pages: CityCouncil/2020-02-18.pdf, 5
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CityCouncil | 2020-02-18 | 5 | de la Raza, but has concerns with some of the amendments; Centro Legal said it did not serve as many people as it wanted to in the first year, yet is asking to decrease the number of people served while being paid the same amount; expressed concern about Centro Legal not having any Asian language translators and wanting to use phone translators, which is unacceptable; stated that she is also concerned about the clinic locations and hours; Centro Legal should be in Alameda once a week at a set location, which can rotate; only offering the services on weekday mornings is troublesome because many people cannot take time off of work; outreach should inform people about Alameda locations; the contract amount seems steep for only phone consultations; she wants the legal representation to be effective; unless there are modifications, she cannot support approval of the contact. Councilmember Daysog inquired how the service provider ensures it is pursuing legal cases only after examining the perspective of both the renter and small landlord; whether the service provider guards against situations where they are not getting the full picture from a client; what internal policies and procedures are in place to ensure Centro Legal gets the full picture. The Community Development Director responded Centro Legal's first approach is to talk to both the landlord and tenant to try to negotiate a resolution and not have the issue end up in court; stated Centro Legal has not initiated litigation against an Alameda landlord; working to negotiate solutions without going to court has been effective; there is a fact finding process and Centro Legal speaks to both the landlord and the tenant. Councilmember Daysog inquired whether Centro Legal has written letters to landlords on behalf of tenants, to which the Community Development Director responded in the affirmative. Monique Berlanga, Centro Legal de la Raza, stated the questions are all things Centro Legal has been examining internally. Councilmember Daysog inquired whether internal policies or procedures institutionalize the fact finding phase; stated that he is aware of some small landlords who received a letter which presumed the landlord was wrong without the landlord being interviewing or facts being gathered. Ms. Berlanga stated different levels of service are provided; outlined various services offered, including entering into legal representation; stated facts are investigated before entering into litigation or extended services. Councilmember Daysog stated internal policies and procedures should include indicating when it is not a legal situation; when a landlord gets a letter, they need to understand when something will be fixed in the courts; he has heard landlords felt their perspective was not taken into account; small landlords might have difficulty waging a legal case. Regular Meeting Alameda City Council February 18, 2020 3 | CityCouncil/2020-02-18.pdf |