Residents press Los Gatos to fund rapid response network; council enlarges grants pool

Los Gatos — Dozens of residents and community leaders urged the Town Council on Monday to fund the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network, arguing the network’s hotline and legal-response capacity supports immigrants and de-escalates enforcement operations. In response, the council voted to increase the town’s community grants pool by $50,000 and directed staff to return in August with recommendations for allocating $20,000 to sustaining grants.

“I'm here because I believe very strongly that we need to prioritize the safety and well-being of our residents,” said Jeff Suzuki, who identified himself as president of a local anti-racism coalition, urging the council to approve a $20,000 one-time allocation to Amigos de Guadalupe, the Rapid Response Network’s fiscal sponsor. “I urge you to approve $20,000 to potentially help community members, not just in the county, but in our own town, if that time comes.”

Jeremy Barus, speaking for Amigos de Guadalupe and the Rapid Response Network, described the coalition’s scale and recent activity and answered council questions about budget and funding. “Since January 2025, the hotline has received over 7,600 calls and our volunteer base has grown to over 2,700,” Barus said. He described a roughly $1.1 million organizational budget and said Amigos received about $225,000 from San Jose’s recent allocation and approximately $900,000 from county legal services funding to support several legal-service organizations, portions of which benefit the network.

Several residents described how the network operates locally: assembling information packets for residents, deploying trained legal observers, and arranging emergency legal and family support. Kylie Clark, a resident, cited last year’s numbers: “The Rapid Response Network responded to 5,499 calls and provided emergency legal response to 236 people in the last year,” and urged Los Gatos to join neighboring cities in contributing.

Council members debated procedure. Several members said the town established a community grant program last year to evaluate one-time and sustaining grant requests; that program historically included sustaining grants (ongoing annual allocations) and one-time competitive grants. Library staff noted the director had set a $10,000 practical cap on one-time awards but was open to raising that cap to $20,000 with council direction. Council Member Renie moved to add $50,000 to the community grants program — $20,000 to sustaining grants and $30,000 to one-time competitive grants — and to direct staff to solicit sustaining-grant requests from current recipients and return with allocation recommendations by the end of August. The motion passed unanimously.

Town Manager and library staff said the extra funds will be folded into the community grants program; requests will be evaluated under the program’s rubric and a council agenda item will return with detailed allocation recommendations.

What proponents requested: Speakers asked the council to fund hotline staffing, legal responses, volunteer coordination and packet materials to strengthen local readiness and legal assistance if immigration enforcement activity escalates locally.

What council decided: Rather than make a one-off immediate allocation to Amigos, the council increased the town’s grant budget by $50,000 and asked staff to collect specific funding requests from sustaining-grant recipients and return with a package for council approval by the end of August. Staff also indicated the library director will implement a higher per-award cap for one-time grants if council approves the budget amendment.

The council’s approach preserves the council’s grant-evaluation process while providing room to respond to residents’ urgent requests. A final allocation to Amigos de Guadalupe or the Rapid Response Network will depend on the community grants application and council approval in August.

— Reporting includes quotes and figures from public testimony and from Amigos de Guadalupe’s presentation to council.