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City Council Meeting Minutes August 15,2017 <br /> following statement made by Mayor Thomaides regarding Senate Bill 4 (SB4): <br /> "Just before we gathered back here in the council chambers the City Council <br /> received legal advice regarding SB 4 in executive session. <br /> We want to let each of you know that we have heard your concerns regarding <br /> SB 4. We have each—individually - listened, learned and gathered as much <br /> information as possible about the potential new law and potential impacts. <br /> We also want you to know that the fact that we have not issued a public <br /> statement, until now, is not due to lack of care or concern for our residents or <br /> the fears that have been expressed. In fact, it's because we know the passion of <br /> our community that we want to ensure that we take the time to fully <br /> understand the issues and the possible outcomes of our actions. <br /> We also want to express that whether or not SB 4 becomes law—The San <br /> Marcos Police Department stands ready to protect you,your family, and your <br /> property. We don't want anyone to allow fears of immigration enforcement to <br /> prevent them from calling the police when the need arises. <br /> Community policing is a priority of our police department. Our police chief <br /> and each of our officers works to foster relationships with our diverse <br /> community, businesses,and organizations. The City values those relationships, <br /> and SB 4 will not deter the city from continuing to cultivate them. The San <br /> Marcos Police Department has long-established policies against racial profiling <br /> and discrimination and we will continue to be guided by those policies. <br /> As I mentioned,we have heard concerns, not only from our own citizens, but <br /> also from other cities and police departments across the State. Some of those <br /> concerns include: <br /> 1. Police Departments across the State of Texas, and the Texas Police Chiefs' <br /> Association have expressed concern that SB 4 will damage cooperation <br /> between the police and the community they are sworn to protect and serve. If <br /> crimes go unreported due to fear of immigration enforcement by police <br /> personnel, the community will be less safe and efforts to prevent crime will be <br /> weakened. That's why we stress the importance of not allowing the fears <br /> surrounding this statute to deter you from trusting in and relying on the men <br /> and women of our police department when you need them most. <br /> 2. There are also concerns expressed in cities throughout Texas that the statute <br /> City of San Marcos Page 2 <br />