Remarks by Anna Hernandez
57 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
- Play at 1:09:50
“OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I THINK THAT MOVES IT INTO MY OTHER BIG CONCERN IS THIS IS ULTIMATELY LIKE I SEE THIS AS A BUDGET ITEM AND IT AFFECTS OUR BUDGET. JUST THIS PAST JUNE FOR THE PAST FISCAL YEAR, COUNCIL APPROVED WITHIN THE BUDGET THERE WAS $1.4 MILLION FOR POLICE TO EXPAND THE PUBLIC RECORDS DEPARTMENT. SPECIFICALLY I BELIEVE IT WAS SET TO ADDRESS THIS RECORDS REQUEST BACKLOG. SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT FUNDING AND WAS THAT NOT ENOUGH AND IS THAT WHY WE ARE NOW HEARING THIS REQUEST FOR INCREASED FEES?”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:11:17
“I mean, it's still a little concerning because the totality of the police budget is about $1.3 billion, right, between your general funds and your enterprise funds. AND I THINK THE THIRD FUND WHICH OR MAYBE IT'S JUST TWO FUNDS. IN TOTALITY THAT'S $1.3 BILLION. THIS FEE IS THE FEE INCREASE IS PROJECTING TO DO REVENUES OF ABOUT LET'S RUN IT UP TO $800,000. SO WITHIN THAT $1.3 BILLION ARE WE NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY $800,000 THAT WOULD COVER THESE POSITIONS? BECAUSE ALSO AND I'LL ADD THIS THAT For the last few years, just our police department overtime alone has went over budget by over $20 million,…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:13:39
“Okay, I appreciate that, Laura. I think I just still have, I still have an issue with just any, because ultimately what this boils down to is that this is an increase in the police budget, right? Like we are having the department come to us to increase the fees that ultimately will generate $800,000 that goes on top of their already total budget of 1.3 billion. I JUST THINK THAT'S FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE OF US TO DO IF WE HAVE THE PATHWAYS TO DO IT. I ALREADY GAVE ONE EXAMPLE WHERE IF WE CONTROL OUR OVERTIME, WE HAVE PLENTY OF FUNDS TO DO THIS EXACT SAME THING WITHOUT INCREASING FEES TO THE…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:16:58
“Yeah, and I think, you know, I appreciate it. I think that is a point of contention and we're going to agree to disagree on the overtime and how that shapes out. You know, I still have, I'm going to continue to have my concerns and, you know, I know in the presentation it was mentioned affordability, right? based on this new structure that we as Phoenix still remain affordable on these public records. But when we're looking at affordability as a whole, we're talking about either on either side, right? Commercial or non-commercial users, everybody's being impacted by so many rising costs and…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:19:03
“Thank you. I appreciate that. And thank you for answering all my questions. I still fundamentally believe that there is a way to identify the funds in the current $1.3 billion total police budget to achieve the same goals. And I think that's... JUST MY INTERPRETATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE ON THE BUDGET AND BECAUSE BUDGET AND RESEARCH IS SO GREAT AT WHAT THEY DO AND BEEN ABLE TO HELP ME AND MY TEAM UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET THERE'S STILL A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE THERE FOR ME AND CONCERN BUT THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS THANK YOU MAYOR COUNCILMAN ROBINSON THANK YOU MAYOR UM”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 34:00
“Mayor, may I explain my vote? Yes. Thank you. I understand that this grant will be used for improving the quality of timeliness of forensic science, reduce backlogs, train personnel, and implement new technologies. My issue is not with that. My issue is that these funds also supplement Phoenix Police Department overtime and fringe benefits. Once again, we find that this department is pulling from outside sources to cover their out of control overtime. The cost is that the other things this grant is supposed to cover will be sacrificed to pay for overtime and that to me is irresponsible. I…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 40:09
“Thank you so much, Mayor. And I would move for approval of item of the, sorry, I would move to approve the ordinance adoption for the rezoning application and the approval THE ACCOMPANIED ORDINANCE. SECOND. I'LL ROLL RIGHT INTO MY COMMENTS. I THINK ANOTHER REALLY GOOD FEEL-GOOD ITEM, I REALLY WANT TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THIS REZONING AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT THIS REALLY WHAT THE SUPPORT WHAT WE BELIEVE IT REPRESENTS FOR DISTRICT 7 WHICH IS OUR COMMITMENT TO CREATING SAFE OUTDOOR SPACES WHILE CONTINUING TO EXPAND the range of housing options available to our residents. You know, I want to be…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 58:29
“Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, when we think about First Fridays in Phoenix, Roosevelt Row is the first place that comes to mind. Residents have been coming downtown to experience First Friday on Roosevelt for a long time. I've been one of those residents where I've enjoyed the art, the food and the scene. However, what First Friday in Roosevelt became was much different than where it started. By the beginning of this year, crowds of over 20,000 people were descending onto Roosevelt Row, and this created several challenges for our city. First, the original focus of art or on art was, you know, a…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:21:13
“Thank you so much, Mayor. Just a couple of questions for Rachel. And thank you so much, because Vice Mayor actually broach some of the questions I was gonna ask, so we got those out of the way. When I was reading through the petition and just hearing some of the comments today, I really believe this petition comes at a place of concern where it's pretty evident that maybe not everyone's having the same level of access to either mental health support or behavioral support or any medical services. ACCESS TO MEDICAL TREATMENT, RIGHT? SO WE, AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, WE AS A CITY OWN THE SOS…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:22:13
“I guess what I wanna, you know, because I think it's very valuable for our residents that are, you know, residents and participants at the SOS site to come and share their concerns and just so we know what's happening there, right? Because we visit, we go, we stay up to date on what's happening. WHAT PATH EXISTS TO IMPROVE THE ACCESS? IS IT US WORKING WITH THE KEYS OPERATION SIDE? IS IT WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CIRCLE OF THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE, OR WITH CBI? BECAUSE I WANT TO REASSURE RESIDENTS, RIGHT, LIKE, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF THE PETITION, BUT I DON'T WANT THE RESIDENTS AND OUR…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:23:42
“OKAY THANK YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S DISTINCTIONS TO ME TO BE MADE RIGHT LIKE WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T HAVE ONE I MEAN THE CONTINUUM OF CARE IS BASICALLY THE REGIONAL OPERATOR OF OVERSEEING I THINK TO THE VICE MAYOR'S COMMENTS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE REALLY PROVIDES SOME PIECES IN OUR HOMELESS OR SERVICES BUT NOT THE EVERYDAY OPERATIONAL TOOLS RIGHT WHICH THAT IS WHERE WE AS A CITY ARE WORKING WITH OUR OUTSIDE PARTNERS AND I THINK YOU KNOW it would be valuable to go back to them also and just reiterate our expectations of the level of service they are providing in partnership on…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:25:02
“Okay, that would be great. And one other thing, Rachel, sorry, my last question I think for you would be, if residents there are having issues with accessing some of the services there, what is the best route for them to report that or submit feedback?”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:25:49
“Okay, thank you so much for sharing that. And I want to be clear, the residents, the District 7 office is also an option if you are not receiving access or you're having issues and you feel safer to come into us as a city, please know that the District 7 office is also a resource for you to provide that feedback. And we work very closely with Rachel and the entire OHS team to make sure that we as a city are addressing issues as they come up. So please know that that is also an option for you all. I think that's it on my questions. Thank you so much, Mayor.”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:35:01
“Thank you, Mayor, and I fully echo that. I think that YOU KNOW WE HAVE REGIONAL PARTNERS THAT WOULD DO WELL TO STEP UP AND PUT IN MORE EFFORT INTO TACKLING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT REALLY AFFECTS US ALL. I DO WANT TO YOU KNOW I THINK COUNCILMAN PASTOR RAISE A GOOD POINT THAT IT IS A LITTLE HARD TO SEE READ A STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO DENY THE PETITION I HEAR YOU KNOW THE THE THE DISTINCTION THAT THE VICE MAYOR RAISE BUT I think where there's a little disconnect is like we're saying, hey, no, we're not going to approve this petition, but we're not offering up an alternative plan for how we're…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:48:43
“Thank you so much, Mayor, and thank you so much, Councilman Pastor, for sharing that history. I know your roots run deep in the farmworkers movement and in labor and everything that that means. So thank you so much for your leadership on this topic over the last almost year, I think now. And yeah, I... It's always been important to recognize that every movement is built out of a collective and not one individual. And it is so important for us as public servants to really ensure that as a city of Phoenix leadership, we are recognizing an entire movement that has done so much for so many of us…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 1:59:34
“Can we? Councilman Hernandez. Thank you, Mayor. Sounds like it might be District 7 side. If we can have Josh connect with the resident, that would be great. Thank you.”
City Council Formal Meeting · Sep 9, 2026
- Play at 52:20
“Sorry, thank you, Mayor. Just a quick request for, sorry, we're on 57, right? Okay, thank you. Just a quick request for you, Ed. Is it possible to send my office a list of all the city departments, department contracts with Zen City, and the dollar amount that we are paying for each of that contract?”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 52:52
“Okay, thank you so much. Mayor, I just have a couple comments. It's really been brought to my attention around this item by several residents that emailed and called our office that Zen City is an Israeli company that is actively providing services in support of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. I have serious concerns with our city financially supporting the murder of innocent people. I hope that we can continue to be intentional about who we are contracting with as a city because it is a huge reflection in our values. So I won't be able to support this item today. Thank you very much.”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 54:07
“Thank you so much. I believe we have folks to speak on it. I'll wait until after public comment.”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 56:16
“Thank you so much, Mayor. I believe the applicant is here. If he could, would you mind sending him to the podium? Just have a quick question for you. And while you get up there, you know, thank you so much for the community members for being engaged and following along. Here are your concerns, and I think I'M CONFIDENTLY SPEAKING FOR MYSELF AND FOR OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM. WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR PROCESS. SO DEFINITELY GOING TO TAKE YOUR INPUT AND WE WILL LOOK AND SEE HOW WE CAN BETTER OUR PROCESSES SO THAT WE ARE FULL OF TRANSPARENCY WITH YOU ALL AS RESIDENTS.…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 1:09:35
“MAYOR. CAN WE GET AN ANSWER TO WHAT MR. HARRIS SAID ABOUT THE QUESTION? Cause that's a little concerning if that's a question on the form.”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 1:27:10
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 1:28:41
“But wouldn't you agree, then shouldn't that rubric change in the language by removing that, those two terms, like making it broader? Because I think you can ask, I think it would be fair to ask the question, if you are open to a multitude of viewpoints, and that's full stop, right? I don't think we need to add to further divide it into either or. I mean, Would that be an option here?”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 1:31:04
“Yes, and then this may explain my vote, yes, thank you it's no secret to all that I have some serious concerns about this curriculum in this contract. Primarily the fact that our local youth and advocates educators and leaders were not involved in the development and implementation of the program. in the way that I think would be the best serve for this community. The content of the program does not do its due diligence in properly addressing the safety of our youth. Instead, it teaches our youth how they need to be the ones that behave properly in the presence of police. However, there are…”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026
- Play at 1:33:48
“Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple questions for our police department on this item. All right, thank you, Chief. Wanted to really start with, you know, specific to this item and to what we're trying to do with this, what qualifies as a critical incident in association to this item?”
City Council Formal Meeting · Aug 26, 2026