Mais Yeah, you should be able to see that.

Meeting to order.

This is the City of Belmont City Council regular meeting.

It's June 9th, 2026.

We are in live in person in our chamber at City Hall.

And item two on the agenda tonight is roll call.

Madam Clerk, may we please have the roll call?

Roll call for Councilmember McHugh.

Present.

Pang Bingonares, present Vice Mayor Jordan.

Here.

Mayor Meates.

Here.

Absent today is Councilmember Latter Miller.

Okay, thank you.

Item number three is items for 4-7 p.m.

3A is a closed session with uh three subheadings under that, sub-items under that.

So we will go ahead and uh recess to closed session and we'll come back at 7 p.m.

We don't have any public comments at this moment.

All right, we are calling a meeting back to order.

We have come back from uh closed session a little bit late.

It is currently 7:13, and we will continue with the item starting at 7 p.m.

Item 4 is the Pledge of Allegiance.

Please rise if you're able to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic, for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.

All right, item five, report from closed session, Mr.

City Attorney.

Good evening, Madam Mayor.

We did indeed have a closed session tonight.

We, however, have no reportable actions at this time.

Okay, thank you very much.

That moves us to item six, special presentations.

Our first one is a proclamation observing Pride Month, and I should also mention that we did have our Pride Flag raising ceremony last week.

It was really well attended, so thank you to all who joined us.

Pride month, we're out the city of Belmont.

And whereas the 2026 Pride Month themed centennial provides an opportunity to reflect on Belmont's first 100 years and recognize the ongoing journey toward equality, dignity, and belonging for all members of our community.

And whereas the Pride Flag displayed at City Hall throughout June serves as a symbol of Belmont's commitment to inclusion, respect, and the diversity that strengthens our community.

And whereas the City of Belmont supports the visibility, dignity, and equality of LGBTQIA Plus individuals and recognized the importance of continued education, awareness, allyship to foster understanding and eliminate prejudice.

And whereas the LBGBTQIA plus community has long contributed to Belmont's history and continues to shape a welcoming city that values diversity and embraces the unique perspective of all residents.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Julia Mates, Mayor of the City of Belmont, on behalf of the Belmont City Council, hereby proclaimed the month of June 2026 as LGBTQ plus Pride Month.

During Belmont's centennial year, we celebrate the Progress Pride flag raised on June 2nd, honoring the contributions of the LGBTQIA plus community, recognize the progress achieved over the past 100 years, and reaffirm our commitment to a future where all people are welcomed, valued, and empowered to thrive.

So happy Pride Month, and I think we um have someone uh accepting our proclamation.

Dana Johnson from the San Mateo County LGBTQIA Plus Commission.

Uh and I saw you this morning as well at the um Board of Supervisors meeting, so you're definitely making the rounds.

Please feel free to come up.

Thank you.

Good evening to everyone.

My name is Dana Johnson.

I identify with they and he pronouns and I identify as transgender non-binary.

I'm an LGBTQIA plus commissioner, and I'm also an LGBTQIA plus ambassador and activist in community.

On behalf of the LGBTQIA plus commission and LGBTQIA plus community, I would like to thank the Belmont City Council for your support and acknowledging June as Pride Month.

Thank you for expressing the support, affirmation, and inclusion to the LGBTQIA plus community that you have here in Belmont.

My fellow commissioners and I will continue to advocate the importance of an equitable and inclusive county for the San Mateo County LGBTQIA plus community members and everyone to feel safe and belonged while in the county.

I'm thankful for this national month to reference pride, but for me and many other LGBTQIA plus community members, every day is pride for us.

So thank you for again raising your progressive pride flag in the proclamation and expressing to the LGBTQIA plus community that they are seen, visibility matters, representation matters, belonging matters, and inclusion matters here in the community that they live in and that they're thriving in.

Happy pride to you all in solidarity, I said.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Would you be okay with a photograph?

Okay.

Perfect.

Thank you.

All right.

Moving on to our next presentation, 6B Proclamation observing Juneteenth Independence Day.

It is commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, whereas President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.

And whereas despite this proclamation, enforcement in many parts of the country was delayed and freedom did not reach all enslaved African Americans until much later.

And whereas on June 19th, 1865, more than two years later, Union troops led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the emancipation of enslaved people in the region, marking the date that would become known as Juneteenth.

And whereas Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Emancipation Day, has long been celebrated as a commemoration of freedom, resilience, and the enduring contributions of African Americans to our nation.

And whereas in 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day was established as a federal holiday, recognizing the significance of this historic event in our nation's history.

And whereas the City of Belmont encourages residents to reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth, celebrate the ideas of freedom and opportunity, and learn from the history that has shaped our nation.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Julia Maids, Mayor of the City of Belmont on behalf of the Belmont City Council to hereby proclaim June nineteenth, twenty twenty six as Juneteenth Independence Day in the City of Belmont, and encourage all members of the community to recognize and celebrate this important milestone in American history.

So happy Juneteenth, I believe, next week to all of us.

Alright, I think that's it for the special presentations.

Item seven is public comments on not items not on the agenda.

And just reminding everyone, this portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the body on any city matter that's not on the agenda.

And the period for public comment is 15 minutes with a maximum of three minutes per speaker.

I'll remind everyone for all public comment at this meeting that members of the public may participate in person by Zoom or by phone.

In-person speakers should submit a speaker slip to the clerk and virtual participants may use the raised hand feature and phone participants may press start nine to request to speak.

Public comments are generally limited to three minutes unless otherwise determined by the chair.

Written comments may also be emailed to the clerk before the item is heard and will be included in the public record.

Detailed instructions for participating in public comment as well as the meeting protocols are included in our published agenda.

And as a reminder, for all public comment, all speakers are expected to conduct themselves with civility and courtesy.

Comments should be directed to the council and focused on issues, not individuals.

Personal attacks, profanity, disruptions, or audience outbursts will not be tolerated.

The mayor may rule speakers out of order if comments are unrelated to the item or disrupted to the meeting.

And anyone who willfully interrupts the proceedings may be removed so we can maintain a respectful and welcoming environment for all participants.

Madam Clerk, are there any public comments for item number seven?

We have two in-house speakers, none on Zoom.

I'll call up Andy Frisch, followed by Chris Lou.

Thank you.

Hi, Mayor Maids and Vice Mayor Jordan and Council members, thanks for uh letting me speak for a moment.

Earlier, late last month, um, the organization I represent, Kynos Home and Training Center and the City of Belmont, were able to uh conclude a transaction that's going to permanently preserve housing for adults with uh intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Just wanted to thank the council and um particularly this the staff and very particularly Toby Lieberman.

It was just fabulous working with the city at every level.

We are so grateful.

Uh the people who are living in the house are thrilled with what's going on.

We've already started on a lot of deferred maintenance um issues, um, so the house will be even more beautiful in the future.

Um August 5th, um, a Wednesday from 3 to 5, we'll be having a little ribbon-cutting ceremony.

We'll be uh sending an invitation to the clerk to send to you all.

And we just wanted to express gratitude and thanks for your partnering with us and and support and how wonderful it was working with the city.

So thanks so very much and have a great night.

Thank you very much for your comments.

Chris Lou.

Madam Mayor, Council, it's good to see you all.

My name's Chris Lew, I'm community library manager for the Belmont Library.

I'm here to share that though some schools are finishing up this week, summer adventure has started at the Belmont Library, and kind of wanted to share some of the specifics for folks.

Um librarians have been working really hard to get to schools and get books and summer reading logs into the hands of youth before summer starts, but completing that first log doesn't mean that your summer adventure is over.

Uh, participants can enter three times to win uh to win a thousand dollar scholarship.

All they have to do is uh try out ten of the activities listed on our summer adventure log, return it to the library.

We'll complete the finisher form for them, and they'll get another free book.

So you complete your log, you come to the library, you get a free book, you get another finisher form, you get an entry for the scholarship.

You can do that up to three times this summer uh for up to three entries per participant.

Uh adults are also encouraged to participate and can enter to win prizes as well.

Um I'm also wanting to share some of the programming that we have as part of our summer kickoff.

So uh June 11th on Thursday, 10 30, we will have a Rainbow Rocks musical read-along story time and face paint.

This is uh Pride themed and will run from 10 to uh 10:30 to 11, and then we'll uh follow with a rainbow face painting session for the Littles.

Um, a reminder that we have an ongoing U.S.

citizenship test class that takes place on Thursdays.

Our next session will be Thursday, June 11th, from 6 to 7:30.

Belmont Library staff will um allow uh folks and help folks practice the 100 civics questions provided by the US CIS office, and they will get a chance to practice mock interviews.

Uh free study materials are also made available to people who want to take part in the program, and we can provide support both in Spanish and Mandarin.

Uh we have an Adobe class intro to Photoshop happening.

This is targeted for um those in the community who are 55 plus, and we do ask that basic computer skills such as file software saving and management um skills are um something that you bring to those sessions, but it is a Photoshop class where you'll be able to work through those basics for Photoshop.

This takes place Friday, June 12th, and is by registration only.

If you are interested or have any questions, just reach out to the library.

We'll be happy to get you registered for your spot.

Uh the last program that I wanted to share is Unique Derek.

This is a comet a comedy juggling and handbone show, June 13th, to celebrate Juneteenth with unique Derek.

It is um a handbone body percussion history lesson and a super fun high energy comedy show that will take place from 3 o'clock to 3 45 on Saturday, June 13th.

Oh, one more, forgive me.

Uh, this one's actually quite exciting.

We're gonna be doing a baby rave.

Uh this is for on Sunday, June 14th, 2 to 3 o'clock p.m.

Um we will be working with DJ Chico Chi for a baby rave.

So they'll be playing low volume music sets and it will allow young ones to participate with their caregivers um to kind of just you know kind of work on their movements and in a space where um they can also practice those intersocial skills.

Uh I'm really looking forward to seeing this one.

Um it's the first time that we've offered it at the location, so looking forward to reporting back on a successful baby rave.

Thank you all for your time.

Have a wonderful night.

What um, thank you very much.

What constitutes baby?

No, I'm kidding.

I think it's self-explanatory.

It sounds like fun.

I yes, I do want to say that I think toddlers are encouraged too.

So please toddlers come on in too as well.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, thanks very much.

And next up we'll call with Giuliano Carlini.

Hey all.

My first question is how do I get on on this?

Yeah, that sounds like fun.

Um I want to thank the city for its uh leadership uh planning.

I think it's really exciting.

I want to thank the leaders who are moving into these positions.

I think it's going to be really important that we plan and smoothly uh hand over things, and uh I wish everybody good luck.

I think it's gonna be fantastic.

It's uh really cool to see that we're not being reactive or proactive.

Um, I've got too much to say about cycling.

I said it before, I'm gonna try and keep it really.

I can't hear you.

Sorry.

That's not usually the problem I have.

Um I appreciate the city's efforts.

I mean, we just spent a bunch of money uh adding some bike lanes.

Um its intent is really awesome.

The problem is it doesn't know how to do things sometimes.

Um we got some wonderful infrastructure, the uh uh modal filter on Hiller.

We got some really dangerous changes.

Uh door zone bike lanes are not good.

12 to 25% of cycling accidents occur in them.

And some stuff in between.

Um looking forward to a time when public works engages with transit cyclists more closely.

I think they're about to start doing that, which will just be thrilling.

Um I look forward to a time when all of our bike projects are great and we create a network of protected and separated lanes that people will actually use.

Much of the stuff we create, eighty-five to ninety-five percent of people won't.

So it's an exciting future.

Thank y'all.

Thank you.

That will conclude our speakers.

Alright, thank you very much.

Moving on to item eight, council member announcements.

Uh council members, any announcements this evening?

Uh, Councilmember Q.

Two very quick.

Uh one is I have this sinus problem that flares up every now and then, and it just flared up.

So if I start uncontrollably sneezing or coughing, don't worry about it.

I'm not I'm not I'm not contagious.

It's it's just sounds ugly.

So just ignore me, is insofar as possible.

Um the second is uh residents at the end of Hallmark near the barricade, got very nice uh yellow door hangers uh in the last couple of days uh saying uh to not park in certain areas because some work was going to happen.

I had a couple of people have asked me about it.

I believe it's the barricade, it's the replacement of the barricade with a more substantial and somewhat wider barricade.

People who are members of BHCIA uh neighborhood association have heard about this multiple times.

Uh, but not everybody is a member of that neighborhood association.

So if anybody is listening and wondering about that and they haven't heard about it, uh, the barricade is going to be replaced with a a little bit wider but taller and more substantial barricade, so it'll make it easier for emergency vehicles like fire trucks to get through that barricade uh in an emergency.

But the barricade is not going away.

Uh we're not permanently connecting Hallmark um to uh Crestview on the San Carlos side.

Uh it's gonna be uh new and approved uh barricade.

So um that's it.

That's all I got.

Great, thank you.

And uh just to add on to that, we did approve that I think on consent last time.

So folks want to look a little bit more into detail, it's on our published agenda as well.

Um Vice Mayor, anything?

Oh.

Um I don't have anything, but I just want to say the first 30 minutes of this meeting have been so uplifting.

And it's it's a really nice thing.

I did a uh social media post last week about just all of the events that we had, and one of my friends posted like, I love where I live, but I wish I lived in Belmont with all the great things we're doing.

So I think to just really congratulate the staff and all the hard work that they do to just help make this place special.

So it's just it's just been a great few 30 minutes so far.

Great, thank you.

I just have one announcement and just a reminder that Belmont Park Boosters Sunday concert series begins on June 14th in Twin Pines Park.

Google Belmont Park Belmont boosters to get a list of schedules, and also if you want to volunteer, you can click and sign up.

The board of Belmont Boothers is also asking the council if they will amplify the summer series, this concert series, because they were unable to advertise the concert series as widely as in the past.

So any help the council can provide would be much appreciated.

Okay, thank you very much.

Uh let's see.

We did have some mention of it in the uh public comment, but um last week it was announced that we have uh some restructuring in in our um in our city here, and I don't know if the city manager is planning on maybe chatting about it later.

Uh, but just to let folks know that um our uh former police chief Ken Stenquist is now interim assistant manager manager, and uh Captain uh Andy Armano Armando has stepped in as interim chief of police, and then um the city we've also created a new community economic community development and economic vitality department.

We may just use acronyms, that doesn't roll off our tongue too easily, but um so uh more to come on this, but uh we are changing and um uh trying to meet all of our needs and moving our skills around to different departments and um and so that I'm happy that folks are taking on new roles and um uh very proud of what the uh city manager has done with the staff.

So thank you very much for that.

Uh and then finally, Belmont Centennial.

We need your help as we prepare to celebrate our 100th birthday, which is this October.

So we're asking residents to share one thing they love about Belmont, just one thing, even though I know we all have many things.

Uh once we collect 100 responses, they'll be featured in a special mural at City Hall.

So visit the city's Centennial webpage to participate.

Try to be among the first one hundred.

All right, moving on to consent business, which are items routinely in nature and enacted by one motion, unless staff or board member requests specific items to be moved for separate action or comment.

We have six uh items today under the consent business.

Does any of our, do any council members want to um either remove or uh make a comment or have any questions on any of the items?

Yes, I just have a comment on 9C, the re the pavement rehabilitation project.

Um my street is listed as one of the streets that are is on the list to be um taken care of, so because of that, I'll just recuse myself from that particular item.

All right, any other questions or any other comments?

Any public comment on this item, the consent business.

Yes, we have one public comment.

Um, Colina Juliano car meeting, yeah.

On 9C, the uh repaving work that we're doing throughout Belmont.

We're spending close to three million on uh this road work.

How much of it's for cars, how much of it is for bike lanes.

I I know from looking at it, we're not spending much on bike lanes.

Um it should be something like five percent if we're going to reach meaningful bike mode share.

Not doing that.

The climate action plan calls for 1.5%.

Are we spending that much of this money on uh bike lanes?

No.

We spend far too much.

I'm sorry, we spend far too little on making Belmont cycling safe.

We say we're going to.

It's part of our bike bed plan, it's part of the climate action plan, it's part of other plans, and then we don't.

It's not enough to say we're gonna do something.

We actually have to spend money to make it happen.

Otherwise, they're not plans, they're not goals, they're just platitudes.

We're better than that.

We really need to start regularly, every single time we spend money on our roads, making all users safe on them.

Thanks.

Thank you.

That'll conclude our in-house speakers and zoom speakers.

All right, then we need a motion.

So moved.

Second.

Roll call for council member McHugh.

Uh aye.

Councilman member Pang Meganares.

Aye.

Mayor Mates.

Aye.

Uh, motion approves.

Oh, sorry.

Uh recusal.

Vice Mayor Jordan.

Voting.

Okay, sorry.

Let me regroup here.

Um, call, uh, roll call for Vice Mayor Jordan.

Yes.

With a recusal and ital of nine C.

Yes.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Motion passes three.

Well, three to zero with one recusal on item nine C.

Very nice.

Thank you.

Four four zero zero.

Four one with yeah, four one zero.

Great, thank you.

All right, um, item 10.

Public hearings.

10A is a proposed increase to sewer service charges, effective fiscal years 26, 27, 27, 28, and 28, 29.

Well, good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council.

My name is Edra Kwan, and I'm your public works director.

Tonight's public hearing is the culmination of the sewer rate study process that began with council's review of the 2026 comprehensive sewer rate study on April 14.

HDR engineering originally recommended rate increases of 0%, 0%, and 3% over the next three fiscal years.

Following council discussion, the council directed staff to instead distribute those increases evenly at 1%, 1%, and 1% to avoid larger increases in the final year.

That direction was reflected in the proposition 218 notice mailed to all affected property owners.

The proposed rates also eliminated the current 100 um the current 10% drought regulation adjustment by resetting it to zero while maintaining the fiscal stability of the sewer utility.

Since April 14, the city has completed the proposition 218 process, including mailing notices to affected property owners more than the required 45 days before tonight's hearing and providing an opportunity for written protest.

At the conclusion of the public hearing, the city clerk will report the results of the protest proceedings.

With that, I'd like to introduce Josiah Close of HDR Engineering, who will be filling in tonight for Sean Korn and will present the rate study findings.

He'll be presenting virtually right there.

Thank you, Edric.

Alright, I will pull up my screen.

Alright, good evening, Madam Mayor and City Council.

As Edric mentioned, we'll be updating you on those final results.

And if there is not 50% plus one protest, then we will move forward with adopting the rates as proposed.

So when we go through the rate setting process, we have an established methodology that we use within the industry, and so that is a three-step progressive process where each analysis builds upon the prior to help us develop cost-based and proportional rates.

The first analysis is the revenue requirement analysis.

This basically helps us determine our balance or deficiency of funds when we include the total expenses, both operating and capital, and compare those to our current revenue generation based on the current rates and customers that utilize the services of the sewer utility.

From that, we project it forward, typically looking at five and ten years into the future to make sure we're incorporating those capital expenses, and that gives us a rate transition over time.

We then look in the cost of service analysis at the proportionality between customer classes.

So, what is driving the cost that the city incurs to provide service, typically for a sewer utility that is related to the volume contributions of that customer class as well as strength and the customers that are within that customer class.

That'll give us a proportionality that we need and is required as part of Prop 218 so that when we establish those rates, they are uh defensible.

Based on the results of those two analyses, we can then go ahead and calculate or design the rates within the rate design analysis, and that will produce the uh total revenues that we need to cover our costs as well as reflect the proportionality that we established within the cost of service analysis.

So looking at our revenue requirement summary here, as Edric mentioned, we adjusted things to show a 1% in each of the three fiscal years that we're looking to set rates, fiscal year 20, 26, 27, 27, 28, and 2829.

And you can see that reflected in our red box that's highlighted here at the bottom, that 1% each year, and that will help us to transition rates smoothly over that period and help avoid rate shock to the customers.

Looking at our cost of service analysis, then when we think about building our rate study, the manual of practice number 27, pictured here from the Water Environment Federation, gives us our overall methodologies and approaches that we use, and we can rest assured that that process is based on industry standard approaches for how to conduct a rate study.

Again, this becomes critically important within California, given the requirements of proposition 218, and the need to cost justify or create the cost basis for those rates that we're charging to customers.

Within the results of the cost of service study that we performed for the sewer utility for the city, we did not see any major differences between the customer classes of service, and they were within what we call a reasonable range of the total system, and so we are not proposing any inner class adjustments, meaning we're not proposing an adjustment greater or less for each customer class.

We're proposing an across the board adjustment.

That helps us then roll into our rate design analysis, and we are also maintaining the current structure with rates, so not only the level, but also the structure.

And so for the base charge, we are going to propose rates that are that 1% annual adjustment for each of the three fiscal years.

As Edric mentioned, we are also removing the volume adjustment factor that was to help us mitigate risks from drought level water usage.

And so that was at 10%.

And so the volume rates have been adjusted to incorporate that change as well as our 1% overall system adjustment.

There is also no change in how we are going to bill the customers that will continue to be collected through the property tax role.

So this slide shows what those proposed rates are.

There's the collection component as well as the treatment component, and then those have been combined down below to show that total rate for customers.

And this is the annual sewer rates that are charged.

So currently for low strength customers, which is the most common and prevalent, it is a $710.61 cents a year base charge.

That would go up to $717.72.

And then the flow charge would be adjusted again to incorporate the change to the adjustment factor being lowered from 10% to zero, as well as the overall revenue needs of utility.

And so that rate would go from $9.91 to $11 per HCF or 100 cubic feet of winter water usage.

When we look at a bill comparison, again, the low strength customer, this is our average customer, so to speak, and at that 8 HCF level, we see under the current approach, this is how that adjustment factor works, the 8 HCF becomes 8.8, and then that is billed at that volumetric rate, and we include the base charge to come up with 146.43 cents.

When we we remove that adjustment factor that at 8 HCF is billed straight across at 8 HTF against the 11 dollars per HCF charge, and that comes out to 147.81 cents or a $1.38 cent per month increase, which is approximately that 1% or here 0.9, reflecting that overall system increase of 1% that we showed before.

Now there's no apples to apples comparisons within utilities.

Everyone's at a different level of asset renewal and replacement, whether that's based on their own strategy or the life of their system.

However, it's always helpful to just take a peek at our neighbors and make sure we're not out of line.

When we look at the agencies listed here, you can see we have the proposed rates for 26, 27, and 28 fiscal years, and all of those are well within the range of other local utilities, and even still those proposed rates three years out are less than a number of local utilities.

And so with that, I'll conclude with just noting the process that we went through.

It's generally accepted and cost-based, proportional, and helping us develop those rates that are compliant and meet the um the law under Proposition 218, and we tried to incorporate fiscal planning, making sure that we're hitting those key metrics, and giving the customers the best level of service that we can while also prudently operating the sewer utility.

And again, that is a 1% per year for the next three fiscal years, and then removal of that uh winter water billing adjustment factor in the proposed rates.

And so with that, may I mayor take any questions and I'd be happy to move back to any other slides.

Alright, thank you very much for the presentation.

Uh council members, any questions at this time for staff?

No questions.

All right.

Um public comment on this item.

We do have one public speaker in house calling up Giuliano Carvini.

Thank you.

Just wanted to thank you all and staff for you know how you've approached this, how thoughtfully you've approached this.

I mean, you get a whole lot of uh feedback on contentious stuff, and folks don't even notice this.

This is the meat and potatoes of what uh happens to keep the city running, and uh it's just really appreciated.

You know, you and public works and everybody, it's uh you're very conscientious and so much appreciated.

Thank you.

That'll conclude the in-house and online speakers.

All right.

Um, do we need to talk about public two eighteen notice notice or anything?

Okay, so let's go ahead then and close the public hearing.

I'm sorry.

Number of protests received.

Oh, number of protest.

We had three protests received.

Okay, so we've received three protests and just a reminder that's well under the 50 uh plus one, right?

Um great.

All right, thank you.

Any other um uh deliberation or comments from uh council?

All right.

Uh then we do have a resolution.

Move approval.

Second.

We'll call for councilmender QA.

Aye.

Pang McGonares.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Jordan?

Yes.

Mayor Maids?

Yes, I motion passes four with one absent.

Great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much to staff and uh also to our HDR consultants.

All right, moving on to 10B, a public hearing.

Our annual report for uh collections of sewer service fees for fiscal year 2026-27.

Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the council.

My uh my name is Edwin Kwan.

I'm your public works director, and this is the first of three public hearings authorizing the collection of fees through the property tax roll.

This first public hearing is to consider protests for collecting sewer service fees on property tax roles to fund the operations and maintenance of the city's sewer collection system for fiscal year 26-27.

The proposed charges total 17,455, 763.72 cents.

According to the city clerk, there were no protests.

Staff recommends that the city council approve the annual report and direct the city clerk to submit the report to the county by August 10th for placement on the property tax rolls.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Uh council members, any questions?

All right, then we'll go ahead and open the public hearing.

Uh, do we have any comment on this item for the public hearing?

No, in-house or online speakers.

Okay, great.

Then we will go ahead and close the public hearing.

Uh any other deliberation from council members.

All right.

And we can go ahead and entertain a motion.

So moved.

Second.

Roll call, please.

Roll call for council member McCune.

Aye.

Pang McGinneris.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Jordan.

Yes.

Mayor May.

Aye.

I motion passes with a vote of four, and with that one absent.

Thank you.

And then 10 C annual report for California Collection.

Sorry, for collection of sewer treatment facility charges for FY2627.

Hello again.

This is the second of three public hearings authorizing collection of fees through the property tax roll.

The second public hearing is to consider protest for collecting sewer treatment facility fees on the property tax roll to fund the city of Belmont's share of the Silicon Valley Clean Water Sewer Treatment Plant and Conveyance System for fiscal year 2627.

The proposed charges total 3 million 246, 255 dollars and six cents.

According to the city clerk, there were no protests.

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the annual report and direct the city clerk to submit the report to the county by August 10 for placement on the property tax roll.

Thank you.

All right, thank you very much.

Unless there's any council questions or discussion, we can go ahead and open the public hearing.

Uh let's go ahead and open public hearing, please.

Any comments from the public?

No comments.

All right.

Then we'll go ahead and close the public hearing.

And unless there's any further deliberation for the council, we can entertain a motion.

So moved.

Roll.

Sorry.

Uh McCune seconded.

Roll call, please.

Council member McCune.

Aye.

Pang Menganares.

Hi.

Vice Mayor Jordan?

Yes.

Mayor May?

Yes.

Motion passes four votes with one absence.

All right.

And then 10 D, uh, annual report for collection of storm drainage fees for the fiscal year 2025-26.

Hello again.

This is the third of three public hearings uh authorizing the collection of fees through the property tax roll.

This third public hearing is to consider protests for collecting storm drainage fees on the property tax roll to fund the City of Belmont's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Stormwater Compliance Program for fiscal year 26-27.

The proposed charges total 424,402 dollars.

According to the city clerk, there were no protests.

Staff recommends that the city council approve the annual report and direct the city clerk to submit the report to the county by August 10th for placement on the property tax roll.

Thank you.

Alright, thank you.

Um council, any questions on this item?

Uh let's go ahead and open the public hearing, please.

Are there any public comments on this item?

No public comments.

All right, we will go ahead and close the public hearing and bring it back to council for deliberation.

And if there are none, then uh motion.

We can entertain a motion.

So moved.

Second.

Girl call for council member McCune.

Aye.

Pang Menganeris.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Jordan.

Yes.

Mayor May?

Yes.

Motion passes four votes with one absence.

Thank you very much.

Ten E is adopting a budget and related items for fiscal year 2026-27.

Our presenter tonight is our finance director, Grace Casaneda.

Uh council, well, she kind of gears up for this again.

I want to take a minute to thank the team for the work they put in.

Obviously, we made the budget introduction at the last meeting, but there's uh tremendous lot of work that went into it.

These are some challenging and interesting times that we've kind of had to navigate some of the state takeaways and work that's going on to um advocate for the rightful return of those funds back to the county.

In the meanwhile, we have to adopt a budget that's balanced.

Part of our effort was also again, I want to acknowledge uh Elizabeth and Grace for a series of uh budget uh bits and notes that we put up for to the community.

It was 10 uh budget series, uh daily uh work that was put in to really describe how we come about putting our budget together, what goes into it, what are the the levers that that we have in the way of uh providing I think as you kind of mentioned, excellent community services and touch points.

And so it was really I think uh helpful in trying to do it a little bit differently in in telling the story of how we go about trying to provide I think the the kind of services and aligning our uh work plan to your vision to the strategic plan that the city has adopted and what we've uh continuously do is invest in our uh team here, invest in our community and investing in our infrastructure.

And this budget represents I think a lot of those values that you've uh kind of led the charge on and on uh kind of even during the the tough times we've been able to navigate those and still continue providing I think uh a great level of service to the community with that said uh again my appreciation to the team uh without them this would be difficult to achieve and and to the city employees that really they in day out are the touch points with the community and they've been kind of a shining example of how you treat the community and and the great work that they do uh under kind of constrained resources and they do that I think with a lot of uh ingenuity and and good service that that we provide so with that uh Grace take it away all right uh thank you to City Manager Oskui he is being very humble those uh budget messages are of course a bulk of his efforts so thank you and thank you for the recognition uh okay the item before you is the fiscal year uh 26-27 budget adoption here are the topics we'll be going over tonight many of the slides uh you'll see are similar to what um you've also seen uh in the last meeting so I'll be brief going through uh those slides.

Okay so uh here's the budget process so far uh since our budget introduction last meeting the planning commission met on June 2nd uh and affirmed that the capital improvement plan is consistent with the general plan and um BVSP then the audit committee comprised of uh vice mayor uh uh Jordan and council member Penguinares met on June 5th uh reviewed the proposed budget and uh recommended its approval which brings us tonight uh to budget public hearing and adoption.

Okay so here again are the numbers uh total operating budget between the city and fire district is 82.9 million total capital improvement between the city and the fire district is 12 million uh for a total citywide budget of 94.9 million uh our number of uh head count uh is 143.75 FTEs uh the that reduction is uh taking away a vacant recreation specialist position and then using that funding to reclassify um our recreation coordinators to recreation coordinators too okay so drilling down to the general fund uh what you see there resources 35.3 million proposed that's lower than the requirements or expenditures at 36.1 million we did come up through um citywide department efforts uh one time savings of 0.3 million uh mostly driven by delaying some of uh vacant positions recruitments uh but there is still a gap of 0.5 million uh which then require us to draw on our general fund reserves to balance the budget and uh as a reminder um you see at the bottom two lines there we uh did experience a direct uh uh revenue loss of 0.6 million in our VLF backfill this year uh that the state didn't pay us back on uh next year our VLF uh backfill uh is 1.8 million we did not budget for that because um as you know the state has just uh uh not given us indication uh that uh so far that they would include that in their budget okay so then what is the impact of that uh as you know uh the state has continued to exclude funding of the outstanding obligations of VLF to us uh for the first time this year they only gave us back two thirds of what they owe that is resulting in what I was uh mentioning earlier that 0.6 million loss to us.

Next year we stand to lose 1.8 million.

So combining the two, that's 2.4 million uh putting that in context, that 2.4 million represents over half of our entire local one percent sales tax revenue uh so just want to put that into perspective um if the state uh uh stops those uh shortfall reimbursement or those back bill funding uh our general fund impact is over $30 million in the forecasted over the next 10 years.

So not a small slice.

Okay, you saw this last time.

This is a snapshot of our worst case scenario that the state does not fulfill its VLF funding obligations and doesn't fund for any VLF backfill.

This does give us a lens of to the work we need to continue to do, what we need to prioritize, having local control over local funding sources, right?

And that's what council has reaffirmed and supported over the years through the strategic planning sessions as an example.

Some examples with your support and further approval, we were able to, for example, modernize our business license tax structure so that it has become more equitable with larger businesses paying their fair share.

Couple years back, we did increase our TOT rate to be on par with neighboring jurisdictions a few years back before that.

We were able to dissolve our successor agency, which then really mitigated a reduction to our property tax.

And so all those are just examples of the efforts that council has prioritized and we have put in effort to get us to a to remain fiscally responsible.

And so all of these really point to our efforts to remain ahead and not fall behind, and that's what we will continue to do.

Those are like you know, just a few examples of the efforts we continue to do.

Okay, so moving on to the capital improvement plan.

Most of that budget is going towards sewer and storm projects and streets projects.

Now switching gears to Belmont Fire Protection District and its projected fund balance.

Okay, so now moving on to the proposed resolutions.

So this lists out the operating budgets and CIP between the city of Belmont and Belmont Fire Protection District and the FTEs for the city of Belmont.

Again, between the two, that's 82.9 million in operating budget and 12 million in CIP and 143.75 FTEs.

And then it grows each year by two adjustment factors that the jurisdiction can choose between.

So for Belmont, the two most favorable factors we use to calculate next fiscal year scan limit are the growth in California per capita income.

That those data uh by the way is given to us uh by from the Department of Finance, and that growth in California per capita income uh was 4.95%.

So that was more favorable, and we use that.

And then the second factor we used was population growth or population change actually within the county of San Mateo.

Um that change was a negative point oh three percent.

So we use that versus the population change within the city because the population change within the city um was um uh uh lower at negative 0.4%, meaning we had a reduction in our population.

Okay, uh another resolution is for the library CFD.

Uh just like in past years, there are no changes.

The tax remains the same as they have been in previous years, and this resolution uh will um authorize the collection of the tax on property tax rules.

Um an uh other resolution uh for your consideration tonight um is is to update the council uh tech reimbursement policy.

We have uh no to that in the staff report, included that as a um resolution in the packet as well.

The current policy was adopted over 10 years ago, and obviously since then technology usage has uh increased, and so the updated policy reflects a change from 499 to up to a thousand dollar reimbursement every two years that will align better with um uh council member terms.

Alright, so uh recommendations um again uh planning commission met on June 2nd, and then the audit committee met on June 5th and uh recommended its approval.

And so with that um our uh concluding um actions, um happy uh to take any questions um from the council over the public hearing.

Thank you very much, Director Casaneda.

Do we have any questions for staff?

Council okay.

We did see this last month and had some questions and appreciate you um bringing it back uh with the um with all of the uh slides.

Um let's go ahead and um we will uh open the Belmont Fire Production District meeting uh and move to consent.

Should we do roll call for that also?

Okay, so let's first um uh call do the roll call for the VFPD meeting, please.

We don't have to do that.

Um roll call for directors, McCune.

Excuse me.

Peg McGonares present vice chair Jordan here.

Chair means here absence today is letter melo.

All right, thank you.

Uh so then we'll move to item six on this agenda, which is the consent business, and we have three items.

Um if anyone has uh questions or comments on those or wishes to remove any for separate action.

Speaking of heads, all right.

Um should I call for public comment on this item?

P public comment on the uh consent business.

There are no in-house speakers or on Zoom.

All right, then let's have a motion if possible to approve the consent business.

Move approval.

Second.

Councilmember McCune.

All right.

Oh, directors, so there's no directors.

Okay.

Vice Chair Jordan, yes, Chairmates.

Yes.

Motion passes for with one absent.

Alright.

And then uh item seven is public hearings, adopt a budget and related items for fiscal year 2026, 27.

So it's it's the same presentation, so if there are no comments, then we can go ahead and move.

Would anyone like to hear Grace's presentation again?

Um, okay, then do we can we let's take public comment on uh on the presentation if there is any?

There's no public comments.

Okay.

And then no questions or deliberation from staff.

I mean from council.

Uh all right, then we can go ahead and uh close the wait.

So we should definitely we should go ahead and vote on this.

You want to close the the public hearing?

Let's close the cut public hearing on item seven and um entertain a motion.

So moved.

Second.

Roll call for director McCune.

Aye.

Peg Manganaires.

Hi.

Vice Chair Jordan.

Yes.

Your mates?

Yes.

Motion passes four with one absent.

Okay, thank you.

Uh so item eight, general business.

We have nothing on this item.

And item nine, matters of interest or clarification, nothing on this item either.

So we will go ahead and adjourn.

Um the did we cover item four?

No.

But it went one six seven eight nine ten.

Yeah, we should just ask for comments for the fire protection district not on the agenda.

Any okay, so item four, any um public comments on the Belmont Fire Protection District agenda that that is not items that are not on the agenda.

There are no in-house speakers or on Zoom.

All right, great.

Uh then we can move to item 10, which is to adjourn and return to the city council meeting to take action on the council budget item, which uh is 10E.

Um, so let's go ahead and see if there's any public comment on this item.

No in-house comments on Zoom.

No comments.

Okay, then we'll bring it back to the council for any further questions or comments or to entertain a motion.

So moved.

Second.

Real call, council member McHugh.

Aye.

Hang Manganaris.

Aye.

Vice Mayor Jordan.

Yes.

Mayor Mates?

Yes.

Motion passes four with one absent.

All right, thank you.

We have adopted our budget for 2026-27.

May I just make one comment?

Yes, please.

Vice Mayor.

I just wanted to um reiterate again and thank the staff and under Grace's leadership for all the hard work that went into putting this agenda uh putting the budget together, you know, having to really look deeply and understand that we're not getting some of the VLF backfill and uh tightening all of the budgets is is quite a task.

So I really appreciate it.

And I should have saved the letter, but a few months ago I went and spoke to Belmont Oaks Academy third grade class, and I brought the budget book just kind of as a show and tell.

And they sent me a bunch of thank you letters, and one of the students said his favorite part of my presentation was being able to look at the budget book.

So see.

So a little third grader really enjoyed it.

So I should have saved it so I could have given it to you, but uh so thank you very much for all the hard work that has puts into it and keeping our community great.

Thank you.

Yes, definitely.

I mean, really and if I can add on, really and truly uh Grace, you and your team, uh, along with our city manager, it's because of your efforts, it's because of your foresight, it's because of your careful planning that our city continues to be in the very strong financial place that it is.

And yes, of course, we are heading for some significant challenges because of the LFD funding, lack of funding.

Um but it could have been so much worse if the city as a whole, the finance department hadn't been as so thoughtful as it had been in the past.

So thank you to you, to the team, to all of you.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Moving on to item 11, general business.

We have nothing under this item.

So that takes us to item 12, brief verbal reports from members and staff.

Uh item 11 12a is the verbal report from council members on our IGRs and subcommittee assignments.

Um starting maybe with Vice Mayor.

Any updates?

Um, just a quick update.

It wasn't an IGR, but uh I I think Mayor Mates and I and Councilmember McCune attended the groundbreaking for the new academic wing for Charles Armstrong school.

So it was really nice to see it was very well attended by the community, and uh I think it's gonna be a great addition to that school and just the testimony that uh some of the people that were there and what an amazing uh school that is for the students that attend and but also Charles Armstrong has been incredible partners to the city, so I really want to thank them, and I I want to thank Carlos for all the work that you've done to get them to that point.

So thank you very much.

It was a really wonderful event.

Any other IGRs or subcommittee announcements.

Only that it's budget season for everybody.

So every of every one of the JPAs I'm on that's been budget time, and they all have good budgets.

So that's the only report.

Great, thank you.

I was gonna say the same that uh I attended the library uh budget.

We approved that budget for the library JPA, and also the San Mateo County Transportation Authority.

Um lots of budget talk this the past two months.

Item 12 B verbal reports from city manager.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, as we kind of indicated, our Belmont summer activities are here and uh the the kick out for the Park Boosters concert series, a great way to get involved, is really to provide some volunteer time with the group and and you'll get a lot out of it.

But if you're interested, please check on our website.

Uh the details are there.

Our summer camps have uh kicked off in strong ways, but we do have some uh camps and uh swimming uh classes, lessons uh still available for the later sessions.

So if you're interested and looking for things for the kick uh kids to do, definitely uh get online and and register before those spaces are taken.

There's uh additionally adult programs available as well.

Uh check the calendar on the on the park and rec website for uh a series of these events coming up in the next couple of months.

Also uh the movies in the park are back, and so uh Park and Records actually has a survey out there to line up uh by voting your favorite movies.

Get those out and get your favorite uh movies selected, and you'll you'll uh get to enjoy it in the park setting later later in the summer.

And a great one here is is our parks uh program has uh partnered with the Golden State uh Valkyries.

Uh, great uh uh event to be part of and see them succeed, and so they have arranged for a July 8th home game uh against Washington Mystics and and the discounted ticket prices or tickets are available and portion of those funds raised will help uh offset our Belmont Youth and Teen Scholarship Program.

So it's a great partnership with the Valkyries, and and that goes a long way toward helping our youth and the scholarship program that that helps uh kind of subsidize some of those uh costs.

And so uh check the website for a lot of this information and you can kind of really come to uh kind of see a lot of great things happening this summer.

With that said, I think the mayor, you also kind of mentioned some of the organizational changes that we announced last uh week and really in line with what the city does, which is uh kind of investing in our employees, succession planning and looking ahead for what the next uh three to five years has for us in a way of our work plan.

And I trust in the team that we have, and I think kind of putting the pieces together for us to really uh kind of hit the uh the ground running with the team that that's uh been uh put in place and the transitions are are happening as we get into the next uh budget year, but it puts us in a position to really advance some number of high uh kind of expectation initiatives into play, but also uh give uh an opportunity for our employees to kind of differ experience different uh experiences, and I think that's uh a great career development and and the succession planning for us and for the organization.

So we're gonna continue doing uh the type of things we do.

It's kind of a mix of internal and external candidates, putting the best people in in places to succeed for this for the city and moving us forward.

I think what what the exciting future that we have and the plans that that are in motion uh under your leadership.

So uh looking forward to to seeing how that all works out and and get get a lot of number of initiatives that you have to fruition here.

So wraps it up.

Great, thank you for that.

Item 13 matters of interest and clarification.

Uh we have nothing for that item.

So we will go ahead and move to adjournment until our next regular meeting on June 23rd.

We are adjourned.