04.21.20 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2020 It's important for the community as a whole to enact a Cite & Release Ordinance, because without it we have seen how it causes a permanent disruption in those affected, in terms of, families, employability, and being able to earn a degree. There is no possible way to fully recover from being in jail for the rest of your life you will be questioned on it and more than likely, since our system is so flawed and makes it so difficult for someone to be released from jail and gain employability at a job they may end back up in jail because they had to do something to earn money just to survive. The system punishes the poor for being poor. How can somebody pay restitution when they are jailed pre-trial? I've seen it many times in my life with my family. The first offense was minor and non-violent, but still no matter where they applied nobody after it anywhere they would apply no one would hire them. They had to resort to working in the informal economy just to earn money to support their family and newborn daughter. Currently they've been incarcerated for 12 years. A more just society where we have a Cite & Release Ordinance and a holistic public defender's office would have helped prevent this situation, along with rehabilitation, instead of just allowing people to go through this cycle where there is no one way for them to get out. I urge all of you for the betterment of your community, and to show you care and value their lives by enacting the following "6 Critical Moves for Council Success": The 6 Critical Moves for Council Success 1) YES to Reinstating "Guided Discretion" -- the Backbone of the Policy -- by Re-inserting "Only"! 2) YES to Authentic Community Participation in the Working Group, not just Token Citizen Comment! 3) YES to an Objective Standard of Interpreting the Disqualifying Circumstances, not just Letting Officers do Whatever They Feel! 4) YES to Clean -Up Amendments! 5) NO to a Restrictive ID Policy! 6) NO to any other Amendments! 30 Minute Citizen Comment Period John Schuster: Dear San Marcos City Council, I feel that the San Marcos City Council ought to vote yes to reinstate the Cite and Release Ordinance back into a meaningful form. Guidelines for officer discretion that ensure timely and thorough compliance comport with the alleged City Council support for increasing the use of citations, over arrests, for various eligible non-violent misdemeanors as defined by state law. I ask the City Council to amend the Cite and Release Ordinance by reinstating `Guided Discretion.' By reinserting `only' in the clause, officers still retain broad discretion but may only make an arrest in a City of San Marcos Page 12