Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Hey, hey, hey. Dancing. Hey, hey, hey. Down. Hey there. Want to make your voice heard at a board of supervisors meeting? We're all ears. Here's how you can get involved. First, hop online and look at the agendas. This will give you the scoop on what's coming up before the board. Each agenda item includes a brief description of the issue, the

recommendations, and potential impacts. If you need more detail, check out the detailed reports online. Those are called board letters. Then decide if you want to speak at Tuesday's general legislative session or Wednesday's land use session. You'll have three opportunities to have your say. Let's start with non-aggenda public comment. This is your chance to talk about things that aren't on the agenda, but try and keep your topic related to county government. For non-aggenda public comments, you can speak at either the Tuesday or Wednesday session, but not both. So, pick your day accordingly. And keep in mind, the board can't act on the spot. They'll refer your comments to the chief administrative officer who will look into the issue. Last thing, the board will hear from the first 10 speakers, five in person and five by phone at the beginning of the session. Then all the remaining speakers will get their chance to speak after the discussion items. During the consent agenda, the board handles a bunch of routine items with one vote. If you want to comment on an item, keep it simple. For example, I'm John Doe speaking on item 5 and I agree with approving the contract. Discussion items are the main event where the board debates before making a decision. Want to speak at one of the meetings? It's really easy. Just hop online and fill out a quick request form at public comment. San Diego County.gov. Pick the meeting you're interested in. Hit the register button, then fill in your details. Make sure to include a phone number if you plan on speaking by phone. Prefer speaking at the podium in the board chamber? No problem. Just pick the in-person option. After that, just check off the agenda items you want to talk about and let them know you're for, against, or neutral on them. Hit register and you're good to go. A confirmation email will land in your inbox to wrap it up. If you're speaking by phone, the email will include the instructions for how to dial in. Be sure to submit your request early. Once public comment begins on the agenda item, we can't take any more requests to speak. And if you have documents, hand them to the deputy clerk when it's your turn to speak at the

podium. Now, you get two minutes to speak, but if lots of people want to talk, it might get cut to 1 minute. So, you might want to consider writing two sets of comments, one for 2 minutes, another one for one. That way, if time's cut, you won't be scrambling. There's also a countdown clock at the podium to keep you on track. Once you're at the podium, stay on topic. Stick to the current agenda item. If you stray off topic, you might get a gentle nudge to get back to the point. Keep your comments related to the agenda items recommendations because that's what the board is relying on to make a decision. Also, speak directly to the board. They're the ones making the decision. When your time's up, it's up. Overstaying might mean getting muted or even asked to leave. Now, for some ground rules for safety, keep aisles and doorways clear. If there isn't a seat, head across the hall to room 302 or the fourth floor balcony to watch the meeting. Respect is huge. Everyone should feel heard. That means you, other speakers, and the board of supervisors. Disruptive behavior gets one warning, and after that, a deputy sheriff might show you the door. So, let's keep it respectful. Your voice matters, and we want to hear from you. Remember, we're all here to make a difference.

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Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey.

I now call the March 3rd, 2026 San Diego County Board of Supervisors regular meeting, fire protection district meeting, and sanitation district meeting to order. We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the land we call home. There are communities in the San Diego region that face unjust conditions and circumstances related to the environments in which they live. The tribal nations of the San Diego region are an example of one community that has historically faced such injustices. We acknowledge the harmony that existed between the land, nature, and its original peoples who have since endured displacement, persecution, and systemic oppression. We pay our respect to the unseated territory and homelands of the 18 tribal nations in our region. The mostin county in the United States from four cultural groups, the Kumi Deano, the Luceno, the Coupeno, and the Kawea. We aspire to learn from indigenous traditional knowledge and experiences in undoing the injustices of the past. Andrew, please call the role for today's session.

Thank you, Chair Lawson Reamer. Supervisor Anderson here. Supervisor Desmond here. Chair Promciri here. Vice Chair Montgomery Ste here. Chair Lawson Reamer

here. Thank you. We now proceed with the proclamations. The first proclamation will be given by myself and supervisor Desmond honoring Susan Brazzo. Oh, sorry. Apologies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh we now have Father Nuan who will deliver the invocation and Chanel Hawin who will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Loving and creator God, you created each one of us with dignity. We come together this morning recognizing that you call each of us to respect the human dignity in each person to live a radical inclusion that embody your tenderness and love for all of us. We ask that you guide us that our actions, listening, planning, and decisions today be grounded in this radical love to love our neighbors as ourselves. So that we come to realize that the fears and hopes, the struggles and the victories of our neighbors are our own. We love one another because we belong to each other. We pray that our listening and learning, our speaking and sharing, and the decisions we make take into account the most vulnerable among us. We pray for all families in our country, in our county who suffer from the lack of resources to fear of being separated and for the families who already live in separation. We pray for strength and leadership so that as your beloved community, we work together to care for them, to restore dignity to each person, to each resident in our county. We bless them as we bless ourselves always in your holy name who always

accompany us and call us to the fullness of who we are to live with dignity and flourishment and to protect those who are most vulnerable among us. Amen. Amen.

Please place your right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. So now we proceed with the proclamations. The first proclamation is uh from myself and supervisor Desmond honoring Susan Brazzo. Accepting the proclamation will be Susan Brazzo. Good morning. So, I'm very happy and also a little bit sad to stand here with Supervisor Desmond and to celebrate to someone who has given 25 years of service to this county, Susan Brazzo, our director of human resources. For more than a decade as director, Susan has helped guide this county through growth, ch change, and challenge. always calm, thoughtful, and prepared. Human resources can become complex work. It requires fairness, discretion, and patience. Susan brought all of that and more. She built trust. She strengthened relationships. She made sure our workforce had the support it needed to serve the people of this county well. And she did it with professionalism, integrity, and kindness. In positions like these, you are never really off the clock. I'd like to thank Susan and her family, especially her parents in Michigan and her daughter who's away in college, for their patience and grace when Susan stepped away from family time, whether on vacation or a weekend visit to answer our many calls and emails. Um, Susan, your leadership has made a lasting mark on this organization. We are better because of you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your steadiness. And thank you for the care you brought to this role every single day. Thank you. You will truly be missed. And with that, I turn it over to Supervisor Desmond.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Appreciate it. Um, so Susan, she has faithfully and diligently served the county of San Diego for more than two decades, uh, beginning her distinguished career in 2002 uh, as a labor relations specialist. And through her dedic dedication and expertise, she advanced numerous leadership roles and her commitment was to excellence and the and the evidence of a progression to senior labor relations officer and labor relations manager where she provided invaluable guidance and fostered collaborative relationships that strengthened our workforce here at the county. uh she continued the commitment to her excellent leadership was uh promoted to deputy director of human resources in 2011 and then by 2014 she took over the Duke department. So she was the director of human resources and she's held that distinction for over a decade. She championed the ma the modernization of the employee engagement survey uh transforming it into a powerful tool that informs uh pro programs designed to help strengthen workforce well-being and foster a culture of listening and pro and and responsiveness across the border and across the entire enterprise. Uh her leadership extended beyond the traditional bar boundaries. She woven the uh board's priorities, but also, okay, this is a big word, the neurode divergent excellence program. I'm gonna have to look that up. Uh, and the veterans uh and the workforce into the fabric of of this organization, ensuring that every employee, I'm sure, felt valued and supported in this in uh in their unique contributions. And as the senior labor relations officer and labor relations manager, Susan advanced strategic initiatives, but also created an environment where inclusion, respect, and opportunity became the hallmarks of the county's commitment to its people and their advancement. She t she championed talent development

initiatives, ensuring employees had the opportunities to grow and to thrive and continue the success of the organization, leaving a legacy of empowerment and professional excellence. Did you see the smile? It's there all the time. She's got a great smile and a great attitude and she really kind of brings up the the spirit of of collaboration and cooperation while still getting still getting a hard job done. So, we really we're going to miss you and your and your beautiful smile. So, whereas the county of San Diego is committed to recognizing and honoring those individuals and particularly Susan Baraso here today. uh be it proclaimed by the chair uh Tara Lawson Reamer and all the members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on this third day of March 2026 that we commend Susan Brazzo for her outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to the residents of San Diego County and to hereby declare today to be Susan Brazzo Day throughout San Diego County. Thank you. You're welcome. Come on over here. I hold this up. You got some words?

Come on. Come on. Thank you so much. I am so honored. I am a person of few words. So I simply want to say thank you chair supervisor Desmond, supervisor Anderson, chair prom, my boss Ebony Andrew Monica, supervisor I mean vice chair. Thank you so much.

Look at you. All right, we got to give Thank you. The second proclamation will be given given by supervisor Desmond honoring the Oceanside Historical Society. Accepting the proclamation will be Christy Hawthorne.

Good to see you. Thanks for coming here. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming. All right. all the way from Oceanside, California. Um that's part of Northern California if you didn't know. Uh it's where I live. Uh but uh good morning everyone and and I'm honored today to recognize Christy Hawthorne. She's the director of the Oceanside Historical Society along with her dedicated volunteers who passionately champion the community's heritage uh pre preserving stories, artifacts, landmarks, and define their their coastal community. So thank you for making the trip down. It wasn't too bad down the five this morning, but well, it was a little tricky. But anyway, um as most of you know hopefully, Oceanside is re renowned for its iconic pier dating back to the 1800s. Uh rich uh military ties to the Marine Corps base just north Camp Pendleton. A vibrant surf culture celebrated at the California Surf Museum is in Oceanside and the historic Mission San Louis Ray. Uh it's a dynamic uh art scene has a dynamic art scene anchored by the Oceanside Museum of Art. So there's a lot of culture, a lot of activity and u up in uh Oceanside. So the historical society also preserves and supports historic sites like the Heritage Park and Museum. Uh and so future generations can experience the local history firsthand. Uh before stepping into her role as director at Christy Hawthorne, she dedicated more than 20 years as president of the Oceanside Historical Society. And that's a legacy that she built. In celebration of Women's History Month, we're especially grateful for Christiey's heart, vision, and tireless energy in keeping this historic town shining bright and honoring its unique history. She's inspired many amazing community uh events of volunteers, historians, and partners who generously share their time and talents uh to the brief history of of life in Oceanside. Uh Oceanside's on

the map because of leaders like Christy Christie and we're lucky so lucky to have you there. Um unfortunately, a lot of cars pass on that five and head into San Diego and they could just pull off into Oceanside and enjoy everything right there. But um uh but anyway, but her the society's unwavering dedication to the diverse stories strengthens the community spirit, deepens the belonging, preserves priceless history, and fuels Oceanside cultural and economic viability. I'm proud to have supported their impactful service through our county's grant programs. And whereas the county of San Diego, we're proud to recognize and honor organizations and people that exemplify the highest ideals of public service. and the Oceanside Historical Society is one such worthy organization. So therefore, be it proclaimed by all members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on this third day of March, 2026 that we commend the Oceanside Historical Society for their outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to the citizens of San Diego County and do hereby declare today along with Susan Brazzo Day uh to be the Oceanside Historical Society Day throughout San Diego. Thank you, Christie. And you're it's an honor very welld deserved. So, thank you so much. All right. Yeah. You want to see who's speaking? Did you want to speak? Say a few words.

I just want I just want to thank Supervisor Desmond for for this honor and for the county board of supervisors. You know, the Oceanside Historical Society is a very modest nonprofit, but we've done a lot. Uh we've published three histories in in about this history of Oceanside in in our 40-year period. Uh, I want to introduce um our president, Shelley Greson, our board member and social media director, Rebecca Kemp. Again, we do a lot with a little. Um, I love Oceanside and we have a very culturally diverse uh population and we try to uh include everyone. Our history uh dates back to the mission, includes Camp Pendleton, and includes so many people of all walks of life. Oceanside truly is where life is worth living. I before I close, I want to thank Supervisor Desmond for his support in in allocating grant monies to us for the the the county board of supervisors in total to approving those grant funds because a little nonprofit such as ours, we really need that public support and those grant money. So, thank you for your time and attention and thank you, Supervisor Desmond. Thank you.

Appreciate it. Thanks for stepping up. Thanks. Thanks for volunteering and stepping up on the board. Appreciate it. Yeah. inside the desk.

It is Congratulations. Okay, thank you very much. Uh, the next proclamation will be given by Vice Chair Mc Montgomery Step, honoring Cox Charities. Accept accepting the proclamation is Chanel Hawkins. Hawkins. Come on up. Come on up. Well, that's half the chamber. Good morning, everyone. It's such an honor to be here today as we recognize Cox Charities, an organization that is committed to strengthening our community. This organization is built on a long-standing tradition of service and philanthropy, supported directly by Cox employees who give generously and consistently year after year. Their mission is centered around strengthening the communities they serve through investments in education, youth

development, social services, and local nonprofits that help families thrive. Each year, Cox Charities provides grants, scholarships, and partnerships that directly support students, educators, and community organizations. Their support of STEM initiatives, afterchool programs, and youth enrichment opportunities build pathways for young people to succeed. And their scholarships help open doors for local students who dream big but may face barriers to higher education. And for countless nonprofits providing essential services like literacy programs and family support services, Cox Charities has been a steadfast partner. It reflects a company culture where giving back isn't an afterthought, but it's a shared value. Today, I'm happy to recognize this extraordinary commitment and celebrate the meaningful change the Cox charities and Cox employees create throughout our communities. I've seen this firsthand and been a witness for um seven years as an elected official and even before that as a staffer. So I personally want to thank you all for what you do uh for our community. And with that, I will read the last line of the proclamation. Be it proclaimed by Chair Lawson Reamer and all members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on this third day of March 2026 that we commend the Cox Charities for their outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to San Diego County and do hereby declare this day to be Cox Charities Day throughout San Diego County. Congratulations. Thank you so much, uh, Supervisor Steppp, and thank you to all the county supervisors that I've gotten to know over the years. I know you guys work

hard each and every day, and I'm just so excited to be here for such a positive event. Uh, my name is Chanel Hawin. I'm the market vice president here in San Diego for Cox. And, uh, on behalf of the entire Cox family, a lot of our Cox charities uh, board members are actually here today. I'm so honored to accept this proclamation. It's I think one of the most favorite days of my work here at Cox for the past 10 years. Um it's not just a recognition about one event, but a culmination of all of our employees time, treasure, and talent that they've given over the past 30 years. And today we have four really special nonprofits here. We have the David's Harp Foundation. We have Feeding San Diego. We have Junior Achievement of San Diego County and sheltered a soldier and they're here today to celebrate with us. But what they don't know is that they will each be receiving a $100,000 grant from the Cox Charities Foundation.

I'm getting teeyed. I told you. So, thank you so much to these organizations to, like I said, this doesn't happen without our employees. Um, they give to the Cox Charities uh foundation. And so, thank you for all the work that you guys do. I accept this and present this on behalf of the employees and all the impact that we've been able to make in San Diego County. So, thank you. Let's get photos. Oh yeah.

Okay. Uh, thank you very much. Um, the fourth proclamation will be given by chair promiri honoring the American Heart Association. Accepting the proclamation is Erica Cervaniso. Thank you.

How are you? Thank you for being here. Good to see you. All right. Good morning everyone. It is my distinct honor to recognize the American Heart Association for its extraordinary leadership in the fight against cardiac arrest and heart disease. For more than a decade, the County of San Diego has advanced heart health through prevention, education, and community blood pressure screenings. We know early intervention saves lives and we're proud to partner with organizations that share that commitment. At the same time, we must acknowledge persistent health inequities in San Diego County. In my district, historically underserved communities, including communities of color, low-income families, immigrants, seniors, and individuals experiencing homelessness, face barriers to preventive care, culturally responsive services, and life-saving trainings. When emergency happen emergencies happen, these gaps can mean the difference between life and death. And nowhere is that commitment more urgent than in our response to heart health. An unexpected crisis that can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time. Cardiac arrest remains one of the leading causes of death in our nation. Each year, more than 350,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States, and survival rates remain far too low. Nearly 70% happen at home, where a loved one is often the first and most critical link in the chain of survival. Immediate CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival. Yet, too often, bystanders hesitate. Fewer than half of cardiac arrest victims receive CPR and even fewer benefit from an automated external defibrillator defibrill defibrillator

known as AED. This affects adults and children alike. Over 23,000 children experience out of hospital cardiac arrest every year. We must also confront disparities. Women are less likely than men to receive CPR before responders arrive. Awareness, education, and community engagement can help close those gaps and save lives. Awareness, education, and community engagement can help close these gaps and save these lives. Heart disease remains the number one killer of women in our country, responsible for one in five female deaths each year and claiming more lives than all cancers combined. Yet, awareness still lags. Many women do not realize it is their greatest health risk and symptoms often present differently than they do in men. That gap in recognition can delay cost and delay care and cost lives. When we talk about prevention, CPR training and rapid response, we are also talking about protecting mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. That is why the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement, which continues to elevate awareness and empower women to take charge of their heart health, is so important. Another movement that deserves recognition is the American Heart Association's bold goal to double survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest by 2030 through its nation of lifesavers initiative by expanding CPR and E AED training, increasing public access to defibrillators, and strengthening cardiac emergency response plans in our schools, workplaces, and public spaces. They are empowering everyday people to become lifesavers. With that said, I am proud to formally recognize the American Heart Association. So therefore now be it proclaimed through Chair Tara Reamer and all the members of the board of supervisors on

this 3rd day of March 2026 that we commend the American Heart Association for their outstanding service, leadership and steadfast commitment to protecting and advancing the human rights of the residents of San Diego County and do hereby declare this day to be American Heart Association Month through San Diego County. Thank you, Supervisor Giri and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for this honor. My name is Emily Miller and I'm the community impact director for the American Heart Association. The Heart Association, devoted to changing the future to a world of healthier lives for all envisions communities where people don't wait for help, they become it. so that in the face of a cardiac emergency, anyone anywhere is prepared and empowered to become a vital link in the chain of survival and provide CPR. The goal is called the nation of lifesavers. At the very core of this initiative is a transformative idea and every cardiac emergency and the real first responder is not always a uniform professional but an everyday bystander. Cardiac arrest can strike anywhere at the gym, in the grocery store, at a child's soccer game. However, bystanders only intervene about 40% of the time, often due to uncertainty or lack of training. Nine out of every 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital die, in part because they do not receive immediate CPR more than half of the time. We want people to know that you do not need medical credentials to save a life. What's required is knowledge, courage, and the readiness to act. And familiarizing yourself with CPR can save a life. CPR is a civic duty. You don't need medical training to learn CPR. You need knowledge, courage, and the willingness to act. Hero heroism is not limited to uniforms. It's everyday people stepping up for others. Thank you again for this honor and for helping spread the awareness about CPR.

Okay. The fourth proclamation will be sorry the fifth proclamation will be given by supervisor Anderson honoring Ramadan 2026. Accepting the proclamation is Imam Sad Al Dawe. Come on. Hold. We can come on this side too. Good morning. Thank you all for being here today as we recognize the annual observance of the holy month of Ramadan here in San Diego County. Ramadan is a sacred time of fasting, prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal observed by millions of Muslims around the world. It is a month that calls individuals to look inward to strengthen their faith and to recommmit themselves to the values of compassion, service, generosity, and peace. Throughout this month, families and communities gather in prayer, share meals at sunset, extend charity to those in need, and deepen their sense of gratitude. These practices not only nurture spiritual growth, but they remind us of our shared humanity and responsibility to care for one another. As we observe the holy month of Ramadan, we honor the rich traditions that strengthen our community and invite greater appreciation of faith in all its expressions. For these reasons, I'm proud to recognize the annual observance of the holy month of Ramadan with this

proclamation. I will now read uh the last paragraph. Be it proclaimed by the members of the board of supervisors this third day of March 2026 that we do hereby declare February 17th to March 19th 2026 to be annual observance of Ramadan month throughout San Diego County. Be patient with this. Ramadan Muba rock. I hope Thank you. I I still have a lot of practice. Uh may this month bring you peace, blessings, and joy. Thank you. And and I have this wonderful proclamation, but I think that you're going to say a few words.

Um peace be upon you. In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful. Uh at the beginning I would like to thank all of you, thank uh Supervisor Anderson and of course thank my community members who joined today. It's a great pleasure to be with you to celebrate Ramadan and to represent uh my Muslim community in San Diego and also the Islamic Center of San Diego East County. Uh we as Muslims observe uh Ramadan as a time of uh fasting, prayers, uh reflection, charity and community. And Ramadan as you may know is not only about fasting from food and drinks. It is actually about uh purifying hearts uh connecting more with God and strengthen our faith. and also uh to become a better person uh spiritually uh mentally and uh socially. Uh so God bless you all and I will say what uh supervisor said Ramadan Mubarak. Uh blessed Ramadan to all of you and thanks again. It's an honor to be here. And one more time I would like to thank uh Supervisor Anderson uh for his invitation and celebrating Ramadan with us. Ramadan Mubarak.

We're going to want to go up there. Before we do, I um in my office, we we take pride in giving credit where it's due. And with my good fortune, uh a former employee of mine, Ibrahim, if you'd come over here. Uh come on, stand over here. Uh this was his idea five years ago and we've done it and it's his legacy to my a office for as long as I'm in office, we'll continue to do it. Thank you for that. Thank you for your leadership. I'm still um uh mourning the loss of you, but I'm so grateful that our city attorney hired you because she's got quality staff now. So, for sure. Thank you. Let's I'll go up there and do a quick photo. No, I'll go. We're gonna do what we did last time

where you're holding it with me. We probably need to move a little bit as well. If any of my colleagues would like to join us in the photo, you're welcome to join us.

So, I'm sorry for delaying you, but Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you very care. Have a wonderful day. Okay, thank you all. Before we begin, I'll take a moment to address House rules. Public engagement is a cornerstone of transparent and accountable government. And these board of supervisors meetings are a primary venue while all San Dieagans can make their voices heard. The county is committed to a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, including sexual, racial, religious, age, disability, and any other forms of discrimination or harassment. Under the board's rules, speakers may not use loud shouting, threatening, impertinent, slanders, profane, or abusive language to any members of the board, staff, or general public. Additionally, all remarks and questions must remain on topic during the duration of your speaking time and must be addressed to the board and not to county staff. Any speaker who engages in comments that break these rules will be issued a warning. After one warning, you will be asked to leave the chambers for the remainder of the meeting. Finally, speakers threatening violence may be reported to law enforcement and removed from the meeting. This is a space for community engagement, deliberation, and progress, not harassment, violence, and hate. Okay. We now proceed with non-aggenda public comment. This is an opportunity for the public to address the board on subject matters within the board's jurisdiction, but not an item on the meeting's agenda today. The only t action we may take is a referral to the CEO. Under the board's rules, speakers may speak once per meeting for non-aggenda public comment either today or tomorrow, but not at both sessions, and you can select which to address at

your convenience. We have five speakers in phone and five speakers in person. and the first five speakers in person have been randomly selected. The remainder of non-aggenda public comment will be heard at the close of the session. Additionally, in accordance with board rules, for any discussion item with 10 or more speakers, individuals have one minute to share their opinion. According to rule 4A, members of the public that are non-English-speaking and need interpretation assistance receive twice the allotted time. And a final reminder, according to the board's rules of procedure, audience members shall not whistle, clap, stomp feet, or do anything that disrupts the proceedings. If you disrupt the meeting, you'll be given one warning and after that one warning, if you disrupt the meeting again, you'll be directed to leave the chamber for the remainder of the meeting. Andrew, please call the speakers.

Thank you, Chair Lost Reamer. We have 17 requests to speak on matters not listed on the agenda. Seven individuals in person and 10 requesting to speak by phone. For those that requested to speak by phone, please dial into the conference line using the instructions that were provided to you. We'll begin with the inerson speakers and we'll now randomly select the first five speakers in person. All the remaining speakers will be heard at the conclusion of today's session. As your name is called, please come forward and stand on the arrows until it is your turn to speak at the podium. You will have two minutes to address the board. And I'll ask you to begin by stating your name for the audio record. Like to invite forward the first three randomly selected individuals, Ricky Robinson, Parita Javier, and Jennifer Royden. And they'll be followed by allegedly Audra and Natalie Rajik. If I've called your name, please come forward. Okay,

start there. Good morning. I am Perita Javier, the guy you supported for his election, reelection. And yeah, read this. Just read it. City Council President Sean Eller Vera, the guy you supported for his election reelection. What's that? Yeah. Madame Madame Steppe.

Yeah. Oh, what else? Just just read it please. Right now is has memory winning. So please understand

this is a letter from uh councelor Rivera. Dear Cesar, thank you for reaching out to my office regarding your continued concerns over the air quality in your neighborhood and the B app next to your residence. We've reached out to the city's code in Portsman Department and the country's air pollution control district who found no violations of either air quality standards or city code. I understand you are interested in pursuing policy changes.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. May I? Caesar will hear you in the afternoon. You weren't part of the first five that were randomly selected. Thank you.

Thank you. Um, Ricky Robinson for not agenda. This grandfather belongs to Mallaya and Zia. Take a good look. The most dangerous man in San Diego County is standing right here. That's right, me. Clutch your pearls. Call the deputies. Hide the furniture. hide your children because all that is happening here is a man speaking. In San Diego, the danger isn't violence. It's daylight. No arrest, no handcuffs, no police involvement, no violent scene, no emergency. Just a grandfather asking for his grandchildren back, a caregiver, a conservator, a trustee. RFA approved or not, they're still family and family belongs together. And somehow that earns restraining orders. Not because of danger. Because corruption is being exposed because the truth hurts. Because ego does not like resistance. The problem isn't me. The problem is the light. The problem is that people are watching and people are not looking away. Say their names. Mallaya and Zia. These girls belong home. Thank you. And um this is also I I have a team in lawyers and advocates and journalists. We are now work working on the federal review. This will be in federal court hopefully by um 2027. But we want Mallaya and Zia home. These are our children. They they have been traumatized by child welfare here in San Diego. My

family has been traumatized, tortured. I am a target here. I used to want to die here in San Diego. Not anymore. Anyway, um I wonder if I can get a picture taken with the board. Is it possible? I'm just asking. Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is Jennifer Royston. Stop the child trafficking. Wake up. Our taxpayers are funding for these pedophiles to live lavishly on the pain and suffering of our children. The county of San Diego Child and Welfare Services directly responsible for our human trafficking problem. We have social workers that are lying uh providing absolutely no evidence to remove these children. They are causing detrimental damage that cannot be reversed. You guys are the one overmedicating our children and not providing them for what what they need and that is their family. They were happy before you took them. You are here to uh um help strengthen and unify. You're not here to take our children. Make your lies up. This is the baby you stole from me. And I will not stop fighting. I will not stop yelling. I will make sure to make you famous when I die because you guys send your your gangstalkers to stalk us, harass us, to make false reports against us in order to keep our children from us. I will still come back and make sure that you will serve justice. know that we are working with a new government and that government does has no um tolerance for

what you guys have been doing for many many years. I would like the respect for you to look at us when we're up here speaking because what we're saying matters. It is our children and every low-income family out there should care about what is happening because this will be you. They take your children, they parent alienate him. You have these judges like Judge Caro, Judge Morales who sit there and and violate the color of law in order to profit on these incentives to remove our children. It's unacceptable. Thank you. Next.

Next speaker, please. And um Ma'am, Ma'am, your time is ma'am, your time is up. If Thank you. Just a reminder, please constrain your time and your remarks to the time allotted. Um, if people are disruptive, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the chambers. Ma'am, this is officially your first warning. If you receive a second warning, you'll be uh instructed to leave the chambers for the remainder of the meeting. Yes, ma'am.

Wow. It's interesting. It should be affecting everybody like this woman over here. the things that go on with children and it doesn't seem to bother any of you, none of you. And it's really sad. So, I'm going to ask you to put your money where your mouth is. That if you do care about children and then being trafficked, sexually abused, and mentally abused, all of the things that have been happening not only in our county like with Mallaya and Zia and Whan and many other children that you guys have abducted. There's a march here at Waterfront Park on March 7th. I've given you guys all one of the flyers. So, if you do care about children, I'm asking you to show up and march with us. It will be at 10:00 a.m. We're going to be marching around downtown. You guys want to say that you care about children being trafficked, right? Do we not have an item today talking about that and sexual exploitation? So, if we're going to do that, then show up for this. Yeah.

Prove to us that you guys care about the children, especially in San Diego, let alone the rest of the world. I don't understand how this woman can be. That's how it affects people who actually have a soul. It breaks your heart. Amen.

You can't just sit up there on Adas acting stone cold because it shows that you guys don't have God in your heart. You sit up here. You pledge allegiance right to the United States of America, one nation under God. I don't know what God you guys are under except for the one that rules this world, which would be Satan. And if you guys do care, then you will show up this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Waterfront Park and march around downtown with us. If you care about children, Jim, please show up.

Thank you, Natalie Rashik. Good morning, supervisors. My name is Natalie Rich. I am a parent in district 3. I'm here today because after making peaceful public comment at a Delmare school board meeting raising concerns about the mistreatment of my child, I was subjected to a campaign of harassment and retaliation. County JPA insurance defense attorneys proceeded to file multiple restraining orders. They moved the hearings to Judge Whitney, who used national security language to publicly label me a domestic terrorist. Public funds were used to subpoena my landlord, requesting personal documents that are irrelevant to school matters. Soon, I was receiving false notices to quit. Up until December, I maintained long-term employment. I supported my child and always paid rent on time. Despite this, purported landlord doing business under an unregistered fictitious name filed an unlawful detainer. Mandatory forms were signed under penalty of perjury by attorney Howard F. Burns. I filed a notice of removal to federal court. Two days later, however, the clerk entered a default. Despite removal, notice of bankruptcy filings and emergency applications to stay and vacate. The sheriff executed the clerk's rift uh writ that same day. All of my childs and my belongings were removed from our four-bedroom home. We remain homeless to this day. When I contacted nonprofits, I was told to sleep in the car with my minor child. Given the homeless crisisness crisis in San Diego, I respectfully request an investigation into court procedural safeguards and sheriff protocols when jurisdiction and

bankruptcy is actively disputed. There is a hearing downtown March 13th, 1100 Union Street, Department 2011 at 9:00 a.m. addressing these issues. And I welcome transparency and oversight. And I I I welcome the opportunity to help in any way I can. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now hear from the individuals that requested to speak by phone. Again, in accordance with the board's rules, we'll be hearing from the first five callers. The remaining callers will be heard at the conclusion of today's session. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and you will hear a recording that will tell you to begin your comments. We will start with our first caller

follow. Um, do you remember when I said that we should let ICE self-implode on January 13th and January 28th or were you not listening? Anyway, I did it um and it brought down DHS along with it and all the good stuff it does. Um well, I think that C CFWB, the child and family well-being department is also about self-employed. Hopefully, you will listen better this time and publicly reform the CFWB process first. publicly. Arabella McCormick lied about and neglected by the system and murdered. And Ebing abused, kids taken away by the system. Evelyn Lopez, kids taken away by the system. The 150 or more Pinsky center abuse cases along with the other abuse cases, people and animals. And now there's Delila who was starved to death at three months in 2021 by her unfit adoptive parents. The county created a safety plan, but the only actual visit was at one month. A child's welfare plan without monitoring is not much of plan. Does the board and um county take care of its own and ignore all the harm to others? their policies cause after its action more county neglect. The county is ruining the lives of too many kids and families. The AJ is investigating the county's juvenile justice system. Also, I hear you are about to send kids in foster

care illegally to the Dominican Republic. Congratulations to Ricky Evelyn family and order.

Now hear from the next caller. Hello, my name is Jaden Marshall. Back in November of 2024, my brother and I purchased a property in Ramona, California. Soon after, a mechanic moved in um down the street from us. And since then they have clogged up uh a portion of Bay Street between 10th Street and 11th Street in Ramona, California. And um it's it's hurt my tenants business. And he's lost business because larger trucks can't access our back parking lot. And he's also stopped getting some of his mail because the I believe the street is too congested for them to access the mailboxes. And at best the street is a single lane road. There are dumpsters in the middle of the road. There are extension cords coming from the building out across the street. There's engines blocking the sidewalks. If the board could look into this and maybe provide some sort of solution for us, that would be great. I believe that no overnight parking would be a great idea in that area, but that's just me. Um, any solution would be greatly appreciated and we've went to highway patrol and they have been very helpful, but it just persists. This issue keeps persisting and it would require us to watch them 247 to monitor them for highway patrol to truly be able to be effective

and when they do come out it works for about 3 days and the problem continues to get worse. So the property address is 109 10th Street in Ramona, California. It's sitting on the corner of 10th and a street. You'll now hear from the next caller.

Uh Barbara Gordon, as a public health advocate, I was so thrilled to see American Heart Association recognized today. This is an important organization. As mentioned, we all need to take our heart health seriously as high blood pressure is the most common underlying condition identified. We know from research that smoking is the major cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Most people with high blood pressure, known as hypertension, don't know they have it because no symptoms or warning signs. um as it has earned the nickname of silence killer as a Harvard research published in the journal of American college of cardiology found that people who smoke marijuana face a higher risk of dying of complications of high blood pressure more than marijuana non-users high blood pressure is preventable exercise healthy diet no smoking of any kind marijuana or tobacco are the keys to keeping blood pressure under control Understanding the risk of tobacco and marijuana use and cardiovascular health is essential. Again, I'm so thrilled that this organization was recognized for keeping our hearts healthy. I think by fostering more tobacco and marijuana prevention messages from the county would work towards a healthier, safer community. Thank you for letting me speak.

Thank you. Now hear from the next caller. Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My name is Terry Anne Skellyy. I'm a county planning group member, a parent, and a public health educator. Last week, KPBS interviewed Rady's Children's Hospital pediatrician, Dr. Natalie Lob regarding the increase of 600 adolescents to its emergency room in 2025 because they needed treatment of some kind for their cannabis use. She said that and I I quote, "Prior to 2020, we were only seeing a handful of adolescents a year, maybe 20 or 30. Cannabis production, or rather cannabis products are far more potent today than what previous generations were exposed to." end quote. PBS interviewed Dr. Lob in response to the new research published in the Journal of American Medical Association regarding cannabis use with increased risk for serious mental health conditions. The strongest associations the study found was for psychotic and bipolar disorders where the risk was about doubled. And importantly, teens reported on their cannabis use about one or two years

before their mental health diagnosis. Again, Dr. Lab is quoted, "We see the public health crisis emerging in children and young adolescents with early initiation of cannabis use." End quote. I think we as residents of San Diego County need to ask ourselves what this early use marijuana means for long-term well-being of our youngest residents and the many who care for them and take responsibility for reducing visibility and promotions that come with selling marijuana here in our county. Thank you for hearing my concerns this morning.

Thank you. and chair. We'll now hear from our final speaker this morning. Again, all the remaining speakers will be heard at the conclusion of today's session.

Okay, here um good morning to all. Um there's so much happening in our county and around the world right now. Uh what we're witnessing is not random. Um it's uh not random chaos. It's order out of chaos. Week after week, year after year, I have brought attention to how global agendas are being imposed on everyday people. agendas like the United Nations frameworks for the 21st century and the so-called new world order that centralizes power and strips individual freedom. Almost everything in modern life is imposed from government taxes, regulations, mandates. The vast majority of people are not truly free. We're the money and to the systems controlled by those in power. And I want to remind everyone here, especially those working in any government agency, that government moves slowly by design. Years and decades are required to implement policies once they are written. And during those years of implementation, distractions multiply. While people are watching headlines, the real changes are happening quietly away from the notice. But this normalization of the unthinkable has come at a terrible cost. Our most vulnerable, the elderly, the children have been abused, exploited, and traffked. And here in our own community, there have been heartbreaking tragedies involving innocent children like Arabella McCormick um whose death revealed failures in the systems meant to protect her and others whose uh suffering was preventable. Um, I also want to mention how, wait, hold on. Um, yeah, this board continues to ignore the necessities of the people and overlook

horrific injustices. Um, and, uh, I hope I mentioned um, Delilah as well. Don't know her. Thank you again, Chair Lawson Rea. That concludes a request for non-aggenda public communication this morning. All the remaining speakers will be heard at the conclusion of today's session. Okay. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is the approval of the minutes and statements of proceedings for the general legislative session of February 10th and February 11th, 2026 and minutes for concurrent special district meeting of the San Diego County Fire Protection District. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. Second.

Okay. Um move motion by uh Supervisor Desmond, second by um Chair Prom Airi. Um, please vote. Chair lesson rem that motion passes unanimously with all supervisors being present and voting I.

Okay, great. Thank you so much. We now proceed with the formation of the consent agenda. This is items 1 through 12 and fire protection item one. All items in the consent agenda are routine and will be acted upon with one motion. Individuals can comment on the consent agenda after the supervisors pull any items they would like to pull for discussion. Would any of my colleagues like to pull any items for discussion? Have any comments on any items on the consent agenda? Um and uh Andrew, please go ahead. I know there was an item that was pulled. Um item one uh has been pulled. So the consent agenda today um is items 2 through 12.

Thank you, Chair Lawson. Just to confirm for the record, item one has been withdrawn request of the sheriff. Okay. Thank you. Um, Vice Chair Montgomery stop, no need to, excuse me. No need to pull any items. Um, I will move the consent agenda. Okay. Thank you very much, Chair Protociri. Uh, no need to pull. I'll second. Supervisor Anderson. Nothing to pull. The only comment I have is I want to register a no vote on item 11. So, you'd like to bifurcate in measure? No, you can bifrocate it or or I can just register the no vote. Okay. Thank you. Thanks.

Um I'll just make a a quick comment item number six. I think this item uplifts the importance of continued focus on expanding our work on protecting consumers um and fighting to protect people in our economy who are getting taken advantage of by shady businesses and continuing to expand that effort. I think we need more of that. Um, more aggressive enforcement, uh, more aggressive actions, um, kind of across the board on, uh, pro just protecting fairness in our, in our local, uh, San Diego economy and enforcing those kind against, um, really unfair, deceptive, um, shady business practices that take advantage of seniors, um, young people, renters, u,, really all of us. Um, so I think we just got to I'm I'm glad we're going to continue expanding this at the county and I think we should just continue looking for every opportunity uh to expand this fight um and to build up our capacity to do this work that's so desperately needed for the people of San Diego. So uh that was my comment on item six and we will go to public comment.

Thank you Chair Lawson Reamer. Before we begin public comment, I would like to note for the record that agenda item number eight seeks approval to amend the compensation ordinance to change the salary schedule for the chief financial officer classification. Pursuant to government code section 54953, prior to taking final action, the legislative body shall orally report a summary of the recommendation for final action on the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of local agency executives. The proposed salary will range from $250,224 to $395,678.40 and will become effective April 3rd, 2026. We have 12 requests to speak on items on the consent agenda, four in person and eight requesting to speak by phone. As a reminder, item one has been withdrawn. Any individuals that requested to speak on the remaining items on the consent agenda by phone, please dial into the conference line using the instructions that were provided to you. We'll begin with the inperson speakers. As your name is called, please come forward and stand on the arrows until it is your turn to speak at the podium. You will have two minutes to address the board and I'll ask you to begin by stating your name for the audio record. Also, when speaking, please identify which item or items on the consent agenda you are speaking about. like to invite forward the individuals in person, allegedly Audra, Caesar Javier, Jennifer Royden, and Ricky Robinson. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good morning. Cesar and Purita Community Advocacy District 9 under Elo Rivera leadership. Item number one, please. Let's also look at selective competitive procurement or bidding name it or contract please. Number two, no it must be regionwide please. God help. Number 11. Yes. foremost for the sake of health, public safety and public welfare recommend to mom chair um that loose code rule 10th permit and 11 exemptions of 20 industrial and manufacturing businesses. I think loose department chief is here. All these staff are representing the four departments. Please, please, God help. Number 12, we received the communication, a declaration. I hope it fits this item. Mama Gir, you declared that people are sick and dying in the forefront border, Tijuana River, Bali pollution. What have we done? What have we done? Councelor Bibian Moreno made a presentation. This crisis began 1993 and the city as one of the forefronts did nothing.

Not any single centavo was budgeted for Tylenol, for biscuit or even for clean water or clean food. Thank you. God help.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaking of babies, Tara, do you have a bun in the oven or is it a food baby? I don't know. Either way, be careful because the county might come after it. Um, it's interesting to see what you guys do and you think is routine as far as human trafficking goes and sexual exploitation. Um, who's on this council? like, you know, people like Elizabeth over here, her her staff for CFWB, right? Child and family well-being. It's interesting. Um, and also, you know, the district attorney um people that are engaged in actually human trafficking, Jim, that's why it's kind of funny because it's like, what are you going to do with this money? Traffic more kids. How much money do you think you could possibly get for human trafficking? It's kind of like the topic right now. So, I feel like you could really go and just suck the people, you know, just their blood money right out of them to traffic more kids cuz it's like me when I got beat up here, you guys, you know, right out in the hallway by a sheriff. It was interesting. And then I'm like, I'm going to go to the sheriff and see if they'll help. Will there be justice? Even from you guys. And you go to county council, right? And it's like, what are you talking about? Oh my gosh. women getting beaten up at the board of supervisors, children being trafficked. Oh my gosh, this stuff doesn't happen. We don't engage in that. Which will be interesting to see if you show up, Jim, on Saturday because you guys sit here and you bring up items like this and we have people come to you that have had their children ripped from their arms and you guys just say just do what the agency says and they'll give you your kids back. It's interesting. That'd be funny if it

actually worked that way, but it doesn't. So any money that you guys get is going to be used for misuse. And that's what you guys do with Title 4 funding. It's a misuse of public funds that needs to be pulled back. Next speaker, please. Jennifer Roidston. I am here to speak about the child trafficking that's happening in our system. I encourage you if you are participating, please find your money a better way. Why? Because our government is changing. We have a government that um is in line with God. They are disgusted by the human trafficking that is happening in our system. And know all the bombs that are going around um our world right now, that's our president snipping, snipping, snipping, snipping. And if you think that he's not on his way to snip, snip snip every one of you child traffickers that are participating in the trafficking of our children with these lying social workers that provide absolutely no evidence in order to steal these children. these ballless judges like Alexander Carero and Alejandro Morales who don't care about your civil rights, the rights that people died for. And if you are a Christian and you are a Catholic and you believe in God, this is your fight. Because if you believe for one second that God is going to say, "Oh, it's okay. You let them slaughter my greatest gift to this world and that's our children." You are wrong. He's not only a loving God, he is a vengeful God. And the destruction of our children matter. The slaughter of

their minds matter. Our children are under attack. They are taking our children and they are using them against us. America, wake up and understand that you, if you're working, you are funding these pedophiles. You are giving them nice cars, nice homes, and you should be turning to them and being like, "Huh? Why am I working my ass off for you to sit there and and get everything that you want?" Next speaker, please.

Okay. Ricky Robinson for agenda three. I really don't have a speech together. I just want to um tell Malia and Zia, I love you dearly. I missed you. I haven't seen you since August, so they don't want to let me see you till I'm like 70. You're trafficking my granddaughters here. They should have been home a year and a half ago. But let's see. I believe we've done the math. You've made millions off this family alone. But we want Mallaya and Zia home. Child and Family Well-being, CWS, the most lying corrupt social workers. And you know what's great about it? The paper trail. They lie on paper. We're doing the investigation. They don't want to give me reports. I've already put, you know, in for reports. They objected. They don't want the evidence, but that's okay. My son will give it to me. But lies on top of lies on top of lies. I've never seen such lying. social workers. This is sick. Sick and I'm exposing it. As long as I'm breathing, I'm exposing it. Restraining orders or not. Mallayica and Zia, I love you. I'll see you again someday. You will be coming home.

We'll now hear from the individuals that requested to speak by phone. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and you will hear a recording that will tell you to begin your comments. We will start with our first caller. Cal, we just had a huge conversation at Sande about how Arouses it's law enforcement arm is providing data to ICE through us data is not shared in this way and is otherwise totally secured. The cloud is easily hacked as well. IBM on the other hand provides servers which are more secure. Check it out. Uh three, human trafficking. Uh you know all about trafficking, don't you? The county already has a multi- agency San Diego human trafficking task force that combined sex trafficking, child exploitation, a collaborative effort and involving federal, state, and local law enforcement, including the FBI, HSI, and the DA office. A major objection to this is that the amendment has only two street people, victims, and no children. Two out of 20. I would expect lots of business, corporate, political argument about the abuse. Not much from the Paul, your device might be muted. We'll come back to you. You have 33 seconds remaining. Go to the next speaker.

Hi. Good morning, supervisors. I'm speaking to item number four. Um, as you consider ratifying the 2026 consolidated fire code and wildland urban interpace code, I appreciate the emphasis on defensible space, sprinklers, and home hardening. Those seem like good ideas, but I also would ask that we think about one of the most preventable ignition sources in high fire risk areas, which is smoking. Discarded cigarettes remain a known cause of vegetation fires, especially in dry, windprone conditions like we experience in unincorporated San Diego County. As access to high potency marijuana products has expanded, we're also seeing more outdoor smoking in rural and wildland adjacent areas. In communities where response times are longer and many residents are older or medically vulnerable, a single preventable spark can have devastating consequences. If we are strengthening water tank requirements and defensible space enforcement, I hope the county will also examine whether smoking restrictions and public education in high fire severity zones are strong enough, especially during red flag conditions. Wildfire resilience isn't only about how we build homes. It's also about reducing avoidable ignition risk. Thank you for your leadership on fire prevention and community safety.

Thank you. Now hear from the next caller.

Three. Okay, three first. Um it's a shame that we live in a world where uh child trafficking is even placed casually in a consent calendar. Um the fact that this is routine enough to be procedural should disturb every person in this room and listening in. Child trafficking is not a distant issue. It is a massive issue. And for those of you who are just waking up to this reality, understand this. It is worse than what you are being told. Children are not commodities. They are not statistics. They are not line items. So when this board treats matters connected to exploitation as routine paperwork, it sends a message and the message is detachment. Item six, Supervisor Tyson Reamer mentioned shady businesses. I'd like to talk about a major shady operation, and that is the way this county board conducts itself. When decisions are made that the public barely understands, when consent items move with little discussion, when policies increase, financial pressure on families while expanding government control. That is not transparency. That is not service. That is shady as It is governance that operates in the shadows. And Tara, since you raised the issue of shady, let's talk directly when cut off a disabled resident who prepares and researches his remarks. That is not fairness. That that is shady control. When public comment is managed in a way that feels dismissive and selective, people notice. You appear very confident about extending terms and expanding your time on this seat. If that happens, I actually welcome it because I will be here too. For as long as you hold this position, I will continue to call you

up. I will continue to remind this county how you conduct your Thank you. We'll hear from the next caller.

Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My name is Becky Rap and I'd like to speak to um item three first, addressing human trafficking and the sexually sexual exploitation of children and it should be the utmost priority. But you cannot address human trafficking without also addressing drug addiction and drug trafficking. These crises are deeply interconnected. Traffickers frequently use drugs as a tool of control, creating dependency, exploiting addiction, and trapping victims in cycles that are incredibly difficult to break free from. At the same time, drug trafficking networks and human trafficking operations often overlap, feeding off the same vulnerable populations. As you consider establishing this critical child advisory council, I urge you to ensure that substance use prevention, addiction treatment access, and drug trafficking be fully integrated into this framework. Youth involved in child welfare or the juvenile justice system, runaway and homeless youth, and individuals struggling struggling with addiction face disproportionate risk. we focus only on one side of the equation without confronting the drug pipelines that fuel this evil cycle, we will fail. I support creating the advisory councils, but true prevention requires a whole system response. Law enforcement, prosecution, health services, behavioral health, and survivor survivor support working together to address both human trafficking and the drug trade that so often fuels it. If we're serious about protecting children and helping survivors heal and thrive, we must address both crises at the same time. Thank you.

Thank you. Here from the next caller.

Ah, truth. Item two, no to a $2 tax on registration where the state demands innocent people's fingerprints in order to pay for a fingerprint system for criminals. No conflict there. Item three. Are you saying it took 15 years to create bylaws for the trafficking and exploitation of children advisory council in the biggest human trafficking hub in the country? This board and summer have failed hard at protecting children in Bologan and National City, not to mention CPS. Unforbody who owns a house supports these expensive demands from the county, including expecting homeowners to provide their own water for fires the state will allow to burn just like in the Palisades in Aladena. Well, the county promotes battery energy storage fire facilities. Item five, note over 1 million tax dollars to racist lab, a spire that claims that different ethnicities are born unhealthy. Talk about racist eugenics. Item six, if terrorist supports this, then I do not because there's more fraud perpetrated by the county than there is in private business. That's a fact. Item seven, no to any building for a grand jury that gives joke names to the reports full of loopholes and devoid of facts. Adam, a $99 million raise to the sheriff's because this board pushed countless officers out of state thanks to the destructive lockdown policies and cloudshot demands. Item nine, a $3 million raise to the probation officers may be because the state keeps letting out violent sexual predators out of prison early as part of the destructive new scum agenda. Item 10, NCTD not having a conflict of interest is a joke and the school boards are as badly conflicted as the transit agencies. Item 11, not to wasting 165,000 to force union grifter demands of an unrealistic 25 minimum $25 minimum wage for private events already paying these public land. These hypocrites can't even manage labor standards at local restaurants using illegal slave labor, let alone at parks. This is nothing but a kickback to the campaign funders of the progressives. People are going to stop putting on events at county parks that'll go just as well as paid parking at Balboa Park. And why was item one withdrawn? Was a

$13.9 million contract with the United Healthcare Services be withdrawn because the progressives were floer. Gambler heard me. You know, the sheriff had that called me regarding the restraining order also recognized I could find election fraud organized within 8 hours. Hell, Shawn Braum could go ahead and do it the same amount of time. He knows exactly where it is. He knows how to go ahead and find it. Why don't you look? Why are you more persistent in trying to throw me in jail? get me in some kind of program where you could take away my rights using the SB what 34 or something like that instead of just looking. Hell, why do you guys go ahead and pretend that you care about equality or even our environment when you refuse to adopt Julian Brown's technology? Is it because Congress is going ahead and paid two universities to build a lesser version of that? I mean, right now, we could have been generating money from our landfills that could pay for half of the crap that you're trying to do, but instead of that, you're trying to taking it from the people. Why is it that you protect these child tri child traffickers? Are they registering people falsely to get you guys elected? I'm pretty sure of it. I'm a matter of fact almost guaranteed of that. That is why that you guys are so persistent in protecting the NB subsection seven and 8, right Damian? You know, you cannot protect that law forever. And especially if you're going after me trying to throw me in jail, I have right to it. If you want me to go

through court, I'll go ahead and do that. But I really, really don't want to. I want you to do the right thing. I want you to do that investigation. I want Shawn Braum to be honest with me when he said he can't do anything until he is the boss. Now he is. I'm hoping he was honest with me. If not, whatever. We're

now hear from the next caller. Good morning border supervisors and riddle. I came to speak to 135 10 and 11 but I understand one has been pulled. Be very curious to know why. I had some concerns that this was one a single source contract and that it's a contract with the same people as we've had and there's been some legal concerns there. Uh I'm especially concerned about number three. This is where consent really lets us down. We needed an opportunity to discuss this under a discussion item. This is serious and important matter and the optics for this county, the county residents watching the decisions you make about children colors how we feel about you and your capacity to make good policy that protects children. And to wash it away by putting it on consent seems really unfortunate. And even when it comes back, it's going to come back again under consent. It seems extraordinarily unwise in these times. I'm concerned, as was mentioned previously, that you're leaving out some of the important work, and that's the role of drug trafficking in its relationship to child trafficking. They are interwoven. And I noticed excluded from this advisory group is any prevention work. You have several robust community-based alcohol, tobacco, marijuana prevention groups

here in our county and they should be included. They are well aware of what it takes to protect children. They lead in this county in protecting children particularly from the predatory uh issues, policies, approaches, advertising, promotions that come from these industries. We need their voice because these industries do target children and we need the voice of those who try to prevent this from happening. Let's take a new look at this. This is an opportunity. It's been in the making for a while.

Thank you. Well, now we'll go back to Paul the Bold where you had 33 seconds remaining. the microbiologist of TB on even if you're back. It would also be nice for help for your money or ordinance is on the

Thank you and chair Lawson Reamer. That concludes public comment on the items in the consent agenda. Okay, we have a motion on the floor um from uh Vice Chair Montgomery Step, a second from uh Chairpiri. Please vote. Chair Lawson Reamer, that motion passes unanimously, noting for the record that Supervisor Desmond registered a no vote on item 11. The motion, the remaining items passed unanimously with all supervisors being present, 10 voting I.

Okay, thank you all very much. Um, we now move on to the discussion items 13- 17 and fire protection district 2. Due to some of the longer presentations, we need to reorder the agenda for today. So, we're going to hear the items in the following order. Um, item 17, um, then item 16, item 13, and fire protection 2 taken concurrently. Item 14, and then item 15. Um, again, 17, 16, 13, FP2, item 14, 15. So, we now move on to discussion item 17, exploring reforms to county medical services. Um this is an item that uh I introduced along with my colleague uh Vice Chair Montgomery Steppp. Um this item comes out of the work that we've been doing on the uh safety net um subcommittee. So um to supervisor Desmond's uh ongoing request that committees report back, here we are reporting back. Um so let me just say a couple opening remarks to to kind of give some context to this item which I obviously think is quite important. Uh because of HR1 um we all know that hundreds of thousands of low-income San Dieans are at risk of losing their health insurance next year. uh the work that we've been doing in the safety net committee has um done a pretty deep dive on those numbers and numbers of individuals at risk, why they're at risk, how they're at risk um and what uh the parameters of those risks are as in terms of um the threats it poses to our broader health care system. Um so when we knew know that we have to do something um to address this pretty significant shortfall, we know that when people lose coverage, they do not just stop getting SK sick. Uh what actually happens is they skip their checkups. um

they don't get their their prescriptions, they delay their care, their condition then worsens and they inevitably end up in the emergency room which is the most expensive place in our entire hospital system to receive care. Um it's not only the worst outcome for patients which I think is obvious if you have skipped preventative care and you end up in an emergency. Uh it also is extremely expensive. I think any of us who have been to an emergency room uh know firsthand um what it looks like when it's all hands- on deck. Uh when it uh the hospitals are prepared to respond to an emergency uh lifethreatening condition. Um it is a very very expensive way of providing care. So, uh, we know that those costs, um, to our ERS will continue to increase, um, in part because there will be more and more individuals accessing those, um, emergency rooms when they're not able to receive preventative care. Um, we in our in in America, you don't leave people on the sidewalk to die. Uh thankfully there's a lot of uh things about our health care system that are horrifying um in terms of people's inability to access the care that they need and deserve. But at the very least um we do know that people don't just get left to die um on the sidewalk when they show up at an ER, which is what happens in many other countries. So what happens um in in reality is not that people disappear, it's that these hospitals are forced to absorb millions of dollars in uh providing uncompensated care. And this means that everybody uh pays that cost. It's not only that the uninsured residents that I was just mentioning are getting sicker um and are ending up in the ERs um and dying. It also means that emergency rooms are crowded. Hospitals have to figure out how to balance their

books somewhere and are facing service cuts and ultimately this means our entire hospital system is under enormous strain from the cuts. Um very concretely how how do hospitals manage this? In part by increasing insurance costs for those of us who have insurance and are lucky enough to have insurance. um and in part by cutting services for everybody because there's really no other way uh for the hospitals to continue operating um as institutions if they're not uh cutting services somewhere. So that means for everybody in our entire hospital care system uh waits get longer. It becomes harder to see doctors. It becomes harder to see specialists. Uh even if you have health insurance, your health insurance um the quality of that insurance and your ability to actually access care um will go down. Um so this is of great concern. Um I have been really focused um along with vice chair Montgomery staff of doing every week everything we can to protect the residents of San Diego and not just those who are lose insurance but everyone all 3.3 million of us from um the the very uh severe impacts coming our way um in terms of access to quality health care in San Diego County. Uh we do, you know, we have to acknowledge that um previously, you know, decades ago, there was a program um this county medical services program that was fairly active as um the program of last resort in San Diego County for uh those who didn't have health insurance. Uh but it it really has become pretty much defunct. I think we had one person for a while, then five, then maybe 14, then like 11. it really just not a program that was active at all. And the reason for that was that when um President Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, um this did two things. It expanded

Medicaid. It also uh created opportunities for people to get private insurance uh through uh covered California. And so it uh the kind of combination of expansion of cover covered California and expansion of Medicaid really eliminated the need for county medical services in any kind of real way. uh because people's health care was being provided um primarily through um their employer, secondarily through covered California and thirdly through um Medicaid to the for those who who did qualify which there were quite significantly more people. Um so in any case to just continue putting this in context and why this we brought this forward with urgency today, the rolling back of Medicaid um which is is going to along with uh by the way the reduction in um the ability of um hospitals and providers to access uh provider payments um which is an sort of a more complicated way that hospitals have historically uh received reimbursements. for care. Um but the the pressures they're receiving on both ends of uh fewer patients qualifying for um reimburseed Medicaid and the reduction of any kind of um uh pay uh state uh basically state payments that would then allow the hospitals to cover operating costs has is going to starting January 1 put a very very very significant strain on our entire hospital system. So again, um just kind of to wrap back around to how this impacts the county, um under California state law, counties, all counties, not just San Diego County, all counties are the healthcare safety net provider of last resort. Um that is not an option. That is not something we can think about. That's actually our legal mandate. Um but under unlike other

large counties, we do not run a public hospital system. So we as a county rely on community clinics and hospitals to carry that responsibility with us. And the way that we fulfilled that obligation historically when it when we had folks in large number of folks that were uninsured was through the county medical services program. So that's what this um kind of that is the context of this item today um is to really uh begin to lay the groundwork and prepare for uh the pretty significant strain that's coming to our hospital systems and um the the to to kind of dig in and make a plan so we're not blindsided on the 1 of January. Um, and I will turn the floor over to my colleague, Vice Chair Mccree.

Thank you so much, Chair Lawson Reamer. Um, thank you for your partnership on uh this board letter. Um, and I I just want to clarify a couple things. I'll be brief. Um, there have been and will continue to be many board actions to respond to harmful federal proposals that threaten healthcare and food access uh for San Dieans. I think this is something I've heard from this das that we um majority of us are concerned about. Um in November of last year, I did bring forward an item to the board to help residents who will temporarily temporarily lose medical and calresh coverage due to paperwork errors and eligibility changes um that are listed in in HR1. And so this this item is is distinct from the safety net bridge program um which is meant to to help serve residents who temporarily lose that that coverage and then get them reconnected with services but provide them sort of a bridge in the meantime. Um county medical services as you have heard it's a statemandated service that provides health care coverage for low-income uh adults who don't qualify for medical and can't afford uh private insurance. Um, some of this is repetitive, but I'm going to repeat it because this it can be um a little bit nuanced and complicated. After the Affordable Care Act expanded, medical eligibility, many previously uninsured San Dieans were able to gain coverage that way. As a result, CMS enrollment uh decreased. Program was reduced to state required minimum. And so that was a positive development. We're seeing a clawback on all of those things. So, it is our responsibility to be prepared for for what uh may come. So, um want to just note about our current San Diego County Medical Services. It is one of the most restrictive programs of its kind in California. Um San Diego County

residents must have significantly lower income to qualify for CMS services uh than than other residents in other California counties. And at the same time, low-income participants must agree to a lean being placed on their property, a needlessly needlessly restrictive condition that no other county in the state imposes. So these provisions are the remnants of sort of a different era uh here at the county. Um and so I think we're looking to see how we can change those things and make this programming more accessible to people who may uh may need these services. So, um I appreciate the partnership again and that concludes um my uh comments. Happy to move the item, but if you prefer to after public comment, that's fine.

No, go ahead. That's great. Thank you. We have a motion by Vice Chair Monree Step. Um I'll second that the item and we'll go to public comment.

Thank you, Chair Lawson Reamer. We have 16 requests to speak on this item, 10 in person and six requesting to speak by phone. Also note for the record that we received one e comment in support. For any individuals that requested to speak on item 17 by phone, please dial into the conference line using the instructions that were provided to you. We'll begin with the inerson speakers. As your name is called, please come forward and stand on the arrows until it is your turn to speak at the podium. Because there are 10 or more speakers on this item, you'll have one minute to address the board. And I'll ask you to begin by stating your name for the audio record. I'll call you in groups of three. So I'll ask you to please listen for your name. like to invite forward the first three individuals, Samantha Schwimmer, allegedly Audra, and Lindseay Wade. If I've called your name, please come forward.

Good morning. My name is Samantha Schwimmer. I am here on behalf of the California Panthnic Health Network and the San Diego Health Table. I thank Chair Lawson Reamer and Vice Chair Montgomery Steppp for bringing forward this item and starting the conversation about muchneeded reforms to our county medical services program. Our county is experiencing a healthc care crisis with over 300,000 residents at risk for losing medical due to new federal work requirements and 75,000 San Dieans at risk for losing medical because of their immigration status. San Dieagans are having to delay preventative and primary care and lapse in taking their prescribed medications. This increases the likelihood for serious life-threatening illnesses, which put a larger strain on our county resources, and make our communities less safe. We are asking the board to update the eligibility requirements, modify the age minimum to 19, eliminate the citizenship or legal permanent resident requirement, and thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'll invite three additional speakers. Caesar Javier, Clint Carney, and Pamela Is called your name. Please come forward and stand on the arrows. Thank you.

You guys are good. I love how you can say these things with a straight face and really, you know, try and get people to believe your Um that you don't lead people to die. You don't before you rob their organs, their money, take their home, things like that, right? um and preventative care and you're going to protect all 3.3 million of us. Oh my gosh, that is so exciting. I think that what is more exciting is these funds being cut. It's fantastic because what you guys use that for is children to go mutilate their bodies. That's one thing. Um Medicare and Medicaid is used in the hospitals to deal with foster children that they hide sexual abuse of. Right, Elizabeth? Um, and Raid Raidies does that. They're really good at uh damaging children. Um, but yeah, I think this is fantastic because like what you guys also do with that is that you think that there is uh you're going to help heart health when why don't you guys stop vaccinating people with boweapons. Paloma, see you next Tuesday.

Next speaker, please. Oh, Chair Lawson Remer, Vice Chair McGomery Steppp, and members of the board of supervisors. Good morning. I'm Lindseay Wade, senior vice president at the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties. We represent every hospital and health system across the two county region. We're here today in strong support of this item to evaluate reforms to county medical services. By initiating this evaluation now, San Diego County is stepping forward as a statewide leader in proactively strengthening its safety net infrastructure. This moment builds on years, honestly decades of advocacy and partnership to ensure the county fulfills its statutory responsibility as the provider of last resort. We appreciate the board's willingness to take this step. This item is fundamentally about protecting patients. A significant wave of health coverage losses is approaching and we must act now to protect the stability of our health care system. Our emergency departments continue to experience record high volumes and additional coverage losses and gaps in outpatient access will only intensify this pressure affecting timely care for all patients. Uh we commend you for your forward thinking and stand ready to collaborate.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello supervisors. My name is Clint Carney. I am a resident of District 3. I'm with Survivors of Torture International, also a part of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Co Consortium and the uh the San Diego Health Table of the California Panthnic Network. Uh I appreciate you bringing this item forward and considering expanding the eligibility of who can participate in this program. Um even if it's a loan program, other options are always uh important to bring forward. It's important to know that the refugee resettlement program is a loan program. So refugees are vetted many times before they come to the United States, but before they get on a plane to come here, they have to sign a promisory note to pay back the expenses of being resettled in the United States. So that's an important factor to to consider when uh discussing who you're allowing into the program. Asylum seekers are not undocumented. They have alien registration numbers. They have asylum applications. They have court dates. they are known um in the system. So, thank you for your for consider.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, honorable members of the board. My name is Pam E and I'm speaking on behalf of Sharp Healthcare, standing in strong support of this item. Um thank you, Chairwoman Lawson Reamer and Supervisor Montgomery Step for bringing this forward and making it a priority. Sharp is proud to serve more than 1 million county residents each year. That's nearly a third of our residents and we see firsthand how critical the healthcare safety net is for our communities. At a time when emergency departments are already experiencing record high volumes, um we fear that coverage losses will only intensify the pressure and affect timely care for everyone. So at the core, this item is about protecting patients and Sharp Healthcare strongly supports this proactive effort and stands ready to be a partner in strengthening the county's healthcare safety net. Thank you so much.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'd like to invite three additional speakers. Casey Sherk, Cesar, and Purita, District 9,

Caesar, just a Caesar, just a moment, please. I'm gonna call three additional speakers. Casey Sherk, Monica Montano, and Jennifer Royden. Caesar, please come. You can speak at the podium. Caesar, come on up, please. See, aging, we attended the aging and independent advisory board. We also attended this uh health environmental quality. We also attended this ISS uh SSS public authority and all advisory board and we volunteered to be a member. Did you receive our application ma'am mom step mom Rener sir Desmond? Our advice is uproot the root cost so that this medical expenses would be a little bit affordable for the less particularly the victims 10,000 victims as calculated by APCD Tijuana River pollution. Do you think it's only 10,000 m? No. What about the dead? God help. We work together. Yes.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello everyone. Good morning. My name is Casey. I am a proud SEIU Local 221 member and I have been a human services specialist for the last two years. Right now, we are preparing for the impact of the big beautiful bill. I am a very proud resident of District 1 and I can tell you that the good people of my community are already struggling fighting poverty and the ongoing ICE raids. People have three basic needs to ensure survival. That is food, shelter and healthcare. The big beautiful bill attacks all three whether it is directly or indirectly. But it is health care and housing costs that put my neighbors out on the streets. my community should not have to continue to choose between health and housing. Additionally, this has created more barriers for my clients to receive medical as case load increases for self-sufficiency services, causing long longer wait times. Um, that's going to continue to be an issue. No one should be without health care. Vote yes on item 17. Thank you.

Thank you. As the next speaker is coming forward, I'd like to invite the final speaker in person, Dr. Chris Tomooki. Good morning, honorable members of the board. My name is Monica Montano and I am here on behalf of Scripps Health. For more than a century, Scripps has been dedicated to serving the health and wellness needs of San Diego County. We appreciate the thoughtful revisions being considered to improve county medical services program, including eligibility standards and modernization of enrollment processes, efforts to eliminate CMS lean requirements, and the expanded virtual application option. The proactive measures you are considering are crucial to protecting health care access to our most vulnerable patients. Today, healthc care providers are facing significant challenges. HR1 will cut Medicaid funding by $1 trillion over the next decade by imposing stricter eligibility requirements, work mandates, and frequent redeterminations on the people we serve. We appreciate these efforts to enhance access and modernize systems to better serve our community. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, my name is Jennifer Royston. My father came from Colombia. My mother came from Mexico. They did it the right way. They came here legally, not illegally. Our hospitals are overflooded. Uh because we are paying for people that shouldn't be here. And it's not being inhumane. You go back, you do it the right way, and our medical uh facilities won't be suffering the way that they are. Um all this immigration ICE Bottom line. Bottom line. You come here legally, every country has walls. And America should too. Why? Because our cities wouldn't have gotten ravaged like they did when all you guys let all those people through our border. Now, if you want to stay in our country, you do it legally. That's all we're asking. Legally. Next speaker, please.

Uh, Chair Lawson Remmer, vice chair of Montgomery Step. Thank you for allowing me to speak. You are spot on. I'm Dr. Chris Thomaseski. I'm a practicing emergency physician in San Diego County and I'm experiencing what you're talking about firsthand. As you know, as an academic medical center, we have the honor of being part of the safety net for the entire county. Not only that, we have the honor of training new physicians, doing research, and taking care of our most complex patients. And I know from firsthand that a disproportionate number of them now face significant barriers to care coverage and care and come to us for help. And I don't know if you've been in an emergency department lately, but you are right. It is bursting at the seams. We have a sustained record high demand. We have patients waiting days, not hours, days for inpatient beds. So I ask you that you help strengthen our county medical service function in this unique healthcare landscape and help our most disadvantaged vulnerable citizens and that in turn will help all of us. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll now hear from the individuals that requested to speak by phone. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and you will hear a recording that will tell you to begin your comments. We will start with our first caller. But this one does make a lot of recommend. It keeps muffling.

I have not keep muffling. Um anyway, uh so I have a few recommendations for recommendation two. Number one, find uh doctors or other medical people who are willing to work at this rate or accept the vouchers for future payment. Two, make sure that the legal immigrants are covered under the laws of their country of origin, not ours. Three, use use of less expensive natural treatments which might take place of big pharma treatments. They're generally less expensive, have fewer side effects.

You hear from the next caller

from here. Okay. So, another lens. Let's call it what it is. It's not healthcare. sick care. A system that profits from chronic illness is not designed to eliminate illness. A patient heals is revenue lost. When the pharmaceutical dependency becomes the primary solution offered struggling residents, people start to question the incentives behind it. A population heavily medicated is easier to manage than a population truly restored to strength and independence. Tara, you said in America, we don't leave people on the sidewalks to die. Uh, that sounds comp compassionate, but the reality is in this county, there's a different story, lady. Every year, hundreds of unhoused residents die on our streets. Every year, families bury loved ones who cycle through the system that never truly restored them. If this item were truly about health, we would be talking about prevention, root causes, nutrition, environment, trauma, recovery, not just

now hear from the next caller.

Good morning. My name is Becky Wrath and I appreciate this item and agree that the county has both a legal and moral obligation to serve as the provider of last resort. That responsibility is very important. However, this staff report does not address a growing strain on our health care system. According to recent data highlighted by Ray Children's Hospital San Diego, marijuana exposures among children, particularly from edible products, have quadrupled in recent years. Many of these cases require emergency department treatment and in some instances hospitalization significantly overloading our EDs. Our pediatric emergency systems are already under pressure. And if we are anticipating additional coverage losses and increased uncompensated care, we must also account for the preventable drivers of those who come to the hospitals, children and young adults suffering from marijuana poisoning. This program must include a full assessment and a detailed look into hospitals impacted by marijuana misuse. Thank you.

We'll now hear from the next caller. Hey, it's truth. One decrying allegations against the federal government. This item is really about the related state actions, which means the new scum agenda struck again. There's cuts to medical because the state and this board allowed illegal aliens to overwhelm the health system for 5 years straight. It's called consequences. Eligibility standards tight and translucent to the feds now requiring able-bodied people to at least try to get a job. This item is a late agenda item because it's more fear-mongering in order to justify this county later creating a governmentcontrolled socialist hospital system. Ask Canadians who wait for months just for an appointment how well that works out. They come here for their surgeries. The county currently can't even keep up with their own hospital bills. How would expanded coverage results in paid bills this time in suddenly everyone's eligible via revisions to the standards, aka a free-for-all with branding and renaming of the program, aka straight propaganda, with an evaluation of fiscal impacts only to be ignored later. Which union grifter wrote this hot garbage? How much is the kickback this time? I'd like to know. Get a job. Do something real with your life.

Hear from the next caller.

I got a question. After you guys steal the next election, you know, with the unions and all that stuff, are you going to reverse some of your bridges that you're doing? Because um federal government wants accountability, meaning we've donated money to these programs. We haven't seen anything, especially for the people that actually lived here. I mean, you're giving a lot away to um brand new immigrants that you went ahead and fasttracked above everyone else. Therefore, you need to give them, you know, supplies and make sure that they get integrated into our system as quick as possible. You did a good job, by the way, in moving people and keeping the people that speak English here and to um providing them school so that they it could integrate a lot better. I'll give you that. So, my question is, are you going to keep that whole $10,000 program where you could where these people get paid $10,000 for moving a kid away from their family into another family? Or is that still going to be added on? Plus, you get all you chair loss reamer that concludes public comment on this item.

Okay. Thank you all very much. Um we have a request to speak by my colleague uh supervisor Anderson.

Thank you Madam Chair. I I'm not sure who to address these questions to as I went through this and I agree uh with the premise. We know that emergency rooms uh carry a terrible burden and our resources are short. But uh when I looked the ad hoc subcommittee, did it have any meeting agendas or minutes uh or any notes to share with anybody and what you discussed and how you discussed it? And let me put it into uh criteria so that when you answer it um acute care hospitals are not located in the unincorporated. However, we have community uh health uh centers that do acute care and in the language we exclude them. I'd like to see why we would exclude them and why we would include them and perhaps you could address how these recommendations were developed because uh I'm not again I didn't see any minutes or agendas or lists of people who you spoke with or um how you developed these recommendations.

I I'll just let me just answer the question about acute care. um and that um based on these recommendations I think I think if I understand uh what you're what you're getting at around that is that you want to make sure that members of the incorporated communities are receiving every level of care that they can and that no one is left out of this process as we explore how to um expand our CMS services and CMS services from my understanding uh covers the very population that you're talking about. And so I think um that so for that concern is what I'm hearing that this recommendation um uh is is certainly all in encompassing. Um so the second thing I'll say and I think the chair can um comment on this more. Um but there this conversation we really were steeped in um a consultant that we had come and present to us that uh we were trying to get to this board meeting. Um but um based on her schedule, we want to have her come and present to the entire board because she uh is decades long. um uh has decadesl long experience in arenas at every level of government. Um and so we are still working on that and getting her before the full board. But still think that this we can do those in conjunction with uh doing the back additional background work that we need to do before we take any real action on any reforms. And so that is something that um we had requested of her um and that really was the crux of the conversation around CMS within that uh that subcommittee u meeting. So um that that's that's coming forward moving forward and my hope is that it's sooner than later.

Yeah, let me just add to that. Um I I agree. I we we both really wanted to have JC Cooper here today who uh is really the driver, the consultant that um the county has hired to sort of help us analyze, you know, what are the impacts that we're looking at um on our health care system. And she's came she did like a really in-depth presentation about our our vulnerabilities and that was um this kind of the call to action for us to to move this in an urgent way. She wasn't able to be here today. she has a meeting. Uh but I did ask her if she could come um as soon as possible. So she's looking at hopefully being able to come to our next board meeting. Um and I would love to just kind of put out there uh that I do think this is a conversation that our whole board should be involved in. It's really important. Um and this is sort of like a a question to to my colleagues. if she's not able to make it to our next board meeting, uh would folks be interested in having some kind of special session to to kind of hear what she her analysis and how uh what she's seeing um on our community that because it's been a scheduling issue. So, okay, I'm getting a yes from Supervisor Anderson. Okay, that's great to hear. Uh I was we've been I've been um reluctant to try to schedule a special session because I wasn't sure if folks would be able to attend, but if that's something people are interested in, um would definitely love to do that. and uh kind of bring everyone into this conversation as we go along. Um so I think that that's really important. Um, and to answer your question, I think, uh, one of the things, and again, we'll get more of this when she's able to come, but I think to your concern, Supervisor Anderson, about, you know, the folks in the rural rural part of San Diego County, uh, the data that we saw from TC Cooper, is that you're right that actually a large that you're the people in your district are going to be like very severely impacted. Um, and so we anticipate that this work will will

pretty significantly address exactly that population. And to be honest, um, folks in your district in Supervisor Montgomery Step's district, um, and Supervisor Agiri's district are sort of really front and center. Uh, just to add on, um, to Supervisor Giri, coming out of the conversations, I think there's been a a concern raised about the vulnerability of, um, the hospital system specifically in your district, um, and the potential for, uh, a hospital to potentially have to close if we don't do something pretty dramatic. um to to kind of backs stop what's happening. So again, this is like a countywide issue. Um your district's pretty significantly impacted. This is Supervisor Giri's and um Vice Chair Montgomery step and it would be great to to have a broader conversation. We didn't want to wait. I think the the kind of urgency was we need to get moving because it's going to take quite a while to to like have these consultations and have these conversations to to try to figure out what we can do about um changing our the way that we operate with CMS. Um but that does that I my preference I like I would say would have had to have JC Cooper here today but we didn't want to wait on this like really timesensitive item um for her to be able to come. So I think my commitment to you would be is if you all can make yourselves available for sess session hopefully we can either get here at at the next meeting and we can have this kind of robust conversation and if not we I would love to schedule a special session with her.

Um in a followup so um I I I didn't know you were working with JC Cooper. Um otherwise I would have googled to find out more about is it an individual or a company? It's a person. You should Google her actually. You could. She's amazing. So, but yeah. What did you solicit any kind of community input in this process? Without minutes, without agendas, there's no way to see the work that's being done. And I would make May I finish, please? Let me just say,

wait, hold up, hold on, vice chair, one, vice chair. Thank you. So, uh, one of the things that you might want to consider moving forward is when we had our subcommittee meeting, we did it in this room. We recorded it. It's on the county website. Anybody can see it. Anybody can go back. We didn't take public comment because it wasn't a full board meeting. However, the public could always email us, call us, send letters to us. A lot of the recommendations of the people we spoke to came from the public. And then of course we you know uh the public had that and you had this process. Nowhere in the work that you've done I can go back and feel reassured that the 550,000 people who live in the unincorporated are being covered. And when I read this and look I agree with your where you're going. I'm not against what you're doing. I just want to make sure that when we're working with these vulnerable populations that we're really thoughtful and we get it right the first time. But when I looked at this, uh, we're only talking about hospitals. And part of the problem of the unincorporated is if you live in Petrero and your average household income is $42,000 and you have an issue and you're not addressing the clinic that's near them, they're going to be an emergency room call into the city in an ambulance. And so we're the people that need it most should be at the forefront. And if we're using JC Cooper who may be citydriven and never been to Petro and doesn't understand the demographics other than on paper, we've excluded people like Neighborhood Healthcare or Sanro Healthcare. Some of these groups that service these areas should have been a seat at the table.

Well, I think it would be Sorry, I'll I'll let my colleague I just think it'd be important to clarify that we're Okay,

Madam Chair, I'm almost finished. Uh last year our county medical services provided services for approximately 40 medically indigenate people for over $970,000 and only two individuals were enrolled at any given time. I'm I think part of our issue is also looking at what are we doing and how effective we are at it. When you think in terms of almost a million dollars being spent and there's only two people in it at any given time, I I think that this is a much bigger broader issue. That's why I welcome your invitation to hear it because I have a lot of questions and if you had published on the web or had a meeting here, I could actually see the public input and many of those questions would be answered and I wouldn't need a special meeting because they would have been addressed because I could do the research on my own by simply making sure that you asked the correct questions. I'm sure you asked incredibly intelligent questions, but we all have different districts. We have different pe constituents and I just want to make sure that we're reaching every district to the full extent.

So with that, I'm eager to hear what you both have to say.

No, I just think there might be a fundamental misunderstanding of what this board letter is. You're talking about a table on which we've gotten input. This board letter is to create the table. We are directing the CEO to start convening and have those consultations. Um because we do need to have those broad consultations. uh we haven't at all done the work to figure out like what are the reforms we need to CMS. This is to get the work moving and the ball rolling. So um I thought it was written pretty clearly that this is to direct the CEO to begin those consultations. Um to say it again, it's to direct the CEO totally agree we have to talk to the whole community in a really broad way. um that is the work that needs to start. And instead of us as a subcommittee like going off and doing it on our own, we actually came to the board and said, "Hey, we actually think this is something that the whole board uh should know about. Uh there should be transparency around it. We're not going to just go me and Monica like cook a whole cake on how we're going to revise our entire medical system in San Diego County." That's why we're here with this board letter to say, hey, it came to our attention through the sort of initial tire kicking of our subcommittee that putting together that table and that consultative process to uh really rethink um the way CMS works is like a really critical thing that we have to do. Instead of us just going and doing it, let's bring it to the board. Let's make sure we have a board endorsed process that the CEO can direct in a way that's transparent. So again, I think like I said, I think there might be a misunderstanding on like what this board letter is like that is what this the board letter is to begin that consultative process because we didn't feel that it was appropriate um as a subcommittee to kind of do all that work without coming back to the board and making sure everyone knew what we what like the kind of the crisis we're in um so we could then get like broad board direction for the CEO to engage in this work. So I don't know if

the vice chair has anything to answer.

Just just want to say I continue to look forward to the board's input which is why the letter is here and if there's anything is lacking. We are legislators and it's kind of what we do on a das to if there's something or someone that is not included currently and looking at the reforms and um opening up that table and those conversations um to ensure that everyone is represented then I think that we can look at the board letter and maybe a minute if you're so inclined to support it. That's why it's here. Uh so there's nothing being done in a subcommittee that would uh prohibit the uh five people here who are elected to represent all the 3.3 billion from doing their job here on the dis and then having that translate into the policy.

Uh to finish up in recommendation three you talk about acute care hospitals that's exclusive. I mean what you've done is you've narrowed what we're talking about to what you presented and that excludes any of the acute care that's actually in the unincorporated. So I'm a I'm asking for a friendly amendment to change that from acute care hospitals to community acute care community health centers too. So, uh, let me let me let me open the item just to look at it while you're giving me the amendment so I can see exactly what you're proposing.

So, that way as staff is moving forward, you haven't ruled out stuff before we ever started. And see, the issue I have, I agree with everything you're saying, but it's our bias to rule things out because we're not thinking from all five districts. We're thinking from the districts that we most frequently uh are in our own. Can you tell me again what your proposed amendments?

So, right now it says acute care hospitals. I'd like for it to say acute care community health centers. Many of the health centers in the unincorporated are acute care, but they're being excluded from the process. And I'm happily supportive of that. My problem is I can't I don't know how we got to where we are. And maybe this would have been better described as just a joint authored board letter, not an ad hoc subcommittee uh result because when you say ad hoc subcommittee, I'm thinking there's going to be agendas, meetings, community input, notes to share, and how you know and it and it's clearly laid out how you got to the recommendations uh and in and who played a role in developing those recommendations. You have these recommendations. By the way, I totally agree, but I just want to make sure we're not making this so narrow that we've excluded the unincorporated before we even start. And since this is just a process where staff's going to come back, why would you care if it's narrowly defined? I I am fine with your recommendation, but I just want to

I just want to um reiterate what you said is that you said that we should have been less transparent about what happened in the subcommittee and not brought this forward as a subcommittee item when this is what we discussed in the subcommittee and we wanted to bring it to the board. So that's that that that that for me I'm fine with including clinics FQC's to be a part of the conversation. Um, I think they're already county contracted, but a part of the conversation. Um, but that's why we that's why I think it's important to bring it to the board so that we can hear that feedback. Doesn't have to be an insult and accusations that folks are not being transparent. Uh, it just be a

it just be an amendment. That's all. Supervisor, I don't mean it to be that way. I'm sorry you took it that way. That's not my intention. But there's nothing here. And when I read this, you know, I just want to point out to y'all that you excluded the unincorporated in the verbiage. And I'm glad that I knew if I brought it to your attention, you'd be open to it because you're always very reasonable and you have a great approach towards this. I would I'll just say one recommendation that that the clinics do not do not do acute care. So that's probably another reason why, but but I'm okay with them being at the table for sure. the the U

I I mean how about I'm just kind of thinking about this first of all um you're saying we excluded the rural areas this is not true but for your greater peace of mind if you would like to make that abundantly clear we can certainly add you know with primary emphasis on acute care care hostiles um um and ensuring representate cross county in representation including the rural parts of our county I mean if if that if you feel so insecure that this is written in a way that's going to like exclude the rural areas, we can certainly say that because that's obviously the intent. But if that is if you need that for your own insurance, if you want to say something with prime, you know, we can say with we can add a clause. This is primary acute care hospitals and ensuring input countywide impact from all districts including um our rural communities. I'm fine to include that. Uh, Madam Chair, you waved our board policy A72 in presenting this forward. That's our safety check. You have no minutes. You have no agenda. You have no notes. I'm sure that you're very thorough because you are a thorough person and you did a great job. And I'm sure because everything you do is quality, but there is nothing for the public or for me to see on how you determine this. And then when I look and you've excluded acute care in the unincorporated, the hospitals do provide it, but some of the clinics do too. And uh uh when you've left me no choice if you had a more transparent process.

But Joel, sorry, Supervisor Anderson. I'm offering to accept an amendment. What amendment would you like to make? May I please finish? If you had had hearings that you could that the people you talked to when they give testimony to your subcommittee, if it was public, if it was on the website, then I could go back and be reassured. I mean, I have no idea who you even spoke to other than JC Cooper. And and you don't even know who she is. So, that's a little bit of an issue, but go ahead. The reason why I don't know who she is is we didn't learn who you spoke with because there's no minutes, no agendas, no notes, nothing public.

Actually, that's not true. It is a public record, like extremely public, that we as a county approved a contract with JC Cooper to consult with our county on this entire process of how to transform our medical system. So, maybe you weren't paying attention to that meeting, but that is not a secret. U Okay. Uh, I I'm losing ground here. You've agreed to an amendment. Well, now I don't know. I said I just offered you one, but now you're being rude.

What would you like to do here? I would love to be able to have broadboard support to support our provider system so it doesn't collapse. We've both offered to hear an amendment and you've just cons continued to insinuate that somehow myself and the vice chair have hid from you a contract that we have with JC Cooper that you all approved and are no and are well aware of. If you're not well aware of then your staff didn't brief you.

Um we approve a lot of contracts. I never heard anything that JC presented. All of the things that JC presented could have been posted on our website for public view so we all know and we're only contracted with one person, but where who were the community input who represented everybody at the table? Were all the hospitals there? I think they are because they're all here. But what about the clinics? What about the other folks? Look, I'm not I'm saying all I'm looking for is that we don't in our recommendation predetermine where we're headed when we're still in factf finding mode. And I think you brought it to the board of five so that we could help participate in the final decision. So I'm asking that we don't make it exclusive. We make it inclusive and allow those clinics. I'm just going to pick two off the top of my head. Uh, neighborhood healthcare, Sanro Healthcare, both participate heavily in the unincorporated. I'm sure there are additional people, but I don't have everybody memorized. And I know that there are more, but I just don't know them all off the top of my head.

So, supervisor Anderson, I'm trying to get to an amendment. I offer Could you repeat could you repeat the amendment that you're offering? Yeah, I'll give you two options, two choices. How's that? So, you can choose. Option one is simple. Right now it says with primary emphasis on acute care hospitals. We could cross out the word hospitals and say providers. That is inclusive. The other option would it be? Okay. I'm good. Is that okay with the

That is that is fine. And I appreciate the the addition. Um, could someone from our team from HSSA take take a moment? Apologies to put you on the spot. I do think it's important since apparently people are not paying attention to the important work that we as a county are doing to prepare for uh what's coming with HR1 and the gaps that we're looking at with CMS. If someone could come up and talk a little bit about uh the consultant we've hired to advise our committee and JC Cooper's qualifications um and the work she's doing. Um although this has been voted on by the board and is well known or should be well known by anyone who's paying attention.

Chair I have the assistant chief administrative officer Caroline Smith here and she can speak to the status of that. Thank you.

Certainly. Thank you so much for the question. Chair Lawson Reamer. Uh JC Cooper is a consultant that county staff engaged to assist with um the kind of the broader planning for HR1. She is largely recognized as an a national expert. She's had um experience in both the state administration as the head of the medical um work for the state. She's also had national experience with previous administrations um running the 1115 waiver program for the federal government. Additionally um she had started her work with counties um and in the beginning early on in her career she worked for Kern County. So really kind of understands firsthand what our work looks like um as as we do have that kind of frontline county effort. So over the course of her career, she has provided a tremendous amount of expertise and firsthand knowledge. Um and so we are in we feel incredibly fortunate that she has been able to help inform our staff on a number of fronts um in HR1 including this 17,000 mandate.

Okay. Thank you. And can you just for the refresh the recollection of the board like when was she retained? Certainly. I have to go back to the contract signature date but it was either the end of December or beginning of January. Okay. And is this like a big secret or was this public information? Um, it's it's certainly not a secret. The contract is a a public document on our contracting website. Um, it is not a a super large um contract amount. It is typically done under the authority that we work with and staff when we engage our expert professionals to assist us. Thank you. Any other questions from anybody? Fabulous. Supervisor Desmond.

Yeah. Um I you know I think I do think this is very important and necessary for our residents and I I think what's kind of complicating the issue is uh uh this the ad hoc committees are new and this and I appreciate the support and I guess the report uh coming to to the board with with your findings. Uh although um waving the apology A72, I would have liked to seen staff's input uh on the feasibility of some of these items before they were part of the recommendations and and because of that, I'm not going to support it today. I'd like to see staff's input first uh on on these items. So I guess I'm what I'm asking is if for before ad hoc committees come back to the board that they at least run it through staff. So, I'm I think it's more of a uh this is new and maybe it's uh pro the process needs to be refined or whatever the case, but uh I appreciate coming back to us, but I would have liked to seen it go through staff first.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um any other further comments or questions on this item, Supervisor? Sorry, Chair Promma Giri.

Just a quick comment. Um, I I I can see and understand the urgency of uh this item and it's in its name, exploring reforms to county medical services. That's all we're doing. That's all we would be proposing today. Uh I I I for one um have the district with the highest poverty levels and the people that will be most vulnerable. to your point, chair, about the hospital um or or a hospital potentially closing their doors like that's something that that I'm very well aware of in the district that um we're being impacted by many other dynamics. Uh in addition to what HR1 is bringing. So I understand the urgency and I'm happy to support the item.

Thank you very much. Um appreciate the the statement of support. Um so let me just summarize. I think uh we have a motion on the floor and a second um with a the a small amendment um that we both were happy to take um in order to kind of have broad board support for this item moving forward. Um, and I do appreciate the interest of this board in um, all of us kind of getting on the same page of of the of what we were briefed on as a subcommittee um, from the analysis that came our way from JC Cooper uh, regarding the threats facing our region and we're going to do what we can. Hopefully, she can come to our next meeting. Uh but if not, we will I will my team will certainly be in touch with your team um and hope to everyone's cooperation to uh be able to schedule a special session if she's not able to come to our next meeting. Um so I think that with that uh we can go ahead and uh call the vote.

Chair Lawson Reamer. That motion passes with Supervisor Desmond voting new. All other supervisors being present and voting I.

Okay. Thank you all very much. Um so we will now move on. Um hold on to our next item. We're going to go to item 16. If the team I think has a 10-minute presentation. Good morning, Chair Lawson Reamer and members of the board. In December, we presented an update on the countywide food contract with Cisco, which serves the sheriff's detention facilities in the Edgemore Skilled Nursing Center. The food contract supports board policy B75, which aims to strengthen our regional food system in partnership with the San Diego Food System Alliance. Positioning our county to be a national leader in food justice and sustainability will require a focused effort over time as there are local market factors that impact both the cost and availability of food items that meet our six value categories in the program which you will hear more about in our staff presentation. Today, we're back at your board's direction to discuss three follow-up areas related to the food contract. And to do that, I will turn it over to Garrett Cooper, assistant director of agriculture weights and measures, and Brenda Miller, assistant director of purchasing and contracting. Thank you, Brian. In December, the board gave us three main directions. First, continue to strength continue strengthening our outreach and technical

assistance for local producers. Second, take a deeper look at the barriers that make local procurement challenging. and third, develop ambitious but realistic goals across the six B75 value categories. That guidance really set the path for what we've been working on over the last few months. Since then, we've continued meeting with the Farm Bureau, local food hubs, and the University of California Cooperative Extension to build stronger support system for producers. We've been sharing resources, improving our website to make information easier to access, and offering one-on-one support through Edgust support, training, and education for procurement or step program. This is so smaller farmers can more easily navigate county contracting. We've also brought Cisco into the conversation earlier, especially when it comes to connecting with local producers of products we buy frequently, like eggs, bread, and vegetables. These early conversations make a big difference in building relationships and identifying real opportunities. To bring all of this together, we're launching Sprout, supporting producers through resources, opportunities, united partnerships, and technical assistance. Sprout gives us a clear structure for how we engage with producers, how we train and support them, and how we connect them with opportunities. It includes everything from produce safety training and grant writing workshops to online guides and regular updates about funding and contracting opportunities. And Cisco is an active partner here. They'll even be joining the food justice community action plan workshop later this month.

Before we go deeper into procurement, I want to take a moment and talk about the agricultural landscape in San Diego County because it really shapes what's possible. Our region has more than 4,000 farms, more small farms than any county in the country. About 830 grow fruits or vegetables, and around 300 raise animals. But producers here face steep land and water costs and many rely on higher value specialty crops to make ends meet such as nursery commodities. Out of roughly 200,000 acres of agricultural land, only about 13% or 27,000 acres is used to grow edible crops. and only a portion of that or around 5,000 acres is made up of crops typically used in institutional food service. The other 22,000 acres is made up of specialty crops such as avocados and/or foods not really used in institutional menus such as lemons. Farms growing foods that can be used for institutional men menus are small, often just a few acres, and many sell directly to consumers re rather than through large distributors. Even with these challenges, many growers we've spoken with are excited about working with the county. The interest is definitely there. What we're working on now is creating the infrastructure, partnerships, and pathways that make participation realistic for them. The Cisco contract helps us do that. With about 12 million in annual spending, including 1.6 million for produce, we have a real opportunity to focus on products we already buy in high volume and that are already being grown locally. With that, I'll turn it over to Brenda,

who will walk through what we've done and what we're doing to address procurement barriers and the goals that we have established for this program.

Thank you, Garrett. Since December, the county and Cisco have been working together to understand what makes it hard for local farms to sell to the county and how to address these challenges. Our goal is simple. keep county dollars in the region, support sustainable farming, and help local producers who want to work with the county. By choosing local and organic products, we can support B75 priorities while also strengthening our local economy. We're f focusing on the following barriers: county contracts require insurance, food safety certifications, and a steady supply of products. Many small farms are not set up to meet the demands of large government contracts. Some farms prefade to stay prefer to stay focused on direct sales, specialty markets, and may not be interested in selling through distributors. After meeting with the Farm Bureau, we shifted from broad outreach to a more targeted approach. As a result, we identified growers who already meet key requirements for volume, food safety, and operations. We created a focused list of strong candidates for onboarding. Cisco recently onboarded a San Diego egg supplier and helped reduce a major barrier by lowering the insurance requirement from 2 million to 500,000, making it possible for this small local farm to participate in the Cisco contract. Beyond getting new suppliers onboarded, we've also been removing barriers related to buying organic products and improving how our operations work together. DPC updated the Cisco contract so we could now buy produce directly from Fresh Point, Cisco's specialty produce company. Cisco agreed to wave certain fees to make this possible. This change allows our food programs to

purchase more organic produce without increasing cost. It supports Edgeort's 50% organic goal with similar commitments from the sheriff's food programs. We've reduced other unnecessary barriers as well. For example, Cisco lowered insurance requirements and clarified packaging standards. For example, a kosher two slide bread, the top ordered item from the sheriff's program, has packaging requirements that are essential to protect product integrity. Cisco is actively seeking a qualified regional supplier that could meet these requirements. We're also improving logistics so growers can better connect with Cisco and Fresh Point distribution channels. We're enhancing labeling and product visibility so organic options are easier to find and order. Sheriff's Office and Edgemore are coordinating their menus more strategically and sharing purchasing needs earlier in the year. This helps producers un understand demand before making planting decisions. Together, these changes reduce remaining barriers and create more stable, predictable opportunities for local growers. These first three charts show our expected progress and we continue to address barriers, support stakeholder engagement, and technical assistance. The blue dotted line identifies the national average for similar programs. The orange line is where we are now and the green line shows our work to exceed this average over the next five years. The greatest opportunities for immediate impact given our actions described earlier are in the organic and regenerative local sourcing and nutritional co- benefit categories. Organic and regenerative farming improves soil health which boosts nutrient density and reduces overall emissions. Expanding access access to organic produce through continuing to

onboard vendors like Fresh Point will assist in meeting this goal. Local sourcing supports community economies and can lower carbon intensity. To meet this goal, we'll work with Cisco to continue to improve completeness of data on where local where items are grown, produced, or manufactured while continuing to identify and onboard local suppliers to support our institutional food needs. Nutri nutritional co- benefit supports health and well-being and is strengthened by local sourcing since shorter supply chains preserve freshness and reduce transportation emissions. Although this report highlights the countywide Cisco contract, the sheriff's office is also partnering with other vendors such as a local dairy to promote progress in the local sourcing value category. These last three categories, equity informed sourcing ensures historically marginalized farmers and suppliers have access to markets, reinforcing social sustainability and complementing regenerative practices. Elevated labor standards promote fair wages and safe conditions aligning with equity goals and and it includes office of labor standards quarterly reviews against the wage theft dashboard. Low carbon intensity is achieved through reductions in animal products purchased and overall supported through regenerative farming and local sourcing. Progress in the value categories will require balancing budget considerations with operational needs. If any value category isn't moving towards our goal, we reassess the system, analyze the data to find the root causes, and quickly apply corrective actions to get performance back on track. To put it simply, in five

years, we'll lead the way exceed the national average of programs similar to the county in all six value categories. Cisco is committed committed to helping county meet B75 goals and is taking steps beyond their contract requirements. Cisco will review all new products for B75 alignment and track how many values align suppliers they bring on. They will collect B75 data for vendors who supply the county's top purchased items, share a report on San Diego based suppliers supporting their contracts, and provide quarterly updates. Join quarterly meetings with the Farm Bureau to keep partnerships strong. share monthly fresh press updates that will let Edgeorn Sheriff's Office know which value lines product are available and provide an annual summary of incentives, training, and resource they offer to help bring value line suppliers into their system. County staff will report back to the board this December when with an update on progress under the countywide food contract with Cisco. This update will cover progress toward established commitments, implementation of the sprout initiative, and actions taken to support local and values aligned businesses. Subject to your question, this concludes our presentation.

Uh we'll now go to public comment. Thank you, Chair Lawson Reamer. We have 10 requests to speak on this item, four in person and six requesting to speak by phone. Also know for the record that we received six e comments, five in support and one in opposition. For any individuals that requested to speak on item 16 by phone, please dial in at the conference line using the instructions that were provided to you. We'll begin with the inerson speakers. As your name is called, please come forward and stand on the arrows until it is your turn to speak at the podium. Because there are 10 or more speakers on this item, you'll have one minute to address the board. Like to invite forward allegedly Audra Caesar Javier, Chandra Richards, and Jennifer Royden. I've called your name. Please come forward.

You guys are so good just sitting here straight face acting like you care about people and what we eat, right? But let's not worry about the toxic things in the food. It's okay as long as we can just kill people very quickly and give it to people like the kids in the Pinsky Center and stuff, right? Because we really care about them. It's obvious by how the place has been shut down, right? Mhm. And um reducing animal products. See, this is interesting. This is like a United Nations agenda, right? We got to get people to quit eating meat. Um that's why we 3D print it and stuff like that so we don't have cow farts getting in the way. Um, but yeah, I mean, this is really just terrifying to think about you guys controlling all of the food in the county and making sure all of the farms and stuff get in bed with you guys so that you guys can shut them down. It's you guys are it's like calming up here. You guys are good. And Tara, I think I misspoke. It's a clump of cells, not a bun in the oven.

Next speaker, please. Cesar and Purita, we are here to help to work together. We expect food for less. Uh Ralph and Sprout to give us a lecture on what uh price all this you know councelor uh uh Rivera district 9 city of San Diego. Oh, he was trying to possibly make discounts of this food. When you say food, clean food. Are we trying to procure clean food? Are we trying to stick on one uh contractor? Why I request you to attend the water authority? This is one issue. We need water. And it's only last month when water was connected to our neighboring sovereign tribal which are producing also herbal products which is good.

Thank you. Thank you. Your time is up. God help. God help. Thank you. Next speaker please.

Good morning. My name is Chandra Richards. I'm the area county director for UC cooperative extension in San Diego and Imperial counties. I would like to express our strong support for the local food procurement program and highlight the longstanding partnership between the county of San Diego and UC Cooperative Extension. For decades, we've worked sidebyside to strengthen regional agriculture, expand nutritional education, support small and emerging farmers, and advance climate smart and community-based solutions. This program is a natural extension of that shared work. It deepens our collective commitment to a food system that is sustainable, equitable, and rooted in local producers. We appreciate the county's efforts to reduce barriers for growers, expand training, and create clearer pathways for local farms to participate in procurement. These efforts directly amplify the impact of UC Cooperative Extension on the ground and support for historically underserved producers. Cooperative Extension is proud to continue the partnership and stands ready to collaborate even more closely. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. A final call for Jennifer Royden. We now hear from those that requested to speak by phone. We'll start with our first caller. I know about plans and commitments, but this is a progress report. We should focus on what has actually happened to date. I question whether the team actually interviewed the recipients of the Cisco contract or just kept to their county offices and Cisco's fisc actively engaged over 1,200 local producers about a third of them to identify alternatives to items in its catalog and the whole two has shown and strong interest. At the start, the county needs to look beyond Cisco, maybe form a county consortium of local growers. It does have candies for using purching the and is pursuing direct.

Thank you. Hear from the next caller. Swellow. So keep the money of the county in the county. We should be investing in our local farmers. But I know better. This is the way of having government their dirty hands on independent local farmers production processes. They'd be required to abide by what government demands of them. Independent outdoor penalized for not abiding. I'd highly advise our local farmers to use their discernment and working with anything pertaining to government. In the end, they'll be calling the shots in everything you plant, harvest, and sell. Making deals with these deceitful devils uh may seem lucrative and stable, but it's time to step back and remember that the shady business of government has the goal to be in total control of everyone and everyone reliant on them. Food is essential and once they have total control of it, it's over. Wake up, San Diego. Wake up, humanity.

Thank you. I hear from the next caller.

Hey, it's truth. It It's the county systemic status quo for Cisco, a Texas based company. expect you to adhere to a California delusional goal of racist equity. Anything for a buck. But there's no such thing as values aligned purchases voted on by people with zero values. Hence the focus on upping wages for the progressive union campaign funders. Does reach out to Farm Bureau mean just pretend to reach them just like the last item? Is this an untransparent soul source monopoly contract just like the JC Cooper backroom deal? Because Tara is known for backroom deals. Instead of reimagining requirements, why don't you start serving some healthy food for Edgemore, where you house sexually violent predators within the city of Santi's boundary. It's a food system initiative related to the San Diego Food Systems Alliance, who've received over $10,000 for staff and musicians. The San Diego Food Hub seems to have no website and no address. That's terrorist style transparency in effect. I also do not approve of Terara's disrespectful and childish behavior today. was more disgusting than the food is likely trucking in on big GH mini commercial trucks. You county hypocrite.

Thank you. Hear from the final caller.

I do find it funny the fact that the union really did not really wanted term limits and now that they got someone like you, Terra, they want to reverse that. You know, thank God they're not registering people to vote and voting for them, right? That's according to you, not according to the heritage studies that have been done. And basically, that's where most of the fraud is coming from. But we don't need to look at that. I mean, as long as you're willing to go ahead and turn your back on, you know, the American people, you could get promoted into becoming the weather star, right, Sean? if you turn your back on what you did, you know, the people that you worked under, Dave Longdale, Mark Bradley that taught us these wonderful lessons and you ignore all that and just follow exactly what Michael Vu wanted during a time that we were being sued over, you know, vote by mail. You decided to basically get rid of me and put me on hold for six years, then file a ref.

Thank you. and chair lost remma. That concludes public comment on this item. Okay. Thank you so much, Supervisor Anderson.

Thank Thank you, Madam Chair. I just had a a couple good questions. Uh so is county staff working through Cisco and Cisco is h what's the relationship between our staff and Cisco? So I best understand it and I don't know who best to answer that. The county staff is collaborating with Cisco to help onboard our local suppliers, but it is a Cisco contract. We're working very closely with them.

Uh, have many local food producers been hired in the system thus far? The recent um producer that we onboarded is our lo local egg supplier.

Okay. And then um are we using any local food brokers? You know, for a lot of these folks, they're just not big enough, but the food brokers, you know, they may take 10 farmers and combine them so they can meet bigger contracts. So uh through the chair's supervisor uh we certainly are looking at different food aggregators and food brokers uh that could be incorporated and onboarded into the Cisco contract. Uh currently one that is a big focus is the food hub and then there's also several different other aggregators Dickinson Ranch uh Yak Sukuchi Farms Jr. organics who actually collect commodities from all sorts of different farms throughout the region.

Yasakuchi uh family farms in D4 is one of the ones that's on my radar. Also, Premier Produce in Moseri produce. I'm butchering their names. Uh even though it's vegetables, I'm butchering it. So, I I just want to make sure that we're connecting with all the right people in the community. And there, you know, uh one's in D3, one's in D1. I'd be proud to call them all D2, but none of them are. So, thank you for your hard work. Okay. Thank you so much, Vice Chair Montgomery. Step.

Uh, thank you. And I know that is a always a concern that we're bringing in as many local providers as possible and that sometimes it requires um a little bit more than we normally do. So, thank you for uh addressing that in our discussion in December. um and for bringing back this comprehensive progress report. Um I do appreciate the establishment of the clear five-year performance commitments and I look forward to continuing to monitor progress for all of the six value uh categories. Also want to thank Cisco for working to comply with county's B75 sustainability framework um to strengthen data tracking and reporting and that level of transparency and accountability really is essential for making meaningful progress. recognize that it was difficult to overcome some of the barriers to local procurement of fresh produce. We've been talking about that for a while a while. But I do commend purchasing and contracting for amending the contract uh with Cisco to allow direct purchasing um from local producers which uh cuts down some of those barriers. So we we definitely want a food system to not only nourish our residents but also strengthen our small food producers as well as the local economy. So, thank you for keeping all of those uh things in mind and keeping um us updated and for all of your hard work. Um I know that the recommendation is just for us to receive the report. I'm happy to move that if needed.

Um thank you so much. We have a motion on the floor. Just want to say I also appreciate the benchmarks. I think uh this has been really iterative and um when we started this we weren't even sure um what was possible and I think the data from this initial report shows that um especially in certain kind of uh parts of our county uh there's certain departments who are doing amazing uh and others are doing less amazing in terms of reaching and it's true some are really doing amazing and some are definitely not. Uh so that's helpful um to kind of note that there's you know a lot that can be done uh that this is really doable um which was kind of the question from the outset and then I think like having those kinds of benchmarks and like a a framework towards um how we move towards um this this not being optional fundamentally as we move forward and just it I think it's very thoughtful. So, thank you for moving us in the right direction. And I do want to just thank our county departments that um have really kind of been thoughtful about how to how to how to how to source local, how to buy from our rural communities here in San Diego County, how to kind of take into account these big um important issues in in how they do purchasing for our food contracts. Thanks. And do we have a second?

Okay, Supervisor Desmond. Great. Uh any further comments from anyone?

Just a quick comment, chair. Um I want to thank staff for all your work around this and I would actually say um I do appreciate the benchmarks, but I would encourage us to be even more ambitious so that we can set the national standard. I I really appreciate the launch of Sprout and the technical assistant uh efforts. I think that's important so that we can have equity in um you know our providers. So I I totally and thoroughly understand like the logistical challenges of expanding and becoming more ambitious, but I want to encourage us to do so. So thank you, chair. Okay. Thank you all very much. Um so just kind of like looking forward at the rest of the day. We've got Oh, we have to vote. So much consensus. Okay. Uh we have a motion on the floor in a second.

Chair Lawson, that motion passes unanimous unanimously with all supervisors being present and voting on. Okay. I'm glad we all agree. That's great. Um fantastic. Okay. So, moving forward, looking at the rest of the day, um we're going to be taking um lunch, then item 15 after lunch. Um and then items 13 and FP2, and then item 14. So, this is for our st our county team. Okay. Uh it's a little bit afternoon. We'll be back here at 1 o'clock. Thanks. Board is in recess until 1 p.m.

Y everything. Hey