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Resident urges city to fund mental-health services, accuses leadership of prioritizing image
Summary
At public comment, resident Angie Regan urged the South Lake Tahoe City Council to turn proclamations into action, criticized cuts to cannabis-tax-funded services and said she had asked that Mayor Bass not present a recent mental-health proclamation; the council did not take formal action on the comments.
Angie Regan, a South Lake Tahoe resident, told the City Council on May 20 that the city—ontinues to prioritize photo opportunities over tangible mental-health supports and urged the council to fund prevention, recovery programs and school partnerships.
Regan said she had asked, in writing and publicly, that the mayor not present a recent mental-health proclamation and that her request for accommodations and leadership integrity was ignored. She criticized a reduction in cannabis-tax allocations for prevention and recovery programs, saying the city cut funding from "approximately $1,000,000 to $500,000." Regan asked the council to restore funding, partner with county schools and nonprofits, and change police handling of mental-health crises.
Her remarks pointed to the community consequences she described: youth struggling with grief, suicide and addiction, and residents who feel unsupported. "When someone stands before you trembling, tearful, and openly telling you they're struggling to stay alive and your response is defensiveness, dismissal, silence, or intimidation, that causes harm," Regan said.
Councilmembers did not take formal action during the public-comment period; the council—hair acknowledged the remarks and moved on to scheduled agenda items. The Brown Act prohibits council deliberation on matters not on the agenda, though members may briefly respond to statements or questions.
Regan nd other speakers at the meeting asked the council to translate proclamations into programs that increase access to prevention and recovery services, restore community-support language in the strategic plan and consider targeted funding allocations. The meeting record does not show a council response that changed current budget allocations at that session.
The council's agenda that night proceeded to consent items and substantive agenda business, including items on recreation, parking agreements and housing programs.
