City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you for watching. Bye. This is the first time I've ever seen this. This is the first time I've ever seen this. This is the first time I've ever seen this. Amen. Amen. . . . so so Thank you.

All right, good afternoon, Councilmember.

KCRT, are you ready to get started? We do have quorum. Great. So I hope everyone bears with me. I'm going to go ahead and get the meeting started.

If we could start with a special meeting of the Richmond City Council, and we can start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

NEXT ITEM IS ROLL CALL.

COUNCILMEMBER BANA IS ABSENT FOR ROLL CALL.

COUNCILMEMBER BROWN? HERE. COUNCILMEMBER GIMENEZ? PRESENTE. COUNCILMEMBER WILSON? HERE. COUNCILMEMBER ZAPATA?

HERE.

Vice Mayor Robinson.

Here.

And Mayor Martinez.

Here.

Next item on the agenda is statement of conflict of interest. Are there any? Hearing none, next item is agenda review. I don't have anything to report for this special meeting.

Can we put it on consent calendar? Just kidding.

So I guess we'll move on.

Do I hear a motion? Yes.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO THE BUDGET SESSION ITEM. ITEM F1 IS TO RECEIVE THE DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AND FISCAL YEAR 2026-31 FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET PRESENTATION. RECEIVE UPDATES ON DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS AND SERVICES FROM THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS. CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, FIRE AND INTERNAL SERVICES. AND UPON COMPLETION OF DEPARTMENTAL PRESENTATIONS, PROVIDE DIRECTION TO SUPPORT PRIOR TO STAFF PRIOR TO FINAL BUDGET ADOPTION. WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE IN-PERSON SPEAKER FOR THIS ITEM. IF YOU ARE JOINING US BY ZOOM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AT THIS TIME.

CAN YOU PLEASE PUT UP THE SLIDE DECK? And I want to confirm, hopefully you all received the updated slide. 15. COUNCIL CITY STAFF ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND SO SLIDE 15 WILL BE UPDATED MOMENTARILY AND SWAPPED OUT IN YOUR HARD COPY PACKET AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THE FINAL VERSION IS UPLOADED ONLINE. THIS WAS A NEW SLIDE THAT CAME ABOUT AS A RESULT OF A POTENTIAL BALLOT MEASURE THAT WAS DELIVERED TO THE CITY ON FRIDAY. So good afternoon mayor members of the City Council Shasta curl, Richmond city manager today We continue the city's review of the proposed fiscal year 2627 operating budget and fiscal year 26 to 31 five-year capital improvement program over the past several weeks staff have presented departmental overviews operational updates economic information and long-range fiscal planning assumptions to support the council's budget deliberation Today's presentation builds on prior discussions by providing updated financial context, additional departmental operations information, and updated five-year fiscal outlook. I would like to note that the five-year financial outlook will continue to be updated as we receive additional information, such as the information that came in on Friday pertaining to the proposed ballot measure. The purpose of today's session is to support a transformative and informed discussion regarding the city's operational capacity, financial sustainability, and strategic priorities as we move towards adopting a balanced budget in June. Next slide. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IS REALLY UNIQUE AND SPECIAL ABOUT THE CURRENT STAFF WE CURRENTLY HAVE WORKING IN THE CITY OF RICHMOND IS THEIR COLLABORATIVE NATURE AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS VARIOUS AGENCIES TO APPLY FOR FUNDS. ON THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA THAT YOU'LL CONSIDER LATER THIS EVENING, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE A GRANT FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WE ALSO HAVE A PROPOSED GRANT TO THE AIR DISTRICT. AND SO THE CITY STAFF WORKING IN AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATIVE WAY ENABLES US TO ACCOMPLISH MORE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND IT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT. One of those efforts that we're going to talk about in the in the coming presentations is regarding the need for us to update our general plan and how if the City Council does want to update the parks master plan that those two things should happen concurrently so that we can get the best long-term planning outcome with a single round of thoughtful community engagement. Next slide. So the key areas that we are going to cover this evening include presentations from fire, city attorney's office, city clerk's office, city manager's office, and internal services. Next slide. SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS ALSO STRUCTURED TO ENSURE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS CLEAR THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THE COUNCIL WITH A BALANCED BUDGET. AND IT'S ALSO A BASELINE BUDGET. SO WHEN WE INDICATE THAT IT'S A BALANCED BUDGET AND IT'S A BASELINE BUDGET, THE WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A BALANCED BUDGET IS BY PROVIDING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A 12 TO 14% VACANCY RATE. And that's how we're achieving a balanced budget. A baseline budget essentially means that other than factoring in some modest inflation and MOU increases, that all of the other assumptions, except for some modest revenue increases, will continue to remain flat. So that if the City Council is interested in expanding or offering additional programs, WE WOULD NEED THE COUNCIL TO LOOK AT THEIR OTHER KEY INITIATIVES AND PROVIDE POLICY DIRECTION ON JUNE 16TH REGARDING WHAT THE TRADE-OFFS SHOULD BE. SO THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THESE DISCUSSIONS. SO THE CITY COUNCIL IS CLEARLY AWARE OF ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT'S HAPPENING AND TO HELP PROVIDE DIRECTION ON FURTHER BUDGET CHECKLISTS AND THEN SO YOU CAN HAVE AN INFORMED DISCUSSION. NEXT SLIDE. Next slide. So in terms of the next steps, today we are at May 26th. So by way of background, city staff starts working on the budget earlier in the year, and all of the city departments provided information on the things that they would like to have. There were over $29 million worth of additional requests that were presented to council on May 5th that were not able to be incorporated into the budget based on the existing constraints. Next slide. The other thing that we want to make sure to underscore is that the City of Richmond is more than just the numbers. The opportunity that has transpired is that city staff have been able to work COLLABORATIVELY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. SO NOW YOU REALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT IS THEIR ORGANIZATIONAL WORK PLAN FOR THE COMING YEAR BASED ON WHAT THEY ARE HIGHLIGHTING IN THE PRESENTATIONS. And what's really unique about Richmond is we provide more services than any other city in the Bay Area in terms of our size, that we have a port, we have a fire department, we have police, we have Office of Neighborhood Safety, we have the ROC program, we have LEAP, we have employment and training. So we just have a host of additional programming that we do in Richmond, and that's what makes it so special, and really trying to provide a complete array of services to meet the needs of our community. NEXT SLIDE. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I JUST WANTED TO CONFER WITH THE COUNCIL ABOUT IS JUST TO ENSURE THAT THE COUNCIL IS AWARE THAT THE MUNICIPAL CODE REQUIRES THAT THE CITY PROVIDE INFORMATION THROUGH THIS BUDGET PROCESS THAT IS OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER. AND SO WHAT'S BEEN REALLY A PLEASURE IS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT WERE NEWER HIRES HAVE REALLY GROWN THEIR TEAMS, THEIR EXPERTISE HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THEIR ROLES AND WE'VE EXPANDED PROGRAMMING. SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY THE CITY COUNCIL BUT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, PHILANTHROPIC ENTITY ARE VERY CLEAR ON THE CITY'S RESOURCES, OUR OPERATIONS AND OUR PROGRAMS. And that the City Council is then able to use this information to provide guidance To the city manager as I prepare the budget in concert with the mayor as required by the Charter next slide WE ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT THIS PROCESS WITH THE BUDGET HAS BEEN MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE THAN RICHMOND HISTORICALLY PROVIDES AND THE AIM OF THAT IS BECAUSE WE HAVE COUNCILMEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE DIUS FOR VARIOUS LENGTHS OF TIME. SOME COUNCILMEMBERS ARE NEWER, SOME DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE NEWER AND WE HAVE MANY NEW COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE JOINED THE ORGANIZATION AS WE'VE INDICATED. HAD 92 NEW PEOPLE SINCE 2021. SO THIS IS A DOCUMENT THAT ALLOWS ALL OF THE ORGANIZATION AND ALL OF THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE A CLEAR INDICATION OF HOW THE CITY IS EXPENDING ITS RESOURCES. AND DOING A GREAT JOB OF RETAINING GRANTS WHICH ARE NOW EXCEED $328 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE. THE VACANCY RATE THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER IN TERMS OF ACHIEVING A BALANCED BUDGET, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT HISTORICALLY WE KNOW THAT A VACANCY RATE WAS USED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET BUT IT WASN'T QUANTIFIED AND SINCE I'VE BECOME CITY MANAGER FOR TRANSPARENCY WITH THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS COMMUNITY AND BARGAINING UNITS, And departments and all staff, we want to make sure that we're being clear on what we think the vacancy rate will need to be in order to balance the budget. But what's really important to note is that we have added a number of new positions to position control and in many instances those newer positions were filled and sometimes the previous older positions that had been in position control for a while were not removed. So at some point in the future that may be something the City Council wants to take a look at. Next slide. WE ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE RICHMOND IS IN TERMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPARED TO THE NATION. AND SO YOU'LL SEE THAT HISTORICALLY RICHMOND'S UNEMPLOYMENT LEVELS AND THIS IS UNEMPLOYMENT ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TENDS TO TREND A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THE U.S. NATIONAL AVERAGE AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF AND WHY WE HAVE PROGRAMS LIKE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING TO SUPPORT OUR RESIDENTS. NEXT SLIDE. ALSO, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS AWARE OF SOME OF THE CHANGES IN THE HOUSING MARKET BECAUSE THIS IMPACTS OUR DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX. IT ALSO IMPACTS WHAT WE WILL BE POTENTIALLY COLLECTING IN TERMS OF PROPERTY TAX. And so you can see here that prices were increasing significantly and then leveled off at around 650,000. And so we're down about 65,000 on average per house. um and so this is important for the council to to be aware of as interest rates have increased we're seeing um some contraction in the real estate market and so this is very important that we can turn you to monitor these trends because um you know for example back when there was a significant decrease in uh our property tax values in 80809 um you know that had a significant uh short-term impact on the budget so you can see from 2011 to to now what the there's you know we've gone from 185 to up to 650 000 so that's quite uh significant um in terms of uh the the increase in housing costs in in richmond next slide Again, I want to underscore the great work of the city departments. You'll see here that we have 146 million in capital improvement grants and over 182 million in other grants. And we also have 30 million in grants that are pending. TO HELP MOVE FORWARD THE WORK THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED. WE TRY TO DO THAT AS MUCH IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO MEET THE GRANT DELIVERABLES AND SO WE TRY TO MAKE THOSE THINGS ALIGN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. NEXT SLIDE. WE MENTIONED THIS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO END THE FISCAL YEAR WITH SOME UNSPENT FUNDS SO THAT WAY WE CAN MAINTAIN A BALANCED BUDGET AND NOT END UP IN A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT OR NEEDING TO DIP INTO RESERVES. AND SO WANT TO INDICATE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRY TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT POSITIVE TRAJECTORY BECAUSE IT'S ESPECIALLY WHEN ORGANIZATION OF OUR SIZE NOW BETWEEN THE GRANTS AND GENERAL FUND DOLLARS IT'S VERY IMPORTANT WITH INFLATION THAT WE HAVE SOME UNSPENT FUNDS TO ACCOMMODATE INCREASE IN COSTS. SO AS WE MOVE TO SLIDE 15 I BELIEVE JAMES IS IN THE AUDIENCE AND IS GOING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE. ON FRIDAY WE RECEIVED A BALLOT MEASURE AND SO WE THOUGHT, IS THIS THE UPDATED SLIDE? It would be prudent to have James from the city attorney's office to walk through the timeline. And I'll just briefly note that in terms of the city staff, I will be working with the city attorney's office and with finance. And we will aim to bring to the city council in June updated projections on the impact of this potential ballot measure. So we do not have that information available yet because it came in on Friday. And so this item that you have before you this evening was already well developed. And but we will we are working on that and we'll have that for you in June. And with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Mr. Atencio to review slide 15 before going passing it over to moving.

Good afternoon, Mayor and council members. Just a quick summary of the timeline for this. initiative Charter amendment that was received by the clerk's office last Friday as you'll see in the chart here the initiative came into the office on May 22nd and So the next step is for the city attorney's office to provide a ballot title in summary to the proof to the initiative Proponents and that is due on June 8th Following that, the proponents are then obligated to publish the notice and official summary in the newspaper. And once they publish the ballot title and summary, then they can go out and collect signatures. And we anticipate that signature collection occurring this summer in June and July. Assuming it's the intent of the proponents to get on to the November ballot, they would have to have their signatures collected and those signatures would need to be verified by the county prior to the council meeting on August 7th in order for the council to place the measure on the ballot. If they're not successful in gathering the signatures by then, but they eventually do gather all the signatures and they are verified, then the initiative would likely go on to the next general election or general municipal election. That's essentially it.

And then if I may, James, depending on the city council's recess time, that would impact the last item. So I know that there's been some discussions around when the recess will actually occur. And so we would work with the clerk's office to confirm that date because it could be in July.

Correct. And this is also a general timeline. There are other... that we can get into more detail later, but this is just providing you with the general procedural timeline and how of the different steps that are involved in getting to the initiative ultimately to the ballot. Thank you.

Thank you.

And so again, this relates to the budget because of the ballot measure does indicate a requirement for 187 sworn personnel. And so that increase in staffing will be something that we will look at as it will impact the city's budget.

Okay, moving. Good evening, Council and Mayor and Council. This is Mubeen, Deputy Director of Finance, and I'll be going over the five-year forecast for the General Fund. So this slide represents the three scenarios for revenues that the staff generated, which are based off of the historic trends CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND INPUT FROM EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS THAT WE HAVE. YOU CAN SEE THAT THE THREE SCENARIOS THAT WE HAVE, PESSIMISTIC, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND OPTIMISTIC. UNDER THE PESSIMISTIC SCENARIO, THE ANNUAL OVERALL TOTAL GENERAL FUND REVENUE GROWTH IS 1% EUROS YEAR. AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD SCENARIO, IT IS AROUND THREE POINT, ABOUT 3% ANNUAL GROWTH IN REVENUES AND OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO HAS AROUND 5% ANNUAL GROWTH IN THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND REVENUE. AND THIS SLIDE PROVIDES A BREAKDOWN IN THE DETAIL IN THE INDIVIDUAL REVENUE STREAMS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD SCENARIO. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE HAVE THE SAME KIND OF ASSUMPTIONS FOR ALL THE OTHER SCENARIOS BUT IT WOULD BE A LITTLE TOO DETAILED IF WE WANTED TO SHARE THAT. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MAJOR PROPERTY TAXES, THE GROWTH IS ABOUT 2.74 ON ANNUAL BASIS AND SALES TAX HOVERS AROUND 2 PERCENT BETWEEN 2% to 3% increase and usually uses taxes around 4% to 5% and so on. And at the bottom you can see the annual year-over-year growth averages around 3% for the middle-of-the-road scenario. THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS. WE HAVE INCORPORATED ALL THE APPROVED MOU'S IN THE FORECAST AND ALSO THE OVERTIME COSTS ARE BASICALLY BASED ON THE CURRENT USAGE AND HISTORIC USAGE AND THE MOU IMPLICATIONS AND THE CALPER RETIREMENT COSTS ARE BASED ON THE MOST RECENT ACTUAL EVALUATION REPORTS AND IT DOES INCORPORATE POTENTIAL FISCAL IMPACT OF AB 1383, WHICH IS PENDING AND GOING THROUGH THE SENATE AND GOVERNOR APPROVAL RIGHT NOW. WE WILL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDE. And we also assume 12% to 14% vacancy rate in the budget and in the forecast. In fiscal year 26, 27, the cost of that is about $16.4 million. We do use the current rates for healthcare costs and also for non-personnel costs, we do use inflationary increases from 3% to 5% based on the individual scenario. THIS SLIDE SHOWCASES THE DIFFERENT CALPER COSTS FOR DIFFERENT PLANS. FOR EXAMPLE, FOR RETIREMENT COSTS FOR MISCELLANEOUS PLANS, YOU CAN SEE THE NORMAL COST DOES GO DOWN FROM 12.6% IN FISCAL YEAR 25-26 TO 10.8% IN FISCAL YEAR 30-31. HOWEVER, THE UAL, WHICH IS THE UNFUNDED ACTUARY LIABILITY COST, THAT DOES GO UP FROM 12.2 MILLION IN 25-26 TO $17.4 million. And you can see the same kind of trend in the safety plan. The normal cost is projected to decrease from 22% to 18.8% over five years. However, the UAL IS FORECASTED TO INCREASE FROM 21 MILLION TO 27 MILLION ALMOST. AND THE BOTTOM TABLE PRESENTS THE AB 1383 ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACTS, THREE SCENARIOS, PESSIMISTIC, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND OPTIMISTIC. SO AB 1383 IS A PROPOSAL WHICH IS UNDER SENATE COMMITTEE REVIEW CURRENTLY. THIS BILL BASICALLY CHANGES THE PENSION FORMULA FOR SAFETY EMPLOYEES AND ALSO INCREASES THE BENEFIT CAP, SALARY CAP FOR ALL PEPRA PUBLIC SAFETY AND MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYEES. SO THERE ARE FISCAL IMPACT. THERE IS FISCAL IMPACT FOR THAT IF THAT BILL GETS APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR. HOWEVER, THE COSTS ARE REALLY TOTALLY ESTIMATED AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO REFINE AND KEEP AN EYE ON THIS. NEXT SLIDE. THIS TABLE REPRESENTS DIFFERENT INFLATIONARY ESTIMATE FACTORS, GROWTH FACTORS THAT HAVE BEEN USED IN THREE SCENARIOS. PESSIMISTIC HAS INFLATIONARY ESTIMATE GROWTH AROUND 5%, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD HAS 4%, AND OPTIMISTIC HAS 3%. YES, NEXT SLIDE. AND BASED ON ALL THOSE HIGH LEVEL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS, YOU CAN SEE THAT IF ONCE THE FISCAL YEAR 26-27 BUDGET AS WE ARE HOPING TO ADOPT BALANCED, AS INCORPORATING ALL THOSE ASSUMPTIONS, WE SEE THE NET DEFICIT AND SURPLUS, THE THIRD ROW IN THE TABLE, WHICH IS HIGHLIGHTED IN RED, I BELIEVE. IT DOES NOT INCORPORATE THE LIMITED TERM REVENUES. WE DO SEE THE GAP IN 27, 28 FISCAL YEAR DEFICIT IS $12.1 MILLION BUT IT DOES INCREASE OVER TO $41.5 MILLION UNDER THE PESSIMISTIC SCENARIO AND YOU DO SEE THAT LIMITED TERM REVENUE AND THE RESPECTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO KIDS FIRST INITIATIVE IS LISTED THERE. And you do see at the bottom that, you know, with that deficit in the operating status quo, operating revenues and expenditures, you do see that the limited term revenue gets remaining limited revenue basically reduces from 15.2 million in 31 fiscal year to 16.6 million dollars. So basically we just dip into those limited term revenues under the pessimistic scenarios if we keep going. the way trend line is going. Next slide. This is just a graphical representation of the same table. You see that yellow and gray line is the revenues. And the yellow piece is the limited-term revenues. And the gray is the operating revenues. And you see the blue line, which is the expenditures. It does dip into the orange part, yellow part, which is the limited-term revenues. Next. I don't have to explain this much, right? So this is the middle of road scenario. WITH SLIGHTLY OPTIMISTIC ASSUMPTIONS AND YOU DO SEE THE GAP IN THE FIRST. IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27-28 IS $8.6 MILLION WHICH DOES INCREASE TO $15.4 MILLION AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 30-31. AND YOU ALSO SEE IN THE MIDDLE TABLE, MIDDLE OF THE SLIDE, NET CHANGE WITH LIMITED TERM REVENUES, WE DO SEE THAT $48.5 MILLION, WHICH IS THE BALANCE OF THE LIMITED TERM REVENUES, DOES REDUCE TO $42.7 MILLION. SO BASICALLY UNDER THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD SCENARIOS WE STILL END UP LIKE DIPPING INTO THOSE REVENUES. AGAINST GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION, SAME CHART BASICALLY. AND NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS THE OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO AND IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27-28, THE DEFICIT IS $1 MILLION, ALMOST $1.1 MILLION. AND HOWEVER, WE DO NOT DIP INTO THE LIMITED TERM REVENUES IN THIS SCENARIO. WE BASICALLY ARE ABOVE THE, WE HAVE A SURPLUS BALANCE AT THE END OF 3031 FISCAL YEAR BY ABOUT $14.2 MILLION. And this is the scenario, if the city gets to face the optimistic scenario, then we do not dip into the limited-term revenues. And the next slide, please. This is, again, the graphical representation, the bar charts. So that ends my next slide.

Thank you. You're welcome. And we'll pass it on to Chief Osorio for the presentation regarding the fire department. I guess we don't get to stretch this time.

Is he coming back?

Is he coming back?

Is he coming back? Okay.

Trying to figure out how much room I have to stretch out here, sorry. All right, good afternoon, Mayor Martinez, Vice Mayor Robinson, and members of the council. Just for the record, Aaron Osorio, Fire Chief, Richmond Fire Department. This afternoon, I will be reviewing the core services that the fire department provides, some of the strategic initiatives that each of the different divisions within the department is working on, which take the majority of staff time, and some of the projects that are pending that we would like to get to in the next fiscal year, hopefully. And then I think before we get started, though, I would like to provide some context for the presentation I'm about to give you. I've been fire chief now for just under two years. And as you are well aware, as council members, these first two years have really been focused on rebuilding the organization. When I took over as fire chief, the organization was facing record low staffing with vacancies at all ranks. We were also... The department was able to continue providing its core services and keep the public safe through staffing our operational vacancies through overtime, which caused our overtime rates to skyrocket. And just to give it some perspective, one firefighter on duty in a year is assigned to work 2,500 hours. In the fiscal year 22-23, we had 78,000 hours of overtime positions we had to fill. That's the equivalent of 31 firefighter spots in one year. So we were definitely in a need of hiring and filling vacancies. We also had no plan to move forward to address our failing infrastructure, no plan to replace a large part of our fleet that needed replacing, and had a large amount of critical firefighting equipment that we needed to update. Since then, we've been very busy. And thank you to you guys for all your support, because we couldn't have made this progress without your support. We've promoted 18 positions within the department, five of those vacancies in the Fire Prevention Bureau, fully staffed the Bureau. We've hired 16 firefighters. And we have an additional seven recruits in our Fire Academy. It just started three weeks ago. We reduced overtime by 31%. and reduced mandated overtime by 71%. We have three facilities placed on a five-year CIP with two of those projects moving through the planning process currently. We have 14 apparatus in various stages of construction or outfitting. everything from a ladder truck to fire engines to a heavy rescue to command vehicles. And we've been able to update a large portion of our firefighting equipment. So we've been very busy. We had a lot of ground to make up. But what I'm going to go over next kind of gets us back to baseline and day-to-day operations and the things that need to get done and addressed every day to make sure our services continue the way they are and then building up from there. Next slide please. So the fire department responds to an average of 15,000 emergency incidents every year. We provide numerous other services to the community and all of these services are in alignment with the city's, the council's strategic goals. Obviously the bulk of our work is addressed in alignment with goal number four and three, three and four with regards to improving public safety and improving the quality of life of the community and the health, healthy outcomes of the community. And most of this is done through emergency response, through our fire prevention division, through education, and through looking for new ways to provide services or improve services to the community, such as the ALS program that we're looking at implementing. But there's a number of other aspects of the fire department that are less high profile that are in alignment with the council's goals, such as improving housing or revenue for the city. through our fire and life safety inspections, construction plan review, code guidance, all ensuring that developments and businesses operate safely and remain safe from fire risk, helps stimulate the economy and make sure that we're keeping housing stock in the market. Next slide, please. The department's a full-service fire department, and it's an all-risk fire department, which is not every fire department can say that. That means that we basically have every type of operation within your fire department that you could have. things such as technical rescue, hazardous materials response, marine response. Those are all additions to your normal fire department services. So when we say all risk, that's what I mean by all risk. And those services are available to the community 24-7, protecting life, property, and the environment. That's all part of our mission and the mission statement of the fire department. The fire department has six different divisions. They all work collaboratively together to keep the community safe. Some of those divisions work behind the scenes and you never see them and they support day-to-day operations while other divisions are more public facing and they interact with the community every single day. Six divisions are administration, support services, emergency operations, training, fire prevention, and emergency services. Administration focuses on development and implementation of policies. Support services deals with the apparatus design and acquisition. It deals with station and equipment oversight. Logistics, the fire department is the only department in the city where your employees live at their workplace. And the logistical demands that that places on our operation is huge. Everything from protective equipment to janitorial supplies to fuel, you name it, whatever it takes to live and work in the same location requires a large amount of logistical support. And that's what support services does. Our emergency operations division is what you see on the street every day. Fire suppression, medical response, rescue, hazardous materials response. Our training division oversees all department training, really is responsible for operational readiness, making sure our fire department and our staff are trained to respond to any type of incident that they're called to. They also oversee our health and wellness program, our medical oversight, and our infection control program. Fire prevention focuses on inspections, code enforcement, and public education, also community risk reduction. And then our Office of Emergency Services focuses on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Next slide. The fire department's allocated 91 sworn positions, and that's a combination of operations, fire prevention, and command staff. We also have four and a half civilian positions, and we also currently actually have two AmeriCorps volunteers that are supporting OES. The department operates out of seven stations that are strategically placed throughout the city. We have one training center and one administrative office. We responded in 2025 to 14,284 calls, which was actually a 5.8% decrease from the previous year. But the previous three years, we experienced combined a 10% increase in call volume. So although this year was down, we still are trending up from where we traditionally were. And just to put that in perspective, Those seven stations are responding on average to about 45 emergency incidents a day, anything from structure fires to medical calls to vehicle accidents. On this graphic here, this slide, there is a few call type categories that are of interest to the RNCC. I present them every month, these categories. But you'll see it's a wide range of the call types. Next slide. I will briefly discuss something called concurrent calls. And this is important in understanding the workload of the fire department. Concurrent calls is something that impacts the operations division of every fire department. AND IT'S VERY COMMON IN AN EMERGENCY SYSTEM TO HAVE MULTIPLE REQUESTS FOR SERVICE THAT ALL OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY. SO THE LARGER THE SYSTEM IS OR THE MORE RESOURCES YOU HAVE IN THAT SYSTEM, THE EASIER IT IS TO EFFICIENTLY HANDLE THOSE CONCURRENT CALLS. ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY SERVICES REVIEW DONE IN 2023, OUR SYSTEM CONCURRENT CALLS. I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT 57% OF THE POINT OUT IS THAT 57% OF THE INCIDENTS FELL UNDER THAT INCIDENTS FELL UNDER THAT CONCURRENT CALL WINDOW. CONCURRENT CALL WINDOW. SO THAT MEANS AT THE SAME TIME, SO THAT MEANS AT THE SAME TIME, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX CALLS TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX CALLS CAME IN AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, CAME IN AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, BACK TO BACK TO BACK. BACK TO BACK TO BACK. THIS COULD BE ANYTHING FROM A medical call that only requires one fire engine to respond to a structure fire that might have five engines responding, and a vehicle accident that needs two or three more engines, and a couple of medical calls. So concurrent calls are a huge issue in every urban fire department. AND FOR US, I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR YOU TO KNOW WHEN YOU MAKE STAFFING DECISIONS OR DECISIONS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE SUFFICIENT STAFFING OR COMPANIES IN THE CITY, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT AS CONCURRENT CALLS BECAUSE THE MORE CALLS YOU HAVE COMING IN AT THE SAME TIME, the more your resources are stretched thin, which means the more often we have to ask for assistance from auto aid, which means those resources are responding from a further distance away and the emergency isn't mitigated or the medical isn't treated in as timely a fashion. Next slide, please. Just to highlight some of the accomplishments we have been able to achieve in this current fiscal year, we're in the final stages of transitioning all our incident EMS reporting to a new records management system. Our platform is called ImageTrend. This will get us in alignment with all the neighboring agencies and will make us compliant with the new national reporting system that we have to, all fire departments within the United States have to be compliant with this year. We also signed an agreement with the Oakland Fire Department, which allows Richmond firefighters to become rostered members of FEMA Task Force 4. This includes a great deal of training and orientation for these new members, and will allow them to be deployed to disasters nationwide as part of a FEMA task force specializing in different types of rescue. We also took delivery of three new type 6 wildland engines. This will help improve our wildfire response capabilities this coming season. The prevention division completed the adoption of the new fire code and the wildland urban interface code. And our emergency, office of emergency services participated in three emergency operations center tabletop drills. We conducted training at county OES and at the port. We also hosted a number of exercises here in the city of Richmond and conducted training for MLT and for different section heads in the emergency operations center in the event of an activation. Next slide, please. Some other accomplishments this year that are more recent, we just completed nine promotion, promoting nine personnel across six different ranks. We also kicked off our 17 week joint fire academy with the El Cerrito Fire Department where we have seven Richmond recruits and two El Cerrito recruits going through an intensive academy. And then in April we partnered with the Red Cross on the annual Sound the Alarm event. This year we held it in North Richmond and kicked it off at Shields Reed Community Center. We installed 133 smoke alarms across 35 homes, which improved the safety of 149 residents. So it's a lot of good work going on in this fiscal year. Next slide. One thing I would like to highlight too is our work with the Richmond Youth Academy. We invest a lot of time and effort in this program. Youth Academy is a year-round program. It teaches cadets firefighting techniques, leadership, life skills, such as interview skills, work ethic. Additionally, the Youth Academy promotes community empowerment through volunteering at the community. You'll see our recruits, our cadets, at festivals such as Singleton Mile or Juneteenth, or at other events such as cleanup events throughout the city, Earth Day, Arbor Day, things like that. CURRENTLY WE HAVE 25 CADETS IN OUR YOUTH ACADEMY PROGRAM. 15 OF THOSE WERE RETURNING FROM LAST YEAR'S PROGRAM. WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES IN OUR PROGRAM. THIS YEAR WE HAVE 10 CADETS THAT SHOULD BE ON TRACK TO GRADUATE. THE LAST TWO YEARS WE HAD 15 EACH YEAR GRADUATING. And so that's about 40 cadets. All of those cadets are actually going to be or are pursuing careers in public safety. We have 16 that are currently enrolled in college. Nine are in their EMT course. One joined the U.S. Army and the City of Richmond Fire Department hired four of them. I think we like to highlight this as encouraging youth to get into the public safety world, but what I've shared with folks that's even more important is there's a number of cadets who've come to the program who realized that this isn't what they want to do, but it gave them focus to pursue the career path that they did want to be interested in. So in the end of the day, the goal is that these cadets come out of this program. They have better skills than they came into the program with. We run them through mock interviews. They do resumes. Anything that helps them get a job or pursue a career, we're trying to help them achieve. Next slide, please. Now I'm going to go over some of the the core initiatives that we're focused on right now or that are ongoing for us. And I'm going to break them up by division. So for our fire administration division, we have a number of key administrative and strategic initiatives that we're working on right now. First and foremost is going to be our ALS program and the job specifications related to that. We're still in this phase of trying to develop a plan and see if we can progress this forward and implement a paramedic program in the city of Richmond. This has taken a high amount of staff time, not only just from the fire department, but also with HR, with the city manager's office, with finance. trying to come up with a plan on how we're going to achieve this goal of ours and the direction that you guys have set forth. We also, the department continues to hold ongoing meetings with the county EMS agency and regularly we help hold meetings with surrounding public safety agencies, predominantly fire departments, where we work on strengthening our regional partnerships. We work on strengthening our automatic aid and response partnerships that we have across West Contra Costa County. We hold regular labor management meetings with all the labor bargaining units within the fire department. These meetings are important for us because they help us maintain workforce stability, provide a level of transparency with the labor groups so they know the direction the organization is working in, and it kind of helps align all the work that we're doing within the fire department. We also participate monthly in different community meetings, neighborhood council meetings, and oftentimes I'm here in front of you presenting things for the fire department. The other big time workload that comes into the administration division is a really high number of public records requests, subpoenas, and incident report requests because of the nature of what we do as a department. There's a lot of records requests that have to do with insurance, have to do with lawsuits, things like that, from vehicle accidents, evidence. So the admin staff gets inundated regularly with those types of requests for us. Next slide. support services, the next division. Right now, some of the big initiatives there are going to be our fire station improvements. We're working with Public Works and Finance to come up with a plan to improve the infrastructure in the fire department, make improvements and replacements. This is going to help enhance our readiness in a disaster, our daily responses. We want to make sure our stations are structurally sound and are actually habitable for city staff. Like I said earlier, it's the only buildings that the city owns that people live in 24 hours a day. Currently we have two fire station projects that are going through the planning process. RFQ was completed and we're beginning the evaluation phase so hopefully we can have some more progress on replacing two of the fire stations. The department's also in multiple different stages of apparatus build out for two new fire engines, for a ladder truck, a heavy rescue and a hazardous materials response vehicle. These take a lot of staff time to coordinate with the manufacturers on the design and specification of each of these vehicles. We also work with a lot of staff internally to make sure these vehicles, once they come, they're properly equipped with the right tools. We work with the city shop and public works to make sure those vehicles meet the city's requirements for how maintenance is done and the mechanical aspect of the vehicles. The boat repair and marine program, we're in the final stages of returning Fireboat Victory back into service. It's been a high priority project for us over the last two years. The boat's got a major rebuild and overhaul to make it seaworthy and restore the capabilities it was first made for, which was rescue and firefighting response on the water. The next step is going to be repairing our dock down at the marina and then moving forward with our training plan to certify new operators and new crew members. We have ongoing station and apparatus inspections. These are annual inspections that happen on a regular basis. They're there to inspect the cleanliness and operational readiness of our apparatus and our fire stations. It's also an opportunity for us to identify repair needs or maintenance that needs to happen. And then lastly, the support services focuses on or addresses a lot of their time on all the contracts within the fire department, negotiating those, executing those, administering those, working them through the process with risk management and making sure they can be executed and the services provided for us. Next slide. Just wanted to highlight those contracts. I know compared to say like Public Works, 33 contracts for the fire department doesn't seem like a big lift. It is one person that works on all these contracts. And what makes these a little more technical is that these are extremely high risk contracts, most of these. They're directly related to someone's safety and life, really. We have a number of contracts that deal directly with the equipment we use in very hazardous environments. PPE, our apparatus, just it's a whole spectrum of emergency response maintenance contracts and repair contracts. And so they usually take a lot of staff time to be able to work through the insurance requirements and all the different stages and requirements they have to meet in order to meet the requirements for our services that we ask for. Next slide. The training division, their biggest focus right now is on the Recruit Academy. Like I said, it started on May 4th. It's a 17-week academy. There is a cadre taken from the line, a cadre of instructors taken from the operational division and are temporarily assigned to the academy. There's four members of the operations that are down there. Every day their job is teaching at the academy. So it's an intensive 17-week academy, but the training division provides support for that. They help schedule classes, help just the logistical support for the academy is really their focus. Also, on average, we are administering three promotional exams per year. The training division takes the lead in developing those examinations, conducting working groups. For us, a promotional examination consists of a written exam and about four to five role play exercises. And it takes subject matter experts to be able to develop those realistic scenarios so that you're testing the skills and abilities of the individuals trying to promote up through the ranks and make sure they're qualified. So the training division takes the lead on that. There's also ongoing training that is mandated that the training division has to make sure it gets done. Some of the specialized fields, like I mentioned before, that makes us all risk, such as confined space, hazmat, EMS, marine response, they come along with state-mandated hours that we have to make sure that we're training on in order to maintain those certifications. So the training division makes sure that we're staying on top of those state mandates. And the training division also oversees our health and wellness program, our mental health program, our peer support program, and, like I said, before the infection control program. So there's a number of duties that come along with each of those and ongoing training. Next slide. Fire prevention. Small group of folks in a department. Like I said, it's seven individuals, but they're extremely busy. ON A ROTATING CYCLE EVERY SINGLE YEAR ARE CONDUCTING 2,000 STATE MANDATED INSPECTIONS. THESE ARE DEFENSIBLE SPACE INSPECTIONS, CARE FACILITIES, DETENTION CENTERS, THEY ALL HAVE TO BE DONE EVERY YEAR AND SUBMITTED TO THE STATE AND SOME OF THEM. AND THEN THERE'S THE They also manage about 3,600 operating permits, and they pull over 150 construction permits every year. They also review special event applications, and this actually makes the largest bulk of the fire prevention's work, is working with the businesses and developments to make sure that these projects are meeting the fire code and that the inspections are being done. Last year, Fire Prevention Bureau completed 1,100 operating permit inspections, 330 construction permit inspections, 20 AB 38 inspections, which are real estate inspections in the wildland. And they staffed and inspected 20 special events where there was temporary assembly permits pulled. So such as anything where they have to pull a permit that's outside or a special event, there's an inspector that has to go and make sure that they're meeting all the fire code. The department also participated in 50 public education events last year, and that's about average for us every single year. A lot of those are through schools, school events, but there's also a number of them that are through community events such as our festivals or presentations to community groups. They also are working with Public Works on vegetation management programs, identifying areas that need to be addressed. They work on assessing Measure X projects for vegetation management and rating them. And then they also work on community risk reduction efforts such as educational meetings and consultations for communities that want to become firewise or other types of fire safety groups. Next slide. And lastly, our emergency services division. They are the ones that hold the CERT academies every year. They're responsible for the EOC training, emergency operations plans, things of that nature. In spring of 24, we held three CERT academies. We just recently graduated another CERT Academy of 22 members, which has put us up to 83 CERT members graduated from the Richmond Fire Department program since 2024. We also conducted a number of EOC trainings this past year, and we'll continue that moving forward in the following year. And I worked on our portions of the local hazard mitigation plan adoption, along with Most recently, we're working on an evacuation drill that's going to happen this Saturday. We've been planning over the last two months to, they've been planning on that drill and working with community groups on coordinating it. Next slide. So the departments, has a number of projects that we were hoping to get to sooner, but they're on the on-deck circle. And so this is what this slide is highlighting. And we're hoping to get to these or at least kick them off in the next fiscal year. Updating the department's mission, vision, and values is something I really wanted to accomplish as the new fire chief. Ideally it would have happened sooner, but there's been some other things we had to get to first. But really that's going to be important in making sure that those mission, vision, and values are aligned with the direction the organization is going and aligned with the current services that we're providing the community. We also would like to free up some time to be able to research more grant opportunities and take advantage of grant opportunities. that we haven't had a chance to really dedicate time to now. We're also looking at updating our response procedures and protocols. We have a number of them that need to be updated. They haven't been updated for about the last 20 years. And then we're looking at implementing new technologies, such as our tablet command. which will allow us to interact with the dispatch center on an iPad in our vehicles versus on the radio, which will generate more accurate response data. It will be able to provide real-time updates on incidents on a tablet that can be read, and there's no miscommunication due to radio traffic or missing it because of radio traffic. We're also going to begin a program where we're replacing our radio system, our radios. They're very outdated, and so we're going to begin a three-year phase-in project where we're replacing all of our communications equipment. We're also looking at making some improvements at our training facility. Right now, we weren't able to move forward at this time with a regional model that we had hoped to move forward with, but we're looking at opportunities and making some small improvements to make the training facility better able to support the needs of the department. And we also, lastly, are looking at developing a company officer and chief officer academy. This would help with professional development and career growth within the organization. We focused on professional development in some of our lower ranks. haven't had the capacity to develop that same type of program for some of the higher ranks and so that's a goal of ours to get to this next fiscal year. Next slide. So the support that we need to keep this going. Well like I highlighted in the beginning without support we fell to a place of life support really. And so what I really need from the council is this continued support in filling these vacancies. We can't become better, we can't do more if we're always in a state of rebuild. And so the continued support with filling vacancies as they come up is going to be crucial. I also need your assistance in making this infrastructure needs and projects that I've identified making them a priority. We can't continue to maintain services, let alone expand our services, without infrastructure investments. So that's going to be crucial for us to be able to update the infrastructure within the fire department. We also need continued financial support to replace our fleet. It's been great. We made a huge amount of progress. But it's another one of those things that if we say, oh, we got there and we stopped doing that, we get back to where we were, where we have apparatus that's older than some of my firefighters responding to emergencies. And with the turnaround time for apparatus now taking three years from the time I order a fire engine or a ladder truck until we actually take delivery, the longer we kick the can down the road, the longer we're stuck with what we have and skyrocketing maintenance costs. And then just your continued support in regional collaborations wherever they pop up, such as the training idea, or there's other ideas that might pop up where we can leverage multiple fire departments' resources and have a collaborative venture somewhere. And then also focusing on the Fire Prevention Bureau. There's gonna be, we're at max staffing, but you can see on the horizon that We don't have a lot of room to expand our services without coming up with innovative ways to potentially expand our prevention division. And it doesn't necessarily mean we're gonna need more sworn inspectors, but we're gonna have to look at ways of what that looks like. So I appreciate the support that you as a body have provided the fire department. All this work and progress we've made is only because my personnel was willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work too. So it's been a group effort to get the organization back to where it's at. And I just want to continue on this trajectory and continue our progress. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ ¦ ¦ ¦ Settle down, we're ready to begin.

All right. I know the conversation is exciting, but our next presentation is going to be even more exciting. So go ahead.

Are you ready? Okay, that was a tough act to follow, but here I go. Good afternoon, mayor, vice mayor, members of the city council, city manager, and members of the public. I'm Shannon Moore, the interim city attorney. I've been with the city since 08, but I was appointed as interim city attorney January of this year. I want to briefly introduce our team. who are behind me. I'll introduce them individually in a moment. Provide an overview of the role of the city attorney's office and discuss the scope of the work we perform to support the city as an organization. You know, the city attorney's office is often viewed primarily through the lens of litigation or legal opinions, but really our work touches nearly every major city initiative. Operational function, policy discussion, and risk management issue across the organization. So before I kind of dive in, and I will be quick, I promise, I want to briefly recognize and thank the team that supports the work every day and who work extremely hard to support the city council, city departments, boards and commissions, and the Richmond community. Let's see, we have James Atencio to... I don't know, my right, senior assistant city attorney, advises the planning commission, community development, public works, provides election law, and conflict issues, just to name a few. Dolly Chen, a senior assistant city attorney who was a more recent hire who advises HR but does more labor and employment advice, and I'm really thankful for this role. It was difficult to actually find a great fit for this role, and we're happy to have her on. on board. She's been with us nine months. And actually behind James Atencio is Kimberly Chen. Kimberly Chen has been a great addition to our office. She's a senior assistant city attorney but was outside counsel for the city for years and really advises on all things risk management but manages all of the litigation for the city which is many many many cases unfortunately but really her key role and I think what is such valuable is that she advises on risks in all departments and is anything I need with respect to litigation she supports in that respect. Let's see. Then we have Evania Navarrete and she is the law office supervisor and she oversees all of the administrative team, anything that has to do with contracting and subpoenas and anything administrative. Evania, the budget, you know, Evania and her team, she handles that. Let's see. Who else? Let's see. Perla. Perla Pasayas is an office specialist, but really is, and I think Chief Osorio touched on it, the number of public records we have, which I'm sure we'll hear from the city clerk's presentation, is is pretty staggering, and so Perla helps with public records. We also have Brandy Robinson, who's a new hire as well, assistant city attorney who supports the myriad public records requests, but also reviews all contracts for various departments. And then Zena Battle, who is... next to Brandy, is also an office specialist and helps with a myriad of administrative functions that our office has to deal, has to address. Did I miss anyone? Last but not least, Chris Dyksel. Chris Dyksel advises the port. He reviews many contracts for various departments, and he is my special projects guy. If I need something with respect to special projects, Chris is the guy. He helps support finance, any audits that the city is facing, and so I'm thankful for this entire team behind me. Okay, next slide. ALL RIGHT, QUICKLY. SO I THINK I'VE MENTIONED THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ADVISES OR SERVES AS LEGAL ADVISOR TO THE MAYOR, TO THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY. We provide legal advice on a wide range of municipal law issues, Brown Act compliance, public records compliance, land use and housing matters, labor and employment issues, procurement and contracting, real estate transactions, drafting ordinances and resolutions, risk management and litigation strategies, to name a few. In addition to the day-to-day advice, our office also manages all litigation and claims involving the city and Housing Authority. Thank you, Kimberly Chin. I also want to emphasize the real significant volume of work handled by our office, over 900 requests for legal opinions this year, over 1,500 public records requests, just through May 18th alone, responding to over 100 subpoenas, 143 total claims against the city, including dozens of litigated matters. These numbers reflect the broad operational demands placed on the office and demonstrate how integral legal services are into the daily operations of the city. Next slide. So the city attorney's office supports all six council goal areas. Our role is not policymaking, as you all know, but our responsibility is to ensure the city operates within legal requirements and appropriately manages risk. Many of the city's high priority initiatives require substantial legal support, but we're really kind of more behind the scenes. Housing initiatives require legal review of grants, contracts, development agreements, leases, and land use. Economic development projects often involve complex negotiations, procurement requirements, and real estate matters. Public safety initiatives require policy review, and I can go on and on. Next slide. So this slide highlights several operational areas where the city attorney's office continues to provide substantial ongoing support for public safety. The office advises the police department, fire department, office of emergency services, and office of neighborhood safety on legal compliance. policies and liability reduction. Just to name a few, the office has assisted most recently with immigration-related legal issues, as well as many other projects that I'm not going to go into right now. And then with respect to internal infrastructure and processes, our office spends a significant amount of time WITH PUBLIC RECORDS COMPLIANCE. AGENDA REVIEW, WE HAVE THREE AGENDAS A MONTH, WE REVIEW EVERY SINGLE ITEM THAT IS ON THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA, JUST TO NAME A COUPLE OTHER BIG LIFTS THAT WE DO DAILY. THESE OPERATIONAL FUNCTIONS ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO ENSURE THE CITY CAN CONTINUE TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY AND LEGALLY. NEXT SLIDE. Okay, this slide reflects the core operational work of the office. A large part of the work is just legally mandated functions that we have to do. This includes responding to public records requests, litigation management, responding to legal opinions and legal review, supporting boards and commissions. Trainings and compliance we're really kind of working on with the city manager. The city manager has worked with her team also on providing additional trainings around a whole host of issues, Brown Act, Rosenberg's Rules of Border, conflict issues. And so what you're seeing here is that when new kind of urgent items arise, resources are often redirected from proactive initiatives, which I can go into a little bit more detail, to kind of dealing with immediate operational or compliance demands, YOU KNOW, THE MORE PROACTIVE LEGAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING THAT WE CAN PROVIDE UP FRONT, THE MORE THE CITY CAN REDUCE LITIGATION EXPOSURE AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES OVER TIME AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING AND I THINK OUR TEAM IS TRYING TO DO A BETTER JOB AT BEING MORE PROACTIVE IN PROVIDING THAT TRAINING TO MITIGATE RISK. NEXT SLIDE. OK, although the office is authorized for 10 positions, there remains a vacant attorney position. And I think we've done a good job at building our team. I think we're a small but mighty team. And we work well together. And we do have one additional vacant attorney. So I think, you know, the biggest takeaway from this slide really is it would be great to figure out a way where we can operate proactively as opposed to reactively. And we can talk through kind of the how to achieve that goal. And I'm sure it's a challenge. And I was just at the city attorney's conference for the League of California Cities. And a lot of cities are facing similar and a lot of city attorney's offices are facing similar challenges in terms of trying to be more proactive as opposed to reactive in providing legal support. Next slide. Well, I think I touched on this briefly, but we do have one additional attorney vacancy. We would like to reposition a position in our office to be a paralegal to really handle Public records, but also to to assist with litigation management a key key problem And a you know that we have is the the number of public records that we're facing and so we're looking to develop we're looking to try to get and we're and think the city manager her for her support in this and trying to get a new technology solution to better address REDACTING AND REVIEWING PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS SO THAT PERLA IS NOT SPENDING ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT REVIEWING AND REDACTING RECORDS. AND THEN I THINK THAT WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY INSTEAD OF REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE AGENDA ITEM TO SORT THROUGH THE NONSUBSTANTIVE ITEMS VERSUS you know, those that require legal support and maybe develop more efficiencies around that. Next slide. So this is just a quick breakdown of kind of how we spend our time. I'm not gonna go into the specifics, but a lot of it has to do with, you know, reviewing all the requests for legal opinion that come in, but another big portion has to do with litigation management and the public records compliance as well as the subpoena compliance takes up a great deal of time, as well as all the administrative tasks associated with all that is in running a city attorney's office. Look, I was quick. So in closing, I want to reiterate that the city attorney's office plays a critical operational role across the organization. Our office works to support the city council priorities, assist departments in implementing programs and services, reduce legal and financial risk, and ensure compliance with increasingly complex legal requirements. I really just want to thank, again, the attorneys and the staff in the office for their professionalism, dedication and commitment to public service. We appreciate the opportunity to present this afternoon and I'm available, I think, when the time comes for questions. Thank you.

Okay, KCRT, can you please pull up the slides for the city clerk's office? Good evening, Mayor, council members, and members of the Richmond community. My name is Sabrina Lundy, deputy city clerk. The clerk's office is comprised of four full-time staff, the city clerk, three deputy city clerks, and I am very appreciative of the opportunity to work with such an amazing team of ladies. So supportive. Following is an overview of our workload, capacity, service impacts, and milestone success stories. Next slide, please. Why this matters now, the city clerk's office supports core functions while also contributing to city council's strategic goals areas two, three, and five with the greatest demands in area five. Next slide, please. The work that keeps Richmond running. The City of Richmond relies on several key duties and processes to ensure daily operations remain efficient and compliant with regulatory requirements. The following areas represent the core functions that support Richmond's ongoing operations. Number one is the document acceptance and management that we do in our office. The city clerk's office regularly accepts a variety of important documents. These include but are not limited to public records requests, claims, subpoenas, and boards and commissions applications. The work is essential for maintaining transparency and facilitating communication between the city and its residents. Number two, election administration. The city clerk and her designees are election officials responsible for administering both primary and general elections. The primary election takes place this June and the general election occurs this November and it occurs on even numbered years. Notably, this year marks the first Richmond primary election and it's underscoring an important milestone for the city's electoral process. Number three, passport services. Richmond serves as a passport acceptance facility. Staff accept passport applications exclusively for new passports and we forward them to the U.S. Department of State for processing. This service ensures residents have access to office official, excuse me, travel documentation when needed. Number four, the City Council meeting coordination. The organization and staffing of City Council meetings is critical, is a critical responsibility. This includes preparing the meeting agenda packet and ensuring these materials are published promptly and in accordance with legal requirements. And finally on this slide, the agenda management system oversight. Richmond utilizes an agenda management system to automate the preparation meeting agendas and packets. Continuous review and monitoring of the system are necessary to guarantee proper performance and reliability. Next slide, please. The city clerk's office plays an essential role in supporting the legislative and administrative functions of the organization. Its responsibilities are diverse and include several key duties that ensure the proper management and dissemination of official records and the efficient administration of boards, commissions, and committees. The legislative record management, this responsibility would include like formatting, numbering, and publishing ordinances, resolutions, and legislative records. This process guarantees that all legislative documents are accurately prepared, organized, and made accessible to the public and relevant stakeholders. BOARDS COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ADMINISTRATION. IN ADDITION TO MANAGING LEGISLATIVE RECORDS, THIS CITY CLERK'S OFFICE HERE, WE OVERSEE THE ADMINISTRATION OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES. THIS INCLUDES ACCEPTING THE APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP, NOTIFYING MEMBERS ABOUT UPCOMING EXPIRATIONS ON THEIR TERMS, AND COORDINATING NEW APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS. BY HANDLING THESE TASKS, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE ENSURES CONTINUITY AND PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THESE ENTITIES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. operational demands affecting the core service and delivery. This slide describes just that, the operational demands challenging the city clerk's office core service delivery. Number one, as the interim city attorney mentioned, public records requests. There has been a significant increase in public records requests. Over the past two years, the volume of public records requests handled by the city clerk's office has tripled. This is a significant surge. And it has made it increasingly difficult for our office to meet established deadlines, placing the organization at risk for legal action and threats of litigation when requests are not fulfilled in a timely manner. Next, we have the introduction of the primary election services. This year marks the first time the city clerk's office is responsible for primary election services. As a new service offering, it requires heightened attention and diligence to ensure every aspect is managed properly and no errors occur during implementation. And next would be the growth in the passport program request. We offer passport program services here which provides an important service option for residents and has been on the rise in the number of requests for assistance. This increased demand further challenges the office's ability to deliver core services efficiently. Next slide, please. Additional operational demands from the previous slide include boards and commissions and committees administration. The administration of the boards, commissions, and committees requires ongoing management of the appointments and reappointments. I won't repeat that whole process, but I think you get the gist of it. There are some significant tasks that come with that duty. Next we have the resolutions, ordinances and formatting of those and the publishing of those. The city clerk's office is responsible for formatting, numbering and publishing of those resolutions and ordinances. As numerous resolutions are adopted at each council meeting, this task requires immediate attention. All the resolutions and ordinances must be properly formatted, numbered and published within a week following each council meeting to maintain transparency and ensure accessibility. The agenda management system, to maintain the effectiveness of the agenda management system, we have automated approvals, strict submission deadlines and standard documentation formats, transparency audits and routine system checks are implemented to ensure accuracy, efficiency and data integrity. Next slide, please. So how do we prioritize work that gets squeezed with our current staffing levels? At the top of the priority list, as you've heard, public records requests. They are a high priority, and we take them very seriously to avoid legal action or threat of legal action. Next is the contract publication to the city's website. Unfortunately, this has been a lower priority for us currently due to staffing levels and other higher priority tasks. And lastly, updating the permanent resolution and ordinance books, again, also a lower priority currently due to staffing levels and other high priority tasks. Next slide, please. Some of our milestones and success stories include simultaneous translations. This was a directive by the council in 2025 in collaboration with the city clerk's office, KCRT, and our IT division. Wortley was implemented in January of 2026. agenda translation directed by the council in 2024 provided with publishing of each City Council agenda and Then also most recently our records retention schedule the council adopted this new schedule in April of 2026 and the next steps would include the implementation and the training of employees for how to utilize that new retention schedule next slide, please This slide identifies the city clerk's office's need for additional staff to help with public records requests and records management specifically. Next slide please. And just in conclusion, it may be helpful just to note that we had 1,718 public records requests received between January 1 of 2025 through May 18 of 2026, with 3,040 already in process at the beginning of that reporting period. 1,618 were closed during the reporting period. Additionally, we processed 76 passport applications during that same reporting period. And that concludes my presentation. Thank you all. We greatly appreciate your support. And now I'll turn it over to the city manager's office.

GOOD EVENING MAYOR MARTINEZ, VICE MAYOR ROBINSON, CITY COUNCIL AND RESIDENTS AND STAFF. I JUST WANT TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS THOUGH TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AS AN EMPLOYEE FIRMLY IN BOTH. I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT TAKES PLACE IN BOTH OF THOSE OFFICES SO I SALUTE THEM FOR THEIR WORK. Tonight we'll be addressing the City Manager's Office. This presentation is intended to provide some visibility in how these efforts intersect operationally across the organization and how strategic sequencing, organizational alignment, and sustained focus is necessary to support long-term service delivery. Next slide. So the city manager's office supports implementation across all six council goals. The city manager's office and the city manager are in essence the chief executive officer. I think the city manager is both coach and quarterback at times. And that requires quite a bit of balancing with regards to resources, demand, need, tradeoffs. It's not always an easy task, but it is a necessary task. And as a consequence of that juggling that's necessary, the manager is responsible for leading and providing direction around housing initiatives to support unhoused, encampment response activity, as well as REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH REGARDS TO REVENUE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FISCAL STABILIZATION EFFORTS, LONG TIME FINANCIAL PLANNING STRATEGIES AS WELL AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATION. AND WITH REGARDS TO QUALITY OF LIFE AND COMMUNITY HEALTH, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT STAND OUT AT THIS MOMENT, A COUPLE OF THEM BEING MAJOR PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AS WELL AS ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE PROGRAMS BOTH IN OUR COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS PUBLIC SAFETY. NEXT SLIDE. AS WE CARRY FORWARD, WITH REGARDS TO PUBLIC SAFETY, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING AT THIS TIME ARE RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES, AGAIN, ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES, AND IN THE INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROCESSES, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT LATER ON TODAY, TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVES, AND IMPLEMENTATION AND TRACKING SYSTEMS, WHICH HAS COME UP AS A CONSEQUENCE OF REQUESTS THAT COME IN, AND ONE OF THE MAJOR INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS AT THIS POINT IS THE WASTEWATER RELIABILITY AND VEOLIA TRANSITION, WHICH CAN BE ESTIMATED AT A BILLION-DOLLAR PROJECT. FINALLY, SHORELINE RESILIENCE AND PLANNING EFFORTS AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES ARE ALSO KEY IN THIS ROLE. NEXT SLIDE. THE WORK THAT GETS DONE. AS ALIGNED WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AS WELL AS THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE CITY MANAGER IS ALSO VERY MUCH ENGAGED IN THE AGENDA REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS. I CAN SAY FOR A FACT THAT EVERY WORD IN EVERY STAFF REPORT IS LOOKED AT IN OUR OFFICE. AS WELL AS THE POLICY IMPLEMENTATION, WE'RE TRACKING FOLLOW-UP AS WELL AS LABOR NEGOTIATIONS, WITH REGARD TO FISCAL STEWARDSHIP AND BUDGET COORDINATION, THE MANAGER ALONG IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MAYOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING FORTH A BUDGET AS WELL AS MANAGING THE NEEDS AND RESOURCES OF THE CITY TO the initiatives with regards to labor, expenditure reduction, generation of revenues, grants, et cetera. We also support citywide operational coordination and service continuity. This requires really partnering with our colleagues in various departments TO CONSIDER WHAT TIMELINES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IS NEEDED TO EFFECTUATE POLICY DIRECTION AS WELL AS SUPPORT THOSE INITIATIVES THAT REALLY GET AT THE HEART OF WHO WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY INCLUDING THOSE SUPPORTING THOSE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE AND SUPPORTING STAFFING NEEDS AND TRYING TO MITIGATE OR REDUCE SERVICE DISRUPTIONS INTERDEPARTMENTALLY. NEXT SLIDE. HERE ARE JUST A FEW IMAGES OF THE WORK THAT WE DO AND WHERE WE SHOW UP. Next slide. Also with regards to some of our core initiatives is strategic planning, citywide initiatives including the wastewater reliability and Veolia transition, park improvements, intergovernmental coordination, so that means considering not only our partners but our neighbors and regional agencies, county and state and federal partners with regards to transportation and environmental agencies. And one of the other things is emergency coordination and operational response. And it is very important, as Chief Osorio has highlighted, why that is so necessary in our communities. Next slide. I LIKE SHANNON, I'M GOING TO TRY TO MOVE QUICKLY THROUGH THIS, BUT I DO WANT TO PAUSE HERE JUST FOR A MOMENT. IN THE NOT SO DISTANT PAST, THE CITY FACED QUITE DIRE FINANCIAL SITUATION THAT REQUIRED THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS STAFF TO MAKE VERY, VERY HARD CHOICES WITH REGARDS TO HOW THE CITY WOULD FUNCTION. The city manager, myself, and the deputy city managers had either had recently joined or were already in the organization and had to face people every day and deal with the realities of circumstances connected to the financial straits that the city was in. So it is from that place, it is in that grounding that we approach this work. This work is not only personal for us, but it's also personal for our colleagues as I'm certain it is for you. And so when we look at the major initiatives, right, looking at folks and having to make hard choices, it is from that grounding that we focus and make primary our fiscal solvency and long-term financial stability as a priority. It is also important with regards to some of the major initiatives we consider again wastewater, infrastructure, CIP, and also modernization so we can increase our effectiveness and its organizational efforts. Next slide. Also very important to us are the things that you as representatives of our communities bring forward. How do we balance the things that you share, that you hear from residents, because you are and face residents constantly, day in, day out. And they bring things to you that matter to them, that impact their lives in a very intimate way. And so coordinating around these things is also a high priority. Currently, we're in the middle of or we haven't completed labor negotiations with workforce. So this is also a pressing need to the city manager's office and making sure that we address the labor negotiations. We continue with labor negotiations, excuse me, recruitment, as well as compensation impacts and succession planning. And again, our emergency preparedness risk and management service continuity is also a medium to high situation with us in partnership with our fire and other public safety colleagues here with regards to emergency response and coordinated preparedness planning. Next slide. Again, here are some additional images of us showing up in the community, including off the lot, our new Shields Reed Park. I don't know if you've all been, but it is a beautiful location at this point. And I was just sharing with the manager, I said, this is now the standard for how parks ought to appear in our communities. Next slide. How limited capacity affects service delivery. Our desire is to implement as many of the policies and provide our core services as we possibly can. And so as we move forward, it is necessary for us to consider when we move forward, here are the things that need to be taken into consideration as you all provide policy direction. One is our desire to continue to do long-term strategic planning. be proactive in coordinating and implementing that planning, as well as performance tracking and operational analytics. The manager highlighted earlier this afternoon the great work that a lot of the departments are doing with grant development and external funding opportunities, as well as Shannon highlighted our desire to push forward with training and workforce development efforts, not only inside the city, but also very much to our residents who need that type of support. Next slide. So again, I wanna pause here because it could very well be that up until this point, it feels like the considerations are here are all the pressures, here are all the pressures, here are all the pressures. And I think it is important that what we're considering is what helps the organization become effective? The lens that one could look through is simply be what is it that you need? but I would like to offer another frame in which to consider not only our request or these presentations, but the other ones that have come forward. I think the frame that we need to be approaching this is what protects continuity, implementation quality, and organizational effectiveness. It is not merely just meeting the need or tell us what you need, but looking through a frame of what protects continuity, implementation quality, and organizational effectiveness. And here on the screen, we'll highlight just a few of those. That includes, as others have said, enterprise modernization and process and IT technical improvements, workforce stability, and organizational capacity. Next slide. as well as prioritization and strategic project managing and sequencing and operational alignment, as well as training. And finally, again, fiscal sustainability and long-term planning. Next slide. So I will also be moving forward with just to highlight some of the great work that's been taking place within the city manager's purview. One of them was as a consequence of some direction that you all provided based on activities from the federal government was we stood up the immigrant legal services and public awareness program. We are very proud of the work that the manager's office and those supporting that have done. As you can see on your screen, there was a million dollars allocated, and we have moved forward with three grants totaling approximately $990,000. Next slide. Those contracts were shared with three organizations here, Catholic Charities of the East Bay, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and the Multicultural Institute. You will note as you look at the slide, obviously the various amounts, but that they are doing various types of work. So Catholic Charities and East Bay Center, excuse me, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, excuse me, are providing removal defense as well as legal services and the Multicultural Institute as well as Catholic Charities are providing outreach. And there are some metrics down below with regards to the number of residents that have been served, the types of programming that have been provided, and the removal defense consultations and removal defense representation. that has taken place up until this point. We're very proud of this work. Next slide. In addition to that, we have stood up a Know Your Rights and Immigration Forum. Here you see on the page that along with our partner organizations, we hosted a Know Your Rights Immigration Forum at the Rye Center in concert with charities and Reimagine Richmond and city staff from LEAP. And we had 40 plus residents participate and this was a great event. Next slide. In addition, the manager's office also supports the Richmond Municipal ID Program. And this was something that was stood up in 2024. And what's so great about this program is it provides opportunities for those, again, who might be vulnerable to access the things that make thriving in our communities possible. And it could be the thing that sometimes we might take for granted, but that when you lack this type of information or this type of access, it could be a challenge. Next slide. SO TO DATE THE STAFF THAT MANAGED THIS PROGRAM AND I JUST WANT TO CALL OUT IRENE LOZANO AND GUADALUPE MORALES FOR WORKING SO DILIGENTLY IN THIS AREA. TO DATE WE'VE ALLOWED FOR AND MOVED THROUGH 1600 TOTAL I.D. ISSUANCE AND TO DATE FOR THIS YEAR, THIS CALENDAR YEAR WE'VE ALREADY PROCESSED 232 I.D. PROCESSED AND IN And in 2026, year-to-date, there have been 70. Next slide. So what you'll see here, which is something very interesting, so the data person in me thinks this is a wonderful representation because you see a normal distribution. I don't want to get into that too deeply. But you see a normal distribution here represented in the bar chart, Councilmember Bonner. You can see that in 2014. I love data viz too. So they try to hold me back sometimes because I go too far. In 2014, you can see that when we initiated this project, there were 278 IDs issued. And then they kind of waned. And then you can see COVID in 2020 we had our lowest issue in state. But what happened is we're scaling back up as a consequence of the opportunity for hybrid access to this model. So people can now apply for and be interviewed via Zoom. And so much more people now have access to the opportunity to gain municipal IDs. And at this point, again, we've issued 232 IDs at this point, which is almost 80% of where we were. We've processed 80% of what we had in 2014, and we haven't reached June yet. And so we are doing outstanding work with regards to the municipal ID program. Next slide. Yes. So Department of Children and Youth. This was a consequence of a border-led measure in 2015. I think I've given this presentation to UNL three times this year. We're going to move quickly. Next slide. So the Department of Children and Youth touches all of these council goal areas. And it's not necessarily because the RDCY or the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth is outlined or called out in the strategic goals. It's because what the funding allows to happen is that the funding supports young people having access to housing and basic needs. The funding allows for young people to gain training and have an opportunity to gain employment or employment opportunities that a build for allow for them to build a set of experiences that allow them to explore and move into careers. We support quality of life, especially again with the support we do with our school district partners with providing mental health and behavioral health services, as well as public safety. Although the Department of Children and Youth sometimes may not be considered a public safety arm of the organization, it very much is. And in conversations with the deputy city manager and the work that they're doing with the CCRP program, she's kind of proselytizing us regarding the work that the city provides, and almost all of it is supporting public safety. WE ALSO SUPPORT INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE WITH REGARDS TO SOME OF OUR GOALS. AND FINALLY, WITH REGARDS TO SHORELINING ECOLOGICAL STAINABILITY, WE SUPPORT THE WATERSHED PROJECT AND SUPPORTING NOT ONLY YOUNG PEOPLE IN GAINING UNDERSTANDING AROUND THESE PROJECTS, BUT THE WATERSHED PROJECT GRANTS ALSO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES SO FOLKS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THEIR LIFE WITHIN THIS FIELD. NEXT SLIDE. These are some of our core functions, which is giving out the money, supporting our oversight board, conducting needs assessments and our evaluator, as well as convening and collaborating around advocacy. Next slide. Here are some wonderful images here from the East Bay Center for the Performing Art. They have a young artist program where they're taking young artists in high school and middle school and placing them on track to become professional artists. We're also very proud of the work that we've had with the relationship with the Richmond High School and particularly their marching band here seen in the Cinco de Mayo parade. the band coach is an ardent fan of the department because without this funding he said they would not have been able to access transportation they would not have been able to access uniforms and band uniforms so he's always very extremely grateful and these two pictures here are from our uh a collaborative between uh yes to nature and the outdoor collaborative where they're basically taking young people from all ages, all ages, excuse me, and getting them outdoors and showing them all the opportunities that exist. Next slide. So some of the major initiatives that we're moving forward with is number one, we're going to we're currently in our cycle for twenty five, twenty seven, as well as we've absorbed the limited term revenue into our Grant Awards, we're working with our partner and our contractor, WestEd, for their evaluation, as well as we're very proud about the reauthorization of the fund. Next slide. In addition, we're always working to recruit. So you'll be getting more emails from us, as well as we'll be coming to you with an annual report in September. And we'll tell you about the work that we've done with regards to the audit, as well as per client data systems. Next slide. JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THESE THREE THINGS WITH REGARDS TO THE IMMIGRATION AND MUNICIPAL ID PROGRAM, THE STAFF FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ALSO SUPPORT SOME OF THIS WORK AND IT IS NECESSARY THAT WE CONSIDER AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY WITH THE BLACK RESILIENCY AND MENTAL HEALTH AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MICHAEL GRANTS THAT CONSIDERATION ON CAPACITY IS GOING TO BE A NEEDED CONVERSATION. NEXT SLIDE. So some of the things that we want to do more of in the department, given we have more time, is to conduct more thorough site visits, to increase and improve our invoicing process, to become a greater advocate around convening for the department, as well as strategic planning with regards to our oversight board, and standing up our final ECIA grant cycle. Next slide. SO AGAIN, FROM THE FRAME OF IMPROVING EFFICIENCY, WE ARE WORKING TO STRENGTHEN OUR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION, AND BEGIN THE PROCESS FOR THE NEXT CNA SIP, HOPEFULLY IN SEPTEMBER, CONTINUE OUR WORK WITH OUR EVALUATORS AND OFFERING AND STANDING UP SUPPORT FOR OUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND CAPACITY BUILDING. NEXT SLIDE. Here are just some numbers around some of the things that we've done and the youth that we've served and the organizations that we currently support. Next slide. We're moving forward. One of the things that we're standing up is we heard from our nonprofit partners regarding our standard RFCY grant that we wanted to try something different. We didn't want to be just prescriptive with our nonprofits. We wanted to get feedback from them. So the number there on the right is what we're calling a PGM, but it's a participatory grant making pilot. So what we did was we sat down with our nonprofits and said, hey, if you could design an application process, what questions would you ask? And if you were going to create our scoring rubric, what would the rubric be? And what should it be? Should applications come only in paper form or should they come in a PowerPoint or should they be a video? And so we were excited about this. We had great collaboration on this front and tonight on the council agenda there's an opportunity for you to approve these awards and we're hoping that you'll do that. Next slide. AGAIN, FOR OUR ECIA GRANT, THIS IS 26, 27 WILL BE THE LAST YEAR FOR THE COMPETITIVE ECIA GRANT. AND SO FOR 25, 26, WE'VE AWARDED ABOUT 740,000 AND FOR THIS COMING UP YEAR WE HAVE $350,000 LEFT TO AWARD APPROXIMATELY AND IT WILL SUNSET IN THE END OF JUNE OF 27. NEXT SLIDE. This is just quite a bit of a data snap. Chief Osorio kind of inspired us. All of his slides were real fancy. So I said, I can't let him go out like that. So here is what it looks like for our three-year grants and our two-year supplemental. We have the core need areas and you can see what funding looks like across all four of those needs for our three-year grant. And with the additional limited term revenues, you all approved awards back in January for some additional awards. AND THERE ARE SOME DATA METRICS ON THE BOTTOM. NEXT SLIDE. HERE IS AGAIN SOME WONDERFUL PICTURES FROM SOME OF OUR PARTNERS, FRESH APPROACH, THE HITTING GENIUS PROJECT, EXCUSE ME, 18 REASONS, AND OTHERS. NEXT SLIDE. AGAIN, HERE IS A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATE FOR THE ECIA PROGRAM WITH ACROSS FOUR CATEGORIES. Next slide. Again, one of the things that we've talked about with regards to expanding and it was during the initial presentation was around the manager had brought up as well as I believe the finance director focusing on kind of three strategies and one of those was innovation. And so with regards to innovation, what we're trying to stand up hopefully within the next few months around that strategy is creating a digital front door. And so that means how do we improve access to our services through a digital touch point? And that includes our webpage, permits, calendaring, facility rental. And so this is something that we're gonna be initiating as well as discussing process improvement. So reducing friction and kind of like streamlining or mainlining our internal processes. And finally, data informed decision-making. So how do we capture data? What data do we need to make informed decisions that then we can bring to you so that everyone is above board and has the most consequential information to move forward with effective decisions? And I believe that's it. Next slide. Next slide.

All right.

Thank you all.

So who's next?

Thank you.

All right, if people are ready, we will begin. Audience members, can you please cut your conversations and... Go ahead.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. For your last three departments this evening, this is Internal Services. That comprises the Finance Department, the Human Resources Department, and the Information Technology Department.

Excuse me. Audience members, please. Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Once again, this is internal services, which comprises of the finance department, the human resources department, and the information technology department. These departments are integral to the city in that we service all of the outward facing departments, i.e. the departments that have direct contact with the public, the vendors, and businesses. Although internal services does interact with the public, it does not interact as much as a fire or police department. Next slide, please. So the finance department, we'll start there. They support all six goals areas. With zero audit findings in the audited financial statements, the removal from the state audit, the maintenance of the credit ratings, these are things that build financial and public trust. The city's fiscal policies also enable essential services to operate reliably. Next slide, please. The core services of the finance department provide are payroll, treasury and cash management, REVENUE ADMINISTRATION, PROCUREMENT, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, BUDGET DEVELOPMENT, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL REPORTING. THE HIGH CAPACITY OPERATIONAL DEMANDS AFFECTING THE CORE SERVICES ARE IN THE DIVISION OF PURCHASING, REVENUE, BUDGET AND ACCOUNTING. The purchasing division must ensure vendor compliance and process contracts so there's not a backlog of contracts being processed. The revenue division ensures that the revenue is received on time so there are no delinquent accounts. The accounting division has to stay apprised of ongoing GASB updates, increased volume of council initiatives, department requests, policy implementation, and required financial analysis and turnaround of all initiatives. Next slide. Existing workload and existing priorities influence how the department actually can operate and its operational capacity. When new or unplanned needs arise, some work may get squeezed, such as financial modeling. There may be operational or resident city impacts such as slower processing of payments or a delay in funding for a program or service. Although this may happen, resources are redirected to ensure that essential financial oversight and compliance remain intact. Next slide, please. Okay, the financial department needs a few key supportive items from city council. First, need a stable staffing level so we can continue to provide all the fiscal responsibility needed for the city. Second, we need improvement in modern financial systems. Outdated systems tend to slow our processes down. And without updated systems, there will be errors. Third, we rely on clean policy direction and alignment so that finance can safeguard and with financial discipline prioritize any items from City Council. Next slide, please. As you can see from the numbers, business licenses issued 6,300, paychecks processed 23,580, CalCUR transactions 13,694. Revenue collected 380 million. Invoices processed 24,766. Those are some of the statistics for the finance department. We will now move on to the next slide and that will be for the human resources department. The human resources mission is to hire and retain the most talented, competent, skilled, and dedicated individuals to serve the city of Richmond. They support employees by providing competitive compensation, excellent programming, and access to training and development. Next slide, please. The Human Resources Department supports all six goals and is foundational to the cities because their department depends on hiring, retention, training, and compliance support. Key support areas are public safety staffing, police, fire, frontline services, housing and homelessness support staffing, economic development warfare support, employee development and internal infrastructure improvements. The greatest ongoing capacity demands are in public safety staffing and internal infrastructure and processes. Next slide, please. Newman Resources manages labor negotiations for all eight bargaining units. recruitment and onboarding, employees and training and performance management, workers' compensation and leave management, benefits and retirement programs, workplace safety and violence prevention compliance, police deployment, development, classification and compensation, employee engagement, and wellness programming. Compliance responsibilities continue to grow. Human resources must maintain compliance with Cal OSHA, Federal OSHA, Department of Industrial Relations, FMLA, CFRA, ADA, and PDA. These are all leaves. Workplace violence prevention programs are also being operated under human resources, and we also have to comply with all CalPERS requirements. These compliance responsibilities are layered on top of daily operational demands. Next slide, please. Neiman Resources manages multiple high-level initiatives simultaneously. The current major initiatives includes automated employee evaluation system rollout, classification-based training programs, support for new city programs such as ROC, Fire Department Advanced Life Support Program. Next slide, please. Also, the Race Equity Action Plan support, ongoing labor negotiations in multiple unions, new leave implement software, bless you, new and urgent priorities often force staff to shift away from their core responsibilities leaving little flexibility for strategic planning, process modernization, workforce development initiatives and proactive risk management. Next slide please. When there are new and urgent needs, this forces resources shifting away from the core responsibilities. Plan projects and maintenance of regulatory compliance. Some work may get squeezed, such as lack of proactive measures for education and assist staff in minimizing workplace injuries. There may be operational impacts, such as employee remaining on leave without a process for return to work. And resident or city impacts, as staffing shortages, they can reduce service delivery to frontline departments and increase overtime costs. Next slide, please. To protect core service delivery, the Human Resources Department needs continued investment in staffing capacity, technologically modernization, compliance monitoring, training, and workforce development. Next slide. By the numbers, for fiscal year 24-25, there were 4,833 submitted applications processed, 193 hires and promotions, employee training classes of 287, and this is for safety-mandated professional and personal growth. Next slide, please. For workforce and recruitment activity, As mentioned, there are 4,833 total applications, 54 recruitments facilitated, 149 employees onboarded, and 44 internal promotions. Next slide, please. For risk management activity, there are 28 inspections completed. Those are safety inspections. Eighty leaves of absence managed. 99 general liability claims processed, and 206 workers' compensation claims managed. Next slide, please. For employee engagement, learning and development. For employee engagement, there were 10 events held. Employees training delivered 287 trainings completed. And for professional development, we expanded to include reimbursements for therapeutic and self-help support. Next slide, please. Here are some of the employee engagement events. Some of the big ones are, in this one, the Valentine's Day coffee cart. Wherever there's a coffee cart, I think you'll see me there. Health and wellness fairs, a beach break featuring art and Italian ice. And if you come to those, you're guaranteed to have a 50 degree day with wind. Next slide, please. Now, HR. along with all of internal services, likes to celebrate success. And in finance, you might wander into a potluck. In HR, you'll just wander in for snacks. And in IT, Sue always has some sort of food hanging out for someone to eat. But here are some successes just recently for human resources. The implementation of a learning management system. launched training programs for classifications, workplace violence prevention plans, improved communications through HR liaisons in every department, negotiated five union contracts, reduced annual turnover by 2%, implemented AB 339 procurement protocols, and conducted 28 safety inspections and coordinated remedies across the city buildings. Next slide, please. What we're looking forward to There will be future priorities that include finalizing negotiations with the remaining unions, deploy leave tracking software and automate evaluation software, continue intentional hiring and strategic hiring in critical areas, support city council directive initiatives, continue an implementation support for ROC and advanced life support programs, expand onboarding professional development, employee wellness, mentorship, and coaching programs. Next slide please. Continued investment in human resources protects compliance, workforce stability, employee support, and long-term operational effectiveness. The goal is to continue building a workforce that is supported, accountable, well-trained, and equipped to serve the Richmond community with excellence. We will now move to information technology. FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY THE DEPARTMENT SUPPORTS CITY OPERATIONS INCLUDING PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, HR PERMITTING SYSTEMS, CYBER SECURITY, CITY COUNCIL BOARDS AND COMMISSION MEETINGS, NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE, COMMUNICATION INCLUDING FIBER WIRED AND WIRELESS SERVICES, THE COPY CENTER MAIL ROOM, INTERNAL STAFF, IN-PERSON TECH ACADEMY, TRAINING, RESIDENT facing digital services and website services and mobile apps for issuing reporting. Next slide, please. Why this matters. The information talk tele department touches all six goal levels and is foundational to the city because every department depends on hardware, software, and telecommunications. Next slide, please. The work that keeps Richmond running Information technology maintains network connectivity, internet access, cloud-based systems, and backups with disaster recovery capabilities, monitor cybersecurity threats, supports enterprise applications such as Tyler Munis and IMS, maintains mission-critical systems that support public safety such as CAD RMS connectivity, help desk, and user services, supporting licensing systems including a mobile app, GIS, RingCentral, CivicPlus website management, collaborating with Public Works on the implementation of the asset management system. Next slide, please. Special initiatives, mandated compliance responsibilities, and major event operations draw from the same existing staff resources needed to maintain network operations and the enterprise systems. Next slide, please. What gets squeezed in technology modernization and automation projects in the operational impacts is staff prioritizes urgent operational and cybersecurity issues over planned projects. Residency impact is delayed in digital services improvements and modernization efforts. Next slide, please. To protect core services delivery, the Information Technology Department needs continued investment in staffing capacity for end-user support, cybersecurity, Tyler Munis and IMS, software support, information technology is commissioning, currently information technology is commissioning an assessment, and it's going to be a full-blown IT assessment that will include a look at all hardware, all software, existing staff and staff training, and emerging technology that the city will need in the future. So we are just starting that right now. Next slide, please. So information technology supports 41 city buildings and facilitates over 40 miles of fiber, 41 circuit connectivities, 20 backup connections, 10 community centers with wireless network and computer labs, seven public safety fire stations that have carrier fiber network, and three backup connections so that they don't go down. Next slide, please. For KCRT, they support 125 live virtual in-person meetings, 285 marquee and data net billboards. They also maintain 101,942 website pages are also maintained. They support live and recorded city council and commission meetings. And that is the end of internal services. Thank you.

CONVERSATIONS, WE WILL BEGIN. ALL OF YOU, I'M SURE YOU'RE HAVING EXCITING CONVERSATIONS, AND I WISH I COULD JOIN YOU, BUT IT'S TIME TO BEGIN. OKAY? LET'S GO.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR MARTINEZ, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS With me right now is Wendy Welbrock, one of our senior civil engineers. Darcy Delashmuth, our capital projects manager and our landscape architect. And we'll be calling other COWORKERS FROM PUBLIC WORKS AS WE MOVE IN THE SLIDES. JUST TO MAKE A QUICK NOTE, SOME OF YOU RECEIVED JUST A GIFT FROM PUBLIC WORKS. IT'S A BEST WITH YOUR NAME AND A HEART HAT BECAUSE WE EXPECT YOU TO ATTEND A LOT OF GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONIES AND RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONIES THIS YEAR SO JUST FOR YOU TO START PRACTICING FROM THE MIRRORING.

THANK YOU. I'M BRAGGING ABOUT IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA NOW.

JUST FOR THE RECORD, MAYOR MARTINEZ AND COUNCIL MEMBER JIMENEZ RECEIVED THEIR LIFE DURING THE PUBLIC WORKS CEREMONY LAST WEEK THAT WAS NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK. PERFECT. SO LET'S GET GOING. THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN RECEIVED SEVERAL FUNDS. IN THIS SLIDE YOU CAN SEE MANY OF THEM. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT GAS TAX, OTHER FUNDING GRANTS, SP1 ENGINEERING GRANTS, GENERAL CAPITAL, IMPACT FEES, LIBRARY, CIA, HOUSING DEPARTMENT, ARPA, TCC, POUR WASTE WATER MARINA, STONE WATER EQUIPMENT SERVICES. For the next five years, our five-year capital plan, it's rounding up is $240 million for all the projects that we have. These $240 million are split among eight major categories. And you can refer to attachment four for more details. You can see in that pie chart where the majority of them are going to transportation, the transportation category. Same pie chart, but this time going more into details, not the eight categories, but the 19 programs that we have within those eight categories. And out of the five years, this specific fiscal year 26-27 is a little over $143 million, out of which 21.6 million are new proposed budget allocations. THE A PROGRAMS THAT YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EQUIPMENT SERVICES, GENERAL PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES, PARKS AND OPEN SPACES, PORT OF RICHMOND, SANITARY SEWER WASTE WATER, STORM DRAINAGE AND WATERSHED, TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSPORTATION, THOSE ARE THE A PROGRAM CATEGORIES. THEY HAVE BASICALLY 104 ACTIVE PROJECTS. NOT PROJECTS THAT ARE PROPOSED ACTIVE. THE SAME INFORMATION, BUT NOW WITHIN THE 19 CAPITAL PROGRAMS, ALTHOUGH WE'RE SHOWING ON THIS SLIDE THE 15 TOP ONES, AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE TOP 15 CAPITAL PROGRAMS, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE 104 ACTIVE PROJECTS. We are going to present tonight key program highlights. We're not going to go over the 19 of them. It's a lot of them. But we're going to go to three main categories. I'm talking about general and public safety facilities. The second one is going to be parks and open spaces. And the third one is going to be transportation. And in each of them, you can see that we're gonna talk about two programs in general in public safety facilities. We're gonna talk about one in the parks and open spaces. And we're gonna talk about five in transportation, including streetlight, complete streets, neighborhood safety and access, citywide concrete, pavement management. And with that, I wanna pass it to Wendy Welbrock, our senior civil engineer and project manager of the library.

Hi, good evening. So I'm going to dive right into the update on the general and public facilities category, which includes two programs. The first is general city-owned buildings and facilities, and the second is public safety improvements, which include facilities for fire and police. IN THIS SLIDE WE ARE SHOWING ACTIVE PROJECTS WITHIN THE GENERAL BUILDING AND FACILITIES PROGRAM. WE CURRENTLY HAVE 12 ACTIVE PROJECTS IN VARIOUS PHASES. THE PROJECTS THAT WILL BE COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 26-27 INCLUDE THE CITYWIDE FACILITIES CONDITION AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THE CITYWIDE FACILITIES ROOF REPAIR PROJECT AND THE HARBOR 8 PARK EXPANSION PROJECT. IN FISCAL YEAR 27-28, WE ANTICIPATE COMPLETING SEVERAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE RENOVATION OF THE CORP YARD BATHROOM REMODEL, BROOKER T. ANDERSON PHASE 3, AND THE MAIN LIBRARY RENOVATION PROJECT, WHICH IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE A LOT IS HAPPENING FROM THE OUTSIDE, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF GREAT PROGRESS HAPPENING INSIDE, AND THE PROJECT IS ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER OF 2027. We know that there are a high number of facility needs throughout the city, and we're looking forward to the completion of the facilities conditions assessment, at which point staff will begin to synthesize and analyze the data to inform and develop a comprehensive facilities program and capital improvement plan. Next slide, please. So what is the plan for developing the facilities program? The facilities conditions assessment is just one tool that staff will use to develop the CIP plan. Other elements will include prior building assessment reports, asset data presented during the May 5th Public Works Department briefing, institutional knowledge, and other requests. The projects on this slide are legacy projects, and as you can see, will require significant funding to advance. IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PROJECTS WILL BE CONSIDERED ONCE A COMPREHENSIVE CIP PLAN IS DEVELOPED AND THESE ARE HIGH LEVEL ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE BUDGETS. THESE NUMBERS WILL BE REVISED YEAR AFTER YEAR AS FUNDING IS IDENTIFIED AND SCOPE IS REFINED. IN THIS SLIDE WE ARE SHOWING PROJECTS WITHIN THE PUBLIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM WHICH INCLUDES FIRE AND POLICE FACILITIES. WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO ACTIVE PARTIALLY FUNDED PROJECTS. THE FIRST IS IMPROVEMENTS TO FIRE STATION 63 TO ADDRESS FOUNDATION ISSUES AND THE SECOND IS THE REPLACEMENT OF FIRE STATION 66. The list of projects on the unfunded list were requests received from the fire department, and they include capital improvements to fire station facilities that are part of the ALS program implementation. Again, staff will use data from the facilities conditions assessment, institutional knowledge, input from fire and police to develop a comprehensive CIP plan. And I am going to pass it over to my colleague Darcy to talk about parks.

GOOD EVENING COUNCIL AND MAYOR. I'M EXCITED TO SHOW YOU A SNAPSHOT OF OUR CURRENT CIP FUNDED PROJECTS THAT FALL INTO THE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE IMPROVEMENTS CATEGORY. THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT SOME OF THE PARK PROJECTS WHICH RECEIVE OTHER FUNDS OR AREN'T CARRYING FORWARD ARE WHY YOU DON'T SEE THESE ON THE LIST SUCH AS THE MIRA FLORES INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE OR MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR PARK PROJECTS. SO IT'S A VERY ACTIVE PROGRAM. WE HAVE 11 PROJECTS INCLUDING SEVERAL PARKS WHICH ARE, WELL, WE'RE ALL REALLY EXCITED THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE OPENING UP TO THE COMMUNITY THIS SUMMER AND FALL. AND WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED THE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PROGRAM AS A PROJECT ON THIS LIST. after it was scored last year and that's important because it covers general needs which right now are focused on the play equipment renovations at Raincloud and Boyd Parks and gearing up for more playground updates and also plan updates. So as you can see we have a busy year with a big peak of projects that are all happening this year and then a few projects that carry forward such as the Point Malade Trail INTO 2728 FISCAL YEAR SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A BIG DROP OFF BUT THIS REALLY HIGHLIGHTS WHY WE NEED TO PLAN AND DEVELOP FOR THE NEXT STEPS WHICH ARE ON THE NEXT SLIDE. So the first item is the Parks and Open Space program on this list, and this is an ongoing and evolving program. The whole idea behind the program is that we view our entire public realm system holistically as one system for our current and our future community. And in doing all this, we need to do it in a way that reflects equitable prioritization High value for our investment and coordinated improvements So there's many tasks within this program that help us to achieve us this there's a couple highlighted on the blue bubble above The fundamental items such as budgeting scheduling Sequencing all of these projects to not have them all down at the same time and then overlaying it with staff availability And we're focused on putting data-driven systems into place by updating the parks master plan and BUILDING UP AND CREATING STANDARDS FOR OUR FURNISHINGS, MATERIALS, SIGNAGE AND MANY OTHER THINGS AND THE PROGRAM WHICH ALSO IDENTIFIES CITYWIDE IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS ADA UPGRADES IN ALL OF OUR PARKS AND THE PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENTS IN ALL OF THE PARKS SO THAT ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS CAN ENJOY SOME IMPROVEMENTS SOON IN THE NEAR FUTURE. And of course this whole program looks at all the gaps and needs, including an item recently brought up for our park in the Pullman area which has not been scored but is part of this list, even though this list is just showing the scored items. And together these all create the outline for our next steps. And so it's a really exciting opportunity for us to take council direction and then layer them and merge them with all of these important requests to make a comprehensive plan. and proactively improve the Richmond public realm. And on the next slide, we have a lot of really fun statistics that show you what we're working on. And I think many of you have seen them before. So I'm going to let you take those in and we'll pass it off to Darren.

Good evening, Darren Fitzpatrick, Assistant Deputy Director of Public Works for Operations and Maintenance. I'm going to provide a brief update for our streetlight program and plan. We currently have four projects that are active. The Dornan tunnel lighting, which is in design phase. Richmond Arden lighting in construction phase. Our streetlight master plan, which is in the study phase. And then our streetlight program installing solar lighting citywide, which is in construction. To date, we have installed 163 new solar lights in just six months as part of number four on your list there. And those initial 12 sites, nine of which are complete, were picked through institutional knowledge and requests. And as we move forward and that master plan is complete, we will then begin using the data within the plan to help prioritize and select new locations. Next slide. The next slide, Pat, you have some photos of the projects that were completed and also 10 to 12 target locations that have been identified again through institutional knowledge and or requests. These are not in any particular order other than the Carlos and Boulevard, which is an extension of the work that was already done. We have not prioritized these in any particular way, so we're always open to new requests and locations.

Then we're going to pass to Gail Payne, our new senior transportation planner.

THANK YOU, DANIEL. AGAIN, MY NAME IS GAIL PAIN AND GOOD EVENING MAYOR MARTINEZ, CITY COUNCIL, STAFF AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. I'M PRESENTING ON THE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS AND I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE JANIE LOCKMAN, THE ASSOCIATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNER. WE'RE A TEAM OF TWO FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS AND THE OTHER TRANSPORTATION TEAM, DANIEL, JOSEPH, HALAL AND AVANESH IN FINANCE. Public Works, since I've been here the past couple months, we've taken the opportunity to reorganize the existing projects and upcoming projects into these two new categories here. The first one being Complete Streets Program with a focus on major streets, especially high injury corridors. We call that our high injury network. The second program under the transportation program is the neighborhood safety and access program. We consolidated all these different programs into one that focuses on local streets so that we could tackle these projects in a more efficient way by corridor or neighborhood area. And keep in mind, when we receive community requests, they tend to be for these local streets. People look outside their windows at their homes. They see people speeding. They want to see traffic calming in their neighborhood. So that's the focus of this program. And for both programs, we're going to be using and already have used a data-driven process with project scoring criteria to select the projects. Next slide, please. And first I'll go into the Complete Streets program, and then I'll talk about the Neighborhood program. For Complete Streets, it's just to acknowledge that it's somewhat of a confusing term. There's many different components of a Complete Streets. For our Complete Streets program, it's focused on major streets. These are the wider streets in town where more speeding at higher speeds can happen, making the injuries more severe. And so basically what we're doing here is going from car-centric, car-oriented to people-oriented, as this graphic shows, thank you to Joseph, that going left to right, we're trying to create more space for people with disabilities, people who bicycle, people who drive the speed limit with traffic calming, buses, safe crosswalks, lighting, sidewalk, and tree canopy. Next slide, please. For the Complete Streets Program's five-year CIP, I'm glad you have your vest because there's a lot of, as you see, quite a significant number of active projects there. And in the dark red show that the majority of these projects are on the High Injury Corridor, the HIN. AND THE OTHERS IMPROVE ACCESS TO BART, THE PORT, THE BAY TRAIL, FREEWAY, PARKS, AND MANY OF THEM ARE EITHER IN DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION SOON. SO THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR VERY BUSY. SO AGAIN, WE'RE GLAD YOU HAVE YOUR VESTS BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOU'LL BE GOING OUT TO THOSE CEREMONIES. AND AFTER 2027 AND 2028 AND ONWARDS, THERE'S STAFF CAPACITY TO TAKE ON MORE WORK. SO THAT'S WHAT PLANNERS ARE DOING IS LOOKING AT THAT NEXT WAVE OF PROJECTS. AND NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. We don't have a bar chart yet. This map does help show Richmond's progress on improving the HIN. And the green is constructed. The dark red is design and process. And then the black shows the process, the projects that are in process by CCTA and AC Transit. We are really fortunate to have them on board and actively improving these high injury corridors. And the table on the left shows why it's so important to be addressing these high-injury corridors because that's where the more serious crashes are. Next slide, please. AND THEN THE LAST SLIDE UNDER THE COMPLETE STREETS PROGRAM IS THE UNFUNDED TEN YEAR PLAN AND THE GOAL HERE IS TO ADDRESS ALL THE HIGH INJURY CORRIDORS AND THE FIRST THREE ROWS ARE ADDITIONAL REQUESTS, THE ROWS FOUR THROUGH TEN ARE GRANTS THAT ARE EITHER IN PROGRESS OR BEEN SUBMITTED AND THEN THE LAST THREE ROWS ARE THE REMAINING HIGH ENTRY QUARTERS THAT WE STILL NEED TO LOOK FOR GRANTS FOR. AND THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. And the last two slides are on the newly created Neighborhood Safety and Access Program. And we have five active projects. This upcoming year we want to continue progress on the McBride design and continue with quick builds. And then last slide, next slide please. Is the Neighborhood Safety and Access Program the unfunded 10-year plan? AND THE FIRST TWO ROWS SHOW ADDITIONAL REQUESTS. THE NEXT NUMBERS THREE AND FOUR SHOW HOW MUCH THESE KINDS OF NEIGHBORHOOD APPROACHES COST FOR THE MCBRIDE AND THE REAM 2426 STREET AND ESTIMATED COST OF THREE TO SIX MILLION AND THEN THE LAST FOUR ROWS ARE SUBMITTED GRANTS OR IMPROCESSED GRANTS. And that concludes my presentation. And I'd just like to thank the team for all their work and patience with me as I have been getting up to speed.

Thank you, Gail. Moving along with a concrete program, citywide concrete program, we have five active projects. We're talking about the 2026 sidewalk shaving project that, well, all of these five active projects will be complete this upcoming fiscal year. We have the ADA transition plan, the blue curve policy development, the citywide concrete program, shaving plus removal replace, and citywide roadway signs and streetlights. I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT A WORK THAT HAS NOT BEEN ANNOUNCED AS MUCH FOR EXAMPLE OF THE SOLAR LIGHTING, BUT IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT ONE. WE HAVE RECENTLY COMPLETED 1300 LOCATIONS IN SHAVING. WHEN I TALK ABOUT SHAVING, IT PROVIDES A LOT OF SAVINGS TO THE CITY BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED TO GO AND REMOVE THE CONCRETE AND PUT IT BACK BECAUSE THAT'S MORE EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING. SHAVING, YOU BASICALLY LEVEL UP THE AREA, YOU REMOVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE CONCRETE. AND WE HAVE DONE THAT SO FAR WITH A CONTRACTOR. AS I SAID, 1,300 LOCATIONS, ALMOST 9,000 LINEAR FEET. I want to give you just a very overall view of that. So far, as I said, it's 1,300 locations, but that's only 40% of the work complete. We're going to complete all the shavings around parks, all the parks in the city of Richmond. By the time we're done, which is going to be by July 1st, we are going to have completed almost 3,500 locations, and that will be 19,000 linear feet of shaving. The next step is going to be everything around schools. And everything around schools is a project cost of $850,000. We're asking for $900,000 just to be on the safe side. And we already completed the work around Civic Center. We're talking about 102 specific locations. Let me just go very quick over the next slide so you can see the parks. I mean, when you see in each of these parks, the green dots are the ones that have been completed, orange are in progress, and the red ones are scheduled. As I said before, this is going to be done by July 1st, okay? So this is, again, almost 3,500 locations. I'm talking about those dots that you see there. You keep going in other parks. As you can see, for example, the Mira Vista Park right now, it has all scheduled. We have not completed it yet. But again, all of them will be completed by July 1st. And we can keep going, right? Other parks, other parks, continued parks. And as I said, the next step is going to be schools, right? You can see all these parks. I mean, you can see in the marina all the green ones. The ones in yellow are in progress. PARKS. AND NOW WE'RE GOING WITH THE NEXT PHASE THAT WE HAVEN'T STARTED YET. WE NEED THE MONEY. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR. AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE RED DOTS HERE. THAT'S AROUND SCHOOLS. THAT'S THE NEXT STEP THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS, SCHOOLS. AND THAT'S, AS I SAID, A REQUEST OF $900,000. YOU CAN SEE THE SCHOOLS. THEY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, ALL THE LOCATIONS WHERE WE NEED TO GO AND WORK AND DO THESE REPAIRS, RIGHT? But the next step is not only shaving. There are some things that you cannot just shave. If you go, I would say, an inch and three quarters leap, you better remove and replace. And that's when you need the next phase that is going to be right now, we're estimating it, at $3.3 million just around parks. So we're gonna follow the same logic, first parks, then schools, and then we'll continue with the ADA transition plan. Whatever the ADA transition plan tell us that we are right now updating, we'll follow that. But that's gonna be, that is part of the request that we have. So we move to pavement. I mean, you have heard me a lot saying that this is where I would put all my money if I can, $18 million. I see Council Member Jimenez say no, no, no. So I'm talking about $11 million, but you can see right now, We're finalizing the 2025 rubberized scape seal project. You'll see whatever you're seeing out there with the contractor's equipment. That's what we're doing. We also have our in-house crew doing work. And we are going to start in the summer the 2026 base repair project. And I want to talk a little bit about that one in the next slide, but I want to bring your attention to the $11 million that we're talking about, how we would distribute that $11 million. $4.5 million would go to the 2026 base repair project, and that's going to make sense when I see the next slide. And then we need to start the design for 2027. and we need to continue with the in-house paving. I wanna make a very important note when you talk about paving and paving budgets. That doesn't include only the asphalt that you see on the road. That also includes the ADA curb ramps that by federal law we need to upgrade every time we pave. So the cost, when we ask about $11 million, includes the curb ramps already. So a big portion of that goes to concrete work. This is the map that I wanted to present. This is what we are targeting to address in the next round starting this year. This is the major arterials and collectors, right, that they will need REHABILITATION, THE TYPE OF TREATMENT THAT WE NEED THERE IS NOT THE TYPE OF TREATMENT THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE, IT'S MORE STRUCTURAL, AND THAT'S WHAT IS CALLED REHABILITATION. HOWEVER, THE FIRST STEP IN THE REHABILITATION IS TO DO BASE REPAIRS, LOCALIZED BASE REPAIRS. AND FOR THAT, WE'RE GOING TO NEED ALMOST $8 MILLION JUST FOR BASE REPAIRS. and then for a total of $42 million to do these many streets. That's why we're talking about a process from 2026 to 2029. This is just a reminder of...

I'm sorry, point of order. I didn't understand what base repair was.

localized base repairs, you basically dig out all the way to the base, right? And it's when the most damaged localized areas. So if you don't address them, then it starts expanding. It makes them more expensive. Yes. Well, yeah. And this is just a reminder what we did in 2024 was a program called a slurry seal the advantage of that program is that we we address streets that were ideal for this type of treatment and allow us to to treat many many streets in the city and That doesn't trigger a da curb ramps by federal law which allow us to use the money just in pavement and HOWEVER, THIS YEAR, OR, WELL, THIS IS FROM LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE FINALIZING THE PROJECT THIS YEAR. THE TYPE OF TREATMENT IS RUBBERISED CAPE SEAL THAT TRIGGERS ADA CURBRAMS. SO A PORTION OF THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE, AND YOU CAN SAY IT VARIES SOMETIMES BETWEEN 25 TO 35% OF THE BUDGET YOU HAVE GOES SPECIFICALLY FOR ADA CURBRAMS. And that is exactly what it would affect moving forward because the type of treatment we're going to do triggers programs all the time. And with that concludes our CIP presentation. And for those Mandalorian, I have to say it, for those Mandalorian fans, I have spoken.

Good evening. I'm Emily Combs, Finance Director, and I'm just going to close out with a quick announcement about procurement because it touches all aspects of our operations. So this slide highlights the importance of maintaining consistent and compliant procurement practices across the organization. So procurement requirements are not simply...

The point of order. So public works is done or it's a part of that?

THIS IS THE SECOND TO THE LAST SLIDE WE HAVE TO WRAP UP. WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS THE CITY COUNCIL IS PREPARING TO MAKE REQUESTS OF CITY STAFF THAT WE REMIND THE PUBLIC AND THE COUNCIL WHAT IS REQUIRED IN TERMS OF OUR PROCUREMENT SO AS YOU'RE MAKING REQUESTS WITH YOUR CHECKLIST WE'RE ALL REMINDED OF WHAT THE PROCESS NEEDS TO ENTAIL.

VICE GENERAL, NOT PUBLIC WORKS.

Correct.

So we want to thank Public Works for all the great work.

Yes.

Thank you.

It's just an awkward slide placement.

Thank you, Daniel.

So Richmond's procurement framework establishes clear approval thresholds, competitive bidding requirements, and internal controls designed to support accountability and compliance. So under the city's current procurement policies, contracts over 10,000 require city council approval. Purchases over 50,000 require a formal competitive process. In sole source or emergency, purchases must be properly justified and documented. SO STRONG PROCUREMENT PRACTICES ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS A CITY MANAGES A GROWING NUMBER OF GRANTS, WHICH YOU SAW, CAPITAL PROJECTS AND OPERATIONAL INITIATIVES. SO FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS CAN RESULT IN DELAYED PAYMENTS, THEY CAN RESULT IN AUDIT FINDINGS, LOSS OF GRANT ELIGIBILITY, CONTRACT DISPUTE, AND JUST OVERALL INCREASED ORGANIZATIONAL RISK. SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. Maintaining consistent procurement compliance helps ensure the city resources are managed responsibly while protecting public trust. Next slide. And here's a look at our next steps. So we'll return on June 16th to present the budget checklist and final adoption on June 23rd. Next slide. And here's the recommended action before you today to continue to receive the draft fiscal year 26-27 BUDGET AS WELL AS THE CIP WHICH YOU HEARD TONIGHT RECEIVED UPDATES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF OPERATIONS WHICH WE CONCLUDED I BELIEVE TONIGHT WE'VE GOT THROUGH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEN AND UPON COMPLETION OF THOSE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATIONS TO PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF PRIOR TO FINAL BUDGET ADOPTION THANK YOU SO MUCH

And Mayor, I would like to, this is our MLT team here at our retreat, and I just want to take an opportunity to thank the Council for listening to all of our colleagues. There are many team members across the city that were involved in putting together these presentations that now serve as a remarkable illustration of the great work that is happening in the City of Richmond. This is the best city team that we've ever had, and I feel so lucky and privileged to work alongside them. They work nights, weekends, and they're extremely committed to serving people in our community and meeting people where they are and doing so in an equitable manner. I WANT TO ALSO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT AS YOU RECEIVED THE PRESENTATIONS, I HOPE THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE CULTURAL SHIFT THAT HAS HAPPENED WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION THAT NOT ONLY ARE PEOPLE WORKING HARD, BUT THEY ARE WORKING HARD COLLABORATIVELY, THAT WE HAVE HIGHLY SKILLED COLLEAGUES. and that everyone is working in partnership and with Grace, serving collaboratively with our community-based organizations and businesses. So thank you very much, Mayor, and I'll turn it over to you.

OK, and thank you. Our leadership is bringing the best out of the people around you, and you've done a fantastic job of that. I can see it any time I walk through the city of Richmond. I see all the great work that the entire team is doing, and I really, really appreciate it. We should give the entire team a round of applause. So we are 17 minutes into our next session, but we haven't adjourned this one. So if anyone has any comments at this time, please feel free to raise your hand. If not, I will adjourn and we can move on to the next.

We do have public comment.

Oh, yes.

Okay. So we currently have one in-person speaker. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time. Cordell Hindler.

So good evening, Mayor Martinez, Council. For the record, I am Cordell Henley, and I wanted to thank the staff for for all these presentations that I've heard in the last two weeks. So you're wondering what I have in this hand. So as I was taking notes at the last meeting, this is what I am, my own little checklist. So I looked at some of the positions in economic development and once again, we need more of these positions because as I've been listening to all the asks of the presentations, so I'm thinking to myself, they need more staffing because Part of this requires a lot of staffing because I'm just happy that we got through the whole budget checklist. So I did my checklist. So now it's your turn to do your own your little checklist. So with that, that's pretty much it. So thank you to city staff for all your presentations in the last two weeks. That's it.

And now we'll move on to our online speakers.

We have three online speakers. They are Ben Theriault, Carrie Sullivan, and Kevin. Ben, you may begin. You will each have up to two minutes to speak.

Thank you. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Ben Theriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association. Obviously, two minutes is not enough time to cover the many different things addressed here, but I'll just focus on the last part of the slide. recruited and onboarded 193 employees in total. Well, how many people left? Achieved a 2% reduction in the annual turnover rate. You know, that's some fun stats and mumbo jumbo of wording. Well, what was that last year? I think it would be good to know what those numbers actually mean. These are the kind of things that, again, you can put forward these things without any type of background, but it's not really an actual display of what the reality is on the ground. So it's great to pat people on the back and all that, but if you're not asking a lot of questions and you're not challenging anything, then are you guys really doing your job up there? That's, I think, a fair question. And then let's just go back in general to the overarching budget about the vacancy rate. You know, that's essentially built-in austerity. That's what that is, and that's what that means. I'll go way back to the beginning of the presentation, but I think it's concerning on the framing. The hiring figures, again, show... Earlier references employees hire without corresponding separations data, which I talked about, and would give the council a clearer picture on net staffing trends. Again, slide about a vacancy rate and how much money that generates in vacancy savings. That vacancy assumption is part of what keeps the budget from being structurally unbalanced or requiring to draw on reserves. So I would suggest that a budget that depends on positions remaining unfilled is not in the strict sense structurally necessarily balanced.

And that assumption that Thank you, your time is expired. The next speaker is Carrie Sullivan.

Hi, good evening. Can you hear me?

Yes.

All right, very good. I just want to say good evening to everyone in attendance. My name is Carrie Sullivan, Richmond resident. I currently sit on the board for the CCRP Community Crisis Response Program as a CAB member. I know that last week we were trying to... speak on this issue, but right now, board feels strongly that care navigators are vital for the ROC program to truly serve the community as intended. The ROC team and staff have stated a need for care navigators. The board unanimously voted to recommend care navigator positions in the budget presented to council. We see that it was not in the presentation council received, so the board would love the opportunity to present directly to council. So essentially, we feel that the killer navigators are a core and integral part of the success of this program. Positions for this coming fiscal year is in our bylaws to regularly present to council, and we'd love to start doing that now. So we thank you guys very much and hope that you'll take this into consideration. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Kevin. Kevin, please state your name for the record and you may begin.

Thank you. Kevin Tisdale, president at SEIU. Going back on a few things, again, a suggestion I have, if we're going to do a two and a half hour presentation, if we're going to take breaks to allow public comment during some of that, if that's allowed, vacancy rate going from 11% this fiscal year to 14, what's the impact of that? I think we're already stretched very thin. So if you increase that, again, what's the effect? in specific areas, limited term revenue. Currently the council has the settlement funds sitting in an interest bearing account. How much was made off of that? What has been done with that? What's the policy direction for that account? Again, I think it's important that those numbers are put out there so we can understand where and how it's being utilized. Jumping around a bit, financed by the numbers, how many staff were responsible in bringing in the income you reported for business license and a few of the other areas, and then what amount of income or money was missed due to vacancies or projects that couldn't be fulfilled. As far as projects, public works, there's a lot of things funded, unfunded, but there's a lot of maintenance we already need and have, so focus on maintaining safely what we have versus kind of the new shiny object. And then lastly, last year I reported there was an issue in the basement, almost costing an employee their life. So thank you, council, for supporting that item as that communication has been established. So the EOC radio and cell phone usage is effective in the basement of City Hall. So with that, thank you.

Thanks.

That was it?

That was our last speaker.

Okay. Yes. I noticed that we do have a lot of questions that were asked and were answered. So this is the time for discussion. Are there any council members that?

Discussion before direction.

Yeah.

Mayor, if I may, can I just make one clarifying point regarding headcount? So in fiscal year 2021, we were at 581 FTEs. Now we're at approximately 673 FTEs, and so that's a net increase of 92 FTEs. So I just wanted to clearly state that for the administrative record so everyone's clear in terms of where we're at. WE BELIEVE THAT THE CURRENT HEAD COUNT IS WHAT WE WILL NEED TO REMAIN AT GIVEN THAT MOU NEGOTIATIONS ARE CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS AND WE HAVE BEEN DIRECTED BY COUNCIL TO HAVE A SEPARATE PROCESS FOR THE REVENUE THAT IS THE LIMITED TERM REVENUE AND SO THAT PROCESS WILL COMMENCE AS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL.

So, yes, Council Member Jimenez.

Can you clarify how is this process? Are we going to have questions right now?

Through the chair, Mayor, did you want to go ahead and allow questions? We can type them down and then we will, as we did last time, you have attachment that has the 35 questions and the responses. Then we will bring those back to you. We provided those in advance of the 16th. Okay. So I have a couple of questions. Unless the mayor wants to provide something, or if he wants to do discussion now. I defer to him.

The directions for the budget session says... to receive updates on departmental operations or services for the following departments, and we've done that. And then it says provide direction to staff prior to final budget adoption. In order to provide direction, we have questions to ask and the directions are suggestions as to how the budget should be allocated. For instance, earlier you said my question Earlier question 35. Yeah question 35 with 684 full-time equivalents currently budgeted What process is used to determine the allocation of 13 new positions which you said we would be able to hire? According to the budget that we that we anticipated SO I DO HAVE SOME SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHAT THOSE POSITIONS SHOULD BE, BUT I WANTED TO HAVE A DISCUSSION BEFORE I GAVE DIRECTION, AND THAT DISCUSSION DOES ENTAIL QUESTIONS.

MR. MAYOR, DON'T YOU THINK WE NEED ANOTHER SPECIAL SESSION FOR THOSE QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS AND DIRECTION TO THE CITY AND STUFF? I MEAN, WE'RE ALREADY HALF AN HOUR PAST THE TIME FOR THE REGULAR SESSION.

ALL RIGHT. SO THEN WE SHOULD DECIDE WHEN THAT SPECIAL SESSION IS GOING TO BE.

WE CAN HAVE IT ON JUNE 2.

THAT'S ELECTION DAY. SO GENERALLY THAT'S WHY THE CLERK'S OFFICE DOESN'T HAVE US MEETING THAT DAY.

WELL, WE CAN PICK ANOTHER DATE.

RIGHT. THE MAYOR COULD CALL A SPECIAL MEETING.

Yeah, so.

June 9th, maybe?

June 9th.

Can we set up a process so that way, so how do we get the questions all that day and surprise staff? Should we email them before? Should we meet with staff before? I think we should, so that way we can come back.

Well, let's set a date first. Okay, so June 9th. How many council members can meet June 9th?

Okay, so. What's June 9th? At what time, June 9th?

To make sure we have enough time So mr. Mayor, what was the June 16th meeting regarding?

I thought that was where we were gonna Approval is calendared for the 23rd, but right I

That's why I was asking. So what's this?

But we need to have several meetings before that because we will have suggestions. Staff will have to go. Okay. I was just trying to understand what the 16th was for if we were finalizing on the 23rd. Staff will have to evaluate the suggestions and come back to us with the final budget to approve. So we're all in agreement for a special session June 9th at 6.30. Mayor, can we start at 6 a.m. to make sure we have enough time?

Can we meet at 3.30? I'm sorry.

Can we meet at 3 30 at 3 30?

Yeah, we need to make sure we have enough time for everything.

Okay. Well then I better check my Calendry here Okay. 330, everyone in agreement for 330? June 9th? Yes.

Uh-huh.

Okay. So we will schedule a special session, budget session for June 9th at 330. Got it.

Good.

Okay. Well, in that case, we will receive this and we will provide the direction on June 9th at 3 30. quick question shall we email our questions beforehand yeah yeah okay yeah okay i already sent a set of questions i didn't receive any acknowledgement

I WILL DOUBLE CHECK. FOR TRANSPARENCY, ALL THE QUESTIONS WERE COMPILED AND WERE PROVIDED AS AN ATTACHMENT TO THE STAFF REPORT SO THE PUBLIC CAN BE AWARE OF ALL QUESTIONS RECEIVED AND THE ANSWERS THAT WERE PROVIDED. IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO ACCESS THE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES, YOU CAN CALL THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AT 510-620-6512. THANK YOU.

For transparency, I see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 questions from Council Member Bonner.

I submitted, that's from the first one, I submitted another set of questions. You only get one. Yeah. I will submit another set, so three sets.

I think the clerk's office said our time is expired. No, I'm just kidding.

So with that, we will table this discussion until June 9th, and this budget session is over. And now it's time to start the next. Shall we take a five-minute break before we continue?

Yes.

Okay, so we'll adjourn for five minutes. We'll come back. Let's make it eight minutes.

So that we're back at 6.40.

Be ready to start at 6.40.

We have other type of dates? We have other dates? We don't get any dates yet.

So, . . Thank you.

Welcome back, everyone. I know that our breaks loosen up the audience as well as the city council, but I'm very happy to have you all here. So if we can have...

silence in the audience um um we'll start with uh um we'll start with roll call council member i'm here council member brown here council member jimenez presente council member wilson here council member zapata here Vice chair Robinson is away for roll call and, uh, uh, mayor Martinez here. The next item is agenda review and the clerk's office did receive requests to pull two items. Item P three a by council member Bona honoring the rich proclamation, honoring the Richmond community volunteers and item P 11 B like boy, uh, requested by council member Brown accepting a Caltrans grant.

Uh, Mr. Mayor may. I pulled the item to honor the people in person, but they're both very sick. So I'd like to honor him in June, please, at the end of June. If you could move that item, the last meeting in June for a presentation. I'm sorry, I missed that. One more time.

P3A to June.

P3A, move it to June. Sure. Thank you. And I'm sorry, I need to go back to the statement of conflict of interest. Are there any? Hearing none.

Hearing none.

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Mayor, before.

Deputy Lundy, I just want to let you know that I received the information needed for P11B, so it could remain on the consent. Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, okay. And I'm moving S3, consider amending Richmond Municipal Code chapter fireworks, and S4, recommending dedicating the literacy space in the Richmond Public Library to consent calendar.

Okay.

Should we second your, or you decide?

No, we're still pulling. Mr. Mayor, I spoke to staff as well, and for Q2, if we can hear that item for the next meeting, I just wanted to have some time to being able to, this is in regards to the HLMD, have some more time to being able to meet with staff. We haven't been able to meet the past couple of attempts, so just want to have a little more time on Q2.

I will not move Q2. Q2 needs to be heard. It's a timely issue.

Yeah, but it's moving into the future.

This has to be done by June 30th.

It's not. I'm not moving it. Why not?

I have one more just to complicate things.

I'm going to make a motion to move the Q2 to the next meeting because I need more time to speak with staff on that.

Yes, so there wasn't and I think you're just on those the consultant is here tonight, but I don't think you're actually you're saying to have it on a subsequent meeting for consideration. You're not actually approving it tonight. like there's a multi-step process for the lmds this is just like step one so tonight you all last year at the budget process you asked to hear from sc we retained sci consultants to give background on um the level of service city-wide that was what the council asked for like what is the city-wide service levels and then what is the service levels in these specific districts so we wanted to make sure before you adopted the budget right or have your in-depth budget discussion you got a chance to hear from the consultant so then because that was what the there was a great deal of concern about that in the last budget cycle so i just want to flag that if if after the presentation we're happy to continue to meet we just wanted to make sure to get that information to the council before you adopted the budget

JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR, THOUGH, TONIGHT'S ACTION APPROVES A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE REPORT ITSELF, BUT THEN SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING, AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A REGULARLY NOTICED PUBLIC HEARING FOR THAT ASSESSMENT. AND THAT'S BEEN NOTICED NOW FOR JUNE 23rd.

FOR THE MEETING ON JUNE 23rd?

OKAY. IS THAT HELPFUL?

YEAH, I STILL WANT TO MEET WITH STAFF BEFOREHAND.

Okay, and then you wanted to...

I wanted to discuss S3. I don't want to do it on consent.

Okay, well, I've moved it to consent. We'll have to vote if you want to not have it on consent. We'll need a motion and a second to not move it.

Okay, I'll make a motion to not move S3 to consent.

Do we have a second?

I second.

All right, let's take a vote.

Council Member Vanna? No. Council Member Brown?

No.

Council Member Jimenez? Yes. Council Member Wilson? Yes. Council Member Zepeda?

No.

Vice Mayor Robinson is absent. And Mayor Martinez?

No.

The motion fails with Council Members Jimenez and Wilson voting yes.

I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ONE DISCLAIMER. IT'S ASKED FOR 90 DAYS, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT STAFF WILL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HEAR IT WITHIN 90 DAYS. SO I HOPE THAT'S TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

IT WAS ACTUALLY A LOT SOONER AND STAFF SAID 90 DAYS SO THAT'S THE NUMBER THEY GAVE.

Okay. That was the number they gave when they thought they had more capacity. This was just last week. I know.

Things have changed.

Things have changed quickly. On Friday, we had a significant change, so we just need time to make sure the council has information in June on that. And then we also have the ALS polling that's taking place, so we need to stay on top of those two things that are extremely time-sensitive.

Sorry, I have one more correction under the city attorney's office p1a it needs to be continued to the June 16th meeting, please You have a reason

So city clerk, can you reiterate the changes?

Yes. So we have item P3A being continued to the June meeting. I believe that's going to be June 16. Yes. And then we have items S3 and S4 moving to the consent calendar on tonight's agenda. And then we have item P1A that's currently listed on the consent calendar. That will also be continued to the June 16th meeting. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO THE REPORT FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ON FINAL DECISIONS MADE DURING CLOSED SESSION.

GOOD EVENING. SINCE THERE WAS NO CLOSED SESSION TONIGHT, THERE'S NOTHING TO REPORT.

THE NEXT ITEM IS ITEM N1 UNDER COMMENDATION, I'M SORRY, EXCUSE ME, REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER.

KCRT, CAN YOU PLEASE PUT UP THE SLIDE DECK? GOOD EVENING, MAYOR MARTINEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, RICHMOND COMMUNITY, SHAWSA KURL, RICHMOND CITY MANAGER. AS A REMINDER, ALL OF THE ITEMS IN THIS REPORT CAN BE FOUND IN THE CITY'S WEEKLY REPORT OR BY CALLING THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AT 510-620-6512. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE. THIS IS OUR NEW SHIELDS REED PARK THAT IS ALMOST FINISHED. SO IT'S BEAUTIFUL. AND SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT UNDER PUBLIC WORKS WEEK. NEXT SLIDE. JUST A QUICK RECAP ON WE HAD THE 42nd ANNUAL SENIOR INFORMATION AND HEALTH FAIR ON MAY 20th. NEXT SLIDE. FROM 10 A.M. TO 1 P.M. IT'S ALWAYS A REALLY GREAT EVENT. I WANT TO THANK ALL THE CITY STAFF AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS volunteers and attendees who came out and received information to improve their health and wellness. This is a great event that we have hosted for now 42 years. It's really phenomenal that we're able to come together and support our seniors. Next slide. So last week on May 21st at Shields Reed Park, we honored Public Works with Public Works Appreciation Day. It was really an amazing event and I'm thankful that in this slide it does not show Chief Simmons and I on the zip line, but the zip line is just phenomenal. So we've already tried it out. We promise that it's safe. It's a lot of fun. Just make sure you put your feet up when you go. BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. THIS SORT OF PROJECT IS REALLY AN INDICATION OF ALL OF THE CITY COMING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT A PROJECT AND IN PARTICULAR WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE Janae living snipes who originally put forward the grant proposals to get this the funding moving and also want to thank Darcy who presented this evening for all her work actually moving this project forward and It's just a beautiful phenomenal best-in-class park and so we're beyond excited to have this new asset in our community and And in addition to renovating the entire park, there's a lot of improvements in terms of like the sidewalk upgrades and signage and things of that nature that are happening and lovely, beautiful public art. So this is a great testament to all departments coming together to support our community. And we're really excited for the official groundbreaking to take place in the coming weeks. Next slide. We want to make sure that everyone knows that Juneteenth will take place on June 20th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Nickel Park. This is going to be a great event in our community. It's an annual event. We will... In addition to honoring culture and history in Richmond, it's an opportunity for us as a community to get together. There's going to be live music and entertainment, local vendors, and cultural performances, food, arts, and crafts. This is an important event in our community and for the country. And I want to thank Michelle Milam and Deputy Chief Rico Recon for all their annual support in supporting the Juneteenth Committee. There's a committee of volunteers that puts this event together. The city, like with the 16 other community events, does provide some financial support, but this work happens via community committee and it is not led by the city. If anyone has questions regarding this event, you can call, you can email Michelle Milam at mmilam at richmondpd.net. She's always been working collaboratively with this committee for as long as I can remember and want to really thank and acknowledge her for making sure this rich cultural celebration continues. Next slide. And coming up, the Music on the Main is scheduled to kick off the first of a series of concerts will take place on June 18th from 5 to 7.30 p.m. at the lot. And so you'll have an opportunity to bring your friends and family to celebrate and hear Andre Theory and enjoy a lot of great food. Thank you so much and have a wonderful evening.

Mr. Mayor, if I may just clarify, I want to clarify that item P3A, the proclamation honoring the emergency of communications volunteers will go on the last meeting in June. I believe I misheard you. Okay. Thank you. Alrighty. So our next item is a proclamation item N1 honoring Abigail Sims Evelyn for her service and contributions to literacy and community uplift in Richmond. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE NOTE ALL OF THE SPONSORS FOR THIS ITEM, INCLUDING MAYOR MARTINEZ, COUNCIL MEMBERS BROWN AND COUNCIL MEMBERS GIMENEZ.

WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER FOR THIS ITEM.

IF YOU ARE JOINING US BY ZOOM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AT THIS TIME.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. I'm excited because this is a celebration of life. We are honoring Mrs. Abigail Sims Evelyn. And I would like first to thank the mayor for giving me the opportunity to say a few words. Mrs. Evelyn is near and dear to my heart. Tonight is a full circle moment for me. Years ago, I sat in the classroom of one of Mrs. Abigail Sims Evelyn's as one of her students, learning not only about academics, but also life lessons, discipline, compassion, perseverance, and actually taking me to attend my first city council meeting. I could have never imagined then that one day I would stand before her as a Richmond City Council member, honored with the opportunity to now today present her family with this proclamation. Many of us carry pieces of her guidance into our careers, our families, our leadership, and our service to others. It is both a privilege and an honor to recognize Ms. Evelyn's tonight amongst her family, friends, colleagues, former students, and all of those whose lives she has impacted through her fruitful years of service to our communities. So I'll read the proclamation. City of Richmond Proclamation honoring Abigail Sims Evelyn, Director, Richmond Literacy for Every Adult Program, LEAP. Whereas Abigail Sims Evelyn has served the Richmond community with unwavering compassion, leadership, and a profound belief in the power of literacy. And whereas through her role as Director of the Literacy for Every Adult Program, LEAP, Abigail devoted herself to opening doors for every learner who walked through the program's doors, believing wholeheartedly that reading is not only a skill, but a pathway to dignity, opportunity, and self-determination. And whereas Abigail taught and led with a spirit of kindness, patience, and love, offering encouragement to every student and inspiring her colleagues through her example. And whereas her tireless dedication uplifted not only the individual she taught, but also their families who felt the ripple effects of newfound confidence, knowledge, and possibility. And whereas her influence reached far beyond the classroom, enriching the entire Richmond community by championing the belief that literacy strengthens neighborhoods, empowers voices, and expands horizons. And whereas Abigail's lifelong commitment to helping others discover the joy of reading, open minds, built opportunities, and transformed countless lives.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the city of Richmond honors and celebrates Abigail Sims Evelyn for her extraordinary service, her compassionate leadership, and her enduring contributions to literacy, learning, and community uplift, and be it further proclaimed that the city of Richmond hereby ceremonially proclaims July 3rd as Abigail Sims Evelyn Day in recognition of her lasting impact on Richmond's learners, families, and broader community. So is there someone to receive this?

Yes, we're all family.

Yes, if anyone, everyone who's a part of the Sims family is welcome to come up, please. This is her beautiful daughter.

Thank you so much.

Please say a few words. Yes.

So sorry. True honor to be able to get this on behalf of my mom. She loved, loved, loved, loved dedicating her services to the city of Richmond where she grew up and what she believed and what... She just saw the potential and she saw the greatness that this city has to offer. And she would be smiling and be so grateful and thankful that you guys are honoring her because she truly loved you all. So I thank you.

Stay up here for a while. We need some photos. So bring the whole family. And I want to say that when I first met her, she made me feel so special that I thought, wow. But then when I saw that she did the same thing to everyone else, I thought, oh. She not only sees the specialness in me, but she sees the specialness in everyone. And that's what makes her such a great example of leadership. So I really, really appreciate who she is and who she will continue to be for the city of Richmond.

Thank you.

Thank you, everybody. I met Abigail through this work, and she was just like a guidance for me and really always making me understand the importance of the work of working with the community. She was a beautiful soul, and we are going to miss her. And Yvette is here also. Thank you so much because you also introduced me to Abigail and we became friends and we are going to miss her in the city.

Anyone else? Well, Abigail is speaking for all of us. So thank you. Thank you, everyone.

speakers yes and we have one in-person speaker for this item if you are joining us by zoom please raise your hand at this time cordial hendler you may begin so good evening mayor martinez council for the record i am cordial henley i'm a richard resident so i want to thank you mary martinez for this proclamation to because i knew abigail sims personally and she was a dear friend of mine so it's all I just couldn't believe how she impacted all of us. So I'll leave you with this quote from the Bible. In the book of 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 12, fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. She has done it. She has professed in all of us. So I've knew Abigail for a long time, and I said, She is smiling down right in heaven. So with that, think about she has overcome a lot for Richmond. So nice to see you again, Samaria. So it's an honor to know Abigail, and we're all going to miss her. So with that, that's pretty much it.

And now we'll move on to our Zoom speaker.

The Zoom speaker is Kevin Tisdale. Kevin, you may begin.

Thank you, Kevin Tisdale. Being with the city almost 20 years, being from Richmond, when you talk about leadership and not just in the importance of leadership and not, you know, being in a title, but actually taking care of those in your charge. She was about to work for the people. So we want to thank her and because education and reading is power. So thank her for transitioning so many into power. So with that, I rest.

Thank you. There are no more public speakers.

Thank you so much. Next item.

Next item is N2, a proclamation recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Richmond United Soccer Club, the oldest soccer organization in Richmond, and its multi-generational impact and role in crime reduction, pathways to career and educational opportunities, immigrant rights to support Richmond youth and families by providing access to safe, structured, extracurricular activities that have been shown to support positive youth outcomes, including improved physical health, academic engagement, and social emotional development in crime reduction, which led to the lowest homicide rates in the history of our city. We have four in-person speakers for this item. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

I just wanted to recognize the work that the Richmond United Soccer Club has done for our community, and especially Samantha Torres, who has been an incredible community leader, advocating for more spaces for the youth in Richmond, but particularly also the girls. I feel proud to say that my girl was part of the soccer team. And it's something that we need. And she continue advocating for more spaces, for more soccer fields, and supporting all of the young folks who you see here. So I want to read the proclamation. Proclamation recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Richmond United Soccer Club. whereas Richmond United Soccer Club was founded in 1995 and is celebrating 30 years of dedicated services to the youth and families of Richmond, and whereas Richmond United Soccer Club is the oldest soccer organization in the city of Richmond and has provided consistent, accessible, and quality soccer programming for generations of local families, and whereas As an all-volunteer community-based organization, the club has relied on the commitment and leadership of coaches, parents, and community members to sustain and grow its programs. And whereas Richmond United Soccer Club promotes youth development, teamwork, leadership, and healthy lifestyle through sports participation, and whereas the club has had a lasting multi-generational impact, serving as a positive and unifying force to uplift the youth and their family, thereby strengthening the fabric of the community with enrichment.

Now, therefore, Be it resolved that I, Mayor Eduardo Martinez, and the members of the Richmond City Council hereby present this proclamation on the 26th day of May, 2026, in recognition of this milestone 30th anniversary of the Richmond United Soccer Club and extends its appreciation for three decades of service, dedication, and positive impact on the community.

Thank you.

Thank you. I'm so honored to be receiving this on behalf of the Richmond United Soccer Club. I am standing on the shoulders of giants here, folks. I'm only a blip of the history of this organization in Richmond. And it's one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to serve my community through our youth and through soccer. But this is bigger than me. We need more opportunities for our youth. Time and time again, folks here in this body come here asking for support for our community, and we are one of the organizations that relies on this support, and we want to thank you for the investment, and we're asking for continued investment and consideration so that our organization may be able to serve 30 more years and many more generations of families here in Richmond. Thank you again.

Before we let other people speak, I want to do a promotional. The soccer club is doing FIFA viewings on the Red Oak Victory Ship. So we need to patronize the club and the Red Oak Victory Ship by attending as many soccer games as possible. So check your FIFA schedule, and we'll see you there.

Good afternoon, people. And I'm going to be talking about Richmond Soul. And I mean Richmond United. And so we're going to talk about why Richmond United is a good team. So Richmond United has been helping me since I joined the team and a lot of times. So I just want to say thank you for everybody that's been with me, my teammates, my coaches, everybody. And I just like soccer a lot that I already hope I have a bright future with soccer. And that's like almost anything.

Thank you.

OK. All right. Thank you, everyone.

And our four in-person speakers are Cordo Handler, followed by Anderson, Samantha Torres, and Tulio will be our last in-person speaker. Cordo Handler, you may begin.

So good evening, Mayor Martinez, Council. For the record, I am Cordo Handler, and I'm a Richmond resident. So congratulations on 30 years in the United States. But I do have a gift to celebrate on that. And let me quote the scripture again. In the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 21, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. And every time I be watching this soccer, this league exceed their expectations, I was like, wow, this is amazing. So keep on for another 30 years. So I'll still be around for another 30 years. So with that, I'll pass my time to the next speaker.

Next speaker is Anderson.

Good afternoon.

And I'm going to be talking about, again, soccer.

So Richmond United is a great team and we need like more soccer fields where we can practice and play and I hope that we can get more fields for Richmond so it can practice and new things and the park right over there. I wish we're gonna have that park and if any of your kids or family members are included to join a soccer team, you can just come to us and we can probably make his dream happen. That's all that I have to say today.

Good job. Next speaker is Samantha Torres.

To be fair, Richmond also needs fields. Good evening. My name's Samantha Torres. I'm here as the president of the Richmond United Soccer Club. I'm also a parent in the club and a volunteer coach. I want to thank, first of all, the council. I know it seems like there's not a lot of gratitude here, but we are very grateful to have the attention and the investment thus far into creating more opportunities for our community to play the sport. As a reminder, based on the 2010 master plan, the city of Richmond is supposed to have one soccer field for every 5,000 residents. The fields that are currently being built still don't meet those standards. And if we are going to be sincere about the way that we invest, following a master plan is one way we can do that. But I also want to remind you that the investment isn't the responsibility alone of the city of Richmond. We have partnerships with the East Bay Regional Parks District, we have partnerships with our school districts, and you have partnerships with nonprofits like us here who can support and fill in the gap for these needs for recreational uses. The McDonald mini-field project proposes exactly that, utilizing vacant government-owned land from the city of Richmond. Mind you, this has been vacant over a decade. We're asking for temporary activation. We're asking for support from the city to develop a proposal that would be acceptable and that will be able to go to you for approval. Thus far we've had a very difficult time actually getting city staff to work with us to present a proposal that is worthy of your time for reviewing. The investment is coming, right? We know Shields Read is up and running. We are chomping at the bits, folks. If you can't tell from these kids, we can't wait for that field. But more needs to be done, and we're asking to support. We're asking to be a part of it. Please consider the McDonald Minifield project. Please consider recommending staff to work with us. Thank you.

And our last in-person speaker is Tulia.

TULIO MERINO- TULIO MERINO- Thank you very much.

And that was our last speaker. We do not have any online speakers at this time. Next item is item N3, a proclamation recognizing May as National Bike Month and encouraging residents to participate in biking events. We have one in-person speaker for this item. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

One thing I like about proclamations is it gives us exercise. Well, at WPTAC, Yes, come on up. So Maria, downhill diva, has helped make bicycling more visible, welcoming, and inspiring in Richmond and across Contra Costa County. Through her energy advocacy and example, she reminds people that biking is not just recreation. It is transportation. wellness, community, and freedom. Her contributions to bike awareness have encouraged more residents to see cycling as something they can participate in, whether for health, connection, or simply the joy of moving through the city on two wheels. So I wish I had known you sooner. Yeah, so I'm going to read the proclamation, and if I'm wrong, tell me. But I don't think I am. Whereas the City of Richmond is dedicated to sustainability, health, equity, and economic development, whereas the bicycle is an economical, healthy, convenient, and environmentally sound form of transportation, an excellent tool for recreation and enjoyment of Richmond's scenic beauty, and a form of active transportation, the City of Richmond supports the increased use of bicycles as a preferred mode of commuting. And whereas, creating a bicycling-free, friendly community that has been shown to improve citizens' health, well-being, and quality of life, attracting tourism dollars, improving traffic safety, supporting student learning outcomes, and reducing pollution, congestion, and wear and tear on our streets and roads. And whereas, a bicycle and pedestrian action plan was approved by City Council in February 2023 with the goal of improving safe, efficient, and convenient bicycle and pedestrian travel within the city. And whereas throughout the month of May, the residents of Richmond and its visitors experienced the joys of bicycling through events such as Bike to Wherever Day and Self-Care Sunday Rides. And whereas 511 CCTA, the Richmond Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Bike East Bay, the city of Richmond, and many others promote bicycling during the month of May 2026, and whereas 511 CCTA has named Richmond resident Maria Downhill Diva Contra Costa County's Bike Champion of the Year. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City of Richmond City Council, on May 26, 2026, does hereby proclaim May as Bike Month in Richmond, California, in recognition of this city's commitment to sustainability, health and economic development, and the encouragement of bicycling as a form of active transportation. And this is my only opportunity to get a photograph with the downhill diva, so I would love to take advantage of it. Yes, please.

This one I have been... These people rode with me here. We're Bikes, Burgers, Brews. We ride El Cerrito every Tuesday. And so I subject them to this proclamation. But out of fun and the big thing out of this, as you can see, it's about community. It's beyond just two wheels. It's about community. I actually have been cycling for 15 years. And some of us just rode 100 miles from North Concord, Martinez to Livermore and back. Wow. together. And the week before that, I did a two-day climate ride in fight of climate justice. And that I did 44 miles in one day and 20 miles the next day with 4,000 feet of climbing. So Anyone can ride a bike. It's all accessible. If you have support, if you have encouragement, you have someone by your side from the back or the front or in between, we all support each other on this journey together. And without them, I wouldn't be here. They nominated me. But more importantly, I stand on the shoulders, as someone said earlier, of others. I'm not here alone. I did not do this alone. But I appreciate everyone being here to support me and championing more advocacy for bikes in different ways throughout the city of Richmond and as well as all over the Bay Area.

Thank you. I appreciate the work of everyone. My name is Sohey Labana. I'm a District 4 representative. I would like to invite everyone to my district to make it bikeable.

Corey already lives there. Danny has been there.

I invite you to come, take a look, help us. So in the future, hopefully we'll have districts for bikeable as well. Thank you so much.

All right. So is there anyone going to take a photograph of me and the diva?

All right.

Yeah. Come over here.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Thanks to all of you.

Maria, on your proclamation and it's like, it's amazing. I wanna thank Mayor Martinez for this honor for Maria and it's amazing because anybody can ride a bike. It don't matter what age you are, it's never too late to ride a bike, never, never. So with that, congratulations Maria on your award and that's pretty much it.

Thank you and that was our last in-person speaker and we do not have any online speakers at this time. Next item is item in for proclamation to declare the month of May 2026 as affordable housing month in the city of Richmond to draw attention to the ongoing housing affordability crisis in our region and to renew the city of Richmond's commitment to ensuring that all community members have safe, stable and affordable places to call home. We have two in-person speakers for this item. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

here thank you there is a lot of work that many organizations are doing around affordable housing and it's a need so this proclamation is to raise awareness of what people are doing in Richmond but also to make sure that we continue to advocating for affordability in the city of Richmond. So I will read the affordable housing month in the East Bay. Whereas each year, jurisdiction across the Bay Area issue proclamation declaring made as affordable housing month drawing attention to the ongoing housing affordability crisis in our region, and whereas after 42 years the East Bay Housing Organization proudly continues to champion affordable housing in the East Bay by fostering a racially and economically just community for all, as quality affordable homes are vital to creating healthy, safe, and racially just communities and whereas it hope members include.

Don't interrupt, please.

EPHOP members include many non-profits active in the city of Richmond. East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Community Housing Development Corporation, Eden Housing, Richmond Land, Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services had all CONSTRUCTED NUMEROUS DEED RESTRICTED AFFORDABLE HOMES AVAILABLE TO LOW INCOME RESIDENTS OF RICHMOND AND WHERE AS ED HOPE MEMBERS ORGANIZATION HOPE SOLUTION IS SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF RICHMOND TINY VILLAGE SPIRIT A COMMUNITY OF TINY HOMES PAIRED WITH SUPPORTED SERVICES DEDICATING TO HELP 18 TO 24 YEAR OLD RESIDENTS TRANSITION out of homeless, and whereas current inflation rates and increasing housing costs often result in long-time residents becoming displaced, living in overcrowded homes, or experiencing homelessness threatening the region, regions racial diversity and economic opportunity. And whereas in California, they are over 39,000 affordable homes ready to be built, but lacking the finances to be in construction, an $8-10 billion statewide bond has been proposed to find to fund the construction of these affordable homes. And whereas, for two years in a row, both the president and the governor of California had proposed budgets that dramatically cut funding for affordable housing, which is actualized, will reduce federal affordable housing assistance by 44%. And there are three more whereas, and I finished. Whereas the role of local governments and regional bodies has never been so critical in maintaining support for producing, preserving, and protecting affordable housing opportunities for low-income communities. And whereas the housing affordability crisis is a regional issue requiring regional solution and cooperation between local jurisdictions through the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority. And whereas solutions found through a stable and affordable housing can help to reduce and alleviate homelessness, support senior families, youth, veterans, immigrants, people with disabilities, and our whole community. Okay.

Therefore, Be it resolved that I, Eduardo Martinez, and the members of the Richmond City Council declare May 2026 as Affordable Housing Month, renewing the City of Richmond's commitment to work toward decisions that support affordable and stable housing at the local, regional, state, and federal levels in Richmond to help ensure that all community members have safe, stable, and affordable places to call home.

I have a speech. It won't take too long. I just didn't want to miss anything. Good evening. My name is Princess Robinson. I grew up here in Richmond attending Grant Elementary, Levine Dijon, Richmond High, and CC College. I'm now raising my kids here, so this is my home. I have many ties to Richmond and have built relationships with many of you council members for many years now, and I'm glad to be here with you all in this capacity. I've been advocating for alternative solutions towards a just transition for my community for over a decade now in Richmond and West County. And I'm here as a member of the East Bay Housing Organization. EDPO is a member-driven organization convening a diverse coalition that advocates to produce, preserve, and protect affordable housing opportunities for low-income communities here in the East Bay. Thank you, City of Richmond Council, for recognizing Affordable Housing Month and affirming your commitment to affordable housing. I am particularly happy to be able to receive this proclamation on EBHO's behalf as a native to Richmond and leading the first community land trust here in Richmond and West County called Richmond Land. We are a member-based organization that removes land and property from the market and holds into our trust for the long-term benefit of the community. And through my leadership, we have rebuilt our organization and have increased our capacity to scale our model here in Richmond. We were able to preserve and protect a triplex that holds two BIPOC households on the south side of Richmond that were facing displacement and investor speculation. We were also equitably awarded four former project-based housing duplexes in North Richmond to rehabilitate and redevelop into 12 CLT units through our flagship development project called the North Richmond Eco Village. Not only is our model leading a vision for community development, it is also creating permanent affordable home ownership opportunities. We prioritize our collective governance, movement building, and transformative real estate to provide an alternative housing solution to Richmond and West County. We doing something unique here, y'all. Richmond land maintains the ownership of the land while residents can rent, lease, and purchase homes at permanently affordable prices. And CLT homes are protected with resale restrictions that keep them affordable for future families while residents participate in leadership and decision-making to ensure that development reflects their priorities, their culture, their environment, and long-term neighborhood stability. It is very, very critical and important to keep our community in place. And the land trust, community land trust, is one of the many solutions out here. Last paragraph. This recognition is an honor and a privilege to serve our community with the long-term benefit, the Community Land Trust Model. It may be new to Richmond, but historically a model led by our black ancestors in the South to protect farmlands. Displacement can take many forms, so we're strengthening our model to protect our families, cultures, stories, and homes here in Richmond. On behalf of Richmond Land, We thank you, we thank the city council, and thank you all for celebrating Affordable Housing Month with us.

And we have two in-person speakers, Cordell Hendler, followed by Claudia Citron. Cordell, you may begin.

So good evening again, Mayor Martinez, Council. For the record, I am Cordell Hendler, and I'm a Richmond resident. So nice to see you again, Princess. And affordable housing is a critical matter, not only in Richmond, but also in West County. So congratulations on your award, and I will pass it to Claudia Citron.

Claudia Citron.

So why are there Sunday all these proclamations? You had all year time to have those proclamations. Now, two weeks before elections, you have them. It's almost an hour in. It's 8 o'clock. The council meeting started at 6 o'clock. What happened to Randy Jones and the 250K which were mismanaged? We never heard whether he paid them back or not. What happened? How about a little bit transparency there? So I just want to commend Princess for pulling the Richmond Land Trust around again. There's a lot of questions the community have which were not answered. I'm also complaining about traditionally all these proclamations are being read by all the council member. It's just, you know, it's a political stunt. It's just so embarrassing. So I'm gonna continue later on the same thing. There are priorities, budget, season, time, and you ponder around with things which would have happened before. Housing is so important. You had people here before in November, in December, January, saying they can't pay the utilities. These are real things, though it's not just kind of handshaking and looking pretty on photos, and I yield my time.

And that was our last in person speaker. We have one speaker joining us by zoom. Will move to our zoom speakers now.

No, actually this is speaker lower their hand.

OK, we have no more speakers.

Alright, then we'll move on to open forum for public comment.

Tonight open forum is an opportunity to address the City Council on items that remain on the consent calendar or items that are not on the agenda. As a reminder, item P1A was continued to the June 16th meeting. Item P3A was continued to the June 23rd meeting. And items S3 and S4 have been added to the consent calendar.

Excuse me. Before we go to open forum, I need to make sure I was I'm a little bit sick, and so I'm trying to stick with the meeting. But I need to make sure that it's clear that there's a conflict of interest in the consent calendar on item P5A for me. My partner, Najari Smith, is the executive director of Rich City, is a part of the grant application for Bach Med. And so I would be recusing myself from that. not participating in that vote.

So when it's time to vote on the consent calendar, we will vote for everything except for P5A. We will do a separate vote for P5A.

Okay. So again, a open form is an opportunity to address the council and items that remain on the consent calendar or items that are not on the agenda. I just mentioned the two items that have been removed or continued actually to a future meeting. Anyone joining us online that wishes to address the council, please raise your hand at this time to be counted. We have, okay, three hands by Zoom. During open forum, dialogue between the council and the speaker is prohibited. When your name is called and you are an online speaker, please be ready to unmute yourself to begin speaking. For speakers in the chambers, when your name is called, please come forward and line up behind the speaker podium closest to the wall. For safety reasons, all the aisles including the area behind the speaker's podium and staff presentation area must be clear. All speakers should state your name and your city of residence is optional. Please terminate your address to the council when your time expires. Tonight, we have a total of nine in-person speakers and four Zoom speakers. Each speaker would be allowed up to two minutes. The City of Richmond welcomes your comments and requests that you present your remarks in a respectful and appropriate manner within the established two-minute time limit. The first group of speakers are Chief Tim Simmons, followed by Cordell Hindler, Claudia Citrion, Antoine Claude, Janice Haugen, Julie Freestone, Corey Riley, Mark Wasberg. And the last in-person speaker will be Nancy Powell. Chief, you may begin.

Good evening, honorable mayor and city council. I just want to take a moment. My name is Tim Simmons, chief of police, city of Richmond, to really acknowledge the work that was done out Shields Reed Park. I went out there for the grand opening and I was absolutely JUST BLOWN AWAY. IT IS A WORLD CLASS PARK AND ALL OF THE PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEES, THE CITY MANAGER, THE COUNCIL, ANYBODY THAT HAD PUT THEIR HANDS ON THAT PROJECT, I JUST WANT TO SAY IT WAS OUTSTANDING. I WISH THE YOUNG CHILDREN WERE STILL HERE FOR THE SOCCER TEAM. THAT SOCCER FIELD IS A WORLD CLASS SOCCER FIELD. And I was just, I'm speaking because I was absolutely stunned. I've spent years in that area, 20 years in law enforcement, and knowing that area, coming as a kid to Richmond, knowing that area, and never in a million years would I have envisioned the transformation of that space and the life that that park has brought to a community. After the grand opening, my wife came into town on BART. I went and picked her up. She had an appointment here in Richmond. Before I could even take her to the appointment, I'm like, you need to go see. And I drove her up to the park and drove her around. And I'm like, look at this. This is amazing. This is truly amazing. And I went back up the next day, walked through the park, and talked to some of the residents that live around there, talked to one lady. She's in tears talking about the fact that she just never imagined. Unfortunately, her kids are growing now, but she's with her nephews and her nieces, having family time. Everything about that park, everything screams excellence. And I just want to commend anybody and everybody Because I don't even know who all had involvement in that. But I'm telling you, absolute transformation, absolute community transformation, big, huge difference. And I just really want folks that had their hands in that to whether it was the decision making, planning, public works, whatever the case might be, to just know job well done. And from a totally different kind of lens of looking at it, I'm telling you it transformed that whole space. And I'll end my time. That's over already.

Next speaker is Cordell Hendler.

For the record, I am shocked that I was first up. So I'll let that slide. Richfield. You got to get it earlier. Can I get my time back, please? Thank you. I'll forgive you this time, Tim. So good evening, Mayor Martinez. Council, for the record, I am Cordell Hendler, and I have wanted to thank the mayor and the rest of the council members for these proclamations regarding Juneteenth. And for the record, a well-known singer will be at Juneteenth on the 20th. So if everybody remembers the 90s, John B. will be in attendance. So I just want to put that on the record. But I do have a poem as far as like Pride Month in June. So here it is. Actually, it's a Bible verse. John 15, verse 13. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, or bi. It doesn't matter. We are all human beings. We should be treated fair. It doesn't matter. We are here to stay. So it doesn't matter. I am trying to be an example to my nieces and nephews. They love their uncle, me. And I'm trying to explain to them that it's like, we have to love everybody. It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, or bi. It doesn't matter. We have to show some love. It doesn't matter. We are not going nowhere. So gay is here to stay. So with that, thank you, Mayor Martinez, counsel for these proclamations. And I will be at Juneteenth on the 20th. So amen.

Next speaker is Claudia Citron.

Okay, now some German love. Council meetings are increasingly ineffective because critical city business, especially budget oversight and public safety, is displaced by political grandstanding, repetitive testimony, and commentary from out of town residents. We expect serious deliberation on how taxpayer funds are spent, how essential services are funded, and how the city addresses crime, homelessness, infrastructure failure, and economic instability. Instead, meetings are dominated by ideological activism unrelated of Richmond immediate operational needs. Public participation and transparency are essential, but the council has legal and fiduciary duty to conduct efficient and functional meetings, poor agenda management every beginning of the hour, last time it was 30 minutes, repetitive public comments, routine delay, meaningful budget reviews and policy analysis until late night when residents are exhausted and public oversight is diminished. Residents who live here pay taxes and bear the consequences of the council's decisions deserve governments, not political theater. I urge the council to implement stronger time management, especially at the beginning of meetings, and prioritize residents' input on local matters and maintain focus on the city's core responsibility, which is budget, budget, budget, budget. And particularly the next couple of meetings is public safety, city service, and fiscal stability and not more proclamations which one person reads. I yield my time.

Next speaker is Antoine Claude followed by Janice Haugen.

Antoine Claude, long time Mr. President.

Am I good?

Yes. All right. I can't follow instructions. Antoine Clark, longtime Richmond resident. It baffles me how God works. I came in here last week and told y'all about educating our community around plume clouds. Y'all remember that? I mean, King told y'all about that. And guess what happened in Orange County? They're still going on right now. A potential plume cloud. And they told them people evacuate. 40,000 people had to evacuate and they were all getting goofy. You should have seen them on TV. Oh, I got to move, I got to leave. They trying to save your life and you trying to stay at home? No, it's a way to do it. Enrichment. And Richmond, I'm gonna tell y'all again, y'all sitting there playing with me right now, y'all looking down, I'm being serious. Our community doesn't have a hospital. Our community doesn't have an infrastructure for a tragedy, emergency happen here. And if we don't educate our people who live, work, and play here, I ain't talking about Chevron, I'm talking about L'Oreal, that battery plant, Sims Meadow, all these entities can cause a problem. And if we don't get ready, we're going to be in trouble. And I'm asking this city council to come sit with me. I got a plan already written out, budget out, and everything to touch every resident in business in this community to inform and educate and train our community how to help one another just in case that alarm goes off right now. Because if you stay ready, you ain't never got to get ready. Don't get ready when it happens. We got to do what they call preventive measures just in case that our kids know what to do while they're in school. These bike riders that you see riding these bikes know what to do. All these people you see coming in here, something happening? Chevron guy, Chevron, y'all be talking about Chevron. No, it's bigger than that. It's bigger than that. We are surrounded by refineries. And none of them got this. Let us be the future. of how we deal with businesses that come here and make sure that our people are safe.

Thank you very much. Next speaker is Janice Hogan followed by Julie Freestone.

Good evening, my name is Janice Haugan and I live in Richmond. The word fireworks can mean different things. Safe and sane fireworks such as sparklers are illegal in our county, but the illegal fireworks that I'm concerned about are the ones Richmond's ordinance defines as dangerous, such as aerial fireworks and M80s. I hope that Richmond's new amended ordinance will have separate fine tiers for safe and sane versus dangerous, because it would be ridiculous to fine someone $1,000 for using a sparkler. As a reminder, fireworks fines are administrative, not criminal. They will never go on a violator's criminal record, require jail time, nor tie up the criminal court system. Regarding enforcement, you often hear that the police cannot catch violators. That's no longer true in Richmond. Last summer, using drones as first responders, over a dozen violators were cited and over $10,000 worth of fireworks was seized. The problem is that Richmond's current fine for a first time offense is only $250. A violator could discharge dozens, even hundreds of fireworks, and that's the highest fine they could get. It's not enough of a deterrent. The fines need to be significantly higher and be per device discharged. Regarding host liability, it's part of Contra Costa counties and the nearby cities of San Pablo's and Pinal's ordinances. Here are three examples of it. I reserve a picnic area in a park. My friend at the picnic shoots off fireworks. I would be held liable as the host unless I called the police to report them. Example number two, I have a party at a house I own. My guests get caught hauling a pallet of fireworks from the garage out to the street. I would also be liable even if I didn't touch the fireworks. Example number three, say I'm a landlord. I would make sure that the lease agreement included illegal activities such as fireworks possession or activity was caused for eviction and the tenant would be responsible for any administrative fines levied against the property. Thank you very much.

Next speaker is Julie Freestone, followed by Corey Riley. Julie.

I'm Julie Freestone. I have lived in Richmond for almost four decades. I've spoken over the years on a number of different issues, and I sincerely hope that fireworks will be controlled, and I can come talk about something else soon. I'm a member of the grassroots Richmond group Stop Illegal Fireworks. Last year, we worked with the city police department, fire department, and public works to make sure everyone in Richmond knew that fireworks are illegal. The police stepped up enforcement. Thank you, Captain Lopez. And our survey after July 4th last year reported people felt we had made a dent in reducing the noise and danger, and we still have a lot more work to do. We are delighted to see the City Council stepping up, and all of you, practically all of you here, have done something already. It's great. And this is especially important now for a couple of reasons. First, The city of San Pablo has increased fines for use of illegal fireworks. That means that people in our neighboring city can come here because they see it's a safer, cheaper place to celebrate. That's not okay, and illegal fireworks is not a way to celebrate either. That message should be clear. So we hope the council will not only ask staff to draft changes to the ordinance, but keep discussing this issue and take an active role in letting your constituents know what the consequences are for breaking the law. So soon you will see a rollout of the city's public information campaign, and all of us have a role to play in helping. There will be signs soon for people to pick up to put in their windows and on their lawns, letting people know that fireworks are illegal. There'll be a public service announcement. So I ask you, all of you out there listening and the city council, join us. Visit the city's website. Visit stopillegalfireworksrichmond.org website. And together, hopefully, we can have a safe and quiet July 4th. Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Corey Riley, followed by Mark Wasberg. Corey, you may begin.

Good evening, Mayor Martinez, City Council, everyone in attendance and watching. I just wanted to let everyone know about 511 CCTA's programs that are here for supporting clean commutes. So we have a number of different incentive programs that are all aimed at encouraging people to take transit, carpool, bike to work, or college. One of our programs is our tri-transit program where we offer people free preloaded $25 clipper cards. just to give transit a try instead of driving to work. And now, just as of this week, we're able to preload people's existing accounts. If you have one of the new Clipper accounts, including also using the Clipper app, you can apply on our website, and we can load you with $25 just to get you going on transit, especially if you haven't used transit in, say, over a year. If you could use a little encouragement, we'll give you that $25 just to get you started again. We also have a lot of other incentives, such as a week free on the Richmond Ferry, a week free on the Transbay bus line that AC Transit provides. We also have our Guaranteed Ride Home program. So if you do use transit or carpool to work and there's an emergency, we can reimburse you for Uber, Lyft, or taxi rides home. up to six times a year in case of emergencies. So I encourage everyone to just go check out our website. And please, if you know any commuters, and I'm sure you all do, please let them know about our programs. Our website is 511cc.org. That's 511cc.org. I appreciate it.

Thank you. Next speaker is Mark Wassberg, followed by our last in-person speaker, Nancy Powell.

I got an email from Tom Butt. It says Communist Manifesto Campaign Breakfast. It has your name on it. All for you. Excuse me. You are not supposed to talk about campaigning. I'm not campaigning. I'm talking about the breakfast. Okay. I'm talking about the breakfast. I got an email from Tom, but said that you went to a communist breakfast with the communist party, the democratic socialist communist party that you people belong to. All right. It's all about the breakfast. See, look, look people. This is what Tom Budd emailed me, all right? He says that he has a little sickle on there, got a pancake with a little sickle on there, and he says that you went to the breakfast, and you were a member of the Communist Party. Well, we know Aguado went to Detroit to praise Hamas. We all know that. See, this is why the RPA is split on this here. I mean, this is serious stuff. I mean, you take a note to the Constitution, and yet you support communism and terrorism. You support illegal immigrants. You're supporting everything that America's for. I said, you're against everything what America's for, right? We all know what you believe in, so you all stick together, just like a little clan there, because you guys are a bunch of commies. That's what... Tall butt wouldn't lie about it, right? Hey, this is going to be great on Thursday night when I present this at the debate. This is going to be real good, right? And we're going to have some fun with this because we all know what you stand for. I said, you hate America. I said, you stop the police checkpoints. Yeah, I said... I said you defunded the police so much that the district attorneys investigated you. You're against everything that America stands for. This is going to be real interesting. Let's see what happens on Thursday night.

Your time has expired. Thank you. And the last in-person speaker is Nancy Powell.

I don't know how to follow that. My name is Nancy Powell. I've been a homeowner in the north and east section for about nine years. Over those years, probably the main health and safety issue for me has been illegal fireworks. Some years, maybe three years ago, around 4th of July, it was like a week or 10-day process of living in a you know, fire zone. I don't wanna denigrate people actually suffering real life harm in fire zones, but it was horrific. Thankfully we're getting, we're making some progress and I'm here to second what was, what the prior speakers on this issue mentioned, to increase the fine, to enforce, to work with the, I'm here to ask that the police step up to the extent possible enforcement perhaps by looking at where complaints have come in in prior years. I know when I tried finally to call on some either New Year's or 4th of July a couple of a year or two ago I couldn't get through and I think it was just the general 911 number if I recall so I would ask if possible to dedicate another line to help citizens report so that perhaps police could come in through drones or actual patrolling to surveil the area. I know it's a hard task to enforce, but I appreciate that we're moving in the right direction with this through increasing the fine to $1,000, working with local jurisdictions, and trying to stop the influx of illegal fireworks from out of state. All of that would be greatly appreciated. I think the more impunity there is for people who engage in setting off the explosives, the illegal fireworks, the more sense of impunity there is for other crimes like speeding, reckless driving. Your time has expired. Thank you. Donuts.

Thank you. And now we'll move on to our online speakers.

The speakers are Carlos Juarez, Joanna Gurdian, Zee, and Ben Terrio. Carlos, you may begin. You will each have up to two minutes to address the council.

Dear Mayor Martinez, Vice Mayor Robinson, and members of the City Council, my name is Carlos Juarez, and I'm a resident at 2200 Nevin Avenue. I'm speaking today on behalf of residents from both the low-income family housing buildings at 2200 Nevin and the senior house building at 2100 Nevin, as well as the nearby businesses and neighbors who have been dealing with an ongoing parking crisis for the past three years. Our neighborhood faces extremely limited parking, yet residents are heavily impacted by strict two-hour parking limits and street sweeping schedules that all occur at the same time. Mondays at 4 a.m. on Navin, 22nd, 23rd, McDonnell Avenue, and nearby streets. This creates a domino effect where residents have nowhere to move their cars to avoid tickets. Many of us residents are low-income family, seniors, and working people who rely on the vehicle for work, medical appointments, groceries, and daily life. The current system feels unfair because residents continue receiving tickets while being given no realistic alternatives for parking. I have personally paid over $300 in parking tickets, and I currently have a petition signed by more than 30 neighbors, business owners, and workers from the neighborhood who have been impacted by this issue. We're asking the city to take three actions. First, extend the existing residential permanent parking program already used on other parts of Nevin Avenue. Second, adjust the street sweeping schedule and times so residents actually have parking options during enforcement hours. And three, provide relief by canceling active parking citations related to these enforcement issues and investing those funds back to free or accessible residential parking permits for affected residents. We also invite Councilmember Jimmy Lear-Brown and any interested Councilmembers to walk through the neighborhood with residents so we could discuss about future

Thank you. Your time has expired. The next speaker is Joanna Gurdian. Joanna, you may begin.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is Jenna Gurdian, and I'm here to support the request from your constituents. It doesn't take much but a stroll just three blocks from where you're all currently sitting to see the harm that inaction causes. Due to construction of the terraces at Nevin Apartments, the city has not updated the street sweeping schedule, treating this area like it's still a commercial corridor. Now, Nevin Avenue has over 200 units of affordable housing, and that's not counting the housing that was already here. How can people enjoy being at home, having a day off, having visitors when they're constantly worried about being ticketed for parking on 23rd Street? The parking enforcement department starts marking cars as early as 8 a.m. and will not stop until well into the evening. I support the demands outlined in the letter. One, to ensure... that you create alignment in the existing residential permit zone. There is currently an existing residential parking permit zone on Nevin as we speak from 21st to 19th Avenue. There is already a once a month street sweeping schedule. We're confused as to why this schedule has not been extended down towards 24th Street. Second, again, requesting that you all adjust the sweeping times and days. It doesn't make sense why part of Nevin Avenue is still currently being swept every single Monday at 4 a.m., again, with little to nowhere for people to go because the street sweeping schedule is the same for all of the neighboring blocks. And the third request is for you all to provide restitution and relief. Again, that all active parking tickets given to residents of these buildings, neighboring businesses, and homes relating to street sweeping enforcement, two-hour parking, and red curb citations are canceled immediately. Again, we demand that these funds collected from residents of both of these buildings and neighboring homes and businesses over the past three years be used to provide residents with a free parking permit for the two-hour zones. Again, if you want to find solutions that are equitable, you must be in contact with the people that are most harmed by these issues. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Zee. If you could please provide your complete name for the record and you may begin.

My name is LZ Zephyr and I am a 27-year resident of Richmond. I would like to speak to the illegal fireworks. As we all know, 4th of July is right around the corner. I know that RPD is understaffed and can get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of calls that happen during this holiday. That being said, I would like to have the council take the issue of firework mitigation seriously. A warning does nothing if it can't be enforced. Thousands of people are affected negatively by the barrage of fireworks weeks before the 4th of July and for weeks after the 4th of July. I have seen my dog shake and shiver uncontrollably every time some idiot shoots off a barrage of fireworks just during the course of the day. There needs to be enforced ramifications for those who act as though the overall community doesn't matter. Warnings without enforcement are meaningless. This has gone on for six years, six years since COVID. It's time to look at what other cities are doing to mitigate this behavior. City council members were elected to lead, and the continuation of condoning behavior that is bottom line illegal is not a demonstration of good leadership. You up there set the tone. I ask all of you to do better for the entire community and not just for the field. I yield my time.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Ben Theriault.

Ben, you may begin.

Ben, please unmute yourself and you may begin.

Thank you. Ben Theriault, President of the Richmond Police Officers Association. Since this council's decision to defund the police department, our members have observed the consequences and we've lost officers to surrounding agencies and we've operated below our authorized strength for years. We have backfilled vacancies with overtime, mutual aid, and the personal time officers who stayed over. on assignments. And the POA has been at the bargaining table with the city since March 27, 2025. We have been out of contract since July 1, 2025, nearly a year without a successor agreement. And throughout that same period, the council has continued to direct staff to expand programs, host events, launch initiatives that rely on the same shrinking pool of officers to execute on overtime, including things like fireworks that I heard a bunch tonight. Going forward, the POA is not going to encourage members to fill discretionary counsel or manager-initiated overtime requests that fall outside of core public safety operations. It's not a job action. It's a recognition of three facts. First, voluntary means voluntary. And after six years of doing more with less and nearly a year out of contract, our members are exhausted and tired. Second, the city cannot defund a department, refuse to bargain competitively to rebuild it, and then expect the remaining officers to subsidize political programming on their days off. Third, every overtime hour spent on discretionary counsel requests is an hour not spent on patrol investigations or recovery with family. And Richmond residents pay that bill. This is why the RPA submitted a ballot proposal this week. And let me be clear about the number behind it. 187 sworn officer positions. That is not a POA wish list. That is the city staffing level, the city's own reports, its workload analysis, its staffing studies and public safety planning documents have justified and the Contra Costa Civil Grand Jury have justified as needing for Richmond's needs. We're not asking the council to take our word for it. We're ready to ask the voters.

Thank you. That was our last public speaker.

All right, then we'll move on to consent calendar. I would like to start off by doing P5A separately.

I, point of order, I have a question for the city attorney. I came today prepared to discuss S3 and I did research that shows that raising fines does not deter behavior, but it does increase It creates hunger and housing instability on the people who are unfortunate enough to get hit with those fines. But it doesn't actually cut back on the overall usage of fireworks. So I'm not going to have a chance to discuss that tonight. And in my conscience, I can't vote yes on this consent calendar item. Does that mean I have to vote no on the whole consent calendar tonight?

We've had situations in the past where we would reflect in the record or on the resolution that you voted no on an item. Correct. All right. So we want to start with the vote for item P5A, which is a recusal that will include a recusal from Vice Mayor Robbins. And would you like for me to read that item into the record so folks will know what it is? Item P5A is, I'll just read the title, is to submit applications for Bay Area air quality management district grant programs.

Okay. So I move the item. Do I have a second?

I second it.

Okay.

Okay. So we have a motion by Martinez and that was a second by Jimenez. Council Member Bonner? Yes. Council Member Brown? Yes. Council Member Jimenez? Yes. Council Member Wilson? Yes. Council Member Zepeda?

Yes.

And Vice Mayor Robinson is recused. And Mayor Martinez? Yes. And the motion passes with Council Member Roth, Vice Mayor, recusing herself. All right. And so now the approval of the other remaining items on the consent calendar. As a reminder, it will include items S3 and S4, which have been added. S3 was to consider amending Richmond Municipal Code Chapter 11.05, entitled Fireworks. Item S4, also added to the consent calendar, recommend dedicating a literacy space to the Richmond Public Library in honor of Abigail Sims Evelyn. We will also be excluding items P1A which is a contract with Thompson Reuters Enterprise for legal research subscription services and it will also exclude item P3A honoring the Richmond Emergency Communications volunteers for their leadership and service celebrating THE INSTALLATION OF THE CITY HALL EMERGENCY ANTANA AND DECLARING APRIL 30TH, 2026 AS RICHMOND EMERGENCY COMMUNITIES VOLUNTEER. THAT ITEM P3A WILL BE CONTINUED TO THE LAST MEETING IN JUNE, JUNE 24. ITEM P1A WILL BE CONTINUED TO THE JUNE 16TH AGENDA. ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE A MOTION?

I MOVE THE ITEM.

MOTION BY MARTINEZ. SECOND.

I SECOND.

SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN. COUNCIL MEMBER BANA. Yes. Council Member Brown?

Yes.

Council Member Jimenez? Yes. Council Member Wilson?

I vote no on S3 and yes on everything else. Okay.

No on S3 and yes on everything else. Council Member Zepeda?

Yes.

And Vice Mayor Robinson? Yes. With the exception of Item P5. And Mayor Martinez?

Yes.

The motion passes unanimously with Councilmember Wilson voting no on item S3. All right. Moving on to the next item. All right. Next item, item Q1. is to adopt a resolution approving the engineer's report for fiscal year 2026-27 for the Marina Bay Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District, declaring the City Council's intention to increase the annual assessment in the MDBLM&D and setting a public hearing about the proposed increased assessment on June 23, 2026 at 6 o'clock p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 440 Civic Center Plaza in Richmond. We have one in person speaker. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

Good evening, Mayor Martinez, city council members, for the record, Daniel Chavarria, public works director. With me today, Mr. John Bliss from SCI Consulting Group, Mr. Jason Lacey, our parks and open space maintenance superintendent, and online, joining us online is Samantha Levitin from Wilden Financial Services. We're gonna discuss or present the Preliminary Engineers Report and intent to levy assessment for the Marina Bay Landscape and Lighting Maintenance District. But before we move forward with that one, we have a presentation. to discuss a little bit about levels of service and how they compare between the general fund and the different districts. This is a topic that since I've been the public works director and now city engineer, it's been coming every budget season, extending the hours that we stay in this meeting and going in circles and never get to common ground. The idea is that this year, 2026, we can leave this In the past, we get to a resolution and bring these items, like tonight, Q1 and Q2, on consent moving forward because that's where they belong. In any other city in California, that's where they belong. And the one that you discuss is the public hearing that is going to happen on June 23rd. That one is going to be on public hearing. Today is just the intent. to levy the district. So with that, I'm gonna ask Jason, who we're very glad to have in the team, to start our presentation with John, and then we'll pass it to Samantha online. We're gonna have the specific presentation later about the Marina District.

Thank you, Daniel. For the record, Jason Lacy, Parks and Landscape Superintendent. Good evening, Mayor, council members. Is that a little bit better? All right. So this evening, with the first meeting and this meeting, the continuation into this meeting, you've heard a lot of the city's best staff, brightest folks that we have, and I can guarantee you this is gonna be the most exciting that you've heard all night so far. So it's very similar to what Chief Osorio said. I've been here about a year and a half. A lot of the work when I got here was writing the ship. It was evaluating our current operations, assessing what we had, what we were responsible for, how we were doing it. And so there was a lot of work put into... cleaning that up, making some hard changes, simple house cleaning, the way that we organized our equipment and with the way we stored it at the yard, things like that, the way that we parked our trucks. There was just a lot of things that went into just getting the house organized, if you will. Next slide, please. So everyone has asked on different occasions, and it's very curious about the service across the parks. So what I would like to open up, kind of pull the curtains back and show everyone what goes into the makeup of our service, right? So on the slide, you'll see basically there's five different categories, if you will. And so we'll start to the upper left, that's staff. So we obviously have our staff. We have our skills, our classification, their experience, their availability, and vacancies. Going down to the bottom, equipment. So it's the equipment availability, the operator to run it, its capacity. Is it the right piece of equipment? The condition. And then is it task appropriate? Moving along the bottom to the right, that's materials and supplies. Do we have the available material that we need? What's the procurement lead time? Do we have the task appropriate material? Do we have the standards and compatible pieces to go into our systems? And then the storage and handling. If we move up a little bit to the next one, that's our backup and resiliency. What that is is just what it is. One rainy day, one call out, certain disruptors. We didn't have a very deep bench, if you will. And so building those resiliency backup plans, that goes into our operational capacity. The top one are means and methods. So we have regulatory. Regulatory is very important. It's just one word, right? But it goes into the depth of what we do and how we do things. That's prescribed often. So we have the planned intensity, site conditions, frequency, safety, and productivity. All of those things go in to build our operational capacity. Next slide, please. Next slide, please. So we have our operational capacity built from the last slide. Then that is distributed. We have 54 parks, 160 acres of very high severity zones. We have 500 trash receptacles, 22,000 trees, 70 acres of streetscape. That's our right-of-way areas, our medians. And we have two LMDs. I'm sorry, landscape maintenance districts. Next slide, please. So in the first year, part of that observation and gaining information period, it was very apparent that we needed to establish kind of our baseline. And baseline is we introduced our core pillars. And our core pillars are objectives. It's a way of life. It's how we travel in parks. And we have a priority sequence. And it's safe. clean, operational, maintained, and that will lead to inviting. So this has been... taught to our staff. We ask them to carry these pillars with them in everything they do as they go through their day. It's not just when they show up on site. It starts when they get to a piece of equipment, when they enter a vehicle, when they drive across the city. If they see something that's not safe, it's unclean, not operational, we respond to it. Next slide, please. So the next, I'll introduce the framework of our level of service. So the level of service is the frequency the task, and the detail. So frequency, obviously, is how often the work is performed. Is that daily? Is it weekly, biweekly, and so on? The task is the work to be completed. What is it that we're doing? Mowing, pruning, litter removal. Then the detail. That's the intensity. That is what we entail to do. Is it a quick pass? Is it moderate? Or is it high detail and polished? So those components basically delivers our level of service. Next slide, please. So how do these fit together? So we have our operational capacity, right? We have all of our people, all of our products, how we do things. It goes across into our distribution. That's our framework of our park system citywide, plus our two landscape maintenance districts. And our core pillars are always at work, right? And so Our core pillars roll in because we can have a little bit of disruption, if you will. It's a positive and a negative. But ultimately, it's delivering a higher level of service. Next slide, please. So along the framework, this is the levels of service that we've established. The first one to the left is level service one. That's the enhanced level. It's manicured. So our core pillars at the level service one, we're achieving safe, clean, operational, maintained, and ultimately inviting. The middle slide is the level service two. We have functional, operational, safe, cleaned. And so that, we're achieving safe, clean, operational. The last blue box there is level service three. That's addressing safety and ongoing cleaning. You'll see the LMD 1.5 in the yellow in between the level service one and the level service two. You'll see the city 2.5 in between level service two and level service three. We've identified ourselves as being established at these levels. And so that is, again, citywide, it is always in flux. When we go and we maintain an area, when we walk away, they may be at that level. However, as time goes on and the parks and the open spaces are used, obviously those decline until we get back to that area. So level service one, I'm going to take mowing the turf. Mowing the lawn is an example, level service one. It's weekly or more frequent mowing. It's manicured in appearance, rotating patterns, clean to fine edged, and there's no debris left behind. You don't see any decline. It doesn't ever look shaggy. It's always high and tight. I would say think country club. It's always maintained. Level service 2, the frequency for mowing is 10 to 14 days. Maintained height at a 2 to 5. You will start to see it in between service. It'll start to get a little bit shaggy. Basic edging and some clippings may be left behind. Level service three, again, at the mowing, mowing is on extended or as needed, functional height, two to three inches, minimal edging or trimming, and clippings and debris typically remain on site. Next slide, please. So with all that laid out, we do have disruptors. We can have the best laid plans, the best intent, have all of our operational capacity in place, and roll out to go and perform our work, and we get Interrupted, disruptors. For staff, we often get redirected to other tasks. We have vacancies, absences, missing skill sets. And that's what we are rebuilding. The equipment, is it being used by someone else, breakdowns, or not in the fleet? task. New parks, they need to be maintained at a higher level. So changes to our routine, seasonal influence as far as the weather is also a disrupter. If we move over to the materials, the availability obviously, the long procurement, purchase lead time that we have, and then oftentimes we need to come to you folks and ask for approval. The resources, our inventory and data lacks sometimes. Those can be disruptors for us. Our standards and guidelines sometimes are not clear for us. Our on-call services and on-call contractors are not easily reachable for us oftentimes. Disruptors are the older parks. There's a crossing point that maintenance will only get us so far. When a park is aged out and the infrastructure is worn out, there's not really any level of maintenance that we can provide that's going to rehab that park. It needs to have a rehab through a CIP. So our high deferred maintenance, we've put a lot of our work off for a long time. Disruption, regulation and policy, that is a disruptor for us. That goes back into how efficient we are. For instance, the high severity fire zones, that work is prescribed. We cannot make up our own rules on what we do there. The frequency is dictated. The task is dictated, and so are the level of details. Our parks are highly utilized, and along that vein, I think we need to acknowledge that our parks sometimes are... vandalized, damaged, and it's an unfortunate part of what exists here. But if we get back to our core pillars, if we have staff respond and they're going out to a park to perform Weeding, they're going to go out and trim. And if they show up and they see a situation that is unsafe, they're going to take care of that issue first. If it's a biohaz, anything, broken glass, they're going to respond to that first. Then they're going to go to clean. They're going to address that first. So that time allotment is consumed by taking care of those two issues, which was produced by a disruptor, like a misuse of our park. So you could see where it's tough for us to always get to the very end of maintained and ultimately inviting. Next slide. So these areas are some of the things that we've internally worked on. trying to eliminate some of the disruptors. So we're planning ahead with our staff. Our equipment, we're building redundancy. We have a fleet is up and running, and we are procuring vehicles and the appropriate equipment. Some of you have heard we invested into some remote mowers that are extremely efficient. and our task. We're introducing rationale data to our task, and we're adding logistics to it also. The face of that looks like We're scheduling our work to be efficient. So we're not jumping from park to park. So we go in sequence so less time is wasted. The materials and supplies, we're always actively working on RFPs to get the procurement pieces in place for us. We're establishing the foundation for us. The inventory of the assets and the condition assessment, that's going to be huge for us. We have the urban forest management plan, which we're going to COMPLETE THE CITYWIDE TREE INVENTORY. AND THEN THE MEANS AND METHODS. MAKING KEY IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS THE SOLAR LIGHTING, THAT'S GOING TO HELP US. STRATEGICALLY TACKLING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, HAVING EXECUTED CONTRACTS, ALL OF THOSE ARE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN TO SLOW DOWN THE DISRUPTORS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AT THIS POINT I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO JOHN TO DISCUSS THE LMD FURTHER.

Good evening. Thank you, Jason. Good evening, Mayor Martinez, members of the city council, staff, members of the public. My name's John Bliss, and I'm an engineer under contract with the city focusing on Hilltop, which you're going to hear a little bit later, and then also providing broadly some services to look at the landscaping and lighting maintenance districts here in Richmond. I've been given the task tonight to help demystify these things called landscape maintenance districts. They're a type of assessment district so that in future years you all can focus on service levels and rates and that type of thing. So there's a couple of things I'm going to go over today to provide you some background on what is an LMD, what is an assessment district, how is it formed, and what are some of the idiosyncrasies that you all need to evaluate. And we're happy to talk. We'll give you the presentation, answer any questions you have tonight, and then we're happy to meet and give you additional information in the future. So actually, this is one of the two. This is Hilltop Landscape Maintenance District. That's a map just to give you a sense of it. Let's go to the next one and that's Marina Bay. These are the two you have and I'm going to talk big picture concept here for the next four or five slides and then we'll get into some detail later in the presentation on those two. So let's go to the next slide. So landscaping lighting districts are very, very common throughout California, and they're a really good mechanism to provide a higher level of service in a particular geographic area. They've been around for a long time, and they were created using two things. One is the landscaping lighting assessment Act of 72, and the other one is Proposition 218. I'm going to be talking about primarily some of the rules having to do with Proposition 218 today because it set the rules for how we create and how we maintain these special task districts. As I said, they're very common in California, and they've proven to be a good mechanism to provide a higher level of service in particular areas. So let's go to the next slide. This is one of those very wordy slides. And so the information's all there, but I'm going to kind of give you a high level on that. So Proposition 218, just real quickly, was passed by California voters in 96. And it was written by the Jarvis Taxpayers Association. So it's a conservative taxpayer's protection. It provides rules so that cities and counties and special districts have to follow those rules to make sure that the property owners aren't being taken advantage of, that they have something. It requires us to come and see you every day to do a budget. I work with staff, your outstanding staff, each year to see what those costs are. We can have a CPI increase each year. But there's a couple of things that are required that may be not so obvious that I'm going to spend a couple minutes talking about. The first of those is it's for services that are over and above. So imagine a city or a county, they provide a base level of services for parks maintenance and landscaping maintenance. That every parcel receives. In certain areas, the assessment is over above. It doesn't provide that base level. It provides it over and above a higher level of service if it's set up. Now, in your case, Both of the assessment districts were set up by a balloting and they were both set up because there was an interest by property owners to have that higher level of service. So the city engaged, and in fact I'm going to use the word leverage, for a little contribution by the city, the overwhelming costs of that higher level is borne by the property owners. and they did it on their choice they voted yes and they wanted to do this they wanted that and the city leverages that to get a higher level the city has to contribute and i'm going to talk about the ways they contribute but that contribution is very very small compared to the overall investment so we have uh we have over and above and then there's another concept that's pretty wonky i want everyone to get comfortable with and that is special benefit versus general benefit and that's described right in Proposition 218. It's not described particularly well, so I'm going to kind of tell you what that is. A property owner may be assessed for the special benefit that property owner receives. So I have a house, and I receive beautiful landscaping and views and a warm, welcoming area, and I'm willing to pay for that as part of my assessment, and I can be assessed by that if we follow the balloting procedures and set it up like we did too. However, I'm not required to pay for the benefit that someone that lives in Vallejo and is driving to Oakland that drives through and enjoys that view and landscaping. Those folks are general benefit. They're not paying in any way. And in fact, I, as a property owner, cannot be obliged to pay on the Vallejo to Oakland viewer, the driver that's just driving through. That has to come from another source. And it's calculated out what that percentage is. It's a relatively small percentage, because most people that are enjoying the views live in that area. But there is a percentage that is needs to be supported from another area and that's the general benefit contribution you've probably heard us talk about that for years it's calculated for both of the assessment districts and then it comes from another source so the the the city pays that and that's typically how it's done up and down the state with the thousands says that the governing agency has a small contribution of general benefit offset for the people that aren't really property owners. And the lion's share, as in this case, is paid for by the assessed properties. So let's go ahead and go to the next slide. This is a little more, we don't need to spend much time on this. I kind of went over it, but this is that abstract concept, but very important legally concept of general versus special benefit, and that the engineer's reports need to separate and quantify it, and we need each year to make sure that those are paid, that general benefit offset is paid for by another source, in this case, the city. So let's go to the next slide. So what are the benefits? And this is important to say. They may seem obvious, but we wanted to put them in any way. Why so many cities and counties and special districts have these assessment districts? Because for a leveraged amount by the public agency, they can improve the beautification. They can host special events. It improves retail, the tax base. It's a good way to provide that higher level of landscaping and beautification in the area. Let's go to the next slide. And this is my last slide. We just wanted to show kind of graphically what I've been talking about for the two districts, Marina Bay and Hilltop. If you see the lightest green, that's the contribution, the payment by the assessed properties themselves. They live there, they have an annual rate they pay, and it helps support the landscaping. The middle green is general benefit. That's what I talked about. That's paid for. That's the city's contribution to pay for the Vallejo to Oakland person that drives through. And then that darkest green is the contribution. As I said early on, the Assessment is over and above. So there's a certain amount of investment that has to be made even in Marina Bay and in Hilltop to do that base level. So the darkest green is the base level investment. The middle green is the legally required general benefits. And then the larger light green is the investment by the property owners themselves. So that's my last slide. I'm going to pass back over to you, Daniel. Is that correct?

Yeah, but the tough questions go to you, John.

Okay, absolutely. And again, love to talk about this. People say, once you put a microphone in my hand, it's hard to get it out. I love talking about this stuff. It is wonky, and we can answer questions now and then. Do not hesitate to reach out if you want to talk about these concepts a little more in the future.

Thank you. That is just the introductory presentation for this item.

I'm sorry, we're seeing your emails. Okay.

Oh, now we're going to ask Samantha Labitan from Wilden Financial Services. Samantha, are you online?

Quick process question. Yes. Are we asking questions on that first presentation first or are we going to ask at the very end or how are we, because there's three different, I think. Are we asking one in each or? Yeah, there's two items, but this presentation is being .

Q1, this is Q1.

Actually, I'd like a little clarity. I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MARINA BAY AND THEN WE SWITCHED OVER TO HILLTOP AND I GOT A LITTLE CONFUSED.

SO MAYOR, THAT WAS THE BACKGROUND. SO THEN WHEN YOU JUMPED INTO THAT WAS THE BACKGROUND. SO IF WE COULD TAKE ALL THE QUESTIONS AT THE END THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE HELPFUL. IF THAT'S OKAY.

SO WE'RE HAVING A BACKGROUND ON L.M.D.s. AND AFTER THAT. We're going to talk about Marina Bay and then we're going to talk about Hilltop?

Yes.

On Q2.

Okay. Yeah. So we just want to do Q1 first after this presentation, then take questions and then go to Q2. Okay. NO, TWO ITEMS.

IT'S Q1 AND Q2. TALKING ABOUT HILLTOP CONFUSED ME.

UNDERSTOOD. WE JUST WERE USING THEM BOTH TO PROVIDE THE OVERVIEW THAT COUNCIL HAD PREVIOUSLY REQUESTED IN THE LAST BUDGET CYCLE.

Well, I have questions about Hilltop. So do I ask them Q2? Yes, please. Okay. Thank you. So are we on Q1?

Yes. We are, okay. And now we're going to make the presentation about Q, the specific presentation about the Marina Bay.

Okay, well then I suggest we just move to Q1 so that we can.

Yeah. Okay. Sam, you're there, right?

Yes, yes, I am.

Perfect. Thank you very much. So now we're going to go to the specific presentation about the Marina Bay Landscape and Light and Maintenance District.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. I'll go over. I'm Samantha Labutin with Wildan Financial Services, and we'll be talking about specifically the Marina Bay Landscape and Light and Maintenance District. So next slide, please. As a brief introduction, the Marina Bay Landscaping and Lighting District was formed in 2009. And kind of how John went over it is a method of funding ongoing operation, maintenance, servicing of various public landscaping and lighting improvements within the Marina Bay area, which have been determined to be special benefits to the property owner. So the properties are only paying for what is determined to be special benefit. Next slide, please. This is a little boundary map of the district. There's two zones, zone one and zone two. Zone one represents about 98.8% of the total parcels in the district. And zone one are parcels that receive direct special benefit from both the local streetscape landscape areas, as well as the overall park and trail improvements within Marina Bay. Zone two are parcels that receive direct special benefit from the overall park and trail improvements, but not directly associated with the streetscape landscape improvements that are maintained throughout the district. Next slide, please. So these are the fiscal year 26-27 rates. Like we discussed in Prop 218, it is compliant and it provided for general and special benefit findings. So for Marina Bay, 42% of the total annual costs and expenses is city funded. and 58% is funded by the property owners for that special benefit. The maximum assessment rates are adjusted annually by 3%. To the left, we have the maximum assessment rates, and then to the right is the calculated levy per EBU, which is what would be assessed, the actual applied assessment rates. Next slide, please. So the proposed budget for fiscal year 26-27 would be a total assessment of $780,780. And then the city's contribution to the district would be $520,475. Next slide, please. So for the next steps after this would be to conduct the public hearing. Prior to the public hearing, we would send out a mailer to the property owners with details on that assessment as well as the budget for the district. Then we would conduct the public hearing. We'd ask council to consider and approve the resolution. And then we would submit the charges to the county by their August 10th deadline. Next slide, please. So for tonight, that recommended action is to adopt the resolution which approves the preliminary engineer's report. declares the City Council's intention to levy and collect the assessment and sets the public hearing for June 23rd. Next slide, please. And that concludes my presentation.

Thank you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Alright, do we have public speakers?

Yes, we have one in person public speaker. If you're joining us by zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

OK, we'll hear public speakers first.

The public speaker in person Cordell Handler, you may begin.

Thank you. So good evening again, mayor Martinez council for the record. I am Cordell Handler and I'm a Richmond resident. So thank you, uh, Jason, uh, for that presentation. And I think it's pretty straightforward. So I looked at the engineer's report. I don't have no problem with this. So someone makes a motion approves it and set the hearing for June 23rd.

Now we'll move on to our online speaker.

The speaker is Kevin Tisdale. Kevin, you may begin.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation, City Council. Kevin Tisdale, President of NCAU. As we talk about the landscape districts and the importance, again, of staffing, if the city is planning at its best to have an 80% rate for employees, or if that's the goal, 80% is a B is on a perfect day. So that's not if somebody calls in, vacation, or anything like that. And so if we're trying to maintain safe and efficient parks, in public spaces. Um, going back to Jason, I'm thinking number one, uh, level is probably city hall, right? Cut maintained every day or, you know, every week. Um, level two, I'm thinking probably is like, um, the park, um, at, uh, along McDonald, Nickel Park, right? It's maybe gets out every now and then, and then level three is probably Carlson Boulevard, how the weeds grow up. But again, as we maintain things, it's easier to maintain something that's already done. It's harder, takes more time to do things that are out of control. So just want to point that out. Thank you.

Thank you. There are no more public speakers.

All right, public comment is closed, and it's time for questions. Vice Mayor? Comments, questions?

So, first off, I agree that we don't really need to have this whole thing anymore, especially if new council members are given a background on what special districts are. But I do want to say that, just as a comment, that learning about special districts took us on a really great journey that made us ask the question, what is minimum service? Like, what is the amount of service that we want? What is our North Star? What is our goal? And where are we at now? And how do we get where we need to go? It's just like the core of the park equity project. I THINK THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WERE PRESENTED EARLIER TODAY ARE ACTUALLY THE RESULT OF US STRUGGLING WITH SOME PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY GETTING MORE SERVICE THAN OTHERS, NOT REALIZING THAT THERE'S THIS DYNAMIC WITH THE SPECIAL DISTRICTS, BUT REALLY FEELING LIKE WE SHOULD ALL HAVE BETTER PARKS. SO I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND the staff, the new staff here, who have actually taken us to a point where we can actually talk about levels of service in a meaningful way. I hope we keep pushing and keep moving towards the point where it's not some areas get certain levels of service and some areas don't, but we actually plot a path where there's a level of service, a maintenance standard that's applied evenly across all parks. and that we work on the finances to keep pushing that so that we can afford more service over time. So I just wanted to really thank you. When I first became a council member, we were so far away from anywhere close to being able to talk about a level of service. So I do have a question and that is if we do get to a point where the park equity project is able to identify new funding so that we can hire more staff and have a better level of service, does that also mean that we need to increase the level of service in the landscape districts because they're supposed to be above those?

Sure, great question. And let's talk about that hypothetical. I think what would happen is let's, the way, the vocabulary I would use is if we get to a point where the level, the base level of service is excellent, and that's where I think we all want to head, those two, districts, it could be excellent-er, if that's a word, because they're paying, or there may no longer be a need for those districts to exist, and you can make that decision at a time. But as you can see, they're already on board to pay that extra amount and have that extra investment. But what is it, a rising tide raises all ships, and that would happen as that base level goes up, if that answered the question.

It does. Thank you so much. And I just really encourage us as a city, as a council, to look for more ways to bring in more revenue so we can all have excellently maintained parks and medians. Thank you.

Council Member Wilson.

I first want to start with my sincere thanks for the greatest presentation on a landscape and lighting district that I think maybe, I mean I've only had two so far in my life, but this one was way better than last year because I think last year people felt a little bit confused and maybe a little bit, I was a little confused and then I was trying to explain things and I barely understood it. But I think this is a really beautiful sort of encapsulation of how these programs function and that I personally appreciate the fact that the voters in Marina Bay and in Hilltop did opt to put in this extra money because they have the Created parks that I also get to enjoy even though I don't live in those districts Or live in those neighborhoods I do also want to second everything that councilmember our vice mayor Robinson just said is that I really want us to take this as an orientation towards now that we have these lovely concepts of levels of service that we try to uplift every park we possibly can to the highest level of service and I also am willing to invest more city money in in making that a reality and Just sort of echoing back, if people were here at the start, Chief Simmons came and spoke about how moving it was to see people react to, I think we would say that the Shields Reed Park is probably the highest level of service type park. And he said he saw people crying. They're so happy to have a park that beautiful in their neighborhood. And I think that's super impactful. And so I'm all for investing more city money in that. And then the last thing I will say is, or it's a question, although I just made a speech about all these other things, I want to sort of just make sure we're all on the same page. When we're voting tonight on this item, what we're voting to do is to assess the folks who live in that district A 3% INCREASE IN THEIR ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST AMOUNT THAT WE CAN. SO WE'RE MAXING OUT WHAT THEY HAVE TO PAY. AND I THANK YOU FOR PAYING THAT. AND THEN WE'RE ACCEPTING A CALCULATION OF THIS GENERAL BENEFIT PORTION OF FIVE IN THE ENGINEER. WE'RE BASICALLY ACCEPTING THIS ENGINEER. WE'RE CALLING FOR A HEARING ON THE ENGINEERS REPORT. WE'RE NOT SAYING WE AGREE. WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A HEARING. in which everyone gets to discuss whether that $520,000 for the general benefit. And if you haven't taken a look at this report, it's like 80 pages. Much of those 80 pages are the engineers trying to calculate. It's like how many angels can fit on the head of a pin? It's like how much does the city owe this district for the fact that people who don't live there see it from afar sometimes and enjoy it? And so it's a fascinating calculation. It's very tedious. I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE AN ENGINEER, BUT I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT. SO AGAIN, SO WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON, ALTHOUGH I APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION OF THE LARGER VISION, WHICH I DO SHARE WITH THE VICE MAYOR, WE'RE ACTUALLY VOTING ON SOMETHING QUITE NARROW HERE. I SEE NOT, SO I GOT THAT RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER BONNA?

MY TURN. YOUR TURN.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. I just want to thank Public Works in general for the great job you're doing. I'm very happy. So what I say tonight, you know, aside from that, overall we're very happy you understand the budget is short. Some quick questions for you. The amount of money that we pay, the engineer's report fee was added to that or it's separate?

Going to ask our reliever here, best reliever, Mr. Avinash Nadam from the finance department.

Good evening, Council. Avinash Nadam from finance department. Would you please repeat the question?

The engineer's fee, the consultant, is that already included in the cost of the city or not?

Yes. In the district budget, yes.

Okay. All right. Thank you very much. And I didn't see a dollar amount comparison to baseline. And some legal questions. I don't know if you can answer or the city attorney. Residents in my neighborhood complained that they pay taxes to West Contra Costa Unified, the school district, to use the playground outside the school hours. We never get to do it. The district just doesn't, you know.

I'm sorry, that question.

I'm drawing comparison. I'm not asking about them. Give me a minute, Mr. Mayor. Have some trust and faith in your council members. So why is it that we have to do it? Can we just not do it or ask him to hire someone private?

Council Member Brown, I'm sorry. Can you repeat your question one more time?

Residents pay taxes, just like this tax, to a school district to use the school facility outside the school hours, sports fields and the yard for playing and everything on weekends. They never get to use it.

That does not pertain to special districts, which is the topic.

NO, IT'S TAX. PEOPLE PAY TAX. I'M WONDERING HOW LOCKED ARE WE IN THIS? CAN WE BREAK IT? I'M JUST ASKING IF LEGALLY DO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS FOREVER? CAN THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PRIVATE CONTRACTORS?

DO WE HAVE TO HAVE THE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING MAINTENANCE DISTRICTS?

I'M COMPARING IT WITH THAT.

I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE COMPARING IT, BUT IS YOUR QUESTION, DO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE Q1 IN PERPETUITY? YES. NO, YOU DO NOT.

WE DON'T HAVE TO CONTINUE IT.

NOT IN PERPETUITY, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE, RIGHT, THEY VOTED TO HAVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE. SO I THINK, SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING THE COUNCIL TONIGHT TO DO IS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PUBLIC HEARING. THE QUESTION AROUND LONG-TERM WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN DEPENDS ON, AS WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, WHAT IS THE BASE LEVEL OF SERVICE CITYWIDE? SO RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE A BASE LEVEL OF SERVICE CITYWIDE THAT WOULD JUSTIFY NOT HAVING THE SPECIAL DISTRICTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A HIGH ENOUGH LEVEL OF SERVICE CITYWIDE.

SO WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HAVE THAT CITYWIDE BASIC LEVEL OF SERVICE?

That is a great question. That is a policy decision of the city council and how you choose to allocate resources.

Do we have the dollar amount to move forward?

We can certainly be in the presentation on as I was sitting here this evening and I was thinking about what should we talk about on the 9th and I was writing an outline with finance staff for the 9th. One of the things that the council can consider, right, is if you want to move in the direction of having a higher level of servants, are there any key initiatives that the council has directed us to work on, right, that you may want to reconsider to focus on what was presented this evening and trying to get to a high level of service? There's tradeoffs, right? So there's a finite amount of money, right? So if the council wants staff to continue the status quo, we can. Or you can say we'll present to you some of the things that we reviewed on the 5th, and those could be items where you could shift and reappropriate money.

I would love to see a dollar amount for basic level of service citywide. We can get started there. If the city could present that, provide the definition of basic level of service and how much budget it requires for sidewalks and parks. Just to give you an example, Villa Verde has wheat 30 inches high. IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION. WE CAN ENDEAVOR TO DO THAT FOR THE NINTH OR AT LEAST PROVIDE THE FRAMEWORK FOR A FINANCIAL MODEL. I THINK WE CAN DO THAT.

I WANT TO TIE THAT QUESTION WITH THIS.

YOU HAVE A LITTLE TIME.

With this agreement, so looking at that level of service and then looking at this amount that we're paying for this, we may want to just let go of this special district. They can hire someone private and the city just focuses on basic level of service.

Well, then you would... Potentially lose some economies of scale so I think there's two different questions that you're asking one question is around What is the basic level of service and how do we achieve a higher level of service citywide and then the other question is? for the landscaping maintenance and lighting districts those are Those services are provided by represented staff So that isn't an item it that is on the agenda tonight how those services are delivered so I would I would say that IF THE COUNCIL WANTED TO DISCUSS THAT, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE APPROPRIATE UNDER LABOR NEGOTIATIONS IN CLOSE SESSION. THAT'S NOT AN OPEN SESSION KIND OF ITEM.

Okay, I'm a little confused, but I take it that we cannot continue.

I mean, essentially what you're saying, if I may, is that you're saying if the city didn't want to provide the service and it was contracted out, right, so that's not what's on the agenda this evening, and right now those services are provided by represented employees, and so we're not suggesting you change that.

I see, but it'd be nice to see all the possible options, whatever they are. ESPECIALLY DEFINITION OF BASIC LEVEL OF SERVICE OF PARKS, SIDEWALKS, EVERYWHERE IN TERMS OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

WE CAN DO THE BASIC LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR WHAT JASON COVERED THIS EVENING. AND THEN YOU HAVE A SUPPLER BUCKET. REMEMBER THE BEAUTIFUL SLIDES WITH THE 18 TILES? THOSE ARE DIFFERENT TILES FOR DIFFERENT PROGRAM AREAS. SO WE'RE HAPPY TO MAYBE WHAT WOULD BE EASIER, YOU KNOW, STAFF IS HAPPY TO MEET WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS TO and so we would be happy to do that separately and offline yeah and maybe we can also include it in the budget discussion that's what we we have been okay thank you councilmember brown

Thank you so much for the presentation. I was kind of taken aback a bit just because I thought that last cycle we were discussing about doing away with the districts and coming up with the solution that there is a citywide standard of cleanliness. And so I was wondering were we with that or is it still divided into these maintenance districts?

I THINK AT THIS JUNCTURE BASED ON THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY DIRECTION FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS LIKE WE ILLUSTRATED IN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION THERE'S BEEN 34 ADDITIONAL REQUESTS SINCE JANUARY OF LAST YEAR. WE'RE SUGGESTING AT THIS JUNCTURE WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES YET TO HAVE THE HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE CITYWIDE AND SO THAT WE NEED TO DEVELOP A STRATEGY IF THAT'S THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY DIRECTION TO MAKE OTHER REDUCTIONS IN OTHER AREAS OF THE BUDGET TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. Right now, on the current pathway that we're on with the expenditures that the council has requested, we can certainly talk about that on the 9th, but we are not on a trajectory to be able to accomplish that. And so there would need to be some trade-offs. So that would be for the city council, if the council wants to move in that direction, that would be for the council to discuss on the 9th at our special meeting.

Okay, for the districts... to for us to reverse any of this, would it have to go back before the voters or is it a council decision?

I DEFER TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ON THAT, BUT AT THIS JUNCTURE, WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY.

I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I'M SAYING FOR BIG PICTURE, BECAUSE THIS IS SO, IT JUST DOESN'T EVEN, LIKE EVEN SAYING THIS ALOUD IS EMBARRASSING TO ME. LIKE LIVING IN DISTRICT ONE WHERE WE WAKE UP TO MATTRESSES AND COUCHES AND DIRT AND FILTH AND ALL OF THIS, LIKE bombarding our sidewalks like the right-of-way and to, again, go to Laura's Fine Dining and to go to Marina Bay and just have a good time, you almost escape the fact that you're in Richmond when you enter certain parts of the city. That is so... DISRESPECTFUL TO OUR RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES WHO ARE ALSO HOMEOWNERS, WHO ARE ALSO TAXPAYERS. AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW, WAS THIS WHEN THE, AND THIS IS NO LIKE SHADE TO MARINA BAY BECAUSE IT COSTS A CUTE COIN TO STAY OVER THERE. OR TO HILLTOP. like it just doesn't sound appropriate to say that this district not only deserves or not only has like this high level of service but they get special benefits because you pay into it and not only that you get above and beyond service it's it's just like everyone's on top of it and then you go over here to Perry's elementary school and the weeds are as high as the third grader stand and it's like you kind of count the days and i literally have photos for days and months of just like just getting higher and getting higher and so it's like when you mentioned these folks had an opportunity to opt in was the other areas did they have opportunities to opt in or is it just because this is a special area so i just i'm trying to understand that

SO COUNCILMEMBER BROWN, IF I COULD EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE BACK TO THE LEVEL OF SERVICE. SO YOU SAW WHAT GOES INTO OUR OPERATIONAL CAPACITY. AND THEN I EXPLAINED DISRUPTERS. SO WHAT YOU'RE EXPLAINING IS DISRUPTION. SO THAT ILLEGAL DUMPING. THE MISUSE AND ABUSE OF THE PARKS. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ELEVATING TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE, It's not going to be done just by public works. It's going to be in partnership with code enforcement, recreation, the police department, because now we start to enter into enforcement, control, oversight. It's not a maintenance issue. So when we talk about elevating, it's a very, very broad spectrum. It's going to be a huge effort from all departments across the city.

Right. As well as the community members, because we have to take pride in our in our cities and our streets. But I just want to know that when I looked at the level of service, one, two and three, many parts of the city don't even fall in basic service. And so we're still trying to figure out while we're preparing to move forward with. ENSURING THAT THESE DISTRICTS GET REGULAR MAINTENANCE, WE STILL HAVEN'T EVEN FIGURED OUT WHAT THE REST OF THE CITY IS GOING TO GET. IT'S LIKE WE GET THE LEFTOVERS, WE GET THE SCRAPS OR WHATEVER Y'ALL CAN GET AROUND TO IS WHAT I'M SAYING. AND I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE IT'S FAIR. IT'S NOT EQUITABLE.

IT DOESN'T EVEN READ EQUITABLY. TO ADDRESS THAT, WE NEED TO BE STRATEGIC. WHAT HAPPENS IS, AND THIS IS, I THINK, THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT we were trying to make a probably was not successful that we are trying to attack too many fronts at the same time when we show all the maintenance that we need in the city they almost three hundred million dollars just in maintenance not new things so that is a big you mean how do you eat an elephant is such one chunk at a time so the strategy is is proven you put lights people stop doing illegal dumping. You put lights in cameras, cameras that can be effective in determining who is the person doing that, that you can go in, I don't know the right term, but capture everyone, but just stop that. But number one is a deterrent just to have lights, have a lit city, It's a deterrence per se. And the investment to that is not huge. It's not small, but it's not huge. But instead of trying to do everything all at once, if we focus on that, we're going to gain that first battle. Then you start reducing all this illegal dumping. I don't know how many of you read every month The abatement team provides all this information. But what I see there is, wow, all this money and all this stuff could be doing something else because one dollar or one hour of our time that we spend in one thing, we don't spend it in another thing. So if we're going to spend it cleaning illegal dumping, We're going to stay there forever. But if we put solar lighting, for example, lit up the city, make the city of Richmond the best lit city in the entire Bay Area, and send a message, everybody out, you don't come here to steal our copper. You don't come here to dump your garbage. Then our staff can focus more in these other things that we need. The same stuff we have, we don't need to hire more people. We don't need to hire more people. The same stuff goes and does do the other thing, but that we need to be a strategic. Right now we're doing, trying to do everything all at once. And that is a problem. If we had unlimited funds, okay, but we don't. But I think we have enough funds to do everything with time. And unfortunately, and I have to say it, with time, meaning more than four years, meaning more than one cycle, election cycle.

I AGREE, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO, I DON'T KNOW, AS A COUNCIL, WE HAVE TO DO THE BASIC THINGS. AND WE CAN'T WANT, HOW CAN WE GENERATE MORE REVENUE AND WANT BUSINESSES TO COME HERE? WE CAN'T KEEP THE STREET CORNERS CLEAN. They can't even have outdoor seating because of various things. So I don't know if that's a council decision or if it's trade-offs or whatever it is, but I think we need to move in the direction where we show the residents of Richmond that everyone matters, like your neighborhoods matter as well. Thank you.

Council Member Cepeda?

All right. Good evening. Thank you for presenting. I just, history, I think I'm the, not I think I know, I'm the council member that has the most knowledge on the HLMDs because I've been around working with my LMD since I bought my house over 20 years ago. And this has been, especially the hilltop one, has been a pain in the behind because nobody ever understands it. And then I teamed up with the Marina Bay LMD a long time ago because they were also having similar issues. The history behind it is, and we can't undo them because they were voter approved. So the only way to undo them is to go back to the ballot. Now, back with Bill Lindsay, we threatened to go out to the ballot as residents. but the city doesn't want to do it either because the city will lose a million dollars and they will have to make up the difference because you still have to pay for the landscaping whether we pay the extra or whether the city comes up with something else it won't be at the same level but the city has to come up with money to make up the difference more than what we have in the budget so just putting that out there And then a long time ago, Hilltop was the first LMD to be created. Marina Bay was created later. Hilltop was created, and when we were created, from my understanding back then, we used to hire a contracting company to do the landscaping. And then the city went through various layoffs. And through those layoffs, the negotiations came back and we said, we're gonna get rid of the contracting company and instead move employees to try to save their jobs, which is the right thing to do. We save jobs and that's where we went in from contracting to city staffing. And that's where we have the city staffing. And then prior reports had on there that the city may not lay off the LMD staff. It was a set number already. That verbiage has disappeared in the past couple of engineers' reports. But a couple of engineers' reports before had that specific language, because we pay the above and beyond. So we can go look and see. I have all of the history of this. so that was important about the designated staff um now the presentation thank you i think it's it's clear it's getting clearer i should say the presentation that was there because we still have some questions right i think it'll be great to put in some of that history the marina bay was created later and they learned from all the issues of hilltop and they said oh no we don't want that One of the biggest issues at Hilltop is the three zones, each area within the zone has a different special benefit. Some of them from 25, 75, 85, 100%. So it's very difficult to calculate how much is one person using one road versus the other when they connect. IT'S NOT LIKE THEY ONLY GO HALFWAY. YOU HAVE TO COME UP WITH THIS REALLY WEIRD NUMBER. MARINA BAY SAID LET'S DO EASY NUMBER. 50-50. THEY PAY 50%. THE CITY PAYS 50%. IN THIS ENGINEER'S REPORT, IT SHOWS 42%. CLOSE ENOUGH FOR WHAT THEY SAY FOR CITY GOVERNMENT. I THINK IT SHOULD BE CLOSER TO 50%. But I'm not sure how those numbers change. But it was a much easier calculation versus this street is this percent, that street is that percent. So just understanding how they're both very different. And then a question that I have, do we have designated staff still for both LMDs?

ASSIGNED STAFF, YES.

PERFECT. THANK YOU. BECAUSE BEFORE, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, HILLTOP HAD THE HIGHEST PAID LANDSCAPERS OF THE CITY EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN TO HILLTOP. And I proved that when I took all of the timesheets. And I went over every single timesheet. And there's no reflection of anyone in the room now, because most of you were not here back then. But I went through every single timesheet. And then I realized, because I asked the supervisor back then, who are all these people? They're like, I don't know. They've never reported up here. But they were the highest paid people, which is why having designated staff is important, because we can create a real budget and know how much we're paying for whoever. You give me the best people, let's pay for them. But if you give us entry level, then it won't be in there. And then one thing to make a change in the presentation for future is making sure there's that last page on there, I think it will be the colors, the greenish colors, making sure that it shows the Marina Bay is 50% because it shows Hilltop and Marina paying the same when Marina Bay is 50% when Hilltop is much lower. Just visually, it just looks like they're the same, but they're not. And then also the trash cans, I know it's part of the presentation, but I thought the trash can collection was something that we incorporated into the Republic Services contract. They don't cover every single trash can in the entire city.

We have our own trash can that picks up in areas like Point Richmond because our trash cans are oversubscribed is the nicest way I can say it.

OKAY. THANK YOU. SO THEN IN THE PARK, SO FOR THESE TWO LMDs, DO THEY PICK UP IN THOSE LMDs OR NOT?

WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. GIVEN THE TIME, CAN WE DO QUESTIONS ON MARINA BAY AND THEN DO THE OTHER QUESTIONS ON HILLTOP UNDER Q2? YEAH.

I MEAN, THIS KIND OF GOES WITH IT AS WELL, RIGHT, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT COSTS. SO IF WE CAN GET BACK ON THAT ONE THERE. THAT'S IT FOR MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER WILSON.

Just very quickly, I wanted to respond a little bit to both Council Member Brown and to Council Member Banna. I wanted to say to Council Member Brown, I agree with your assessment that there's parts of the city where the parks, and I think this is the same point that Council Member Robinson has also strongly made, there's parts of the city where the parks are not at the level that they should be. And you have my support. We're going to be talking on June 9th about how we, sort of our impressions of how, you know, any changes we want to see to the budget. I would like to see more money go towards parks, and I mean parks outside of the landscaping and lighting districts to help level those up. The second thing I wanted to point out, oh, but I also wanted to make the point that going after the LMD money isn't a necessary step to making those improvements in parks outside of the outside of the districts. In fact, as council members of HEDA just said, it doesn't really make financial sense to say to these residents, you're willing to give us a million dollars towards landscaping, but we don't want it. You know, I think we should take that money, use it for their parks, which opens up other money that we can use in other parts of the city. BUT I AGREE THERE'S A DISCREPANCY AND WE CAN AND SHOULD DO MORE TO FIX THAT. AND THEN COUNCILMEMBER BOND, IF I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY YOU WERE RAISING THE IDEA OF USING CONTRACTORS TO DO THIS WORK INSTEAD OF CITY WORKERS AND AGAIN, COUNCILMEMBERS HAVE SORT OF EXPLAINED THE HISTORY OF THIS BUT THERE ARE CURRENTLY CITY WORKERS DOING THIS WORK. AND SO TO ENCOURAGE THE LMDs TO SWITCH TO CONTRACTORS WOULD REQUIRE LAYING OFF THOSE CITY WORKERS BECAUSE the money that is currently paying them would go towards paying the contractors. And so I don't think that's a path that we should even consider. So I just want to say that I would like to see, before we send staff working on that issue, we would need to take a council vote, and I would vote no. Thank you.

BEFORE I CALL ON COUNCIL, COUNCILMEMBER BANA, I WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A BACK AND FORTH DEBATE. SO GO AHEAD, BANA.

JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION. SO IF WE HAVE THAT BASIC LEVEL OF SERVICE CITYWIDE, I THINK WE'LL BE SHORT IN HUMAN RESOURCES AND PUBLIC WORKS, ACTUALLY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO LAY OFF ANYONE.

OK, thank you. I have a question about how to determine the basic level. When we redo a park like Shields Reed, does that raise the basic level of parks throughout the district?

So our intent is to, when we online the new parks, is to provide a higher level of service. We are putting in requests to improve our operational capacity to be able to provide that service.

OK, but when we're calculating what the basic level is, even though the basic level hasn't improved in other parks, does the fact that one park uh... rise above the basic level does that raise the uh... i guess that the average of of of the basic level that that uh... that the fees are calculated

IT COULD, I THINK UNFORTUNATELY, AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK THESE ARE REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS BECAUSE I THINK HISTORICALLY SOMETIMES THERE ARE GRANTS OBTAINED, RIGHT, AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY THERE ISN'T ADEQUATE PLANNING FOR AN INCREASE IN STAFFING TO PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE THAT'S NEEDED. SO WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED IN OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE IS FOR US AS THESE THREE NEW PARKS ARE COMING ONLINE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THEM AS NICE AS POSSIBLE BY PROVIDING THE ADEQUATE LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE FROM THE BEGINNING SO THAT WAY THE CITY'S SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT AND THE GRANTS WE RECEIVED CAN LAST A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. so in theory yes mayor it will increase but it hasn't been it's not baked into these numbers because that's work that is in progress and the parks haven't officially opened yet okay well uh council member robinson yeah just i think that it would be really great to get um

different agenda item that talks about this level of service and these questions that we've been kind of going over so that we can so that I think there's been a lot of thought and a lot of work happening in the working group for the park equity project and just within Public Works and I think that it there's a lot to be said there's a lot of moving parts and AND INCLUDING LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING, WHICH IS ALSO HAPPENING. SO MAYBE WE JUST NEED TO BRING THIS BACK AS A SEPARATE ITEM TO TALK ABOUT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND PARKS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT GO INTO THAT.

PART OF WHAT WE AT STAFF HAD SUGGESTED IS LIKE REALLY FOCUSING RIGHT NEXT YEAR AS PART OF THIS BUDGET ON THIS. IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR US TO CONTINUE THIS MORE IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION POTENTIALLY ON THE 9th WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED STAFF CAN, YOU KNOW, GET IT, IT MIGHT NOT BE 100%, BUT LET'S JUST SAY, OH, WE CAN GET 50% OF WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE AS THE CITY COUNCIL IS PRIORITIZING FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR THAT YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND I REALLY DO THINK LIKE THERE IS AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE COUNCIL WITH THE COMMISSIONS WITH PARK EQUITY GROUPS WITH STAFF AND I DO ABSOLUTELY THINK THAT JASON AND DARREN AND YOU KNOW, DANIEL AND ALL OF THEIR TEAM, THIS REALLY ILLUSTRATES, I THINK THIS POWERPOINT ABSOLUTELY ILLUSTRATES THE TRANSFORMATION THAT'S HAPPENING. AND WE DO WANT THE COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND COMPREHENSIVELY BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME THINGS WHERE I THINK BASED ON WHAT EVEN I'M HEARING, I'M LIKE, OH, WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO CUT THIS LINE ITEM. wow, it would be really great to have like three more maintenance workers, right? And so I think that there's going to be difficult conversations, but I think there's so much positive momentum happening now in operations and maintenance that it is worth us having difficult conversations around trade-offs. so we can continue to increase the service level citywide because we don't want areas, you know, we want areas one and three to look nice, right? And I think that we do need to have conversations that are difficult around equity.

AND I THINK THAT WE ALSO NEED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT ALL THE WORK THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ME BEING IN DOING PARKS WORK FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, THERE'S A, IT'S JUST LIKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF THE RESPONSIVENESS, THE AMOUNT OF MAINTENANCE THAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING EVEN IN POCKET PARKS THAT IT JUST HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE IN MY HISTORY OF DOING WORK IN D3.

WHEN I BECAME CITY MANAGER, THERE WAS NO SCHEDULE.

THERE WAS NO SCHEDULE THREE YEARS AGO.

THERE WAS NO SCHEDULE. I WAS LIKE WHAT? I'M SORRY. I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT. OUR BASE LEVEL WAS LIKE NO SCHEDULE. I WAS LIKE WHAT?

WE NEED AN AGENDA ITEM OR MORE INFORMATION.

CAN WE COMBINE IT SO WE CAN HAVE THE DISCUSSION AS PART OF THE BUDGET ON THE 6th?

BEFORE, I'M SORRY.

CAN WE INCLUDE ALL OF THIS AS PART OF THE BUDGET ITEM?

YES.

I'M SORRY, ON THE NINTH, RATHER.

THANK YOU. BEFORE I CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER GIMENEZ, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT for fiscal year 2026-27 for the Marina Bay Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District, declaring the City Council's intention to increase the annual assessments in the NBLLMD and setting a public hearing about the proposed increased assessment on June 23rd, 2026.

I second that.

Okay, now.

Now I talk.

Yes.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH ALL THE COMMENTS AND I THINK WHAT WE ARE GOING AROUND OF THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS STAFFING. SO I THINK IN THE BUDGET WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS REAL CONVERSATION ABOUT WE ARE GOING TO APPROVE THIS HIGH VACANCY RATE THAT IS PROPOSED IN THE BUDGET RIGHT NOW OR WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO. BECAUSE WE WANT THIS HIGH LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE AND EXCELLENT We need to have more people. So thank you.

All right. Do I have a second? She's seconded it. Oh, okay. Then roll call.

Okay. Council Member Bono? Yes. Council Member Brown?

Yes.

Council Member Jimenez? Yes. Council Member Wilson? Yes. Council Member Zepeda?

Abstain.

Vice Mayor Robinson? Yes. And Mayor Martinez? Yes. The motion passes with Council Member Zepeda abstaining.

NEXT ITEM. MR. MAYOR, IF I MAY BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM, RICHMOND PROMISE TEAM HAVE BEEN HERE FOR PRESENTATION AND THEY WERE HERE LAST TIME. THEY WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST FOR BUDGET SO SHOULD WE MOVE THEM TO THE NEXT ITEM OR THE TOP OF THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING? I DON'T THINK THERE WILL BE TIME FOR THEM TONIGHT.

WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THE Hilltop so yeah, we can we can hear them after the hilltop Okay, I'm sorry q2 and then what was the item?

Richmond promise, thank you item q2 is to adopt a resolution approving the preliminary engineers report for fiscal year 2026-27 for the hilltop landscape maintenance district declare the city's council's intention to increase and collect the annual assessments and set a public hearing about the proposed increased assessment on june 23rd 2026 at six o'clock pm in the city council chamber at 440 civic center plaza richmond california we have one in-person speaker if you're joining us by zoom please raise your hand at this time

Good evening, Mayor Martinez, City Council members, Dana Chavarria, Polyworks Director again. KCRT, can you bring the presentation? Today we have, again, Mr. John Bliss from SEI Consulting Group.

Thank you again, John Bliss. We'll move through this very quickly. This is the cousin of Marina. This is Hilltop. Next slide, please.

That's not the cousin. That's like the something else. That picture is from Richmond.

Yes. So again, Hilltop has three zones, three historic zones. You can see the three various colors. You're familiar with this assessment diagram. Let's go to the next slide. So Zone 1, Hilltop Mall Road, Bloom Drive, that area, that's mostly a retail and industrial area. It's charged per acre a little over $1,300 an acre, and it brings in just shy of a million dollars. Let's go to the next slide. Zone 2 is primarily residential. There is some non-residential, but it's mostly the single-family houses. This year, we're proposing a 3% increase. We've talked about that. It's $433 in change per unit. And then the cluster homes that share a wall are $260.11 per unit. Similar services. Let's go to Zone 3. Zone three is completely industrial, about 320, 80 per acre. They have a lower level of service. It's still above and beyond the base level of service. That's zone three, that's that north industrial area or northwest. Let's go to the next slide. And just a year ago, there was some interest on what parks are part of it. It's primarily landscaping and lighting, and so it's median landscaping, but there are three parks. The main park is Hilltop Lake Park. There's a specific allocation to that park. The others are up to the jurisdiction or the judgment of public works staff. Let's go to the next one. And then the recommended action, I'm not gonna read this off to you, it's the same as with Marina, but we'd like you to consider voting to set a public hearing at your regularly scheduled June 23rd meeting. That concludes my comments today, and I'm happy to answer any questions on the Hilltop LMD.

Do we have public speakers?

Yes, we have one in-person public speaker. Cordell Handler.

Thank you. So good evening again, Mayor Martinez, Council, for the record, Cordell Handler, Richmond residents. So as it was stated, just move the item. That's it.

And now we move on to our online speakers.

We have two speakers. They are Cora Riley and Kevin Tisdale. Cora, you may begin.

Good evening again Council and Mayor Martinez. My name is Corey Riley. I'm speaking now as a resident of Hilltop. I live in Hilltop green across the highway from this assessment district. And while I don't live in this assessment district, it does affect me. Um. And I just wanted to, I know we're not talking about scope of work or anything this evening. We're talking about just raising the fees, but as we are talking about these assessment districts, 1st of all, I do agree with the sentiment that we need a, an equitable level of service across the entire city. I would strongly support that. But as we're thinking about these districts, I just wanna give an example from my life. So earlier this year, just kind of out of the blue, we lost our homeowners insurance. We were unceremoniously sent an email just stating that our coverage was not gonna be renewed because we lived in what was deemed to be a fire danger area. And we have a similar zip code here. And so what happens with the landscaping over there affects my home as well. For months, we were not able to get our homeowner insurance. Our homeowner insurance broker was just kind of passing us around and not taking us seriously. Finally, we were able to find a different insurance company, and the rates had literally doubled. So as we're talking about these assessment districts and working on landscaping throughout the Hilltop area, I do think we should be taking seriously the ideas of fuel reduction and reducing wildfire risk. Thank you. I'll yield the rest of my time.

Thank you. The next speaker is Kevin Tisdale. Kevin, you may begin.

Thank you. Kevin Tisdale, president of NCIU. So as we talk about terms like equity and inclusion and health in our policies, we want to be really clear that the employees, as I speak on behalf of them, are proud and dedicated to do the work they do. They do it every day and they do the best they can. I think, you know, all council, you know, residents and all can agree that, yes, work needs to be, additional improvements need to be made. And this is where we talk about the effects of lack of staff vacancies. So as we mentioned that, let's talk about the effects and let's look at the real world effects that happen and how we can, what we can do in real time to improve that. I yield my time.

Thank you. There are no more public speakers.

All right. The public comment is closed, and now it's time for questions and comments. Council Member Cepeda.

All right.

Thank you. So if I sound frustrated, it's because I am. Sorry. So I apologize in advance. Don't mean to come off too harsh. But I did try to meet with staff a couple of times, and I know that just time didn't COME TO BE. FIRST QUESTION, I'M GOING TO TRY TO GO A LITTLE EASY. WAS THIS REPORT PEER REVIEWED?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

WAS IT LOOKED BY SOMEBODY, WAS IT REVIEWED BY QUALITY ASSURANCE, SOMEBODY LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS?

BY YOUR STAFF. BY WHO'S STAFF? YOUR STAFF.

My staff, I don't have staff. Yes, you do. Yes, you do.

You have 671. All right, I have Shassa.

Perfect. Shassa says she peer-reviewed it. All right.

No, I didn't actually. I mean, for full transparency, right, we explained on Friday that we were finishing the budget, then we got a ballot measure, and so that impacted our ability to meet as you requested on Friday and Monday. So I do apologize about that. WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMETHING COMES IN LAST MINUTE AND WE'RE IN BUDGET SEASON, IT DOES CAUSE, NOW I'VE GOT A BETTER TERM, DISRUPTOR. SO THAT WASN'T ON MY WHEELHOUSE.

I DID TRY TO MEET BEFORE FRIDAY, TOO, BUT WE'RE GOING TO MEET AFTER. OKAY. SO ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT I MADE, AND THE REASON, I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO THE PEER REVIEW. I HAD ASKED BEFORE BECAUSE LAST YEAR THERE WERE SOME ERRORS IN THE REPORT. SO THAT'S WHY I WANT TO MAKE SURE THIS YEAR THAT IT WAS PEER REVIEWED. And then when I call out some numbers that don't match, I'm going to have some questions. For the, one of the things that I want to change from last year, and I was very adamant about it, and that's why one of the reasons why I wanted to meet, So it's the advisory committee. It still has the neighborhood council, which I had said should not be on there. I said that for a couple of years. It should reflect something more similar to what the Marina LMD has on page 14.

So the council would need to direct staff to make that change?

THAT WAS A MOTION THAT I DID LAST YEAR. OKAY. I DON'T. AND IT WAS TO MATCH THE MARINA LMD HAVING A VERY SIMILAR WHICH IS WHAT WE HAD BEFORE. AND ACTUALLY IF WE WANT TO SAY STAFF CANCEL TO GIVE AUTHORITY SOMEHOW OR OTHER, THE REPORT WAS CHANGED FROM THAT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE NEVER COULD COUNCIL WITHOUT COUNCIL AUTHORITY. SO THAT WAS CHANGED. BUT AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO RESOLVE IT BECAUSE WE WANT THAT CHANGE GOING FORWARD, RIGHT? SO WE'LL LOOK AT THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD ON THAT ONE. SO WE WANT THAT TO BE CHANGED GOING FORWARD. NOW, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CITY CONTRIBUTION. IT'S NOT A CONTRIBUTION. I THINK WE NEED TO CHANGE THE WORDING. WE MENTIONED THIS LAST TIME AS WELL. YOU'RE NOT CONTRIBUTING. YOU'RE GIVING WHAT THE LEVEL SHOULD BE. WE'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING EXTRA. CONTRIBUTION SOUNDS LIKE I CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK. IT'S NOT. IT'S WHAT THE CITY SHOULD BE DOING AT A VERY MINIMUM.

IT HAS TO BE A MATHEMATICAL EQUATION. THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED A CONTRIBUTION.

YES, I JUST THINK WE SHOULD COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT. LAST TIME WHEN WE SAID CONTRIBUTION, OH, YOU'RE GETTING ALL THIS MONEY FROM THE CITY. WE'RE NOT GETTING MONEY FROM THE CITY. IT COULD BE A MATHEMATICAL EQUATION. LET'S FIGURE OUT A DIFFERENT TERM. IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GETTING SOMETHING MORE THAN THE REST OF THE CITY. IF WE GOT RID OF THE LMD, IT'S WHAT THE CITY WOULD BE PAYING IN SERVICES IN THAT AREA. BUT THEN THE SERVICE LEVEL WOULD DECREASE. And it will decrease, yes. Right. Right? But it will be about $200,000 to maintain all that big old area.

Right. So then we provide a contribution, right? That's the base level. And then the areas that are in there, they provide an additional.

THAT'S THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.

AT POINT OF ORDER, MR. MAYOR, I WONDER IF IT'S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

IT'S NOT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. YOU ARE SPEAKING OUT. SO THE CITY CONTRIBUTION IS 257, AND THEN THE ACTUAL

WHAT I BELIEVE THE ACTUAL CONTRIBUTION IS 159 BECAUSE THE HLMD ALSO PAYS MONEY INTO AND BACK TO THE CITY IN THE COST ALLOCATION POOL. So we give money back to the city to pay for HR, payroll, other administrative costs. So the money in the pool that goes into the HLMD.

Can you articulate specific account pages that you're pointing to in the report so we can know what to refer to? So the cost allocation pool. I'M ASKING YOU IN THE REPORT THAT YOU RECEIVED FOR ITEM Q2, CAN YOU PLEASE SPECIFY THE PAGE NUMBER YOU'RE REFERENCING SO WE CAN FOLLOW?

IT STARTS AT PAGE 18, RIGHT? YOU START LOOKING AT THE COST ALLOCATION POOL. SO THE CITY CONTRIBUTION ON PAGE 18, IT SAYS 257.871. AND THEN YOU START SCROLLING DOWN AND YOU LOOK AT ALL THE OTHER STUFF. SO LET ME ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE COST ALLOCATION POOL. WHAT IS THAT REFERENCE?

The cost allocation pool is what every city department is allocated to cover things like claims and so forth.

So that's what every department pays kind of back to the city?

Right, every city staff person is allocated a portion to like pay for some of my, like I'm sitting here, we're talking about this, right? So my time, the city attorney's office time, city clerk's office, finance, IT, everyone gets charged it. IT'S THINGS THAT ARE NOT PART OF COST RECOVERY.

I WANT TO CALL OUT THAT THE COST ALLOCATION POOL MINUS WHAT THE CITY CONTRIBUTES, ACTUALLY THE CITY ENDS UP CONTRIBUTING ONLY ABOUT 159 IF YOU REMOVE THE OTHER PIECES.

BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE AN HLMD THERE'S ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES SUCH THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS EVENING.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL. Because we would still have to hire the people from HR.

No, but we're having additional processes, right? We're having additional staff, right? Because there's a public hearing. So by virtue of having a public hearing, that's additional work. OKAY.

BUT AGAIN, THE COST POOL IS TAKING MONEY OUT OF IT, SO THE CITY IS NOT JUST GIVING THAT BECAUSE IT IS GETTING SOME MONEY BACK IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT.

AND I THINK IT'S OKAY FOR US TO RESPECTFULLY SAY THAT WE MAY NOT, WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, WE MAY NOT CONCUR WITH THAT STATEMENT.

OKAY. BECAUSE THE CITY ADMINISTRATION, WE'RE SAYING IT'S ABOUT 98,000. DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME IS BEING SPENT OUTSIDE OF HLMD WORK? NON-DISTRICT WORK? Are we putting that into the timesheets still?

For which staff? For the HLMD staff. Their work is concentrated all in the district?

All in the district. Yes. And then for the district work has to do with landscaping, maintenance. What happens when there's a car accident on the parkway and they have to go clean it? It's not maintenance. They have to go assist RPD.

Which they do. If there's an accident, the contract states that the co-company is supposed to clean up when they tow the car.

No. So the HLMD has been doing it.

Okay. Well, then we should confer with Chief Simmons to provide better enforcement to the tow truck towing operators in Richmond because that's what the contract states.

Perfect. We can do that because in the past years it's always been, and this comes from the prior supervisor, the HLMD staff gets called in. to help secure the area, because they're the closest to RPD, and then they clean up because, depending on how big the car crash is. So I just want to start making sure that we allocate those times.

But are you saying that you don't think that they should be doing that in the Special Assessment District if there's a car crash?

I'm not saying they shouldn't be helping if help is needed, but if they're supposed to, if we're getting charged to do landscaping maintenance, cleaning up a car crash, THAT THE CITY WILL THEN GET REIMBURSED POTENTIALLY IF WE GO AFTER THE INSURANCE COMPANY. WE'RE NOT GETTING THAT MONEY BACK INTO THE HLMD. AND THEY'RE DOING WORK OUTSIDE OF THE LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE IS WHAT I'M GETTING AT. Years ago, when I established the timesheet system, we were able to see all these hours broken down whenever they did non-HLMD work. Whenever they were put out for overtime for Cinco de Mayo, Juneteenth, and whatever else, that time was all put in and paid for by the HLMD. IT WASN'T UNTIL YEARS AGO.

I DON'T THINK THAT'S HAPPENING ANYMORE.

ONE THING THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL TO HEAR IS THAT THE MAXIMUM THAT THE CITY CAN LEVY ALL THE TAXPAYERS HERE IS 3%. JUST LABOR GOES UP 5% EVERY YEAR. So just that 2%, you multiply that for 20 years and it's compounding, right? It's compounding. So that's why you said it with the Marina Bay, for example. You said it should be 50-50, now it's 42, it's close enough. No, no, no. It has gone down. because the cost of maintaining it has gone up. Materials go up, the inflation, labor, everything goes up. So the city has contributed more to cover that difference. So the 3% that everybody pays every year is not enough to cover everything.

So if we look historically, the city hasn't always contributed more. Actually, at some points, it's contributed less. I have the whole history. If we go back through all the LMDs reports.

At least for the time that I've been the public works director, that has been cleaning and cleaning up and cleaning up. And actually, here, the person that knows more about the numbers is that gentleman over there. Yes. that I would like him to answer.

I was waiting for the opportunity to comment, but I was listening to your questions. If you look at the fiscal impact on the staff report, it clearly outlines the contributions from the general fund. And that is correct observation Daniel made that the staff cost has escalated more than the assessment revenue. And while the contribution of 257, 871 that you see is like a general fund operating, but the city also pays 25% of the payroll cost, payroll and benefit cost, which amounts to about $378,000. And because of the way we do the budget, we try to balance the budget, right? The operating cost still exceeded the anticipated revenues. THEREFORE 146,000 ADDITIONAL SUBSIDY AS NEEDED IS REQUIRED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. SO TOTAL CONTRIBUTION PROPOSED IN THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR HILL TOP DISTRICT IS ABOUT 782,000 WITH 1.2 MILLION COMING FROM THE ASSESSMENT REVENUE WHICH IS 61 AND 39%. HOW MUCH STAFF DO WE HAVE IN 2025 AND HOW MUCH DO WE HAVE NOW?

AND HOW MUCH HAVE WE BUDGETED VERSUS HOW MUCH?

WE ARE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF ANALYSIS, JASON, DO YOU WANT TO PULL IT UP OR DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN HILLTOP? I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSCORE, COUNCIL MEMBER, IS THAT IF OUR KAISER RATES, LET'S TAKE THAT AS AN EXAMPLE, IF KAISER WENT UP 8.2%, right that alone then that means that if the if the Increase is only three percent to the assessment district without any cost of living increases for staff that means that the the there has to either be a corresponding decrease in service or an increase in subsidy or something in between And so I think that's what's shifting. It's like, I think to Daniel's point around inflation, if you're only going up 3% a year, we're not keeping up with the current pace of inflation. Because already this year, we're in excess of that.

I AGREE WITH THE NUMBERS THERE SOMEWHAT. BUT IF WE BUDGET IT FOR 12 PEOPLE, WE'VE ONLY HAD EIGHT PEOPLE, THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE OF PEOPLE IN THERE. I'LL PUT THESE OUT. ON THE AGENDA REPORT, IT SAYS THE RECOMMENDED ACTION IS THE BUDGET THAT YOU WANT TO ASSESS IS 1.2 million dollars but within the report itself is a different number. So on the agenda report is 1.2 million and the actual report is 1.7. It says to assess 1.7. So the numbers don't match. There's a few other numbers that don't match but when we meet and again I look forward to having that meeting I can ask the rest of my staff.

I think the staffing question is important, Mayor.

Excuse me. You already used all your time and then you went on to make a statement. I was going to grant you a question, but you gave no question. You know why those two numbers don't match.

Yes, we do. If we have more time, we can explain it in detail. Actually, that gentleman over there can do it.

When we meet at our next meeting, we'll go over the difference. Okay.

That's understood. Anyone else? I second.

Council Member Bonner? Yes. Council Member Brown?

Yes.

Council Member Jimenez?

Yes.

Council Member Wilson? Yes. Council Member Zepeda?

No.

Vice Mayor Robinson? Yes. And Mayor Martinez?

Yes.

The motion passes with Council Member Zepeda voting no. So our next item is going to be item S2. Is that correct?

Thank you, Public Works. Great job.

Item S2 is to receive a presentation from the Richmond Promise on the organization's current scope of service, how it supports youth before, during, and after post-secondary education, and the impact it has achieved to date to highlight the program's current needs as it continues to serve Richmond students and direct staff to explore funding to support scholarships for Richmond youth. We have six in-person speakers. If you are joining us by Zoom, please raise your hand at this time.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER WHITMORE. BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, I THINK WE SHOULD EXTEND THE MEETING. I PROPOSE THAT WE EXTEND THE MEETING UNTIL YOUR ITEM IS DONE.

I SECOND IT.

CAN I ASK A QUESTION FOR THE CITY MANAGER? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE URGENT THAT WE NEED OUT OF ALL THE ITEMS?

YES, AFTER THIS ITEM WE WOULD LOVE TO QUICKLY HEAR ALL OF THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.

ALL RIGHT. MAYBE YOU CAN FIT ONE MORE. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL OF THEM.

I BELIEVE IN YOU. I THINK YOU CAN DO THEM ALL.

LOOK AT ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES OVER HERE.

WE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 11 IF NECESSARY. THANK YOU.

Okay, so we have a motion by Mayor Martinez and a second by Councilmember Jimenez. Councilmember Rubano? Yes. Councilmember Brown?

Yes.

Councilmember Jimenez? Yes. Councilmember Wilson? Yes. Councilmember Zepeda?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Robinson? Yes. Mayor Martinez? Yes. The vote is unanimous.

Great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you to the council for having us. We will be mindful of your time. And so we're excited to be here to present Richmond Promise's work over the past 10 years and to share our priorities for this year and the years ahead. Thank you, KCRT, for getting that slide deck up. And we will move to the next slide, please. So as I shared with the council exactly a year ago, Richmond Promise launched in 2016, and we are so grateful that the city of Richmond created our organization and served as our anchor funder until 2024, sending a clear message to residents across our city that Richmond prioritizes higher education access for all. And with that in mind, Richmond Promise aims to ensure that all students in Richmond excel to and through higher education, reach their career goals, and become leaders in the Richmond community. Next slide, please. And our mission statement is rooted in three key objectives that the city of Richmond established for Richmond Promise through our bylaws. And these objectives are to provide scholarships to students, to help students in our school district matriculate to UCs, CSUs, California community colleges, and career technical education programs, and to increase the economic well-being, health, and quality of life for Richmond residents through a college-ready workforce. Next slide, please. And so with the city's vision as our foundation, Richmond Promise has built four pillars of support to help students get to and through higher education and begin their careers and thriving adult lives. And you can see on the screen just a few of the services that we offer to our scholars. and enrichment youth through these four pillars of support. We start with our college access and awareness programming, working in middle school and high school classrooms and campuses, helping students understand what post-secondary education pathways are and helping them with their A through G requirements and through other methods to help them prepare for higher education. We continue our work with our post-secondary affordability services. Of course, the main and most well-known service is our annual scholarship, which I'll talk about in a couple minutes. But we also support our students with ongoing financial aid completion and helping students with financial aid disputes that they may experience with their financial aid offices that may impact their ability to afford tuition. Through our scholar success work, we help students persist year to year in a higher education towards graduation. And we do this through summer workshops, helping students prepare for their upcoming year in college, engaging in MOUs with colleges and universities where we have larger concentrations of students, and supporting students with basic needs as a few examples. And lastly, with our career services work, we offer a number of programs and services to help students build their professional development skills, including, I'll point out, a partnership with YouthWorks in which we place Richmond Promise scholars in internships with the city of Richmond. In fact, this summer we will have nine students interning with the city this summer, and they're very excited to serve their hometowns. Next slide, please. So of course, the work that I'll focus in on the most today is our scholarship. And as you know, our scholarship is $1,500 per year, and you can see our eligibility requirements on your screens. So as you're looking at those requirements, I will share that the Richmond Promise Scholarship can be used at any not-for-profit, regionally accredited two-year college, four-year college or university, or career technical education program in the United States. And lastly for this slide, there is no GPA requirement for high school students applying for our scholarship. So our philosophy is that if an institution of higher education is willing to accept you, Richmond Promise is willing to support you. Next slide, please. And this next slide gives you a sense of the students who we have indeed supported over the past 10 years through our scholarship. And I'm proud to share that Richmond Promise has awarded a scholarship to more than 4,600 young people in our community since 2016. And we are serving 1,300 scholarship recipients on average per year. Now of those 1,300 scholarship recipients, 91% identify as people of color, 70% of our scholars come from low-income households, and 64% of our scholars are first-generation college students. And I also want to share that over the past 10 years, our scholars have had a year-to-year persistence rate of 67%. 56% of all Richmond Promise scholars have graduated from WCCUSD high schools, and 90% of our scholars have successfully matriculated to higher education between the years of 2020 and 2025. Next slide, please. And I'm also proud to share with the council that Richmond Promise scholars have attended more than 220 colleges and universities around the country since 2016, with 70% of scholars attending four-year institutions, and with 89% of scholars attending institutions within California's three public higher education systems. And keep in mind from just a few slides ago that the city delegated our organization to help Richmond youth attend UCs, CSUs, and California community colleges. And it is truly incredible to see how many students are attending these institutions. Next slide, please. And as I shared last year, the impact that Richmond Promise and the city of Richmond have had together has earned us recognition as a national leader in the College Promise movement. In fact, in the fall of last year, we were one of just 15 recipients of the College Promise National Impact Award. And keep in mind that there are more than 450 College Promise programs in the country. Next slide, please. And as I also highlighted last year, there's also success in our financials as well as clear and urgent needs for growth. So looking at our expenses and revenue, you can see on the left-hand side of the screen that our expenses since 2016 have totaled to $25.3 million with $14.3 million or 56% of total expenses being scholarships paid out to students. And the remaining expenses that you see there are non-scholarship expenses, including things like program costs, salaries and benefits, fundraising expenses, and general overhead. Then looking on the right-hand side of your screen, you can see that our revenue since 2016 totals to $9.6 million, with $5.1 million of that coming from in-house fundraising revenue, and $4.5 million is from our investment portfolio investments. And I love to point out here that our total revenue that you see here covers 87% of all non scholarship expenses. And that's significant for us because we've worked hard over the past 10 years to ensure that as much of the city's investment as possible has gone directly to students scholarships. And as proud as we are of our revenue over the past decade, we know that we need to quickly scale our financial support in order to successfully complete a second decade of service to the community. Next slide, please. So as we commit ourselves to sustaining Richmond Promise, we remain focused on the following priorities, including raising an overall target of $3 to $5 million per year through a $2.1 million per year investment in scholarships, exploring a quasi-endowment and other growth-focused investment strategies to boost our annual yield, and by continuing to diversify and expand our donor portfolio. And while sustaining funding for our scholarship and increasing our revenue are critical in keeping our organization open, our staff and board are also keenly focused on cutting expenses for our organization by scaling back or eliminating underperforming or underutilized programs, by leveraging new technologies and engagement models to serve students in more cost-effective ways, and by exploring ways to share costs and capacity with other organizations through new and existing partnerships. But I want to be direct with the council and with the public. And next slide, please. Sorry, we'll progress. Right slide, thank you, sorry. I want to be direct with the council and the public that without new anchor funding in 2026, Richmond Promise must consider closing our scholarship to new applicants beginning as early as the class of 2027. We must consider eliminating programs that support college access and awareness, including programs that close service gaps within our school district. We must consider eliminating programs that support post-secondary matriculation and persistence, including programs that support students at Contra Costa College. And if we don't make any of the above changes and we don't receive additional seat funding to continue supporting scholarships, we must consider closing our organization by 2031. Next slide, please, KCRT. So now looking at the future of our organization from a numbers perspective, I first want to share that the financial projections on this slide and on the following slide were prepared by our portfolio managers at Wells Fargo, advisors who were selected by the city of Richmond back in 2015 to manage our investment portfolio. So the first scenario here shows what might happen to our current funding if we do not secure $2.1 million per year in city support for scholarships beginning this year, and if we do not make significant changes to reduce large expenses. So with our organization's total budgeted expenses estimated at $4.5 million in 2026, almost half of which is budgeted for scholarships, our portfolio value, which started out at $20.8 million this year, drops down to $17.9 million next year and continues a fairly swift downward trend until 2032, when we no longer have enough funding to complete a full year of operations. Now, despite the fact that we are not receiving city support in this scenario, you can see on the third line of this model that our organization is projected to raise a baseline of $750,000 per year in philanthropic support, and that increases into about $1.3 million by 2032. But those efforts are expected to have little impact in keeping our services afloat without a new major investment to help cover scholarship costs. And lastly, you can see at the bottom of this model that Wells Fargo estimates 5% growth per year for a portfolio, which translates to shrinking returns without new major funding that can help support growth-focused financial strategies. So now in this second scenario, Wells Fargo shows us what they expect to happen, and we'll move to the next slide, KCRT. Wells Fargo shows us what they expect to happen if Richmond Promise does receive 2.1 million per year in scholarship funding from the city of Richmond for just five years time. And you can see that instead of our portfolio being valued at 17.9 million in 2027, like our first scenario showed, We don't reach that valuation until 2030, and that's because the city's investment takes considerable strain off of our reserves, which also means that we're able to yield more from that 5% growth at the bottom of the model. So with just five years of additional funding from the city, and before any significant changes are made to reduce large expenses, we're projected to almost completely finish a second decade of service to the community before facing closure. And what this means for the community is that we will be able to fully support five additional cohorts of scholarship recipients instead of ending our support for new students in 2027. And our portfolio managers believe that additional funding from the city can attract new and ongoing contributions from donors who may want to help boost the city's new investment. Next slide, please, KCRT. So as I conclude here, I want to clearly state that in order to keep our promise to Richmond youth, we are seeking at least $2.1 million per year in new anchor funding from the city, which would directly support scholarships. And despite the fact that the funding would directly support scholarships, it would give our organization the opportunity to accomplish several other priorities for Richmond youth. Next slide, KCRT. And here are just a few examples of opportunities that we are exploring to better serve students if we are able to sustain our organization into our second decade. Next slide, KCRT. And so as I conclude here and begin my thank yous and transition to questions, I want to leave you with a quote from a student who shared with us several years ago that Richmond Promise meant to him that his community wanted him to succeed and that he could be somebody with the help of his hometown. That student and thousands of other students have felt that way over the past 10 years because of the city's leadership and initiative. and because of Richmond Promise's programs, services, and incredible staff, many of whom are sitting right behind me. And I truly hope that we can continue working together to help even more Richmond youth experience the same level of empowerment through a new investment in their futures. And very, very lastly, I know we're short on time, but I want to give a special shout out to KCRT. Next slide, please. Thank you, Anjanine. I want to give a special shout out, as we conclude, to the class of 2026. Richmond Promise Scholars are graduating all over the country right now. And every year, we ask students to submit photos from their graduations, their commencements. And I got these two photos last Tuesday right before last week's council meeting. And I couldn't resist sharing them. On the left, we've got Jaylen, who graduated last week from Texas Southern University with a degree in business administration and marketing. On the right is Ryan. She graduated from Howard University last week with two bachelor's degrees, one in political science and the other in criminology. And Mr. Mayor and council members looking at these photos, we see joy. We see confidence. We see empowerment. And we see the result of the city's initiative and the city's investment. So I hope you join me in congratulating these two individuals and all of our scholars across the country who are walking the stage. I think Jose behind me just graduated from San Francisco State University. Congratulations to him. And thank you for your time. And with that, we're happy to take any questions you may have. Thank you.

I WANT TO START OFF BY SAYING GO GATORS. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS?

WE DO. WE HAVE SIX IN-PERSON SPEAKERS. IF YOU'RE JOINING US BY ZOOM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AT THIS TIME. THE FIRST IN-PERSON SPEAKER IS CORDELL HENDLER FOLLOWED BY JASMINE GONZALEZ, ADRIANA MENDOZA, DINA MASALD AND THE LAST IN-PERSON SPEAKER WILL BE JOSE LOPEZ.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR MARTINEZ, COUNCIL. FOR THE RECORD, I AM CORDELL HENDLER. So happy to see you again, Christopher. This is an excellent program. And I want to thank Vice Mayor Robinson for bringing this item forward. So as I was listening to the presentation, it dawned on me. I said, what I should have said during the open forum was that money that you got from Chevron, I would put, instead of $2,100, I would add more money to the scholarship because we want students to thrive. We need this money. So I would go to Chevron. Actually, you do have Chevron's money, so I would give that money to the Rich and Promise because they deserve it. They're in a scenario. But with this little bit of money, oh, this can go all the way to the top, all the way to the top. So I would take that money from Chevron and give it to the rich with promise. So with that, I will pass it on to the next speaker.

The next speaker is Jasmine Gonzalez followed by Adriana Mendoza.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is Jasmine and I am a former Richmond Promise Scholar. I'm here tonight to speak about the importance of investing in the scholarship programs that support young people in our community. My journey with Richmond Promise started when I was first awarded the Richmond Promise Scholarship in 2019. And through their programming, I was given the opportunity to become a summer associate in 2022. That opportunity opened doors that I never imagined were possible. It eventually led me to serve as a scholar success coordinator at Richmond Promise through the AmeriCorps VISTA program in 2024. Through these experiences, I gained leadership skills, professional experience, and confidence in myself. Programs like Richmond Promise do much more than just help students pay for college. They create pathways for young people to grow, succeed, and give back to their communities. Because someone invested in me, I was able to build a career and prepare for the job that I have today. I stand here as proof that these programs work. When we invest in students, we invest in the future of our city. We give young people hope, opportunity, and the support they need to achieve their goals. I strongly support continued investment in programs like Richmond Promise so that more students can have the same opportunities that changed my life. Thank you for your time.

The next speaker is Adriana Mendoza, followed by Shandanae Battle.