Name: Reunión de City Council, Santa Rosa, 16 jun 2026
Start: 2026-06-16
Location: City of Santa Rosa

>> I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish Channel to commence interpretation of the meeting for those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available. And members of the public or staff wishing to listen in. Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar, it looks like a glow. If you're on your cell phone or tablet locate the 3 dots, top them lightly. Put a check mark on your preferred language click on to activate and begin the interpretation. Once you join the Spanish Channel, we recommend that you shut off the main audio. So only hear the Spanish interpretation. Motion. You please restate this in Spanish? Absolutely. >> put it if you needed gun and they did pick this year. And in a moment, though, when of it and but they have a and seemed a live look at a q what followed It Eva, what language interpretation or in But this the Spanish voiced by Ewan if that and and no incentive to skimp point. Those could be some more ice and a punt. They Yeah, but enough Lucy on the impact that this Jan in us by phone. That could mean that was and they know But as protect, so. Main thing picking >> Yes, yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. The time is and we'll call this meeting or city clerk. Would you please call the roll? >> Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers, President Councilmember MacDonald, your Councilmember

Fleming. Councilmember Ben Willows here, Councilmember Alvarez. Thank you from afar. Vice Mayor Cookie here, Mayor step here. Let the record show that all councilmembers are here with the exception of Councilmember Fleming. >> Excellent. All right. We have no closed session items. Today's read or write on to item 4.1. Our study session on downtown our downtown economic development strategy. I must confess I was hoping for a bit more of a crowd. This item deserves to have a packed council chamber South. Thank you. Thank you for being here today. And all after all is imminent. And the dancer looking for the presentation. The >> Thank you, Mayor. Vice Mayor Councilmembers. I'm Jill Scott on the city's real estate manager. And I'm here today with the whole gave Osborne, our economic are playing economic development. Director Scott Wagner, chief financial officer and Scott there, who's our chief economic development officer. And we are very excited to be here today to talk to you about the downtown economic development strategy and how this strategy really supports Santa Rosa's, long-term prosperity. So let a road map conversation today because it's a little bit of a long presentation. We have a lot of information to bring to council and to the community today. So we're going to start with the director Osborne. He's going to go over where we are today are strategies that we have in place our policies and the progress that we've made towards Thos. Then he's going to turn it back over to me. And I'm gonna talk about our challenges that we're facing in the city or infrastructure or deferred maintenance and the cost that we have along with then we're

going to turn it over to our chief Economic Development. Officer Scott, a dare to talk about the opportunity that we're going to talk about today. The exciting opportunity to bring housing jobs and revenue back into the city. And then we're going to come back to In fairness, we do have housing jobs and revenue in the city. Now. >> We do produce have more more more housing jobs and revenue. And then we're going bring it back to me for the approach. How do we get there? What do we do? What's our approach? And then our chief financial officer is going to talk to us about the financing of it. The fiscal. >> The fiscal impact of the whole program. And then back to council for feedback and some decisions. So we're excited to get started. So we all know the 5 council goals that our city council has put into place bring Santa Rosa into prosperity and for us to get better over time. Those are fiscal sustainability and budgeting, infrastructure investment, economic development, community, health and safety and housing and homelessness. Why we bring this up today is because there's a lot of us here in the audience and at this table that have been with Santa Rosa for a very long time. And it's not very often in our careers that we have the opportunity to bring one single strategy forward to council that meets or exceeds every single council call for this community. And that's what the strategy is. And that's why as staff are very excited to bring it forward. So I'm gonna turn it over now to draft or Osborne to talk about policies and the economics of downtown's. Thank you, MISS Sky and good afternoon. Mayor Vice mayor members of the council as Scott mentioned, an

important strategy in really developing an overall comprehensive plan is a vision and that vision is often memorialized in goals that broad categories that give direction to staff. >> The evolution of those goals takes the place of policies that get into more defined strategies. And actually implementation steps. So we'll take an opportunity here in the next few slides to talk about their policies that the city has been putting in place to support economic development, to support housing in the community and to specifically support that in the downtown. And it's really important how all those come together from an economic development strategy standpoint, one of the most important documents that a city can adopt from a long-range planning is a general plan. The general plan sets the framework and the blueprint for the city's growth. I determines where certain growth and use types should occur. It controls land. Use and then it also controls infrastructure that's put in place to support that land use the city adopted to current general plan in JUNE of 2025. And that extends a vision out to 2050. An important document that works in conjunction with the general plan is a specific plan. And what that takes is the fairly broad direction that exists in the general plan. At turns it into a more evolved strategy for a specific geographic area. And one of our most successful specific plans has been our downtowns area station, specific plan that encompasses a 720 acres that are in the downtown of the General Eric Square area. It focuses on an urban core centered around courthouse square. And much of the focus on courthouse square

has been really in the middle of that and seeing how development can commence outside of that. I focus on pedestrian friendly. Mixed use development residential Dan season-high as well as job creation. An important pieces has removed barriers and created consistency in permitting processes. And it has resulted in almost 800 housing units that are either approved constructed or under review. And the downtown stationary. In addition, the city adopted in economic development strapped plan. It's really important to understand that economic development and land use really work hand in hand, understanding how land is used to ensure that there is a return on investment and economic value is really critical to the overall planning process. So one of the main pillars in our economic development strapped plan is economic vibrancy and resiliency. And within that plan, there is also a goal to bolster downtown housing, commercial and retail business. That further expands on that goal to set forward a specific action and much of what the conversation today will surround around is this action, which is expand downtown asset strategy, activating city-owned property for economic development purposes to include housing and housing, support of amenities with an emphasis on sustainable and walkable neighborhoods. So in addition to our economic development, strategic plan, we had a discussion with council earlier this month for a study session to talk about our housing strategy. Our housing strategy really ties together. All of these plans and other critical document is the city's housing element which focuses on how the city can meet regional needs for

housing within a certain timeframe, an important conference, concept to embrace through the housing element is multi-family housing or denser housing. And the reason being is most communities in California have grown significantly outward and as they run into challenges with Byron mental restrictions or urban growth, boundaries, that becomes more of a desire to do urban infill to meet those housing goals. Really critical document to support the city's housing strategy. Next slide. Please. So MISTER And our Adair and I really deal with this point quite often white as economic development matter. And oftentimes what is economic development? Economic development is really the engine that keeps cities moving forward. When cities are in gross state cities are usually doing that. Grow through housing, jobs become critical revenue generation becomes critical because governments provide services to the community members that rely on that revenue. So economic development isn't necessarily the engine in that vehicle. Moving forward to some supply. The overall needs of the community. I often refer to it as the fuel that goes into the engine. Economic development relies heavily on private investment and most communities growth occurs to private investment. But the city's role is often in policies and procedures and figuring out a way to make catalytic moves that actually encourage economic development. How much is a really important point from a land-use decision? So when we look at economic development through a downtown activation lands and we'll have a few more sides to talk about the

importance of downtown's to communities that really becomes more of the economic center. So the point of basically creating really live work play aspects downtown where you're driving housing. You're driving more mixed use commercial. You're actually increasing property taxes per acre. You're generating sales tax and people live work and play in the same environment that creates an ecosystem that really feeds itself. It also can create an attraction to tourism. So creating a walkable communities in activating spaces through events drives individuals from outside of the community that then increased sales tax dollars. Transit occupancy tax occur through hotel. So tourism is a really important piece to the downtown overall. Economic growth is really important. So as the city grows, the burden of the government to maintain those services grows along with that city. So understanding how the revenue is coming in along with that. How are we creating jobs? How recreating the really these lovable communities where people are spending money in the community, you're driving sales tax. You're really maximizing those revenue measures. That's a really important point. And often times with many jurisdictions that are fighting structural deficits is because of the revenue is slowing and is not keeping up with the growth and the costs associated with that maintenance. Housing and mixed use. Will give a few examples in the slide about some pick. Successful re-imagining of downtown's and other jurisdictions. And they almost always focus on housing and mixed use. Urban infill, high density housing with some

other component of commercial. And it very much a washing repeat if that that whole story. And that development concept is successful. That brings another and many such as hotels increase that retail space. And as I mentioned, the downtown increase, that environment that is really needed to feed itself. Also a critical component to this, which I think the city is achieved as public recreation space is you have to create a platform that can be programmed for the events in crates. A desirable location for people to be outside fiscal stability is an incredibly important point here and really diversifying. In economic development. Strategies is critical. There have been a number of communities in the past that have focused on one segment of the economy to really propped up the city. I believe Detroit is probably one of your better examples of that and how it rallied around the auto industry has that falls off? The community falls off along with that. So diversifying hitting all the buckets is critical because it can sustain some of the downturns and some of those industries. So as you focus on retail tourism, understanding the unique dynamics of individual spending money to ensure they're spending money in the community. It make sure that you're limiting the risks that you're not really throwing all of your eggs in one basket for lack of a better term in this great long-term economic value. Obviously job creations. The piece to that next slide. Please. So when we look at the downtown ecosystem that this dovetails a bit into the discussion about policy because in many situations, cities will turn policy into actionable items which can take the form of the policies. But it also gets into how dollars are invested. So really, we put a lot of effort

into figuring out how we can re managed the downtown, how we can see more density and how we can see more job activity and retail activity in the downtown that's taking place through permit and fee incentives, creating transparency to the development community through permitting process, consistent turnaround times and reducing permitting costs is critical and a number of measures have been put in place to port that. We also recently adopted enhanced infrastructure financing district. So any isd will take tax increment property tax increment that is generated out out the boundary and it funnels that back into projects that further support economic development. So investing those property tax dollars into beautification activation or projects that can be a catalyst that actually result in other projects. He's really the purpose of the So that's actually a strategy. We're investing funds in the development of a specific area. The city is also in a unique situation and the downtown of the city controls property and buildings and looking at those property and buildings, which is really the theme of the conversation today to better understand if they are achieving their best are highest use and whether redevelopment can be a ripple effect in the economic environment of the downtown. And I'll talk a little bit about what a ripple effect is. And then later, slides. It's also important to take care of public space. Public space becomes something that attracts people to an area. It's a vibrancy. It's something people want to be in. So as we enough occasion of Courthouse Square has occurred and has the events of come in. We've seen quite a bit of activity that goes along with those we form community benefit districts

that bill from the rare, a square in the downtown area that further work on beautifying the spaces. It's all part of that collaborative approach to make sure that we're making the area's inviting as possible. And events are really a critical piece to that in a lot jurisdictions that are embracing offense. You know, you can bring a lot of people into the area for events multiple day. Events can represent hotel stays. So how can really support those in the areas? We've had a conversation in the past with the council and we will be moving forward with bringing a formal action from the council later on in this year. But that's associated with entertainment zones. This is a tool in the tool box. It is a creative way that allows people to spend money in a business through the purchase of alcoholic beverages and move those alcohol beverages into the place making or the exterior spaces where you're creating the activity. So will it encourage more investment in the downtown? We don't know at this point, but this is another example really peeling back the onion and doing everything we can to encourage private investment in the downtown core. Next slide. Please. So really the value of downtown is it's hard oftentimes it's qualitative in it, but it also can be quantitative cities that have a downtown. It becomes their identity cities that do not have a downtown. They attempt to create one to create their identity. And it really is so important to the branding of the city because downtown's historically have been the economic engine as cities have developed over the course of many years. It often centers around a downtown, which is an economic center, more modern planning and growth has economic centers and other areas. But the more traditional has been around the core and build out around

it. And when that occurs and the court gets neglected for whatever reason, through planning or through the investment of private dollars. Jurisdictions all focus back on centering in the downtown. And that is because it creates a brand for the city for the folks that live in Santa Rosa. They they recognize Santa Rosa based on that's downtown. It gets brought into the conversation quite often. When individuals visit a city, you often visit the downtown and understanding the downtown needs to have modern feel to it needs to restore a routine. The start value of previous buildings, sort of a very dynamic need that the community sees and downtown. But when they're done successfully, they are an investment magnet. And we've seen that in many jurisdictions that it has a high return on the investment when it's done correctly and has projects pencil out and they show a positive return. It encourages a significant amount of future investment. It also is the focus for terrorism. As I mentioned before, cities can market and rally around a downtown, especially in the critical situation or the important situation. We are where we have a square. We have 4 street that we're trying reactivate and a lot of ways from redevelopment standpoint. But we have an event platform and we have a really good foundation to work off of and we're seeing more activity in the downtown. Think the part poisoned just creates a sense of place. And it is that amenity that even if you live in Santa Rosa, it's your Friday night is your Saturday nights where you want to go with your children on a Sunday morning, it becomes the destination Next slide. Please. So really the the

aspect of a redevelopment ripple effects functions very similar to throwing an object in the body of water that creates a ripple of the republic stands past that impact point and the economic development arena as you invest in a specific parcel that parcel generates in a positive economic experience, revenue and that revenue is typically seen through property taxes or could be generated through sales tax. The concept of a ripple effect is does it trigger additional private investment outside that perimeter and then how far does that ripple go? And a lot of jurisdictions as they have come back and centered on their downtown have seen significant ripple effects that has that model starts working and it shows a positive return that encourages more private investment. And you really start seeing a redevelopment pattern where you go back to want a 2 story buildings and your downtown core, you end up with 68 to greater. And that starts working its way out. So it in simple terms, a small investment potentially can have a much larger return if it is the catalyst that is basically bringing more private investment into an area next slide. Please. So I think it's really important to point out that the team loves this quote from Fred can't friend. Ken is the founder of Project for Public Places, which is a nonprofit that assists community with unlocking power of public spaces to build community spark civil and social life

and expand economic opportunity. So this nonprofit has been operating since 1975. Is assisted over. 3500 communities. And it's really to re-evaluate space in a better way for public use and economic development purposes. And it really is every decision about land is a decision about the community's future. And really when we make decisions about land, it doesn't mean that this is chiseled in stone because oftentimes there's opportunities when you make a land-use decision and then that land-use decision actually materializes and physical structures. There's often a time in which the jurisdiction mice live with those physical structures. But then you get to a critical point where it can be revisited. But this revisiting often us thinking about what the community needs 30 to 40 years from now. So it's really focused focusing on understanding what the future looks like in trying to make decisions. Now for those members of the community that will all be sitting in our seats 30 years from now. Next slide So the ripple effect as it applies to downtown and the very much when you're looking at a downtown where you have upward momentum, the amount of property tax per acre is critical. So typically the footprint is small, but the proper tax because the valuation goes up, as you develop up can be great. So really you're looking at more of a tax base So it's investing in property. That's more of the immediate return. The whole concept doing more of the mixed use development is really looking at the concept of an 18 hour downtown. So that really is the live work play. This is the mechanism that is feeding

off itself. So when you have housing to have a grocer that supplies the housing, do you have restaurants that support the housing? Plus outside services? Are you creating really the tourism amenities that bring people into that to stay in that that that area for an 18 hour and then really downtown activation falls into that as And obviously that's the hotel and retail. But I think in this particular case, when we look at activation, most jurisdictions will take a look at underutilized sites. So as we have sites in the downtown that cheating, the best and highest use, how can those sights potentially be the catalyst that creates the ripple? They will provide immediate returns with the redevelopment. But are they the catalyst? That thing kicks off other components in the downtown and the next sides have a few examples of other jurisdictions that have gone through this journey. The stats are listed in summarize based on those are going to those in a bit more detail in the next few slots. Next slide. Please. So we're just a few examples of redevelopments of jurisdictions. Emeryville is a really interesting test case and has been studied quite often. Emeryville prior to 1960, and actually through the 1960's was very industrial, quite a few polluted brownfield sites. Really made a decision through the 60's and 70's and very heavily in the 1990's that it would redevelop. And Emeryville is a smaller jurisdiction. But every bill will put 95% of its available property in a redevelopment agency and invested a significant amount of dollars in economic development. And just to give you an idea, once again, a smaller jurisdiction,

this is through 1990, to 2001, which when redevelopment agency was were running strong and do invest in 160 million on economic development. And just to put some perspective to that, that is $2 out of every 5 spent on public services. So it really double down on economic development that resulted in their general fund growing by 63% and for a period of time, the redevelopment agency was generating the highest tax increment or tax growth per person anywhere in the Bay area and what they've seen is 95% of those parcels have redeveloped and it's redeveloped in a concept of 68 stories. A mixed use of commercial providing those services very much. That multi-use concept and now the one of the projects that highlighted here result public market is now redeveloping. Some of that redevelopment. And it's significant. It's looking at 700 residential units 180,000 square feet of retail 120,000 square feet of office. So they're really actively trying to bring in jobs to bring in businesses to focus on the retail with the housing component extend all of that. And this really shows us all a test case. And now since redevelopment has moved on there, they're looking at other revenue measures such as transfer taxes to figure out how they can continue fund that that they have created an organism that is driving private investment dollars there. And it is successfully working out well for the city because they're able to retain services and then their revenue is significant. Next slide. Please. So I think

Lancaster is another example that this this is interesting. They Lancaster went through the process of actually putting a 5 lane highway on a road diet. They neck that down to 2 active lanes and created essentially a public plaza space in the middle of the road that they can activate through a fence. It creates a very unique environment. And at the time they had similar. Sort of use in the adjacent commercial where you had businesses, but you had vacancies and after they had this project go and they program this project correctly, they saw a significant uptick in some of that economic growth that resulted in their downtown and 119% in in tax revenue. The private investment that was tracked attracted. And I think this is part of that ripple effect was anticipated to be or was actual of 130 million and they saw 273 million in total economic output. And then obviously it had additional benefits of the pressurization corridor and reducing vehicle strikes and making pedestrian safer. So I think this really an example. Some of courthouse square where you can invest infrastructure project in for Lancaster, that infrastructure project was the catalyst that kept driving additional development in the area. Psychics. Another example is Glendale is Lindale a similar population of Santa Rosa in their downtown over an 8 block core. There was a significant redevelopment and that redevelopment really changed their downtown. And this was done through private investment with the city facilitating that. But once again, it focused on some of the main components that are successful. There is a retail component residential and this

actually included a park in a public space. So they're addressing really live work play. And this was so wildly popular that it actually brought in similar to some of the actions that we're seeing in Montgomery Village. I think that is also a ripple effect that when you get certain uses, it becomes attractive to other retailers and other uses that. See, you can actually make money in that market. And it was a catalyst that really changed the whole theme of their downtown. So this isn't just some examples. We want to provide real examples of cities. Some really pertain to the situation more and some are more redevelopment related, but they really focus on making economic development decisions to re. Imagine a downtown. And I think they represent success stories next slide. Please. So with that, I will have the presentation back to ms Scott who will talk about strategic investment models. So talk a little bit more about what Oz Ron was talking about is the reinvestment model and how it happens in the city. So >> using core pillar of our city's economic development strategy on underutilized land and city property. And what we can do with it. How it works is we activate underutilized land. So we take a piece of city land that we own that has aging infrastructure that has costs related to it. We eliminate the maintenance costs. We capture that unrealised value through tax revenue and we transfer all the risk and the liability that we now what we have on this aging infrastructure to a qualified development partner who rehabilitate the site. In turn. That site enables private investment. We bring in a trusted. Development partner who knows how to

develop and to bring investment into the city. They bring housing commercial space. High-density development a little more than we have now. And it's a strong private investment. An infusion of capital into the city. In turn that drives economic activity. You see more jobs, more vitality and a stronger local economy. In turn that generates all the fiscal dividends. So it unlocks that revenue engine on that piece of property that has been sitting either vacant or with underutilized land, bringing in more revenue to the city to be able to infuse and to the community. Next slide. So Director Osborne talked about. All the other cities that are doing this and there's many more that have done different projects and different sayings. It's been proven elsewhere. We've seen it happen. We've seen cities just. Really do excellent things with that we've seen and bring in more housing, more jobs, more revenue. But it is happening in Santa Rosa. Now we are doing it and we have been successful with it. What we want to talk about today is really the catalytic opportunity that we have coming forward next slide. Please. So let's talk a little bit about what we're doing first and what we have done. This was sort of our flagship of developments and it's a well loved by the community. I think by counsel and definitely by staff we took. And this is really was we worked with housing department to do this. But this was really their baby. We took the old senior center site. We had moved or senior center to the Pearson Wing and the Old City

Center site was have become a blight to the community. It was terrible. It looks terrible. It had a fire. The roof was caving in. It really was horrible. We didn't know what to do with the building. We were just going to take it down. What housing did was put out an rfp for a qualified development partner and we were lucky enough to have free bird development come in and redeveloping the site and they did an excellent job. Now their existence. 61 unit affordable residential community and a beautiful structure and building. That is an amazing complex. Every time I drive by it makes me smile. Next. Slide. Please. The White House site. Here's another catalyst site. Is one of our major catalyst sites in the downtown. It was recalled the White because it used to be years and years ago, the White House departments were and it's now a very under utilized surface parking site. Council is have the foresight to be able to look at this and say we don't need this for downtown you, sir, for core use. Let's look for a development partner. So we put it out on an rfp. We found a qualified development partner and lh housing. It's now in negotiations and their development proposes a 3 unit residential development. So just for some emphasis on this, the total estimated downtown spending. That's a development like this could bring into our downtown. It's

almost 5 million dollars annually infusing into our downtown into our businesses to our core. Next slide. Please. Let's talk about a pop or playing a little bit. We have a good redevelopment pipeline of which were hoping to add to the old senior center site, which is completed with a great development. We have the White House site, which is active exclusive negotiation agreement right now. We have a downtown core site garage 5 that is out for rfp, looking for qualified development partner to redevelop. And then we additionally have parking lot 11, which is completed through the Surplus Lands Act and could go out for Fp later this year. Next slide, please. So now we get to the kind of the crux of what of what we think we can do. Economic development wise in the prosperity that we want to bring to the housing, jobs and revenue is what we've talked about over and over again. Building even stronger, vibrant future for formal. Take generations to come. And and the site we want to talk about today and our minds is really the catalytic site for the city next slide. Please. And it is the site were sitting on today. The city hall site. So City Hall site consists of 100 Santa Rosa Avenue where we're sitting today along with the 3 properties across across First Street, which are 90 Santa Rosa Avenue, 6.31, 0st street and 6.55. First Street. This site the site is. Consists of very aging infrastructure right now. It has years and years and years of deferred maintenance. Can you move to the next slide? Please? So

what I want to talk about now is really an infrastructure crisis. And I can't emphasize this enough right now we're at a critical risk point with this facility. The city hall facility, the facilities next door and the public safety building on Sonoma Avenue. All of those are critical points. So there's a gene infrastructure aging terminal infrastructure. We have hvac electrical plumbing. They're all past their useful life. There's undefined exposure that we don't know. We've years of facility assessments and testing on this. The exposure were not aware of that. We know likely excesses, ada, compliance, seismic safety, asbestos or eat remediation. It's undefined exposure. There's an operational costs to this. So not just not just the dollars and the aging infrastructure, but our services, the locations are fragmented here. So I don't know how many times Council or staff or anybody that spends any time here has been walking around the campus and run across a member of the business community or the public. And they said, can you help me? Where do I find the service? How do I get here? You have to go to room 3, 0, you need to go Please go across the street to room, you know, over to 90 Santa Rosa Avenue. All a walk you over there it's disjointed. The locations are disjointed. And we've tried for years with these facilities to make it better for the community, but have been unable to do that just because of the way the structure set up. And the biggest, the biggest thing is that we are sitting on 7 acres, 7 acres in our downtown

core of prime real estate. This is prime real estate that as you step right now with aging facilities and 350 civic employees. Now it's very important, as I think we all agree that those 315 in our downtown because those are important for businesses. But if we were able to move those 350 employees and unlock this economic engine. And that's what this prime property is. An economic engine. Think of what we could bring to the downtown. So what I've talked about with our critical challenges today is really the status quo. What we call the status quo, which we know after years and years of doing the same thing is not sustainable. Next slide, please. I love the title of the slide because it really it. It really explains what it is. We've learned over the years as a city that the cost of doing nothing is extremely high. And that's where it's gotten to us where we are today. So the city hall, campus buildings. Let's talk about those. And I mean, this this and across the street, the 3, the 3 buildings across the street. I'm not talking about public safe safety building at this moment. Right now just to prevent system failure just to keep these buildings going so that we can serve the public. We need to invest. 48 million dollars into terminal infrastructure along with that excess of that, we know we have at least another 50 million plus and the next 5 to 8 years for unavoidable lifestyle, lifecycle replacements and escalating my ability. And the longer that we take to put

that money into it and to do these the more expensive it gets. And then when I talked about or indefinite exposure are unknown risks. We don't we don't know what those are until we get into it. So that 100 million dollar price tag could be substantially more next slide. Please. So let's I want to talk a little bit about the cost of delay in which we've kind of going over. So a traditional rebuild spiral. Leave. We are not the only ones by far and the in this spiral many cities are and many cities which will talk about in a few slides have have or are in the process of changing U.S.. So in 2020, actually, I had say over many years that I've been we have tried multiple times unsuccessfully to either rebuild or move to unlock this economic engine. We've known that this is an engine and that we want to do it. But we haven't been able to fiscally do it in a feasible way. Like we're bringing you 2 today. So in 2020, just to rebuild after a very long study, just to rebuild just city hall alone on property that we already own. It was 64 million dollars. Today that same because we've waited. This is 2026 that same one building is 82 million dollars. The real danger that we have is the 100 million plus. And these aging terminal facilities. So every year we delay the cost rises, the cost rises and we lose the opportunity that we can on this economic engine. Next slide. Please. Why action

matters. We have old old buildings with lots of issues. As I said every year, the cost rises, emergency fixes, replace smart investment. We're getting to the point where neighborhoods could have to wait for things. If we have to put that much money into these buildings to continue service streets, parks lighting, for example, could all have to wait because of that because we have to keep these buildings and service opportunity slips homes, jobs in new revenues. Stay on hold. And we still have the disjointed locations that we're doing We would like to better serve the community next slide. Please. This is just a little bit. We talked about the confusing journey with are disjointed locations and the slide just tries to show the frustration we hear from business members and the community of trying to find services at this location. So this just shows a little journey that if you'd like to get a business license, you need to go across the street. If you then want a tia or a building permit, you need to go across the other end of the street to rooms 3. Then you want to visit. You want to visit the business Services center. You need to go over to room 6 and if you want to, let's see a council meeting, you come over this way is to Swinton is confusing and we hear it often and we'd like to do better for the community. Next slide. Please. So here's the good news. There's a better way forward. There's a strategic investment for

lasting impact for tomorrow, housing, jobs or revenue private capital public gain. We can create one city hub where there's one place where all of the community can go to get every service they need. If they want to get a parking permit if they want to get a Tia permit a building talk to their housing specialist all in one area. We can end this spiral that us and other cities have found ourselves in next slide. Please. And now I'm gonna turn it over to Chief Economic Development. Officer Scott a dare to talk about revenue, jazz generation and the transformational economic impact. Thank you, Good afternoon. >> Mayor Vice Mayor council members and city manager. My name is Scott Adair. I'm the chief economic development officer. >> For the city of Santa Rosa. >> For our part. >> The Economic Development division to assist the real estate and finance teams in this endeavor. Put together a fiscal model and analysis. On what the financial outcomes could be for a redevelopment of the downtown city Hall site. I prepared some notes with me today. I'll be reading from some of those notes and sharing some metrics with regards to the methodology and the outcomes of this analysis. The analysis that we completed. >> 4. >> Modeling what development could look like on the city hall site aligns directly with City Council's adopted economic development, strategic plan as was shared previously. I are planning economic development. Director gave Osborne the strategic

plan for Economic Development which was adopted by City Council in APRIL 2024 lays out goals to bolster downtown housing, support, commercial and retail businesses increase revenue to the business community and to the city and support a thriving economy by promoting and creating innovative infrastructure in our community. One of the key findings from the benchmarking that the economic development team completed as part of our analysis. Was a discovery that public investment has been proven in other markets to serve as a catalyst driver for community prosperity, strategic investment in public assets as you'll see and have seen through the examples that were given today as part of the presentation can and has in other markets stimulated growth in private development has supported housing and job creation has increased economic activity and communities. And has generated new revenue streams for jurisdictions. As you'll see in this slide, these revenues can then be reinvested back into the community in the form of services, new infrastructure, quality of life improvements for Santa Rosen's and creating a positive cycle of growth and value for our community and our residents. And while the numbers on the following sides, them slides themselves are important. I do want to stress that this is some of the quantitative data. Only there's qualitative. Benefits and other outcomes. From a public investment on the city hall site, which could create potentially multigenerational benefits for the community. Which would extend beyond any

single project and could produce long-term economic fiscal and community driven outcomes for Santa Rosen's. I apologize. I'm managing both the slides and my presentation. So thank you. Let's talk a little bit about the revenue engine and before we get into the revenue engine and really discuss what this site could become. I want to share that the economic development division as we modeled what potential development could look like for the city Hall site. We took into consideration a fundamental tenant of real estate and community planning and real estate development within communities. >> And that is the fundamental >> concept, if you will, of highest and best use. And we looked to what other communities mid-rise urban downtown environments with demographics and other key performance indicators from an economic Econometric point of view had similarities to Santa Rosa and we looked at what developments in those communities look like. And we came up with the following model and the following model. Lends itself to the maximum of public utility that can be driven out the site when icu to la t I'm talking from an economic development perspective. This model, as you can see here. And we used allowable downtown densities and conservative floor area ratio, assumptions for this model represents ad. >> Mixed use development

scenario, which is a classic or prototypical example of vertical integration in a downtown. And itself is a part. Typical development. And what other mid-rise downtown developments look like in environments which are similar to Santa Rosa. The total gross developed area under this model is made up of hotel apartment condo retail office and civic space. You'll note, too, that this model assumes only 3.7, 5 acres of the total acreage site being developed, which leaves plenty of room for green space and or Brinkley, additional development, which would only further enhance the physical outcomes of of the model. So let's get into some numbers. And I want to talk a little bit about the methodology that was used. So we benchmarked after other developments that are occurring in other communities. Real developments and we looked at what a prototypical mixed use. High utility, vertical integration model could be for the city Hall site. And we came up with the model which was on the previous slides from that model. We were able to derive certain fiscal outputs. And I'm going to just talk a little bit about the multipliers and the meant methodology used as we put this model together. So that you understand where these numbers came from. So the economic development team, we routed our assumptions in industry benchmarks and public information from a number of different sources, including

the Sonoma County Auditor controller's office. The California State controller's office, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Urban Land Institute, the Lincoln Land Institute, the National Multifamily Housing Council, the building owners and Managers Association. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Department of Finance, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the California office of the Small Business Advocate, California Office of Economic Development, Orko Biz and the California Economic Development Department and using data available from all of those sources, we modeled multipliers off of basic assumptions for apartment values per unit condominium values per unit, hotel values per unit office value per square foot. Retail value per square foot. We looked at what average construction costs and buildable allowances as far as our densities would allow for number of hotel rooms, hotel meeting space number of apartment units, condominium units total maximum opportunity for civic space. We looked at average occupancy rates for hotels, average daily rates for hotels. Average gas per occupied room average annual room nights in the region's sold We looked at what industry multipliers were for average occupancy rates for condominiums that fully full sale and also at

apartment communities of fully sup. We looked at total residents per occupied unit averages. We also looked at what all of the estimated labor force participation rates were for construction projects of this magnitude. And I've only covered maybe a 4th of all of the variables and important that we used in our Richard Eyre. Just one question for the members of the public that are going to do a deep dive into this and MAY not have been able to memorize that list. I'm assuming this is going to be very much available to the public as when they look at the methodology. >> This more extensive analysis which supports the 3 slides that are shown here is available. It's a staff report. Can make it available for anyone who's interested. >> Wonderful. Thank And I only go through that exhaustive list so that the public and council fully understands the amount of analysis and review that went into the numbers which are on the top of the screen here as we modeled out what potential projected revenue impacts could be from a project for a multi-use multi development, vertical integration project could look like at the city Hall site. We ended up with the revenues in the neighborhood of 8.4 million to 9.3 million in new annual spending activity within the downtown. An additional 1.6 to 1.8 million in direct annual recurring revenue to the city that figure over 30 years, assuming conservative stabilization escalation rates equates to about 60 million dollars in new public revenues over a 30

year period. These revenue source is are multiple. We included in our analysis review of property tax on the physical land development improvements themselves, sales tax and use tax. Transient occupancy tax also looked at the business improvement area revenues which would be generated out of a potential development such as this one. Our review also included ancillary revenues such as permit and licensing fees, parking revenues, etc. It's important to note that these are not one-time revenues either these revenues would occur year after year and could be reinvested into public services, infrastructure parks, public safety and other initiatives of the city. I should also note as well that this analysis was intentionally conservative when we found variables imports and multipliers to use for our analysis, if there is a margin or a spread, we use the bottom one so that we could come with a conservative analysis. Economists typically like under promise and over deliver. If you were to look at even a slightly more moderate, not aggressive. Just a slightly more moderate or mainstream analysis using the same outputs. It's very likely that a developer could actually generate or development of the site could generate north of 2 or 2.5 million in new annual run up revenues, recurring revenues for the city. >> And that the 30 day value

could be closer to the 85, 90 million dollars for the city over 30 year period. >> I also want to just end with, you know, I'm just lie. There are other. Economic benefits aside from just the direct revenues that could come to the city in terms of new tax revenue for for a project, such as the one that we model for this analysis, as you can see on this slide, that there would be both induced indirect jobs, permanent jobs as a result of at least this model 350 plus new permanent jobs. The construction jobs alone would be over 700 jobs during the construction period. This would equate to over 40 million dollars in wages annually. And that spanned from those wages equates to approximately 9 million dollars in new annual economic activity in the downtown. I should also state that there are qualitative benefits to a project such of this nature within our downtown beyond direct revenues. The qualitative value of redevelopment of the city Hall site could include the creation of new housing opportunities, increase downtown vitality, expanded employment opportunities, enhanced support for local businesses, greater pedestrian activity, increased tourism and visitor spending, improved public spaces and placemaking new perceptions of safety through the increased activity and activation of downtown spaces. The attraction of additional private investment as a this being a catalyst

expansion of the city's economic tax base, improve utilization of a an existing strategic public asset support for downtown revitalization goals as laid out in the economic development. Strategic plan and ultimately creating a more robust and strong urban core so with that, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present on this analysis and to walk us through the remainder of the presentation. I would like to turn it over to my colleague of City's real estate manager Jill Scott. Thank you, Scott. Appreciate it. >> So here we are at the turning point. How are we going unlock this value? What's the path forward and what's the strategic analysis next slide? Please. It's the approach is pretty simple. And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's called the property exchange. It's a smart strategy. It's a strong for a stronger community. Had a lasting impact. It's a very carefully structured system that puts the rate uses on the right property. So right now, I think we can all agree that this is probably not the best use for this 7 acres of prime downtown development. But we do need safe and modernize building that we're able to serve the community us and a better and a better way. It's a deliver. It process. This is years and years city work and asset planning that all come together to shape opportunity. Usually valuable and the city and a private partner each get the site that fits their mission. So our mission is to serve the public and the best way that we can and is safe

and structured environment developers mission is to redevelopment land and unlock that I put that economic opportunity. Its risk calibrated of all of the different ways. We've looked at over many, many years and studied on how we can remove the civic element from this prime real estate. This is. This is this opportunity has brought all of the puzzle pieces together. There's always one that's been missing or has been a fiscally and feasible at the time opportunity and this property exchange brings every puzzle piece together at this prime opportunity. Next slide. Please. So let's talk about the mechanics of how it works. It's exactly what it sounds like. We trade the piece of city Hall property. We exchange it for a building its is exactly what it sounds like. The property exchange, the hard part of the property exchanges. You must find a trusted developer to redevelop the site who also owns a building that fits the city needs and is large enough for the city needs to be able to exchange these properties. So what it does for the city is it eliminates the risk, the aging infrastructure and the 100 million dollar liability. The ongoing maintenance and the escalating costs cycle that spiral I was talking about that we and other cities have found themselves in. If the city receives the asset we receive a new building for the downtown where we can create a one-stop service hub to better serve the community. We get

economics growth, catalysts unlocking this economic engine that were sitting on and we get reduced operating costs no large of capital outlay and long-term economic and housing growth. Next slide. Please. How does this create value for the community? It's another way to looking at it. 2 days, campus aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance, rising costs. We get a new city hall building, a one-stop service hub for the community, lower operating costs. Much better service delivery. What is that? What is the community get every develops. I they get more housing, more jobs, a stronger tax base on a former civic center site one transaction with 2 positive outcomes. But as we've talked about, here's the redevelopment ripple effect. We get these 2 positive outcomes which have all of these ripples of economic growth. Not only for us, but for multi generations to come. Next slide. Please. A lot of people talk about the creek property. In case anyone is in the community is not on this property. At 100 Rose Avenue very near to where we set just a little south to where we said are too and are grounded. Colver did creeks Santa Rosa Creek in Matanzas Creek. They've been covid for I don't know, probably a lifetime. Many years staff would suggest or highly recommend that the city keep this property. The

1.5 acres of the 7 acre site keeping that property preservers, the opportunity for the future and it preserves it keeps the creek corridor and public accounts and it it preserves are right for future trail. Connectivity and the big one and their environmental flexibility. We know that we have some challenges. We MAY have some challenges with, but management options and this supports either Future Creek restoration or expansion and allows the city to still be able to do that. Along with the Sonoma County Water Agency and keep that in public hands to be able to bring that to the community. Next slide, please. So here's the last piece of the puzzle. Our favorite thing to talk about, the California Surpassed Lands Act. This is the last piece of the puzzle, the state law that brings us all together at this time that we haven't always had the ability to do so. There is an exemption for properties changes for agency used just for the Spurs s and the Surplus Lands Act so we can to we are allowed as a government agency for our agency use to take our current civic site Council MAY declare it exempts surplus. Then we can exchange it with a qualified development partner for an office space where weaken it. A new service hub facility for the community and for staff and the community gets this redeveloped, former civic site. Now, this like I said, the last piece of the puzzle that has all come together to make this feasible at this time. Next slide,

please just to reiterate everything we talked to today, taking public assets and turning them into public value. This is the theme of the whole. Conversation today taking a civic site redevelopment for community Bennett benefit and for economic growth. Next slide. Please. These are a couple of different cities that are doing the same thing will not exactly the same thing we are, but all in a way that we're doing that this is San Pablo and they're all cities are similar ish to a size 2 They have taken and transferred or rebuilt. There City Hall and taken that former site and redeveloped it into mixed use development site with housing, retail investment and hide wonderful results for their community. Next slide. Please. Burlingame, doing the same thing. Really just a little bit ahead of us. Started really a little bit before 2025. And Burlingame is doing something a little more similar to us. They bought a new building or they bought a existing building and they're redeveloping their site. And it's about to open sometime at the end of this year. Next slide, please. And then we Helen nuke going to Gild. There's a pleasant their city hall site, but it was a civic site with a lot of surface parking. They took that site and really built a whole new urban center, a whole new downtown. It's pretty amazing. Its plan to open at the end of this year. And we're excited to see what happens. But it has 275 multifamily apartments 158,000. Retail restaurant,

medical and creative office space is 16,000 Square feet up a new public library. They're expecting to create a lot of vibrancy and a whole new walkable downtown on underutilized public land. Next slide. Please on this made. I wanted to go. We wanted to go over the overview of options. So we've talked about a lot in. This has been a long presentation. So let's just break it down into 3 options 3 pass forward. Each lead to a different location. Option one is maintaining the status quo. We know this is the Scully infeasible for us. Keep operating these buildings. Put a lot of money into them. Get no community development of any kind and not unlocking this economic engine. It's it's an option, but it's not really an option. Moving forward. Option 2 is we could build a new city hall that would give us the better service quality to the public, which would be great. But it has a very high tide, very high cost a longer timeline and a significant interruption. Not to mention that the cost is really again, financially unfeasible for us as a city. And then option 3 is we could council could decide to pursue a property exchange. We would then unlock the economic and Jen of the 7 acres of prime downtown real estate create this revenue engine and and have a one-stop service have for the community. Next slide. Please. This goes through very

quickly. Each peach status, each one that we have to look at today. The status quo 100 million dollar plus investment know improved continued deficiencies, no improve services to the public. Very high financial risk of approximately 6 million dollars annually from the general fund to do this for that 100 million dollars. Next slide. Please. Second second opportunity. We could build a new city city hall. It again gives us a improve service delivery, but it has little to no economic impact. The fiscal risk is extremely high capital costs, we think about 82 million dollars and rising every day. The annual cost of that 5 million dollars annually from the jet from the general fund. Next slide. Please. Then we have the property exchange. We exchange our property for another building. We think the capital cost of taking an existing office structure and creating this one-stop hub for the community is about a one time capital cost of 17 to 21 million and approximately 1 million or less a year. It creates a central service hub. It unlocks all of this property and puts it into private hands for redevelopment for a trust with a trusted redevelopment partner. And it brings an revenue vitality. All of all of the things we've talked about throughout to the city, the fiscal risk, which will our cfo will talk about in just a few minutes is extremely well next slide, please the community gets

this. It's a redevelopment site. New housing, open-space jobs and taxes, modern civic hub downtown downtown vibrancy. Next slide. Please. Here's the 3 goes through really quickly. Just side by side. And I'm gonna turn it over to our chief, our chief financial officer to talk a little bit more about the fiscal side of this. So we have the 3 pass. We've talked about the status quo 100 million dollars, 6 million dollars a year. No economic growth still sitting on the city hall site number to build a new city hall. 82 million dollar capital costs. 5 million dollars a year from the general fund. Minimal growth. No economic activity. We have the property exchange for redevelopment, a onetime capital cost of 17 to 20 million about 1 million dollars a year from the general fund. But we get new revenue of 1.6, 9 to 1.8 million a year. That is as our chief economic development officer talked about a very conservative estimate of what can come. And this is multigenerational estimates that this can go on and on and on through not just our lifetimes, but our children's lifetimes. Downtown spending infusion of 8 to 9 million dollars for businesses in the downtown to support them. Job creation and wage generation. And with I'm gonna turn it over to Scott White in our chief financial officer. Thank you, Jill. My comments will be briefed today on this item, but I do want to see that he's presentation very much fits into the themes. >> And presentations that council or the finance has been bringing council for the

past couple years. This is a way for the city to address a major liability that has developed over decades again, similar to some other areas that we've been working through together. Additionally growing the economic vibrancy of Santa Rosa. Importantly at this also fits into the concept of reinvesting any better. Santa Rosa. Really financially. This is very simple. The options in front of us are very different. We can make a minimal investment in that better reinvestment in Santa Rosa. That will cost less. Or we can pay more to maintain the status quo is Jill described. That difference there ultimately ad or reduce our burden to our structural deficit that will be talking about later on today. Our public hearing. At its core. This is an issue again that has developed over decades that the city financially has not been able to address. Frankly, that was due to strategy. The shining tower of glass Taj Mahal brand new City hall was never a viable option for the city staff has brought forward option that is innovative. It's different and concrete and meaningful financial impact to our city and rises all boats with our Tides. Joe did a great job of talking to the numbers. But again, we're looking at this property. She option of around a million dollars worth of potential debt service versus staying where we are to put a Band-Aid on our facility. A 5 million dollars. I would much rather prefer is the cfo to recommend a one-million-dollar option. Neither are free. But our current facility is not free. I want to add that as we've

gone through prior facility reviews and come up with these very large liabilities, sometimes those can be looked at as a paper problem. A paper number. Those are no longer a paper problem. Staff is going to need to come back to council with a request for real funding to address this facility. If we are remaining here, that initial number is going to be 48 million dollars for the funding. This is again Jill's point to keep our facility open and operating to the public, which the public deserves. We look forward any financial other discussions around this issue. But again, laid out very nicely. This is just the simple again, we so many easy analogies here to want to invest money into a car with 400,000 miles on it. That is 50 years old. Every member of the public. And we all understand those are not good investments. Council and the city has been making very good financial decisions over the past couple years is an additional opportunity for us to reinvest in that better version of Santa Rosa. So just really go through next steps and then we'll turn it over to council for all your comments and >> next next fiscal year budget is coming up in the capital. Portions staff would recommend creating a capital facilities. Reserve of one time funds to move this forward. Next step would be to just discussion of property exchange sites that we considered that we've looked at. 3rd step is a potential property exchange proposal could be brought to council sometime in summer fall. And then in the future, we would

need to come back to council for citywide facility and Asset Management plan. Update. Next slide. Please. And we'd like to leave you with this last one of our staff's favorite quotes, which is the best way to predict the future is to create it. And with that, we're here to answer any questions. Thank you very much. >> What a conclusion. Thank you all. We knew this is going to Texan presentation. It is rare that we have decisions come to council that are so clearly historic where the city is going to go down one path versus another and Remember it. So I'm looking forward to the questions that we have from council today, which of my colleagues would like to begin. MR. Happy my off. Sure. Thank you, MR. >> Real >> just looking at these numbers, the 48, 2 100 million dollars for option, one in the 82 million dollars for option. 2 I'm not the cfo, but I have looked at the budget a time or 2 and we don't have that money anywhere. Do we? >> We don't. And I think that's what's up least the city into these again and what it what I would describe as decades of inaction because when you try to address a really large number that you can address, typically what could happen is an action. You say, well, we've got no money to put into it. We will do nothing that game only goes on for so long with facilities. The same thing could bring up the cart example. You don't change your oil long enough. You can pretend that you don't have that expense and then you blow your engine. We are at the blown engine part of this history of this campus. And when that engine blows, now you have real expenses and that's again when I brought up

that we need to start coming back to council now to address some of these plumbing electrical issues many, many issues that could bring up. These are now going forward going to be real expenses. So option one option to to your point, Vice mayor, I would advise is not. They're not possible. We do not have that funding. That's not an option for us now, what is an option would be option free towards a smaller amount versus an ongoing maintenance issue on our campus. That is a and as I brought up a rising tide that will help our structural budget deficit, frankly, on the short term, medium term and very much on the long term. Once the economic vibrancy really starts running. MISS Got you. You talked about a development agreement a couple of times for the layman. You describe how that works with a a >> property exchange? >> So in a property exchange, it's not the same as what we've seen on say, White House site or when we did the senior center and those instances we do a disposition and development agreement and those times we really lay out what the city wants to see are the community wants to see in that development and we hold their feet to the fire on that. It's a very long process property exchange that can't happen. There can be a development agreement which is a very different. Form of agreement that a development agreement can be something that lays out a possible project. But once that exchange happens, the city loses control doesn't no

longer has control of the property. That's why it's very important to put in the hands of a trusted developer partner that we know will think about the needs of the community when doing this because the city does not control what that development U.S. Senate. Your question. It does. Thank you very much. And then when you were talking a consolidation, I understand the efficiencies for businesses and residents. >> For this campus. But should there be a property exchange? We move >> a larger body that I think would have try to get out is that this is a deceptively small campus in terms of office space. So if you could talk talk about that for a second and then talk to, would there be any further efficiencies for the general public with a consolidation and how that would benefit the city from outside Justice campus. Be happy this campus. Looks like it's really large to your point. We have a lot of basement or underground space. That's not usable. >> If you want to talk and you know, commercial real estate language for leasable space or usable space, we we do not have enough usable space. There's not there's a lot of space in here that we just can't right now. Out brown, everything. We have an entire building which we call the Old West America Bank site across the street. That is completely unusable and can't be. People cannot be in that building. So it MAY look like we MAY look

like we have something like 90,000 Square feet over here when we really have about 40,000 square feet of usable space and 350 in place. What was the second sorry for about the 2nd half your question? Second part would be if we were to move into something that was say 50, 78,000 square feet, whatever it might be. >> What other efficiencies could come from that in terms of consolidation, not just for the general public, but from a city standpoint, how could that affect is positive? Could be amazing for a city successful of staff point just city uses like we can get a lot of departments together right now. It's not just a major thing is serving the public by. >> Our departments are disjointed. We could bring staff together to work proactively together. We could have a more modern efficient use. We can bring a lot more employees in. Then we're able to consolidate here. So there are a multitude of Aficion sees that we can bring. >> Thank you. And my last question in the property exchange model, how do we avoid further long-term liabilities like we have here is their way that we could. You know, we don't we don't move. How do we not move into something further ongoing expenses down the line that we MAY tinker hot. In a new a new building there's a property exchange does work in the same way as a purchase and sale agreement. And the matter that they'll a portion of time that we would enter into an inspection period where we're going to >> inspect the property that's chosen by counsel. If you decide to move forward make sure that we are moving into a

building that is great shape. Again, what's going to be very important to your point so that we don't get into a situation where we have deferred maintenance is we're going to put together a facilities plan that makes sense. And we're going ask come to council and ask you to fund a plan year over year where facilities can actually maintain the structure to that standard. So we don't find ourselves in the situation that we are now. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's been Wales. MR. Donald. Thank you so much for this presentation. This has been a tough one for me. And I know I've been super clear about it where my can you tell me if we invest this, what's the economic? >> Output from that. So I appreciate all of you taking time to help even my rain digest, which is a big topic and economics and then be able to go back to our community with some sound bites of how it works. Just and slide. 48, why we have to do something. What it means to our general fund and what it means to the longevity and sustainability of the city of Santa Rosa. So I have so much gratitude right now for the work that went into this. I love the data that you gave to us, MISTER Chair with knowing that everybody has weighed in on this. I really appreciate that. It's been data-driven and so it can come back to council in a way that we can really stand behind. What we what we what I believe the council's can decide to do today. If I'm a gambling women, which I am so. >> a couple things for clarification. If I MAY. Have we talked about and and this is not to deter what the plan is right now. But have we talked about not having all the employees in the downtown

area? I've seen that happen the say maybe this is a building outside of the downtown area that's cheaper or a little bit less for us to maintain. Can you give me just a little bit of why it's so important to be downtown besides just city Hall. Keeping these 350 employees downtown is really vital to the businesses downtown. Actress when if you want >> Weigh in on this, I love to hear what you have to say. But we have heard from businesses over and over again that are actually the city is today. The city is off today are closed today will cause our restaurant today. It's very vital to keep those 350 employees and the downtown. Because you go to lunch or what's the what's the goal of that? Just ease of actually coming to get a permit actually going through the steps for business. I think it actors into few things that get into human behavior which is very convenient. Striven. >> But oftentimes if you have employees and your downtown, those employees are spending dollars based on the services that exist in the downtown from a convenience standpoint. So having over 300 employees in the downtown does support businesses that provide lunch. It does support businesses provide dinner. Supports businesses to provide goods that from a convenience standpoint, employees are doing on their brakes. So one of the big issues that occurred in the downtown is when the bank started reducing the number of employees that they physically had in the building started leaving the downtown. That created a significant impacts to the businesses that really fed off of the employees that circulated in that area. So ensuring that those tax

dollars are created through the day jobs, do that. >> Thank you so much for that. As helpful as well. Spite 30, you talked about an exam surplus space. Does that mean taxes? When we do the exchange so they are able not pay the tax if we're exchanging. No, the word exempt and I apologize that that was confusing. So court exempt is exempt surplus. So it's just in relation to the actual act. The Surplus Lands Act. So it there's 2 ways to surplus property. It's either exams are not exempt. Usually it's buildable are not buildable. But in this case with an exchange. The state allows you to call it exempts surplus that has nothing to do with taxes at all. And saying those exams surplus means that you do not have to go out through the entire Surplus Lands Act process. You get to just exchange, which is big piece of this puzzle. Thank you. That's very helpful. Scott, could you tell me if we have to have a bond or anything to be able to pay for the new understand there could be potential costs associated retrofitting not to fit staff. Yeah. Thank you for your question. Councilmember Donald. >> I do want to get too ahead of the financing specifics, but also broadly. Our broad goal would would likely be to finance the exchange with availble reserves of the city. We're going to have a conversation in a later at budget adoption that maybe lays out the mechanics of what could potentially fit that

option. It will additionally again, these conversations are all connected and so the themes that we've been bringing forward as part of the budget conversation of ensuring that we're maintaining a two-year window of council maintaining its policy around reserves is maintained, right? Needs to hit every aspect of that. But to your question, yes, i would. I think it would very predictable that financing the building to match a useful life of us moving into it with our payments would be very advantageous to us on an ongoing budgeting basis. So really a full moving in the furniture fixtures, tenant improvements to get place all suited up for us when we're ready to move in. That's that roughly what we're estimating around a million dollars of ongoing would up providing for us. And do so. The city due to financing mechanisms that we are ready, take advantage of copd leasing financings that we use, for example, on courthouse square. So not not a unique way to approach it. We've done this before. It would just be applying it towards a city facility. Thank you. I'm glad you addressed. The ongoing maintenance that has been neglected on all of our infrastructure. And I would just suggest just the buildings we on downtown just in general. >> And I know the last time we talked about the policy the Calpers and when that starts to fall off, being able to

bring policy back for deferred maintenance specifically. So I'm happy to hear that there's a plan that's coming to us regarding this exchange and what will happen when we moved to new buildings so that we don't have the exact scene. Thing happened in 50 years to that council. So that would be one of my cautionary things is getting that fiscal analysis of how much. >> The new building would be to maintain and then appropriating money. And as we move forward. >> On any type of exchanges are what we're going to do in the city that were. We're also looking at that. I just have a couple more questions here because you've been so great about answering a lot of them as we move through the slides. One thing that I know we continue to do is add people outdoor space and facilities. But we don't often account for that in our general fund budgeting. So I think a public safety specifically so it for infusing the downtown with more people were infusing it with, you know, more things for us to take care of. And we're getting income of about 2 million dollars a year. How do we plan to offset that? If we have to bolster our services to serve people are what can you tell me how that works economically? Thank you for that question. In. >> I think would score in the conversations that we've been having around that specific concept is that. Best growth that can happen in this city from a financial perspective is downtown. Frankly, we have more of an investment around public safety. We have more tools in our toolbox to

provide services to the community. Here versus what our neighborhoods, the neighborhoods are more spread out. There's more streets. There's more infrastructure thumb in those areas. There is absolutely a a simpler financial model for more dense development downtown. And i think again, this this plays into some things that have been building downtown, whether that's the e ifd. That's to me. I see this as the catalyst potentially the catalyst project that these other policies and decisions have been kind of waiting for. It's a chicken or the egg conversation. I'm not sure which is the chicken or which is the egg, but one of them is is one of them. So, yes, I think I think there's opportunity there. >> Thank you. And do we have anything we do in a property exchange where we make sure that there's at some language of when they break ground. I know once you give it over its kind of at the discretion of the developer on what they want to develop. But is there anything that you can add that requires it to be done? In short amount of time. >> Well, we don't, as you said, we don't have the opportunity in this kind of agreement to be able to say it's going to be done in a long time. That again, is why we need to trust development partner to push that forward. If we do do, if council does decide to do an actual development agreement with the developer that's chosen, that development agreement will only last for so many years. So they will be incentivized to to do that development within that time span. That's hopeful. Thank you so much for answering my questions. I

appreciate presentation today. >> Thank you. Ms Rogers. Thank you. Mayor had a quick question about the economic development and having staff downtown, which I think it's very important, but which I've also heard retailers and restaurants. >> Downtown, is that when staff are here for when things are closed, that they're are not as many people down here. So I know that that is one portion of it. How do we tackle the second portion? Would that be through the housing to ensure that there is constant cause. I mean, it sounds great to have an 18 hour downtown from someone that gets off work and wants to go downtown to do things in. Sometimes unfortunately it's dead. >> Yeah. Thank you, councilmember for that question. I think similar to what MR. Wagner mentioned, much of this is the chicken or the egg and the concept of what has to happen first to be a catalyst for the next. And I think a lot of the discussion was either businesses or housing produces the foot traffic that the businesses benefit from. But in some situations, the housing becomes more attractive when the businesses are there because they're creating that environment in the services. So really it's been an investment. And I think that's why multi-use Israeli so critical because multi-use development tries to bring in all the components and it tries to create that ecosystem within a singular development. But really, the strategy in the past has been to push the housing units because in addition to the workforce,

which changed over the years with remote work, not everybody's in the office at the same time and many of the businesses that focused on the day services have felt that so as the residential comes in, does that support more of a night service? And I think many of what happens as you modernize the downtown, the business practices change along with that to meet the demands. So really what we're focused on is it becomes a foot traffic issue and those pieces that developed the foot traffic both on the commercial in the residential side are really critical to the businesses because their their customers, but the spending practices of those customers are dynamic and the downtown businesses will have to expand their business model to account for what the more modern look of the downtown looks like in the future. But I think it's really just increasing that foot traffic it has fallen off over the years and can happen in a few different ways. >> We also look low-income housing lot around the city. So when you look at the type of housing that you would like to promote all say downtown. Just economics. I would think people that our low incomes could possibly spend less money Going out to a restaurant or going out to the bar or whatever how are How are we trying to balance having both no income, very low income housing within our core in also people that can help with economic drivers. I hope I'm asking the question correctly. Yes, you are. And think it's a very difficult

problem to solve. So there obviously is a housing for all concept that we have to maintain an equitable balance in our house and delivery to the community. >> And unfortunately, when people get stressed, much of our money goes into housing or things that do not generate sales tax. So it gets into a discussion about discretionary spending and many of the downtown communities that have really sort of revitalized have done so around market rate housing. And the reason being is because it brings that discretionary income into the equation. I do think that there is a creative inclusionary model where you can look at different income levels that 80% am I in our community is very difficult to hit. A lot of us. There's really sitting at that level. But that also does not mean that 80% am. I is not enjoying the amenities that exist in downtown. So I think it really is balancing the diversity. But there is really an important component from an economic development standpoint of discretionary spending and how that discretionary spending stays within the downtown ecosystem. >> Thank you. Thank you for the reason Taishan. This is very, very exciting. Even to just have the conversation. >> Indeed, questions from colleagues. >> Thank you. I really appreciate how thoughtful you have all been and creative about solving a problem that does have absolutely has to be solved. I don't think there's any doubt that there's better solution out there than And my my questions are just around how we're going to maintain as much public control over isn't as much of the future development. By that, you know, being really smart about the developers that we choose to work with, and then you notice the future of housing in affordable housing in our

downtown. I want to balance the fact that we have a lot of affordable housing proportionately in our downtown, the value that having affordable housing brings our downtown in terms of workforce. But the real cost to the future of our enhanced infrastructure finance district by continuing to cite affordable housing and down the downtown and to discourage future affordable, how housing, though it have welfare exemptions in this specific boundaries of the ifb at this point in time working on capitalizing it in the short run. Thank you. >> at and historical question for a bit of additional context and you you've all highlighted very nicely. But can you can you talk again about how long this decision this issue has percolating? So for the public, this is this is emerging suddenly onto the scene. But even from a year old, when you councilmember this, this was being talked about on council 3 years ago as we were, we knew we had a problem emerging. We were looking for opportunities. You give an example of one of slides or how this was looked at back in 2020? I suspect it goes back many years before that for the public. Can you give a sense of the progression of this issue and why it's coming to a head right now? Sure, I'd be happy to do so could be a few examples. I've been with the city for 25 years. When I first started with they were talking about this. >> They knew that the buildings were all done and that we needed to move. Another interesting example. It was just talking to tractor Burke today who started in

2003 and said that. She the first few months that she was here in 2003, everyone told her don't get too comfortable. We're going to move Stone. We need to get off this property. That was in 2003. So I thought that was a funny story. And we have myself over the last 10 years have worked on multiple trying to find multiple different solutions. We've spent so much staff time and effort trying to figure out how to do this. And as I alluded to in that picture, there is never been. One that has been fiscally feasible that we could find. At this moment, all the puzzle pieces have come together. And so we have an opportunity right now that we haven't had in the last 20 years. Thank you for And so that and so the catalysts are one. There's an opportunity and those opportunities don't don't always emerge. >> And there's a real and I do. I do appreciate the scare tactics we've made. We've heard it here on the dais, but I'm I'm thinking about the skeptics in our community. We're gonna look at those slides are going to those are big numbers where those numbers come from. Scott Wagner, you really gonna drop of 48 million dollar request and councils desk here in in in in the coming months. Can we get a little bit more granular, a little more concrete? And if we decide to stay in our our historic frivolous chambers here. What are the bills are coming due give Can break those down? You hvac. We know that's an issue. We've got an ada All of us have tripped on the steps

walking the council chambers, give us and give us some examples of of the bills that really are coming do in the next 12 to 18 months. >> So just to preface those numbers, those came from facility assessment reports. So those are all verified numbers. The scary portion of it is that there are those unverified dress that we don't have numbers for. The could take that. 48 million dollar number and multiply it substantially. So what we would need to see in the next I within a year, I would say and facilities would probably say no. Do you need to do this in the next few months? We need to change out hvac systems in order to do that. We need to remove asbestos in order to do that. We need to move out all of the employees and put them mentally space while we do the work. You can't have staff here. Why you're doing this. Then we need to upgrade electrical systems. We have some very, very serious plumbing issues. And I mean, with sewer systems that are very dangerous that we need to update as soon as possible. There are a multitude different things. Once we start opening up the building and doing those things, we have 88 concerns. We have led concerns. We have seismic upgrades that need to happen. It goes on and on and on. And those are not even including lifestyle life-cycle costs that I was talking about the next 5 to 8 years. I'd like to add. >> get it's true that I that as staff would not be coming

back for 48 million dollar requests. But but the specifics there are very important. Is that what we will be coming back with it? We decide to stay. It is is a financing of that. 48 million dollars that then locks the city into this campus potentially. So it is it would it would really double down on the city remaining within this facility and would cause to not have the greater issue addressed. It's a Band-Aid to MISS Scott's points. We're talking about that basic functions of this campus were talking electrical Fleming. Those are things that the public expect to exist in their city hall when they come to conduct their business here we have a responsibility to provide those things. That's why, again, why when we mentioned that these numbers that have been on paper and facility reports, they have to be real going forward because it's not hard to Google City City of Santa Rosa City Hall and see that we have shut down City hall over the past couple years because the facility needed to be closed. This is not theoretical anymore. That Khan was kicked for decades. And this is the current group that unfortunately the Kim landed on. And those seven-figure requests that are coming in the near term are those kind capital improvement program dollars or the general fund dollars? >> 100% general fund dollars, which then would 100% impact our ability to provide public safety services. Addressing our streets. >> It would have immediate impact to the services that the city provides to the public. All right. So would be forced to make capital

improvements to to this facility. And that displace money that we're spending on public safety parks, other key public services. That's the that's the choice before council. >> That's correct. All right. All right. I'm keep my community skeptic out on for a moment. Our colleagues over at the county they'd thought about doing at a program like this in the very recent past where they where they thought about doing some employees to a new facility with some of the same logic. How how does our strategy differ? With all due respect to the county and I do have respect for This >> is a property exchange which is very different. Additionally, this is fiscally what I would call a very fiscally reasonable and responsible way to do this. So >> Price >> that we would pay or developer that we come into an agreement the city would be very responsible and the costs of how they could do this. So what we're looking at a 1 million dollars a year is a very small number comparatively to what the county does need to do now, the county does have a lot more employees in the city and I don't want Saying anything negative about what they're trying to do at all. But ours is definitely a very fiscally responsible way to go. That's clear. And recall correctly that part of the county's strategy was to move several 100 employees out of Santa Rosa up to the up to the site. >> Further north. And this is going to to not economic impact on our city. As opposed as opposed to our plan, which and I'm glad not Councilmember MacDonald highlighted this. We're keeping everybody downtown. We're doubling down downtown Santa Rosa.

>> Yes, we want to keep those 350 employees in the downtown and then added additional people through housing and commercial and multi-use. Wonderful. All right. Well, as a sounding like the facilities version a little bit like the facilities version of our pension reduction strategy. >> We're all this and there was an opportunity, an opportunity emerged and the city's jumped on it in a in a way that's going to save costs tens of millions of dollars, actually it becoming a comic drought development driver. My my understanding that correctly, MR. Wagner. I very much agree. >> fits in theme of what we've been talking about over the past couple of years of large fiscal liabilities that have developed in the city over decades that this group is particularly dedicated to being creative in coming up with real solutions for to action, eyes them and bring them forward to council for action. I very much agree. But between 100 million dollars, city hall liability. Any 482 million dollar pension liability. If we can set the city on a path to have a plan to addressing these, which I believe we will, that creates a better Santa Rose reinvested soon arose. As I talked about, he better version of us fiscally financially going forward. >> Thank you, Back when MISTER Reiner says that this group what he should, what he means is the senior leadership team that we have here starting with our city manager all the way through the rest of staff who who in recent just in the last few months have come up with some incredibly creative and quick solutions. So that will be remembered in the city for the amount for the amount of money that they save and economic development that they that they can allies. We can't. We can't thank you enough. I think that's the end of my questions. Anything else

for my colleagues? I'd like to just offer to additional perspectives. If I MAY. >> Please, city manager. So one is sit just so proud of this team as they were going to the presentation. I'm just so thrilled and excited for them because I know this is something that is really important to the staff, but it's also so important to the community to our business sector. I see that is here from the chamber. You know, I I think this is so transformative that it's an honor and privilege to be here today to just witness the conversation because it really could set Santa Rosa, a whole new different path. I've had the privilege of my career to actually work on a new city hall for a city and it was for the city of Long Beach. Of fact, if you go to Long Beach to see there's this city hall, this support headquarters and my name is Archie on the plaque for the Port of Long Beach new headquarters because they had, you know, the unique opportunity to be sitting on the harbor commission when we made the decision to do that, it was a new construction. It wasn't a property exchange, but we were able to do a new construction in Long Beach because there was a port. That generated 2 billion dollars of revenue every single year. And so the city had the port as a partner. They could consolidate port headquarters that was far away and get rid of aged deteriorating city hall, a structure that was not seismic. We appropriate much like I'm sure our buildings are here. And so the new construction made sense in that in that situation because of economic engine that is

very unique. And here in Santa Rosa, the minute that I heard about this opportunity for me, it was an absolute no-brainer with my cfo background. There's no way that a new construction could be financially feasible. The status quo cannot continue. We are at that terminal point of the the asset life of the buildings our employees are actually, you know, working out of and that the public is coming to every single day. This is a pivotal point and we can no longer just continue the status quo. There would have to be a budget recommendation on how to Band-Aid this situation and you'd be locking it in for 30 years. It just makes absolutely no sense from a financial standpoint, as I just wanted to put my stamp of approval on it yet again, I'm bringing it forward with the team, but just really a no-brainer. And then to the point on the housing, I would I would urge us not to look at and housing opportunities at this site to be either or, you know, market or affordable housing. For my experience, when cities invest in their downtown to this degree and you create a whole new economic engine with the vitality that can be provided with even in some cases market rate housing for one. We have an inclusionary housing ordinance. That's fantastic. So we know will have affordable units, but the multiplier effect and the property tax that's generated allows for a lot more affordable housing development as well. I saw that even in places like Huntington Beach,

where the the inclusionary housing ordinance ended up having this. I think 5,000 affordable housing units in Huntington Beach, you would never know it. It's all within its inclusionary, truly inclusionary housing where it's being developed. But there was spillover effect of what was happening in the downtown area and the red redevelopment areas with the waterfront Hilton, the waterfront high. If you've ever been there to that coastal city, but it all came from just the explosion of housing that developed because of all of the redevelopment that was happening and the property tax revenue every year exceeded our expectations. And when your property tax is generating that level of a pick up above your standard and you have the money to invest in affordable housing. So it's not an either or it all has to be thought out very carefully. You can do both, but it starts with for one, not sitting on prime real estate that we have, you know, for a public use. That's so dispersed and so spread I couldn't find my way to the interview to become the interim city manager without desperately calling Dominique and I park and garage 9. I didn't know what was going. I went to the courthouse to make you don't know why you're here. And so this is just not efficient for the public. It's a great opportunity. I'm very much in support of this. And as someone who's worked on different projects was City Hall's and housing. And in my new role, I'll be working on affordable housing as well. So I have a strong commitment to it. It's not something I don't believe in dedicating the next phase of my career to this.

This is a fantastic proposal and I'm really proud of what the team has done. And hopefully, you know, you have confidence in this path forward. Thank you, city manager. Get given your background and what you're what you're going off to do. You're in for Your sign off on this project that that's means a lot. >> Let that let the record show, including for our press Democrat that we've had, we have not one but 2 CFOs who have vetted this project and signed off. Thank you both with that. Let's open it up to public comment. We have a few folks signed up already. MR. De Wit. Would you like to kick us off? Excellent. All right. We'll warm that up for you. And for those looking to make public comment difficulties, both podiums to keep this keep this moving. And we're gonna have 2 minutes per public comment today. >> I understand. We'll figure this out. Okay. There Luedtke there. All right. >> Hello, my name is doing to it. I'm from Roseland. I brought an example from almost 30 years ago and which at that time the business editor, the press Democrat, was pointing out that 20 years before that big mistakes for being made here in Santa Rosa regarding our city planning. It's interesting to hear what you've all been talking about for years and pointing out now that we know in the public. But the status quo has been doing nothing and that they're basically has been a dearth of investment in our public assets. And now we're at the point where because of the deferred maintenance over all these decades, you just want tear down. It's a sad state of affairs because this building

only 61 years old. It's younger than me. I've been here throughout this whole situation and this is actually if you look at it in a different manner, we don't have a trusted developer to go to work with the picture that I saw was of The tnt building right across the street over here. I would suggest that you from the federal building in the state building which have numerous vacancies right now want you just put a million dollars a year into leasing and let somebody else take care of the stuff that you don't take care of. That's what this all boils down to deferred maintenance hasn't been taking care of and it will never be taken care of because your status quo is doing nothing. What I'd really like to point out and this is really important. There's a term for all of this and you can look it up in any American English language, dictionary, it's textbook definition of a boondoggle. People coming forward saying, oh, we got to do this, but the public's asset and that'll make it better. That's is Khan said to us 50 years ago as they down our downtown and put the 3rd street cred. >> Thank you to Wayne will move on to MISTER Lopez and then missed Sweet. More. >> Good afternoon, everybody. My name's Omar Lopez, some the policy coordinator at Generation Housing. We're here today to express our support for these efforts, specifically with support option 3, which is the

property scenes with the preservation of the creek. As staff stated 7 Acres in the heart of downtown sitting under utilized as the missed opportunity, not just for housing but also for jobs and for the tax base that funds the services, our community, the Pence on the status quo. It's unproductive. It's an annual grain. Within the media 100 million dollar price tag and maybe more. Public investment bankers to growth and gentle density will help activate it. And just this house cotati just this week. Sorry, Cotati. So the North Bay have sustained focus investment in housing and economic development can produce a budget surplus. Well, the rest of the region struggles. That's what long-term thinking by see you. The city nc leadership have shown their willingness to engage in this long-term thinking what we saw in last week's conversation of sb 10 and maybe 10. 33. The state policies can incentivize housing development on existing parcels clothes or Texas, 2 manatees and their specially relevant around downtown were gentle density and new ownership. Opportunities can connect more people to thriving core. Senator Ensign has the land, the policy direction and the moment and the moment we urge you to move forward with option 3. And at the same time, we are to continue at be 10 33 and has become conversation and how it can tie into this work. Like the presentation states standing still isn't free. Every year we wait the community peace more and got sluss. And by the way, I was born in 2003. So this conversation has been going on my entire life. Just

a fun fact. That's that's a good conclusion. Omar, thank you very much. A non day. You're out. >> Mayor staff council members. My name isn't on a sweet ceo of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce. First. Thank you for the thoughtful consideration of city expenses in fiscal stability in this conversation today. And thank you for leading into economic development to these downtown. We know that a strong, vibrant downtown serves at the heart of our economic economic heart of our community. Strategic investment stone town that increase foot traffic, activate public spaces and attract investment result in an economic multiplier effect that supports long-term economic vitality and city fiscal stability. Public-private partnerships and tools that encourage private investment downtown have a strong track record of creating meaningful impact by combining public vision with private resources for strategic investment. We appreciate your strong desire to keep city staff downtown. And we urge your ongoing support of efforts to activate downtown as economic engine of our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Not to the center center is a Metro chamber as close. >> Thank you. I-10 closed at ut of Generation Housing. I just want to add a little something too Mars. Great. An official generation housing comment, but we're really in support of this, an option 3 and I I understand, Mr to its skepticism because as you all know, did we've been talking about this for in Omar's entire life. And and and so, you know, that that seems natural. But what I see up here is a lot of excitement right now from staff. I feel the energy is palpable. I see

it here at the council and I see you are wanting to be doers and you get to be doers. And so I want to congratulate you for that mindset for taking a growth approach to this and and say that we are here to support you any way we can. I, of course, wanted echo and and repeat are urging to also pursue pursue other housing solutions. At the same time that can actually bolster and feed into this downtown focus. And that thing and I just actually was prompted to stand up here on planned because of the city manager's reference of the city of Long Beach where I was just this fall. And if you haven't been to that city Hall and and that city center, it's absolutely extraordinary. But what's also extraordinary about Long Beach is that is the best urban schools in the country. The best urban schools in the country. And that part of those and that those things exist together because of long-range planning that we're co-operative and we're intersectional and understood that they need and have strong schools to field to, to feel the strong workforce and that that's going to create a stronger economy and that that cycle is going to repeat itself. And so the other thing is that I just want to say that just kind of like we've done anytime post disaster and maybe we could call this an economic disaster is that we really think all of us and work cooperatively with our other community partners with the schools, with the workforce developers making sure we're going to have the construction workforce. We

need to make your exciting vision happened. All of that. So think in any he's I'm excited. I grew up here and we talked about courthouse square my entire life. >> Thank you, Janet. Thank you for the tie. Education. Good, good segue. Other members of the public who would like to comment on this item? >> Yes. >> Janice, you have the floor. Thank you, Mark I really appreciate the presentation. Today. Highs set in on that beginning of what looks like the eye opening last week at the design review. And I think that there's a lot of details are coming into focus and it's looking good. But it is a lot of I mean, it's a top my head. I'd like to see this unfold in like. >> 3. >> Projects that happened and had incentivize deadlines for how to do it. The other thing is when you wear time talking about it, there weren't a lot of things are coming. She into my mind that we needed still. And I started talking here about about 2 years ago, the year and 9 months ago. And now I realize that I have somebody sitting here that could talk all about it. I is really finally hitting. We did finally have really presentation conversation. I think it was in OCTOBER last year, is AUGUST from my top person at the city and that was at the Finance Committee meeting. Probably the 31st SEPTEMBER, 30 to SEPTEMBER, something like that. The other thing is I was present at the county when the assessor probably the treasure was pushing the ef id and he was doing that because he felt

that Santa Rosa would offer the county money. So there's not enough time to do all of this. But I hope that it's not made a decision today. I hope it comes back with a high and the building. If you're trying to turn it for them, the building at the community. I mean, county, that building is really in bad shape. And my husband for 17 years in the beginning of the time. Thank. Thank you, Janice, Fred. >> The new members in the city council and staff from this was a pretty good sales job. And one of the things I've learned when as a shopper is don't buy the first car on the lot. And I also really don't like pressure sales. So I think that it's it will be good at to not just go for a vote on this today. I'm thinking about job 1960's urban renewal and the promise of urban revitalization and the the displacement and the segregation that came about as a result of urban renewal. And the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats and trickle down never panned out. What panned out is that people end up on the other side of the tracks in unincorporated areas. What I see coming here kind of further segregation of market rate housing, the economic vitality of those guys spending and then all the housing getting forced on to Santa Rosa Avenue. And so I think as you recall in the South Santa Rosa specific plan that the city council did direct staff to pay more attention to the displacement and gentrification issues as a result of that economic development plan as well. And so I think that would be called for here as well. The

downtown area has just as many disadvantage communities as Santa Rosa Avenue. Your the city fathers and mothers in the city. Residents are your family. And so you need to take care of everybody here and the people who are on the lower end of the spectrum just keep losing out that rising tide does not lift all boats. So I would suggest that that you leverage sale with city, had a blueprint already for a hotel, condos, et cetera, make a blueprint that will have better read of all different types of income mixed in there. And also run out of time here. But that I would suggest that you really do leverage it as best you can and don't take a bad deal. >> Thank you, MR. All MR. Shorts. Thank you, Mayor. Take a moment. Paul Schwartz, commercial real estate broker here in Santa Rosa. >> Also, member of the Generation Housing Advisory Board. I just like to comment that I think in conversation Jill she used the term game changer for this proposal and I truly see it that way. A compliment. The staff on. Creating what could be absolute game-changer for downtown Saint Rose and Santa Rosa's as a whole. I think the in the economic impetus for other investments in Santa Rosa would be greatly improved and streamline and fast track say by virtue of a project of this magnitude, I think the economic benefits are both direct and indirect. And I think it absolutely the best thing that could happen in the downtown area, not just for city Hall, but for the entire community and I compliment staff again on on the work that's been done. Encourage you to support it wholeheartedly. Thank you. All. Thank you very much. Are there other members of the public that would like to

comment on this item? Seeing none. We'll close public comment and bring it back to Council for final comments. >> Yeah, just wanted to take a moment to sort of synthesize a little bit of what I've heard today from the public comment. They came out. It's always so wonderful to hear these different perspectives Fred says something about a high high pressure cell. And I just want to say that this is not the first time the council has been introduced to this idea. This is not the second time that we've we've considered this. In fact, in the entire 8 years that I've been on council, I've heard versions of this. And so I just want to take a moment to say that this is not been a fast arrest process, that this has been something that our professional staff are. Teams of people have been working on for decades in order to bring us something that makes sense. And so the way that I'll be giving my direction is to encourage us to go with option 3. It MAY seem like a high pressure cell. It's honestly are only good option. And sometimes that happens where we have to make a decision that is it happens to be a good decision and it happens to be the only decision, but that doesn't make it a bad decision. In this case. It's actually a pretty good choice. And it's a clear one So thank you for your hard supporting option. 3. Thank you spend lows. Thank you, Mayor. First, I want to thank you all for such a thorough presentation.

And I just want to say I am. >> I also support option 3. I get to me. It's the only thing that makes sense and is city manager said It's a no-brainer I don't feel pressured in any way either. I think I think we know what we have a real good idea of the condition of our buildings and we're not alone in this. This is happening across Santa Rosa and across the county. So I I think this is an opportunity to take control of our situation here at the city and it would be a shame if we didn't. So I just wanted to say that I'm most interested just in general, of course, economic development and job creation night that those and those are the things that drive me to say. We need to make this this change in. Also to make sure that. The residents that come to see us are safe as well boys. And we want them to be safe as well. So just want thank you for this. I think it's long over who obviously way long overdue since 2003 2 to a probably longer than that. And that, yeah, I want to support this completely I'm really anxious for the next steps. So thank you. Thank you. MISS MacDonald. Yeah, thanks again for the presentation. I love challenging the status quo. I always use that DR. Phil, you know, House is working for us. It's just not. >> That's why we've been continuing to, you know, kick that can down the road. And then I like to say some of our roads are dirt roads of the bunch of potholes. And this building is the that exactly.

So, you know, the city's been faced with a lot in the last decade. If you look at the tragic wildfires and the emergency issues we've had across the city, it's easy to see why deferred maintenance wasn't the top of our list in the last decade. So, you know, it's it's fun to be able to play Monday morning quarterback, the should of would of we want to hang the sins of the fathers on poor decisions. But really we have an opportunity right now to be not only transformative to the downtown Santa Rosa to be able to create this space and an economic driver for the city. But it is a good choice. No one was strong army into making a decision based on being last minute. I think that I'm pretty clear about that. I don't mind voting. No, if I don't believe in something the research that went into this, the data-driven research that you brought forward to council is actually I seek a reflection of how we've been over the years and what we wanted to see before we were able to make a really solid decision and having the ability to do the property exchange. Everything just seemed to line right now. So absolutely I'm going to be supporting option 3. I leave it to a professional staff to find out the best way to not only create those economic drivers in our downtown area, but to create opportunities for retail and housing for people need it. And so thank you again for this presentation today. Feel like I'm much more well versed in. How the economy's going to be driven

by these developments and so well done? Thank you. >> Thank you. Rogers. >> Thank you, mayor. So I definitely support option I can't say it enough. This is very exciting. Thank you for all of your work that you put in to this process. And it has been a long time coming. I think that for the public, it MAY seem as if we're doing things very, very quickly. But the infrastructure that we have here at City Hall. I know I can't speak for everyone, but it kept me up at night knowing some of the things that are going on here and some of the things our staff, half to deal In addition, I'm very excited about to make it what we. To make sure that the public can access the services that we have more efficiently and they don't have to go to multiple places. So this is very exciting. I look forward to seeing what you have to bring continue to bring things to council for us to look at improving Jus. Thank you for having a the approach to look at everything because we could look at it very siloed. But it's not. It's all interconnected. So thank you very much. Thank you, MR. Alvarez. Thank you. Mayor. >> For myself, it really comes down to that. I'm very thankful that we're not facing litigation. We're not facing lawsuits from our staff and employees of the season. Rosa, and that the stars align themselves where we have an opportunity before us that we can take advantage of and only improve the services for city, but also the workforce. The brow. But going back to our

community. Europe's right how many times it stopped outside trying find the permittee window. Our kind of from the sea managers, the clerks. It all starts of the way that we are providing services for community. That's we Each one of are here doing so to be able prove that improve customer service. I think that's what ultimately people are going to be most appreciative of even if they don't know what's happening behind the scenes now going back so many years of of this conversation, this can being kicked down the road. It's it's time and I'm definitely honored to be part of team. The city that took the initiative. Very quickly grabbed by its bulls Bonds. You're basically getting it right. If you want try that again. No, I I I do not want to try again. Actually happy birthday. They appreciate But nonetheless, >> it's time it's time and I'm glad I'm part of the team. Let's make that happen. Thank you. Thank you. Vice Mayor. Thanks. Yeah. Just I don't think I need ready, have your direction. But I agree with the direction my colleagues. Option 3 is not only the best, but the only option, but I do usually say, like, hey, can we, you know, pull back and look at a greater view of things. What I'd like to do is like zoom because these are some big numbers and some big issues. It's got to think you told me this story when our air conditioner breaks, I know first were problem. Air conditioner breaks, right? But in order to fix it, we can't go to Home Depot or order a par. >> Our team has to go online to like e-Bay or some other secondary market place to find dated part that they don't make anymore so that they can

have them delivered and fixed because we can't replace the air conditioner hole because then you get into the asbestos and all the other issues. The race already. And it just as Pandora's box. So it's not just this greater issue of over the next at x amount of years. It's going to cost why a lot of money. It's on a day-to-day basis. Our teams are running into issues because of the. Condition of our facilities. And so I just what kind of a zoom in on that and just how difficult it is for teens on a regular basis. But really appreciate the presentation, all the work that went into it. The laundry list of resources that you use that to verify those numbers is exceptional. And so thank you so much. Thank you. And likewise, I will not all of all the points my colleagues made all which I agree with option 3 is is obviously the choice we have here. What I would like to highlight is the big swings that staff are taking. How you were coming to council with with things that really move the needle on a big way. I mean, we're not playing small ball anymore. >> As a testament you, it's a testament to MISS Farrell and leadership that she has brought here on in her 6 months here where where the the environment that has been created for our staff to feel comfortable coming to council with ideas like this and forcing us outside our comfort zone. Hold not to take bigger swings. That's the real long-term value to the city above and beyond potentially new city. Alton Economic development. Please keep doing that. And this is this is just wonderful to be a part of this. And that concludes my remarks. Anything else from your end? You have the

direction. The inning. All right. This was fantastic. Thank you. But the fund is not over. Folks are going to move on. Well, that our team, I vacated the dais and they were going to move on quickly to we had knows we had no report. We have no. We had closed we had a study session. In your report. MADAM City manager. Report on a study session. That all right. We can move right along. Let's move on to our proclamation for the for the Evening Item. 7.1, a proclamation in honor of lgbtq+ Pride Month. And for that of a tournament Rogers. Thank you, mayor. >> Whereas the city of Santa Rosa recognizes the month of JUNE as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning lgbtq+. Pride Month. JUNE is recognized nationally as lgbtq+ Pride Month. A time to honor the history struggles and achievements of the lgbtq+ community and whereas the city of Santa Rosa will continue to advocate for lgbtq+. Right against defiance and hardship. Practice in continuation of alliance, an advocacy safety and security will increase for lgbtq+ individuals in Santa Rosa by promoting safety and security lgbtq+, individuals will trust that the city of Santa Rosa cares for their protection in place community. And whereas Santa Rosa is proud to be a diverse, welcoming and inclusive community that values the

dignity and worth of every individual regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression and whereas lgbtq plus individuals have made invaluable contributions to the cultural civic, economic and social fabric of beautiful city of Santa Rosa. And whereas the city of Santa Rosa commits to fostering a city where everyone is free to live authentically live openly and thrive without fear. Now, therefore, be it resolved that our Mayor, Mark staff on behalf of the entire city council do hereby proclaim JUNE 2026. As lgbtq+ Pride Month in Santa Rosa and encourage all residents honor this observance of Authenticity Thank you, MISS Rogers and we have joy here to say a few please. Yeah. Head to the nearest podium. >> Hello, everyone. My name is Joy Besteman and I'm the youth advocate for lgbtq connection. Sonoma, thank you. Mayor staff and the Santa Rosa City Council for this proclamation that declares JUNE as Pride Month here in Santa Rosa. It is an honor to be accepting this proclamation for the second year in a row. On behalf of my team who contribute immensely and wholeheartedly to our mission of serving the diverse lgbtqia plus community in Sonoma County. As a queer individual and the Santa Rosa native. It is my honor to be accepting this proclamation on behalf of the Lgbtqia plus community here in Santa Rosa. This proclamation means more than

words can say it reflects a commitment to equality, respect and safety in the city. This proclamation is appraisal for the vibrant and beautiful clear community of Santa Rosa with a rich history that deserves to be protected, embraced and conserved. Not just for Pride Month, but for all year round through every intersection of identity, queer, Trans Black and indigenous people of color have contributed abundantly transformative justice in our community and beyond. We must amplify their voices represent them and provide inclusive spaces for them to thrive. The recent political climate in current administration have been detrimental to our local lgbtqia. Plus communities an lgbtqia plus communities at large in times like these recognition for the lgbtqia plus community is so important and highly valued when we can come together and be proud of ourselves and each other, it is nothing to be taken for. Granted. When our humanity and visibility is faced with scrutiny and vitriol moments, we can come together and celebrate our achievements as our own form of resistance. We must keep feeling joy and appreciating the little and big steps make toward a better future. Ahead. Thank you all. And Happy Pride Month. >> Joy, thank you very much. Want to do a photo here in just a minute with you. Anybody who came with But first, are there any members of the public who would like to comment on this proclamation? As Rodgers? >> So I just wanted to take the opportunity to say being a mother of someone that is transgender. My daughter has moving away and owning a lot of land that has always been

her dream. But with the current climate right now, as much as I would love for her to stay in California are forever. I'm getting my my wish. But not the way that i would like to get my wish. My daughter does not feel safe to leave California and so. I'm happy that there is a place, although it's very restrictive for her right now. Happy there is a place that she can be feel safe and feel at home and even within our. Our family there's been. Some behaviors or attitudes. I say that I'm not very proud of from >> some of her family members. And so I this hits home for me because I just want my baby. The person I brought home from the hospital always fill out so thank you for being here. Thank you for doing But not about Pope Francis, not baby at that. It's everyone is a person and we all deserve to be here. We all deserve to be loved. And regardless who much lays down with their who she decides she wants to be a part of or whatever she wants to be. That's okay with me because I love her because she is hurt. I don't love her for pro and in. So I just wish more people would see that and people that we're all people and we all deserve to be here. And we all deserve to be loved and have compassion and empathy. So that would think. Thank you, MR. Rogers. >> Are there other other members of our the members of the public would like to comment this item? Seeing none. We'll close public comment. And joy, won't you come on down if he's going to be with you, please, please bring them. Let's take it.

Let's take a photo. Joy, thank you again. >> All right. Let's move on to item item 9 9 are actually our city manager and city attorneys reports MADAM City manager. Any report this evening. >> No report this evening, mayor. I just wanted to since it's my last city council meeting. I just wanted to thank all you. What has been an incredible 6 months. I just had the most exhilarating and fun time here. Despite the 17 a half billion dollar challenge. And all of the other challenges that I had to address, what I was here. And it's just a huge testament to how amazing this city is. It's left an imprint all my heart. When I came, I thought I would do this and then quickly retire. I needed to pay one quarters of tuition. And so I really can cut to 6 months and and learn the community and to my work and move. I didn't expect to get entangled in a good way in terms of my heart and my soul and really feeling a sense of community warmth here that I've really been thankful for. It was from everybody, the community, the employees and obviously all of you, I mentioned to some of the employees in my career I've always gotten too out of the 3 either. City will have great community, great employees, but sometimes the city council is, you constantly infighting and they don't get along. And that makes it difficult for staff or the council gets along beautifully and the employees

too. But the committee really struggles with whether we're being transparent. And, you know, there's a tough relationship in terms of building trust with the community different permutations and combinations. And this is really the first time my career. I feel like all 3, we're really strong that there was this always trust and used to be. But with the community, the community here is respectful and they're engaged and they want what's best you as a council have won, it was best for the community and the employees have been really dedicated, very creative. And so it I just want to thank you for the opportunity. I know you'll be in great hands with soon to be interim city manager. Jason, not but I just wanted to thank you for your dedication to this community. I've experienced it firsthand. The courage that you show to make bold decisions is not common. The ethics that I've shown that you've shown and that I experienced the integrity and the character that you bring to the work is extraordinary. And it's also not always the case and the care that you've shown for the employees has been wonderful and giving me the latitude and the freedom to lead in a way that was authentic for me and that I felt was productive and really enable for us to be as creative as felt like we could be. And you gave us the grace to do that and courage along the way. And I'm really thankful for that because this is so meaningful for me that MAY be decide not to retire and then go back to my home community and take on, you know, a role that has some really significant challenges. So I don't know I'll be blaming you all for that. In a few months. >> When I can't fix the homelessness problem and the

greater Los Angeles County area through this public financing agency. But thank you for filling my cup. >> And free healing. That part of me that felt like local government was broken. And it just meant so much to me to have the opportunity to get to know you all so much better and to work together to serve this incredible community. So thank you. MADAM City attorney to give us a moment will come to you, but we should. We want to we want to linger on our city city manager for just a second. >> Thank you. For those words, loran and aisles all speak on behalf of council. The start of council can that war and afterwards when we invited you here it was with a pretty narrow prefer portfolio. We knew we had some budget challenges. We wanted some expertise in the area and your background was was was Taylor Maine and you could have come here and focused on that ry narrow niche work with Scott Wagner on the on the budget called it a day. You could have phoned in the rest and you didn't in the 6 months that you are here, you made and you left a legacy. You made an impression here across the board and that starts with Internal culture that moves on to 2 things like the discussion that we just had where very long-term strategic thinking for that for the city in terms of our infrastructure, the latest that you made a difference across all city departments. The leadership team could not speak more highly of you. We I think I speak for the group had a just amazing time working with you and you've shown how to be better council members things that the city can do differently and better. And we couldn't thank you enough. I'm gonna stop there my colleagues speak and we do have a little gift. We're not

gonna let you walk out of here with a night with a memento from Santa But first, which my colleagues as we like to say, a few words. MR. Rogers, you want and you want hold on to the mic. >> Get a crack at it. For me when Marquis show left City manager Smith, I was like I am not like. >> I'm not getting closer now working with anyone else. They just come in leave. I'm not doing that. But just to see how you work with staff, how you worked with us that you are. You are innovative even though you are only here for a short >> amount of time. Just how you wanted to propel Santa Rosa and leave a legacy like who leaves a legacy after 6 months like that doesn't really happen. And I don't think that we we were prepared. >> For that as a mayor, as the mayor said. >> Grateful and thankful for everything that you've done. And in for me, thank you for what I didn't understand something you are able to just slow it down for me a little bit and teach me in and let me know how it works because we don't know how it works. On the city manager side, we know how it works on the elected side. So no matter where you go, even if you MAY not like us in 6 months from now, because you decided to sign up for something else. I know that they will be very blessed with all that you have to offer. And I'm just grateful that you were able to come here for the time that you are. So thank you very much. Thank you, MR. Alvarez. >> Thank you for the kind words regarding Senator. There. Truly appreciate it. But I know that we and a better path because of your efforts. And I definitely want

to thank you for 4. The long-term. Energy that you might not be any any in the 6 months. >> But yet. Your energy will still be here. And I do appreciate that of you. The that come in with that you gave that of yourself to the future. Santa Rosa and the rest goes without saying and we will have craps once again and sooner or later. Even at that catch him over in San Diego. L a so see >> thank. Thank you for bringing your immense talent and fresh eyes to our city. And thank you to you. More in 6 months than many have in decades just because of the quality of your character just the sharpness of your creative spirit your heart. And so just really sincere big. Thank you. Also important for the Council for me, for us and the community here. How much is right about this town? You know, when you're working on problems for years after years, 2 decades, right? It's easy to get down on a place and thank, you this place can in fixable. But really when you get that outside perspective, I love talking to people who just moved to Santa Rosa like, oh, I came from this place that leaves this place is great. That air is clean. The people are so kind. You know, we have so much going for us and sometimes outsider reflecting that back to Somebody has become an insider. He's really just so special. And then finally is want to say. You know, for folks who aren't aware of what says, says something that as a member of the Barry has a finance authority, I look up to this is the only entity. It's the only there's 4 regional housing finance authorities in the state of California. And this is the only one that has been

capitalized and our city manager is going to go on to be there for cfo. >> And this is a huge bfd and I cannot wait to hear details of how it works. And I hope we stay in touch. And I just wish you and them just the very best like I can't think better opportunity for someone as talented as yourself. Thank you. It's been Willis. Thank you, Oh, my gosh. I you know, by echo what's already been it has been a pleasure really working with you. Lori Ann and I jokingly told un Day that my my boss's name, Lori Ann. >> And interim city manager's name Larry. At times I had to like, really is my pass or is that city manager? I thought what the when does that ever happen? Because your names are so unique. Have really felt really how easy it is to work with you. And I really appreciate that. And in the short time that you've been here, I think the thing that you've taught me the boost is really thinking about long-term and thinking about the future the decisions that we're making now and how they're going to affect those who come way after us. Long after we're gone and the way that you have helped us with our budgets with what we discussed earlier today with economic development and changing buildings and all of that, you know, you have done so much for us with us and also the staff, the way that I can see how easy it is for them to relate to you. I don't if we'll ever get that lucky I feel the same way that my colleagues have said, you

know, when you came, we didn't know what to expect. And we just wanted to get through this next 6 months continue to function somehow. And it's actually it's been a huge gift. And so I just want to thank you. MR. Donald. I want to say thank you so much, Larry. And you came at a time that. >> I think you are so needed as a trusted voice of your financial background. But what I saw from your leadership, from my perspective, not only in how you influence me, but you really trusted our professional staff to bring for a very innovative, creative idea. Is the Calpers, the real estate and development because of your vast experience, you are able to bring them to counsel, prepared and ready for those questions, but also giving them that added to to bring it forward. Finally. So I feel like you've allowed a lot of our staff that opportunity to be seen and bringing this forward and get it across the line. So I've seen where in rooms come in and they like it because they can come in and they can get kind of going and then they're out of there. They don't worry about if anyone that much because they're only here for a short amount of time. But that was actually not your strategy at all and not how you work. It's not who you are. You came in. You built a team in a very quick amount of time. You worked with our and in coming interim city manager. Jason, that just beautifully, I think to get him prepared, has it not that you weren't before Jason, that really working together as a team and working with our cfo. And so I

appreciate it so much. And for me at the time that you came in, it chaotic to say the least where I was at. And I appreciate help me need to have the back in government working with 13. So thank >> We appreciate you so much. MISS You, but we're excited to see what you do. So bringing those other good ideas back when you're ready and we'll keep growing in Santa Rosa and continues to florish the things again. Thank you, MR. >> Yeah, I think some of my colleagues of pretty much said almost everything there is to you know, see managers can, as councilmember do, just can come in to make some hard decisions to be the bad guy and get out or they They can just be a caretaker. Me like I'm not going set the boat right is on still afloat and I leave. That's my job. Out of here. You hire someone. New. But someone else said that's not your character that you show your character by wanted to take on challenges and being kind of innovative and challenging I've had of the things I think, you know, in any organization whether be public-private, whatever with leadership, you can go to, you know, rank and file and your your average employee say, hey, would you think the leader and you'll get a? You know, it's it's not. It's not a typical to hear like, oh, well, don't get me wrong. I really respect them. But or you they're good. But I've also seen that as I've never heard that about your interactions with staff. So either everybody into the city's a great liar, we really are that good so I want to say

thank you for that and and you push staff support staff. You push us support us. I really do appreciate that. And I appreciate your time. Here is also really cool to see someone new to the area. And as we you know, when you live somewhere like the vineyards in Alcatraz and all this other stuff, we see it. And it's kind of like, oh, yeah, that's also there. But like seeing it through someone's eyes at, you you guys do this all you have at that. So cool with that. >> Yeah, it is cool. Like yeah, I really, you know, the kind of refreshed it. I'm glad he talked about economic development today, especially downtown. I think Elko Keys going revenue hit when you move on she you might you might should in charge, rent at the time spent there. So hopefully you'll come back and visit us. We can all get together and Odell. Cokie, it'll be great to see you again. So please don't be a stranger. Thank you so much. All right. Well, as as our city undergoes its time of self-reflection right now, I think it's worth sort of thinking about where our recent city managers have moved on to >> solar and heading out to be ceo of the Casa, one of the biggest most consequential organizations in the state. Our previous city manager moved onto becomes city manager of Sacramento. That should give it says something about a city when their leaders move on to positions like that, that should give us confidence to that. We're we're we're a place that can train and build leaders for for other other parts of the state. And with that, we don't forget about Santa Rosa, the place help so much. So we have 2 small things. One, of course, because you're foodie because the Sonoma, a little line for a wider recall. Matanzas Creek right outside the city limits. So when you drink it, think of Archer r All right. A little bit of a

memory. And then the second gift I will you know, you don't have to open it now, but it is a it is a local artist who makes bulls from would recovered from the fires. So charged wouldn't serve. It's the it's the story of of making something beautiful from a from a tragedy. And so when you please, please think of Santa Rosa. When you look at it. And I I should not. I did not mean imply that Santa Rosa was ever a tragedy that was poorly phrased. I hope the minutes of the minutes will be adjusted. Just think of Santa Rosa. That's what I was trying to convey. All But it is a tragedy that our city attorney has to follow that. We're going to go right, right from that to talking about settlements and active litigation. I'm sorry for that. We can. >> Thank you, Mayor. You really set me up there. Very, very hard follow that heartfelt. To Laurie and I will MISS Rizz. Well, I will I will MISS Her sense of humor. So best of luck, Lori I hope I hope that we do keep in touch. But with that, I do have a litigation report MAY. There were 2 settlements previously by council in closed session that were finalized in MAY. >> The Pearson, the city of Santa Rosa. And been released and secured on MARCH 31st. 2026 and the amount of 3 million, $680,000 paid. On behalf of the city in the midst of claims was issued MAY 6, 2026. With 1 million paid directly. But in his city and 2 million, 680,000 paid by the city's first The second settlement to report is that the former city attorney Theresa Stricker. The city entered into a settlement agreement and release of claims with former city Attorney Teresa Stricker with

a settlement about 140,000 $145,000. This is not a separation agreement, but rather former city attorney Theresa Stricker submitted her resignation MAY 2026. In MAY 2026. Announcing her last city with JUNE second 2026. By entering into the agreement. Former city Attorney Theresa Stricker waived all potential claims about her employment. And moving on to ongoing litigation. We have an active caseload right now of 27 litigation matters with trial dates assigned to approximately 30% of the trial level matters. And we have a further 5 cases currently on following rulings in favor of the city at the trial court level. And mayor, that concludes the litigation report for tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you. MADAM City Attorney, thanks for picking. I want to the that rough transition. We'll open up the public comment either on active settlement litigation or how wonderful Loran is mystery over. I see you have the mic as you like to kick us off. >> Michael Hillburn. We're going expect to see a very substantial payout. Did that. Shooting of that unarmed homeless kind urban Saint Rose That's very, very unfortunate. Shouldn't have happened. I imagine that's active litigation at this point or maybe not yet. And secondly, this 3.6, 8 million Dollar settlement. That's really appalling because city of Santa Rosa had 0 liability. Blame and that case that was a case of. A small child and the and crosswalk getting run down

while in cross walk by. >> Plus, attentive driver. >> And it doesn't add up that the city is taking responsibility and pay 3.6, 8 million for that because that was 100%. The fault of the driver. And only child in the crosswalk. >> Thank you, Michael, MR. Do >> As thank you. Kindly. I wanted to say over Dwayne DeWitt from Roseland. The city manager to stay. Typically million things ask for down here. Don't happen. But hey, I understand it. She moved on to a different spot. The city manager just before was a really nice city manager. Also. I wanted her to stay but didn't know she was leaving. I've known every city manager intern 61 years ago. The whole thing about having a city manager for the future. I hope you folks are looking for somebody young. Somebody who might be female because they appear to be a little bit more compassionate. Then all those white guys, I met along the way. All right. Put it out there. I want you to hire a woman of color, perhaps sooner than later and when you put it into the contract, you say, hey, you don't get a pension unless you stay 10 years. We've got to make sure we get these people to stay around. All right. And that they're here for the long haul so that the community can actually feel invested in the position of the city manager working with us. Did you know that the

city manager back in the day he came to the opening of the boys and Girls Club back in the 60's. You see the city manager different things and it was happening. That's a really important thing for the community. Feel the trust that the administrative officer for the organization is paying attention to the taxpayers and the families and the people and get that next one. Soon as they get here. Tell me, want to have a meal over in Roseland. We want to have a community meeting over in Roseland. >> It's not all about presenting the police officers to us and all this other stuff. No, we want the new city manager to come and talk with us and hang out and feel like part of the community. Thank you kindly. Good luck to MISS Farrell. >> Thank you to Are there other members of the public that would like to comment about the report? Seeing none. We'll close public comment on this item. One item, 10 statements, statements of abstention or accuser. Why council any statements of abstention are accused this evening? >> Thank you, mayor. I have a couple of different is under that budget that I'll be recusing from tonight due to a personal relationship. Thank you. >> We will then move on to mayor and council members. Members reports there. Any reports this evening >> First want thank the Grace Foundation for the work that they do in the Was fortunate to be with them at the palms in doing a barbecue. For nearly 100 hamburgers. Hot dogs were served to the residents. They're doing great

work ordered She's not here. But also want to thank the cab for helping. With a grant to make that happen for the human grace and kept up occasions, money doing the work in the community. Secondly. I'd like to ask the support of my colleagues to produce an ordinance to address on permitted food vendors with the lens on environmental impact. And I like to make the motion to put that on agenda. Second. Could you clarify the ordinance Mr? Boehner as yes, sir, it's to produce or create an ordinance to address unpermitted food vendors permit street vending in the city of Santa Rosa with its city limits with the focus on environmental impact, specifically Greece But it's it's it's a motion that would like to put on the future. Condor understood to have a motion. We have a second. So that would that would come back at the next meeting. Is that correct? >> MADAM For a vote? Yes, when when we agenda that rather yes. So it'll come back at the next meeting for council to determine if it should be brought. >> Forward for future agenda items. Perfect. All right. Thank you both. Do you have what you need in a city clerk motion? Okay. Thank you, MR. Alvarez as Rodgers. Let's let's stay with you. >> Thank you. So I quickly just wanted to give a shout out to the Rotary and thank them for honoring our police officers and firefighter of the year at the luncheon that they have I was accompanied by. >> The couple of my colleagues, Councilmember

MacDonald mayor, step. Thank it. So it was a good time in Cal Cities. I attended the Cal Cities Policy Committee JUNE 4th and 5th for governance, transparency and Labor relations. >> Policy in public safety. We spoke about. Wildfire mitigation, fire insurance in the city liability there was a presentation on city liability. And I found it very interesting speaking about how people feel like they're suing like our police officers are. They're suing our fire. But in reality, there's a big chunk of that money that comes from the general fund that can be doing a lot within the community. So people are getting these great, big settlements, people are like, yeah, we stuck it to the police. But really there or sticking it to the municipality in which they are a part of. So that was the a pretty wide discussion. And there was a lot of feedback. And that I was able to attend the Pride Parade with own Mayor. Step. That was He was decorated to say the least >> and not not everything needs to presented to the ok, sorry about that. >> And then the 56th annual Sonoma County Juneteenth Festival. And I know some of my colleagues were there prior to me getting there. So thank you for representing. That was a lot of thing and had a lot of yummy food and I look forward to seeing it next year, which will not be at mlk Park because that will be under construction. So that is

great. I wanted to give a quick shout out to Santa Rosa Fire Department squad to for as many of you know, I'm bit Jim. Rap is not a good turn on go I love the gym. So I was at the gym this morning in we had a 75 year-old who fell off the treadmill. In squad to Kane and prior to squad to getting there there was an employee. There was a nurse who is married to one of our fire station, 8 employees who is helping the lady who fell off the treadmill. So the big family there this morning at the gym but squad to tame in. Didn't have to bring the big app. Brad is so that was nice. But just to see them in the community and working and I look from a distance, but it's really great to see our staff out in the community doing what they do and doing it so well and I hope mission is is is ok because she didn't need to be transported to the hospital. Happy birthday to Councilmember Alvarez. I'm happy you are poor. And I think your mom that for that so happy birthday to accounts like And your mind and happy birthday to Councilmember Alvarez. And I know it was already said. City Manager Sheryl, I really do want to thank you and wish you the best in all your endeavors. You have truly left your mark on that and I'm thankful that you came. So thank you very much. That concludes my remarks. Thank Thank you, MR. Donald. >> Thank you, Mayor. Yes, I was able to attend the Rotary luncheon. So thank you to Santa Rosa Rotary for putting that event on and just

congratulations to Officer John Chris Penn as well as firefighter Nathan Daley for their awards that they received that day. I want to give them both a shot out as well deserved. My understanding is that firefighter Nathan Delhi could have been in a movie like rescued somebody from a burning vehicle. And so I just want to know that there we have a lot of everyday heroes working for the city of Santa Rosa said that these 2 are called out this year. So congratulations to them. I also into the fire pinning ceremony for their promotions, as well as some new recruits that are coming to the city of Santa Rosa. And just want to say, thanks for being willing to work for us and welcome to the team. And last but not least I want to just do a quick. I missed the park a month's event on try to go each month, but I was at the World Cup so I didn't get to this one. Don't feel sorry for me. I know. >> But I want to say thank you. In APRIL, was the volunteer a month event that they host at one of the parks where all the volunteers from our parks. >> Are consistently helping. And there's people that work at our rules cemetery and the ladies that deter park. And folks that work at the Prince Memorial Greenway as well as southeast Greenway. These are volunteers across the city that helped keep those parks going than day to day. And I just want to say thank you to all of them. I was at hadn't email sent to me from Carol Quant who is the chair of our

parks and rec just reminding me in thanking me for attending that event. But I just want to say thank you to her and everybody else who helps. And those those open spaces. We all love. Thank you, MR. Creepy. >> Thank you, MR. Mayor, just a couple quick things we last Monday we had economic develop so committee meeting which is a pretty hearty agenda with some very important months them. It was update and direction given on plans for the California welcome Center in Railroad Square. There's also a discussion on tourism and its trends. Thanks to DR. I from some university. I can't recall and there was a discussion on the roof, this our panels and how we're gonna go forward with those and direction given on that. And then finally, a large discussion on Roseland and how the city and staff would like to protect the cultural and heritage and vibrancy of that neighborhood going forward. So so really important topics that were discussed in a robust meeting. But important than the last. Thank you. In just a few, a few quick items at the last in a cream clean Power Board meeting, I guess a week ago. >> More discussion of how to push geothermal exploration forward. Speaking of how the county punches above its weight, a lot of ways we have the geysers up there. The world's largest geothermal field and we want to double the amount of power that puts out and some clean power's doing a lot of advocacy to make that easier. We also had

a Santa Rosa plain groundwater sustainability agency meeting. It was mostly administrative that we did approve a budget for this coming year. And then as has been mentioned, leaving that meeting the committee's aside, we had 2 large events we had country summer and the pride parade here in Santa Rosa. I know the county tech to bring its claim fairgrounds, but everybody knows it's really Santa Rosa. And so we had 15,000 people there, including our new Joint argue Joint Command center with us. Our pd and and the and center was a fire. I was was a pleasure to get this to sneak back there and see how that works. Thank you for keeping everyone safe this weekend. Again, you have the pride parade with a few 1000 people and you have a country summer. Everybody was in town and then the Juneteenth event, as as Rodgers mentioned, that was well attended with double the number of vendors in past years. So that was outstanding. And I will conclude with not and not meeting update, but a grant update after year. Plus, really 2 years plus advocating for the feds to finally cut our check for our buses. And as we approach the deadline here SEPTEMBER, they finally said fine. We'll give you your 9.9 million dollars that we agreed to back until 2 in 2024, which allows the city to buy 10 buses 9. Thank you, MR. Hennessey, 9 new buses for the city's around having a lease them from from Golden. 8 Express any longer from the Golden Gate Bridge District. So that was a big win. 9.9 million dollars for the city. Lots of advocacy for our lobbyist behind the scenes. So a bit of good news, MR. Hennessy, thank you to you and your team for pushing that for

for so long. I will conclude my report and let's open up the public comment. MR. Hill where icu at the mic. >> Mike Gilbert just want to simply put an objection on the record to unpermitted food, vendor nonsense. Food vending is an all-or-nothing deal. You either permitted by the health department to county health department permitted and collecting sales tax. Or you're not permitted to you. You should be subject to being shut down and no partial permits for, you know. Operating unpermitted. We heard about taco stand just popped up in the parking lot of a the really shopping center Duncanville Road Fulton, just, you know, without asking the property owner any of the businesses and just to set up shop in the parking lot, no permit from the health department in a you know, I would suggest you look at enforcement and shut down from vendors. Thank you, Michael, MR. Do it. >> Definitely wanted to make a comment based on what MISTER Alvarez is put forward. Ms Rogers also. >> There are a number of unpermitted food vendors operating in various parks. The one Southwest Park on Hearn Avenue. One of the vendors actually hangs their wares from the sign that says no vending in the park. Why don't you change the policy and make it so you can bend and any park throughout the city so that people can pursue an income. At the same time, you can get a revenue stream. For years. I've heard the city

always plead poverty saying they can't take care of what they need to do, especially at the parks. So if you've got a revenue stream from the vendors that could help with the upkeep of the parks. On any given night. Now it's Southwest Community Park. There could be as many as 5. Not just one or 2, but 5 separate vendors setting up with barbecues with a lot of stuff. Lot of equipment every night, one rules in and they got their thing going with the whole clientele. That starts coming at 6 in the evening. And they stayed til after 11. So if you could make some revenue from this, that would really help the parks. And then one other thing keep in mind, it's not just the grease. Asma the kids in Roselawn have the highest rate of asthma in the county. And the barbecues are essentially adding to that problem. We have some cars from the Bay Area, Air Quality Management district now riding through doing air quality tests. We need to link in with them. Find ways to get funding, to help those vendors. Find ways to avoid that toxic pollution that comes off of the barbecues. They could have hoods on there. Thank >> Thank you. Doing are there any other members of the public would like to comment? Seeing none. We'll close public comment and we will move on item 11.2, we have a couple appointments to make. We'll start with 2011.1. Our appointments to fill upcoming vacancies on the Sonoma County Library Commission. MISS

Fleming has stepped away. Vice marriage when jumping in. Make a motion to appoint. A Sarah Rago says the city county representative and Josh. >> And that he has the city's representative on the Sonoma County Library Commission so we have a motion and a second MISTER Alvarez over public comment. Are there any members of public would like to comment this item? Seeing none. Any discussion from MADAM City clerk, whenever you're ready when called a vote. Moving like Lightning tonight. One moment. Councilmember Rogers. Councilmember MacDonald. Yes, Councilmember Fleming. >> Councilmember Ben Yes, Councilmember Alvarez are. Vice Mayor Okrepkie. MAY or step yes. Let the record show this past the 6 affirmative votes. Thank you. And one more point to make it item 3011.1. Our appointment to the renewal Enterprise District Housing Fund, the board of directors. >> And for this, I'm going to announce and request the council approved our current appointee, a familiar face to all of us, MR. MR. Klein, who used to rent housing here at the city for a number of years also says number being housing board and it hard to think of a more qualified person for this position. Thank you for your service. I request board a motion and approval forms. You want to continue to serve. So moved. Second, motion and when have a second by MISS MacDonald what's to public comment. MR. De You have the floor. >> Or the Sonoma County housing advocacy group and I have known, MR. Going during

those years. And I am glad that he's here involved in things. I had seen him since he left the city. I was hoping that along with this reappointment, you folks could explain better to the public what the red is doing. A lot of folks don't know about how it got set up and what it does. And there's a lot of money involved. So it would be really interesting if you could just take a moment to say, hey, this is what the red does and how the money gets going. I'm sure that there's good things happening over there. But you never really read about it in the news or hear much about it. Last I heard there was like I think was 10 or 11 million dollars there. At one point. So if you could give us some news to use, good luck to you, MR. Going you have a wonderful time at that. Thank you, MR. DeWitt. And we're not going to do that presentation here, but we do have red come in annually on. You can also visit their website and to get all the details are other members of the public would like to comment. >> Seeing none. We have a motion. We have a second. If there's and was there any further discussion? Seeing no further discussion. MADAM City clerk, what we call a vote. >> Thank you. Councilmember Rogers, Councilmember MacDonald, I councilmember Fleming Councilmember Ben. Well, those yes, councilmember all fronts Vice Cookie? I mayor step yes. Let the record show this passes unanimously. >> Thank you. We will move on to consent. We have items 13.1 through 13.0. 21 this evening. There any questions on any of the items doesn't wish to pull

in these items? Seeing public comment on members of public that wish to comment on the consent calendar. MR. De Wit kick us off. All right. Here. >> Doing to it from Roseland Item. 13.6, 2 and a half million dollars to do a master plan for a park. This is really a lot of money, folks. And the thing is. You need to have better public participation approach. Thunder community engagement needs to happen on these types of parks. Usually what happens is staff controls it. They say we checked off a box. We had a meeting and away we go also what's really important as you're going to have this north of Santa Rosa Station area plan, specific plan update. You're getting some more funding from Metropolitan Transportation Commission and it's going to be for planning public engagement support, an environmental review. I've been to a number of meetings of the mtc in the past and I've actually tried make comment on their public engagement policies. The current one is up right now. If you want to. Chime in and talk with them about it. I've been doing it for over 20 years. And I point out that basically they don't really engage the public. Okay. Especially the bus riders, bus rider from the way back. Remember when Golden Gate Transit got started here in Saint Rose over 50 years ago. And riding the buses and having community engagement in the planning for the buses is really important. So I'm hoping that you folks will

point out on this that you want some authentic community engagement, not just ticking off the boxes and then last but not least you folks have been given the money for the homeless stuff. We got a homeless emergency and you're doing a local housing allocation program. Plant. We've had a housing allocation plan for decades. We need to get more housing. Obviously closer into the town that was pointed out today in the earlier study session, some more housing downtown building up taller more people. Thank you. Thank you, MR. Home before we go to you, one point of clarification from MR. Hennessy Item 13.6. That's and actually, that's that's actually worth having. You come out of the line for this one. I'm if I'm thinking correctly, sort it. >> Sort of a key stretch, your legs. But just from my recollection, that is actually all public involvement. Is it not? That's a that's a Sonoma Land trust grant the Southeast. We want volunteers coming together to make a project that the city would not have any complex, otherwise move forward. >> of that. The scope and fee that we solicited for. We specifically included in that request for proposals that 30% of the effort be explicitly for public engagement and outreach and receiving feedback. We received 12 proposals for that. Most of the firm's hit that number and exceeded it of the 2.3 million dollars. A $750,000 is from an empty sea grant. Almost a million dollars is from generous donations funded through this. And I'm a land

trust and the remainder is measure and funds that have been sitting in that account for some time. So we'll be proceeding with that starting next month upon the authorization of this contract. The fact you do that off the cuff, Dan, that's impressive. Some of that just just. >> Just to underline we the city, the city has not promoted. This announced the fact that we had Sonoma Land Trust and her volunteers come and delivering significant because of significant amounts of money to push for the project that they are in large part responsible for because they fought for for 14 years. Another system with the planning we need to promote that we have a cooperate agreement with both the Land Trust and the Southeast Greenway campaign. They'll be involved their trusted partners throughout this process. They have been involved in every step of the way from developing the request for proposals to helping doing the funding plan to interviewing consulting teams. >> They're completely on board we're excited to go. People be sick of hearing about this this time next year. Dan, thank put you on the spot. So that's such a great story. >> All right. MR. Helmer over to you. >> ok, thank 13.16 17 that object to both of those. There are no legitimate. Metrics on these things. They're phony. 13, 17 is Mobiles. Hand gentleman. 13, 6.16. That's a million dollars to keep that. Say parking parking section parking lot Open. That's $85,000 a month. That's ridiculous to just. Keep. And that to just watch Parking lot. And there's not that many

people there. I'm just sorry that to your friend Jack Tibbetts is not still here because, you know, I bet he's the type you'd love to get his hands on money. He he was here that the government giving money, you know, because the weather was spent responsibly or not to He was always there be on the receiving end. But anyway, did you read that? He came out of the clouds and the red? Have it. Megan, I that was funny as h# # # right? Thank you, Michael. >> Are there any other members of the public would like to comment? Seeing none. We'll close public comment and I'll turn it over to MISTER Creepy for a motion. >> Thank you, MR. Mayor, I will items. 13.1 through 13.0. 21 noting amended resolution on item 13.18, was provided by staff today and published prior to the start of the meeting. >> Second, we have a motion and a second City clerk can call the vote whenever you're ready. To confirm. That was second by Councilmember MacDonald. >> Thank you, correct. Councilmember Rogers, Councilmember MacDonald, I councilmember Fleming Councilmember Ben, Los? Yes, Bres. Vice Mayor Craig by their step. Yes. Let the record show this passes unanimously. >> Thank you. All right, folks. We've been at it for 3 hours. So we're going take a 10 minute break. We'll come back very shortly after the quarter All right. Welcome back, everyone. The time is what is 5.19, we will reconvene in open session. MADAM City clerk, would you please call the roll? Thank you. Mayor Councilmember Rogers. >> Councilmember MacDonald, your Councilmember Fleming here, Councilmember Ben Willows. Councilmember

Alvarez. Vice Mayor Cookie. Mayor stat here. But the record show all councilmembers are present with the exception of Councilmember Ben Willows. Wonderful are going to our first public comment non agenda matters before going to the public hearing. So item 14 0st. This is your chance to comment on items not listed on the agenda. >> Fred, you have the floor. >> Afternoon, Fred, all I had a comment received a piece of mail about Santa Rosa's, saw Budget issues and and the survey that went out that resulted in the 5 5 priorities. And I notice that the survey said there were about 2000 responses and out of the number of people in the city. I calculated that was about 1.2% of the city while responding to the survey. So I hope that the city is is not basing its priorities. >> On on that low level of survey response. >> And now one of the things that I've been thinking is that. That the council and staff should be able to look at the demographic facts of Santa Rosa and see the median household income education. It said or undetermined. What the greatest needs are. And so I was I would think that in addition to potholes, please and fire. That taught addressing the city's level of disadvantage communities, which is about 40% of the population, should be a top priority. And just in my way of thinking, you shouldn't need to have a survey tell you that you you know what to do

when you can see those facts plain as day. So it's just a fun I had for your consideration. Thank you, Fred. We're gonna go to DeWitt. And then after that, Michael Hill over and Kameron Miller and if we could use both turns that will be helpful to wane. >> Go right ahead. All righty. >> bring you to the Wayback Machine once again. Dwayne DeWitt from Roseland. So this was written. 30 full. It will basically 30 years ago. And at the time the gentleman writing it was pointing out about the planning mistakes in the last 20 years. Was talking about downtown Santa Rosa. So today I was surprised that you guys have already been working behind the scenes for years to get rid what we call City Hall and do something different. But what he pointed out is that downtown center roses, fractional lysed. That was 30 years ago. He was pointing out that there was a dilemma of having people, not enough foot traffic to the store fronts and that they're basically was not enough people in the downtown area. That's 34 years ago. All right. So this isn't me saying this. When I come to you, this is basically that person at that time. Brad Bolinger was known as MR. Business in downtown Santa Rosa. So he was saying these things. All right. So you're talking about trying to make some positive things happen. One of them, you're looking at

United Soccer League and you're going bring those guys in here and they're going to basically get some stuff going here and it's going to be helpful to us. We hear. But what's happening is you're not involving the public in a lot of these discussions until after the fact to find out today that the deals already done. You showed us a picture of a building that the city used to own right there on Santa Rosa Avenue. That's now where you're going to trade. Our city hall, too. And that man got that building because there was a financial incentive involved with the promise there would be housing put into tnt building. And how we're going to have to pay to get it. >> It's not fair. >> Thank you to Wayne Michael Cameron and so Raw. Michael. >> Southwest's n Roses, Gang infested and he's got a tremendous amount of this. Nor a thanks for vile graffiti. And people seem to accept this is just normal. Should be the case. And some instances. You also see the the blue from the other team. You know, right over top of the red. That fatal stabbing at the Montgomery High. You know what I was? You can read the for the civil Norte annual comic who went into a classroom to physically assault. He's so rain And he got a knife in is that the for his trouble and the student school district paid out 6.8 million dollars as if they were both victims. You know that that's tells you

the extent to the gang presence is appalling. And and something else personal week and half ago was physically assaulted by a tattoo covered Mexican guy. Well, Ryan trying to write my home by home. From the store, know, and I'm pretty sure was had a racial comment component to it. You know, it's the same sort of thing. Use tech to get and countered h# # # hole like Stockton or something like that. So from my perspective, that's reality of Whats n Roses today. Thank you. >> Thanks, Michael. Cameron and then Camille. I Cameron. >> I am Cameron North Bay organizing project and that just here to talk about the ongoing contract and that the city has with flock safety and those types of security cameras main concern I was at the past meeting we discussed noncompliance with ice and they're just been so many cases where even cities have with noncompliance ordinances. Ice has been able to get around that and there have been data breaches with flock safety. They can still use those cameras to track people. And that's really concerning. Just makes that. Noncompliance not feel as real or just don't trust as And just in general very concerned with the idea of. Our surveillance and security being managed by ai and That just feels very wrong with me. And there's been data leaks and so many problems with it already. And it doesn't take much imagination

to picture just how bad it could If read books and movies. Where you can see, you know, imagine what that looks like a and I just don't want that to happen here. I thank >> Thank you, Cameron, Camille. And then Jenny, raw. >> Wayne, I am a resident district. One Alvarez. And I'm here to also touch on my concerns with flock safety. >> I write feel like it is a very easy way to fall into abuse of power. >> It is on 24 7. It is ran Ina 3rd party. There's been numerous like Karen has said numerous issues come up with it. Ms Reding Auzenne zeroes and pulling over the wrong people because it's a and it's not being double checked. So, yeah, that's those are my biggest concerns. As far as being a citizen that is area where flock is like there's a lot buchan flock cameras my neighborhood and it's stressful and it feels like. I need to be super paranoid and super concern. And I can't really exist without eyes on me. And it's kind of like my already guilty. Even though I haven't been doing thing around. So. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Thank you, Sir. Au Camille, Jenny and the know we can we can. You can also lower the podium a bit older. Love that. >> They go win >> Thank you. My name is Camille and I'm a constituent of centers. This district 6. I'm also part of this group through organizing project, dedicated to defending our community, civil liberties.

And I am deeply concerned about flock and the lack of local regulation around what is essentially surveillance technology, especially as I'm learning something new about every week about flock in California. Just inhaling footage of our routines and whereabouts and putting us at risk too frequent data exposure. Incident says whether they're accidental or intentional. Santa Rosa right now shares data with Oakland and San Francisco, which are 2 cities facing class action lawsuits right now over flock regarding data sharing practices and tracking drivers movements. It's also known in California where sb 34 and sb 54 prohibits law enforcement from sharing license plate data with federal agencies are sharing resources to aid immigration enforcement. It's known that police are casually violating that and searching for flock searching fox databases on behalf of ice and Customs and Border Protection. And that concerns me because even if we trust our own police how do we know that? >> None of the cities that we're sharing data with aren't, you know, granting favors like that. And these country is these contracts are covered by hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants. And I'm not sure where that cause ships when the grants and if not already, I would like to know if you can define for us the point where our current data sharing with all fox, you know, said Ali, updated terms and agreements what officially crossed the line so that we don't have, you know. Location, specific dossiers on all of us. So our eyes are on you. The city

council to show us how you plan navigate that when our tax dollars and data is on the line. >> Thank you, Camille. Jenny know and the joy. >> Good evening. City Council. My name is Jenny Gilpin and I'm a constituent of district 2 here in Sonoma County. I'm also an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America. And I've showed up today to urge you guys to re-evaluate our contract and our partnership with block surveillance. And it's because Flock is an untrustworthy company. When flock pitches its technologies to city like ours, they promise complete local control over who sees our data. But actual track record tells a completely different story. Just a few months ago in FEBRUARY 2026, Mountain View discover that federal law enforcement agencies, including ice and cbp, had been secretly accessing their local surveillance data for months. They did this without permission or knowledge of the Mountain View. Police Department, the Mountain View police chief completely lost confidence in Flock is a vendor and immediately ordered all of their cameras turned off. But this was an isolated. It wasn't just a software glitch at the same time an official audit was done in Ventura County, down South. It revealed that block had inadvertently shared their local surveillance data with out of state and federal agencies over 364,000 times. Again, this occurred entirely without the department's

knowledge or approval violating California state laws designed to protect citizens. Privacy flock is demonstrated a blatant disregard for regulatory and legal boundaries. They're facing sweeping class action lawsuits right here in California for creating what attorneys call and illegal unconstitutional mass surveillance dragnet in Ohio and Illinois when the city is canceled the contract and told them to get rid of their cameras, they turn them back on and continue installing them. We're dealing with a hyper aggressive venture-backed surveillance company that repeatedly treats local policy restrictions as mere suggestions. And urge the council to reconsider the flaw contract this fall. >> Thank you. Jenny know a joy and Sophia. >> I'm no, Lou and I'm a district 5 resident and also part of the Civil Liberties task part for us through North Bay Organizing project. And I want to share some similar concerns. I have like my task force members as well as concerns people who we have spoken to during canvassing efforts have voiced about regarding security and funding. And so I wanted to bring up some questions. Also about the budget and funding right now that the city gets $423,000 annually through a 36 month. Grant contracts to fund flock cameras. But I wonder how this money is going to be how we're going to get this money when. The grant runs out. And if it would come from other. Services that the city provides because although certain services might not be.

Marketed like. Secure life should prevent crime or solve crime. Like how flock is these much-needed services do prevent crime and promote community well-being and safety. Another concern is the lawsuits in cities like San Francisco and San Jose. Pertaining to government employees outside of the city jurisdiction. Accessing flock data from within the city. And as of FEBRUARY 2026, the terms and conditions of flock no longer have any language prohibiting the sale of customer data. And while they claim that the city's with flock cameras have legal ownership over the data flock has to quote from the terms and condition. The exclusive right to determine and control the method. Timing format and medium of the sharing of data. And while city leaders MAY promise that they won't use data on lawfully ethically, they cannot promise that the company itself will do the same. Thank you. Thank you know, joy and in Sofia. Can you be all right. Name is joy. I'm a lifelong Santa Rosa resident and constituent of district 2 also community organizer with the North Bay Organizing Project for the last year. I've been working with a dedicated group of community members looking to defend their civil liberties and fill the gaps in this work locally. The main issue that we've been following is regarding the company flock safety and more specifically their automatic license plate readers. We've recently started going door to door to door to talk with our neighbors, about concerns with local surveillance. Despite the center is a police department operating over 120 flock cameras. Community members seem to know very little about this equipment. If they're aware of its

presence at all. This is particularly concerning because it lets us know their local community was not involved in this process adopting the technology was actually proven to do a lot of harm. Flock safety made a public statement earlier this year, ushering California customers that they had turned off the function for out of state sharing altogether. However, a number of California cities have found data breaches to their audits that confirmed their flock camera data was accessed by federal and out of state agencies. This is a clear and direct violation of California Senate Bill 34 in recent months pockets amid a number of changes to their terms and conditions portions of their contract. Most notably that these changes include the addition of a perpetual license which gives blocked the right to keep Lpr data indefinitely. Even if the city were to terminate its relationship with flock today, as well as increased protections against fox liability for misconduct which would shift cost for data breaches from the company to centers the taxpayers, the lack of data security and increasingly long trail of misconduct on fox part as well as their quiet contractual changes that clearly prioritize their profit protection over actual community safety have made it clear to me that we cannot trust o'clock company or any of its equipment. I do, however, want to put my trust in. You are elected representatives to be open to having conversations with community and do what's in the best interest of all of your constituents. I hope that we can move towards a more community centered, informed approach to safety rather than relying on an outsourced system that is putting our community and its data at risk. Thank you for your Thank you, Joy. Sophia. >> Hello, my name is Sophie Nrm. I'm a lifelong resident of Sonoma County. I am also a leader of the North Bay organizing project. I feel that it is extremely necessary to examine the overall cost of law enforcement surveillance

technologies like flock safety, alp Ares on our community and not just the financial cost of the equipment I would. Santa Rosa spending roughly 400,000 annually on its contracts with flock safety, an expense that is currently covered by federal and state grant money. But I'm assuming the cost will shift to the the city of Santa Rosa. Once this money runs out. Not to mention the very real possibility of concerns surrounding liability. And a recent update to flock safety's contractual terms and conditions Flock has been extensive protections in place against liability for willful misconduct or gross negligence. This essentially means that liability. It shifted from the company to the taxpayers, even if the error was fox doing. This is not a matter of if, but when San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose are all in act of class action lawsuits regarding flock violations, I am very concerned about the human cost of these invasive and unreliable ai mass surveillance technologies. It is well documented that the data that flock elects our personal information has been shared. The federal agencies like Homeland Security and ice, despite suppose that protections, California Senate Bill 34. Police policy makers who care about racial justice, immigrants rights, reproductive justice, lgbtq rights, privacy and free speech and civil rights must pay attention to how surveillance MAY affect different members of their

community. These technologies are putting our community, our neighbors at unnecessary risk of harm. The harm far outweighs any supposed suppose benefits of these technologies. Thank you. Thank you, Sophia. >> Are there any of the members of the public would like to speak on this item? Seeing none. We will close. We will close public comment and we will move on to our public hearing for the evening item. 16. Wagner was a busy day for you. Welcome back. And should note that this is the our public hearing, the adoption of the city of Santa Rosa fiscal year 2026. 2027 operations and maintenance budget and Capital Improvement program. Budget. Thank you both for being here. Thank you. Mayor stabbed and members of the council Scott Wagner, chief financial officer. And along with me here today is. >> Veronica Connor, the city's budget manager. We are very pleased to be presenting this proposed budget. And with that, I will hand off to our interim city manager, Farrell for her opening comments. Thank you, Scott. First, I wanted to thank staff for putting this budget together. This was a team effort and the combination of several months of work. >> And analysis on the part of myself, obviously, our cfo, our budget manager, Veronica Connor, and the incredible staff in the Finance Department, but also all of the executive team members that we have and their department budget liaisons. We've had a series of meetings regarding our proposed budget recommendations, understanding and acknowledging that we had

a significant financial deficit and you wanted long-term and intelligence solutions. And so we had as a study session in APRIL and then we also followed up with our MAY 5th and sessions. This is the 4th time that we've been before you to discuss budget options for next year. As we've discussed previously. This is a two-year strategies. So you'll hear again this evening. The highlights of your one, but you'll get a little bit more in depth information on the potential impacts to city services in year 2, which would be July one. 2027 if we don't have additional revenue coming into the city, I'll share that as someone was a former finance professional. We have a fantastic team that's dedicated to this city's financial sustainability. As are you? I think this is a really solid proposal that we put together. It continues course services dramatic draconian impacts to services. However, more still needs to be done. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to our team here to go into the details and I have a questions at the end. Thank you, Scott, back to you. >> Thank you. Manager Farrell, so big in our presentation today with a brief overview of what will be included. We'll start with our calendar along with any proposed changes since our Buddies Budget study Session. As Farrell mentioned, we are asking our department has to come down and giving more robust discussion around year 2 in our budget study session and I gave an overview

of most of our departments impacts. But today we're giving them an opportunity to come down give some additional information Council and get any feedback needed on year, too. We will additionally be ending that presentation with an overview of the capital improvement program for the Sea for fiscal year 26. 27. We'll start with our budget timeline thankfully for we're at the end of this timeline for the current year, what I will always add in these conversations is that budget is a very long process. If that does not start in MAY with our budget budget study session, it really is an 8 month process and we will stress that budget making is a little bit of math, a lot of collaboration and a lot of communication and a lot of work from a lot more employees that are just here today. The reality is that over 1200 member staff, we consider all of them to be budget experts because they're the ones activating our budgets in service for the community. So as with any budget making process over the past 6, 5 weeks, there has been some minor changes. I will state from the beginning that this proposed budget today very much falls directly into line with the Direction Council gave our study session to return with the city manager's proposed budget and not make any substantive changes. But some updating that has happened in that we will point out is that there was a $64,000 increase within our housing agency, too better reflect in more updated number from hud that we've got for allocations, not

groundbreaking stuff. There on a second. Nader, as we've looked at our measure h which is our fire special tax that lives outside of our general fund through our analysis. We believe at this time that the fund can sustain an additional fire. Captain to its budget. That fire chief pressure will be able to discuss a little bit more later. But it is to serve a function of is training. Captain a 40 hour captain within the fire department to bring additional resources there. We've additionally increased appropriations. In council prior council approved projects from special revenue funds of $703,000. This is very much an action of accounting to meet federal spending requirements. We are not changing appropriations on any what should happen within the projects that council already approved. We are not proposing any change to our our projects. We are up against a kind of audit requirement for says a federal requirement on how do we make our budget match with the federal folks want to see and the way that we've come to a solution is that that fund has interest revenue that we can appropriate that will act as gap for a period of time and 2 were able to release all project funds from the projects. Big picture short. At the end of the day, this is a $703,000 increase that gets offset with a decrease the very next year. It's a net-zero. This is really a function of governmental accounting. We're going to have a conversation later based on today's presentation

along with council feedback as part of the Budget study session around the General Fund Reserve policy as what was mentioned earlier. We want to keep taking big swings here at the city. Part of those big swings that come forward will be addressing the general Funds Reserve policy. That hasn't been updated in 20 years. But this we have an opportunity tonight with cities with tonight's adoption to set aside some funds and assigned them through our reserves to a capital need that we all see coming at this point. The thing that I'll note is that of the city's labor contracts we currently have one bargaining unit that is out of contract as of JULY. 1st. And that is our fire management group. That is a smaller group. That is not all of our firefighters as of the battalion Chief, Sir Division Chiefs in some of our fire prevention folks that go out a contract on 7, one, we have included a holder here of $200,000 into the budget that we've increased for the proposed contract that would be ratified at council in JULY. As we've been discussing, the city has been moving forward with a two-year budget strategy. I will highlight that. That does not mean that council is a a two-year budget tonight. But what we are moving forward is a two-year strategy through year one. We've been able to come up with a multi-pronged approach to deal with a deficit. That initially was 17 and a half million dollars. We've done things through strategic use of reserves and adjusting staff staffing is

grand fundings expired along with decreasing our head or decreasing our position control by positions that are currently vacant. We've also use some innovative financing that council has been able to review, including relook at our pension strategy and his in a way that the city can pay off our pension liabilities. Quicker and pay less. Ultimately, though, the city still remains any structural deficit that will require year to at this point to have a 9.8 million dollar deficit. Are you one strategy will give us some time to address how we are going to tackle that year to deficit. But we will talk about that more at length in a moment with that. Unlike the budget study session where I was a bit of a one man band, I'm going to lean a little bit more on Veronica and handoff revenues to her. Thank you, Scott. So taking a look at our citywide budget. We're going to go through a number of financial sides that we have seen in APRIL and in MAY. So I'm not going to be labor these very much but move through pretty quickly. But point out some of the major changes. >> This slide shows are citywide revenue, including all entities, all funds all departments broken out by fund groups. The only change on this slide since MAY is and that housing authority line item increased by $64,000 in accordance with our allocations from the federal government. Next slide. Please. And on the expenditure side again, we're looking at citywide expenditures for our proposed budget for next year. This includes all funds, all departments, all entities General Fund is at the top. This is, of course, our largest source of spend of spending in the general Sorry,

spending in the city's budget and the changes that we see from MAY include our special revenue line item. This is where we see an increase from that fire. Captain added to our Measure h fund as well as the increased capital projects appropriations for the arpa spending that was discussed on a previous slide. And we are also seeing a small increase in the housing authority for those allocations. And this is just a visual showing all of our expenditures by fund citywide. The general Fund is our largest source of operations followed by our enterprise funds. And so moving on to our general fund budget overview narrowing down on just that top line of those previous slides. In MAY, we came to council and we proposed a budget that ended in a 7.6 million dollar deficit. So due to some kind of late in the game changes settlements of that unit, 9 labor contract, an additional $200,000 worth of costs will be added onto this deficit. This happened. The timing was problematic. We could not incorporate this into our public hearing. Notice our budget document that is attached to this council item. But we are including it here. We will address it verbally and where it affects our slides. So ultimately, the budget that we are proposing today will actually have a deficit of 7.8 million and require 7.8 million dollar use of reserves. So we highlight this here just to show that it is a change from a study session and it hasn't quite been feather through all of our slides. But we will highlight it would be be. General fund revenue overview also has not changed since MAY. The main point here is that our property tax, we are

projecting it to grow by 2.3 million dollars next year. This continues to be a very reliable and steady source of income for the city. And our sales tax. We project to grow at about one and a half percent or 1.1 million dollars. We have been able to correct our sales tax budget. It has been far too high in previous years. We are now seeing at a level where we expect our actual revenue to hit the budget amounts. And our forecast for future years are not large, but they are an increase in the right direction. And this is what we're kind of seeing settle to br, quote, unquote, new normal coming out of the covid years in the years of uncertainty that we will continue to see positive growth in sales tax. But just a small, positive growth. And our financial table for general fund revenues broken up by categories shows a total of just shy of 225 million dollars worth of revenue. This has not changed since MAY property taxes, sales tax being our largest 2 categories. We're projecting all other categories to grow with the exception of permits, fines and charges. This represents some of our building permits. We've been seeing a different trend and planning and economic development. Seeing some smaller dollar value permits come through the door and not as much large projects volume has remained high, but the dollar value decreasing a bit. So we are projecting a slight decrease in. This is one we will be watching closely. And again, a visual of the previous slide showing that property taxes and sales taxes are more than half of our general fund revenues. This makes up more than half of our ability to run our general

fund programs. As we look and we think about the general funds mix of revenue. It's important to understand that Santa Rosa is uniquely dependent on sales tax for an agency of our size and complexity and the services we provide. >> Santa Rosa is a true full service city. We provide are on fire. We provide our own police department along with many other functions here within our general fund. At the end of the day, when we talk about property tax for every dollar that a roses, homeowner pays in property taxes. The city retains 11.7% of that. So just under $0.12 goes to the city with city schools receiving 55% in the county coming in second, the way that you will normally hear me describe this is that the city comes last and that allocation of property taxes. The same can be true of sales tax for every dime someone in the city of Santa Rosa's transacting pay for sales tax. We received 1.7 under $0.2 is what we receive. So I will I will add that often. Sometimes I look at that. I say, well, our our sales taxes, 1.7, 5% of what we actually get to keep the state comes first with a 6, $0.6, of that of that 10 of that dime. And then along comes the county receiving 2 and a quarter cents for each And I should add, as I I forgot one of my talking points here. Going back to property tax. It's really important understand that the city of Santa Rosa receiving 12% is very low. We

should expect an agency of our complexity in society and size to be much closer to 16%. And the reason for that is proper 13 is essentially that our property tax percentage has been locked in since the early 70's. We can go to neighboring agencies that are very, very close. But I will not name them and they receive 20%. So even within our own county, there is a disparity between how local government gets funded and the reality of our situation is out that forces us to be far more dependent on our sales tax than the typical agency. >> General fund transfers in are another source of resources. We have to run our general fund operations. This hasn't changed since MAY on the item to highlight here is that we are going to see 5.6 million dollars come in from our pension fund. This is part of that fresh start strategy to reduce the burden of pension costs on the city. The council recently approved. Next slide. Please so moving on to a discussion of the general fund hands back to cfo, actor. >> Thank you, Veronica. South from the big picture perspective on city expenditures. This current contract or this current budget does not align with any major increases that not outside of our contracts, really obligated increases that we're seeing. So for that, we have a 4.9 million dollar already agreed upon contract with units, including not. Weve. Additionally brought forward 1 million dollar increase to police departments overtime. Any 2 and a half million dollar

increase. The fire department's overtime budget. I want to highlight that these are not increases in the amount of overtime. We are expecting these departments to experience with this is to do is to align the budget with what we are realizing with in the department's actuals. Both of these departments run 24 7 operations with mandated staffing levels. So there is and on it is not a line currently with what we are experiencing in total overtime costs with what our budget is. We're seen overages within our current year for both of these departments. These are to get us back on track and representing our budget towards what we're seeing in operations. We had over all of 1 million dollar increasing contractual expenses within our professional services that included $550,000 for election costs. 26 27 will be an election year and we see a blip in an increased during those election years that then goes down in the next years. Overall, we see a $700,000 increase in vehicles. This is offset against a 1 million dollar decrease in the change of our large apparatus financing that we're doing at the city. We have brought forward a policy in a direction. The council that we are decreasing, the amount that we're paying into fire apparatus replacement to better align costs with the useful life of equipment. We're going to be utilizing lease financing in the future for these pieces of equipment. While at the same time, not pushing off their replacement schedules, not decreasing the

total amount of units, but just doing a little bit better job of matching the expenses to when we use the actual apparatus. We're seeing a $500,000 increase towards it. This is really just falling in line of increasing costs of our staffing within the it Department to provide the services they provide along with the software licenses that increase year-over-year for big picture perspective. As Veronica mentioned earlier, we have the increase in revenue around 4 and a half percent versus a 6 and a half percent increase in expenditures. The city is still within a structural deficit. For our major decreases. We brought forward almost 10 million dollars worth of general Fund solutions as part of this year. We have 4.9 million dollars worth of savings from our departments, eliminating vacancies being held within the departments. And additionally, we have 3.8 million dollars worth of savings from the state from the city's pension, stabilization pathway that we've put forward. Our fresh start program. We're going to be realizing 3.8 million dollars worth of savings in year one. But the better news is it will be 28 million dollars over the next 5 years. And 37 million dollars over the life of the program. We're disha leasing a property tax property insurance decreased to just a line with our required reserves with rj Pa's. This budget really reflects many strategies that the city considered to address its structural deficit and to be creative in moving forward with ways that would impact the community to least and we considered many different things. As we've mentioned prior, we're eliminating vacant positions. Ultimately, decomposition is not providing service to the community in

that moment while it is bacon and we've gone through the exercises in our departments to really go through and eliminate those positions. Moving forward with our major apparatus least change. We're again, we're not kicking the can equipment and putting us in a bad position on maintenance with them. We're just fixing those costs to align them better when we're using them. We're going to use reserves on a one-year basis of 7.8 million dollars. The city currently has a healthy reserve and we'll be talking about reserves a little bit more later. But this strategy ultimately uses that amount of reserves to avoid a cercone and level of cuts within this year. One you're too shy to g is going to be more challenging when it comes to the use of reserves. Our pension strategy, saving strategy. I think we've talked about enough at this point, but we're very happy that that is move forward and council has adopted it. We are flex programming for expiring grants. We currently have positions held within the fire department where either federal or county funding has gone away. We describe these as flex funding programs where when the funding goes away, we have to adjust the program. This current proposed budget does adjust those programs to decrease those staff. Staff members accordingly. We are 12 firefighter positions that are included within these grants. We are not laying off any of them. We have landing spots for them within available positions within either the Measure h Fund or the general fund. So fortunately will not be losing any current members of staff. We've moved for with department consolidations. So last year, record creation and parks was absorbed into transit and public works along with housing and Community

services. As part of this budget this department will be incorporated into the city manager's department to have a better alignment of functionality between those 2 groups that work so closely together. We are aligning of budget to actual spending. This is how we talked about our ot being in alignment with what we are experiencing through. The actual is within the funds we've also move forward with enhanced costs recoveries. We have really drill down on our departments to ensure that we are maximizing our costs recoveries within our chargeable areas where those fees for recreation or planning, those are all things or credit card recovery fees. We're we're modernizing the city's approach towards credit card fees. And like many agencies, we are now going to be offering the public option to either pay with an ach or pay with a credit card fee with a convenience amount that is not an across the board change across the city. We will not be charging a convenience fee for a lap swim or a parking meter. It is going to be very directed toward some of the larger areas, whether that's planning permits. Frankly, some of those customers are very used to paying with a check or another means outside of a credit card. We are also doing a minor reduction towards capital support, which will really be funded existing cip funding. This is just a better alignment of cip programming being in the Cip fund except instead of the general fund. Overall. I've mentioned, we've developed almost 10 million

dollars worth of solutions that we are very proud of for the ingenuity and they outside of the box thinking and really drilling down we can accomplish these savings. I will mention that we will have a more robust conversation around year 2. And while these are all very exciting and positive things, many of these are our wells that we can only visit once once you the pension policy at the city, we can't go back and get another savings in this amount. And we've considered these savings into our future budget predictions. And with that, I will hand it back over to Veronica. They go through expenditures. So our proposed budget full for fiscal year 26, 27. >> General fund expenditures total 231.1 million on the slide. That will actually be 231.3, when we add in the $200,000 from management contract and use that have been settled recently and that will affect our salaries line item. The large variance here, as we've pointed out MAY, is our over time, has increased by over 50% as our cfo Wagner touched previous slides that this is merely to align our budget with what is actually happening in operations and to right size the budget for the operations of the city. And this visual is a reminder that salaries and benefits make up more than three-quarters of the general fund. We are a service, heavy city with public safety with administration was planning and permitting. We definitely invest our resources and people in order to service our city. And this financial table also has had no change since a

study session. And we will need to increase that fire line item by $200,000. To account for The m o u Changes. Our General Fund expenditures. Throughout the whole department throughout the whole general fund. Here's broken out by department and we could see that most departments have had small increases. We've tried to keep costs flat where possible. There's a big swing between recreation and tp w this is just due to department reorganizations. It's going to take a couple of years for those to even out. And I will note that in our fire department, despite the increase in overtime and the significant reduction in staffing that cfo Wagner spoke about, we don't see a decrease in the department here. And that's because we are flexing those staffing with our grant funding the positions we are eliminating were funded by grant funds or from outside funding sources in recent years. So rather than seen a substantial decrease year-over-year the benefit that's having is preventing this line item from increasing by several million dollars. More. And this pie chart is just a visual of the previous table. And it shows that here at Santa Rosa, we spend the majority of our general fund resources on public safety. 64.5%. And one additional use of general fund resources are transfers out. These are uses of resources that we don't categorize a salary benefit services and supplies. They instead go to other sources and they are used primarily for homeless services, capital projects, parking enforcement, Bennett Valley, Golf Course, debt service and other areas.

And our final proposed general fund budget still maintains our baseline requirements for our public safety and prevention tax. So we like to lay this out here to show that we are still adhering to that maintenance of effort that's required. >> As we look at it, the city's long-range financial forecasts. What you'll note is that the city still remains in a structural deficit even after 2 years of very large cuts to the general fund. We still have a snowball that is rolling down a hill with larger numbers. These numbers, though, are much better than where we started. This conversation a year and a half ago, a year and a half ago are really 2 years ago. The 26 27, fully burden deficit was over 30 million dollars. It skews me was over 40 million dollars. We've made a lot of progress. I don't want anyone to think that the efforts and the hard decisions that have been made have not made a difference because they very, very much have. We're just in a position where expenditure basis, it's going to very, very difficult to keep cutting it. We're going to talk about that more a little bit later. We look at the overall staffing dynamic of the city. But when I look at this chart, the numbers that pop really pop out is is 30 31 still being at a 22.4 million dollar deficit. Part of that and the big jump between 2030 2031 is the measure q sales tax falling off. That's sunsets in MARCH of 2031. And that is 24 million dollars worth of revenue for the city. That's something the city will need to address address. But

ultimately, when we look at this, look at this chart and we think about the history of the past couple of years, we've made some meaningful improvements or revenue whether that be business license tax, rt ot. We've made very difficult cuts. The city has tightened its belt. It's sharp and its pencil. It's done all of these things. This is the math that we're left with. There has been periods of the city due to frankly things that we could not control, whether that's a global pandemic or other things that we here at the city didn't know we're coming. We're forecasting end up being a little bit off. The reality is for the past 4 years, Rhonda and her team have done a. Remarkable job projecting these deficits and they've been very accurate. We do expect this to be the reality of the city and not going in much better or worse way. Projections are based off of trying to hit the target versus projecting in for a definite for a recession. We're projecting in for good things happen here about things happening. We're trying to hit the target. What's important to note there is that if there is any greater macroeconomic happenings that would affect this negatively would make these numbers much, much worse. With that. We'll move on to a discussion around general fund reserves. This is our standard General fund reserves spend down chart. I mentioned every single time I show this this chart lives one year in the future. So when folks ask, how come the years don't exactly line up. It's because of those pesky governmental accounting standards that myself and the

finance team just love to do. That's why that happens. The big picture here is that the productions and the solutions that have come forward with staff have ensure that the adopted budget remain above council's mandated reserve policy of 15 17%. We project ourselves to have around a 62 million dollar Reserve at the end of this coming budget year. That is above our policy. Furthermore, as we've been discussing since the beginning of the city's financial issue, we wanted to have always a two-year approach towards ensuring that we are remaining above council's mandated policy. This proposed budget does that we're still about 5 million dollars over where that two-year target number is. Furthermore, I will add that the other critical number on here, though, as you see, it goes down to 14 million dollars in 2030. That will be here sooner than you know, we realize years are fine by. Why do we have a general fund reserve? And that is very simple at the city of Santa Rosa. It's too maintain operations during macro economic crises that whether that's the great recession or those things. Our future economic crises, which which will happen. We don't know when and for natural disasters, the city of Saint Rose is you has been uniquely tested that way. And that will be no through the Great Recession and to the fires in 2017 that we needed are 15 to 17% to account for those things. As we've mentioned, per council's feedback from the study session, we

recognize that our reserve policy should be revisited. That is part of our plan within the finance department and city manager's office over the next years to come back to the long-term financial planning, an audit subcommittee to have a robust conversation around the reserve policy. But really, when we look at our reserve policy, it's not what I would call modernized. Agencies normally will include things like it, infrastructure or pension funding or facilities funding within their reserve policy. That's something that we need to look at best practices and what's been successful for other agencies and come back with it. Councils are team needed a tremendous step, pension funding. Really? The next follow-up to that is to make sure that future councils in the city are any place to maintain those successes. The prior item tonight talked about the urgent facilities needs and what staff is proposing. We do this evening is to assign 4.5 million dollars of general fund reserves to address facility conditions has of the end of this current fiscal year. Now I want to define what an assignment of reserves is and what an assignment or reserves is not. And Simon reserves as a way to show on the city's financial statement that of the city's reserves. That council knows that there's about a 4 and a half million dollar need. That's coming. But they have not appropriated get. This is a way of segmenting your savings over the city toward saying I know there's something coming, but

I haven't given direction to staff to be able to spend staff and the city cannot spend an assigned to mount that will have to come back to council. This is just a way of taking a step towards modernizing our reserves and saying that we have a bigger conversation around our reserves to happen. But we know it's missing. This one component and we're going to address a portion of that as of the end of the fiscal year. That is really to critically stabilize repairs. Henri proposed strategy to addressed the city Hall campus with what yeas can that we can no longer kicked down the road. And with that, I will kick it back over to Veronica. Talk about overall staffing changes of the proposed So back in MAY we listed propose staffing changes line by line. We're not going to do that again. We're just get a look at it from a summary view. But I will point out some of the major changes we see on this table. >> On the next 2 slides show propose staffing changes for all funds. This is not just the general fund. This includes fun, citywide and most of these big swings are the result of department consolidations and reorganizations. We see the community and intergovernmental relations office going to city manager. We see parking leaving finance. That's the reduction of 28 Ft. Ease recreation and parks was dissolved and recreation became its own stand-alone department. And on the next slide, we will see tp w increasing due to parks. We do see previous slide on this slide. We see fire has a reduction of 19 ft ease and

that is the majority from those grant-funded positions that has been expiring. And so we see a major reduction in the fire department. As well as a couple vacancies and hcs next slide. Thank you. So overall, we are proposing a reduction of 27 full-time equivalents across the city. 26 of those are in the general fund and there is a net one reduction and other funds of the 26 positions in the general fund. 3 of them are filled and the remainder are vacant. So with the proposed reduction of those 26 general fund positions that would bring the general fund staffing down to 707 Ft ease. This is just a couple people above. For session era. Historic lows. We have truly reduced everywhere. There is to reduce and we've seen a 20% cut from our pre-recession highs of staffing in the general fund. And we are bringing ourselves down to the absolute minimum. In the name of trying to close this budget deficit. Thank you, Veronica. And >> before we get into the year 2 conversation where we'll be asking our department heads to come on down give some greater context towards the impacts of what we're looking at as part of our year to strategy welcome any councils from questions from the Council on the first part of our presentation. Thank you. >> Thank you both. Looking to council any questions at this point. >> Thank you. Thanks for the break. And I appreciate opportunity to ask a couple clarifying questions just as we move along so I can make sure understanding what we're

adopting today. So can you remind me inside tight 20, you talk about an increase to animal control. I know that's an item coming later in the agenda. Memory serves. We already had very large increase from animal control last year. If that's correct. And does anyone have those numbers? I can't seem to find them, but fell to me to be a pretty large increase in I see another half a million dollars that are going to that that service. So I just think it's important for the Camino. These are kind of uncontrollable, sick come forward and you don't remember if we had in the last year. Yeah, I think thank you for your question. >> Councilmember Donald, me share a few things. Yes, this is a contractual requirement of the city that's based off of the animal control being experienced within the city. I will say that this is an item going forward that the finance Department and city manager's office will be coordinating on to ensure. >> that was that there is proper understanding of really what's coming from them is really I think my >> focus at the moment in that having that proper understanding of of going forward, I would need to revisit last year's expense. I don't believe it was. It was it was to this level. I will also clarify that there's an additional item coming tonight that is based off of recovery for them. That's going address specific increase is related to animal control. That frankly has also been included that fee increase in this number that we're seeing today. >> Thank you. That's exactly what my follow-up question was is to find out if that helps offset this budget. And if

it's actually been plugged in. Could you tell me on slide 17, the breakdown of the dollar and the time again, if Santa Rosa was to go out for an increase to sales does does that portion comes straight to Santa Rosa. Does it get broken down again? Yes. Thank you so for example, if the city were to renew its current sales tax measure of a half cent and move it to a full Sen. >> That would bring in an additional 23 and a half million dollars for the city that would go directly to the city of Santa Rosa. That would not fall into the same allocation that were seen. Here were some of that would go to the state. Some of would go to the county. This is deeply important because the services that we're seeing the community ask for, frankly, our services, what we're noticing is that they're asking for public safety and they're asking for streets and those are frankly, the services that we provide versus the important services provided by the county and the state. >> think going into your next part of your budget. We address some of that as well about potential issues. If something like that wasn't being considered are on the table. Can you tell me by margin how close we were to the target of hitting our budget this last year. If it was within 5%. Where we add on that. >> Thank you. Were not quite done yet. I will say, though, of the past 3 years we've been within 2%. I think both to 2 or 3 last year. I will say that. I think my don't we do We can as my job is will be a probably even within one

percent this year. That's how tight we're going to be. We're going to what's happened in. We had a discussion amongst executive team is that when we remove? More spending that wasn't happening. You are, but it's become much, much tighter because there isn't a contract that you didn't end up using are there isn't the fake can see. We've cut our vacancies. That's going to make budget tracking much more important for the city going forward. It's always been important but will need to be more focused on it. And also bringing that to the long-term financial plan and audit subcommittee to make Sure Council's aware of how we're doing. But but we're going to come in so so close this year. I think on the revenue what it takes a little longer for us to get an idea of where we because that's comes in and arrears, but pretty close on revenue we're having like last year were having a positive year with investments. That's to be expected. But razor is the answer. Thank you very doing the portfolio so that we you know, get those gains. That was a smart move a while ago. >> From your team as well. How many vacant positions to we still have in the city of Santa. We're looking at such low numbers that we have for staffing. Do you have any idea parent to have 20 positions left? We the I'm looking for my phone, a friend for a perfect numbers. I don't have the perfect here's how I consider it from from my perspective. >> The amount of vacancies

that we currently have within the city is below the amount we expect half. So we are far more filled as an agency than we've been in the recent history, but also more filled and we would expect because I that's why I'm asking because sometimes, yes, the numbers at the end of the we haven't been able to fill the can see again. But >> start to narrow how many vacant positions we're at. I think that's important for the target in the community to know as well. It's not like we have a wind fall. We just want find the bodies to fill those positions yet. >> It's very important questions thank you for asking it. And I would also just just be very direct in saying that especially during covid where we had a really large vacancy more than we would expect. And then all the sudden more than we expect revenue. Neither of those things are sure right now. And we look at our actuals. So there is e there is a change of the detour to a great point. We will not be up here later going. It turns out things ended up being better than we thought that that's just or 2 far along here. That's not gonna happen. That's really helpful for I think you know, from decision-making basis. >> Do you have any data is onside? 32 talking about staffing levels that show for a city our size. >> Where we should be even by department on how much staff I think it's important, not because we're trying to say, oh, we don't have enough staff in these things, but >> for the community to know and for training myself, you

know, should we have this many police, this many firefighters based on in-state or national average? Do we have that data someplace up? Probably somewhere in hr or it within our department spent even looking at our staffing levels tp w pad. I think that's important for us to know is council like this is how slow we are on our staffing per community member levels. >> Yeah, I'm going to welcome. The department has to include that as part their talking points around your to. I think it's very important. I think each of us understands how are on staffing has changed here over time. I can tell you from the finance Cosby to finances. I'm here right now. My the finance staff is down. 25% over very short period of over a period of time. And that's across my department and for like, like for like positions. So we've already cut the finance department by a quarter. I'm gonna let the rest of the rest of the department has give their to their numbers. But yeah, we can include that as part of coming presentation. >> I know there's been significant cuts to every single department. It's not that as much. But it's also knowing how we're performing compared to other agencies. And when you look at the designation of money after Prop 13, because I think we were so rural when we actually were designated that to me, around that conversation we're not getting our fair share. So it's hard for us to stop appropriately to serve our community. And so that would take act of legislation unless the county can make that decision to just give us more

money, which would do as far as slide. 35 goes. >> are we hitting 15 or 17% and reserves? Do you have that number? >> We are over 17%. So we are we are. We are over and on that. I can do that real quickly exactly where we're at. But it's not just about where reserves are. >> Funny because you really need to keep a focus. >> On that, spend down slide. And us again, it's not just a matter of where you are on current percentage. It's how quickly does it go away, right? Great to have a lot of money in your savings account, but it's not if you're really taken a lot out each month. And that's that's our current situation is is we have a solid 2 years of remaining above our policy. And then after that, we precipitously fall. Thank you for that. >> And I think that so many questions of turnout. Thank you so much for the presentation thus far. Thank you. Any questions Vice Mayor? Thank you, MR. >> I think it's always good for Average Joes like myself who don't know complicated financial. She says to get examples. So when we talk our Sheriff property tax. >> And you see a giant building going downtown that is, you know, millions of dollars or whatever. Can you give us an example of how that size to what it down to what our share actually is. >> Yes, think thank you for your question. And these are these are the questions that we very frequently get as staff and that the community or or even our employees say, hey, there is a brand new 50 million dollar building being built in downtown Santa Rosa. And that is going to be

a boon for the city through property taxes. So put that in perspective. Cut out all the fancy enough to get me there. But that 50 million dollar building that gets built in downtown Saint Rose Equals $66,000 a year in property taxes to the city. Excuse me, $60,000 a year to the city 12 about 12% number. >> That I want want to share that because it's just important when I think folks, the average Joe asked where the money go. >> Again, it comes back to that property tax dollar on when most who went to the schools. He right before us. Most one says agencies before we get are just 11.7% cut. I do want I do want to temper my comments in saying that as a finance person growth is critical. And just because you're not seeing that huge boon from property taxes doesn't mean we're not experiencing positive economics from growth. It certainly is true. The power of your example, though, is really to show that this is the literally happened to me where it's the city is getting a million dollars for that building a year. Where did it go? And I go. Now the city is getting like 20 grand. That's what we're getting. So understand that there's not just where does the It doesn't come to us that in that way. So if use your example, the property tax share is a >> literal distribution. Like easy or simple math of you get x percentage of of this, whereas the economic infusion is more conceptual in nature,

harder to actually characterize. Is that correct? That's perfectly said. Thank you. Yes, thank Thank you. Any questions. All right. Back to back to the presentation. >> So we'll begin our year And really, I think history is so important of the past couple years for the community to understand that this council, along with staff has made some very, very difficult decisions around the city's budget ultimately landed to where we are here to do that here today in 25 26. There was over 15 million dollars worth of budget cuts along with 54 employees reduced in the general fund. 26 27 or moving forward with 9.5 million dollars worth of budget cuts. And 25 Ft ease within the general fund making almost 80 employee cut to our general Fund. General Fund staffing is now 20% below its all-time high. While at the same time, the city's population has increased went 12%, but also the demands on the city or or the services that we need to provide are more. This is a different city than it was 20 years ago and the services that the city needs has increased. We have currently as I mentioned earlier, measure q expires in 2030. 31, which is going to be an additional 23 and a half million dollars worth of revenue coming off of the books. It's really important to hear a message that the city's committed to transparency to the public in a council on the in potential impacts of what's going to be happening here in year. 2 and beyond to our public safety departments, including police and fire are parks in our public works departments without any commitment towards

enhancement of our revenue. Our next year's budget currently projects and 9.8 million dollar deficit. And expected to go to grow to 22 and a half million dollars as such. Our city manager directed our department staff to come up with a plan within year to to address that deficit as counsel has to write, has has mentioned and direct a south of 4. Ultimately are are a short-term fix. They give you a little bit of time to come up with a plan. Unfortunately, though, our plan going forward is staggering on what's going to be required from the city. And it honestly will put forward a model of public service delivery. City has never tried before. It's a much, much lower level than what the community and we should expect to staff. Part important thing to understand about our budget, though, as that facilities conversation that we've been having is that there were missing components of our budget is how I would describe them as cfo, deferred maintenance on city infrastructure is growing each year and when I say city infrastructure, I mean, all city infrastructure, whether streets, facilities, overpasses, bridges, you name it. But unfortunately, within our operating budget, there has not been capacity to address these growing liabilities within the city. And are, you know, when we look at those reductions citywide and how we reach. Number if if we just one out and we just produced our budget based off of reducing employees, it's going to be very challenging. But the reality of the composition of our budget, which Monica spoke

about earlier is our budget is made up of people. It's made up of employees over 76% of our budget as people, frankly, the remainder of it is a lot of areas of costs that are non discretion. That first year budget for so for 27. 28. We're going to be talking about an additional cut of 42 employees. This will be 11 police 11 employees to the police department employees for the through the fire department. These are already areas that the city is taking some pretty big cuts to along with all the other departments. But what is additionally concerning as we look at the structural basis of our deficit, the ongoing long-term fix is a look at cutting 92 employees. I'm gonna be asking. Our department has to come down a little bit later to kind of talk about what that looks like for there are departments going forward. But from that graph perspective, again of looking at the history of the city and the uncharted territory will be entering. It'll be an overall decrease of Ft. Ease of the general fund by 25% of all time highs. And as I mentioned earlier, the population has gone up. The needs of our city have gone up. The demand on our services got have gone up and they're just needs to be a realization. And the reality is we provide our services with people and we have 25% less people to provide them. With that. I'll be asking our chiefs to come down and present the public safety impacts of our year to discussion. With that, I'll pass it off to Chief Cregan to present the year to public safety impacts for police

department. Thank you, mayor and City Council John Cregan, our chief of police. It will quickly go over those cfo Wagner already set the stage. >> That if we don't see some revenue-generating measures built within the city, the police department specifically is going to be seeing 11 more police officer positions cut from our budget. I want to set the stage, though, for city council and certainly for our community. Last year we reduce the police department's budget by 3.2 million dollars. That was 15 positions. 9 sworn police officers, 6 civilians and the kind of put that in perspective like our first Oracle staffing that we've seen over the city in 2006 with our highest staffing for the police department. We had 190 sworn police officers today. We have 175. So 15 less police officers that we did in 2006, our civilian teams took even a greater hit. We had 91 civilians in 2006 today. We have 74. So 17 less civilians. So that's 32 less staff members of the police department today than we did in 2006. More. Shocking number when I talk our community is in 1999, we had 183 police officers here in the city of Santa Rosa. 184 sorry. So we have a less police officers and we did in 1999 in our city. Our city has grown by almost 40,000 people in population since 1999, so dramatically less services. The city is growing great. Getting more complex. And I put that just to put the understanding of taking us to

11 more police officers being reduced. I was looking at the numbers this week and that will be taking us to the levels that we saw in 1994. You have to just make sure that we understand the gravity of what we're doing here for the city of Saint Rose and then really for the impacts. And that's where I want our communities to understand the impacts where I would first are doing. I've been trying to strategize with my command staff team. Where would these cuts coming from? We take another 11 positions and what I would have to do is look at our specialty teams with our game team, narcotics trafficker, downtown enforcement team and are set team. And the question came up from council earlier about where do we compare and staffing? We actually did a staffing study in 2022. So just 4 years ago, we did a staffing study, right, as I was stepping into the role of chief. And it said the staffing study said that we should. 95 officers assigned to patrol are actually doing shifts sign-up coming up in 2 weeks. We're signing up. 77. So 77 on the staffing study said 95 and patrol because we've seen such dramatic reductions so I can't take them from patrol anymore. They're already below standards. So we'll have to come from the specialty teams but understanding the impacts for gun crimes team. We had a lapse from 2019 to the end of 2023. With our gang crimes team in the year 2023, we had 12 homicides and the city of Santa Rosa actions and your 2020 to 12 homicides and 7 of

those 12 were gang-related homicides. So you saw the majority of our homicides were related crimes that are impacting youth in our community families in our community. Since we brought back the gang crime scene, we haven't actually had again. Crimes are getting homicide that occurred in the city of Santa Rosa. And what we really focused on this, the 4 prongs with that of prevention, intervention, education and enforcement, and it's had a dramatic impact. We saw that just a recently on Cinco de Mayo that within hours we had a shooting right there to festival literally within hours are dedicated gang crimes. Team, we're able to review evidence and be able to identify offenders and that use you some of our technology that we have in our city and had them in custody. Those are the things you lose when you don't have a dedicated team per gangs, you don't have someone who's bringing justice to those 7 families who lost a loved one due to gang violence in our community. You don't see incidents that were so jarring to have on our Cinco de Mayo Festival. Pow, those shootings, you lose those your we have officers who will go document the incident. But we're certainly not going to have the resources. Same with traffic. Last year we had 9 fatal collisions in the city of Santa Rosa, 689 injury collisions in the city of Santa Rosa. Those all have an impact on our community. So having the dedicated resources for traffic enforcement, our downtown Inforcement team and we hear regularly from our community about the impacts of art, downtown enforcement team last year just for the year 2025. Our police Department tracked 10,598 homeless related incidents were call.

Officers went to those calls, quite frankly, were missing several 1000. That's when officer actually went in the system and track that is a homeless related somewhere close to 15,000 of our calls are related with our homeless community are set team. We brought that and 2021 are set team since they've been formed in 2021. Has taken over 250 firearms off the streets of Sarah's adjust. The 4 members of the team, 250 firearms, those including automatic weapons newsy's Tech 9 said they've gotten off of our. So we just have to understand you won't have those guns are now going to be those community. Those guns are going to be used in our community. Our community is going to feel the impacts. Certainly what we'll see is some of our response. Time now. Officers will be doing more investigations in the field because they won't be able to call out a specialty team to assist with them. So you're going to see the response to violent crimes and all com calls in the city of Santa Rosa Start to increase. Also, I asked the question, everyone, every chiefs interview they do for every police officer or employee. They do a final interview with me and I ask him about why Santa Rosa in every office, every department is hiring right now. What's drawing to Santa Rosa and 2 things come up every single time. The first one is the specialty teams that you have, the more opportunities and you guys really focus reducing crime in the meat in the uic specialty teams and the second is the morale of our Department of People feel supported in this organization. But those things are both so closely linked to having these opportunities. The officers see fulfillment

in their career to be a gang crimes detective to be a traffic investigator, be a violent crimes. Team member. So having these also has the impact of recruitment of additional officers in a very competitive world of hiring police officers right now. And then also for the retention of our staff of keeping good officer here that we invest in, that we're sending the training that we're getting their experience. So I just want to really just talk about the ripple effect retention recruitment, the safety of our community, the ability when you call 9-1-1, they have an officer respond there very quickly. We can do the next slide. The next one I I've already talked about some of these things about responding to the time and what it's going to take. Patrol officers are incredible resources in the department, but what they're designed by nature is to be like the first responder to stabilize the incident to get the basic information on more complex, an instance incidents such as shootings, homicides, sexual assaults, then they call him like the specially in that have the more enhanced training. They're more prepared to prepare for court and to make sure we're successful in the prosecution. So what you're going to see now as patrol officers who are spending more time, which is making them not available to go. The emergency calls, but also you're going see a decrease in the ability to do thorough investigations in these cases. That's going to lead to more increased violence in our community because we're not bringing resolution to some of these violence incident. You're gonna start seeing more visible blight across the city without the downtown enforcement team. It wasn't that long ago before we expanded the downtown enforcement team that we saw encampments, we've had encampments up to 200 encampments on old Stony point

Bennett Valley Road above Home Depot. All those were in excess of hundreds of encampments. That team has been able to really help. We're also been really looking at these positions across our city and looking like, what can we do to increase or decrease the crime that's occurring across our community and something that's really important to me. And I believe it's so important to our community is the community engagement of having officers who have the time to go out and engage our community, whether it be walking downtown or through shot. Shopping centers are parks across our community. Formal Inc events that we have a talk with a cop at national night out in the list goes on and on. When you don't even have enough officers to go. The 9-1-1 calls. You're not investing in talking with a cop neighborhoods in Apple Valley because we don't have the ability in our the staffing to be able to have those type of events. So I just really want to stress the ripple effect that you're going to see across with the safety with the response. Quite honestly, it comes down to the safety of our staff being able to win there, whether they're being salted, whether we're seeing some of the incidents across our city that when they call for emergency backup, that we see that arrive in a timely basis and those are some of the things I just want to be able to educate our community about what we're facing. And it really puts on a some of the urgency to come together as a city in community on some of our revenue generating ideas that we have for the future. >> Thanks, good afternoon. Mayor Scott Wester, Fire Chief City of Santa Rosa so sort of along the same vein. Just going to talk about illustrative. Lee, what we're looking at as a fire department was if the

projected budget reductions are actually enacted and just to kind of start the conversation for council in the community. When we look at our core services, the fire department, our core service is 10 fire engines, which are the smaller fire engines that you see on the streets every day, 2 ladder trucks, which of the longer articulating ladder trucks with 2 drivers and one battalion chief. And we look at that is our core services because that's the staffing that we've had since 2007 between the General fund and where peace app. So I'm gonna come back to those numbers so that 10, 2 and one battalion chief number, I'm gonna come back to that. That's how we've been operating since '07. We've been fortunate enough to and we're proud of the fact that we've gone out and found alternative funding sources to enhance our service. The first is with Measure h which cfo Wagner referenced earlier with Measure h which is a county wide fire service sales tax measure. We've been able to put an additional engine company in service, the tissue, additional battalion chief in service to additional the vegetation management Specter's. And is a cfa Wagner talked about earlier. We were able to had a specialty captain, should be a 40 hour position that will help transform this new engine into a heavy become part of a county wide regional heavy rescue program. So to be a very specific position that helps build out a an entirely new program. We have also had an enhancement, the the ability to enhance service recently with the 2 safer squads, which we've talked about. I not see him here that will be going away as of JUNE. 30th. They were based on a fema grant. The fema funding

has run out and those squads will be going out of service as of JUNE 30th. So some of the enhancements that we have are going to stay measure h lives in and of itself. It's its own little island. So little fire department and the safer squads are going away. So talking about the impacts and we'll get to in the next slide at all. He'll talk about specific numbers. But for the fire department and then, I can honestly say for the entire city we've trimmed all the fat weve trombone off bone at this point and for the fire department, we've done everything we can to maintain the level of service this community deserves and expects. But with the numbers that we're facing in the upcoming years without additional revenue, we will have to look at service impact to the community. So sort of like the city, we're a little bit higher on our salaries and benefits were about 78 to 79% salaries and benefits. We've managed to through and we have lost personnel throughout the last 2 years. Most of them unfilled somewhere filled summer grant-funded positions. But we're trying to maintain core service. But really, to the point now, where if this comes to fruition, we're going to be faced with very, very difficult operational decisions. The easiest one to talk about. I mean, he's e from standpoint of being able to comprehend it is we are looking at at least one fire station immediately in 2027 JULY. First 2027. Going into the future in that 2030, 2031 plan with the 5.8 million dollar reduction. We're looking additional engine company and a truck company at the same time. So potentially

if this was to play out as finances, laid it out for you all so well, there's a potential to lose 2 engines and a truck company in the next 3 or 4 years. What does that mean? It's you know, it's pretty clear there's going to be an Impact Co response times, particularly ms, which is about 70% of what we do and it will impact our core fire suppression readiness. Just to give sort of the basis of background here. Our city Council goals response time is worse were to respond to 9-1-1, emergency response incidents within 5 minutes, 90% of the time. Prior to the enhancements that we have had it in. We were around 59% at our lowest with the squads in with engine 9. We've gotten that up to about 65 67%. So really seeing an increase in our response time, capability. So that will go down. Obviously pretty significantly if we lose 9% of our response force and one engine 18% in 2 engines. And then half of our truck companies. It's going to go down significantly. It will impact the reduction of wildfire prevention wildfire response capabilities. Not only will this be impacted on a day-to-day basis where we cross staff are well intentioned. So if engines, 6 gets dispatched to a wildland Combs. Calistoga grade. They cross while the engine that capability will be reduced as well. And also for looking at sort of the larger scale events, whether it's up staffing for a red flag, we're being able to call personnel back for a major incident, such the tubs of the glass fire. That capability is going to go down significantly as well. They'll also be a reduction in special operations capability such as technical rescues, whether it's, you know, trench rescue,

high angle, rescue, water, rescue, whatever the case MAY be. The main reason is court truck a knee operation. They are specializing in those rescue capabilities, but they're supported by engine companies. That takes a lot of people to perform rescues. All of those capabilities will go down. The same time we're trying to grow regional program. The resources. This all plays out the way that it's been laid out in front of you, we will be below 2007 response capabilities. Numbers. One piece went into place so it will reduce even with Measure h down below the numbers that we saw in 2007. We've seen a 66% increase in call volume during that time. And as our buddies talked about reason, sort of the same numbers here, 12% increase in population. Obviously, our threat Matrix has changed ever evolving. Not just a while then problem, but you look at the traffic problems, the earthquake problems, all the things that we as a threat on the board there always evolving and changing. And things have changed drastically. But we have remains pretty much status quo. Next slide. Please cut. So the other thing Chief Cregan touched on this too little impact the recruitment or retention of quality employees when he was talking about what he asks, why Santa Rosa, I get the same answers. Actually kind of shocking. It says the opportunities that we have in our special response unit or special operations teams, our ingenuity, and the way we do things here. But it's also we're seeing it's it's this spirit of Santa Rosa is the family of Center isn't a team of Santa Rosa that

makes people want to come here. 2 big things that we saw as we saw coming out of the times in glass fire. People wanted to come here because they saw what Santa Rosa was. They saw the team operated this out. A fire department operated how we all support each other and how the community responded. They wanted to be a part of that. We've all seen a handful employees come to us with our recruitment diversity strategic plan because they want to be part of that growing the future, the future, the organization. So those opportunities will also be diminished if this, if this happens. So. So one of the things I want to emphasize you know, the slices this is illustrative is, you know, we're dedicated to doing everything we can to reduce the impact on the community and especially in the emergency response capacity. But there will be negative implications from this. There will be operational impacts because of this. We work with our team. We work the city manager's office, the cfo, our labor group, to find ways to reach these numbers. But they're going to be painful and they will have a very negative impacts on the organization's. So what's laid out for us, what you saw in previous lies is in 2027 U.S. Reduction of 8 Ft totaling 2.5 million dollars and very simple math is that's an engine company. It's 9 people in 3.2 million dollars to run an engine company. So it's it's very simple math that we are going to have to eliminate one of our 10 engine companies that are on the streets in the general fund right now. In 2030 with the reduction of 18 Ft and the equivalent of 5, 20 million dollars. That's in as an additional engine

company for at least half the year. And a truck company in a truck companies about 4.9 million dollars a year to run. So add those up. It's going to be a truck company in an engine company for 6 months. So as I've repeated myself several times now, that is what we're facing is the reduction of one and a half engine companies and a truck company. Should we not find additional revenue streams to Councilmember MacDonald's question. One of the things where we're at right now as an organization puts is pretty close to our goals and our 2016 strategic plan. And you got to think about how the world has changed since 2016. So we're still short we should have a station 12 now we don't have that. And and our new strategic plan, a deployment analysis. The calls for additional companies and really the more pervasive use of the squads. But we prefer to have an engine company on the street. So that's where the answer your question. As of JULY. First of 2026, with this budget jobs to adoption. Our general fund, our general fund, the personnel cow will be the same that it was in 22,007. So, yes, we have additional personnel to other funding streams, but that's going to bring us back to 2007. The point is, and I think you've heard we've shown that the department has not grown commisson commensurate with the community. He's not going with our risk matrix. And at this point we're fighting to maintain The service levels that we have right now. But this is a threat to bring us back down to pre-recession numbers and to not be able to maintain what we have right now. So that's a vital it is us. We

need to grow. They were trying to maintain and without additional revenue will be dropping below those maintenance levels. Thank you. Chief Korean chief Westrope without all. >> Welcome. Director Osborne along with director passenger to go through recreation and then planning and economic development, MR. Wagner, there's that. We MAY have questions here in the day. A specific to public safety. You want a few questions now are you know the of course, mayor, if that's your direction, absolutely. I mean, you could do great apartment specific. Sarah gentlemen, to bring you back down. MR. Craig, all we for Chief Westrope to make its way back down. That was my request. I didn't want to do. The rotating chairs is. >> Ask questions whether there and not have to have him come back down. But one specific question is, is. We'll start with Chief Westrope and then go to both of you is the greater impact this has on the greater community. So Chief Westrope, can tell us a little bit about why are fully staffed truck trucks are unique within the area away and what they can do. And then also for the both of you with these productions, what does that mean >> for the greater Sonoma County with mutual aid calls. Thank you for the question. Vice mayor. So actually start with engine companies because there's sort of a unique to Sonoma County. >> Measure ages help get most engine companies, a snowy county up to 3 for some staffing and bigger cities. And, you know, San Francisco are and the Lee County area, you'll see foreperson engine companies. But we're really we've always had the staffing,

which is vitally important for structure, fires or medical aids or vegetation fires, whatever the case MAY be, our truck companies are very unique because they're the only fully staffed trains. Truck companies between San Francisco and the state line north of us. So we're very fortunate to have the 2 ladder trucks with trained personnel who are able to go out and train others on truck company operations. But they handle things, you know, being a lot of questions of light. You cut a hole in my roof during a structure fire. Well, there's a very specific scientific reason behind that. It saves lives, saves property. It costs a little bit of plywood and cheating. So they're very specific about their very specific on rescue vehicle, extrication, sort of well, we sort of joke that there are 62 federal into a box. They can kind of do anything and get it anywhere. So but really the unique capability of of them is that they're the only ones that are available between San Francisco take the northern part of our border and so. As far as the mutual aid question goes, there will be certainly impacts mutual aid. Both at the, you know, the strike team level with do we have the personnel to send out a strike team safely and still protect our community? Are we going to be able to send mutually tensions out as part of as part of the California Mutual aid plan or not. You know, there's there's going to be a point in all of this. We're going to have to start figuring out we're going to say no to and for the fire department and other police

department as well on many speak for the chief. But we don't typically say no. We we go on people's worst and we saw whatever that problem isn't. So the help that we got in 2017 2020, we've been trying to pay back and will never be able to pay that back. But we try to send as much equipment out as we can help other communities and that capability will be reduced based on these productions. These proposed reductions in personnel. So we're very fortunate to have what we have done both all of our personnel, the latter's, the the engines, everything we try to help me in the truck, companies can go to mutual aid. We've been on the Petaluma several times and other communities that don't have staff ladder trucks and help them with our scale incidents. But that capability reduced well. So appreciate the question. Hope I answered it fairly articulate Lee. Thank you, vice mayor. And that's such a great question about the mutual aid and you see it. >> 2 parts here locally in some of the mutual aid that was re. It's really visible to our community is some of the things we've seen with our side shows and we saw sideshows are out of control for 5 years ago and we came together as a region that here in Sonoma County in with our Marin County teams as well about having a mutual aid response to the sideshows that each of us sending Santa Rosa led the way with that protocol and certainly leads the way with the most personnel. But you see also with the wildfires and for the wildfire evacuation at so staff heavy in those first hours of getting people knocking on doors and warning people in saving lives. We've repeatedly responded to Lake County to Napa County to those areas, but all the way to the Oregon border and far Northern California that we've seen

teams of officers not only for the evacuations, but in the days after that when we're having whole neighborhoods that are evacuated and you all certainly see people who exploit victim those cases and started looting homes and they need the help. And we've seen how overwhelming, especially some of our northern California agencies who have even less staffing that So it's important. And just like chief Westrope said our Montrezl. We don't say no to a fellow law enforcement agencies calling for help. We've seen that firsthand here in Sonoma County. And it all depends upon each agency being able to help each other in their time of need. But it's sometimes and we don't even have the staffing to go to 9-1-1. Calls in Santa Rosa. It becomes more difficult to send to our neighboring jurisdictions. And that's where we really want to come together and Santa Rosa at all levels at every single one of our departments in our community, sot the resources pour in to help us in our time and mean, and that's something that always weighs heavy on us to make sure that we return our favor to those same agencies and be there for those communities because we know the significant impacts of that. >> Would it be fair to say that if there is severe is the series in to do some kind in Windsor, we would be able to get more at today we be able to get more resources to Windsor faster than probably the sheriff's department because how they're spread out so much. >> And we certainly respond to allied agencies across the across Sonoma County to help in their time of need, especially some of the smaller agencies that don't have resources with our swat team with some with our hostage negotiation team. And we work side by side with our Sonoma County Sheriff's Department and they give us that same supports are able to help respond to those emergency calls for assistance when and where whether it be a deputy or an allied police officer

who's calling for assistant. And that is the real world impacts about sending those resources. There were literally seconds matter and we MAY be the swiftest response time to those cities. Questions? >> I want ensure to your comments. Rogers, thank you. >> So she's going to say, I think we do have some high numbers, especially when we talk about public safety, whether that's police >> or fire. But >> I think the beauty I think those numbers can be higher is what I'm trying to say. I think the having the police, how would tacos with the cop allows people to ask questions. >> Allows it to educate the public. And I also think that having our fire staff out educating people on what they can do to mitigate risk around their house. With that looks like things that MAY not cost a lot of money for them I think is is very important. So then we get to the response times and just me this morning when the 75 year-old fell off the treadmill and hit her head and she's bleeding from her head and her nose. I'm how long is this going to take right in my in my counts in my inner council voiced, I'm like, how long is this going to take for them to respond? I know it MAY not seem like a long time in there are situations where people are harmed more severely than she was. But watching her, it's like how long is it going to

be before before they get here? So I just want to say that I think that it's very admirable for what you both have been able to do. And I know looking at the numbers looking forward is not. Look great. But the fact that we do have staff that want to come here, I love coming to the paintings. I love seeing the people getting sworn in. There's something very wonderful well about that. And I do want to preserve that. And then I have the question of what comes first. The chicken or the egg. Because in order to. Finance public safety, which is general fund. I need to get money and I need to other departments to work. So I think that is a big to limit. I sitting up here that I'm looking at is like so what comes first? Tiny? My economic development because they make money so that I can have the public safety so we can have the response. So these are just some thoughts that I'm having that I wanted to share with you because I think that you're doing a great job. I just do. I get in my brain. I can't put one department over another because for me, we're all needed and we all work as a big family in a unit. So that makes it pretty difficult when we're sitting up here. But I do appreciate tceq staff and your ability to sit down and try to figure some of this out before you bring it to us. But thank you both. Were the work that you do to keep us all safe. Thank you. Any other questions. >> All right. Well, I think it's worth highlighting yen as it is on the slide south. So we're talking about here. These are these are for illustration purposes only of the kinds of discussions of people we having next year. If

we do not come up with additional revenues, obviously this is gonna be a community conversation. This is a community conversation and the community have a choice about what you know. What it wants to do with respect to providing city additional revenues are making some of these painful cuts. So thank you for brining some examples will be having this conversation again, the future, MR. Wagner, back to you. We're going to at the end. No, it won't be department specific Your guess is as good as mine department by department, MR. Wagner, thank you, Fan. Thank you. Chief Korean chief Westrope. >> With welcome, Director Osborne down to talk about planning and economic development and director passenger to kick us off with recreation. >> it good evening, mayor staff members of council, I'm Megan passenger, director of housing and Community Services, which includes the recreation division. So want to start off with reminding you recreation provides programs, facilities and services keeps the community engaged in active. And so as we were looking at the potential budget cuts in the upcoming year, we focus on what we want to retain and what is valuable to our community. So you'll notice the list does not include the senior center. We did not touched, are not looking to touch the city's 2 aquatic facilities which are relied on by our high school swim teams are organized, aquatics groups. So those were some of the programs that we look to keep whole, making sure that the community still had the family community center to gather through rentals programs that are offered

there. And so through that lens, we looked at what programs would possibly need to cut in the upcoming year? And that's where we went to adult sports, which are popular. But when you're looking at it through and engagement and activity lens and that's something we can look to shed are tiny tots program. This is something that can be offered by private organizations or other community groups. Our park Ambassador program, which facilitates picnic rentals and events in the parks. These are individuals that provide a high level of customer service and then are you sports, which is another area which is also served by outside groups and organizations. So while these are all important to the community wanting to focus on what what is the core to keeping center is active, engaged and making sure that we are able to serve those groups that don't have other outlets to address their interests and needs and just a touch on staffing in the upcoming fiscal year. The recreation Division. I will have 34.5, 5 full-time employees. This is a 20% reduction from the 2015 level and 2015 recreation staff. And that's isolating our parks maintenance group. There were 43 employees at that point in time. So as we're continuing to look reductions were looking at how we can continue to staff and operate the programs and services that we offer and do that as well as we can. We have a high reliance on temporary employees. This come this summer. We have over 400 temporary employees that are working in our programs and

services. And so those 34.5 5 staff help oversee over 400 temporary individuals that are serving our community. >> Good evening, mayor vice mayor members of the council gave Osburn director of planning and economic development time and similar to director passenger. I'd like to just take a brief moment and set the stage on how pad operates in the decision-making process as we go through when general fund support is reduced. It has 106 unique service categories of those 106. 42 are state mandated and for example, one service category would be planning review. Excuse building review. It could be planning review. It could be how we manage planning commission. So their general overarching buckets that have individual services inside of those. Of the 106, 49 are required by local regulation. That leaves 15 specific service categories that are discretionary on our end. Of the total service categories. We generally receive about 50% cost recovery through fees. And that's usually and a healthy development environment where applications are moving forward. Development services, which is just permitting, is closer to 70% cost recovery. So as we go through our decision-making process because fees are collected, the department has an obligation to provide those services based on the fees. It usually focuses on areas that do not generate fee revenue in areas that are not mandated by state because local regulations can change. Those are opportunities for process improvement. So that really

next it down what the department has done is institute a quite a few efficiencies over the years we've reduced our professional services, which is our lifeline from the general fund to ensure permitting timeline. Stay consistent. There's not much left really what we're boiling this down to is staffing or what you see before non fee generated services and programs. And that really gets into economic development, support various programs in the economic to gentleman team are not fee generated very much when you're working in a regulated environment under state law that in that universe becomes a nice to have. So that really becomes our focus area. Various customer service channels were really try to do whatever we can to educate the public. They become in jeopardy. And really we're not meeting the community's expectations in those areas. Long-range planning functions. Prime example entertainment zones are not regulated by state law. Those become optional. Becomes difficult to move those forward. An expedited timeline. One of the programs that we desperately been trying to hold on to is how we can support the community through events from a neck abdomen standpoint live at Juilliard is a prime example. We've been running that program for this will be our 31st year. We are now down to the point where it's difficult to operate that and it's a small amount, but that small amount allows us to send those revenues back or excuse me. Those expenditures back to the state made programs. I think a really good example for how pet is operated over the last few years shows itself in our building permit review section many times. When you hear concerns from the community about permitting is it is associated with building permit reviews. We currently have 5 full-time

employees doing plan review with our chief building official covering the overflow out of that. Those are the same levels that existed in the downturn in the economy 809, you know, 8 or 9, we're processing approximately 5,000 building permits in a year. It would go a little higher, a little lower. We are now 79,000 permits a year. I generally have between 70 to 100 and a peak act of applications on a permit review plate that is much higher than industry. Standard industry standard is typically 30 or 40. So now when we have fee revenue come in is important to note the general fund is our lifeline to maintain stability in that section when we have vacancies. These are general fund supported positions. The general fund lens dollars to planning and economic development to support plan review services and then the fee revenue is reimbursed to the general fund. So in situations when positions are vacant, those same positions are eligible to be frozen because their general fund positions. So in 2000 towards the end of 2023 in the beginning of 2024, we had significant increases on our plan review. And that was due to the fact that we had 2 vacancies. We had newer employees coming in. Do not have the same institutional knowledge of many of employees that have been there for 20 years. So really are wrenching hours are not as productive. And when we have community desire that wants to see building plan review for simple things or even complex

things go and really a 2 to 4. We turn around time. We were running up to 13 weeks and that's really what happens as we play this out. We still try to manage the feat generated services, but we end up with really wild swings of cost recovery mechanism or excuse me, cost reduction mechanisms are needed in that plan. Review section. So that is a really sort of a microcosm of how pet operates. We're very much focused on on the state level support managing the fee revenue. But we're really down to where we have to potentially reduce services for what's not state mandated because we're down to cutting positions. Code enforcement is really a prime example in this code enforcement. A lot of jurisdictions starts with substandard housing. It focuses on nuisance complaints. We've had the luxury in Santa Rosa of having been code enforcement team that basically enforces everything in the municipal code. So as we reduce staff there, that should be a reduction of services to maintain the level of quality. And that is an area where generally code enforcement experience is around 10% cost recovery. So those are really challenging avenues to navigate this all boils down to really staff retention and traction issues. You know, I've been in development for quite some time. It can be a fairly chaotic environment. You do not ratchet back requests whether we receive 100 permits or 1000 permits. We try to maintain the same consistency. It can be very stressful environment for staff. So as budgets get a bit more impacted, it creates challenges with staff has positions can be filled. It increases that workload and what we have seen is the level

of expertise that exists in the Development Review Committee has really not what it was 20 years ago. It is much harder to bring in qualified engineers or qualified design professionals that can assist with that process. So you're actually competing with a smaller pool of candidates. And that's really what we've seen. The team has been amazing and doing what they can to make processes more efficient. And I will always say that is a big part of this. There are always areas for efficiencies. Years areas to be better. And we've been trying to get to that. But really, if we look at the total dollar amounts we're talking about in a potential year to cut, that would be approximately 4 positions to pad at 2027. And then if you're looking at that 817, okay, that would be those roughly those staffing amounts and then running out to 2023. Looking at 1.9 million. You're looking at 9 Ft. So that would be a significant reduction. But in addition to some of the minor things such as community promotions, we are really dealing with looking at potential significant reductions in staff if those reductions need to materialize. It's important to know that that hasn't been thought out. There are not names behind those that he's at that point. This is really just an exercise that we go through, but really just wanted to highlight that based on previous cuts that have made. It is getting down to Ft. Ease are really the only option to reduce expenditures. Thank you, Director Osborne by mayor. Would you like to take questions for this group as well? Sure, any questions for counsel. No questions for this

group. Thank you both very much. Thank you both. I move on to our swat. We call our central services and coverage is very, very briefly that so far. We've had a discussion around on our operating departments, but also the city has many what we call central services, whether that's finance it h r in the exposure there for the city really is one of mentioned before of taking on risks that the city shouldn't and being less efficient to be able to support our operating departments. At the end of the Tea Police fire public works. They'll need a chart to be able to fill their positions. There's likely going to be a period where can be harder for us fill those quickly and adequately. Look at my ap team is we very hard to cut a pea staff. They receive work. They don't create it coming to la potential delayed payments or vendors. It could very likely mean delayed audits. These are risks that the city just shouldn't take its exposure that the city just shouldn't take. >> But it's going to come with the harder conversation around. These are frankly, some areas where the city cut first he's speaking to Councilmember Rogers comment earlier. This is something we often talk about is are we providing a full service city, a full service cities, not just police or public works are fires everything. It's all the things that our community relies on us for weather. That's recreation, our economic development. They're good investments for our community that we're faced with that stark reality with with that, I will turn it over to Director Hennessy to talk about the impacts to public works.

>> Thank you, Back in MAY. We talked a lot about the maintenance aspects of our department and what those but we talked about them in big round numbers. And I wanted to highlight just how those groups are in terms of their numbers. With respect to what those men and women are actually doing. So up on the screen. You see for the parks maintenance team I had mentioned before. There were 23 parks, maintenance workers to Councilmember MacDonald point earlier in 2008, that number was 57 with the growth of parks. If we were still at that same staffing level, we would be at 92 maintenance workers. And we're currently at 23. So just a bit of perspective in terms of, you know, the expectations of community members from what it was 20 years ago to what it is now. You have it. It is less right. We are providing less of a service that we used to. They see that they're currently split up into 7 teams for across the different quadrants of the city, doing basic maintenance of parks. We have a team dedicated to downtown public and open spaces team for sports fields and a team for landscaping. Typically what has happened is that as we've reduced maintenance workers, we've just kind of shaved off a little bit here. And there and just made every function a little bit worse. We're to the point now where that doesn't work anymore, that these teams are so small and numbers that entire team needs to go. So what I've shown on the side here is that I don't really see a way that any of those other Removed from service. So it would be landscaping,

right? And so that's your roadside landscaping and different spaces where where we're responsible for for that type of work, it would just be kind of. Operationally irresponsible to, you know, take some of those threes and make them twos and asked to people to take care of 24 parks. That's that's not really a situation that we can be an eye. Alright of feel bad enough about the pressure that we're putting on staff to do some of those things slide. Please respect to our streets where, you know, people again, mentioned this in MAY. I think they think that we're going to be surprised when they tell us that their streets and poor condition. We now we check every street, at least every 2 years and and through our cip discussions. We've we've come up with a plan to address that in a more much more consistent and functional way. It is still not to the level that we need to you know, we have in past budget cycles, reduced our the support for street maintenance of the General Fund, which is just filling potholes and some very minor street maintenance by half. We are restoring a portion of that this year. But there is no general fund support for broad repaving of city streets. Right? And that is all left to the discretionary funding through our capital funds that the director of Transportation Public Works brings to every year and get your blessing. That is all up to individual decisions as to how that money gets spent. These also she's been general fund also suppressed, supports our electrical teams for street lighting and traffic signals so another, you know, safety functions for the community and how they move about and putting additional stress on those. Those teams also. For street maintenance teams in particular and just

dividing them up into, you know what those 35 maintenance workers are doing. Their split across 9 different teams across the state functions up there. But yet can't slice one or 2 maintenance workers off of those teams anymore. So there are functions that are going to have to go. So these how their split. They have additional tasks that we do annually, including the Cleat cleaning. We support weed abatement and any storm response. Some of those things, though, you know, pavement, markings, street signs sidewalk, patching storm drain cleaning. Those are not optional. Those are critical infrastructure safety type operational, improvements that we make, we know from the community conversation that they're not going to tolerate any less from us with respect to pavement, maintenance, potholes, things like that. So word to debris, removal and graffiti removal. I mean, if you ask me, I wouldn't think those things are optional but presented with this list. Those are the optional tasks that we're doing. And so, you know, those are your your 8 Ft ease. And and I I highlight here the maintenance functions because that is where the General fund supports a transportation public works department. We have 280 employees, but Holmoe bunch of them are supported by our transit fund. Whole bunch of the most part of capital improvement funds. A whole bunch of reported through the Fleet Mina's program, which has its own cost recovery. So there are vast majority of transportation public works employees that when questions come about the general fund, it makes no sense to even discuss their position. Weather. Their service comparing these because it's

just not app. Ul's with respect, different funding sources. If you go to the next side, though, there are potential fixes for that. We can for some of these functions redirect cip funds that comes with different consequences, for instance, on the park side of the house, the measure and split that the council indicated 5 or 6 years ago was done in a different time with a different set of financial realities. And frankly, I think it's time that we revisit that to providing half of that measure funds to capital improvements that were unable to maintain. Functionally down the road. We should be thinking about some of that that cip funding from measure around shifting toward the maintenance side of the House. The gas taxes that we program every year for pavement, maintenance projects and other transportation safety projects could go to help support some of those street maintenance. Ask some of that already does. Our street maintenance teams is reliant on cip funds as part of their budgeting every year that we had. We intentionally pet projects that we know that they can help us with. We could increase that number. The consequences are fewer park improvements, but better maintain parks, fewer streets paved, fewer safety improvements, installed that maintaining those critical infrastructure functions from the street maintenance teams. And then, you know, from the discussion earlier today with respect to facilities, maintenance, we don't have a discretionary funding source with which the program anything there. So the U.S. Improvements need to come from the general fund all transition again, looking at our budget from hull of a very large gaps that we have is specific to street maintenance. And when it comes in neighborhood streets, we have a basically huge hole within our budget that we're not funding.

>> Furthermore, we do not have it anticipated revenue source at this time to address them. We've asked director Hennessy to do those. Help us understand our streets network a little bit better and have really comes back to the conversation that we've been having of council of. How do we build back Santa Rosa new a better version of Santa Rosa? I think what's key and you can keep part of that discussion. Julie addressing our neighborhood streets. This is where our community lives that they have to see on a day-to-day basis that we have a hole in our budget. They step out onto it from their front door onto their street. So we asked Director Hennessy to provide some better context around that issue. On the map you see on the screen is the pavement condition index for every street. Every public street in Santa Rosa Green is good. Just like you might think it is. Yellow is ok, orange is what's called poor, which means it's bordering >> Yeah. Needing to be completely redone and then red beans. We've lost. The street does need to be rebuilt and you can see throughout here that there are pockets of neighborhoods where we've focused intentionally see, think in particular, you see the Coffey Park and founder of neighborhoods where everything has just been repaved. Those are showing up as green. You see most of our collectors and arterial showing up as green and yellow. And if you'll hit the bottom of our time, Scott will remove all of those collectors and arterials from the streets from the map. So this is what's left with respect to the residential streets. Over almost 60% of our streets are those residential neighborhood streets. And if you go one more time, if we remove all of the good, very good or good and fair streets and just sleep, very poor. It is a significant number of streets,

but it is less than 10%. But that you see these huge pockets of streets that have just been ignored. And, you know, to the person that lives on that street is the most important street in the city to us as transportation and public works. Employees who are helping 180,000 people move around every day. Those streets are never going to rise to the priority list. Knowing that we've got to keep the green and yellow arterials and collectors. Good. You think we get phone calls now about how bad your condition is? Wait until we let them the most important streets in the city in terms of movement and access slip. So, you construction costs of a few years out from now to basically turn all of those reds to greens is roughly 42 million dollars. They're in their different couple of different ways to do that. But at the end of that process, we would move that overall city pci from 60 to 70, which is where dc has suggested that the region should be every jurisdiction in the region. This would allow us to do that. In part of the reason we can't move that number past. The 59 60 61 numbers. We've got so many 0 to twenty-five's that are just sitting there and never changing. We would need to really get to the bottom of the list in terms of the payment quality to make a dent in that. The duo behind So I'll add 2 words dance comments This is an area we don't have funding for, but we need to. >> This is just a whole and the reality is or is needs move forward with the way that many agencies have tried to start addressing this and really a more modern approach. We ultimately we need offer a bonded to do this and we need to ultimately get that bond. We need to additional revenue source coming to the city. But the difference can be really

powerful as director Hennessy's talking us through being able to move our overall street index from his low 60 to 70, but really critically. Again, it's it's setting us up for a path where we can address something that is not currently being addressed. And we do not have a path to do so. The numbers as Dan talked about, Braden, roughly 60 million dollars. That's an additional 3 to 4 artists through 4 million dollars a year worth of debt service and overall 7 million dollar increase to maintain them. And again, as I mentioned earlier, this is again, that path of rebuilding and reinvesting in Santa Rosa. Better. Ultimately these processes of tough times for our. But you give us an opportunity to recalibrate and bring back areas that frankly haven't been funded in decades that have to be. Without a welcome. Any questions for Dan. Questions Council. >> Thank you. For the mentions some of the measures that looking at for distribution. Is there a line? Bonds and school Bonds, 0 way that you can appropriate some of that money for staffing like there's a percentage that you can use for admin. Do we currently do that on are measures are is that only allowed for bonds? Yeah. That typically is going to be part of a bond projects. So that's going to be part of your principal. Ultimately that's going to go for paying the staff costs, develop the project. >> So the good news about that is again, if we can move forward with a strategy and proposal to the community to bring additional revenue and pointed to a direction where they are telling us that they desperately needs attention, which not only they are telling us that you agree that

can be a powerful way for us really bring additional stability to our general fund and address this critical city infrastructure need. >> I think we talked about it maybe in the last presentation or couple presentations ago around the potential of doing a bond to help with our street and roads cause at this point. I don't think there is a possibility for us to get caught up. What are the Rays right now? Is that like, is it a good time to go out for a bond or where we at as as an entity for that. >> Yeah, it rates around 4 and a half percent. And is that good or bad? I don't know that. But typically we can be strategic in how we set rates and giving us an opportunity to refinance in the future for go down. But what is an absolute fact is, regardless of an interest rate on the bond, our growth of construction cost far outpaces that this is again, a spiraling snowball downhill. We're to your point, councilmember we're not gonna be able to catch up unless there is an infusion of capital into this. This cannot be something that we cash fund every year. Let's squirrel away a little bit of extra money into it. It needs a dramatic impact of principle. Give Director Hennessy the funds he needs to make an impact on the streets. >> so to that end, guess I'm looking at what see increased percentage wise each year to trying to repair these versus what we would pay an interest rate on a bond. So are we seeing will be 10% more next year, 15% more the next year versus paying 4.9% on a bond that we have to pay back. >> Yeah, I think the increase construction costs has historically outpaced general increase in inflation. So if that it helps set the stage,

construction gets more expensive at a rate faster than everything else gets more that the can for just so we can understand from a community while we're getting into debt. >> We're actually getting into deeper debt by not addressing this infrastructure in need across the city and it becomes a safety issue. I appreciate you pointing out also the pot holes, the roadside landscaping. Those of the things we're I think a level where we're just trying to get by for safety, it's not even beautification. We're looking at at this point. Is that correct? That's a fair assessment. Now. Thank you. And that was I think it for my questions around Around Cip. Thanks. Thank you. Any other questions you counsel? As Ben Willows? Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the presentation. Had to like 2 quick questions. >> For Director Hennessy that you talked a little bit about measure am. I just wondered if you could elaborate a little bit talking about utilizing it in a different way in the future. Yeah, right now it's split such that the measure and funds the city gets its 50% towards capital projects, 40% towards maintenance and 10% towards recreation. >> That is from a council policy shortly after measurements past. And that comes to us in in the budget every year as a kid now allocate these funds to projects or however you want to do it. My recommendation is that we revisit that 54 to 10 split because it's putting us in a position where we are building more parks and we can maintain. I realize that. Okay. I know everyone wants

more parks. That's the And yeah, it's it's great and we are executing that. To the detriment of. You 3, 4, 6, 10 years down the road when we're going to need to really focus on maintaining those new places that were building. That's especially with fewer staff. And also just to question about, thinking about a bond >> I this the first I've heard talk about specifically for streets right? That's what you're thinking. Cfo. >> Are you thinking about that? Like in 2020, 28 or did you have any ideas about that? >> Thank you for your question. Councilmember Ben was said let me provide a little more details on how we're thinking about this. Of of really the again, this bonding with fallen to the established practices of the city and that we needed some general fund revenue versus a school bond, which is for a specific purpose. The way we're going to be able to accomplish ultimately getting this done is through additional general fund revenue is going to be for revenue from revenue enhancement and that would then give us the ability to go out bond against our streets to be able to bring that capital improvement program forward that's generally the structure that agencies are starting to do. That was beyond even 10, 15 years ago. But again, it comes back to Santa Rosa need to start moving forward and being at the front of these modernization how we fund infrastructure versus trying to do things the old-fashioned way of squirreling away funds. Never get over that Hill. And

I I could address your timing >> I would. I would. >> Really stress that if we see the additional revenue develop that this needs to move forward immediately. That this should be part of those conversations with the community as far as how the additional revenue the city is going to be axed mising it and its staff record staff's recommendation that it would come immediately. This is a conversation that I'm already having with our Bond Council with Ari, our financial advisor. This is not something that would be a and 2030. Maybe we'll get to it. This would be a. Go get it done and we would. Thank Donald. This is a follow-up on the bond conversation. And I know we're we're looking into those types of things. >> Can you tell me we invest in this city on the cip and infrastructure, how what that does to our economic growth because my understanding is when you invest in in the structure, you're looking at just what we've done across the United States who read and those types of thing in the past, we can see a large amount of stimulation, economic stimulation happening locally. Can you tell us when they build the bridge or when they do how that how that affects us? Yes, similar to what time. >> Doctor has mentioned a minutes ago. A lot of the work we do facilitates all the stuff that people actually want to be doing. Right. So when we allow them to move around comfortably and in them boat that they want to, they're able to connect to places that they want to go.

And by making those connections easier safer. More convenient. We're incentivizing people to move around the community. Even some of the things like freight operations, right did getting deliveries to and from businesses to the public safety departments who trying to facilitate their move meant to and from they're different city facilities to wherever they're called. You know, those are things that thinking about and trying to make sure that no one's moving around just to move. They're moving to go somewhere because they want to do something. And we're trying to make sure that as many people are able to connect to those places as they can. Thank you both side. Just point of clarification, Allstate. More explicitly Mr Wagner was on was pretty dramatically there. There is no bond. >> Without a significant additional revenue stream. Just so we're clear that if they were going to talk about this later with that, about tax measure? But without that, we're not talking about no, no additional questions from council. Follow-up riders are headed sea. No, thank you. Will will continue on the presentation and >> all cover as these are points that I've now covered. I think a few times in the presentation. But what we're trying to do her show missing gap within our funding of the city again, 7 million dollars of the residential streets that trans. You just talked about 4 and a half million really of ongoing annual for city facilities and also 2 million dollar technology gap that we have at the city. It's it's never. Popular to fund software or licenses or a But but the reality is those are the tools that are a lot

of our employees need to do their jobs. A great bit of information that came out of our review of finance subcommittee is that the city has no hri as program. That is astonishing for a size of organization of ours. And our complexity. We're missing a lot of those programs. We're going to need to rebuild those back. Moving covered measure q now a couple times. It expires in 2031 as additional 23 and a half million dollars coming off of revenue. If that did not exist today, we would be looking at a 31 million dollar deficit today. Those are big, big numbers. With that unless there's questions and I believe they were already covered. I'm gonna kick it back to Director Hennessy to cover again. Some of the big movement that the community can expect to see over the next year with Cip release that they have that understanding of what's in the pipe. >> And this next section is almost exactly the same as you saw in MAY. So I'm gonna skip through very quickly. More than half of our capital improvement funding is from the water Department, support, water, sewer and and region. All improvements. The other departments have allocated their As was explained MAY. And have a of a mask you to go to, I think slide. 78. So 2 things I want to highlight before we turn back one is that. The changes that we've made in terms of capital improvement program are going to pay off quickly starting the summer. One is that the open up on pavement maintenance project is out to bid right now, despite the fact that those funds would be available until JULY first, right? So we're we're getting that through a design, build

process, starting that that program earlier. One of the things that's frustrating about capital delivery and in the city and in the state of California, frankly, is that construction season doesn't line up with our fiscal year funds become available. JULY 1st under construction season ends Halloween or the week or 2 after it makes it very hard to spend that money quickly. But by prepping projects in advance, we're now able to see some of those dollars be delivered earlier. So with this project, there will be working Oakmont that happens this fall. This is such a big project that is going to continue through next year. But we are going to head the entire of my neighborhood with Eva Mendes treatments and see if you go to the next one. Last one similar story for the product on the left with Mina Valley. We have actually already selected a contractor for this. We have done the prep work. We have done this out. This work will start in JULY with your approval of the budget and be work. That would typically start next MARCH. We're going to start this JULY and have done before school starts. And this is all part of that preparation before advance of the fiscal year. Understanding that we're timing projects to spend the dollars as quickly as possible through a typical process. We would get the dollars to do the planning and design on JULY. 1st to do that design we would ended in MARCH. It would happen in 2027 we spend a little bit of money and the winter in the spring to get

this project ready. It's ready. We've got a contractor on board. The project will come to fruition this summer. Instead, you know, it's a little thing, but it's delivering that improvement to those neighbors. 9.10, months faster, which has a real real benefit to them. But it also is a benefit to us and that we get to lock in you know, the good costs of construction that we have right now. A good bids that we're getting and just get these projects out the door much more quickly. So that's a very quick summary of the Cip update for 26 27. Thank you. Director had a mrna see MISTER Reagan. We pause on that for a second very, very quickly, MR. Your and I know you are. Think we're trying try to be succinct. >> Could you take a cue from Mr? Wagner and showcase your successes over that over the past couple of years in terms of the projects that have gone and the projects that have gotten out. Last year this year with that story, I think being that, yes, we have these budget challenges that we're facing, but the city's building. So we got our general fund issues. But on the on the cip side will point out hundreds of millions hundreds of millions of dollars of work and you and your team find a way even with a smaller staff to do some really amazing work in the city and the city is going to see orange cones out there for years to come. Regardless of what happens in the general fund side. And thank you etsu with MR. Wagner, when we do, we know your successes. Thank you for the question. We. >> Yeah, we have not a but it is a result of many years of work and frankly, some bigger projects that took a lot of time that that cycle is just happening come to fruition all

at same time. So. Big projects that are underway right now. We have the Hearn community hub. If you haven't been out there recently, there's now a frame of a library foundation has poured for the fire station and everything will be ready. Spring and summer of 2027 for both of those buildings to open. We broke ground a couple months ago on the bicycle pedestrian overcrossing, a long-awaited that will be open and available to the public tours ended 2027. So we have done some significant water infrastructure. Another phase of while trying project a significant upgrades coming to the Laguna treatment plant. We've got I think we did 4 or 5 different street paving projects this year or will becoming later this year. We've got a couple of new traffic signals. One being built right now. Another coming. We've got additional sidewalks and curb ramps coming throughout the city. Yeah, it's everywhere. Total dollar value for the past couple years, including what's coming and the last things that have been contracted in the last 12 months. Easily, 100 million dollars. And I didn't even mention, you know, the park projects that we've recently completed the South Davis Park Cook School Park. That's for Park, a family aquatic Center Class Springs Community Garden is under construction construction at how Earth Park and Gallon Park the tennis and pickleball court areas and more coming. Another 4, 5, parks projects that will be ready in the next 12 months, too. Perfect. And we do need to belabor this now, but it's good. It's important to city remember that we've got these these big success stories in the side terms of the money that we're putting into the community,

the projects that were finishing. >> On the finance side, the tens of millions of receiving with some of the projects MR. Wagner is putting forward. There really is creative, successful narrative that's developing and we're trying trying to figure out how to keep that going as we do with our general fund issues. So thank you let me put you again on the spot this evening, MR. Wagner, back to you. Thank you, Director Hennessy. And so in conclusion, provide some context around this year to conversation. >> That we just had in city manager's office along with finance. We're very pleased to bring forward this to your strategy that ultimately in year one developed almost 10 million dollars of the solutions and multiple you 7.8 million dollars worth of reserves to frankly avoid some of those very difficult cuts that our department has just presented. However, going forward to maintain public safety in goals. Here is a city this going to need to look at to acquire additional revenue. Previous reductions, cities reduce over 25 million dollars from his budget in almost 80 employees from the General fund. I know this is two-year strategy so that we are calling this year, too. But lets be realistic. This is your for that. We're talking about of this strategy. The city has tightened its belt. The city has sharpen his pencil. The city has been creative. It's taken a three-legged stool approach towards cuts, revenue and enhance economic vibrancy of the city to try solve our economic crisis. Unfortunately, where that's

landed. Us really is with that. You're 2 conversation that was just had fire departments. From my perspective in from the city manager's office perspective, the cuts that were just described by our departments are not something that we can recommend in good faith without also having a much needed conversation around enhanced revenue opportunities at the city and what would need to happen to not only prevent those level of cuts to put to reinvest in Santa Rosa and to create a better city which we've been talking about today to make us that full service city that we can looking at ourselves in good faith and say we are a full service city. We are making the proper investments and we are mitigating the proper risk. Second Santa Rosa can continue to see its success that it's been having even facing these very difficult financial situation to keep the momentum going within our community. With that, the recommendation for this budget adoption in public hearing. But the city manager in the Finance Department recommends that council approved by 5 resolutions to adopt the fiscal year 20 to 26 27 operations and maintenance budget and capital Improvement program. Budget by resolution. And then the public safety and prevention tax and use tax implementation plan for fiscal year 26. 27 for all budgeted programs in a sign up to 4.5 million dollars in critical facility reserves to address facility needs as of JUNE 30 2026. And with that, we will welcome the mayor to open for public. The public hearing. Any questions or further

comments from council as we move forward. Thank you again, Mr. Before we open a public hearing, any any final questions of staff? >> ok, my colleagues, no, but we've answered all those. Thank you very right. Let's let's officially open the public hearing. Are there any members of the public that would like to make comment on this item? If there are please make your way to a podium, MR. Dewitt, I you have your name. That's fine to wane will take road with podium here in the Dwayne. You're next. >> Again at thank you. Council members for staying late with us and allowing us to continue to share our concerns. I look forward to working with you in the future to help navigate these really difficult times. Again, my name is Jenny Gilpin. I live in district 2 and I want our community policing funded and I want our fire departments funded. I want Santa Rosa to be a safe place. Flock cameras will not keep us safe. They will not save the city money. 25 years ago, another surveillance company Axon. Heavily marketed Tasers to police departments across the nation. It's going to be the magic solution. No more police shootings. Everybody will be safer. The research 10 years in was increased. Police shootings and increased officers harmed. There's no research that shows that Flock will make us a safer city. In addition, we've gotten this big federal grant this $900,000 that moves. >> So many cameras were around 150 cameras now in a short short amount of time. Installed all these cameras.

Could you please? >> I can confirm again how this relates to the budget discussion. >> The budget discussion is that the flock cameras will put us in a position lay off police officers. And then we'll bill will be a subscription model will left holding the bag and reliant on ai surveillance instead of actually having physical police officers show up when we need their help. I want to avoid this. I want to avoid the liability that it will open up for the city and future financial issues. And I really hope to reach out to you and to work together to find solutions. Using technology to keep our city safe. Thank you. >> Thank you, MR. To it. In order to cut costs, ask for a wage freeze. You know, we're here today here that night. You got people making $300,000 a year couple years there. A millionaire. This whole thing is kind of convoluted rather voting staff. Just say, hey, we're broke. Are carrying capacity is overwhelmed. We cannot take care of what we already promised. So we can't pay more each and every year giving these people more and more money. Just say we're not going to cut positions. We're just going to have a wage freeze and then 4 and a half million dollars to spend on the property that you're going to trade out. Don't do that. You've already agreed that you're gonna trade this property Overton across the street, a property that used to belong to the city. And a man is going to basically run a game on us. And so great. You've already made that decision. You're going to make this property trade, don't

spend 4 and a half million dollars to upgrade anything here. Tell that person who's going to make out like a bandit. He actually has put forward money to the city. Because that's a valuable corner. Actually, housing was promised there in the past from that person got that lot. It was an incentive deal and he didn't abide by that. So that's not a trustworthy developer that you're going to work But what you should do is actually make that person pay the Piper. You could actually get more money back. Don't spend that 4 and a half million and like you're a fire. Captain gets $383,000. That's a ton of money. Folks over here in the maintenance section for the parks, those maintenance workers could be covered. You can take care of a lot of people there just re configuring where your money goes. You have a very top heavy administration in this city and you don't take care of the roads. You don't take care of the park's. You basically plead poverty to us every year for decades and then say, oh, we're going to work it out. Now, as a matter of fact, as for that 4 and a half million from that guy across the street. Thanks to Wayne, MR. Over, thank you. Just briefly. On the subject >> roads of the new, the arteries. Welcome back to

concrete is indeed the preferred way. You should be going. It's cost effective is competitive with asphalt. And most importantly, it's longer lasting 40 to 50 years and doesn't develop the potholes. The keys are not that it's the absolute smoothest. When you put it down. That's a that's a minor issue. It's really the resistant to cracking because as soon as you have a road to start cracking, that's when your maintenance costs go up. So so, Roland, Compact to concrete is very strong because of the low water content of the concrete and then that it significantly increases the strength of concrete, less water. You have to stronger. The concrete is. So if it's not to smooth this, you know, don't get so upset about it. And, you know, it is less expensive. The poured concrete by a long shot. And there's much more durable asphalt. So yes, indeed. While a compact to Trump made his way to go. And one suggestion is that you definitely want Went over was one of those diamond cutting things to cut the rain, grooves the freeways run over with a diamond cutter to cut rain grooves in that. You know, that smooth surface so they would be less complaints about it. That is it is the best way Resurfaced. The main arteries. Thank you, Michael. Other any other members of the public would like to speak? >> Seeing none. We'll close the public hearing. Bring it back for a motion. Any final discussion. MR. Alvarez, would you mind putting a motion on the floor? Of course, There's actually 2 motions will be voting on them separately or together. Good question. Can we can do. We do need to vote

and separately because we have a recusal. >> Yes, and I thank I did identify that there needs to be a 3rd motion that needs to be put on the floor. In addition to the 2 that you see the first one is for the tp w items that Councilmember MacDonald needs to recuse from then Councilmember MacDonald can return to the day is for the remaining motions to be heard. The 3rd motion that I hadn't indicated Councilmember Alvarez is. The final bullet that was on Scott. >> Chief financial officer of Wagner's final slide about the appropriation of funds. And so I just want to make sure that we have that action taken. >> Very well. Looking for that 3rd. Item now. >> I think perhaps some language freeway, but the other motions on the fly too. And if I can clarify for the city clerk for that additional assignment of reserves, the direction that staff needs is just a direction from the council council. Thumbs up. >> That's all I need from the accounting standards to move forward with that action. So if if you want to split that in 2 separate just direction, too, to us, that's all that. That's all that's needed. >> In this instance, I deferred to chief assistant City Attorney Luna to confirm the best path forward. >> Yes, thank Both clerk see if a Wagner. I think that. Let's do the first motions sense. COUNCILMAN Member MacDonald is out of the room. Bring her back. Go to the second motion. And then I

think that. Chief Financial Officer Wagner is correct needs is a thumbs up as to the assignment of the additional funds. >> Perfect. Thank you, All right. Let's make it. Let's make the initial motion. I'd like to present the first motion. >> Which is too. Adopt resolutions, support transportation and public works Department budget and full-time equivalent staffing changes to transportation and public works as presented by staff. Have a motion a second by MISS Rogers. Is there any final discussion on this item? Seeing none. MADAM City clerk call a vote on this item. >> Thank you. Councilmember Rogers Councilmember MacDonald. It's recused. Councilmember Fleming. Yes, Councilmember Ben Councilmember Alvarez are vice Mayor Cook each eye. There's Yes, let the record show that this of these resolutions were adopted with 6 affirmative votes and Councilmember MacDonald recusing. >> Excellent. All right. We're going right, MISTER Donald, back in. You should come as welcome back. All right, MR. Alvarez, we put a second motion on the floor. Yes, Second motion presented is to adopt the remaining resolutions. >> On the primary budget full-time equivalent staffing changes, storm water assessment and public safety and prevention implementation plan as presented by staff. >> Motion and a second by MISS MacDonald. Any final discussion of this item. Seeing none we can call a vote. MADAM City Clerk. >> Councilmember Rogers, I

Councilmember Macdonald, I councilmember Fleming. Councilmember Ben Willows. Yes, Councilmember Alvarez are Vice Mayor Cookie. Mayor step yes. Let the record show these resolutions passed at the 7 affirmative votes. >> Thank you. If I'm understanding correctly, we can do a quick affirmation here. That council approves of the of the propose handling of the 4.5 million reserves. Is that accurate? Correct All right. Just to get some is out. There we The rare, rare thumbs-up vote from from the dais given that gives you what you need to Yes, thank you. All right. Well, my only thoughts at the conclusion of this are again, just spectacular work. Again. It's been 4 years of war. If your team. Scott, thank you so much. We've into this discussion the day as multiple times and so are questions have gotten gotten pretty refined. >> What was useful for us? And I think for the public as well as state to have those examples of what could come next year, if we do not find additional revenues, the kinds of difficult conversations that will be for me. At least that was very helpful to put into context of what the kinds of decisions that the city is considering. So thanks to you. And all the department heads are putting that together has materially to our conversation and underlines the need for us to find additional revenues during the course of this year. Look to any any any other thoughts. My colleagues. Seeing none. MISTER Wagner, thank you very much. Want to our our next item. All Next item our first report for the evening on a 15.1. Our report on the air, the independent police Auditor annual report. This item was continue from the JUNE second 2026 regular

meeting. I think we have our city manager and then representatives from our or our group that is city manager. Do you want to kick it off? >> Yes, thank you, mayor. Good evening. This item before you tonight, isn't this up receive only presentation from our independent police auditor providing an annual report of the Santa Rosa Police Department just as a reminder, Oir is an independent group, the conduct an analysis of the operations of the center of the police Department back in 2021, the city entered into a contract with Oir group to serve as the independent auditor for us and the report directly to the city manager review internal investigations. They conduct audits of policies, practices and records and conduct community outreach. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Stephen Connelly of Oir group to present his annual report. Thank you. >> Thank you. City manager. Fair fairly. Good evening, MR. Mayor Vice mayor council members Stephen Colley from the Office of Independent Review Group here on behalf of my colleagues in in my capacity, our our capacity, I should say is as independent police auditor for for your city. It was big. One of the things that that occurred to me I was watching the meeting earlier is that this is an annual presentation that we make all of the faces on the day is this year are familiar to me. So I know that you have experience with this model. And in with our work and what

I'd like to do in the next few minutes is just provide you overview of our annual report, which is kind of a cornerstone of our of the model that Santa Rosa has has devised for oversight of its police department. And then I certainly welcome any questions that you folks have. So just very briefly, as I hope most of you will remember any members of the public who are or group is actually operates out of Southern California. We have been involved on a full-time basis in this civilian oversight of law enforcement since 2001. And we work with a number of different jurisdictions. Throughout the state of California. But in several other states as well. A lot of times that exposure to a range of agencies gives us some opportunity to kind of learn best practices and see what's working well and what's not working well, and hopefully share some of that positive ideas with time police agencies that we work with. And I think that that has been our experience here. So I have 3 call 3 or 4 colleagues who work with me on this Santa Rosa Project. But I'm probably the primary point of contact as the independent police auditor here. And I certainly welcome any of your questions, your contacts throughout the year, although it's very good to see you in person as well. I want to talk a little bit about what the model is as established by your council few years ago, the independent Police Auditor model is does actually a distinctive one in terms of the work that we do. And it's one of the ones that that I very much appreciate because I feel like there there really is an opportunity to have an impact on these important internal matters

before they they are resolved. So the model is based on a real time active monitoring of all misconduct investigations at all phases. And and that is really the meat and potatoes of of the work we do with the city. Obviously, we we present report once a year and what I'll talk a little bit more about the reporting process and the purpose is behind it. But that's, you know, kind of one week out of the year and the other the other 51 really are are based on regular contacts with the department. As as we work our way through the different complaint misconduct cases that come along and the model has been set up in such a way. That we have direct access from from my home computer. We've worked out with the tech folks here. They're very patient with me in and I have direct access to the database that Srpd uses to track these these internal matters and I can look at status of investigations. I can look at body worn camera recordings. I have the ability to to kind of move around as as I'm interested in and the department has made all of that transparent to that. The independent police Auditor office. Beyond the discipline cases. And I'll talk a little bit more about that this month cases in just a moment. There are other facets to the model. They're critical. Incident review is is one of the things that city requested that we focus on in in since I was here last JUNE, reporting to you. The department as you well know, had its first to

officer all officer-involved shooting cases during our the first 2 of our 10 years. So obviously those were major events for the department, major events for the community. And we had the opportunity to be engaged very quickly in terms notification and kind of tracking the way the department was responding internally wall. I some of the other external investigations were ongoing into those very important matters. So one of Vic other features that we have is the opportunity to kind of move around a little bit. Take a step back from individual cases and look at the department. More from more of a systems perspective and recommendations for policy and procedure changes. And that's a feature of the annual report. Every year. There are 7 recommendations in this year's report and what usually happens is in terms of accountability is that department? Reports back to the Public Safety Committee at some point in the fall, usually and talks about each of the 7 recommendations are 10 recommendations or whatever it happens to be in and it engages with them. Response them talks about what it is done, what his plan to do or or if doesn't think it will work it's sort of accountable to your counsel as to as to why it doesn't think it will work. So that kind feedback loop, I think is important. So when it comes to oversight and people's, I think that the average person's conceptions of what oversight should

hopefully accomplish in a community. The 2 words that come up over and over again in the places that we work or one is transparency and 2 is is accountability. So the transparency comes in 2 ways. One is that the window that department gives an independent outsider into its processees that are otherwise confidential and not accessible to to an outside person. And the second is this is public reporting process. So hopefully going to hit the highlights keep the presentation moving. But I certainly do encourage folks who are interested to to look at the at the public report that available on the city's website. It goes into detail and to all the concepts that we're touching on, at least a little bit here and provide some specific cement in the back. There is actually a case status chart that breaks down what happened in all 55 of the misconduct investigations that my office worked through with the department in calendar year 2025. Talking a little bit about discipline process and how it works. As I mentioned before their regular interactions with Srpd regarding the status of cases, I have regular contact with the sergeant who is in charge of investigation. Personnel Investigations unit. And he keeps me apprised of of new cases as they're coming in significant developments in ongoing cases. One of the

major features of this that we don't do anywhere else. We work in a lot of different places. And I think this is, again a sign of robust nature of the Santa Rosa model. We have the opportunity to sit in on officer interviews when they are being investigated for potential violations of policy, potential misconduct. I have the opportunity to sit in on those interviews and ask questions really have a front row seat to make sure that the investigation is appropriately thorough, that the evidence is being gathered to the best of the department's ability. And then we also get to consult with the department on the outcomes. I want to emphasize that point, at least briefly importantly, I think that it's bears mentioning that the department maintains the department city manager's office effectively maintains control over these processes that I don't have the power to make. The chief do anything. It's ultimately get up and going to be up to the chief into the city to resolve these cases in the way that they see fit. But I absolutely have the opportunity to weigh in at every step of the way and also the opportunity to report out if I had a serious concern about the way that the department was handling a particular case. If I had a strong disagreement with an outcome, then I would have the option to turn to the city manager's office to report out publicly, at least to some extent. So and those are always that the oversight has been given the opportunity to really be influential and and to make a difference here in terms of how how the discipline process works. And I'm pleased to be able to say. That the department ever since

we really started working with them a few years ago, the department absolutely holds up its end of the bargain in terms of of providing us with all the information that we need reaching out to us and making sure that that we are informed and also engaging with us at all the different steps putting up with our questions, taking our suggestions for maybe enhancing investigation are going back revisiting a particular point. They have been very, very collaborative in that respect. We're pleased to say we never have had to go to the city manager city councilor to the press Democrat and say, you know, this is a broken system and we're very concerned. The department really does do a fine job and were they were able to again see that from from a front row perspective and also make a contribution to it by bringing our experience our outside perspective and kind of stand in the shoes of members of the public at times to give the department maybe a newer or additional way of looking at things. In terms of 2025, there were 55 new allegations of misconduct that were that were processed by the department that these were kind of divided up into 2, 2 groups. Many of them were complaints from members of the public, which every police agency is obligated under state law to to intake and investigate and then provide notification to that person on the back. And as to the outcome of the cases. But several of the cases this year, as as other years were generated by the department as well. So in terms of again, to to the extent people are

skeptical about the ability of a police agency to to hold its own people accountable and to police itself. It's important to note that not only does the public complaint process get taken seriously handled in, i think is it in an effective way? But the department without public having any awareness of this is an issue at all. The public generally excuse me, the department generates department's leadership managers. Supervisors generate a number of of cases each year when concerns come to their attention about potential violations of policy, potential officer misconduct. So those internally generated cases are also a means by which the department make sure that that its officers are meeting expectations and living up to department standards and also public standards. In terms of of that just a couple of trends to keep in mind. One of the things, as I said before, we've been doing this for a long time. And one of the real evolutions that we have seen is is that the investigative process is more efficient than it's ever been. A lot of that has to do with the advent of body-worn camera technology and that the sort of definitive nature of that evidence. So we review all the body-worn camera for for these cases. And I think that's a big part of the department's process in investigating and evaluating these incidents. And it's also it really adds to the confidence level with which decisions get made about

what exactly happened out there and what should appropriate outcome speak. And again, okay, the case status chart that's in in the public at the back as an appendix in the public report. It really does us some insight into the kinds of things that are brought to the public's. Skews me brought to the department's attention by the public and the kinds of things in that department is generating internally. What the outcome of those cases where how many of them were sustained, how many of them were found considered to be unfounded are not sustained. And why and talks a little bit about our role, our contributions to the process along the way. Pleased to say that our profile in the city I think has slowly risen over the years and we get contacts several times a year. Telephone calls and emails from from people who are upset with this police department or have questions about the process. And we have the opportunity to engage with them to facilitate if they want to make a complaint and just to provide them with another resource so that they know that their issues are being taken seriously. In terms of the kinds contributions that we make, really are at every stage of the investigation from the framing of invent of allegations at the outset, making sure they're appropriately thorough. Making sure that the outcomes as far as how the evidence is assessed is reasonable. And we I I think our agreement percentage with the department actually really, really high. And even in those cases where we don't see it exactly the same way, I can certainly see the reasonableness of the of the department's perspective in and we feel like, you know,

that out the decisions are legitimate ones, even if they're not necessarily exactly the ones that we would make. And finally, and this has been one of the things that we have really, really tried to emphasize our whole time here. And I think the department, as as embraced, might be too strong of a word, but they are definitely making more responsive than they have ever been in terms of one of our key ideas, which is to say look at the bottom line issue of whether policy was violated with this complaint should be sustained. But but don't stop there. Used that as an opportunity to look at the performance more generally and hey, even if this wasn't a policy violation, if there's a way that the communication by the officer could have been better or the whole contact could have been handled more effectively. Take the time to follow up with the office or use it as an opportunity to to improve performance. And and you know, make things make things better going forward. And again, not just stop with the primary question of whether the allegation is sustained or not. There were some significant cases this year as there are every year. One of the interesting externally is is we obviously look at each case individually, but then I have the opportunity because of this cycle to kind of step back and look for trends. I wouldn't say there any because this sample sizes of any trends are so small that that, you know, I think a statistician would really question how much weight to give to any of it. But I have

noticed in that past years, for example, 2 or 3 years ago, ice high percentage of the complaints came from Unhoused individuals are advocates for unhoused individuals who are complaining about enforcement activity felt like there. There were being treated respectfully are properly or that the property had been mishandled by the department that has gone way down. I think I MAY have had one or 2 out of the 55 that that we reviewed in in 2025. But one of the things that was was striking to me about this year's batch of cases was that a number of the complaints? We're not by people who have been arrested or had been given a ticket. And we're mad about how the police had treated them. They were actually buy people who called the police for help victims of crime. People who brought things to the department's attention and felt disappointed for one reason or another about the quality of the investigation or the follow through that the department had done. And I think could be a function of a few different things. Again, taking a look making sure each individual case is adjudicated gated appropriately, but also stepping back and saying, well, there a usually high number of these is it. It's suggestive of anything that's going on in. And I've talked to the chief about that. It's it's maybe inexperience in the workforce or just people who are kind of over extended or whatever the case MAY be. But I think looking at that in an encouraging the investigative follow through and the customer service trying to

reduce those those complaints in 2026, I think is is a worthwhile goal and something to focus on. In terms of major incidents. I want to turn our attention to that for just a moment when that again is a is a component of the original scope of work. And it's one of the areas where I feel like we've had the biggest systemic impact on the department since we started working here, department really did not have a very well structured comprehensive approach to reviewing significant incidents force incidents, officer-involved shootings, major injury cases, canine bites, hot things that are obviously significant to the community there. High potential high liability cases in and they're significant uses of police authority. And we really encourage the department to build a process that one of these things happens. It really is taking a full-fledged look at it. Certainly with officer accountability being a piece of it, but really to look at and say hi, let's look at this entire thing from beginning to end and all the different aspects of it. And apart from the issue of whether somebody violated policy or not or there's a specific individual performance. Could we have done this differently? How was the supervision? How is the communication? How is the support? All kinds of different things that that can potentially be worth scrutinizing in adjusting in the department has put together a new process that I think does an excellent job of. Pursuing those questions in a much more thorough and comprehensive way than it ever has before. And there were 10 separate incidents that were

identified by the department in 2025. Is being worthy of this much more elaborate process and it's been gratifying to see them in them implemented and come up with a lot of good insights and and work product on the back end of it. In terms of other force cases, the department's training unit is something that we have really focused a lot of attention on. It is a small cadre of people, but I think they do incredibly important job for the department in terms of that, their experts and there really are a resource as much as anything else. The goal is to look at these things and find ways to help officers use force more effectively de-escalate more effectively when when possible, make sure that their equipment is is well suited to whatever tasks that are, whatever challenges they're faced with. Officers safeties a big priority. But also, you know, the recognition that the use of force is a big deal to the public and it needs to be done in in careful, efficient ways with the least impacts possible. And with all the legal justification is that are necessary. So I think that training unit has been a very, very helpful resource in terms of looking at individual cases working with officers in a in a constructive performance improvement sort of way. And coming up the I think the chief really makes use of them provides them with a lot of different opportunities to contribute. And idea of holistic review that we were talking about before with the misconduct cases certainly applicable to the use of force review process as well. And again in the use of force MAY have been justified or in policy. But are there any insights that we can pick up

from from looking at the way the whole thing was handled and any ways that we should be. I just office or performance are making suggestions going forward. One last thing that I I want to focus is a relatively new thing that the department has begun to sort of formally track and that is pointed firearm cases. So as I said before, I been doing this for a long time and a lot of older law enforcement types would tell you. Pointing a weapon at somebody used to not be considered as as big a deal, if you will, are as as significant a thing as it has become. And there is a recognition on that. This this is a big deal. If you've ever had a weapon pointed at you, you don't think something casual and just part of an officer's normal response to things. So the department now expect as an expectation that officers are going to report every time that they're that they're in a situation where they pointed firearm at someone and it's going to be reported written provide a written explanation of why that's going to be looked at by a supervisor. And the whole thing is going to be assessed as to whether this was a legitimate this is met to this meat department. Expectations. And I was very struck by the effectiveness of it. I think it was something that within a couple of years, everybody

kind of got it. If you well and add, the supervisors were really doing a good job thoroughly reviewing these things. And coming up with insights and not just checking the box and moving on but really taking the process seriously. And I think it's it's a function of the fact that the department's leadership leaned into it and said, hey, we have this expectation that gets pushed down to the supervisors that puts gets pushed down to the officers. And just a reminder that it's a lot of the things that we have talked about. If you just, you know, emphasize it in prioritize it. I think a lot of times your department is going to respond in this was, I think a very encouraging example for me. As I said, we have 7 recommendations in this year's report. They can and they are more process oriented than anything else. Happy to speak to any of the individual ones that you'd like to talk about. But I will certainly look forward to the department's response in in SEPTEMBER OCTOBER that whenever that public safety meeting at committee meeting comes along because that to me is an opportunity to see how is this stuff sinking in do have they made adjustments on the ground and that that I'm hopefully are going to be reflected in The 2026 report and the overall evaluation of performance. So thank you for your patience. And they've had a long day today and any questions that you have. I'm very happy to answer. This is an important presentation and you're in critical work. So thank you for taking time to be with us. Tonight, I'm gonna turn my counsel to see if there any questions at this

time. >> Starting this been winless. Thank you, Mayor. >> Great to seems to >> so first, I just want to start off by saying how strongly I believe in the independent auditor process and I know we sat down when I first got elect. Did I really appreciated that? Because this particular issues really important to me personally, but also for the community. I I did have a couple questions. Wanted to ask about the major incident Review board. >> So I see that the people that sit on it, our department exacts and subject matter experts which is great. And I just wondered now is, is your organization a part of that process or and are these the only folks that sit on it? What what is that exactly how exactly work. So we do not sit on the in on the actual presentations, but we have the option. We certainly get flagged for us as they are get putting together and we'll have the opportunity to review the presentation. But usually it's a power point on body-worn camera and there's a whole >> basis for the deliberation that the department makes and certainly on the outcome. And as far as the department's deliberations will have an opportunity participate. But that meeting itself is really basically I open exchange of ideas where they are just kind of walking through the whole thing in a in a self critical way and then kind of getting to the bottom line about comes okay. All right. That's good to know. >> And then I wonder any as saw I think it was on Page 20. >> talk about the use of

force. And MAY be moving toward a more holistic assessment. And looking at the totality of the incident, could you talk a little bit about that? >> Sure. So in the use of force anytime an officer uses force the department that officers obligated to reported to a supervisor and there's a formal process for looking at any injuries for the subject are going to be photographed. The subjects going to get interviewed and somebody is going to evaluate that to say was the force that was used reasonable and justified, you know, legally. And in terms of department policy. But a lot of times overwhelmingly. >> The answer to that question is yes. And that's not just in terms of how it comes out It's the reality of it. I mean, we will evaluate these things ourselves and we very rarely differ from the department in terms of valuation of whether the force itself was was justified. >> That said there are oftentimes a lot of moving parts to an encounter that preceded the use of force or that follow the use of force. And sometimes those are opportunities. >> Hey, these 2 officers didn't work very well together with each other and they didn't control the subject as as effectively as they could have or this person really seemed unsure about how to handcuffs somebody and that the subject, you know, all of a sudden started resisting a different officer with a more efficient approach. We wouldn't have ever gotten to that point or the communication is poor or the officer is is commenting after the fact in ways that don't reflect entirely well on the department. All of those

things in our view should be in play and again, not in terms of punishing people are being matter saying that the forces out of policy, but looking at and saying, what have we got here? Again, ideally making future performance better. >> Thank And so it's kind of following that. Your recommendation, number 5, where you say the srpd should fine. The major incident review protocol to ensure that identified actions items are signed, completed and documented prior to the closure of So want to ask you about that deep. Is there a feeling that things our? Not followed completely. So the short answer yes, but now I'll give you a longer answer to. I don't necessarily mean that in a in a super critical way. A lot of it is it's just a function of the process being so new. >> And they're kind of making it up as they go along in figure. It's like a living laboratory where they're making adjustments and my point is you have some very good ideas that you're identifying ins, some action items that the different people might be responsible for. And I'm not saying the follow through isn't happening. I'm saying if you really want to put the icing on the cake and ensure that the follow through is happening, lets document it. Let's capture it. Let's put that in the case file so that we know that this level of attention has been given and follow through on can be closed out in a more

satisfying way. I'm just in the interest of times and it's getting late. I just want ask you one more thing. Maybe I can talk to you later At the end, I just want to say I also was very impressed that you are you or your organization are involved in. >> The interview process because I think I wanted that to our chief. I know he wants to do the right thing. And I I really appreciate that. And I that's something that I know the county battles with. And I know, you know that. So I really appreciate the fact that we're doing that. So lasted. Just wanted to ask about the regional training facility. I know that you heard all about our budget all night and we don't have much money. But I I'm curious about that because I think training is so so important. It's just just a recommendation. And I just if you could talk about that for is so I would say to you that I agree with you 100% training is is critically important. And that's why I'm so enthusiastic about the commitments that department has made to its training unit. >> I think that to put it very, very simply, I have the luxury of being able to think things are a wonderful and should be pursued without having to worry about the implications and the cost benefit and that what what do we have to take away if we're going to make this happen? So I think the department has put some thoughtful work into what a regional training center might look like. But I absolutely recognize how that were far. You know, a lot of different ways from from, you know, shovel turning the most important money funding sorts of questions. It's a long way away from happening. I just don't want the department to give up on the idea because I

think it's a great idea and they should keep leaning into the work that they've done. MR. Donovan. >> Thank Maybe chief. You might need to answer this for me. How many calls respond to each year as a police department? >> That is chief Cregan question. I thought maybe it was. Yes. And that's a good question. I actually looking at some of the data today. So last year in 2025, with 179,000 just over 179,000 calls that came into our 9-1-1 dispatch center. Our officers responded to just over 111,000 calls. So we went out in the field 111,000 calls. What I think is really good to kind of paints a picture. So 111,000 calls were responded to just over 6600 arrests that we made it out of those 11 but are uses of force per 185. So when you look at that out of 111,000 calls, we went to 0.1 7. So not 1, 7.1, 7 not even a quarter of one percent. Our calls for service resulted in a use of force. And I arrested was 2.8% out of the 6600 arrests out of those. The vast majority of them were low-level uses of force of what we call controlled a leg sweep, takeout and lakes. We take downs where you're taking someone down the ground is to control them. The vast majority of these low level for us. But even those 185 out of 111,000 calls. 6600 arrests really proud of the work that they do. Our policy is every use of force required by policy to verbally called supervisors soon as you can safely do it to document that

use of force in a police report. Every single one officers are wearing a body worn camera. Every single one of our cars has 3 cameras on them. The supervisor is to respond to the scene to assess the situation on any significant use of force. They talked to the suspect to independently. The supervisor does to assess was is a proper use of force. We do an independent review. Our lieutenant, the mid-level manager, does a secondary review and then our independent police auditor, sir, so many layers and then the major incident Review board by second. What our police auditors that I think it's been one of the most like robust and meaningful recommendations. And this came directly from our independent police auditor. Bring into the U.S. That this is something we would love to see. You do really embrace. I attend every single one of those with by command staff, with our training team. And we also invited a representative from our city attorney's office to review says and we're dissecting those and make meaningful changes and what I see in my 27 years in law enforcement, law enforcement as a whole is reluctant at times for self critiquing and making. So what we're trying to do is we're changing that culture. The Santa Rosa Police Department. We do that. We go in there with that wind's. What could we have done better from the supervisor perspective, what could we have done better there? Any policy violations? Are there any training? Are there any equipment are? And we dissect those just like you would of going to a baseball coach or a football coach. And we dissect how could we have? Handled every avenue of this call better and then we make those recommendations. We make some

changes. We sit down with the officer who was involved. We set out the supervisors involved and say let's get better as an organization. Sometimes we also say that was absolutely outstanding work. And you did great work on this case and we reward knowledge the officers and supervisors. But then again, what sets us apart from any agency in the Reason c is our police auditors at our side step by step on those. And so really is proud of the work that the men and women of the police department are doing every day. >> Thank you for that. And for actually want to f# # # aiding some of the other parts of what I would have followed up with. And I appreciate one that you could do this off. The calf is amazing to me, but that able to really dissect down of the 55 different incidents. If I read the report correctly, only 17 were sustained. Yes, that's correct. >> And that's not unusual, actually, in terms of of a percentage. And interestingly enough, it tends to be a higher percentage of the internally generated cases that are sustained as opposed to the public complaints. >> feels like our own police department, our detectives on each other when they're researching this and looking at every single incident. I really want to come in as rpd. I said it a lot that there exemplary I was standing police department and I know you had a lot of recognition not to send a state, but I want to say thank you to them. There's not any department that I know of that as a day to day minute by minute professional development. Look, 3.60, constantly, their

videotapes, their watch. And then they have to look at every and they do every minute to make sure that there delivering the highest amount of professionalism to our community. And so I think that should be commended that we do this. We work with agree auditor to make sure that we're still delivering this year after year. And so please take back to the entire team. Just how proud of them I am and how a child this comes forward. And I see what a low number of incidents we haven't. Even the sustained ones not to say that they're not important look at everything, but I appreciate that. And the statistics come out of how many respond to every year. It's incredible to me. So so great job as our pd. Thank you. MISS Rogers. >> I wanted to say I love the poignant firearm protocol. I think that that is great because that can be very traumatic for people, especially people that are not. Point blank. It's pretty dramatic even if you are around guns. If you have a firearm pointed at you or the. >> The 55 cases I read through a man. I don't think many of then or if any of them had anything to do with this. But I was speaking to some of the detectives. And just hearing about. The delay in them getting to some of the cases due to staffing. >> If we have not, which it doesn't look like we have been getting many of those complaints, I can see that they will becoming because the

case loads are getting larger and our ability to get to some of them like the sexual assault cases and things like that. They have to prioritize I foresee a problem with that. In the future. And I'm I don't know how to solve it. I'm just saying I can see a problem. And I think that those people would feel defeated. As much time and energy emotionally as it takes to come forward with something like that, then to have your case it on a shelf. I don't know where is chief, but for a long time and then have someone call 6 months later and reopen that wound to try to look into that investigation. With that. I think probably to thank the department, both civilian and sworn. I know that. They're all human. Are all human and no one is perfect. But the fact that you're willing to learn from the mistakes to examine then into fine protocols and way so that they do not happen again because the goal is to protect and serve our community and our public. And I think you guys are doing a great job. Thank you very much. Thank you. Other questions? >> Will open up to the public? Are there any members of public who wish to speak of this item? Yeah. >> That shooting of unarmed homeless Joyner Saint Rose Church really major failure of leadership. And expect a review of that to bring that to light. What happened there was that police were called

simply because the sky was sleeping on the sidewalk in such ways to block the driveway. That's all. Obstructing a driveway. It was not a wellness check or any other nonsense. So anyway, the officer got out there. He was already move. He was no longer blocking the driveway. There was no crime at point. It was nothing to do that point. He had officer felt compelled to detain him and get his id. And you know, wars check in on background check. Nonsense. That isn't calling for Leadership would Would suggest to an officer do when you're in that situation? You respond to nothing go. And now instead we're enduring of the mess here where can be. Hey, I'm a large amount of money for someone And we kept getting bullet in him. >> Are there any of the members of the public would like to speak? Seeing none. We'll close public comment. I will bring it back to the dais. Any final comments before motion? Course, there's no looks at the report. Any further comments. Just my thanks, MR. Khalid Chief Cregan what it what impresses me about this review every year is thoroughness of it. So I mean, I reading to 55 cases was instructive. It was fascinating to see the depth that you go through in your review Castaner actions. The transparency. It does make all of us in the days here proud that this is the process we have here. So thank you very much for your assistance in creating that culture chief

cregan your your leadership fostering it within the within Srp Day. With that, I'll turn to a MISTER Donald just to item to accept the report. Don't think there's a former motion that we need to make is just exception set. >> Of the report. I accept on. Thank It. I thank you very much for those kind words in in in for your questions, engagement. And to your point, councilmember been well, as I certainly welcome if there's ever a particular incident or a constituent whose raising something you. >> You would like to bounce some ideas off of somebody out. I'm always happy to interact with with the council. So thank you. It's good to see everybody. >> Thank you again. >> All right. We'll move on to our final report of the evening. Our item, 15 point to a report on approving adopting the Sonoma County Animal Services. Revised fees. MR. Fraser, MISTER Whipple and Rene, thank you very much for your patience. It's been a long evening. >> Good evening, mayor and council. You ready to talk about some some puppies? >> always always My name is the administrator analyst for the city manager's office. I'm joined tonight by director Bryan Whipple and Community Relations Supervisor Michelle Renee from Sonoma County, Animal Services. >> They will be providing the proposed fee adjustments for the upcoming fiscal year as you'll see here in more detail, these changes reflect careful balancing of rising service delivery costs while maintaining a strong commitment to affordability and access to those services for residents. I think it's also important emphasize that

that this, that this proposal is not simply about increasing the fees. It reflects in a thoughtful approach that prioritizes keeping critical services like adoptions licensing and preventive care accessible for which support better outcomes for both animals in our community. >> Before I pass the mic over to our guests here. I also want to address councilmember MacDonald's questions earlier about the increase in the contracts. Briefly, there has been a increase about 20% for the last 2 years. First one from fiscal year. 24 25, I believe that was because hiring needs to do proactive service calls to to ensure the community and consistency of care for our community. And then for the most recent fiscal year, Fy 25, 26, those were increased cost to to operational costs for pharmaceuticals, veterinary care. And other concerns like I also think it's important to recognize the high level of service. The community this community receding through our partnership with Sonoma County Animal Services, recent Sonoma County Civil Grand jury review found found Sonoma County residents specifically a Santa Rosa residents are receiving animal services that achieve or exceed industry standards. This report also acknowledge that the steady progress the s e a s was made over time to implement best practices implement in site, noting that these advancements reflect strong oversight and sustain

investment in quality animal care services. So without further on. All over Tory partners, who will walk you through the proposed fee structure and details behind these adjustments. Good evening. Going to get closer as that. Can hear me now. >> Good evening. >> Yet so what we're we're here to discuss is our fee schedule. >> Each year we review our fees and look at increases or decreases the could potentially happen. You know, everything that we do as a the attached to it. So we have to look at that in a in in big sense of the population that we're serving because we also don't want to make or fees so high that people get their animals back. We don't want to hang onto people's animals. We want them in their homes. So that's why we try and make the fees reasonable as we possibly can. But, you know, even and adoption fee, we're not going to make money. We are. We're just trying to get these animals into homes and get them out of the system and provide a better life. Most of our fees they there. We did have a number of increases this year, but overall or increases are a dollar to $2 for the most part, we're increasing anything large by any sense you know, we we have so many things that we do with the community. You know, there's you know, we touched on a little bit already. But, you know, we the education, the spay neuter services, the overall public safety aspect to what we do as well. It's it's something that we're out there. We're doing every single day. Couple of things that we have done recently is we did at body-worn cameras to or for officers in the field,

which, you know, has been a great piece for us as well any balise department. That's out there. Definitely. He's helped us in a lot of different instances and created a much safer environment for officers. And it's great for training for our for new folks that come through because they're going to see things that he probably have never seen before. You know, we've got a new security system for facility. Meta needed more accessible for private cremations for folks a bit when their pets are deceased. That wasn't something that we offered previously. So that is something that the entire county has access to, which which is a service that can be expensive. But we're doing it as pass through to make sure that again, it's just a service of the king. They can get that's remains cremated in and a good way as Lou pointed out, the grand jury report did did did that state that we were making good progress and we are providing great services, you know, currently, you know, we've added a couple of different jurisdictions now we took on Windsor recently and in Healdsburg since the last time that I was at the council, which I think was about 3 years ago when we came in for our last increase that we we brought. So that's you know, where we're at right now in terms of the fees side. You know, and then some of the things that we do for the city of Santa Rosa, you know, we really bumped up are proactive patrols in the parks. We have had a lot of complaints that a lot of questions and a lot of problems and the number of the parks there was people that were being bitten joggers that's wouldn't go to the parks any longer of families

that wouldn't frequent the playgrounds. So, you know, with those we did, you know, bring a bigger presence to these parts. And I know that the council probably received some complaints at one point or another, but that is also part of that accountability that that is out there. And that's something that, you know, in any enforcement section you're going to have to do and nobody likes accountability when it comes to them. Animals are a big, big piece to our society, especially in this county and especially in the city. They're important members of our families. And we want to make sure that everybody is safe and everybody can enjoy what's out there. That's being offered, you know, where Spay neuter program is is another great piece that has access these fees also go to being able to provide free spay neuter to city residents as well. So that's some of the different pieces. And that is the biggest struggle that I think we're seeing in the animal welfare feel great now is spay neuter access. The shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. So it it really is a challenge for folks to do the right thing, especially in this economic climate. You know, we've we've done some people and pets vaccination clinic. That's where people could come in, get there themselves vaccinated for the flu or covid or whatever might have been. And also bring your pet to get rabies vaccines and their yearly vaccines as well. Microchips. And it was one health idea which was which is great. We're we want to continue these on as much as

possible and so far we've partnered with the Humane Society in each of the clinics that we did. We went through 3 just to get it off the ground. Each of those clinics served just about 100 people at each clinic. And, you know, that's getting both types of animals vaccinated. Next. You know, some of the other things that we do is, you know, we do manage some of our surrenders, but not to the extent that is really the only in coming in amols that we can manage. If you are looking to surrender your pet, we ask you to does get on our list. But we also provide you with resources, whether it's food or could be, you know, training tips. We have a contract with the group called Free Dog Trainer. So if you're having behavior issues, we can help. You works to some of those issues as well. You know, we've we've really gone up a level with licensing licensing is a hard sell. You know, not a lot of people see the benefits from licensing your pet, but it really It's for rabies control, which is basically 99.9% fatal. So you want to be careful of those types of things. And this is the way for for us to be able to manage some of that and then you respond to a lot of wildlife calls as well. There's quite a few We assisted the dpw, folks giving some quail at of a storm drain and in Oak lawn. So there's there's a lot of different things that happen out there. And then obviously, you know, we're always planting always training training for any natural disasters or emergencies that come up. That's where our main focus. You know, when those do happen, we're going to be ready. And we have groups of folks that are part of that that team to to to respond. And here's some numbers just,

you know, real quick calls for service. And you can kind of see. What we're getting into. And it's across the board. In. These are essentially the numbers for for what we actually build the city for. These are the calls for service that they were going to use invoice in and say because there are contract is based on calls for service, a number of animals coming into the facility. So the more the more the population, the more people than the more animals we're going to be busier, you know, and one thing that I think gets lost sometimes is the animal services isn't just for pet owners. It's for anybody that calls in that having as having an issue with an animal, you don't have to own a pet to get our get our help. And I think sometimes that does get lost in the in the overall we're not just there for pet owners were there for anybody that needs us. And, you know, as Luke mentioned to our you know, a lot of the pro active cases that we do. We're out there because having that presence really does help squash some of the issues. Can people see our truck? They're gonna put their dog on a leash. You know, that's just kind of the way that it works. And helpful. It does create a much safer environment for people out there. Here's some our fees for boarding some of the ones that do affect the city. And as you can see, they're going up. A lot of them went up of, you know, a few dollars at most just because again, we don't want to over overcharge folks. And then our licensing in other fees that are involved in these are. These are all again, you know, small increases in the overall for what the work is done. And just some of our intake types and how those animals came to us. You know, quarantines are big. One strays obviously are

one of those ones that we see the most And, you know, confiscate ones are ones that are involved in either an animal cruelty case or say somebody was arrested or had to go to the hospital and we're intervening to help take care of that animal. Why there? They're in a different place. Here's our license fees. You know, these are again, you know, the license fees. You know, we did a few study a few years ago because we went with document, that is a web-based licensing system and made it much easier. We didn't put as staff time into licensing in animal. So with that, we had to decrease their fees. And in the last time I was here when I did come in and we decrease the fee by it was around 10 to $15 at that time, which was a huge decrease, which didn't help us in the long run terms of our revenue coming in. But it helps the community and really gets them on track. So, you know, just over time, there's different things that are going affect the cost of doing that type of service. And, you know, everything it is going up in cost. Rabies vaccines. Just the the everyday cost of feed the cost of water. And we use a lot of water at facility for cleaning and keeping things going. Dangerous dogs. These some of the ones that are. You probably get hear about a lot about these. These are your dog bite cases and we take these to city attorney's office for for moving that forward to the system to get a designation. These most of these dogs, it could be a one-time thing. We hope it is a one-time thing or and everything. But these costs to reflect the work that goes into it. So you can voluntarily doesn't need an animal or you can take it to

court. And the going to court is a lot more work involved in a lot more people involved. So that is why there's a much higher costs for for that. And these some of the different registrations that we have for our animals that have been designated to. Trying to make a quick for the late We appreciate was that was that was the perfect speed. And every every presentation that comes in for us should have an easy Zach Pictures. >> should be ordinance all right, bring to the council for questions. Ms Rogers. Thank you. >> So I I think one of the things that is confusing about me for me is that you? You charge fees. Where do those fees go? If we're paying? >> And that does go back into the overall services. So we don't charge for every single call that we go on. Overall. We see it was around 5200 calls just for the city of Santa Rosa. And we're charging 2300 somewhere around there. You a lot of the calls were going to start something because again, contracts based on calls for service in 4 are certain calls for service in 4 incoming in amols. So with the increase in population and in that kind of thing, though, there's more animals coming to the facility as well. And that cost of care goes up. Another side of that is every animal that is running loose, that injured. We have to get treated by a veterinarian by state mandate. So every one of those, those animals that go to say, Karen Mendocino, Ave, there's a cost associated associated with that. So that's part of where that money goes to help cover some of those costs.

>> So the owner doesn't hate any of those fees. Are you don't charges when the owner? Pays the the that's the tricky part is getting people to pay the vet bill for that type of work. >> The struggle we have is because people can afford just everyday things and we don't want to keep animals from their owners. So we do try to work with folks on payment plans and different things of that nature. And it is it's then actually at the end of the year when we do it, we do a true up with the invoice and that's where the fees collected the licensing revenue was all accounted for at the end of the year. >> Just open a little bit to help out This the fees that we are the licenses, fees and those certain sorts of fees. Those are used to offset the contract. That is between us and Sonoma County animal services there operational costs are highly subsidized by the county and by Santa Rosa and those fees do on cover all the costs of that, those services. So even don't have the exact number the future, but even it MAY cost $30 get a vaccination, it MAY cost more than that to actually provide that service. So that's why you're seeing a difference and that cost her contract versus the revenue that we collect to offset that contract. The answers that question. >> It does. But I probably would do better by saying it. Not today. I know. But like if you can get that to me, I just probably would be better by. I see it because I really. Get it completely. Absolutely. Thank you. And then also. I

did get some feedback center here very recently. Actually, I think it was last week. That someone had to go to one of our constituents, homes in Santa Rosa and that they were they not very nice. So just wanted to give you that feedback because you're here I know that people work with animals in some people like animals and don't like humans. And I totally get it. You know, there are a lot cuter, but we still need to be nice to to the humans, even if where, you know, like to work with the animals slide 11. Talked about the outcomes in the in takes. With the birds. I see that the outcomes was smaller, the total outcomes, a smaller than the intakes. But when we do to like the cats how can it be more? Do they have babies when they were? >> Their or? >> Yes, we get We get a lot of cats, the coming pregnant and will give birth father at the facility. So, you know, any a litter of kittens could be 6 or 8 kittens at a time. >> And then how many animals do you put down? >> And you know, our our live release rate, I would I don't have the number in front of me. But our live release rate usually hovers between 85 and 80%, which the I don't like to use this analogy. But the no-kill movement puts it at a 90%. And we're municipal shelter that except every animal that comes to the door, whether it's aggressive injured. Super nice or or whatever shape it's in. We're going to take that. When we do get to pick and choose what

comes to us. So there are going to in in for euthanasia. The only animals we do euthanize our animals with severe behavior issues, you know, biting and mainly biting and things of that nature that could cause a public safety risk or if there's a medical issue that we can't treat. So those are really the only animals that were going down the euthanasia road with. >> Thank you. You can always count on me to ask uncomfortable questions. Not always happy to talk about that thank you. Any other questions. Prep for the public? Are there any members of the public wish to comment to this item? Seeing none. We'll close public comment. Again, do we need it? We do. We need a motion on this report item. We do so we I looking motion here says ms been way >> ok, I move to adopt a resolution is presented by staff. >> Commotion a second. Take a vote. >> mayor and ready. Go ahead. Councilmember Rogers Councilmember MacDonald, I councilmember Fleming. Councilmember Ben, yes, France. Vice Mayor Crappie I their step. Yes. But the records show this past of the 6 affirmative votes and Councilmember Fleming absent. >> Luke shown. Brian, thank you for taking the Obviously we're we're we're not as we didn't have as many questions because of how hard it's been. But we've all read the papers in recent months. We've seen what's happened in Petaluma and Healdsburg and Windsor. Thank you for coming to their aid. We know that the value of the work that you do. So thank you for coming and for this report talk a little bit more about that. Again, the goods could service you're providing. >> Thank you. Appreciate that.

And extend the invitation to the entire council you want to come to the facility for it or just let me know we can arrange that would happy to show you around. We can for shares in your home with a kitten or a puppy year. Whatever. You know, you want to take. >> I think thank you for that. All right. We will move on with that will with with final things on to our final item of the evening, which is our second public comment non agenda matters. There any members of the public who wish to make comment and was not listed on the agenda who have not already spoken. Seeing none. We'll close public comment and we are officially adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

City Council

Concejo Municipal de Santa Rosa — 16 de junio de 2026

Sesión de Estudio: Estrategia de Desarrollo Económico del Centro

Proclamación: Mes del Orgullo LGBTQ+

Informe del Asesor Jurídico Municipal: Acuerdos y Litigios Activos

Despedida a la Administradora Municipal Interina Lori Ann Farrell

Informes del Alcalde y los Concejales, y Nombramientos

Calendario de Consentimiento (Puntos 13.1–13.21)

Audiencia Pública: Aprobación del Presupuesto del Año Fiscal 2026–27

Informe: Informe Anual del Auditor Policial Independiente

Informe: Aumentos de Tarifas de Sonoma County Animal Services

Puntos clave

Qué ocurrió en esta reunión

Puntos de agenda (35)

Votos adicionales registrados en actas

Transcripción literal disponible