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City Council Meeting Minutes April 7, 2020 <br />discretion directed in this ordinance could lead to confusion and unintended <br />consequences. The ordinance in Section 2 is comprised of 2 paragraphs. The <br />two paragraphs contradict each other. In the paragraph at bottom of page 1 <br />the ordinance gives officers the discretion that is authorized in state law. The <br />next paragraph reduces that discretion to only 6 reasons for arrest. State law <br />affords an officer discretion, not only for those items enumerated in Ordinance <br />2020-18. I do not believe an ordinance can reduce discretion authorized by <br />state law. I thank council for their time and consideration." <br />Anna Carbajal: <br />"I am writing to OPPOSE this ordinance. I have been a resident of San Marcos <br />for over 9 years. I was born and raised here. My family is very involved in our <br />community. We have invested in this community. My family owns several <br />buildings in the San Marcos community along with a historical residence. We <br />are not strangers here. I have a family here. I want to keep that family safe. <br />Council, we want San Marcos to be safe. Your ultimate duty is public safety. <br />Failure to maintain order in our community will not yield safety in our public. <br />I believe the Cite and Release Ordinance 2020-18 will give people MORE <br />opportunity to commit crimes. While I do agree that some people may be a <br />good candidate for just a citation, others ARE NOT. They continue to commit <br />crimes because they do not care. They also realize that they will get off pretty <br />easily if they continue to steal what is not theirs from others. I ask that you <br />VOTE NO to the passage of this Cite and Release Ordinance 2020-18. Let the <br />officers decide how they will handle these crimes as we have always allowed. <br />As a community member, I WANT you to take care of my family. Passing <br />this ordinance means that my family means nothing to you. If you are my <br />elected official, do the right thing and vote NO to this ordinance. Victims and <br />the San Marcos community deserve better! I want my two children who are <br />born and raised in San Marcos and who attend the San Marcos ISD to feel safe <br />and to know they will not fall victim to defendants who just don't care. <br />Bryan Garcia, I have been a Democrat all my life. I have always believed in <br />giving a hand UP but not a hand OUT. I believe the Cite and Release <br />Ordinance 2020-18 is a hand OUT. This HAND OUT should not be given to <br />people who REFUSE to follow the law. It is not hard to be a law-abiding <br />citizen. I believe people who refuse to follow the law should be punished <br />accordingly whether they have money or no money. I also support our local <br />law enforcement. I believe they should have the ultimate discretion to decide <br />how they want to handle the defendant. It is up to the courts to determine if <br />they should provide the defendant with an option to get this off his or her <br />record or not, if they are deserving of it. I think people need to work hard to <br />City of San Marcos Page 5 <br />