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Santa Ana has committed to bold and necessary goals within its General Plan by including environmental justice or environmental justice-focused equity policies throughout the community, mobility, economic development, public service, and conservation elements. One of the primary implementation strategies advocated for by community members and laid out in the General Plan to accomplish these goals, is to hire an environmental justice staffer who works full-time on implementing environmental justice policy and doing community outreach to those most impacted. In item 3.9 of the General Plan Community Element's Implementation section, this staff position is described as being added to the city manager's office in 2022. However, it is concerning that despite these commitments, and the timeline in the General Plan, funding for this position is not included in the 2022-2023 budget. Because the community has advocated for these environmental justice policies for more than 2 years, and because Santa Ana is one of OC's largest cities yet has extremely limited staff capacity to do environmental justice work, the addition of this position is critical. We urge you take this step to enable Santa Ana to begin to address environmental injustice and meet your commitments by doing the following: 1. Add funding for the EJ staff position to the 2022-2023 budget 2. Make applying for EJ grants a main responsibility of the new administrative secretary role being added to the city manager's office. This action is appropriate as this position is already intended to build staff capacity. This way, even if the EJ staff position cannot be funded through the budget this fiscal year, it will be added by the end of 2022, which will allow the city to begin to focus on environmental injustices and keep on track with the General Plan timeline. By funding this position, the city can fulfill its commitment to prioritize community safety and welfare by addressing environmental injustices. If this position is not funded through the pathways recommended above, the city will continue to be among the least climate ready, environmental justice communities and advocates will have had their voices effectively silenced, and there will be major public health implications.