Council Reverses Course On Commission

During the May 5th Hayward City Council meeting, the Council changed the purview of the Community Services Commission (CSC). While it was previously focused on funding allocation, the loss of funding due to the City of Hayward's budget crisis had placed the CSC in limbo. Council members agreed that the CSC should be more involved in advising the City Council on community needs.

This is a stark change from only one year ago when the City Council completely rewrote the CSC's charge to exclusively focus on funding allocation. The City Council at the time made clear that narrowing the focus to funding was in response to the CSC's previous recommendation of changes to the now-defunct Community Advisory Panel to the Chief of Police.

Narrow Allocations To Support City Services

Emily Hwang, Management Analyst and CSC Liaison, presented the recommendations for how to allocate approximately $1,550,000 of Federal Community Development Block Grant funding. Unlike prior years, there was no General Fund allocation which is usually given to Community Services and Arts and Music programs. This was due to the budget shortfall and was dire enough that the city cancelled existing contracts to save costs last October.

Over $700,000 in Federal funds were allocated to various required or previously-committed allocations, including Fair Housing services provided by ECHO, Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together East Bay, and referral services through 211. Beyond that, around $184,000 was allocated to the Hayward Navigation Center, run by BACS at the REGIS Village location. Over $630,000 was allocated to Fire Equipment at stations in low to moderate income areas.

Beyond the allocations, Ms. Hwang was seeking Council feedback on the role of the CSC, especially in response to the limited funding. Suggestions included advising on the update to the Community Needs Assessment--last conducted in 2018--and providing technical assistance to nonprofit agencies.

A Brief History Of The CSC

The Community Services Commission has been at the center of some controversy over the last few years. In the wake of the Movement for Black Lives, the CSC tried to understand and reform the Community Advisory Panel to the Chief of Police (CAP). The initiative was started by former CSC Chair Artavia Berry, and continued by former CSC Chair Austin Bruckner-Carrillo, at the request of then-outgoing Chair Berry.

This stance was largely unpopular with the City Council. In October 2023 they rejected reforming the CAP and instead created the Council Public Safety Committee. They then formed an ad-hoc committee, consisting of Councilmembers Ray Bonilla and Julie Roche, to reevaluate the role of Commissions. However, Mayor Mark Salinas was clear that the reason for the committee was because of the CSC. "[The CSC] has gone awry and we really need to reel this back in,” he said in February 2024.

The Council ad-hoc committee met with members of the CSC and other Commissions on November 13, 2024. At the November CSC meeting the following week, recommendations from Councilmembers Bonilla and Roche were revealed that included changing the CSC scope to only include funding allocations. Councilmember Goldstein allegedly agreed that the changes were akin to a parent punishing a child.

Finally, in March 2025, the City Council approved the changes to Hayward Municipal Code that limited the CSC's role to funding allocation. Current Municipal Code mentions funding in 3 of its 4 Duties, with the final reading: "Promote interagency and intergroup coordination in the development of community social resources."

A Commission Without Direction

Three members of the Community Services Commission gave public comment and encouraged Council to allow the CSC to do more than allocate funding. Commissioner Calvin Wong supported an idea from Councilmember Roche to have the CSC audit agencies in some capacity. Commissioner Jesse Gunn supported having the CSC be a part of the Community Needs Assessment.

Chair Lenita Wheeler also asked for Council direction, especially considering the precarity of future budgets. "With the suspension of the funding process for potentially several years, there's uncertainty whether the CSC remains a funding recommendation body or shifts into a more advisory role."

All Commissioners supported restoring the Community Agency Funding (CAF) Process in the future, with many feeling like they had been sidelined in the process this year. "There was minimal to no input from members of the CSC," Commissioner Wong said.

Councilmember Rewrites History

Councilmember Ray Bonilla opened the discussion by pushing back on the revocation of funding and allegations of lack of input. He said that the funding was withdrawn due to a lack of staff time. However, an October 21st email from then-Community Services Division Manager Dr. Amy Cole-Bloom said that the revocation of funding would create approximately $1,400,000 in one-time General Fund savings and framed the move as a cost-saving measure in response to the sudden budget shortfall.

Councilmember Bonilla also appeared to take issue with the idea that there was limited input from the CSC or the public. "I think the community was noticed that we were having this discussion," he said. He then said he wanted to revitalize the CAF process and, it appeared, the CSC. "For whatever reason, the Commission has become almost solely focused on funding," he said.

He recalled the origins of the CSC as a combination of the Citizens Advisory Commission and the Human Services Commission, which was an argument also used by past CSC Commissioners against restricting their Duties. He expressed a desire to "bring this kind of community orientation back to the work of the CSC" and "transition the Commission, not just from a funding capacity but also to an advisory capacity."

Councilmember Bonilla supported the CSC being involved in the Community Needs Assessment and the Let's House Hayward Strategic Plan. He highlighted the Alameda Social Service Human Relations Board, whose purpose is to assess and report on the social service needs of people in Alameda and "encourage the formation of private social welfare organizations to serve those unmet needs."

A New Direction Supported By Council

Other Council members supported the change. "I think having the CSC play more of an advisory role as part of their function feels important," Councilmember George Syrop said. He recommended other ways that Commissioner feedback could be beneficial to the city and service providers. "I really want the Commissioners's insight more than just a budget that they put forward," he said.

Councilmember Dan Goldstein supported the CSC playing a role in gauging accountability and analyzing outcomes for the best use of funding. "How do we ensure that the community agencies are actually achieving results?" he asked. Councilmember Francisco Zermeno also supported the CSC becoming more of an advisory body.

Councilmember Julie Roche and Mayor Mark Salinas appeared to agree, but deferred to Councilmember Bonilla as the liaison to the CSC. "Let's take this time to really think about what it is that we're doing in the community," Mayor Salinas said. "If we can come up with a strategy to assess [the needs of the community], that would be great."

The City Council ultimately approved the funding recommendations and supported reworking the Powers and Duties of the CSC to include more advisory duties. The final language will be approved at a future meeting.

Editor's Note: This story erroneously referred to the Chair of the CSC as Leticia Wheeler as opposed to Lenita Wheeler. This has been corrected and we regret the error.