Saratoga Springs City Council convened Tuesday for the first time since the release of a scathing report from the Attorney General’s office on the city’s handling of Black Lives Matter protests in 2021.
More than a dozen people lined up for the public comment portion of the meeting, many of which are associated with the local BLM organization.
Most of the people who addressed the council shared displeasure with Mayor John Safford and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll’s response to the report and demanded a public apology.
“Despite not being a part of this city council during the scope of the report nor being mentioned in the report at all, Tim Coll’s immediate response was to question the validity of what the attorney general had to say,” said Tiemogo Sangarem. “It is this exact response which exemplifies why the city was under investigation in the first place.”
The AG’s investigation found BLM protesters were arrested on false charges after being surveilled and intimidated by police at the direction of former city officials.
Upon the report being released, Safford said city officials were seeking “additional clarity” on “several areas” of the report while Coll said he expected the AG’s office to “get it right” but that it didn’t.
Coll did not apologize and maintained that there were inaccuracies in the report that have since been corrected by the AG’s office, including what law enforcement agency had fired pepper balls at BLM protesters.
“We need to focus on the recommendations. We think they are a good framework,” he said. “Some of the recommendations are in conflict with the United States Department of Justice guidelines.”
Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran was the only city counselor on the panel to issue an apology after the public comment period.
“We will do the work to repair our community. I promise you that,” he said. “And I am sorry for what you have had to deal with.”
Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi says although it may not be perfect, the city accepts the AG’s report.
“We are listening, we do hear you and we do understand what you have been through,” the commissioner said. “We are putting policies in place to move our city forward.”
Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub said reading the report was “horrible” but that he is tired of people yelling at each other at city council meetings and not moving forward.
“It’s enough with having this venue be the place where we try to solve the problems of our city, because it’s not where we are supposed to be doing the work,” Golub said. “Sit down with whomever you feel comfortable sitting down with and work out solutions, because we’re not going to move forward this way.”
Safford did not address the public comments directly but did propose a tolling agreement with the AG’s office which will allow the city time to review and implement the recommendations noted in the report without drawing a lawsuit by the state.