Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/vicente-sarmiento/)
“This is probably the most political and divisive city council Santa Ana has had,” Councilwoman Michele Martinez said as the council debated the appointment. “Let’s be honest with each other. We really don’t like one another, and we really don’t trust one another.”
The Santa Ana City Council is considering filing a lawsuit against the county – and inviting other cities to join – alleging mismanagement of the millions of dollars in federal homelessness money the county gets each year.
Santa Ana is the first city in Orange County to have such an agreement, which requires construction contractors to hire workers through a union referral system.
The City Council directed staff to study actions to assist cooperatives – such as reducing business license fees and allowing them to apply for small business grants – and bring back recommendations to the council within 90 days.
City Council members had voted in June to reduce staffing at their mostly-empty jail. But a new plan emerged to house additional U.S. Marshals inmates, which the acting police chief said would reduce the city’s budget deficits and save jail jobs.
The new contract raises the base salary for officers and sergeants by 5.6 percent to 10.6 percent, depending on seniority and work schedule. Supporters say it’s needed to keep compensation competitive, while opponents say Santa Ana can’t afford the increase.
New concerns are being raised about whether the city has been illegally overcharging residents and businesses for trash collection and using the money for other services like police, firefighting, and parks.
Mayor Miguel Pulido canceled the meeting Thursday morning, citing a lack of enough council members to hold it. The meeting had sparked claims of illegal vote-trading from one of his colleagues.
Mayor Miguel Pulido called a special City Council meeting exactly 24 hours before it’s scheduled start time Thursday afternoon. His move sparked claims of wrongdoing by one of his colleagues.
Officials still are drafting rules for when the cameras must be turned on, what the repercussions are for not using the cameras and whether any videos will be made public. The City Council also is considering increased oversight of the police department, including possibly creating a civilian review panel.