DIXON, CA (MPG) - At the Nov. 5 Dixon City Council meeting, city Treasurer James Ward presented a quarterly treasurer report, stating, “We’re in good financial shape.”

Ward said that more than 60 percent of the city’s investments are an AA+ rating, “so we’re doing well.” The company that handles the city’s asset investments is currently undergoing a system change, so exact numbers will be provided after that change is finalized. But, Ward said, the prior quarter was financially positive and this quarter showed even more improvement. 

Deputy city attorney Nubia Goldstein presented an update regarding ordinances against homeless encampments, as requested by Councilmember Don Hendershot. 

Goldstein explained that a recent Supreme Court ruling (Grants Pass v. Johnson) overturned prior restrictions on state and local governments’ ability to enforce ordinances criminalizing behaviors related to homelessness, such as camping or sleeping in public places. Governments now have the authority to ban public camping and implement fines and arrests. 

In response to the new ruling, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order earlier this year ordering the removal of homeless encampments on state properties, while also ensuring homeless individuals are given reasonable notice to move, or later retrieve, their belongings. The directive also requires that individuals be offered supportive services. While the executive order only applies to state properties, it does encourage local jurisdictions to adopt similar policies. 

Goldstein cautioned that despite the ruling, there are still legal limitations, so selecting policies that align with those of the state could reduce the city’s potential for litigation. She added that issuing fines is only an effective tool if people can pay them; otherwise, it will lead to issues of implementation and administration. Goldstein suggested it would be best to ensure any city policies provide due process and offer reasonable enforcement measures. 

When Caltrans cleans up homeless camps along the highways, Hendershot said, “those people are going to migrate into our cities.” Hendershot said he requested this information because the council needs to know the background to understand what they can do. 

Councilmember Thom Bogue said that fines for the homeless do not make sense: “How are they going to pay that?”

Bogue said the presentation helped explain all the challenges, since “it’s not nearly as simple as I thought it was going to be.” Bogue said the council needs to “tread lightly and carefully in how we put things together in this going forward.” 

Councilmember Kevin Johnson suggested the council should review any relevant ordinances currently on the books.

“If we have it, it should be easy to understand, it should be enforceable, it should be something that’s reasonable. And if it’s not, it should be changed or removed.”

Johnson said the next step should be to bring existing policies back to the council for a thorough review. 

Councilmember Jim Ernest suggested it might be best to wait and see, because one side sees the restrictions as unreasonable and inhumane while the other side sees criminalization as a tool to force mental health treatment. Ernest said that bigger decisions need to be made at the national level before they implement any new policy at the local level. 

During public comment, one resident said, “It looks like we’re chasing an issue that doesn’t exist. We have no public camping around here.”

He said the city should wait to see the outcome of Gov. Newsom’s plans for cleaning up homelessness in Sacramento, because if the governor isn’t able to solve the problem, a smaller city likely won’t have much success either.

“We need to put the problem back where it lies,” with the closure of mental health facilities, the resident said. “We don’t want to criminalize this” and run into problems with potential litigation. “I think we should be finding solutions for the homelessness, not simply getting them out of one place and having them move somewhere else.” 

Mayor Steven Bird said staff had enough direction from council to move forward with bringing applicable ordinances to a future meeting for review. 

The next Dixon City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 19.