the council our focus in this budget has been to protect the essential services that the people of this city rely on to be healthy safe and successful as the first women majority Council in our City's history we take very seriously our responsibility to shift the deeply ingrained dynamics of our city and Society those that have traditionally left women behind women and communities of color as an afterthought women are the Cornerstone of our society and the backbones of our communities our families and our entire city when women are healthy and have access to opportunity everyone thrives the inequities that women and particularly women of color face throughout our lives that undermine us our communities and the city are issues that must be addressed resolving these inequities was the focus of many of our budget priorities specifically prioritizing a cost of living adjustment for Human Service workers the majority of whom are underpaid women of color it requires investing in an early childhood education system that supports Working Families and so many other programs that open Pathways to Equitable opportunity