'Bias-free' policing, ban on pet surgeries top next El Paso City Council agenda

With only one meeting under its belt in 2024, the El Paso City Council is wasting little time tackling hot-button issues from the dais.

The work session scheduled for Tuesday and the regular meeting the next day will also be the last for West-Central city Rep. Alexsandra Annello, who will be replaced in about a week in a special election runoff. The council's next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 30, will represent a change of guard and a drastic dynamic shift.

Meetings will cover various topics, from restrictions on elective pet surgeries to new policies for "bias-free policing."

Council members will also get an update on efforts to establish a city office and advisory board focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. This topic has gained attention over the last year as Texas moved to ban DEI initiatives in public universities.

City Council 101

The El Paso City Council meets twice a month with eight members. It is headed by the mayor, who is only afforded a vote in the event of a tie.

Any member can add an item to a City Council meeting agenda to be considered by the entire council.

When directing city staff to adopt new policies or offices, councilmembers will often receive multiple updates before voting to approve a new policy.

A simple majority is enough to advance or squash a new ordinance when the vote finally occurs.

City staff is regularly advised to meet with other departments and committees or redraft language in a process often months before anything is approved.

Saying goodbye to City Council

Annello announced her resignation from City Council last October to campaign for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Her resignation kicked off a half-a-million-dollar race to find a replacement.

On Tuesday, Annello will participate in her last meeting as a member of City Council.

"I'm honestly very emotional about serving my last City Council meeting," she wrote in a text message. "Serving as a city representative has been the honor and privilege of my life and I'm incredibly proud of the work I did with so many community members and organizations to make El Paso a better place."

Since 2017, Annello, a Boston native, has represented District 2 on the City Council and gained a reputation as a strong, progressive voice.

"We've fought for greater representation of the voices, we've saved historic neighborhoods, we've made El Paso safer for women, we're continually working to help migrants in our community, we have continued to push for better communication and collaboration between the city and residents," she said.

Annello will face former El Paso County Commissioner Vince Perez and former state Rep. Norma Chavez in the Democratic primary for the Texas House District 77 seat on Super Tuesday, March 5.

More: Texas election 2024: Details about primary election in El Paso

Banning 'aesthetic procedures' for household pets

Under Item 16 on next week's City Council agenda, city Rep. Chris Canales has introduced a proposal to ban "surgical procedures on domestic animals with no medical necessity."

The proposed amendment would ban procedures such as tail-docking and ear-cropping, procedures often performed on dog breeds such as Pitbulls and Doberman Pinschers and declawing for cats.

The proposal would likewise ban devocalization procedures, often known as "debarking" or "demeowing," but states that spay and neuter procedures, as well as minor ear clipping related to a sanctioned Trap-Neuter-Release program, would not be prohibited.

"I have always felt that these kind of non-medically necessary procedures, very invasive ones that are purely aesthetic or for the owners' convenience, are cruel and inhumane," Canales wrote in an email. "When I realized that the Municipal Code doesn't already ban them, it was a no-brainer for me to bring this proposal forward."

Item 16 calls for the city manager's office to draft the amendment and work with the city's Animal Services Advisory Committee for recommendations. The recommendations will be presented to City Council in 90 days.

'Bias-free policing'

In September, the City Council directed the city manager and city attorney's offices to evaluate new policies and training to improve how the El Paso Police Department interacts with transgender and gender-diverse individuals.

Discussion on the matter was postponed in December, but council members are set to take it up Wednesday.

More: El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas talks transparency, accountability and violent crime

Some of the proposals on offer for the EPPD are as follows:

• A policy that establishes guidelines for the appropriate treatment of gender-diverse individuals who come in contact with police;

• Police will ask individuals their preferred name, gender identity and pronouns and address them accordingly;

• Officers will not conduct searches to determine a person's sex and officers who conduct a frisk must specify the reasons why the frisk was necessary;

• Whenever possible, two officers should be present for searches and will not seize or remove appearance-related items that would not typically be confiscated from non-gender diverse individuals;

• Gender-diverse individuals should be housed alone when possible and relevant gender identity information should be passed along to other agencies when gender-diverse individuals are transported to other facilities.

Establishing a DEI office and advisory board

City Council will also get an update on plans to create a diversity, equity and inclusion city office and advisory board, which would be tasked with ensuring city services are accessible "to persons of all identities, including race, ethnicity, religion, age, class, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression."

The DEI Cross-Functional Team, headed by city Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas, has been meeting since last summer to draft the new policies that would fall under the new office and advisory board's purview.

The team will provide an update to City Council on those efforts Wednesday, which include the creation of a social equity officer position within city government.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso City Council agenda: Pet surgery, 'bias-free policing' and DEI