40+ Speakers Demand Richmond Reauthorize $99M Children's Fund

Richmond's City Council marathon session March 25 was dominated by a massive community showing for the city's youth fund, but it also surfaced a revealing disclosure — the police chief confirmed he already turned away a federal immigration enforcement request — and ignited a sharp debate over which neighborhoods get park improvements and why. Councilmember Jamelia Brown was absent.

• More than 40 speakers urge council to immediately renew the $99M Richmond Fund for Children and Youth at 3% of general fund revenue; deliberation deferred to April 7

• Police chief reveals he denied a Department of Homeland Security request for perimeter support during an immigration enforcement action, calling it "a flat out no"

• Police union floods meeting with at least eight speakers demanding a competitive contract and the reinstatement of Detective Brandon Hodges

• Council unanimously renames Cesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers Movement Day following confirmed sexual abuse allegations

• Fire code overhaul passes unanimously on first reading, adopting California's first standalone wildland-urban interface code

• La Moine Park (Cheese Park) added to CIP list after contentious debate over whether the item circumvented the city's project-scoring system

• Council forms ad hoc committee to oversee sanctuary city protections as amended ordinance heads to April 7 first reading

Youth Fund at a Crossroads: $99M Decision Looms

The longest stretch of the evening belonged to Richmond's Fund for Children and Youth — known as Kids First — which allocates 3% of general fund revenue to youth programs. Approved by voters in 2018 through Measures E and K, the fund expires in fiscal year 2027-28 and the council must decide how to renew it.

The basics: Staff from the City Manager's office and Finance Department laid out three paths.

• Option 1: council reauthorizes at 3% by a simple majority vote by June 2026, keeping an estimated $99M flowing over the next decade.

• Option 2: do nothing by December 2027, and it automatically lands on the November 2028 ballot.

• Option 3: council proposes amendments, which also require voter approval. Comparison scenarios showed a reduction to 2% would yield $66M and 1% would yield $33M.

Why it matters: Over its first decade, Kids First has invested roughly $48M in free programming for thousands of Richmond youth. Dozens of organizations — from arts programs to outdoor education to college pathways — depend on the fund as a primary revenue source. Any delay or reduction creates immediate uncertainty for those groups and the young people they serve.

Where things stand: The public response was overwhelming and nearly unanimous. More than 40 speakers — youth, parents, nonprofit directors, and community leaders — packed the chamber to demand Option 1 with no changes.

"Choosing not to reauthorize is choosing instability. And it puts critical funding and the well being of our young people at risk," said Kimberly Aceves-Iniguez, executive director and co-founder of the RYSE Center and one of the original architects of the Kids First legislation.

Youth from the RYSE Center, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Richmond High School's music program, Yes Nature to Neighborhoods, Richmond Outdoors Coalition, and The Practice Space testified about college admissions, creative achievements, and finding safe spaces through funded programs. Roxanne Carrillo Garza of Healthy Contra Costa called a hypothetical reduction from 3% to 1% "offensive" and urged the council to advance a decision by April 7.

The other side: Ben Enos, director of Richmond Promise, noted that Article 15 currently excludes his organization and supported Option 3 to allow amendments that could broaden eligibility — particularly after Richmond Promise's earlier state funding through the ECIA program sunset in 2024.

One speaker raised pointed fiscal concerns. Lisa Johnson, a public commenter, flagged what she described as a $4.1M gap between fund contributions and distributions and questioned audit controls for 2021–2024. She also alleged a potential conflict of interest involving Vice Mayor Doria Robinson's organization, Urban Tilth.

Robinson directly rebutted:

"We have not received any grants from the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth since I've been elected to city council. In fact, we have not applied for any city grants."

A procedural fight added drama at the top. Mayor Eduardo Martinez moved to reduce public comment from two minutes to one minute due to the 40-speaker queue. The motion failed 3-3, with Councilmembers Claudia Jimenez, Sue Wilson, and Robinson voting no, and Councilmembers Soheila Bana, Cesar Zepeda, and Martinez voting yes. (For: 3, Against: 3, Absent: 1 — Brown.) Every speaker got the full two minutes.

What's next: Council deferred deliberation to April 7. The decision carries a hard deadline: if the council does not reauthorize by December 2027, the measure automatically goes to the November 2026 ballot.

Police Chief: DHS Perimeter Request "Emphatically Denied"

Staff delivered a comprehensive report on Richmond's sanctuary protections — tracing back to a 1990 ordinance and updated this year — but the headline came from the police chief himself.

Why it matters: With federal immigration enforcement escalating nationally, Richmond is among the cities making explicit what cooperation with ICE their police force will and will not provide. Chief of Police Timothy Simmons detailed four "shall not" provisions in department policy: no immigration sweeps, no support services like traffic control for ICE, no compliance with ICE hold requests or detainers, and no inquiries into immigration status for enforcement purposes.

Then the chief went further:

"We've had one request by Department of Homeland Security to provide a perimeter for them, which was emphatically denied. We will not participate. I mean it was a flat out no and that was the end of that," said Simmons.

Senior Assistant City Attorney Kimberly Chin described amendments underway to clarify that city property cannot be used as a staging area, processing location, or operational base for immigration enforcement. Project Manager Gavin Arredondo outlined community engagement already conducted — roughly 70 participants across multiple meetings — with residents calling for multilingual resources, mobile trainings, coordination with the school district, and outreach to unhoused residents.

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez pressed the chief on protocols for protecting residents during ICE encounters and coordination with schools. Staff clarified school protocols in the upcoming implementation strategy.

Decisions: The council formed an ad hoc committee — Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, Vice Mayor Doria Robinson, and Mayor Eduardo Martinez — to maintain rapid oversight of the evolving situation. The amended sanctuary ordinance is targeted for first reading on April 7.

Police Union Demands Fair Contract and Detective's Return

At least eight members and leaders of the Richmond Police Officers Association (RPOA) commandeered both the closed-session public comment and open forum periods with a coordinated campaign delivering two demands: negotiate a competitive contract and immediately return Detective Brandon Hodges to full duty.

Why it matters: Richmond's police officers have been without a contract for nine months. The department is running a 14% vacancy rate — well above the 10% budgeted — with 145 authorized sworn positions. Officers are leaving for higher-paying agencies, speakers said, and the staffing crisis threatens public safety.

RPOA President Benjamin Therriault delivered the sharpest language:

"Bring Detective Hodges back to work. Follow labor law and come to the table serious marketable contract that respects the men and women who do this job. Richmond officers are done being treated like they're expendable."

Multiple speakers — including Nate Lonzo, Don Nelson, Alexander Kane, Quan Nguyen, Colton Stocking, Michael Paglen, and Nicholas Remick — echoed nearly identical messages, accusing City Manager Shasa Curl of violating the RPOA MOU and interfering with labor processes. Lonzo recounted how a competitive 2008 contract attracted hundreds of lateral applicants and contributed to the department eventually being recognized by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch for police reform.

Curl provided a staffing update during her report: seven recruits are in the academy and 12 officers are in field training. She praised Chief of Police Timothy Simmons' recruitment work, comparing his efforts to Deion Sanders recruiting in the college transfer portal. No final decisions were announced from the closed session on labor negotiations.

Council Renames Cesar Chavez Day After Abuse Allegations

Councilmember Cesar Zepeda pulled item N3D from the consent calendar to address what he called a necessary reckoning with recently confirmed sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez.

Why it matters: Richmond is acting ahead of most jurisdictions in responding to the allegations. The new name honors the broader farmworkers movement — including Filipino organizers and women leaders — rather than a single individual.

"The movement started with the Filipino community and Cesar Chavez got involved. Later on, Dolores Huerta came along as well. So the movement is more than one person to celebrate," Zepeda said.

Councilmember Sue Wilson moved to amend the proposed name from "Farm Workers Day" to "Farm Workers Movement Day," arguing the word "movement" captured both the workers and their organizing effort. Mayor Eduardo Martinez offered a substitute motion for "Dolores Huerta Day," but it died for lack of a second. Martinez then spoke about the importance of honoring movements rather than deifying individuals.

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez praised the council for swift action and drew parallels to accountability failures at the federal level. Vice Mayor Doria Robinson also spoke in support.

Decisions: The amendment to "Farm Workers Movement Day" passed unanimously, 6-0 (For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 1 — Brown). The resolution also directs staff to bring a future agenda item addressing sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and sexual assault and the need to protect survivors.

Cheese Park Sparks CIP Equity Fight

What started as a straightforward resolution to improve a single neighborhood park in District 4 turned into one of the evening's most contentious debates — exposing deep tensions over how Richmond allocates capital improvement dollars.

The basics: Councilmember Soheila Bana introduced a resolution directing staff to prepare a work plan for La Moine Park (Cheese Park), which she described as the only community park in Richmond without a restroom or basic amenities. Councilmember Claudia Jimenez co-sponsored, emphasizing the need for a transparent Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process across all parks.

"District 4 has been neglected for a long time. CIP projects have been funded for a decade without any representative from District 4," Bana said.

The other side: Vice Mayor Doria Robinson pushed back forcefully, arguing the item circumvented the city's established CIP scoring and ranking system.

"Why go through the trouble of creating a system to rank things and to put things in line and then say that we're going to have our staff use that system and come forward with recommendations with what's going to be included in the capital improvement plan, but then not use it when it doesn't get the result that we want?" she said.

Public Works staff clarified that the city-owned portion of Cheese Park is actually a neighborhood park, not a community park, and that developing the adjacent school district land would require a memorandum of understanding. Public comment was divided: one resident supported the improvements, while Don of Plumbers and Steam Fitters Local 342 accused the item of being political campaigning ahead of elections and demanded equal treatment for all parks.

Mayor Eduardo Martinez proposed evaluating all parks together, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Decisions: Robinson's alternative motion — to add Cheese Park to the CIP list, have it assessed through the existing scoring system, and direct staff to return with a broader facilities and parks assessment report — passed unanimously, 6-0 (For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 1 — Brown). Staff indicated $347,000 had already been allocated for parks bathroom assessment in the recent utility user tax appropriation.

What's next: Staff will return with a comprehensive parks assessment that could reshape capital improvement priorities citywide.

Fire Code Overhaul: New Wildfire Standards Pass

Fire Chief Aaron Osorio and Fire Marshal Dante Wiley presented the first reading of an ordinance adopting the 2025 California Fire Code and California's first standalone Wildland Urban Interface Code. Local amendments were coordinated by all fire marshals in Contra Costa County for cross-jurisdictional consistency.

Key provisions include required permits for emergency radio systems, expanded fire hazard severity zone definitions, more restrictive automatic sprinkler requirements, non-combustible fencing regulations, and lowering the substantial-addition threshold from 5,000 to 3,600 square feet. The city is pursuing a grant to upgrade over 4,000 Knox boxes to a new electronic key system by December 2028.

Richmond sits in Climatic Zone 3 and Seismic Risk Zone 4 along the Hayward Fault, with hillside neighborhoods and narrow winding roadways creating special fire risks. The chief noted plans to return in 30-60 days to establish a coastal fire zone along the Richmond waterfront.

Decisions: Passed unanimously on first reading, 6-0 (For: 6, Against: 0, Absent: 1 — Brown).

Minor Items

• Consent calendar passed 6-0, including the Blue Envelope program — which Zepeda said "will be a very useful tool for our community, especially for those individuals that communicate differently with first responders" — the Muslim Appreciation Awareness Month proclamation, and the Stop Iran War resolution authored by Bana.

• Records retention schedule update (N2A) was continued to April 7.

• Richmond Main Library groundbreaking was announced for March 25 at noon; the building is undergoing a complete renovation funded by a state grant and city funds.

• Don of Plumbers and Steam Fitters Local 342 promoted the union's apprenticeship program during open forum, advertising a $66,000 starting salary and $165,000 journeyman wages.

• Diego Garcia of Richmond Sol highlighted the Richmond Volleyball Club's premier team rising to second place among 60 Bay Area clubs.

• Musa Tariq of CAIR thanked the council for Muslim Appreciation Awareness Month and voiced support for the Stop Iran War resolution.