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Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch delivered his first State of the City address last week, highlighting general updates about the city’s ongoing financial challenges, new ideas to increase Pleasanton’s economic vitality, and key infrastructure projects for streets and the municipal water system.
A sold-out room of city workers and leaders, county and state representatives, and local residents attended the annual event organized by the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce on March 25 in the Palm Event Center, where Balch’s overall message was that the city is working together to maintain the city’s overall quality of life.
“At the heart of everything we do — whether it’s infrastructure, public safety or business growth — is a commitment to creating a community where everyone belongs,” Balch said. “Our future is bright. Let’s work to shape a city that is prosperous, inclusive and resilient — not just for today, for generations to come.”
Financial challenges
The first-time mayor started off with discussing one of the most talked about topics around town — the city’s financial stability.
“Building a strong future starts with a solid foundation,” Balch said. “That means ensuring our city is financially stable and well-positioned to meet today’s needs and embrace tomorrow’s opportunities.”
The city is currently facing an annually estimated $10 million structural deficit, which could go up to $22 million if a recession occurs. Those numbers were originally outlined — and later confirmed in a third-party review by an accounting firm — in Pleasanton’s 10-year financial forecast, a model which uses revenue and expenditure assumptions to help cities plan out their long-term financial health.
Balch said the city has been analyzing both the city’s revenues and expenditures as it currently works through its process of developing a balanced two-year budget and that the city is committed to make informed decisions in a transparent manner.
“As we navigate our financial challenges, our focus remains on listening to our residents, businesses and community members, as we advance fiscally sound policies that align with the needs and priorities of our community,” he said.
The community recently got a glimpse of the city navigating through difficult budget discussions during a March 13 Budget Advisory Committee where dozens of residents voiced their frustrations on recently identified potential cuts to amenities like the Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center and the Firehouse Arts Center.
“Through this ongoing conversation, I am confident that together, we will find solutions,” Balch said. “By the end of June, we will have a balanced two-year budget.”
He noted that the city, in addition to cost-recovery strategies, is exploring new revenue streams such as “user fee adjustments, development impact fees and sponsorship policies, all to support city services”.
The city’s next two-year budget is being drafted this spring in the wake of Pleasanton voters defeating another proposed new revenue stream for the city in November: a half-cent sales tax measure, which Balch opposed putting on the ballot from his prior council seat.
City administrators and others on the council at the time said the tax increase would have brought in roughly $10 million in annual revenue to help the difficult budget forecast, while opponents against Measure PP argued that the city should be more fiscally prudent before asking for higher taxes.
In his speech last week, Balch went over other ways the city will strengthen its economic sustainability, including the continued use of its 10-year financial forecast, analysis of pension reserve fund usage — the council recently approved the use of these funds for two years — and the development of an asset management plan.
He also pointed to the city’s first comprehensive water system management plan and the updated capital improvement program prioritization process as ways that will “guide us in developing our long-term sustainability”.
Economic vitality
Balch said that businesses were the “cornerstone of a city’s financial health”, and that because they make up nearly 40% of the city’s total revenue, by “supporting growth, streamlining processes and fostering public-private partnerships, we will continue to strengthen the companies and Pleasanton’s financial future”.
On the topic of having businesses thrive in the city, Balch said Pleasanton is investing in its future by attracting industries that bring jobs and innovation.
He said companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, 10x Genomics alongside emerging innovators like Inscripta, a biotechnology company, develop “cutting-edge solutions that help the world from right here in town”.
He also said he was excited to see Tarlton Properties — a property management company that works with life and health science companies — investing in the Pleasanton Labs as a “premier incubator space for life and health science companies as we continue to support this cutting-edge industry”.
He added that the city is updating its zoning and permitting processes in order to improve the approval process for more life sciences and innovation companies.
As for the city’s health care sector, Balch welcomed Kaiser Permanente moving its Northern California headquarters to Hacienda, praised Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley’s continued growth in the city and looked forward to future plans of building a new Sutter Health location in Pleasanton.
“These health care organizations are some of the best in the world, and we are thrilled to have their expanding presence in our community,” the mayor said. “This collective healthcare excellence undoubtedly contributes to our city’s economic vitality.”
Balch further touched on the city’s overall economic vitality by reinstating how important it is to attract businesses because it is an investment for the community. He pointed out that for the more than 2,000 building plan reviews that were completed in 2024, the city averaged a 10-day turnaround for the initial review.
“We’re fortunate to have Hacienda as our partner in building an attractive environment where businesses can succeed,” he said.
Balch said the long-awaited opening of the city’s first-ever Costco store with gas station and other construction in the Johnson Drive Economic Development Zone, which includes two new hotels, was another positive investment for the city.
He said the new warehouse, along with the envisioned — but stalled — redevelopment plans for the Stoneridge Shopping Center were new commercial activity that will be good for the city. He also shouted out some of the new, incoming businesses like Philz Coffee, the Danville Brewing Company and The Duchess — which already recently opened — as other positive additions to the city’s economy.
“How we help businesses move from concept to reality is as critical as how we attract them here to Pleasanton in the first place,” the mayor said. “I look forward to a partnership with our chamber and our chamber members for how we continue to develop this path.”
Balch then unveiled one of the newest ways the city proposed to support economic growth in the business sector.
“As we continue to work to attract new businesses, we’ve developed materials focused on the retail and innovation-based sectors, to highlight Pleasanton’s assets and why it’s such a great place to do business,” Balch said in the hopes that audience members share the information with prospective business owners to consider Pleasanton as their home.
Under the general umbrella discussion of businesses in Pleasanton, Balch also recognized that one impediment for many businesses is affordable workforce housing.
“We know housing affordability is a challenge across the region,” the mayor said. “Our goal should be to create thoughtful, balanced solutions that make this an exceptional place to live, work and raise a family, long into the future.”
He said housing development, in general, contributes to the city’s economy and that Pleasanton is continuing to create opportunities for a range of housing types to meet the needs of a diverse population.
“By facilitating housing affordability and new construction, we are supporting employers in attracting and retaining top talent,” Balch said.
Infrastructure and safety
One of the other major topics that Balch brought up during his speech was an update on the city’s ongoing infrastructure improvement projects.
“A well-maintained and sustainable city is key to our quality of life, which drives our investment in the environment,” he said. “Through careful planning and smart investment, we are ensuring that today’s infrastructure decisions will serve Pleasanton moving forward.”
Notably, Balch brought up the more than $15 million that the city has spent on constructing near-term water improvement projects, which residents might have seen around town recently.
“I know it’s an inconvenience, but these improvements are supporting a healthy and reliable water distribution network,” he said.
The mayor also noted the city’s continued work with the Zone 7 Water Agency to explore the construction of new groundwater wells in order to diversify the city’s water supply after the two agencies previously discovered PFAS — also known as forever chemicals — in the local groundwater basin.
Another major infrastructure update was that the city will begin the reconstruction of West Las Positas Boulevard — a long-awaited improvement project — as soon as 2026. He noted that the city’s 2024 pavement nanagement program has already treated nearly two million square feet of the city’s streets, which will lead to safer and smoother roads.
Speaking of safety, Balch provided a quick update on the Pleasanton Police Department’s staffing levels improving to the point where the city was able to reinstate special units like the traffic unit, which was met with supportive applause from the audience.
“This is supported by a state grant to enhance the department’s traffic enforcement program to improve road safety and reduce traffic related incidents throughout the city,” Balch added.
He also said that crime prevention has been a key focus for the PPD, which was reflected in the department’s recent biannual update that showed a downward trend in various types of crimes last year.
Balch said the city’s crime analyst has been instrumental in helping with crime prevention by gathering intelligence and researching patterns, all of which helps address things like retail and vehicle theft.
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