Waiver on Sanctuary City?
People are understandably afraid. There’s been an uptick in gun violence in Berkeley and the perpetual seasonal concern of wildfires. The council must act to prevent more violence and to prepare us for potential emergencies. In an alleged attempt to do just that, our city leadership created an artificial crisis, disposed of their values and used fear-driven decision-making.
Here’s the backstory:
The BPD say they need new radios because their radios purchased in 2011 are no longer supported by the manufacturer. They also want encrypted radios to comply with CA Department of Justice privacy requirements, despite the fact that their current technology already meets these standards.
In addition, both the police and fire departments recommend an instant mass notification system in the event of an emergency. These expenditures were included in the 2022 Budget.
Great, so let’s send out a Request for Proposal (RFP) and get quotes for new public safety radios. In the meantime, we’ll determine what level, if any, of encryption is necessary. Right?
Apparently not.
In December 2020, the City Manager received a quote from Motorola Solutions for $6.4M for public safety radios. This purchase will include a $1M discount if signed before the expiration date of September 30, 2021.
The City Council waited over nine months, until two days before the quote expired, to railroad this purchase through and put it on the consent calendar. This left no room for discussion or debate and created its own problems
First, a contract with Motorola Solutions violates the Sanctuary Contracting Ordinance that the council voted unanimously for in 2019. This ordinance prohibits the City from entering into an agreement with an entity that does business with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). ICE has been a client of Motorola Solutions for years.
Additionally, city leadership is supposed to be committed to and engaged in reimagining public safety. That task force was not consulted about this massive investment. Neither was the Police Accountability Board, a new police oversight body created because of last November’s overwhelming voter support.
Mayor Arreguin’s response to the multitude of public pleas to simply adhere to convention and discuss this item was to defend our Sanctuary policy “…no city employee or police officer will collaborate with ICE.” His statement misses the point and does not explain why this contract is necessary and would make us safer.
He also confirmed with the City Manager that a waiver to the Sanctuary Contracting Ordinance would make the contract legitimate and that she should prepare such a waiver.
Then, there was Councilmember Wengraf’s ill-informed and reactive response; “The fact is: if we don’t go with this contract, we will not be able to communicate with our neighbors…The fact is: Berkeley will be hurt if we don’t go with this contract.” What are these “facts” based on exactly?
According to several experts, Motorola radios are made to conform to APCO P25 standards and are fully compatible and interoperable with many other radios (including encryption).
Councilmembers Harrison and Bartlett were the only two who had the courage to take a stand for the discussion and debate of this major issue — an artificially hurried $6.5M purchase that’s in direct opposition to the values this council committed to the people of Berkeley to uphold — by voting the item off of consent calendar.
An artificial crisis, disposable values and fear-driven, inaccurate decision-making all point to the shortfalls of our local governance.
The game is up. The time is now to stand together for democracy, transparent governance and human rights. If not now, when?
This article was first published in the Berkeley Times on October 7, 2021.
