City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Are we ready? So once KCRT is wide awake, as the City Council is, we will begin. This is the open session to hear public comments before closed session. May we have roll call?

All right. In that case, the public comment is closed. And we will retire to closed session.

It is now time for the regular meeting of the Richmond City Council, and we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Someone is speaking to an agenda item. So you'll be able to say that when the agenda comes up.

Excuse me. There's a conversation going on in this room and it's distracting me.

Translation. So let's see. Can translators do it elsewhere so it's not actually when it's over in the corners it acts like a chamber or sound chamber and the sound comes up here. So we do need translators. It's just a matter of how to do it so it's not

Please. Okay. So staff, council members, do your best at speaking directly to the speakers so the translators will have an easier job.

Thank you for the presentation. I would like to do each of the recommended actions separately. And we will begin with receiving the fiscal year 2025, 2026, quarter four to begin with. So we, I guess we could start with public comment on all of them. And then after that, we'll go to questions from council.

Thank you. Public comment is closed. And it is now time for council members. Council member Bonner.

Thank you. It is time for questions or comments, too?

Okay. Quick question on slide 34, please. The cost recovery. I didn't get the concept. 5.3% recovery.

Okay, that cost recovery, the percentage is set or it's calculated based on the?

Thank you. No, my question was about that 5.3%. I was wondering if it was a policy. Okay, so there's no set point. Thank you. So my comment is about the timing. While I really appreciate the nonprofit organizations who worked very hard, like APEN and CBE, I think the community has a right to make an informed decision. So my question is, on option A and B, what is the time estimate for those information?

Yeah, but could you show options? Could you show the slides for options a, B, C, please? Certainly. Okay. Labor negotiations, you're right. How about the facility needs assessment plan? When is it going to be done?

Thank you. But my issue is with the way it has been framed into options a, B, C. I think it's important to view it from the angle of informing the community, then getting their input about the process. Community engagement is very important, should be done as soon as possible. At the same time, they shouldn't be kept in the dark. They should be informed.

I understand. I believe you are saying the same thing. Perfect. That the community has the right to know. So when will the community know about that assessment plan?

KCRT, could you bring the slide up again so Director Chavarria could see it? So option A says defer the limited term revenue community engagement process until completion of the facility needs assessment plan.

So in the interest of processing that community process to get it started. The community needs to know what projects are urgent, you know, like red, yellow, green, green can wait, I don't know, 30 years, 10 years. The red has to be done this year or within the next three years so they can make a decision.

Thank you. So you're saying that you do have those itemized that the committee can decide? We're working on it. So when is it going to be ready to be presented to the public?

But you're not going to throw that number of $1.5 billion to the public. You're going to say these have priority and it's doable.

Thank you, so the community can make decision like if paving is important to them, if parks are important, if you have that table. also with some color codes to show sense of urgency.

Thank you. Thank you very much for your efforts to enlighten the community to provide the best input to the process. Thank you.

Okay, before we go on, I'd like to know if there's any council members who have questions about receiving the fiscal year budget. Okay. So let's keep the conversations to the budget and not to the other items because we'll get a chance to speak to the other items when they come up to vote. So for the fiscal, did you have questions on receiving? No? Okay. Then council member gimenez.

Yeah, thank you for the presentation, and I think it's difficult for me divide all of these as the mayor say, but I will try. So I think it will be good for us to see past projections, five year projections of like four or five times before. And I will say that because when I get to the city council the first time, before I got here, there was a $19 million in deficit. And when I got here, they were $20 million in surplus. And I know that like, I think like what we are trying to get here is that we are in the unknown with projections, with how we are presenting this information in some ways, b

So I am not asking any question. I am just making that comment, right? Yeah, we're not allowed to do that. So one of my things that I want to say here is that also the projections are projecting the status quo that we have, like how much we are going to receive. There is no new information about maybe if we have an investment in a new technology or a new business, how much that, because we don't know. And the idea of us voting last time to have a consultant to help us to guide this process is not only that the community, we want to see what the community wants also, but also get informed by ex

Actually, I think we need to continue with the City Council and we will give you a chance to respond after the Council has had their questions. So Council Member Vice Mayor Robinson.

Your time is up, but I'll let you finish. Okay. Council Member Cepeda.

So with option A, we're looking at, say... We need to stick to approving this budget. You're moving over to one of the other items that we'll be talking about later.

Actually, the budget doesn't talk about half a billion. It just talks about the money for. I'm just, that's why I use quotes.

Because your time just ran out. Perfect. Yeah. All right. So do we have any others to speak to the... Your time was up. So...

I wanted to... This point of order, I haven't spoken yet, but I actually just want to speak to the provide direction on limited time revenue. So I don't know if now is the right time or not. It's not the right time. Then I will wait.

Okay. So if there's not any more questions about the approving or receiving the budget, I need a motion to receive budget.

Okay. Now we'll move on to adopt a resolution to appropriate proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 year-end administrative budget adjustments. And so. Sure.

Okay. And it looks like adopt a resolution to appropriate proposed year and administrative budget adjustments should have been part of the received fiscal budget. So we'll make a motion for that.

Excuse me. I am a little confused about that because they are, we have, There are some recommendations. I'm part of that recommendation if we approve ABC. So can we? Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. So then we'll go on to appropriate environmental and community investment agreements funds for Richmond Promise. So that will be the next topic. Do we have...

Oh, okay. All right then. So is there any discussion among council members?

New speaker. I think along the way with Councilmember Doria, are these funds considered short-term funds?

Okay. If there's no other questions, then I need a motion.

Right. Okay. Thanks to Councilmember Jimenez I was able to see the adopt a resolution to appropriate proposed year end administrative budget adjustments.

So now we are to the provide direction regarding the timing of the limited term revenue community engagement process.

Depends on A, B, or C. MR. Because it depends on A, B, or C.

Well, then, I stand corrected. We can make a motion to adopt a resolution to appropriate proposed fiscal year 2025-23 year end administrative budget adjustments.

Now I'm confused. Sorry. Where are we? What page is that? Page 38.

Page 3 or page 3, Bon, if you're at the beginning. What we're voting on is what's on page 38. Yes. Oh, okay.

All right, now we'll go to provide direction regarding the timing of the limited term revenue community engagement.

Do we have conversation on that? Yeah, I have a question. Yes, go ahead, Council Member Brown.

Yes, thank you. So if we already set aside funds for a consultant for the settlement engagement process, what would be the hindrance?

Okay, so it's about capacity that we don't have.

Yeah, because that's where I get I get the reassignment. Yeah, I get confused when we have the option. But if we can't do it, why is there an option if it's not feasible? And so what I'm trying to understand is that if we don't have the capacity now, when will we have the capacity to proceed with the limited fund in community engagement, because this is something that I thought that was supposed to happen. And we were supposed to have some sort of like results from this by the end of the year.

Okay, thank you. So the so basically option C, city staff are unable to do this concurrently to all the other obligations. Okay. Not successfully. So I'm almost convinced with Council Member Zepeda when he said we need an option D because you basically said that option A and B needs to happen before we can even get into C. It's a recommendation if Council thinks that that is what is necessary. Okay. All right. Thank you. That's all.

Okay. Council Member Cepeda. Are you finished? I'm sorry.

Do you want to go? And I haven't either. And neither has those other people. So patience.

Council council council vice mayor Robinson.

Your time is up. So if you can wrap it up.

I think I just wanted to say that the other things that I believe is important and this is why I want to continue this process of the community process and to look at the finances of how we are going to invest this 10-year revenue that we are getting is because that might also solve some of these five-year projections. For instance, we decided that we are going to do some investment and we have return of investment in some of these monies that we can invest, then we can start thinking about new revenues. I feel like for me is that all of these projections are not taking into account what we ca

Thank you. So I'll just say it plainly that I think getting public input is really important. And it isn't something that we can afford to wait on. I went and looked at, I guess, what we call the administrative record for this item. And on January 27th, we voted to hire a an outside consultant in order to conduct this public input on how to spend the $550 million settlement. And the reason that we hired an outside consultant, and we were criticized, we spent $300,000, is to take the pressure off of staff. And so I think we've heard loud and clear about the capacity issues, and that's why we di

So anyways, I encourage us all to vote for C. By the way, I also think, you know, actually Councilmember Zepeda, Robinson and I did have a couple of meetings. I think I got busy. Maybe they did as well about finding a way to prioritize city council items. And I think we, you know, whether it's us or somebody else, I do think that we should continue working on that. Other cities do have actual formal systems for ranking things that city councils decide on about what should be done first and second. Berkeley has a system. I started to look at if someone wants to look into that. I don't think tha

I have no problem with C. but I strongly believe that community should be given sufficient amount of information. So all the examples that Council Member Wilson said about the items that the community may want, I'm sure they're all on the list of Director Chavarria for the streets and parks and everything. The point is how much do they cost, how feasible are they, how urgent are they, are we going to save money if we do them sooner like pavement before they deteriorate. those kind of things. So the information is very important to be provided to the public before they make a decision. We don't

No, me is me, but you is Cepeda. Me is me.

Thank you. I guess now it's my turn. Can we have slide 15? I'd like to look at slide 15 while I speak. All right. This is a middle of the road general funds forecast comparison. And I think the conversations we've been having are the wrong conversations. We've been talking about $550 million or $50 million as if they're special funds, but they're not special funds. They're limited time funds. But they're part of the general fund. So the conversation we need to be having, and it seems as if Councilmember Wilson has been having those conversations, is about the entire budget. We need to be looki

I would like to make a motion to approve this item with option C so we can start the community process and really think about how we invest this money so we can start addressing some of the revenue issues problems that we are seeing in the projections.

I think it's a friendly amendment. Can you summarize it and concisely say it again, please? I'm sorry, can you have it on the screen, please?

That's it. If I may, we need to ask the city attorney if the second item related to this agenda item.

Okay. Thank you. After council member brown, I also have a friendly amendment.

Yeah, I think it's complicated. What I am afraid is that all of these will delay the process of the community engagement.

I think I would like to, before we agree on like cutting cuts and projections, because the projections, I would like to do an analysis of how all projections have been done and if it's real, because I also think that these projections are not getting other monies that we will bring from Measure U. So we are going to be starting thinking about cuttings when maybe it's not needed.

But remember that surplus becomes one time So I think it's a little more complicating that we are putting it here. So I would like to have a motion that is motion seed. And I agree with your friendly amendment of prioritizing things for these fiscal years. So we know that we are not going to be doing everything at once. I will accept that. I never heard a second.

I would like to make a substitute motion. I would like to provide direction regarding the city budget. As a community engagement process. Because it's the budget that we're talking about. We keep looking at the money as special funds that we can decide on how to spend. And we need to think of the entire budget. And by looking at the entire budget, we're actually addressing the issues that Vice Mayor has brought up. and that other council members have brought up, that there are things that will be cut if we don't look at the budget in its entirety. Someone's proposing that we look at the budget

Actually, there was appropriate environmental and community investment agreement for 26-27.

So that funding, even though it's for the following budget year, comes from money from this budget.

Right. I understand the rationale. I just needed to know whether or not the monies came from this budget and that was the reason it was included.

Can I say something? We already voted for things one by one, and what we are voting here is whether we are going to do the process of the community engagement for the limited funds available, and this is what we are going to vote here for in terms of the process.

I made a substitute motion. I need a second.

I'm sorry? Can someone repeat the motion? The motion is to provide direction regarding the city budget. I thought this was to pick a, B, or C. it is. So I'm making D. okay.

Point of order, didn't we already approve a contract to gather information on the use of the limited time revenue, not on the whole budget? Like haven't we already made this decision both in January and April?

Yes. My substitute motion was to provide direction regarding the timing of the entire budget, entire city budget. as a community engagement process. And it's coordination with public safety, labor negotiations, and other city council-directed plans, studies, and assessments.

Can I make a friendly amendment to that, if you'll accept? That we pause the city council directed plans and bring that back to the council separately so we could work on the prioritization of that because it's been expressed that capacity is what's holding up staff from assisting in this process. So agreeing to the process but putting a pause.

I think the issue with the pause is that many of them already are in process. So we don't want to stop work on things that are...

Okay, so I'll clarify. Not stopping the work on the things that are in process, but the things that the 32 something that was mentioned, that we don't move forward on those things until we work out what the prioritization is, the list. That would be really helpful.

I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor. I'm unclear on your motion. Can you say it again?

Okay. To provide direction regarding the timing of community engagement concerning the city budget in total. With the amendment given by Councilmember Brown, which is to pause on council directed issues which have not been started.

Are you saying that the community should know the city budget to provide input?

Yeah. Instead of looking at part of the budget as if it's a special fund. We look at the entire budget so that we know that when a certain amount of money is spent here, it's affecting the money over here.

That may be a little too much for the community.

It takes sessions and sessions for us to receive the budget.

But that is part of the budget. So when we look at the budget, we will be looking at that money.

Go on, finish the contract so we can extend the community.

Right. Yeah. So the direction is for staff to arrange the timing for the limited-term revenue community engagement process with the add-on of looking at council directed projects so that we can start looking at ways to reduce our revenue.

So then, let me see. So then we should do the public hearing since staff has left for 01, right? Which one? Q1. Yeah. So P1, the moratorium. And before we start that, I need a motion to extend time.

I make a motion to finish the moratorium item to 11.

With the understanding that we have a hard stop at 11.

Can I make a motion that we reduce public comment time to one minute so we can finish the item tonight?

Okay. So we have a motion. Well, first we need to make a motion to extend time.

I have a motion to reduce public comment time to one minute so we can wrap this item by 11 P.M. do we have a second?

I second. Okay. Motion by bonna, second by brown.

Thank you very much. I think we'll begin with public comment. But first I'd like to apologize to the news outlets. I gave them wrong information. I didn't realize that it required a supermajority. But now I know how important this is. So to the public.

Before we began speaking, you said we have 38 speakers, one minute each, and we only have 33 minutes, which means that if every speaker speaks, we will not have time to vote on this.

Well, I'm saying that so that the speakers who are here can Watch the clock to make sure that there is enough time for deliberation and voting. Okay. Right. And you can pass.

We have translation on the screen. So if we translate in real time, that's twice as much time that's being taken up.

I would like to remind speakers that we now have 12 minutes or 11 minutes before we have to adjourn. So if you want us to vote on this,

That's it for speakers in that case public comment is closed and now we need discussion.

Since we don't have that much time I will move the item to approve the ordinance and moratorium. I second the motion.

We have a motion and a second. I do a motion to end debate. I have a quick question. When you have a motion to end debate, if I can get a second.

It's just based on time. Let me ask my question. It's important. Thank you. My question is to the city attorney. Can we include open AI in this or it's already started? No. Okay, thank you. Motion to end debate.

Okay, so there's been a motion to end debate. Do we have a second? There's no second, so go ahead.

I just want to ask the city attorney, does passing this moratorium with the context of needing to have a current and immediate threat, does that open the city up to litigation, future litigation?

Because you need six votes here to to to enact it because it goes into effect immediately right so I would want to know that if we vote yes on this that we're not exposing the city there's there's always going to be exposure well known exposure like so have we established I think I'm asking have we established the current and immediate threat that would that would be an exemption to meeting the the penal or the code that you mentioned

We actually only have a short amount of time, so I will make a motion to end debate.

Is this a vote to end debate? You're out of time. Say yes.

I'm sorry, are we voting on the item or the vote in debate?

Well, with that, does anyone have any closing comments? The dedication. Well, we have... Oh, okay. In that case, well, it's part of adjournment. Okay. Well, in that case, this meeting is adjourned.

I don't understand how we were able to establish...