The Sacramento City Council has directed the City to review its policies and prevention strategies in dealing with sexual harassment and discrimination.
The decision comes while Councilmember Allen Warren is the subject of a sexual harassment investigation.
Councilmember Steve Hansen requested an immediate review by the auditor's department.
"The procedures are hard to find," Hansen said. "They don't clearly state that we have zero tolerance for this type of behavior in our city organization and that the conduct itself is illegal."
The council unanimously supported a review, but City Clerk Shirley Concolino said two city employees have spent the last year updating and reformatting city policies and procedures.
"There are some that have to go through a myriad of review. But, I can say that - with regard to the sexual harassment policy- it has been updated and it has been reviewed and the training that goes with that actually includes the policy itself," Concolino said. "So, if you look in the training that you get, you'll see that there's updated annually anything that's changed with regard to the law."
Mayor Kevin Johnson asked the city clerk, city auditor, city attorney and city manager to collaborate on a review of policy and training.
Johnson recently was cleared of wrongdoing in a sexual harassment complaint filed against him.
Though he didn't refer to Warren directly, Hansen followed with a second request.
"(That) any of my colleagues who may be going through that process consider, of their own volition, stepping off of the Good Governance Committee because it does appear the public believes there is a conflict," Hansen said. "And that perception undermines their ability to accomplish those good government ethics reforms."
Warren is on that committee.
Councilmember Larry Carr was the first of seven members to agree with the idea of a review and the first of seven to say they oppose the idea of Warren vacating his committee position.
"I wouldn't go so far as to ask someone to step down simply because an allegation is made. Any of us could face an allegation at any time," Carr said. "The process that we have of having an independent attorney look at it, determine if there's validity to it and report back to us -I think it's a good one."
Seven members of the council said they opposed the idea of Warren stepping down.
Warren did not comment on either Hansen request.
Mayor Johnson asked the four City departments to report back within a month.
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