Public commenters accuse council of fiscal mismanagement after layoffs; call for accountability

During the public-comment portion of the meeting, two speakers pressed the council over what they described as serious fiscal mismanagement and the consequences of recent layoffs.

Dr. Koo told the council that an $80,000,000 drop in the operating budget over two years had been "invisible" and singled out structural problems in the council's Committee of the Whole, arguing that agenda-setting and a lack of rigorous questioning allowed mistakes to be missed. "How is it possible that a drop of $80,000,000 from our operating budget over a 2 year period [is] so invisible?" Dr. Koo asked, urging structural changes to prevent future fiscal collapse.

Mimar Sha'i described the recent firing of 100 city employees and said those workers now face possible loss of homes and healthcare. She alleged that a 4–3 majority and the former city manager enabled fiscal mismanagement and urged the majority "to forfeit their salaries," to create soup kitchens and food-distribution programs and to provide fee forbearance and rehiring priority for laid-off employees. "The time for shared responsibility is now, and we demand that the city council members responsible for the majority direction, the 4, forfeit their salaries," Sha'i said.

Council members did not take formal action in response to the petitions during the public-comment period, though several members later defended staff processes and noted the importance of following administrative policy when awarding grants. The mayor thanked the speakers for their comments.