To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): The Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach
Staff Name and Phone Number: Karlene Navarro, 565-1534
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Amendment to Ordinance No. 6174 which established the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (“IOLERO”) in 2015 - First Reading
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution introducing, reading title of and waiving further reading of an amendment to Ordinance No. 6174 making changes to the appointment authority for membership on IOLERO’s Community Advisory Council (CAC).
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Executive Summary:
This item requests approval of an amendment to Ordinance No. 6174 granting authority to the Board of Supervisors to make appointments to IOLERO’s Community Advisory Council (CAC). Currently, under the original Ordinance, the Director has sole authority to make CAC appointments. The amendment also addresses the purpose, function and appointment procedure for IOLERO’s CAC.
Discussion:
IOLERO was established by the Board of Supervisors in 2015 as an independent, non-police county agency. IOLERO’s mission is to strengthen the relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and the community it serves through outreach and the promotion of greater transparency of law enforcement operations. IOLERO’s primary functions include reviewing complaints against the Sheriff’s Office, community engagement and making policy recommendations to the Sheriff’s Office. Historically, IOLERO has been aided by the CAC, with regard to two of its primary functions - community outreach and policy recommendations.
The Community Advisory Council (CAC)
The CAC was contemplated in the original Ordinance establishing IOLERO which granted authority to make CAC appointments solely to the Director. The stated purpose of the CAC was for the CAC to serve as a bridge between law enforcement, IOLERO and various communities of the County. Appointments, terms and function were not addressed in the original Ordinance. Currently, the CAC’s bylaws allow for nine (9) to eleven (11) members. However, when the current Director was appointed in March 2019, there were seven (7) members. At this time, there are six (6) CAC members. The majority of the current members of the CAC have been on the CAC for about three years and term limits were never established.
The Director’s vision is to recruit new members of the public who are already a part of a pocket community within our community-at-large or have a history as members of community organizations and/or civic groups.
To that end, a recruitment was started on July 8, 2019. The Director reached out to many organizations in Sonoma County, and current members were all invited to re-apply and take part in the new recruitment process for the CAC. The application was sent to a variety of civic groups including but not limited to the Black Student Union at Sonoma State, the coordinator of the Sikh Annual Luncheon for Veterans in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Alliance and all Sonoma County Department Heads with a request for the application to be forwarded throughout the departments. The application was also sent to an array of Latino-based community organizations including Los Cien, La Luz, Corazon, the Graton Day Labor Center, and Latino Studies Representatives at Sonoma State and Santa Rosa Junior College. The application was sent to media outlets such as the Press Democrat, Sonoma Valley News, NorCal Public Media and KBBF-FM. The application was posted in English and Spanish on the IOLERO website, Facebook page and multiple mass emails were disseminated alerting the community to the recruitment. The application due date was August 9, 2019 and IOLERO received nine (9) applications. Those nine (9) applications will be distributed to your Board for consideration in the new recruitment upon approval of this amendment. If this amendment is approved, a new recruitment will be posted to the Board of Supervisors’ Commissions, Committees, and Boards website at <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Board-of-Supervisors/Boards--Commissions--Committees/Vacancies/>
Proposed Amendments to Ordinance
The Director has met with the heads of other law enforcement auditor’s offices and confirmed that in Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco, appointments to similar community councils are made by the board of supervisors or the city council. In the interest of employing best practices, the industry standard, and the most egalitarian process possible for appointments to the CAC, a proposed amendment to the Ordinance is being made to allow your Board to make appointments to the CAC and establish membership terms.
Proposed amendments are as follow:
• The CAC shall be comprised of seven (7) members.
• The Board of Supervisors will appoint five (5) members and the IOLERO Director will appoint two (2) members. Appointees will have staggered terms for one (1) year from their appointment and, all CAC members including BOS appointees, may be re-appointed for up to two (2) years at the discretion of the Director.
The instant proposed amendment addresses only the purpose, function and appointment procedure for IOLERO’s CAC. A more comprehensive overhaul of the Ordinance will be addressed in December 2019 when the Director presents the 2018-2019 annual report to your Board.
Once a new CAC is in place, subcommittees will be established within the CAC to focus on (1) data, statistics and policy; (2) community engagement and (3) grant writing.
The data, statistics and policy subcommittee would assist the Director in identifying and evaluating trends found in the policy/training recommendations made in the individual audits. The community engagement subcommittee would assist with identifying events for IOLERO to be present at once a month and assist with advertising and coordinating of the CAC’s meetings. The grant-writing committee would assist in identifying grants for which IOLERO qualifies and the completion of applications/proposals for those grants.
Prior Board Actions:
Sonoma County Board of Supervisor’s Ordinance Number 6174 was adopted September 13, 2016 establishing IOLERO.
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There are no fiscal impacts associated with this item.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
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Attachments:
1. Resolution
2. Proposed Amendments to Ordinance No. 6174- redlined copy
3. Proposed Amendments to Ordinance No. 6174 - clean copy
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board: