Agenda

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FINANCE COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	08/16/2017
Subject: Immigrants Rights Program in Contra Costa
Submitted For:	FINANCE COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	5-9-17 D.7
Referral Name:	Immigrants Rights
Presenter:	Lisa Driscoll, County Finance Director	Contact:	Lisa Driscoll (925) 335-1023

Information

Referral History:

On May 9, 2017, as part of the action to adopt the FY 2017/18 Recommended Budget, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Finance Committee for review and consideration a proposal for funding an immigrants rights program in Contra Costa.

The item was heard for the first time by the Finance Committee on June 26, 2017. Karen Mitchoff requested that Ali Saidi give an update on the proposal under review and consideration for funding an immigrants rights program in Contra Costa. Mr. Saidi thanked the Committee and indicated the East Bay Community Foundation may give them funding for plan design. He had recently attended a regional meeting on the topic and was excited about the possibility of forming a new coalition alliance in Contra Costa. Mr. Saidi informed the Committee that program design would take approximately thirty days to complete. Mr. Greg Colley of Catholics United for Justice spoke in favor of a Contra Costa program. He said that his organization was aligned with the Bishops to urge adoption of a program that aligns with the values of Catholic families. Debra Bernstein of Monument Impact echoed Mr. Colley's comments. She stressed urgency and said that funding a program was the most positive thing the County can do for the community. Supervisor Mitchoff said that the County Board was concerned and sympathetic to this issue. She reminded the audience that the Board had recently funded Contra Costa Cares by explaining how health impacts the entire community. The Committee scheduled the next Finance Committee meeting for August 16, 2017 at 2:00 to hear the updated proposal.

Referral Update:

The proposal prepared for the Finance Committee by the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance is Attachment A. The original proposal submitted to the Board of Supervisors on May 9, 2017 is Attachment B.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

Accept report, and DIRECT staff regarding next steps.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

The proposal requests that the Board of Supervisors authorize the Office of the Public Defender to establish Stand Together CoCo as a pilot project. The requested allocation is $500,000 in FY 17/18 funding to support operations in the January-June 2018 first phase, with a further commitment that the County will provide $500,000 in annual support in each of fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20. Working with key local partners, Stand Together CoCo will then use this commitment to generate funding from other public and private sources.

Attachments
Attachment A - Proposal for Stand Together CoCo
Attachment B - Original Proposal Submitted to Board of Supervisors on April 18