[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6506717,"mediaKeyId","5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395","parentId",5566369,"title","Palo Alto updates committee on wellness, belonging, CEDAW ordinance and religious‑tolerance trainings","audioSeconds",1838,"startMs",6355000,"endMs",8193000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395&start=6355&end=8193","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395/thumbnail_6355000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6506717/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Palo-Alto-updates-committee-on-wellness-belonging-CEDAW-ordinance-and-religioustolerance-trainings","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506717-eb240c029ccfdd1704e4b0d434f318df/orig.mp4?Expires=1773676935&Signature=UAucdKIpjbvkpBwPAun6wp5Z8YiKPS-y5Vu3jnifEswC2E-NmwLZhEn3kOghYhiNlEFd3suBriPH9KKU70Fv1-HMf7XHdbDZfyUl-UftaUFmROSpxmpo4RdBfs1ru7c6Oio80VCTMA5ZeaRAJ-6VIl5A-50Lf7alogouNBtcz2OuYCnBpQcTVG-0n1wK0XkTME30KMq~vq1u80--mai1lu02p6LZpNnjsvwkyaU~q9py3PtOzoJR8F42pRzgFL1n70TzxFPMgWZ4om9usaokfVJerHdlpvNCCqX6jQT7wM7SCEmwPEB2yfO-GdVZDy2mYit-zKHCbEEHkTrC46BI0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Palo Alto City","date","2025-08-11T14:33:23Z","article","City staff provided the Policy & Services Committee an update on the city’s wellness and belonging initiatives, including a draft CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) ordinance, an analysis of police stop data under RIPA with the National Policing Institute, an employee demographics report, and plans for religious‑tolerance training led by two community organizations.

Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines and Kojo Pierce, wellness and belonging program manager, outlined several completed and ongoing action items from the city’s equity‑and‑wellness action plan. Completed items include a process to advise the council on holiday scheduling in coordination with the Human Relations Commission and the initial release of a city workforce demographics snapshot. Staff said they will build an interactive dashboard for future demographic reporting.

Staff described work on action items that remain in progress: quarterly (previously bimonthly) interactive trainings for staff on inclusion topics, a new short orientation module on wellness and belonging for new employees, and an ongoing analysis of RIPA (Racial and Identity Profiling Act) stop data. The city is partnering with the National Policing Institute to analyze 2023–2024 RIPA data and plans to publish the institute’s report; staff noted federal funding terms require specific steps before final publication, but the report will be shared publicly when complete.

On anti‑discrimination work, staff said they had drafted an ordinance aligned with CEDAW principles covering priorities such as economic development, housing and transportation, and plan to return the draft to the committee in Q3 for review and then to council for consideration. \"Our intention is to bring that draft to this committee for review, hopefully, within Q3,\" Pierce said.

Following Human Relations Commission recommendations, staff summarized plans to contract with two trainers — an organization identified as Project Shema and Islamic Network Group (ING) — to deliver religious‑tolerance workshops to staff, board and commission members and the city council. Staff said the trainings are expected in October, will be offered in multiple sessions to accommodate schedules, and are budgeted at roughly $10,000 per trainer for two sessions each.

Public comment included a request from a health professional to sustain city‑school liaison work and youth mental‑health partnerships. Committee members expressed support for the training plan and for the CEDAW ordinance draft; a council member requested staff share the employee survey cohort analysis and attendance trends for training sessions. Staff said training registration has varied by topic (examples: 118 registered for a gender‑focused session; 50 for a conscious‑conversations session) and that they will work with Human Resources to expand participation.

Committee members requested staff forward the update to full city council as an informational item. Staff agreed to do so and to return with the CEDAW ordinance for formal consideration once the draft is finalized.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Policy and Services Committee Meeting - August 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Staff reported progress on the city’s wellness and belonging action plan, work on a CEDAW ordinance, RIPA data analysis with the National Policing Institute and planned religious‑tolerance trainings for staff and boards; committee agreed to forward the update to full council.","taxTitle","Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California","taxId",3867,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6506722,"City auditor seeks brief deadline extension for two audits; committee approves budget realignment",350,5986000,6336000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395&start=5986&end=6336","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395/thumbnail_5986000.jpg","/articles/6506722/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/City-auditor-seeks-brief-deadline-extension-for-two-audits-committee-approves-budget-realignment","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506722-3f6eee72919a4cdc425f9f145cf6a85f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773676935&Signature=niI-nPyTvZprNCy3olOObaeOKSjFaEdHFSCXTH01~AZmXT0I7QMzsrzBPyTFl9R7aDcCiG9UK8-diExVXam1T3E7k3MX5q1T6aU8dwF26kZ9fvxYHbi4I6f~vmE96FGGCmHWpMWhUIUF2-rzfT6JM7MtLqB5Hm24lYGgKf7KPr9jg9vxgLWXX6~fggZ1qnnAR4zuqgYoh~KjVtEsOFyvaoUSNToGc1VhmVcTXk4cFfFDtBIm-NS1V82nRQK3rgVsY2ifF6PnUiPZS2ENzb-uEVhzrFFe1MY69dgQMK2WgTJ351iXxRHrq5QdtMeNsw91l5pnkuavtOy7wCK3C5v~OA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City Auditor asked the Policy & Services Committee to extend reporting deadlines for two FY2024 audit task orders and to realign task‑order budgets with a net‑zero impact across fiscal years.

Auditor Kate Murdock said the emergency preparedness audit — previously reviewed by the committee and pulled from a consent calendar in June — will now be presented to the full council on Oct. 27 and requested the reporting deadline be extended through Oct. 31 to accommodate work still in progress. The auditor also requested a deadline extension for a dispatch center assessment that will come to the committee on Sept. 9.

Murdock said the office reduced the follow‑up audit activity budget by $14,500 and added that amount to the two active task orders to cover additional staff time and analysis. She described the audits as complex and said additional collaboration with management and cross‑department coordination, especially for the dispatch assessment, drove the need for more time and budget.

Committee members asked whether the additional budget represented new work and whether the follow‑up audit work would still proceed; Murdock said the follow‑up work exists but had been overestimated and the office was adjusting estimates to better align with expected effort. Council Member Lillard moved the staff recommendation; the committee approved the extension and budget realignment.","The auditor requested and the committee approved extending reporting deadlines for two task orders (emergency preparedness audit and a dispatch center assessment) and a net‑zero realignment of FY24/25 task order budgets.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6506726,"Palo Alto auditor finds strong internal controls in purchasing card program; committee accepts report",1717,4246000,5963000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395&start=4246&end=5963","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395/thumbnail_4246000.jpg","/articles/6506726/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Palo-Alto-auditor-finds-strong-internal-controls-in-purchasing-card-program-committee-accepts-report","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506726-f416326f603648701632496b45d55e91/orig.mp4?Expires=1773676935&Signature=FzwcdutWbtiGSeUBGVGWyLwiTC1SdhKJ6cF-rHeR3df6IrEWqGJyHE5u3huxhNnm1URIG9YMJNgTaUB5fw24~nLnjXzv8DRXN2VoCRuGIzGUVGpU30LWf4kzNhcsTIeJ3Gno5XtuCUrBaHiMCW7kPJ4KWABzfk6~igw872~JBqk74LcrQ-aXJgIqJEvDfI8IRDKFr3EPNU7woaSmoixa5KtvkzEKDjOE9un~Y8KbSzilus3pfCHz5mLoLnsQjxfbqEkgemkEgVlFi16is31OHTnKWe2pj5CDwNR7CXptgnzehTLpleqn7UUwdonaBPDHW67xYEPOiym1uSjvF4X4LA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Palo Alto’s Office of the City Auditor presented a purchasing‑card (p‑card) audit to the Policy & Services Committee, reporting that most cardholders used p‑cards for legitimate city business and that internal controls are generally strong, while recommending several administrative improvements.

Kate Murdock, city auditor, and Nick Martinez, senior auditor with Baker Tilly, said the PCard program serves 42 departments and had about 254 active cardholders in January 2025. Cards carry single‑transaction limits of $10,000 and monthly limits of $15,000. The auditors reported no evidence of personal use in the transactions reviewed.

Key findings included occasional missing documentation, inconsistent post‑audit review recordkeeping, and the absence of a formal ongoing training program for cardholders and approvers. The auditors recommended establishing recurring training focused on documentation requirements, working with the vendor to add approval time stamps and automated noncompliance notifications, and formalizing consequences for nonadherence. They also recommended adopting a statistically valid random sampling process for post‑audit reviews and standardizing the p‑card limit exception process.

Auditors noted an operational observation: the federal micro‑purchase threshold is expected to rise to $15,000 in October 2025; raising the city’s single‑transaction p‑card limit to $15,000 could divert purchase orders and save staff time. Auditors estimated that increasing the limit could have saved about 940 staff hours for FY 2024 if $15,000 were the limit.

Administrative Services Department staff described their current monthly post‑audit review process and said they track and follow up on cost‑splitting incidents (instances where a single purchase is split into smaller transactions to avoid a limit). They noted follow‑up outreach typically resolves issues and that staff plan to implement escalation steps for repeat offenders.

Committee members asked for clarification about the frequency and denominator for identified cost‑splitting incidents; staff and auditors said the example in the report represented a higher‑than‑typical month and that overall occurrence across all monthly transactions appeared low. Committee members praised staff for lack of personal misuse and supported staff plans to formalize training and consequence policies.

The committee voted to accept the audit report. Chair Bienker (Veencker), Council Member Stone and Council Member Liu voted yes; the motion carried.","An external audit found generally compliant purchasing card use across departments but recommended improved training, formalized consequences and process changes; the committee voted to accept the report 3–0.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6506731,"Palo Alto staff brief committee on end-of‑session state bills, federal grants and rule changes",1947,727000,2674000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395&start=727&end=2674","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5566369-71883e70847496c1709bb8176c9de395/thumbnail_727000.jpg","/articles/6506731/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Palo-Alto-staff-brief-committee-on-end-ofsession-state-bills-federal-grants-and-rule-changes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506731-92aa4e2b0462267948945a48be7a450d/orig.mp4?Expires=1773676935&Signature=Sv9O50uCEpbCH6jh1PYoqnKphj0GGjR16ncl6epzQLJiK3zHQkU66JBJoL4-7MJQW6p2aCfICZB4o1DeQ5-5D~cy~4uAU8~95IN2r-bt73rqFVhJ023l8sAoRopK3JC5PhzosvSajt2FO9IMM0f4Gt9lF5VGtHeGp~NfoAz96xjpTtNvDZGEQIvvT33KxDcF9Wap0ahQjkU2cWYyi2-X3R2ZOUozk52DPULsTtuolojDuhRdTQKQ4zE48~R4ljGELGycARy9JB7fV6yEf4pzc40fJ~jIcrCxRpgygIYpEzgXUK1~6yU702d1NpKeJtboQu6afmVWDwVR3UmxiQ3M3A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff and legislative consultants gave the Palo Alto Policy and Services Committee an overview of major state and federal developments that staff say could affect the city if they advance in the coming months.

The presentation, led by Carly Shelby, senior associate at Townsend Public Affairs, and Joseph Mello, who delivered a federal briefing remotely from Washington, D.C., covered the remainder of California’s 2025 legislative calendar, high‑priority bills (including SB 79 on transit‑oriented zoning), two competing $10 billion housing bond vehicles, cap‑and‑trade reauthorization, and recent federal actions affecting grant administration.

Shelby told the committee the Legislature reconvened Aug. 18 for a final “sprint” with a series of fiscal deadlines, and that many “ticket items” — budget cleanup language, implementation language for homelessness funding rounds and Prop 4 climate bond programs — will move quickly in the next three weeks. She said cap‑and‑trade reauthorization remains a major unresolved item and that the state’s greenhouse gas reduction fund currently generates roughly $3 billion to $4 billion annually.

On housing, Shelby described two separate $10 billion bond proposals and said staff support including local housing trust fund dollars that local jurisdictions can apply for directly. “We have a coalition letter that we’re working on,” she said, and Palo Alto prepared a letter asking the bond to include at least $500 million targeted to the local housing trust program.

Shelby summarized specific bills staff are tracking: SB 457 (builder’s remedy reform) — which failed in early policy committees but drew attention to the issue; SB 456 (clarifying that muralists are not subject to contractor apprenticeship/licensure requirements) — supported by the city; AB 650 (changes to the housing element timeline) — supported by the city; and SB 79, a widely amended bill that would establish new zoning standards and alternative compliance pathways within a half‑mile of qualifying transit stops. She said SB 79 includes affordability requirements and alternative compliance options that would require HCD review and that subsequent amendments would likely address high fire severity zones and egress concerns.

Shelby also described AB 306 (local building standards moratorium), a provision later rolled into budget trailer AB 130 that limits local amendments to statewide building standards for residential units until June 1, 2031, with carve‑outs for preexisting standards necessary for health, safety or hardening. Staff said Palo Alto took an “opposed as amended” position but that the language was moved through the budget process.

On federal matters, Joseph Mello briefed the committee on the Department of Justice’s updated “sanctuary” list — which currently includes the state of California — and warned it could trigger greater scrutiny of grant certifications and assurances. He also noted the EPA’s Aug. 7 cancellation of the Solar for All grant program (roughly $7 billion nationally, with California’s share about $250 million) and a presidential executive order on Aug. 7 aimed at tightening oversight of discretionary federal grants, including appointing political reviewers within agencies and pausing new discretionary funding until revised processes are in place.

Mello flagged surface transportation reauthorization work and an upcoming joint comment letter seeking a greater role for metropolitan planning organizations in distributing certain formula funds. He also said Palo Alto’s community project funding request for Fire Station 4 — advanced by Rep. Ro Khanna’s office — was approved by the appropriations committee at $850,000 and remains in the package pending final appropriations action.

Committee members asked about local implications of AB 130’s building standards moratorium, details of SB 79’s tiers and whether local bus corridors would qualify for higher tiers, and the likely timing for any special election tied to congressional redistricting. Staff said they would return with more legal and technical detail, noted uncertainty in interpretation by state implementing agencies, and said they were working with the city attorney and California Building Standards Commission where relevant.

Why it matters: staff emphasized that these end‑of‑session items and federal rule changes could affect local planning authority, grant eligibility and funding flows for housing, climate and transportation programs. The committee did not take formal direction or vote on any of the items; staff asked for any additional issues committee members wanted tracked and for feedback on advocacy priorities.","City staff and Townsend Public Affairs updated the Policy & Services Committee on key state and federal items likely to affect Palo Alto, including housing bond proposals, SB 79 transit‑oriented zoning, cap‑and‑trade reauthorization, CEQA exemptions in trailer bills and federal grant and executive‑order changes.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Palo Alto updates committee on wellness, belonging, CEDAW ordinance and religious‑tolerance trainings

City auditor seeks brief deadline extension for two audits; committee approves budget realignment

Palo Alto auditor finds strong internal controls in purchasing card program; committee accepts report

Palo Alto staff brief committee on end-of‑session state bills, federal grants and rule changes