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The city of Pleasanton will be hosting a town hall meeting on Tuesday where city staff will inform residents about the city’s budget-developing process and its ongoing financial challenges.
“This Budget Town Hall is part of our commitment to open and transparent communication,” City Manager Gerry Beaudin told the Weekly in a statement this week. “We want residents to be part of the conversation early in the budget process, to understand the challenges we face and can help shape the path forward.”
Pleasanton’s City Council previously approved the town hall as part of the city’s budget development plan, which outlines how the city will gather input from its residents regarding its upcoming financial challenges before developing its two-year budget for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27.
“Community members can expect an informative and interactive evening,” Beaudin said. “We’ll start with a brief presentation to provide a clear overview of the city’s budget — covering the development timeline, key budget principles set by the City Council and a breakdown of our revenues, expenses and financial challenges.
Members of the community will also have a chance to provide staff with feedback, input and solutions to increase the city’s revenue and balance the city’s budget.
The city has said it is facing a long-term general fund structural deficit of about $13 million every year for the next 10 years — staff previously said that number could go up to $22 million if a recession hits.
“The majority of the event will focus on engaging directly with residents through a series of activities,” Beaudin said. “Attendees will have the chance to weigh in on difficult budget choices, share ideas for how to balance the city budget, and help us understand the potential impacts of reducing or eliminating certain programs and services. Their feedback will be critical as we navigate these tough decisions.”
The town hall will be held inside the Pleasanton Public Library from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 11). City communications manager Heather said drop-ins are welcome at any time, and there will be activities for children so families will be more inclined to attend.
She also said there will be translators available for both Spanish and Mandarin so “all community members can engage and share their input.”
Before we walk down a path of elimination of programs it would be helpful to hear how the budget assumptions held up or were the assumptions challenged by the independent expert hired to examine such.