? That's not good, but I welcome the new chief. Too bad he doesn't speak Dutch, my language, but that's another language for you to learn. Yeah, welcome, okay? Thank you, Janet.

Are there any other comments? Ma'am.

Good evening. My name is Sandra.

I am a resident of Arvin, too. Thank you.

I would like to welcome the chief of police and I would like to wish him the best and I'm very happy to hear that he comes to this community and he speaks Spanish because it's really comforting to me because I don't speak English very well, and sometimes it is difficult when we have to call the police, because sometimes people interpret for us, but we don't have, there's no way of making sure that the person interpreting is doing a good job. So it's really good to be able to express what we wanna say when we have a problem, when we call the police. So I just want to welcome you and I hope that all that experience helps you do a good job here. Welcome. Thank you.

Is there any other comments? Oh, Margarita.

Hello, Margarita Perez, 600 Butte Avenue. So everything that we've heard about him sounds really great, really good. And I thought, no, I'm going to do some investigating myself. So I got online and I thought, well, I found some really good stuff about this guy. The mayor pro tem from Avenal had a lot of good things to say about you. She says you brought in some good grants into their city. You brought them up. They're... department and overall has gone up because of you. They have more police cars. Well, the part that I like the best is that it says that he's bringing their community closer together. And I believe that Arvin can really use that to bring our community closer together. We need to bring more pride to our city. So if you can do that, thumbs up for me. Thank you.

Good evening again. My name is Estelle Escoto.

I would like to thank you, Mayor, this explanation that you gave here. I've been here in Arving for 20 years.

And I would certainly like to have a magic wand so that we could do everything we want to do from one day to the next, but it's not possible. Everything is a process and I truly believe that you that are here and the people that were here before you did the best they could because we can certainly see that Arvin has seen a lot of progress. Espero que hoy tomen la mejor decisión para darle el contrato al señor Velasco porque creo yo que ustedes han hecho muy buen trabajo en investigar, en ver todo su trabajo de él, todo más de 20 años trabajando de policía, de jefe de policía, de interino, de muchas cosas. Y espero que ustedes tomen la mejor decisión porque no digo que el que estaba antes no hiciera buen trabajo, pero sí necesitamos que esté un jefe de policía ahorita.

and I would really like to, I really hope that you make the best decision, and you guys have been doing a very good job, and I hope that you hired him, and I'm sure that you have done a very good job with your investigation, and you have seen everything he's done. He has more than 20 years of experience. He has worked as a police officer and chief of police, and I would just like for you to make the best decision and hire him.

Thank you, everybody, and please make the best decision. Any other comments?

Good afternoon. My name is Trinidad Hernandez. I'm a bit nervous. I'm a bit nervous. Y es muy duro estar en cosas negativas, porque así no vamos a resolver nada. Tenemos que unirnos, tanto ustedes como nosotros. El dinero aquí se queda. Todo se queda. Pero lo que vamos a dejar aquí, eso se queda para nuestros nietos, para nuestra descendencia que viene. Y ojalá que trabajemos todos juntos, pero para bien de todos los problemas que están aquí en Arvin. Y eso es todo. Y que pasen buenas tardes. Y ojalá que resolvemos todo. Muchas gracias.

Well, I am only here to ask you that we are here. And I hope that you can work together with us. And we, as the community, can work together. Because we do have a lot of problems here. But just hearing negativity and sharing negative things is not going to solve our problems. We really need to unite. you and the community working together because all the money, all the money and everything that is invested here is going to remain here. Everything that you invest and all the money is going to stay, is going to remain here for our grandchildren and our Yeah, or children and grandchildren, other generations. So I would just like to ask everybody to work together, to work together as a community to try to solve the problems. And I would like to thank you.

Any other comments? Good afternoon, my name is Roberto Garcia.

Lo único que quiero extender un poquito es que problemas, negatividades, personas negativas, personas que quieren hacer daño, siempre va a haber. Entonces, hagamos nuestro trabajo y dejemos a las personas que sigan con su foreign is And right now is the opportunity to have it. Because the city of Irving, as everyone knows, some have already said it, there are some issues to fix. And without a chief of police, it's a little more difficult. But...

I would like to be brief because most of my colleagues have already said a lot. I would like to say that problems... People, people that want to cause harm, there will always be such people. So what I think we have to do is just work. Keep on working and let those people, you know, keep their problems and their negativity because there may be just personal problems. So what you are doing, I would like to congratulate you because I think you are doing a very, very good job. We just have to finish what has been started in the past. And I think we do need a chief of police. This is an opportunity that we have here in Arvin. It's an opportunity to try to fix everything that we need fixing. And it's very, very important to have safety. And for that, we need the chief of police.

Espero que tomen su decisión y de mi parte es bienvenido, si es que queda, el nuevo jefe de policía.

Van a hacer traducción. Voy a bajar aquí para que se escuchen.

Good evening, my name is Gabriella Ojeda. pues que tomen la mejor decisión y que mejor que hable, que sea bilingüe para la comunidad porque tal vez sea solamente una idea o tal vez si no sirva de mucho, pero

I am a resident of Arvin, and I would just like to thank you. Thank you very much for sharing all this, for sharing your comments and sharing how you make decisions. And I think it is a very good thing that we're going to have a new chief of police that is bilingual because I think it is very good for the community. Maybe it's just my idea, but I just think that it's good to have servants that are bilingual. And thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. And other comments? Come to Mike.

Hello, my name is Rebecca Bullard. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, public. I just wanted to say thank you for that explanation of how the city works. I know that not all of us fully understand that. We want certain things, and we want to see them now, and we don't understand that sometimes things are years in the making. So thank you for that. I also, no offense to you, Mr. Velasco, but I do have questions. We didn't vet the last chief properly. Can you guys give us any insight in the vetting process? Are we allowed to know what resources were used or what, you know, like what background checks were done? Yes, absolutely. Mr. City Manager, can you talk about that?

Sure. We did a We did a very thorough background check with a third party person who was not involved in this process at all.

Can you tell us who that third party is? Is it like a state agency? Is it something that's routinely used? Perhaps it would be helpful if we could also put that in context.

The state of California passed a law, SB2. And SB2 now requires that everyone in law enforcement disclose everything in their background. any malfeasance financials like sealed records or you have to you have to disclose oh you know what why don't we have mr velasco speak about what the sp2 is could you share that really quick about the background because the law that's required um the background sp2 is uh the decertification process for the state of california and there's a certain criteria where uh

where officers will go through the process and they have a due process in order to appeal those offenses, which could be anywhere from misconduct, sexual assault, under the color of authority, dishonesty, any integrity issues, unlawful use of force, and...

And a thorough background?

A thorough background. We usually fill out a California Post personal history statement, and then we get a third-party investigator, and what will happen is they'll go section by section, and they'll check all the references, all the records, to see if we are in the decertification index, whether it be through the state of California or national. We also go through a process where... All our former employers are contacted, including several coworkers or any personnel that we work with closely are interviewed in regards to our status and how we were within the agency. And I believe that's pretty much it. Thank you, ma'am. You're welcome.

And so the background check that was independent, was it clear of, it cleared that background?

Very clear. And the personal history statement that Chief Velasco is referring to is about a 45-page document where they have to pretty much tell their whole life story. I mean, it's extremely intense. And then the role of the third-party investigator is to review that and then ask questions that might trip up people so they can tell these third-party investigators if people are hesitant or not being transparent enough on their personal history statements. Those are the things they look for.

Thank you for that explanation. We all want transparency, and I think the more that we process, the more that we can answer some of those unknown questions. So I do appreciate your time. And I also wanted to say thank you for your community efforts. You have bridged a lot of community organizations together. And I appreciate that because not everybody does that. You've gotten my organization in contact with other organizations that are run by the kids here in town. And if we could all be examples for that and share that energy with these kids that are trying to build our community, we can definitely go a long way. So thank you, Mayor. Thank you for that.

Are there any other comments? Memo, you've been trying to get up for a while. Good evening. Good evening.

Ahora vengo a dar un comentario muy positivo. Quiero darles las gracias a ustedes porque realmente cada día que estoy aquí en la ciudad de Arvin, todos los días veo movimiento y un movimiento muy bueno, la verdad. La ciudad se ve viva. En las calles hay gente trabajando todos los días. Antes tenía muchos años que no lo miraba. Miraba una ciudad dormida. Ahora veo una ciudad despierta con ganas de salir adelante y darle las gracias a esta mujer que estaba hablando que no me daba cuenta realmente de cómo trabaja la ciudad. Algunos se quejaron porque fue un poco largo, pero fue muy sustantivo lo que me acabo de enterar, cómo trabaja la ciudad de Arvin. Ahora, cuando quiero pedir algo, voy a tener que pensarlo mejor. Y cuando vaya a poner algo en el Facebook, lo voy a pensar tres veces. Porque yo soy de los autocríticos del Facebook, que mucha gente habla mucho. Y pongo un comentario, yo siempre les digo, una silla vacía no levanta la mano. Last time I was here, I was here to make a negative comment.

But now, I would like to offer a very positive comment. And I would like to thank you. I would like to thank you all for sharing all this with us. I am very, very happy because now I see a city that is... I see a city that is doing good things. It's moving ahead. There is life. There is people working. There is life in the streets every single day. Before, I saw a city that was sleepy. And now I see a city that is awake. It's a city that is forging ahead. And thank you. I want to thank this lady that talked before. And maybe the comment was very long and some people complained, but I want to thank you, Mayor, for telling us and explaining how it is that a city works. Because I can see, I can see, and I know that there are many things that are being done, and I see a city that is alive. And now every time I want to ask for something, every time I want to post something on Facebook, I'm going to think very, very well. I'm going to think three times before I even post anything because I am very critical. I am very critical here when I see comments on Facebook. But here... When you have an empty chair, an empty chair cannot raise the hand and share comments. But on Facebook, huh, it is very, very easy to share opinions. Thank you.

Siga, siga. Respecto al nuevo del sargento de policía, pues dale la bienvenida. Creo que nos hace falta un sargento que sea bilingüe, la verdad, porque creo que sí, a muchas personas aquí, se nos dificulta en veces comunicarnos, porque a mí me pasó alguna anécdota con uno que estuvo antes And about the chief...

About the new chief of police, I think it is very, very good. And I would like to give him a welcome. Because previously, I mean, with the police sergeant, it is a good thing that we have a bilingual chief of police. Because previously, I had a very difficult experience. I had a very bad experience in which I was trying to speak Spanish to him. And he said that he was not going to lower himself and speak Spanish. Because here, everybody speaks English. So I would just like to welcome him.

Thank you. Are there any other comments?

Good evening, mayor and city council members. My name is Manuel Pantoja, and I'm here tonight to express my support for the appointment of the Chief Velasco as the Army Chief of Police. After review, his qualification is clear that he has the experience, leadership, and commitment needed to serve our community. He has built strong relationship throughout the Central Valley. He's bilingual. He understand the needs of the diverse community like Arvin. Public safety is one of the most important responsibilities in our city. We need a leader who is experienced, professional, and committed to working with our residents. I believe Chief Velasco is that person. We ask for the city council to approve his appointment and give him the opportunity to leave our police department.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other comments? Muy buenas tardes.

Yo voy a usar el cuaderno porque no hay necesidad ya con la biografía que nos dio el manejador de la ciudad acerca del señor Cecilio Velasco.

I have a notebook but I don't think it's necessary after the long biography that the manager read about the chief Cecilio Velasco.

No hay ninguna duda que es la persona indicada y calificada para... Que asuma el puesto de Chief Police aquí en nuestra ciudad.

There's no doubt he is the person that is qualified to be the Chief of Police in the city of Auburn.

Espero que firmen su contrato. La decisión la tienen al final ustedes. Yo estoy completamente seguro que... Él va a hacer todo lo posible, todo lo que esté en sus manos para hacer lo mejor aquí en nuestra ciudad.

So I hope that you can sign his contract, and I hope that you make a decision so that he can start working, and I am sure that he has everything that is necessary to do a good job here in Arvin.

Y también sé que él va a hacer todo lo posible... para dar resultados. Y si le firman el contrato, felicitalos a todos ustedes, a los cinco. La verdad, han hecho muy, muy buenas decisiones. Arvin está manejado y dirigido por un muy buen camino. Si seguimos así, digo seguimos porque me cuento como comunidad, pronto vamos a salir del hoyo donde estamos metidos. Así es que gracias. Ojalá que aprueben el contrato.

I think he's going to do everything possible. He's going to do everything possible to achieve results. And I would like to congratulate the five of you. The five of you have done a really, really good job. You've made very good decisions and we are going in a very good direction. We are forging ahead. And I am saying we because I am included. I think if we keep on working the way we are working together, we're going to get out of this hole in which we are right now. So I hope that you can hire him. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any other comments?

Good evening, my name is Manuel Parra.

Well, I know that we are facing hard times. We are facing deficits. And I believe that as a city, if we work hard and we...

try to forge ahead and keep on doing the way we are, keep on going the way we're doing. I think it's the same thing that we face as any business in a community. Sometimes maybe we have to pay a little bit more. Maybe. Well, it's like any other business. If you face a difficult situation, maybe you have to increase your effort to do everything better.

Ahora si ya se tomaron el tiempo de investigar al jefe de policía, pues qué bueno que ya hayan tomado esa forma para que esté aquí con la comunidad más, que tengamos esa confianza y lo bueno para Bueno, yo digo en mí que no hablo tanto inglés, que sea bilingüe. Entonces, pues con lo que sigue, con los que piensen seguir contratando, si hace falta más gente, pues que se enfoquen en investigarlos bien y pues que sea lo mejor para la ciudad. Gracias.

And if you have invested all this time, you know, if you have invested all this time in investigating him, I think that's the best way. And I think that brings confidence. And I am happy to know that he, well, I mean, I don't speak English very well, so the fact that he's bilingual to me is a plus. For the future, if you are thinking about hiring more people, I think it's important to investigate well, research, and if they are bilingual, it's good.

Thank you. Any other comments?

Hi mayor city council, I did have a couple questions two comments. What's a complaint? Can we fix the water fountain dying in here first had to go get some gum but One complaint second thing I wanted to say is to everyone who showed up today. Thank you. But again If you're gonna be here Be here, right? If you have something to say, don't whisper it in the background. Come up here and say it. If you're listening, I've been here a couple times. All you guys are receptive to comments, negative or positive. So don't sit in the back. Step up here, say what you have to say, and mean it, right? I think you guys are all adults and will understand any concerns, whether you agree with them or not. That's my... I think the rest of the questions are directed to Jeff. I just want to know how many applicants actually applied for the position.

We had like about 16 nationwide.

Okay. How many made it as finalists?

Two.

Two. And then what separated Velasco from the other candidate?

Well, as I said, there were four main parts to the interview process. There was a written exercise There is a panel, my staff panel, there is a professional panel, and then a final interview with myself. And Mr. Velasco came out on top of all those criteria. He was recommended by the two panels and in the final interview with myself. Okay.

And then what goals and expectations have you put forward for Chief Velasco if he gets hired on? Have you set any standards for him yet? Have you discussed that yet?

We talked about that briefly when I interviewed him, but I do know that one good thing that he did in Avenal is he built up a police force that had even fewer officers than Arvin. He dealt with a situation that was, to me, incredible how short-staffed they were. He recruited, he worked with the staff, he developed them, and he's leaving a very robust force over there.

Okay. And is Avenal dealing with our financial standing right now currently?

Do you want to ask the question to the chief what his vision is or his challenges?

He did his due research, right? He should be able to answer the question.

I've done a little bit of research on Avenel. They are a smaller population than Arvin. They do have the same, not quite as bad as financial distress, but they do have financial issues. Yes. Okay.

And then last question, I guess, is for the city council and Jeff. How will the city council and the public measure whether those goals have been achieved once you set them in place?

Well, perhaps we want to have the chief start, and then we can have those goals set, and we can think about a plan, but go ahead.

That's assuming that he's hired. I would prefer to hear from the city council.

Okay.

The plans for his...

I do know that there's an annual evaluation that's part of the contract. We can certainly... I mean, Mr. Velasco, I believe, would not be adverse to having quarterly updates with the council. We talk about things that are going on with the police department at a minimum.

Okay. And then the last question is, is the two-year contract pretty standard in the police chief, or is this an exception?

That's a good question. There are a couple of additions to the contract in respect to Mr. Velasco's public service. For example, I'm bringing him in with able to accrue more vacation time than a new hire in the city would be.

But a two-year contract, is it typical for stability? Is a two-year contract typical for stability in a chief of police? That's the question.

A lot of times you'll see more than a two-year contract.

Okay, maybe we ask our city attorney. What's typical in what you see with police contracts in terms of term of contract?

So it really depends on the city. Arvin has a resolution that governs department head salaries. Doesn't have a term to it. So as far as contracts, I mean, it really is dependent on what you're looking for. Two years is a little short, but I think that, you know, it was something that was negotiated between the city manager and your potential candidate. And so obviously a contract can easily be amended if that extension is warranted.

What is the typical term when you say two is too short? What's typical in your experience?

Yeah, oftentimes there isn't really like a set time. It could be anywhere from five years, ten years. It really just depends on the city, but the cities that I work with that have city police departments don't exactly have a term ending for their contracts.

Okay, thank you.

The follow-up question to that answer is, with the Arvin community, everyone who's lived here for a very long time understands how the turnover happens here. Why not go for a longer extension to add a bill of stability in our police department since he's going to be the head? Or is that a personal decision by the police chief to not want to extend? Or did we as a city decide not to go further than two years?

A two-year contract? Yeah. Again, why set it at two years? That's the question. Again, I...

Yeah, I'm sorry. So I'm asking because I've been here.

You want stability. You want folks to be here for a long time. Yeah.

And we've already seen the. That happens in the police department, constantly losing members, police chiefs.

I think this would help. Within that two-year contract, just so we're clear, there's a term. However, at any point, if the city wants to sever, right, or if the chief of police wants to do it, there's also ways to do that. However, two years, that's a question left up to the city manager and also the way that was negotiated, two years. I agree. That is very short. Perhaps it should be five years. But I think, was it perhaps based on the fact that we are also facing a situation where we haven't increased the salary schedule and we're also trying to figure out how we get out of the financial challenges that we're facing?

That is correct. It's also partly, I referred back to the prior like two or three police chief contracts that were typically two years. So I kind of use that as a standard here.

previous contracts as a standard.

Yeah, but again, the question becomes is if you're treating the city of Auburn and what you're going through as a business, you would want to lock in increments in pay and everything for that police chief for long term. That way you can start looking to the future and having consistent pays long term instead of just saying, hey, in two years, if he doesn't want to renew or doesn't agree to the new contract, you're kind of stuck in place and you're going through this process all over again.

Thank you so much for that suggestion. As the attorney says, that can always be amended for a longer term. Are there any other questions or comments from the public?

I just have one question. With the contract that's being offered to Mr. Velasco, how many days a week is he going to be here?

980, correct.

So the question was how many days a week? Every day of the week. Mr. Velasco will be here. Are there any other questions or comments? Seeing none. If you already have come up, we get one turn at a time. So thank you. Because we also have to get to another. There's a long agenda. So seeing none. Oh, yeah, that's fine. Yeah. Yeah.

So has he been named chief of police already, or why is Bakersfield now saying that he's the chief of police now?

The chief of police in Bakersfield?

No, Bakersfield now, the news station already put that you guys named him chief of police. So I want to know if he's chief of police already, or?

Yeah, so no, Mr. Velasco is not the chief of police anymore. Mr. Velasco is being recommended to be the chief of police.

According to Bakersfield now, they're saying that you guys named him chief of police.

Well, then that story is inaccurate. That's what we're discussing right now.

And that's why I wanted to ask it.

Yeah. So, no, he's not the chief of police. That's what we're discussing right now to make a decision about that. So that article is inaccurate.

Thank you.

You're very welcome. Okay. Any other comments? Seeing none, are there any comments from the council? Oh, Chris. Can I move your mic down so we can hear you?

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, staff, and members of the public. Yeah, slow down and take your time. You don't have to rush. My name is Christina, and I am here to simply ask that you all think of the bigger picture here. Let's leave personal emotions and preferences to the side. RV needs to move forward. After hearing city staff make a recommendation and hearing the incredible background that Mr. Velasco comes from, it's clear that this is a great opportunity for the city to progress, especially in our police department and in terms of public safety. If we were able to give an opportunity to all the other former chiefs, why can't we give it to him? Fair. He also deserves the benefit of the doubt. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comments. Any other comments from the public? Oh.

Good evening, City Council and staff. I'm here to encourage you to please approve this contract for the Chief. The Police Department is in desperate need of stability and experienced management personnel. Acting Chief Huggett has done his best and needs help to continue moving this department forward. Again, I encourage you to please approve this contract. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comment. Any other comments from the public? Seeing none, are there any comments from the council? And we will start in the order of Mr. Tarver.

I'll hold mine. I'll hold mine right now. Go ahead. I'm still processing.

Mrs. Reyes, go ahead.

In order.

Go ahead, Mrs. Reyes. I do have a couple concerns. One of them refers to the agreement, the $5,000 bonus. I don't recall the bonus was on the initial recruitment. Second, the six-month severance. I believe the prior agreement in the past for past police chiefs was a three-month severance. The third concern, it was answered earlier regarding the term of contract. So with that being said, I don't think your expertise, your years of experience are questioned here. It's great and it's a plus that you're bilingual to serve this community. That's a plus. I was also told from one of the council members in the city of Avenal that you have been able to attain many Grants for the city, which that's a plus as well. But as everybody knows that right now, the city of Avanon has experienced significant challenges. It's important for us to be cautious about bringing in leadership from that environment. This is not a reflection of any individual. Rather, a recognition that leadership transitions during periods of investigations can create additional uncertainty for our own community. And for the record, I know that the city of Arvin, the police department, is in dire, dire need of a leader. But I think we also have to focus on what's going on right now and what's happening in the city of Avenal. But other than that, I've heard great things about you. And it's not personal. My decision is not going to be based personal. I think at the end of the day, we're sitting here and the decisions that we make are what's for the best interest of the city. And we all want the city to move forward. Another concern that I had is that I don't know about the rest of the council, but I think it would have been great to have that opportunity to sit down with you and ask you a couple of questions as far as like, what are your goals, your vision for the city? What do you see moving forward for the city? And what's the first thing that you plan? What is your plan of action? The minute you take that leadership, that role, and we weren't given that opportunity. So I think that is really a reflection of our decision that we're gonna make today. And it would have been great for me, not to share about the other council members, but it would have been great for me to sit down and have that conversation with you.

Well, perhaps Ms. Reyes, we can allow him to present. Mr. Velasco, will you share with us? So the whole benefit of the community, what is your vision for the city? And what are your goals? And where would you start?

Well, my vision would be, obviously, I have a philosophy in policing that I have. I call it the momentum policing model. And what that entails is making sure that we have a proactive police department, but also a very strong reactive police department, which includes detectives and the use of our current technology, which is what I'm very familiar with is our RIMS case management system, our automated CAT system, which provides us with numbers and doing targeted enforcement in order to ensure that we're not just blindly policing, but we're actually focusing on problem areas or problem issues. Another big part of that philosophy is working together with the community. It is essential. I don't believe in... coming through the city of Arvin for criminals while making enemies of the people that we serve. That is a big component of my philosophy is to bring officers and the community together in order to solve those issues. One way I do that is first I have to address the wellness issue within the police department. I'm very aware that not just this police department, but police departments all across the nation, studies have shown that first responders deal with an average of 188 traumatic experiences throughout the course of the career. And so if we stigmatize that and we pretend that that is not happening here, What will happen is eventually those officers will become aggressive not only towards themselves, whether it be through vices, but it will also translate towards the community. And so what I do is I try to create a holistic approach, a wellness program throughout the department, so that way I can try to make them, the officers, and not just the officers but dispatchers and records staff, try to improve their morale by removing the stressors as much as possible within the hallways and trying to make them the best version professionally of themselves, both hopefully make them the best version of themselves within the profession and also hopefully outside of the profession. Because I think that an officer that is well is going to be able to treat the community without being so emotional. under stressful conditions and can be more empathetic, more compassionate. And that's what I've been able to do at my previous departments, not just in Avenal, but even as a commander within Delano. Crime rates, part one crimes significantly lowered. We all know in Delano, they haven't had a gang related homicide within the last three years. And I would like to think as a commander, I was a great part of that. Because those were my last year and a half there in Delano, which I was a big part of that change. In Avenal, we also decreased part one crimes significantly. And not only did we decrease part one crimes, but call volume went up. So what that told me is stats lowered and calls went up because people were more willing to report. So that means that they were willing to, those deposits that we made within the community were reaping benefits because people were now reporting crimes. Okay. When I got there, they had had two homicides the year before, a homicide the year before, and we went to almost three years without a homicide. And the homicide we did have because of the changes we made and the detectives we added and our joint efforts with the Major Crimes Task Force, we were able to solve that homicide within three hours and we had a gentleman in custody within 12 hours. And those were my detectives. And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of what I've done in Avenel. And What they mentioned earlier, the research they did, they're correct. I'm a person who knows how to combat crime. I'm small statured, but I'm very fiery when it comes to police work. But I'm also very kind to the community because I know that we need to work together in order to resolve these issues. My goals would be to, my first 90 days I would come and assess, obviously introduce myself the first 30 days to not just my own personal staff and get to know them individually, but also to my peers and my colleagues to see how else I can help them within the organization to better not just the police department, but the community services as a whole. I'd be willing to offer my input and my advice to any colleague that would listen, and that would be part of my first 30 days. The remainder of the 90 days would be obviously making subtle changes. I realize that significant changes are not warranted and a lot of times are very disruptive, but the first 90 days would be adjusting so that way not just dispatch, Patrol, investigations, administration, they all need to work in harmony. I don't like to say balance because when you balance something, it always has to give way to the other. And the goal is to always have the agency working in harmony so that we can partner with the community and ensure that we can create a safe environment so people can safely walk out. I heard the resident earlier say that she likes to walk. Well, so do I. And I'll walk. here on my lunch hour you know and i want to make sure that anybody can walk day or night through this community and feel safe and that is my ultimate goal to bring safety to the community and i'm physically responsible you know you're absolutely right my first year i wrote seven okay because i knew that the city of avondale needed resources i went from having the luxury of working in beautiful Delano, who had an abundance of resources, and I had whatever new vehicle, computer I wanted. And when I got to Avenel, I knew it was going to be a challenge, but that's the whole reason I went there, so I could grow. And not only that, to build up and help a community. I grew up in Corcoran, ma'am. I worked there 10 years, my hometown. And I knew that when I... We brought safety to that community finally after so many years of dealing with violence. And we were getting better every year. And I felt like I had the formula and I had the path and I knew the path to be able to help communities like Avenel who were also dealing with violence. And I've been able to do that. And not only have I helped, that community, but I've also been able to help other communities by providing my resources to my fellow colleagues in the task force so that we can keep not just my community safe, but the entire county safe. And I've been able to build those relationships. And I still have those relationships here in Kern County. Because like the city manager said, one of the panels was formulated by Kern County chiefs and command staff from the sheriff's department. And I believe I won their hearts on those panels because they know what I'm capable of. And I want this community to know what I'm capable of. I'm capable of combating crime, bringing safety to the community, but also bringing police officers and community members together. And I can do that in both English and Spanish. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Horton.

I need to start on the contract itself on section 3.2, the bonus section. I'd like to see that eliminated. Also, the same concern Council Member Reyes had about the severance. I would like to see that reduced to the typical three months that we've seen.

I think no one can hear you, Mr. Horton. If you can get the mic closer to your mouth.

Sorry about that. Is it better? All right. So let me start with 3.2 of the contract. It's the bonus section. I would like to see that removed. I would also like to see the severance reduced section reduced to three months, which is typical of the . Those are my two problems with the contract itself. And like Council Member Reyes said, I don't have a problem with the candidate personally, but there are definitely red flags that I'm seeing, and it poses a lot of questions for me. I question a little bit, well, a lot, the process by which the recruitment was done. We were originally told on last Wednesday that this was going to be on the 28th meeting for us to make this decision. Then Thursday the agenda came out and here it is. So we haven't had really time to ask questions that we had. I just don't see the rush. I understand the position needs to be filled. I just don't see the rush in it. And just given the current situation as well in Avenel, that raises a flag for me. Nothing personal at all. And I had a little bit of a concern. You were offered the position initially, and it was turned down. And then now here we are back again. So there's just questions and red flags that I have.

Perhaps the Chief could, Acting Chief Huggett could respond to the sense of urgency in terms of why this is so pressing. Is Acting Chief Huggett recommendation who's been there? Go ahead, Chief.

I just feel that the current situation of the department, my guys crave stability and leadership. And I think Mr. Velasco offers that leadership that we all crave within the department. When I initially took over, it was... It's supposed to be about a two-month process. It's been about one year. And we've been at that department with instability for approximately a year now. So I think just the general morale of my department and just their craving of leadership and stability within the department.

So it was your recommendation, Chief Huggett, to make this happen as soon as possible? Yes.

Yes, it was my recommendation. I'm here. I'm going to be here at the end of the day. I'm here to support. And I just need somebody there with me to help guide me as we move along.

I understand. I feel your frustration. It's only two weeks. And when we rush, we tend to overlook things and make poor decisions. So that's just where I'm coming from. That's all I have. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Mr. Tarver.

James.

So let me say this first off. The big story is on the chief, but I'd also like to recognize an even bigger story. A sergeant that stepped up when his name was called and took that thing over and held on to it for almost a year. That's a hero in my opinion. And that man needs to come to the table. You know, I'm always about team because that's what I was raised on. You know, playing football, basketball, it was always about team. But that team transferred into daily life. And a lot of times it's not all about the sport. It's about the life lesson. People that I want on my team are going to step up just like Huggett did. Okay. Now, in regards to what we're doing here today, my dad would say, and he was a minister, he'd say, son, if your ox gets stuck in the mud on a Sunday, are you going to wait until Monday to get him out? Okay. So what I'm looking at is I don't know anything about this gentleman. Okay. There could be 50% of you right on one side and 50% of you right on the other side. But here's what I do know. I know about my city and my police department. And that's my job to represent you folks. And I am telling you, if the squeaky wheel needs the oil, you better put oil on it. It's not a want. It's a need. You need to get someone in that department before you get a worse percussion than what you've got you're facing now. We've been very fortunate. We did it with the sergeant a whole year almost. Are you really willing to take and toss the dice again to say, well, we wish we could just go and do this or that and this. Life doesn't work that way. You don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow. But I see what's in front of me today. And the point is, as a representative of this council, all of us need to look at that the same way. What are your community needs and what are your department needs and what is going on in your city? And if you're so blinded to not be part of the solution and being part of the problem, I can look up there to Avenel or wherever he came from and say, well, you know, they've got all kind of stuff. But guess what? Guess what? You're innocent until proven guilty. You tell me what he's done. Point to what he's done other than what the resume that's been presented to us today. That's how I base my opinions and what I'm going to do. And it doesn't take persuasion from the people. I'm in it with you. It's the people's agenda. And so I know where I stand. And guess what? When I leave here, I'm going to go right down there to my house and I'm going to go to bed and I'll feel fine. And I'll get up the next morning, God willing, and I'll see some of you guys in the street. And I'll explain everything that I've just said to you and why I did it. And if you don't understand that, you're not a very fair person and you're not looking at what's really important. You're basing things on needs and wants. This is a need. Your kids want a lot of things. But this is a need. And we got to move on from this. And it is what it is. Almost a whole year. Come on. We're so lucky. I'm not willing to set and roll the dice. And I'll yield with that.

Thank you, Mr. Terber. Mr. Perez.

I echo what Trevor said. Thank you. And I call motion.

Okay, thank you.

I'm good with that.

Thank you. Thank you for everyone who has come. This is an important decision and clearly you can see by the outpouring of the community has come how important it is for our chief of police that our community is craving experience, someone that's going to come in, foster trust, someone that's going to come in with knowing exactly clear about the challenges and a plan forward. And I just want to begin again by saying, Chief Huggett, Chief Huggett, thank you. Thank you. During the most challenging of times with what we're dealing with financially, with going in there and always coming from a place of solutions, never coming from a place of victimhood, always coming from a place of what's best for Arvin, you held on and no one knows the amount of sacrifice that you have had to withstand. And I just want to say thank you from my heart. Thank you on behalf of the city. Thank you, Chief Huggett, for getting us to this point. Thank you. Chief Cecilio Velasco, de todo corazón le doy las gracias. Thank you. You, a central valley, who dedicated your life to wanting to be in public safety, to keep us all safe, and to think that you have stayed here in the Central Valley, from city, going to places where you say you could make the greatest difference, and I want to say thank you from that, from being an officer, to rising to a detective, to a sergeant, assistant chief of police, chief of police, And we're so very grateful that you could take all of that experience and your heart and bring it here to serve the city of Arvin. As you can see, we're a diverse community and a beloved community of hardworking, humble, God-fearing people. I say Arvin is beloved. I say Arvin is blessed. We declare Arvin is awesome because our people are. And it's a blessing to welcome you to the family of Arvin because that's exactly what you've described in terms of your vision, that you go out there and you lead with heart and kindness. And you're going to find that the overwhelming majority are going to embrace you with open arms. That said, we are facing significant challenges. And I am confident that with your experience, you are going to lead this department into the future. So thank you, Chief Velasco, y bienvenidos. And with that, I'm complete. Do we have a motion?

I got a motion.

Do we have a second?

Second.

Roll call.

Council Member Tarver?

Yes.

Council Member Horton?

No.

Council Member Reyes?

Abstain.

Mayor Pro Temperez?

Yes.

Mayor Calderon?

Yes, wholeheartedly yes.

Motion passes 3-1-1.

Welcome to the city of Arvin. Chief Cecilia Velasco, would you like to address the community?

Thank you all for your support. I want to thank you with all my heart. I will do everything I can to protect the community. Y estoy bien orgulloso de servir a la ciudad de Águila. Muchas gracias, muchas gracias con todo corazón. Gracias.

All right, we are going to move on to the next item, and this is item regarding transit. City Manager, do you all need a break? Does everybody need a five-minute break? No, no break. Okay, let's move forward.

Yes?

Okay, then we'll take a three-minute restroom break. A three-minute break.