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City Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2020 language of the ordinance (including the word "only" which was removed from the section on guided discretion), officers have the power to still make arrests in disqualifying circumstances, which include all of the examples which have been cited as scare tactics in public comments and advertisements around this topic. So please, I ask you to do right by us as citizens and set a heroic example for the rest of our state and vote yes for this ordinance, without the addition of any amendments (such as restricting the admissible forms of ID) that could unnecessarily target particular populations (like the undocumented) or violate the spirit of the ordinance. Thank you for your consideration and your service to our city. Raymond Ortega: San Marcos City Council, I am student of Texas State and a resident of San Marcos. The Cite and Release Ordinance should be passed not just in light of the pandemic, but also as a long-term implementation that works towards bettering the community as a whole. The San Marcos Police Department has neglected to use existing cite and release laws, opting to arrest individuals majority (77%) citation -eligible offenses. This wastes time on the parts of the Police Department and the judicial system, money on the taxpayer's part, and space within jails, which is especially dangerous in this current pandemic when multiple people in Hays County are confirmed positive for COVID-19 and one death has resulted from infection. These arrests also disproportionately affect minority groups, especially people of color, and cause more financial and mental health instability for the working-class people of Hays County. We have the tools in place to implement this much-needed ordinance, now it is up to the members of the San Marcos City Council to follow through with the needs of their constituents. Rolf Straubhaar: Dear City Councilmembers, I am writing in support of the proposed Cite & Release Ordinance, and urge all council members to support it. I thank Council members Mark Rockeymoore, Joca Marquez, Melissa Derrick and Maxfield Baker for their previous support for the ordinance, and for voting in support of the ordinance on the first vote. I love San Marcos and am very happy to live and work here with my wife and children. It makes me proud to know that you as our representatives are the first city government in the State of Texas to consider this type of ordinance—one that sends a clear message that we as a city value and honor the lives and livelihoods of all San Martians, including those who encounter the police while committing minor nonviolent offenses. City of San Marcos Page 15