San Clemente committee merges safety and human‑affairs duties, elects chair and sets work plan

The San Clemente Community Safety and Welfare Committee elected Mike Greenwald as chair by acclamation and nominated Rosemary Salas as vice chair in its first regular meeting, approved a bi‑monthly meeting schedule and recommended changes to the municipal code to reflect the merger of the former public safety and human affairs committees.

The committee recommended that Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the city’s marine safety division serve as staff advisors rather than as non‑voting committee members and voted to remove the word “personnel” from a proposed code provision describing review of performance measures.

Those choices were coupled with an initial work plan the committee voted to present to City Council, and members established several subcommittees to develop recommendations on homelessness, fire mitigation, park rangers, e‑bike/school safety outreach and youth leadership programs.

“The committee works as an entire committee, and you guys are expected to meet six times a year,” City staff said while outlining the role of subcommittees so members can do focused homework and return recommendations to the full committee and, where appropriate, the City Council.

Why it matters: the panel combines two prior advisory groups and will now advise Council on public‑safety and community‑welfare issues. The code edits are intended to clarify staff roles (who provide technical briefings) and to limit the committee’s responsibility for personnel matters to avoid legal and labor‑relation conflicts.

Key details - Chair and vice chair: Michael (Mike) Greenwald was elected chair by acclamation. Rosemary Salas was nominated as vice chair by motion and second and accepted the role. (Nomination and acclamation occurred on the record.) - Meeting schedule: the committee approved a resolution setting regular meetings on the fourth Tuesday of even‑numbered months at 3:00 p.m.; staff identified the schedule as a formal recommendation to Council (referenced on the agenda as “Resolution 25.01”). - Municipal code edits: staff proposed merging language from the prior public safety and human affairs committee sections. The draft would list 7 community voting members and explicitly state that representatives from OCFA, OCSD and the marine safety division are staff advisors who will participate as needed rather than serve as committee members. - Personnel language removed: the committee voted to remove the single word “personnel” from a line that had read (in staff draft) as authority to “review performance measures of the city’s public safety personnel.” Staff and committee members said that formal personnel review is carried out by department heads and that the committee may review organizational performance measures (for example, response times) but should not be cast in the ordinance as a body reviewing individual employees. - Work plan and subcommittees: committee members agreed to forward a work plan to Council and to form small subcommittees (fewer than a quorum) to develop recommendations. Initial topic groupings nominated by members and advanced by vote included homelessness response, fire mitigation and vegetation management, park ranger roles and training, e‑bike and student safety outreach tied to school “back‑to‑school” nights, junior leadership/career‑panel events for local high schools, and continued administration of the San Clemente High School humanitarian award.

What members said - Andy (city staff) explained the rationale for moving OCFA, OCSD and marine safety personnel from non‑voting members to staff advisors so the committee receives technical input without those individuals occupying community seats. He said the advisors “are here to be staff resources, not ex‑officio members of your committee.” - On personnel review, staff and members cautioned that the committee lacks authority under local labor agreements and city policies. As staff summarized: removing the single word “personnel” would preserve the committee’s ability to review organizational performance data while avoiding legal exposure. - Committee members pushed for the group to be action‑oriented, not a standing study body. One member said the committee should “take a deep dive” on narrow, actionable pieces of broader topics such as homelessness rather than attempting to address an entire system in a short term.

Votes and formal actions at a glance - Elect chair by acclamation: Mike Greenwald — outcome: elected by acclamation (on the record). - Nominate vice chair: Rosemary Salas — outcome: nominated and approved by acclamation (on the record). - Adopt regular meeting schedule (Resolution 25.01): motion made and seconded; committee approved the schedule as described (fourth Tuesday of even months at 3:00 p.m.). - Remove the word “personnel” from the proposed municipal code language regarding review of performance measures: motion made and seconded; committee voted in favor of removing the word and approved that edit as the committee’s recommendation to Council.

What’s next Staff said it will prepare a consolidated work plan for the committee’s next meeting and forward the committee’s recommended municipal code changes to City Council for consideration. Subcommittees were authorized to meet (as long as they remain fewer than a quorum) and to report back with proposed materials the full committee can vote on at a future session.

Meeting engagement and context - The committee agreed to meet six times per year (every other month) and was advised to use small subcommittees for homework between meetings to avoid Brown Act violations. Staff reminded members that using city‑issued email for committee business preserves public‑record practices and streamlines staff support.

Ending The committee closed by assigning volunteers to the subcommittees and asking staff to provide a draft work plan and contact list before the next meeting so subcommittees can begin their work ahead of the next formal session.