|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Budget discussions will once again be the main topic during an atypical Thursday night meeting for the Pleasanton City Council, as the dais will address several items that have to do with how the city will develop its budget over the next few years amidst financial challenges.
One of the big ticket items will be a vote on whether or not the city should establish a new Budget Advisory Committee (BAC), which stirred up a lengthy discussion at the last meeting in December where Mayor Jack Balch motioned to continue this item to the upcoming Jan. 9 meeting.
The city’s finance team is currently working on developing its two-year budget with the knowledge of a projected structural budget deficit averaging $13 million annually over the next eight years. Apart from that, the city is also facing a $900 million capital and infrastructure funding gap.
Initially, the city’s goal was to use revenue from a proposed half-cent sales tax increase measure to bring in roughly $10 million each year in revenue, which would have alleviated some of the deficit. However, after the measure — Measure PP — failed in the November election, the city had to shift gears.
That’s why staff brought forward on Dec. 17 a couple of early steps that would have gotten the ball rolling in the planning and engagement phases in regards to developing a budget that would eventually be presented to the council in June for final approval.
One of those recommendations last month was to have the council approve the formation of the BAC, which would help City Manager Gerry Beaudin develop those 2025-26 and 2026-27 budgets.
“Given significant fiscal challenges in both operating and capital budgets, the Budget Advisory Committee will provide critical insights to help the city manager address constraints on city finances,” according to the Jan. 9 staff report. “This committee will also serve as a mechanism for increased transparency and public engagement in compliance with the Brown Act.”
The BAC, if approved on Thursday, will consist of 11 members who represent key community stakeholders. There will be a representative from the police and fire department unions; the city staff union; someone to represent city management and two at-large members selected by the city manager.
The mayor will also appoint someone and each council member will similarly choose a representative from their respective district.
However, there could be a scenario Thursday night where the council decides not to form the BAC and instead decide to form an ad hoc committee that Balch proposed on Dec. 17.
In a separate item, the council will vote on a two-year budget engagement plan that staff also brought forward during the last meeting.
The plan itself was originally presented as a “comprehensive budget development community engagement strategy, consisting of one town hall, two pop-up events and an online engagement tool, with support from Civic Makers at a total not-to-exceed amount of $50,000.”
However, the plan had also accounted for the formation of the BAC to help with providing, “insights and recommendations on community priorities and strategies for achieving a balanced budget.”
“The BAC will complement the traditional budget approach and provide critical insights to help the city manager address constraints on city finances, while also increasing transparency and providing additional opportunity for engagement with key community stakeholders,” according to the Jan. 9 staff report.
Similar to the last meeting, the two items will now come back to the council for approval, but now staff will be bringing forward additional information on alternatives such as the ad hoc City Council subcommittee consisting of two City Council members.
But staff specifically state in the agenda report that the mayor’s inquiry into the ad hoc committee would actually raise more concerns in the context of the budget development process, which is why staff will not be recommending the ad hoc route.
Apart from not being “workable with the time available,” the staff report states the ad hoc committee could redirect limited resources away from budget development and the meetings could take place at the same time as negotiations with several labor groups.
Instead, they will be recommending the full council participate in two additional budget workshops — one of which is scheduled right before the Thursday meeting at 5:30 p.m. — and another in March in order to allow for fuller participation from the dais and the public.
According to the staff report for the 5:30 p.m. special workshop meeting, the council will be receiving a budget presentation that will include budget principles and key financial policies before they provide feedback and approve high level budget principles.
As part of the engagement plan item, staff will also be altering its original Dec. 17 recommendation to also include — apart from the two new workshops — one town hall and the use of an online engagement tool.
They removed the idea of hosting pop-up events and budget-related surveys due to the “City Council’s concerns about potentially gathering data that is duplicative with past engagements or not accurately representative of the community.”
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 9). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business
* The council is expected to vote on several documents that could greenlight the plans for new housing and commercial buildings to replace Barone’s Restaurant in downtown Pleasanton.
Following the Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval on Oct. 23, the council will be looking to approve the environmental review documentation for mixed-use rezoning, development plan and vesting tentative map for the new plans.
The dais was originally going to vote on the item on Dec. 17 but it was continued after several additional questions were raised.
Those concerns have since been addressed in a Jan. 2 memorandum from Beaudin and community development director Ellen Clark.
In the memorandum, the two touch on several topics such as how staff is unaware of any past formal plans or proposals to connect Peters Avenue directly to Del Valle Parkway; tree removal and preservation, which had been raised as an issue in a recent online petition; and many more.
Barone’s Restaurant first shuttered its doors in December 2022 due to various reasons like the pandemic. It reopened in August 2023 as a pared down concept before shutting down for good this past October.
The redevelopment plans for the former restaurant includes retaining and expanding the existing two-story, single-family home and demolishing all other structures in order to create a mixed-use development.
The new development across the 2.3-acre project site at 475 and 493 St. John Street would consist of 14 new detached two-and-a-half-story, single-family homes; two single-story retail or commercial buildings with a plaza and a 13-stall parking lot. The two commercial buildings would total approximately 3,125 square feet in area combined and the plaza would be about 1,568 square feet.
New retail, dining options coming to Stoneridge Shopping Center later this yearApril 19, 2026 9:24 pm
Mayor Balch has made the budget making process unnecessarily complicated and confusing for Pleasanton residents to understand let alone have full confidence or trust in. Our Mayor received a resounding mandate in last November’s election because he promised a citizens’ driven Budget Advisory Committee. Once he got in to office one of first acts was advance the idea of two member body composed of himself and another member of council. He wasted no effort to undermine the legitimacy and integrity of the very same citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee he so vocally advocated for. Pleasanton resident’s are frustrated with our Mayor because we want a transparent, credible process for arriving at a balanced city budget! Mayor Balch appears determined to hijack the process from the very voters that elected him to his position.
Pleasanton is in a better position today since the election than it was before the election. Several people were named along with alternates for the budget committee.
The committee can help increase transparency in the budgeting process by involving those named people with providing insights into how funds are allocated.
It involves greater community involvement and allows residents to have a say in how public funds are spent, promoting a sense of ownership and accountability.
The committee brings together individuals from various backgrounds and expertise, offering a wider range of perspectives and ideas for budget planning.
By leveraging the knowledge and experience of committee members, the city council can make informed and balanced decisions regarding budget allocations.
The committee can also identify potential financial challenges and propose solutions, aiding in the development of a more resilient and sustainable budget.
Involving the committee in budget decisions can build public trust and confidence in the city council’s financial management practice.
Watched the most recent Pleasanton City Council meeting of Jan 9th in its entirety. @MichaelAustin, aren’t you aghast at Mayor Balch moving to hire more consultants on the city’s dime to analyze the finance department’s budget forecast. This is completely unnecessary and an example of wasteful government spending. Why can’t he do it? We elected him because he’s a CPA.
I thought the Pledge of Allegiance was well done.
There is no evidence you voted for Balch.
Evidence suggests you didn’t.
Why does the mayor so desire to spend more money on consultants to understand the budget? A 55% majority of Pleasanton voters chose him for his financial expertise. Again, the question I asked previously was why is the Mayor not able to do the work himself to question the underlying financial assumptions?