Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents, subcontracts and subsequent amendments, including amending the award amount, with the Board of State and Community Corrections, California Violence Intervention and Prevention Cohort 4, to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $3,919,232, for the Long Beach Activating Safe Communities Program from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025, with the option to extend the agreement for an additional one-year period at the discretion of the City Manager; and Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $3,919,232, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)
Vice Mayor Richardson. The motion is 87 zero. Thank you. 24 item 24 is report from Health and Human Services recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all necessary documents with the Board of State and Community Corrections, California Violence Intervention and Prevention Cohort four To accept and expend grant funding in the amount of 3.9 million for the Long Beach Activating Safe Communities Program Citywide. Thank you. Public comment. If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on item 24 in person. Please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature. Now we have a comment in person. Good evening. I wanted to speak on this item because I noticed in the recommendation that there was a lot of funding that was going to the police department and that the intent with this recommendation was to really focus on safe communities programing. And as I mentioned earlier and last week as well, I am concerned with the consistent overpolicing of Long Beach. I know the mayor wasn't here when I spoke on this earlier or last week, but I had mentioned that we have a history of consistently resorting to policing as a response or a solution to a lot of our issues. And I mentioned some examples using the unhoused, looking at education, the fact that we have given information to ICE, the fact that we had a concentration camp here in Long Beach ourselves. But what I am looking at is the mayor and the city manager referenced consistently the racial equity and reconciliation report. And in that report, it really focuses on looking to the community and what the community feels is adequate responses and solutions. And again, I want to reference that in that report. A key finding was looking at things like education reform, looking at things like more funding for schools and parks, looking at social services, looking at improved health care, looking at education of different cultures within the city as well. And I'm looking at this as an opportunity when we think about safe communities, that we are looking at those solutions. And also earlier in the budget, there was a reference to looking at a program for cadet for the police department. But I'm thinking, why don't we do that for other types of services, social services like education or programs in social services or social work? We are not really thinking in it in an innovative way to how we can adequately provide these safer communities and really build up our communities. I think this is an opportunity to really be progressive, that perhaps we fund things like mental health counseling, again, education, social work within these communities rather than just resorting to policing. Only because when we look at policing, whether it's on bikes, whether they're not, whether they're unarmed, it doesn't matter. It's still policing and that's automatically criminalizing our neighborhoods. So instead of always looking at how come you throw police funding in there, why are we not looking again for things like counseling, mental health, education, social work and really investing in our communities in a real progressive way? Thank you. And. Q There's emotion or second, is there any was there any online comment? I don't believe so. Members, please go ahead and do a roll call vote. Councilman, Councilwoman Cindy has. I. Councilwoman Allen. Councilwoman Price. I. Councilman supporter. I. Councilwoman Mongo. I. Councilwoman Sara I. Councilmember Muranga. Councilman Austin. Vice Mayor Richardson. I am. The motion is carry it to. Make you item 25.