Meeting Overview

Date: February 24, 2026 — Special Berkeley City Council work session. Mayor Adena Ishii presided. Councilmembers Tregub, O’Keefe, Blackaby, Lunaparra, and Humbert were present; Councilmembers Kesarwani, Taplin, and Bartlett were absent. Director Scott Gilman and Deputy Director Tanya Bustamante (Health, Housing & Community Services) led a presentation and discussion of Berkeley’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), grounded in the 2025 Community Health Assessment. The session was a presentation and discussion only; no ordinances or binding votes were taken.

Main Agenda Items

• Purpose and process: Staff described a year‑long, community‑driven planning process (JSI consultant) including key informant interviews, targeted focus groups, a 320+ respondent survey, a 10‑member steering committee, and a December World Café with health plans, county partners, community‑based orgs and residents. Video testimonials from steering committee members were shown.
• Guiding principles: Balance ambition with feasibility, cross‑sector collaboration to avoid silos, prevention and upstream/r oot‑cause approaches, and a recurring three‑year cycle for assessment, implementation and improvement.
• Key findings/priorities: Two broad goals — reduce life‑expectancy disparities and increase community power/partnership — with four priority pillars: housing (affordability, stability, conditions), environmental health (pollution, wildfire protection, green space), behavioral health (rising mental‑health needs and access gaps), and community safety (injury/violence reduction; improving walkability was cited as an example strategy).
• Data highlights: Overall strong population health but sharp race‑ and place‑based disparities (example: approx. 91 years life expectancy in parts of the Hills vs ~78 years in some South/West Berkeley tracts). Drug overdoses and self‑harm rose into the top causes of death (2022–2024).
• Data tools and reporting: HHCS previewed a public, interactive dashboard (planned launch fall 2026) for ongoing monitoring and a written Health Status Report due early 2027.
• Implementation timeline: Advisory groups for each pillar to be selected through July; action phase to begin in July after the budget process to align resources. Emphasis on measurable, feasible interventions and interdepartmental coordination.
• Council discussion: Questions addressed selection of focus groups, drilldowns on geographic disparities, how CHIP targets affected communities and addresses root causes, and how council briefings and interdepartmental accountability will occur. State Medi‑Cal integration and small behavioral‑health convening funds were noted as implementation levers. Specific proposals included aligning Alzheimer’s strategies with senior centers and revisiting council measures (e.g., healthy checkout) for targeted neighborhood interventions.

Decisions Made

• No formal votes. Agreed/planned actions:
  • Continue formation of advisory groups for the four priority areas.
  • Launch the public dashboard in fall 2026; publish Health Status Report in early 2027.
  • Proceed with implementation preparation through July; begin formal actions post‑budget, subject to fiscal realities.
  • Staff will return with measurable solutions and an accountability framework tying CHIP goals to budgets, departmental workplans, performance metrics and grant strategies (target update: Jan–Feb 2027).
  • Community Health Commission to be involved in oversight; an additional implementation steering committee will be convened.
  • Steering committee members were recognized for their contributions.