The mayor, then we'll adjourn the special meeting and call to order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council for Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council members Kozlowski.

Here.

Larry, here.

Rafael?

Here.

Roarball?

Here.

And Aquino.

Here.

And you'd all please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Yes.

Under God.

Invisible with liberty and justice.

All right.

Uh, would you raise your hand, please if you have a vacant seat next to you?

We have a bunch of people in the back who may look at we got plenty of seating.

If you want to scoot in or come down to the front.

Uh, Mr.

Um City Attorney, any agenda upwards?

Good evening, Madame Mayor members of the city council.

We do have an additional information transmittal for item five on Tanas' agenda, a copyhouse being previously provided to you, and they are also available on the table in the back.

Thank you.

All right, this takes us to business from the floor.

This is the public's opportunity to address the council on items that are not on the agenda.

We're always happy to hear from you, but please understand that state law prohibits us from deliberating or taking action on items that are not on the agenda.

If you want to speak now or on a future agenda item, please fill out a blue card on the back table there, hand it to Officer McCullough here at the front, and the clerk will call you up at the appropriate time.

So I think we do have a couple requests to speak on business from the floor.

Yes, we have two um members from the public requesting to speak under this item tonight.

Um I'm gonna go ahead and call you up to the podium to go ahead and speak.

The first speaker is Teresa Garcia, followed by Molly Slovak.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I hope you all can hear me.

We can't.

Hold on just a second.

That's my point.

Very exactly.

I've been coming to city council meetings pretty regularly, and unfortunately, I can't hear much of what's being said because the city council members do not all speak clearly into their microphones when they're making comments or asking questions.

And I would just ask that uh you afford the audience an opportunity to hear everything you say and every question you ask by speaking into your microphone clearly.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for that reminder.

For some reason, we're getting a little feedback up here, so I apologize for that.

Okay, if I could go ahead and have Molly Slovak approach the podium.

Right there, but you can lift that microphone up, so yeah, there you go.

Thank you.

Uh good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

My name is Molly Slovak.

I'm flanked here by a few members of our planning committee.

Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Um, like I mentioned, my name's Molly.

Um, I'm a Folsom resident.

I've been here since uh 2008.

I have three kids, one at the high school, the middle school, and the elementary school level.

Um I'm also a former paratrooper, and uh our Folsom Church here.

I actually have uh a couple members of our Reflections MCC church here.

We usually do our worship band on Tuesday nights, but I convince them to show up here.

Um on Sunday, Saturday, uh October 11th, 2025, from 10 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

at Lyons Park, we're hosting the inaugural inaugural Folsom Family Pride event on National Coming Out Day, our city's first ever queer affirming LGBTQ Pride celebration.

It's free, family friendly friendly, and open to everyone, LGBTQ residents, allies, and neighbors who want to celebrate inclusion and support the very people who call Folsom home.

Full details and updates are at Folsom.

Folsom CA Pride.com.

Very briefly, what does the event why does this event matter to Folsom?

Uh first, belonging.

Uh Folsom Family Pride is a welcoming space where LGBTQ people and families as well as allies can gather safely and joyfully.

When people feel seen and supported, they participate more in civic life, volunteer more, and help build the resilient community we all want and deserve.

Second, safety and well-being.

Folsom Family Pride connects attendees to queer affirming nonprofit organizations, mental health resources, faith communities, youth programs, and local services.

For some, especially teens or people new to the region, one conversation at a resource table can make a major impact.

Third, local spirit and commerce.

Folsom Family Pride activates a city park, brings neighbors together, and invites visitors who dine in our restaurants and shop in our stores.

It showcases Folsom as a welcoming city and keeps goodwill as well as dollars close to home.

What to expect at this event?

Live music, arts and crafts, food vendors, and resource booths.

We've trained volunteer ambassadors in coordination with partners to keep the day safe and family friendly.

The goal is simple a joyful, a joyful pride-centered celebration where LGBTQ residents and allies feel at home.

Tonight I have two simple asks.

Number one, help amplify the event.

Please share Folsom Family Pride, October 11th, Lions Park, 10 to 2.

Cal Folsom CA Pride.com on City Channels where appropriate, and encouraging community partners to spread the word.

And number two would be join us.

We'd be honored to welcome meet you, your families and city staff.

Come meet the local organizations serving our LGBTQ neighbors year-round and say hello to the volunteers making this inaugural Pride event possible.

That includes our LEO members in the community who are also in the audience.

Thank you for your time and your leadership.

Again, details are at Folsom CA Pride.com.

Thanks so much.

Yes, I'll let you go.

Real quick.

Okay.

Real quick.

I just want to let you know.

Hi, my name is Jenny, and uh I am a mother and a Folsom resident uh 20 years, and I have a daughter in the LGBTQ community, and I did not make her that way, but I love her.

I support her.

I am so glad that we are having this event and that I am here to uh be on this committee because we really need this for our kids and for everyone else in the community.

It's a very important.

I hope that you come out and support us.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming out tonight.

Thank you.

Definitely is business wonderful.

Um is there a Brett Hofstad?

In the audience, you could go ahead and approach the podium.

Good evening, Brett.

Hi there, council, everyone.

Thanks for letting me speak.

I just want to make sure everybody here is aware about the NASA Space Apps Challenge coming up October 4th and 5th.

It's an international hackathon that happens on the weekend in cities across the world.

Here for Sacramento Region, we're happy to have it happening at Folsom Lake College this year.

It's a free event open to everybody of all ages.

And uh people that go to it this year will get a tour of the new STEM building at Folsom Lake College as part of the experience.

We also plan to have some robots there, some other fun surprises.

We have great sponsors from across the community.

Two of the prizes we'll be raffling off are tours of two local aerospace companies.

So if you know anyone, doesn't matter their age, teens, up through adults who love to innovate and work with NASA open source data to create new solutions in a team environment.

You don't have to know what you're gonna do before you show up, just show up there.

We form teams there, have two days of innovation and creativity, and then on Sunday afternoon, everybody, every team gives a presentation to a panel of judges who evaluates them, and we have prizes for the winners and lots of fun.

So spread the word, tell your kids, your families, can be adults too, and uh look forward to having a great turnout this year.

We already have almost a hundred people registered.

So great.

Thanks for the information.

Any other requests for business on the floor?

Don't do not have any other requests to speak under this item.

All right, call the first item, please.

Okay, the first item under schedule presentations is a resolution accommodation honoring fire chief Ken Crusano for his outstanding service to the city of Folsom.

All right, I feel like we've come full circle.

I was the mayor when you were made chief, and I am the mayor when you are retiring.

So this is a resolution of commendation honoring Fire Chief Ken Cassano for his outstanding service to the city of Folsom.

Whereas Fire Chief Ken Cassano is retiring after an esteemed career in the fire service spanning over 30 years, including 28 years of dedicated service with the Folsom Fire Department.

And whereas Chief Cassano has honorably served as Folsom's Fire Chief since October 2020, leading a team of 90 employees with professionalism, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to public safety.

And whereas Chief Cassano utilized his experience in construction management to serve as the project manager for the construction of fire stations 39 and 34, as well as the remodel of Fire Station 38.

And whereas he championed the partnership with the Folsom Police Department developing programs such as the Tactical Emergency Medical Service Unit and the Folsom Fire Investigation Unit.

And whereas Chief Cassano represented the City of Folsom on the California and Sacramento County Fire Chiefs Associations, the Sacramento Regional Training Chiefs, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Committee, the Fire Safe Council, and the Sacramento Regional Arson Task Force, helping foster positive community relations and support.

And whereas Chief Cassano began his career with Folsom in 1998, holding various roles, including Arson Investigator, Personal Protective Equipment Program Manager, and Paramedictor Preceptor, and rose through the ranks as a firefighter paramedic, engineer, captain, and division chief.

And whereas Chief Cassano's career has been marked by a deep commitment to public service, strong community partnerships, and an unwavering dedication to keeping Folsom a safe place to live, work, and visit.

Now, therefore, I, Sarah Aquino, mayor of the city of Folsom, on behalf of the Folsom City Council and the residents of this community, hereby extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Fire Chief Ken Cassano for his exemplary service, leadership, and contributions to the Folsom community, and wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.

Commended this 23rd day of September 2025.

Wow.

All these people come out here just for me.

Thank you.

Now, first I I would like to just say thank you to this council and city manager.

It truly is an honor, and I was blessed to be able to serve our community as one of the public safety partners.

I mean the other public safety group.

Nobody cares about them.

So just had to get that out there.

And being sworn in as a brand new firefighter.

I know Bob Holderness was up at the council at that point.

And like I said, I I've had an amazing career.

Some are even here tonight.

And I just want to say thank you for your support.

My son is in the background.

He was five or six years old when I actually was hired here.

And thank you for your support.

I'll be brief, that's it.

So I just want to say thank you very much.

Thank you to our EMT team.

It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with all of you.

Thank you very much.

Oh.

I can't I can't, I can't forget the most important team, and that's the actual members of our department.

And especially our uh my administrative staff, um, it's it's been amazing and fun to come to work uh for the last five years as as the fire chief, especially with you there every day.

So I appreciate it, and thank you very much.

And I will definitely miss uh being a part of this department, but I will always be a part of Folsom.

So thank you.

Okay, the second item under um schedule presentations this evening is a proclamation of the mayor of the city of Folsom celebrating the 25th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Pieve Del Grappa, Italy.

And I'm gonna have Gina Haskell and Jim Hartley from the Muir House come on now.

All right, this is a proclamation of the mayor of the city of Folsom celebrating the 25th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Piabo Del Grappa, Italy, whereas the city of Folsom has proudly shared a sister city relationship with Pieba Del Grappa Italy, originally established with Crespano Del Grappa in the year 2000 for 25 years, fostering international friendship, mutual respect, and cultural exchange, and whereas this enduring bond honors Folsom's rich Italian heritage, exemplified by the life and legacy of Giuseppe Joe Muir, a native of Crispano Del Grappa, who immigrated to Folsom in the early 20th century and became a prominent businessman, builder, and civic leader.

And whereas Joe Muir's contributions to our city are commemorated through the historic Muir House and Gardens, a beloved cultural landmark that stands today as a testament to the deep ties between Folsom and his Italian homeland.

And whereas the sister city relationship was formally strengthened in August of 1999 when the mayor and delegation from Crispano Del Grappa visited Folsom, leading to an official partnership rooted in friendship and shared values, and whereas in 2019, Crispano Del Grappa and Paderno Del Grappa merged to form the municipality of Pieva del Grappa, continuing the spirit of cooperation and unity that underpins our international connection.

And whereas this partnership is part of the broader Sister Cities International Program, founded in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower to build peace and understanding through citizen diplomacy and global collaboration.

And whereas the 25th anniversary of this special relationship is an opportunity for all Folsom residents to reflect on our shared history, celebrate our Italian roots, and participate in a variety of community events that highlight the culture, traditions, and friendship between our two cities.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Sarah Aquino, mayor of the city of Folsom, on behalf of the city council and the residents of Folsom, do hereby proclaim 2025 is a time of celebration of the friendship with Pieva del Grappa and encourage all residents to join in commemorating the 25th anniversary of our sister city partnership through celebration, education, and cultural appreciation.

Proclaim this 23rd day of September 2025.

Oh my, that was a real.

So last weekend we had an expanded farmers market.

Many thanks to the Muir House folks, uh Folsom Historic District Association and our city staff for putting that together.

Um, our library teen council under the supervision of Amanda with our library staff has put together what we're calling a culture capsule, and we are gonna send this over to the mayor of Pieba Del Grappa.

I'm gonna add some um Snooks peanut brittle to it, and then I'm it will be complete.

Um, but I just want to show you a little bit about what's in here.

Stress ball from the police department, um, lots of Vista del Lago and Folsom High School Spirit Wear.

Um, some postcards and uh, oh, look, we got fire department badges, police department badges.

We have Folsom Um postcards.

They also made some bookmarks with some flora and fauna from our region.

Uh City of Folsom coffee mugs.

Somebody crocheted a bumblebee, anyway.

Lots of fun staff in here that we're gonna be sending over there.

We also have um elementary school age children in Folsom who are gonna be writing letters to students in Piaba del Grappa.

So um we just want to continue to honor this this great international friendship that we have.

So uh thank you to the library team council for putting this together into Amanda.

Now you have to repack the boxes next to them.

All right, next item this evening was the consent calendar.

You do not have any requests to pull anything on the consent calendar.

All right.

Uh we don't have any requests to speak, and nobody wants to pull an item.

So I will entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar.

We move to approve the consent calendar.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Please call the roll.

Okay, council members Kozowski.

Yes.

Leary.

Yes.

Rafel.

Yes.

Anna Kino.

Yes.

Uh next item, please.

Okay.

The next item this evening is public hearing item number four, veranda at Folsom Heights project.

Resolution number one one four six one, a resolution of the city council determining that the veranda at Folsom Heights project is exempt from CEQA, and approving a small lot vesting tentative subdivision map, planned development permit, and design review.

Good evening, Jessica.

Good evening, Marikino.

Uh, city council members, Jessica Brandt with community development.

I'll be presenting the veranda at Folsom Heights project to you tonight.

The proposed project is a request for approval of a small lot vesting tentative subdivision map, a planned development permit, and design review for a 14.9-acre site located in the Folsom Plan area.

So the project site is located on the east side of Empire Ranch Road or future part of Empire Ranch Road and is uh surrounded by the Folsom Heights subdivision to the northeast and south with the Russell Ranch subdivision to the west.

It is designated multifamily low density and specific plan, and it is this little guy all the way over here.

So kind of infill almost.

So, as I mentioned, the project is surrounded by the Folsom Heights subdivision.

Um that's because it was actually part of the Folsom Heights subdivision approval.

The city council approved the Folsom Heights project, which consisted of both residential and commercial development on 189 acres in the northeast corner of the Folsom Plan area in 2017.

The Folsom Heights project includes residential units at varying densities, including an allocation of high density residential units on two of the lots, which are have the stars up there.

These are the lots that are subject, um, the are the subject of this subsequent mapping and project review.

Improvements to the backbone infrastructure for the Folsom Heights project overall, um like roadways, stormwater basins, and utilities are already in progress.

So this is the proposed project.

Um this is uh basically north is facing to the right.

Um it's kind of a long narrow project site, so it's turned here, but it is a for sale detached townhome project of 125 small lots with common private drives, open spaces, guest parking areas on two large lots that total 14.9 acres.

Um they are calling it veranda at Folsom Heights.

Access to the northern and southern halves of the site, um, primary access is from a traffic circle on Summit Street, which is uh kind of cut down the middle of the project site, and then there will be secondary access points from Iron Horse Drive, which comes around the east uh portion, so there'll be two sites here and there.

They are all going to be gated access points.

Because this is a vesting map request, the applicant has included preliminary grading, drainage, and utility plans, which have been reviewed by our city engineer.

So the plan development component of this request, the residential units are proposed to be in cluster formations, fronting onto pedestrian paseos with alley-loaded garages.

To support this development, the applicant is requesting several deviations from applicable development standards through the plan development permit.

And of note are requests for a reduction in minimum lot sizes, building coverage, and setbacks.

I do also want to note that the applicant is not requesting deviations from parking standards or lot widths.

The design review component of the project.

So the project is subject to the Folsom Heights design guidelines, which were approved with the overall subdivision project.

The applicant proposes four residential master plans with three different architectural styles or elevations.

These are Spanish, California Cottage, and Early California.

Nine color schemes are proposed, which are three for each architectural style.

On the slide is just some samples of the render and then the color and material samples for the Spanish style.

All the units would be two stories, have three to five bedrooms, and include two car garages.

Floor plans will range from 1400 to about 2,000 square feet of living space, and they would also have outdoor patios and covered porches.

Further on the design review, the proposed project will install landscaping bordering the site and then also interior.

The applicant proposes street trees at regular intervals along the two main private streets to provide parking area shading and to create a boulevard environment.

The applicant has provided concepts for fencing and gates, which you can see on the slide, and residential back patio fencing as well.

And then the project will include shared outdoor spaces in the form of paseos and pocket parks.

Again, an example on the slide.

So staff analysis, the applicant proposes the small lot detached residential product, which is about 8.4 units an acre.

This is consistent with the site's general plan and specific plan land use designations.

In addition, the project provides community focal points and a lower cost option for homeownership than standard single family residential, which supports the Folsom Plan Area specific plan goals.

The proposed map, if approved concurrently with the plan development permit request and as conditioned, would comply with all city requirements as well as with the requirements of the subdivision map act.

Staff believes that the alternative site design requested under the plan development permit provides a well-designed community within its own boundaries, and it has adequate access, service, and open space to serve its residents.

And then finally, staff can confirm that the proposed site and architectural designs comply with the Folsom Heights design guidelines.

And I will note as well that the veranda at Folsom Heights project qualifies for special situation exemption, which is CEQA guidelines section 15182, projects pursuant to a specific plan.

So after this analysis, staff is recommending approval of the project, and you have the language that we're recommending related to that approval on the screen.

That is the end of my presentation.

Price Walker with Elliott Homes is here as well.

If you have any questions for the applicant, thank you.

Thank you, Jessica.

Any questions for Jessica or the applicant?

Councilmember Kozlowski?

I just have one.

Because of the type of deviations from the regular standards.

Does this mean that there's additional units available here.

And is that going to relieve density somewhere else?

Or is it just going to overall add some density down in the plant area?

I think it uh so they're within the expected density range.

So it doesn't change the overall density for the specific plant area.

Um, but it the I think the development standards allow them to um do this single family kind of small lot product um where they may not be able to to meet that sort of density.

So it's uh they're kind of trading off some uh reductions in the size of the lots for larger shared open spaces and uh but allowing for a for sale product.

So it's not necessarily making more units on that piece of property than would have other been otherwise been planned for.

Okay, that's it.

Thank you.

Is my Rethel any questions this way?

Councilmember Robot?

Councilmember Leary.

I have a couple questions.

Okay, and they come up um because of my experience on the planning commission before, but um I just what was wondering if there was a view of what these paseos were like.

You know, you you mentioned that um the they had side porches or small uh are small covered porches or do those face the paseo, or do those face the side, you know, with the access to the garages?

It it varies um depending on the floor plan.

So some of them do um so with this slide here, you can see for this um this one at the end here, that would be a covered porch.

There's also this little porch here, um, but this one would be towards the alleyway, but then for these folks, they're actually kind of on their side here, and then that gives them more of uh kind of into that paseo.

Um, and then they have a larger um sort of porch area here.

So it really depends.

Yeah, I think it's a great product for people that want a smaller home.

Um, and I visited some of these sites in other parts of our region.

Uh and one of the things I like about the Paseos is that they've kind of offered some uh interaction between the neighbors uh it, you know, if there's shared spaces out front.

Um but I I like the product and uh thanks for the presentation.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh this is a public hearing, so I'm going to open the public hearing.

We oh, Chris, did you want to speak?

I think okay.

Come on up.

Do you want to move it up to you?

I was asked to be very brief.

Um, got a few things going on tonight.

Mayor, council members, um, Price Walker with Elliot Holmes.

It we're we're very proud of this product.

We built it actually at Gulf Lynx and Natoma.

Pretty much the exact same design.

The uh the question on the paseo is a good one.

That's the front door for most of these, so you do get some interaction along the paseo, front door to front door, and it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.

So the private patio kind of fits differently throughout the site, but uh it's something we're we've had a lot of success with and we're proud of it and uh why don't you drew ask you to approve it tonight?

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, I'm gonna open the public hearing.

We do have one request to speak.

Okay, and the request to speak under this item is Alana Wagner.

If you could want to go ahead and approach the podium, good evening, Elena.

Good evening.

Um, this comment is not necessarily specific to this project, but it's applicable to this project.

Um, really, all of these small lot subdivisions um with the exceptionally small lots and getting smaller, it often seems um, in my opinion, do not allow for compliance with city expectations and municipal codes regarding trees in the front yard of each home, because even if they are planted, the space that's allocated is often not sufficient for um the ultimate size and growth patterns of those trees, and that's inevitably going to lead to what I have seen very frequently in Folsom Ranch, which is constant code violations of tree removal within the particular setback distance of city rights of ways without permits, and I just like just to be mindful of that that the urban canopy is extremely important to temperatures, to quality of life, to the beauty of the area, and I think we should be really thinking a little bit more about that because I've seen a lot of unpleasant situations in my neighborhood and others because we're not being mindful um of the growth patterns of those trees.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Alright, any other questions?

If not, I will uh entertain a motion.

Uh, move resolution number one one four six one.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Please call the roll.

Okay, council members Kazowski.

Yes.

Larry.

Yes.

Rafael?

Yes.

Yes.

Anna Keeno.

Yes.

And Madam Mayor, I'm just going to clarify the public.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Public hearing is closed.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay.

The next item under this evening's agenda is your new business item, item number five, resolution number one one four six three, a resolution approving general fund cost saving measures for fiscal year 2025-26 and beyond.

All right.

Um we've gotten to the main event.

Uh I think for some of you, this may be your first time coming to a city council meeting.

So I just want to make sure you understand how this process works.

Um, city manager is going to make a presentation.

Uh, then there will be an opportunity for the council to ask questions.

Um, and then we will um give the public an opportunity to comment.

So if you think you're gonna want to talk on this item, we ask you to fill out the blue speaker card.

Um, give it to Officer McCullough.

We already have several up here.

Each member of the public will get three minutes, and we do have many people who want to speak.

So we ask you to respect that time limit.

Um, if you have a question that was not asked by the council, you can go ahead and mention that during your comments.

I will take some notes and then um once we get through all the public comment, we'll ask the city manager to address any lingering questions.

So uh with that, Mr.

City Manager.

I agree.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh members of the council.

The item before us is to review some general fund cost saving measures for fiscal year 2025-2026.

And uh I thought it would be appropriate to kind of talk a little bit about the process that has taken us to the point where we're at now.

So back in May, uh we held a city council budget workshop at the Folsom Library.

The meeting was open to the public and well attended.

Uh on June 10th, the city council received a budget presentation held um uh uh held a public hearing and continued the public hearing to the June 24th meeting.

Uh we also had public feedback and in conversations with the council at that time on uh June 24th.

On June 24th, the city council held a budget public hearing, received public input and approved the fiscal year 2025-2026 preliminary budget that included uh the use of just over three million dollars of the general fund reserves.

And uh we had indicated at that time that the um the various departments and city staff would look at ways to try to close that budget gap.

And so basically that's where we're at today.

Uh, really appreciate the efforts of all our team that have looked at a variety of options.

Uh and I just want to say that this is uh not a fun time.

Uh this is not a place that we'd like to be at.

Uh, this is not a place that we want to be at, but it's a place where, as we've looked at our current circumstances and uh trying to take into account where do we want to be, not just next year, but in the years to come, uh, that we need to do something different so that we can close the budget gap so that we can live within our means so it gives us the chance to be successful into the future.

So today we're going over phase one of our cost saving measures on October 14th.

Uh, we'll be talking more uh about those cost saving measures.

Uh and I'll kind of go into the details of the different plans.

But before that, I think it's important also to kind of look at the general uh fund revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2425 that just concluded.

And so uh I put this image together just mainly to test your vision, uh, but I'll zoom in a little bit.

Uh so this is kind of the general fund reserves uh or the uh the revenues, and so you can kind of look back going back to 2019, uh 20, and you'll see actual, actual, actual, actual, and then uh for 24 25, you see the actuals as of 9 9 2025.

So there's still some journal entries and other things that are happening to close out the budget year, but I would like to highlight that column uh which has the uh the the actuals as of nine nine uh with the column 2024 25 quarter two amended budget.

And so there's some changes that have occurred and and I think that's important to note so we know the amended budget had uh estimate of 111 million dollars in in revenues and the actuals that we're showing is 116 uh million and um from our expenditures this is just some more of a highlight that show uh you know all the different categories from the city council to our police uh but I wanted to get down to the bottom line so those same columns the 2024-25 actuals as of 9-9, 2025, and then the amended budget of uh 2024 25 quarter two, you'll see the net of uh 5,484,000 in that column, and then some changes with the different uh revenue increases and expenditure adjustments and then transfers in transfers out.

We're now estimating uh the the situation to improve slightly uh with the uh four million seven uh seven uh seventy nine thousand six hundred and eighty-two dollars.

And so one of the things that kind of makes this uh convoluted and confusing is carryover funds or expenditures that were approved in a previous year that didn't occur until the current year.

So this slide hopefully kind of highlights that.

So when you look at our revenue uh including transfers in, it's 12,409,000.

When you look at our expenditures, including transfers out, it's 124,499,000.

And then there's a projected change in restricted fund balance or assigned for approved purchases of 4 million.

So when we translate that, it actually means that uh the city's general fund budget finished to the good of about 102,000.

So you can see at the bottom we had the unassigned fund balance from 2021 at 19 million, and it's grown to 24 million in 2023, 24, and then just grows slightly to 25 uh million for the end of 24, 25.

And so one of the things that you can say is well, is there really a budget problem if we see our revenue increasing?

Well, um the expenditures.

So when we look at a percentage basis of what the revenue or what the uh general fund uh reserve looks at, the expenditures for 2021 were lower than the expenditures for 24-25.

So our actual percent reserve is lower today than it was in 2021 when you had 19 million.

Why is that is because our expenditures, whether it's uh inflationary or whether it's uh you know, labor costs, just the cost of doing business, not just for cities, but for everyone, has gone up.

And so we basically see a diminishing value of our reserve even though it's higher.

Uh this is you know, uh balancing the budget.

This is kind of the highlight where we were on June 24, 2025, presenting the current year budget.

And so this shows a use of the proposed um of unassigned fund balance of three million thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and two dollars.

So I'm gonna highlight a little bit about our discussion today, and then what our discussion for October 14 will be uh like, and then we'll kind of get into those details.

So for tonight, we're looking at uh discussing the reductions in full-time equivalent positions.

Uh that includes our finance IT department, which includes layoffs, uh, city attorney, uh attorney's office, which includes a layoff, uh library um position, uh, and fire department positions, police department positions, uh, the positions affected here are unfilled, whereas the previous two uh departments actually have uh individuals that uh if this proposal goes forward will uh have their jobs eliminated.

Uh, we'll also talk about our fire apparatus plan.

Sometimes we pause for effect.

Okay.

Um so uh we have number three brief introduction of our community development, public works, uh, environmental water resources, and our park and recreation reorganization, and uh Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary discussion.

I don't think anyone's here for that, so we'll probably just spend a couple minutes.

So phase two, which will take place on October 14th, we'll go into greater detail.

So we'll introduce kind of our reorganization plan at kind of a macro level, and we'll go into the details on the uh 14th.

And so we will at that time uh go over the cost saving measures for parks and recreation, community development, uh public works, and I think this is an important note.

Our goal, we're having our heavy conversation today related to the elimination of positions.

But if the proposal is accepted by the council uh tonight, uh it's our expectation that no further full-time employee layoffs are anticipated.

So our current process, I think, especially in our circumstances, it's important for us uh to be vigilant uh as it relates to our expenditures and our revenues.

And so in either February or March, the city council will conduct an additional mid-year budget review to kind of see where we're going, even if these changes are uh approved.

Uh budget adjustments needed for that current for our current year will be considered by the city council at that time.

You know, really, I mean, as we go forward with this, we have options to live within our means.

We can find new resources or we can keep things as they are.

Um we will continue to look for additional revenue streams, uh, but as we do that, that takes time.

So our goal is to develop a plan that lives within our means and develop a budget with expenditures below our revenues.

And this is once again an eye test, but this is the cost-saving measures related to positions that gives the summary of all those that that are being proposed this evening.

Uh as we zoom into excuse me, as we zoom into those, uh in our finance IT department, we're recommending an elimination of a GIS uh specialist, GIS technician, IT manager, uh process improvement specialist, and all those positions are currently filled.

Uh, we also have the elimination of a legal secretary position in the city attorney's office, and that's also filled.

Uh in the library, we have a reduction in full-time equivalence of from 12 to 11, uh, but essentially uh it's an unfilled position.

We have a reorganization where we're reclassifying a position and we'll leave a library assistant uh vacant.

Uh moving on to the fire department.

Uh there are uh seven positions affected in this.

Uh they are also vacant.

We have a uh administrative technician, uh, a senior equipment mechanic, which uh of note this has been a challenge for us to fill, and so uh we're utilizing contract options for that, and so we'll continue with that, but we're recommending that we uh eliminate that position, and then also five vacant uh firefighter positions.

Uh the police department uh also has uh seven positions affected.

Uh a police lieutenant, uh we have a retirement uh coming up, and so we'll leave that position vacant.

Uh a police officer, we have four positions, and then uh uh the community service officers, we have two positions.

So just to spend a couple minutes on the on this related to the firefighter positions.

If you look at the approved uh FTE total of 119.5, in the original packet, it showed 116.5, because when the council approved the uh budget, it approved an allocation of police officers where three of those were unfunded.

And so, in order to be consistent, uh we've added back the unfunded positions because we have a unique situation.

Well, it's not unique, this is a pretty typical situation with police departments now, is we have some that are retiring, individuals that are retiring, and then we have that constant job of trying to recruit and fill those spots as they come available.

So uh having three unfunded vacancies allows us to continue the recruitment process to get that pipeline of qualified individuals ready so that when those retirements occur, they can just move right in.

So that gives us additional flexibility.

So the recommendation is for the elimination of four funded positions, but not the three uh unfunded positions.

And I'd be happy to answer more questions as we move forward on that.

Um as we um look at uh the total uh adjustments related to the general funds uh FTEs, it's uh a reduction of 20 uh positions.

Uh five of those are filled.

And so uh one of the things that's uh we need to talk about today is the changes for our our fire apparatus and the uh the browning out of a fire engine.

And so with that in mind, I've asked uh our fire chief uh Ken Cusano to come kind of talk a little bit about where our apparatus will uh be located with uh the browning out of the fire engine.

Thank you, city manager uh Ken Cassano, your fire chief.

Uh council members, the the apparatus uh movement plan is really just that.

We are we are going to be browning out one of our engine companies, one of the five engine company companies that we have in the city.

Uh we developed a map just just so that you can see where stations are located, and then on the right hand side is what will be at those stations.

Uh what we're going to do is uh move our tiller truck 35, which is at station 35 right now.

We are going to be moving that to station 34.

Uh, that will become tiller truck 34.

The engine that is currently out there at 34 now will just be uh eliminated from our staffing, and at that engine will become one of our reserve engines.

Uh the engine that is at station 38.

Uh, we are going to move to station 35 and it will become engine 35.

Uh the other move that are going to take place is our medic units.

Uh, currently we are running 10 two medic units right now, uh, Medic 35 and Medic 37.

We have seven individuals that are going through their FTO period right now.

Uh, once those individuals are cleared and able to work on their own, we're gonna bring back uh Medic 36, which will be out at station 36, and at that time we'll move uh Medic 35 will go to station 38 and become Medic 38.

And that's the extent of of our movement.

Great, thank you, Chief.

And and just from the standpoint, uh, because we have those field uh training still going on that we had originally intended to make this uh if approved by the council effective October 1st, but we won't have everyone uh necessarily trained and up and running to run on their own shifts.

So we're postponing that I think till later in October so that we don't see any time period where there will be uh a fire station that doesn't have staff.

So we're waiting you know a few more weeks to do that.

So we were targeting October 1st, but we just want to let everyone know that if this fire apparatus, you know, kind of reassignment plan and the browning out of the fire engine is approved, that it'll take a few weeks longer for us to implement that uh just because we wanted to make sure that uh all fire stations had staff and that there wasn't a period where they were vacant.

Okay.

Uh so moving on uh related to our IT services plan.

There were four IT positions that are proposed to be eliminated.

Uh that does not mean that we don't have a significant need for IT services.

In fact, our goal is to continue to utilize uh uh information technology to enhance our ability to communicate with the public, and so we actually want to improve and get better in that in that realm.

So if this is approved, um we uh have been in contact with uh IT management firm, a firm that I've used before that is uh highly experienced in the municipal sector, and this would be kind of a temporary arrangement.

I'm uh suggesting initial six-month period so they can go through an IT audit uh and provide temporary IT management to help oversee our in-house staff and to help um provide service with our internal customers as well.

And then at that point, we would go out for an RFP for ongoing IT management services.

And uh the the next couple slides, I'm gonna turn the the time over to our community development director, Pam Johns, uh, to kind of go over our existing uh arrangement with our community development uh uh department, our parks and recreation department, public works department, and environmental water resources department.

A big thanks to Rebecca Neves, uh Marcus Yasutaki, and Kelly Gonzalez and Pam for kind of being the spearhead uh of this effort.

I have been extremely impressed with their professionalism and and willingness to collaborate and work together to try to come up with with the best way to provide these essential services.

So, Pam.

Mayor, members of City Council, Pam Johns, Community Development Director.

This slide in front of you shows the existing organization of the four departments that Brian just mentioned are part of the phase two cost savings discussion coming back to you October 14th with the mandate to look at uh you know efficiencies with the general fund budget and how we're delivering services, what we're focusing on in our core competencies.

The four department directors got together on multiple occasions, rolled up our sleeves and talked about where there's overlap and opportunity to figure out how to deliver our services better, where we might need to consider reduction or elimination of services, and where we can do a better job collaborating or kind of repurposing our services under the four umbrellas of our departments.

And so we looked at we talked with other agencies, we looked at, you know, kind of pulled up every rock and looked at at what funding sources are available to use other qualifying funding sources for expenditures, not just of you know, staffing, but in terms of of the additional services that we provide, and we're going to present that information to you on October 14th.

But where we landed is here in a proposal that's supported by the city manager in reorganizing our services, and I'm just going to highlight a few things, but we feel really good about the direction that this reorganization is heading.

And so EWR would be expanded to a broader utilities department to include other enterprise-funded utility services, most of which are organized through the corp yard location with solid waste and recycling, moving from public works over to EWR as well as fleet services to complement the water and wastewater services operation maintenance and infrastructure of capital projects that Marcus is currently overseeing.

Public works will focus on the delivery of capital projects by formally organizing a capital projects team, transportation planning and traffic engineering, public property improvement and acceptance as well as stormwater management.

Improved collaboration between public works and community development in defining who does kind of development activity on private property versus public property and making sure that there's efficiencies that are recognized between those two departments.

So there's going to be a reorganization of those engineering services and community development.

In Parks and Rec, we'll continue to oversee planning improvement and maintenance of public of parks, open space, trails, municipal landscape with a focus on efficient planning and delivery of those capital projects in partnership with the best practices established through the public works department.

And then the department will consider improved cost recovery for recreation facilities and programs as well as strengthening strategic community partnerships, and you're going to hear a little bit about that this evening.

As I mentioned, community development will refocus our efforts on the planning services for development activity and community building, maximizing our efficiencies and cost recovery for building services that include code enforcement, and then focus on that development engineering for private property.

So we've um we've all talked about additional ways to update fees and we'll be bringing forward qualifying uh use of special revenue and other funds for both staffing and services at the October 14th meeting, but we wanted to present kind of an overview that's driving that discussion that'll come back to you on the 14th.

Great.

Thank you, Pam.

And just to highlight what you can expect to see at the meeting, is we'll have the the org charts that are associated with the the departments, but we will also show the impacts to the general fund.

So for example, as I mentioned, we don't anticipate any additional uh position reductions that are filled, but we may, as some of the realignment, have positions that are unfilled that won't be uh needed anymore because we're we're doing things differently.

Uh so what you will see also is if you were to imagine a department, let's just say it's a uh a department that has an impact on the general fund of 30 positions uh by utilizing some of our special revenue funds, or uh you know, just uh as a case in point, we have a housing manager who um all they work on is housing projects.

Uh we have uh a housing fund, they will now be charged to the housing fund.

And so what that does is it reduces the amount of full-time equivalents tied to the general fund and therefore saves the general fund money, even though we're still paying for the service, it's being paid from somewhere else.

Another example is uh Prospector Park is currently being charged to the general fund, the maintenance there, but it's an eligible expense in CFD 18, which has uh sufficient funds to pay for that at this time.

So those are some of the changes that you can see, and as we do those sorts of things, it reduces the expenditures that are tied to the general fund, which will enable us to have a better picture of where we stand financially.

So moving on to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary, I thought it'd be appropriate just to kind of um there's plenty of folks here that know the history better than I, so I apologize if uh uh I don't get this perfect, but uh the zoo began informally in 1963.

Over the years, the facility has evolved from a traditional zoo to a sanctuary model.

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary houses injured orphan or confiscated animals, and unlike commercial zoos, the sanctuary doesn't trade animals or breed for display.

It serves as an educational resource teaching visitors about wildlife conservation, responsible pet ownership, and the stories of the animals uh in their care.

The zoo sanctuary is uh run by the city of Folsom and supported by a strong network of volunteers and donors, including the Friends of Folsom Zoo Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization.

Although the sanctuary is very popular with over a thousand a hundred thousand visitors each year, it is heavily subsidized by the city's general fund.

Uh, the chart in front of you.

Uh I want to clarify in the packet that was sent out, um, I appreciate uh Kelly Gonzalez uh reviewing my figures.

Uh I had added up the wrong revenue um accounts, and so this is a little more accurate.

So the information I had shared previously was this year's subsidy was uh anticipated to be 1.8 million, uh it's anticipated to be uh lower than that at 1.6.

But you can see the two uh 2024 figures and the 2025 figures at 1.3 and 1.5 and 1.6 million.

So the reason why I think it's important for us to have this dialogue, and and there's no action before the council today.

I'm not recommending that we close the zoo.

Uh I have an 11-year-old, I need to go home to him.

Uh and so uh I think it's just we're illustrating these are the facts.

And as a community, what are we going to do about it?

Uh, are there ways that we can uh generate partnerships or interest in the zoo that can slowly or over a period of time uh minimize the subsidy and ultimately eliminate the subsidy like other locations have done where it's you know run and managed by uh a nonprofit, a foundation or some other thing.

So this is not um uh a conversation tonight to say, hey, how quickly can we close the zoo?

It's uh in in many ways to highlight this so that hopefully there's more community discussion so that people become aware of the challenge and uh we can see who's out there.

Um I try not to put too much pressure on my kids.

I just say, hey, if you can just be like you know, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, that'd be great.

Um so if they do that, they will create a foundation for Folsom, but until then, uh we're gonna have to look at other things.

So this is basically um just to highlight uh what what this is what we're looking at, and there's been a lot talked about.

So the staff's recommendation to the city council today is to improve uh a resolution that approves the fire apparatus reassignment plan and browns out uh fire engine 38 and approves the elimination of the 20 full time equivalents that are that uh were listed, and then um uh that concludes my uh presentation.

I'd be happy to answer any questions from the council and then obviously from the public.

Councilmember Warbaugh, I'll start with you.

Any questions?

I have some requests, but not really questions yet.

So I think I want to wait till after public comment.

Okay, councilmember Leary.

Oh, I have a few questions, and thank you for your updates and revising some of those figures.

I think that uh we talked about uh that the other day, and I'm glad to see there were you had time to put together a whole other slide first.

Um, I uh I am uh you know concerned about you know the changes in the delivery for the fire services.

Uh and I don't know that we'll have a a good measure of how that changes response times or impacts on residents until these changes have taken place.

I do know that the residents south of 50 are concerned about you know their high fire risk as noted on the recent state issued fire maps, um, and you did bring up that they do have sprinklers throughout there, but um I also wonder about the availability of water not having a um an engine that carries water uh in an area and uh I I guess you know there's a lot that goes into this equation, like how many fire hydrants are available, and and you know, what is the what is the capability of the one engine that will be left down there in case of a fire?

Um, I don't know if that's readily available tonight.

Um the um in terms of the zoo, I was surprised to see that was listed in phase one since there's no actual cost reduction uh projected at this time, and um I have been meeting with the friends of the zoo as well as um with staff and you to discuss uh how we might move forward with making that a viable entity.

I see it as being a uh an attraction, you know, somewhat like we're looking for adding to the river district uh to and and enhancing our uh economic development plans, um, but I I would hope that you would consider uh looking at alternatives to just finding someone to come in and take over the zoo for us.

I think there are some other options, and I know the the friends of the zoo are working on some, I think they'll probably get up and give us the details.

Um, but I'm very concerned about us not being a little bit more global in how we solve that issue.

Um, and the uh other answer, and I don't know if you have that at hand is what is the cost differential between um the cost of the IT employees that were laid off and the um what it will cost to contract with someone to do those services.

Sure.

Okay to answer.

Um so related to the delivery of fire services, um you know, Chief Cusano can come up also, uh, but I think the plan uh that we have.

I mean, and the reality is is these are all difficult decisions, right?

I mean, and so it that we can make justifications of why we shouldn't make any of these, but at the end of the day, we are a household that has a budgetary problem, and so households that are successful typically have to make tough decisions so that they can right size their ship so that they can survive for another day.

And so related to the fire service, you know.

Um I actually went out um uh on Sunday and drove you know through the Folsom Plan area and throughout the city and took pictures and and uh I didn't share those uh today, but uh the way things are south of 50 are significantly different than in some of our more established areas.

If you go to Briggs Ranch or if you're at the Beacon Hill Lexington Hills area where you have you know 60, 80 foot tall evergreen trees, you know, I think the the chief took that into account of where is the greatest fire hazard.

And so although the state map shows the south of 50 as a high fire uh hazard area, if you look at the maps, like uh I it wasn't lost on me uh that in the presentation the public hearing related to the veranda subdivision, it said it's denude of vegetation.

Uh and so uh looking at the fire hazard where there's not the uh significant urban forest, uh there they're all the homes, all the structures there do have internal sprinklers, the chance of a massive fire event is less there than in some other areas that are older, more vegetation, and don't have the internal sprinkler systems.

So that uh was taken to account.

But Chief, if you want to talk a little bit about that.

Uh Madam Mayor, Council members, Can Cassano, your fire chief.

Uh city manager is correct.

We did look at that when we were trying to kind of determine where the greatest risk was or the least amount of risk.

And you know, our our tiller truck 35, where it's at station 35 right now, it doesn't carry water.

It's not a suppression unit.

It has, you know, our tiller truck is a specialized piece of equipment, they have different roles on fires.

Uh, but when you look at it here at station 35, I consider this one of our highest fire risk areas for structure fires.

Um we have the historic district and we have the central business district.

Very little of that has sprinklers or any fire suppression system in them.

When we look at south of 50 for structure fires, 100% of everything south of 50 is mandatory to be sprinklered.

It has fire suppression sprinklers in there.

Now there's a little bit of a misnomer that there is no suppression capabilities with the tiller truck out there.

That's not quite true because they cross-staff a type 3 grass rig, one of our type 3 engines, which does have water, then that's used to fight vegetation fires.

So there is suppression capability out there.

Um, just when I talk fire risk, I was looking more at the structure fire or commercial fire risk.

Um one of your other questions dealt with uh the fire hazard severity maps that that we just uh presented here a few months back.

Uh, those were mandatory that we adopt those.

Um part of that is those cow fire maps when they were you know drawn up and and classified.

I I think they were looking at that area out there as just all big one grassland, which maybe that would make sense to be moderate at that time.

But when you look out there now, there is there is very little uh vegetation out there.

There are roads put in, natural barriers.

I would not classify that as a high vegetation type fire risk out there now.

Um remember part of the mandate with those maps and us adopting them is that the city was not allowed to lessen the uh hazard class that they were in.

We could have increased the hazard risk, but that none of that was really warranted here in Folsom.

So we had to go with those maps and what they said.

But in my opinion, I would not classify that as a higher risk than some of our other areas here in the city.

Thank you.

Uh I do want to thank you for putting the map up too that I asked about so you could people can identify where the engines are relationships to their homes and and the disbursement throughout the city of the services.

That's helpful.

Thank you.

Did I did I hit all the questions?

Don't go too far though, Chief.

Okay.

One quick one quick follow-up, if you don't mind.

Um asking the extremely obvious answer question, um, in spite of the fact that Riggs and crews will be at individual stations, they still respond throughout the city.

Correct.

We still respond throughout the entire city.

We still rely on our uh automatic and mutual aid partners to come in and help us with structure fires or any fire, really.

So thank you.

And then uh there was a question related to um the uh the cost differential uh for the IT services.

So uh there's two components to the IT reductions.

One is related to normal uh kind of IT uh services, you know, our software programs or internal operations, and then there's the other components related to the GIS operations.

And so uh with the individuals that are associated with the IT services, uh I have a proposal now.

Uh if we were to go forward with that, that would uh uh save us about uh eighty to ninety thousand dollars compared to what we're paying now for those those positions.

So those are still things that we will be able to fine-tune.

So I feel very confident that it'll be that or lower going forward.

And uh so that factored into some of the decision-making process.

And council member Leary, I think uh one of your other questions was how how are we going to track the data and our response times?

Uh we we currently do that now, and we're definitely gonna continue to to monitor that and and just you know get that data as we go.

So, you have any questions for Chief Cassana?

And then um go ahead.

I did have the other question about um the um staff's willingness to look at alternatives um to enhancing you know our ability for the the zoo to remain in place and well cared for, you know, and I understand your proposal to have somebody come in and take it over, but I just want to uh ensure that it's on the table that we can look at other options.

But sure, and let me be clear there there's no proposal on the table.

Um simply what has been discussed is what I've observed and read about that others have done.

You know, so for example, uh the Sacramento Zoo, uh my understanding that the the city of Sacramento operated that zoo from 1927 until 1997 when they partnered with the Sacramento Zoological Society.

And so I'm not saying that that's the model.

Whatever the model is, you know, we we're we're not recommending anything today.

And actually, this is not going to be my decision, it's going to be your decision.

So I just think it's really prudent for us to look at where we're eliminating five good people from their jobs, we're eliminating, you know, uh basically 14 uh uh positions from public safety, and yet we have a zoo.

So I just think as good as it is when we're making these type of uh uh uh decisions, does it deserve some thought and consum uh some consideration?

And so I'm not saying that we do anything, ultimately you guys will decide, you know, what how that goes.

And and I will help us get to wherever you guys want me to get to.

I just think it's not uh I think this is important for us to not um we need to think about it.

I think we just need to think about it.

I totally agree, thank you.

Any questions for Chief Cassano over here?

I do have a follow-up.

What is our response time?

Currently, right now on average we're around six minutes and thirty-two seconds.

And do we do we keep that in different areas of the city?

How do we report that out to the general public?

Uh I I'd have to ask our uh assistant back here.

I I believe we try to put that on our uh website and our other social media platforms.

I'd just like to request that at our next council meeting, we get very clear.

I think the question um uh from that I've heard most is how does this affect response times?

Uh and I get we say that it's going to reflect response times, but I'm up here, I don't even know what our response time is.

Uh, and I definitely don't know what it is last year or the year before that, or the year before that.

And I I think we do need to get better at reporting metrics uh and what the citizens should expect.

Um, it's not saying that every time you you need that support, it's gonna show up in six minutes and thirty-two seconds, but you know, if we report a low and a high and then an average, uh I think that really helps the public evaluate and understand what the impacts of the changes are gonna be.

And and uh the good news is that all that data is available and we can compile that.

I think what we need to do is more proactively staff to bring that to the council.

I've talked to a few of the members already, and that that request has been made.

And so one of the best ways to kind of measure the impacts if the council were to approve this is hey, six months from now, I mean, let's compare the data before the decision and let's uh see the data after the decision and see what that really means.

If our average is, you know, six minutes and thirty seconds and now that's six minutes and forty seconds or seven minutes or eight minutes, uh, we would know.

And so we recognize, I mean, one of the the clear messages that I hope to the council and to community is that that uh me as your city manager, I'm not making any uh special promises that hey, everything is just going to be as it was.

These are really hard decisions that are significant, you know, reductions in force and reductions in services.

So I'm not saying, hey, everything's fine, we're just gonna do more with less.

We're actually going to do less with less, and that's just how it is related to our budget structure.

And so how we do that and how we manage those resources is ultimately up to the community to provide comment and for us to put together proposals and for the uh the council to consider those.

And so uh we've given considerable thought of uh where we're at and where we think we need to be, and we're always open for for input.

You have another question for Chief Casano.

Uh no, not for sure.

Okay, let me ask a couple questions, Chief Desano.

So approximately what, about 75% or so of the calls you get are medically related.

Is that that's that's probably accurate.

And of those calls that are medically related, how many of those result in an ambulance transport?

Whew.

Um I would probably say of the 75%, there's uh maybe 80% of those don't don't end up in an ambulance transport.

Oh, do not.

Do not okay.

Well, no, I I take that back.

Twenty percent do not, 80% do.

Yeah, that's what I thought you told me.

Okay.

So the majority, the majority of the calls that we receive for fire are medically related.

Correct.

And the majority of those calls result in an ambulance transport, yes.

So in my almost seven years on the council, there have been multiple times that we have browned out an ambulance due to staffing shortages.

We have that now.

Correct.

But under this scenario, all three ambulances are going to be in service once our new recruits are fully on their own.

Um and then at station 34, you say you were gonna have the truck, and then what's what's the other apparatus called that can do a there's gonna be an air unit there?

That's what we utilize on bigger fires, they refill our air cylinder bottles that they breathe with that.

Also, is a uh has a light tower on it to provide lighting.

The other apparatus that will be out there will be our um currently is our OES grass rig out there right now.

That's what I was thinking, okay.

That that will once we get our new uh type three engine that's on order that that should be arriving sometime this year, that will be placed out there, but it's the same type of unit, it's a type three engine.

Got it.

Okay, so uh forgive my naivete here, but if the personnel is out of the station, you're gonna have four people out of station 34.

If you had the truck and the engine that were taking out of service both there, couldn't they go take the the correct apparatus based on the call?

Um they could, but that like I mean that that starts to get a little bit more tricky because now when they're out on the call, you basically lose, let's say they take the engine out on the call, now you lose the truck capability, which is sorry, specialized equipment for the city, meaning we'd have no vehicle extrication equipment, we have no trench rescue, uh confined space, though those are all specialty uh you know tasks that we provide to the community, and if that engine's gone or they're out on a call in it, we lose that for the city.

Okay.

So you always need to have at least the one truck in service.

We try to keep the one truck in service, correct.

Okay, all right, okay.

And mayor, if I could add, uh I think it's important to note that when there's actually a structure fire, uh, one fire station is not the only respondent to that fire.

So they're gonna come.

I mean, if they're at the Empire Ranch station and something south of 50, other resources are going to come and vice versa.

And so it's a unit that you know kind of mobilizes where the issues are.

One of the biggest risks with the reduction in the the fire engine is our ability to respond to multiple calls that occur.

You know, so in general, if we if you guys if the community can just plan to only have one issue at a time, right?

I mean, we get to appreciate it because you'd get pretty much the same response.

Right.

But when we shrink the uh our ability to respond, that's where our struggles and weaknesses.

So, in addition to Vice Mayor Rathel's comment about needing more data about the response time, I think it'd be helpful at the next meeting if we had um the data about the call volume because it's my understanding that on average depending on the station they're receiving between two and eight calls in a 24 hour period meaning the slowest station is averaging two calls and the busiest station is averaging eight calls.

I bet the general the public thinks it's more than that to be honest with you.

And then the other thing is what percentage of those calls are hey I've got a rattlesnake in my garage can you come out and and remove it because those are the types of things that may have to say sorry we can't send anybody out for that right now.

And it's interesting in in my conversations with some of the different shifts that came up is um are we going to continue to respond to those calls even with these reductions and my thought is if we're able to respond we will respond right I mean if that they're not handling something of of greater urgency if you get called and you're going to a rattlesnake situation but then you get another call that says hey there's a um a building engulfed in flames of course they're gonna call off that right so that that that's the difference.

I I don't think we'll we'll stop responding to different calls it's just based on the availability.

Yeah.

Did you have any questions for Chief Cassano?

At the risk of asking for a lot of extra data we we have had discussions about response time and sometimes it's been in a vacuum just looking at fulsom and sometimes it has been foisted upon us or we did some research and compared that regionally I think we need to look outward in the comparison of response times as well.

So to the extent that we can have it available it would be worthwhile to have response time data for the region so that we can see where we where we stand relative to the overall picture of things.

We can get this we I think there have been times when we actually had significantly better coverage in Folsom than most of the rest of the region and it would be worthwhile for people to know that.

And if you recall at our July 8th meeting we did show information with us dropping to the five stations versus or the um five from five engines to four engines that uh our uh capabilities were still similar to other departments uh around us right I mean so it's not where we want to be but I would say in many ways Folsom has provided a higher level of service compared to our our uh neighbors in some regards so um although this is a reductions in service it's not necessarily when compared to the other jurisdictions something that's significantly different um and and with the uh adding of the medic uh I would say in some ways there's uh uh uh enhancements related to those higher volume of calls yeah go ahead uh were you done Mike or are we don't achieve Cassano um well I mean it's kind of on the same line it was one of the things I was going to talk about after but I'm just to clarify further um what I would be looking for as far as response time and data is data up to the end of this month as far as our response times um for a fire and then in six months looking at that data and what so we can see what changed if things changed um and so we can compare where we are as far as service levels I think our public would be really respond to that if it's only changing by 10 seconds or you know 10 minutes that's a big difference and it would allow us to make a decision when the up in an upcoming budget and we can adjust at that point.

And so I'll just reiterate that's the same thing this doesn't apply to you but the same thing for police we've never had a present we've never had a since I've been here we haven't had a presentation on their response times.

So I'd like to see the same thing.

I don't think it's gonna change from now to then because we have so many vacant positions in that department but um I think that we need to build that and and give consistent information to our public if not on a yearly basis maybe even twice a year.

So with them I would like to see response times when the first officer arrives and then when the second officer arrives.

A lot of times they can't go in.

I think that's a chief as a cheap chief um uh direction but um so I think I think you understand uh so I think six months' time maybe before the mid-year budget review, it would be nice to see some of this data.

I'm just wondering if you could maybe re-send the presentation from July because a lot of the information that people have just brought up is in that presentation.

So we already have a baseline to look at.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chief.

Thank you.

All right.

Thanks, Mayor Rafa.

What other questions do you have?

I got one other question, but I am just gonna touch just so I don't have to come back to it later on the metrics.

I I think you know, we're talking about fire now because of the change and staffing, which I I think it's tough for those of us that uh don't live this day to day to understand what that means.

So we're asking for uh a more simple metric and and it maybe it doesn't boil down to just one metric.

I I look at from the police, you said well, maybe a secondary metric is when the second officer arrives.

I think of prosecution rates, right?

Like if we're, you know, our response time is great on PD, but our prosecution rate is really low on crimes committed, then that gives us a different view of how you know we need to move forward in providing service to the public.

Uh and I think establishing these, you know, I don't know what the number is, but less than five metrics uh for departments uh and say that hey, this is this is what we're gonna track, and this is a measure of quality uh of service to our public, uh isn't important.

So I just kind of wanted to touch on that before I got to my next question, so I don't have to bring it up later in in council comments or or when we go to uh after public comment.

Uh my next question really is on uh revenue enhancement.

I've gotten a lot of questions just as we we go through this um process, and I think you kind of talked about it a bit in the staff report and and and also you mentioned it that revenue enhancements do take longer uh to implement and I and I appreciate that.

Um but my question is uh when do we start discussing these?

When do you bring something back?

And maybe not a full-fledged, hey, this is what we're going to do for revenue enhancement, uh, but is there a or do you see value in having a discussion of our options of revenue enhancements sooner rather than later um to give staff direction on which revenue enhancements we want to kind of work up to the point where we can move forward with them.

Uh sure.

Um I guess uh maybe a follow-up question is uh w what do you define revenue enhancements as?

I'll throw out a few uh transient occupancy tax, uh CFDs for public safety, stormwater utility fees, uh payment in lieu of taxes or pilot uh type of programs that are oftentimes implemented with development agreements.

Okay, so so I mean we're actually working on uh the public safety CFDs uh and and we will definitely explore.

We've been in conversation with um uh you know the chamber related uh TOT equivalent, you know.

So that that's one of the things we'll have to talk about where there's uh economic development side that that and this is why it takes longer.

So when you look at transit occupancy tax, you know, the the city receives a share, but then our hotel operators have actually adopted another assessment where they basically decided to assess themselves that revenue comes to the city, and then we give that back to the chamber, which helps um you know develop business and encourage people to come through marketing, and so it it I think the the chamber in Folsom does a great job of of doing a lot of different things.

You know, one of the things that uh in this kind of illustrates how long though these take.

So for example, we have the metal shop project, the the potential um ice arena in sports facilities south of 50 near Prairie City Road.

So one of the concepts to help uh provide funding for that is through additional um assessments or equivalents to TOT of additional percentage points that are now charged to all those who stay in the hotels.

So that would go forward to bond against uh to issue bonds to help pay for infrastructure out there to encourage them to come into the city, and so then they'd have to build it and then they'd have to start operating, and then we'd see at some point in years into the future um uh it's built, and now we have people coming to the arena, uh staying at our hotels, shopping at our businesses, and so it's a really good use of uh funds, but I share that because it's not like an on-off switch.

Um so uh to answer your question related to those is we fully intend to explore any and all of those options.

Okay.

So you'll you'll bring them back as they're fully cooked, you don't necessarily need guidance from us on which ones to work.

No, I mean I really appreciate that you identifying some of those categories because uh um the TOT in some ways, if we're we can't necessarily go for uh increase in the TOT tax if we're working with the chamber to increase the assessment because at some point we become uh not comparable to the marketplace.

We're right now we're a few percentage points below our neighbors, and so are we using it for general fund purposes or are we using it for the economic development purposes?

So that's in the in the works, but it it may not be TOT, it may be uh kind of the BID.

This the CFD uh for public safety.

We're we're actively looking at that.

We've had conversations with the developers south of 50 already to implement that on all the new entitlements that are coming forward, and so um that that's a top priority for us uh related to storm.

Uh it's something we don't have.

Uh I think uh there's uh we weren't sure of the appetite for the council or the community to even uh have that conversation, but it sounds like we probably need to do that.

And then the only other one I I had on my list, and I think it's been brought up multiple times, but is uh the surplus property probably needs to come back.

I think there was a few opportunities there also, which should move forward.

Yeah, I agree.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh Councilmember Kozowski, any questions before we go to public comment?

Um, just one quick thing.

I'm sure that we will get more um deeper discussion of the before and after realignment of CDD, P and RW and EWR.

Um, but there's a number.

Yeah, I'm reading it.

I didn't remember all of that.

That's the community development department, public works, environmental water resources, and parks and rec.

The whole shooting match except for public safety.

Um, I anyway, I'm sure we'll get more detailed information about it, but there's uh there's a number of transfers of responsibilities from one leadership to an to one leader to another.

Um, but there's also a series of these where they've been sort of renamed and clarified in terms of what the responsibility is, so just a little more discussion because when they're all colour-coded green, green, it's hard to pick those out, but there's a bunch of them.

So sure.

That's all.

Thank you.

All right, I think we're gonna go to public comment.

We have several um requests to speak.

Again, we please ask that you limit your comments to three minutes.

And if you have a question that was not um asked and answered, feel free to mention that, and I will take notes and we'll circle back to that.

So, Madam Clerk, if you call them up.

Okay, um, you have about 12 speakers requesting to speak under this item.

I'm gonna go ahead and call the names and um you're more than welcome to line up and listen for your name to be called to approach the podium.

And the first speaker is Elena Wagner.

You want to go ahead and approach the podium to speak.

She was in the front row.

She might have oh.

There she is.

Good evening.

Um I had planned comments which were very detailed around the budget, but the presentation and conversation um have moved me to scrap those for now and just email them to you all tomorrow.

So, you know, they're very nicely already typed up, I promise.

Um I want to let everyone know in this room.

If you don't already know, that South of 5050 is revenue generating for the city.

The city managers in the past have been clear um during budget discussions about that fact and about talking about how because we are contributing, we should be receiving public safety and other amenities and support for our facilities, just like the rest of the city does.

Um I am a little exhausted hearing consistently online, and then again tonight with some of the examples centering on South of 50.

We're talking about station 34, we're talking about Prospector Park.

I'm not maybe it's just what I hear because it's what I'm more attuned to because it's in my neighborhood, but that's what I'm hearing here is that reinforcement that it's south of 50's fault.

And it's just not.

I have run the numbers, I have talked to mo four out of five of you about it.

Poor Brian has heard a lot from me.

Um, it is really hurtful to hear um when it was daylighted in December 2023 on the dais about how the police officers that were meant for South of 50 were not being given a South of 50.

That my family wasn't important enough to have public safety.

And then we see here again, we look at this map.

It takes me 20 minutes to get over on Empire Ranch Road at 39.

Some of you know, and I think at least three of you, maybe more have met my daughter who is seven and amazing.

And when she was five weeks old, she caught RSV, um, turned blue, uh, code blue was called.

She had to be resuscitated.

She was intubated for two weeks and repeatedly failed coming off of intubation.

I thought my baby was gonna die.

And seeing and knowing that we are the furthest from a hospital, that we don't have a medic, is so hurtful because again, I see public safety not mattering for us because of the public perception about the financial situation of the city.

I'm not saying you have to give us someone, I am just saying that this refrain, I feel like is being reinforced sometimes in the conversation that we're having in this room and on the dais.

And I ask that you guys please just be mindful of that, that it is really hurtful to those of us who live down there because I looked at houses in the north and I looked at houses in the south.

I'm not good or bad because of where I purchased a home.

It's just a home that was for sale like anything else.

Um I apologize, I wasn't able to finish typing everything out um by hand there, but I just I just wanted that to be something that you guys were aware of.

That that's how that does impact how we feel.

Um, and I think most of you at least like know me and know that I say this with earnest when I say just please be considerate of like how we feel and how you communicate and how these decisions impact like our safety and our families as well.

Thank you, Elena.

Okay, the next speaker, um Jessica Whithar, followed by Bruce Klein and Kate Cassara.

Good evening, my name is Jessica Whitar.

I've been a Folsom resident for 15 years, and uh I saw in all the social media that you're asking for community input on what's important to us.

So I just wanted to throw my two cents in in support of the library.

I know it doesn't uh maybe get as much attention as some of the other issues, but um for me it's one of my favorite spots in Folsom.

It's my happy place.

I think a lot of people, when you think about who the library serves, most people probably stereotypically picture little kids at story time or seniors maybe getting help with the computers, things like that, um, which certainly is true and invaluable, but um, as someone who falls somewhere in between those age groups.

Um, I love the library.

I go frequently, I know I'm always going to be greeted with a uh smile and a warm greeting from the friendly staff.

Um, I can peruse the bookshelves in peace.

I can strike up a conversation with a new friend, a new book, a book lover.

Um, I always feel welcome, and I can always find either the new information I was looking for or a new adventure in a book group two or five.

Um I know you're already aware how busy the Folsom Library is with the most checkouts, the most visitors, the highest program attendance out of all the libraries in the area, and they do it with a lot less than some other libraries do.

So I just uh respectfully request that they continue to receive the funding that they need to provide their excellent service to the community.

Thank you, Jessica.

Okay.

Uh Bruce Klein, go ahead and approach the podium, followed by Kate Casara and then Kinga Major.

Good evening, city manager, mayor, members of the council, Bruce Klein, president of Friends of Folsom Parkway.

No longer a Folsom resident, but I suppose we still spend a lot of money here, and we spend all of our volunteer time in our uh city that we've loved for so long.

Um I really appreciate this open discussion about the needs.

I appreciate the city managers being candid about where the situation is with the city.

Um it's really critical to look at what the true needs are of the city.

Um, and what I'm here to talk about is how you can leverage um resources and making sure we're protecting staff that help volunteer groups like Friends of Folsom Parkway leverage.

Our group has been instrumental on the adopt of the trail program as well as the fuel ladder work that we've been doing over the last year.

And it's remarkable what the volunteers have been able to do.

Just absolutely incredible.

Move from the parkway, um effective community service day over to Hankle Creek.

We're excited to be doing our next two months' work at Hankle Creek.

But I will say there is a lot out there.

I mean, we've scratched the surface barely.

And we have, you know, a group of 10, 12 volunteers who will show up.

And it's leveraging city staff resources to make that possible.

It's a really a symbiotic relationship.

I appreciate the manager saying that there are no further cuts out there.

I'm certainly going to advocate always for our parks maintenance staff because they just do an amazing job keeping our work going forward.

When our folks are cutting huge piles, they're coming through or their contractors are coming through.

It really has to be both sides.

The other thing I would encourage us to do is look for opportunities and be uh innovative.

We would invite our fire guys and women to come out and join us and swing a chainsaw, perhaps training exercises.

You know, it's really almost uh simulating some wildland fires, getting out there and working those chainsaws, cutting that stuff down, and we'll be happy to drag for them.

You know, they're gonna be training anyway.

We encourage them to come out and train in the real world.

Um, revenue.

I appreciate Justin, you raising it.

I appreciate the manager having that on the list.

Um, one issue on revenue that I would encourage you all to look at is one that uh council member Rafel mentioned, and that's stormwater fee.

The city of Folsom is the only jurisdiction in the region that does not have a stormwater fee.

Um, pretty remarkable.

And if you added a stormwater fee of five bucks a month, you'd generate about a million and a half to two million dollars.

And Stacey's gonna check my math and really run it relative to actual homes, but when you apply that to commercial, etc.

I mean that that would relieve significantly some of this budget pressure.

This has been discussed in the past.

Bruce, I need you to wrap it up, please.

It has been discussed in the past, it's been brought forward and then just went away.

So I would really encourage that to be uh out there.

Last piece is come on out, have some fun with us.

We'll be at Hankle Creek Thursdays and Saturdays, and it's really fun.

Mike was out there on community service day for a number of hours, and we really make a big impact.

So I encourage all of you and anybody else who wants to come out and join us to do so.

Thanks.

Thank you so much.

Okay, Kate Casara, go ahead and approach the podium, followed by Kinga Major and Rob Allen.

Good evening.

Hi, I'm nervous, so that's okay.

Good evening, Mayor Kino, Council members, and Mr.

Whitmer, city staff.

My name is Kate Kasara, and I live at 328 Chancourt in Folsom.

I have been the GIS specialist for the city of Folsom for over eight years.

I'm not here tonight, just as the GIS specialist.

I'm here as a neighbor, a mother, a longtime resident of this area, and I'm deeply invested in Folsom's present and future.

This city is our home, and I've worked very hard, professionally and personally, to help make it stronger, smarter, and more livable for families like mine.

But the proposed elimination of my budgeted position as GIS specialist will hurt the very infrastructure that makes all of this possible.

Let me explain why.

Since 2008, the city of Folsom has shrug staff has shrunk by around 40%, even as our population and service area have nearly doubled.

Despite these cuts, staff has adapted.

I've personally built tools and systems that allow departments to operate with fewer people while improving their service for our residents.

We are now being told to tighten our butts, our belts again, but this time by eliminating the very systems that those offici that make those efficiencies possible.

Let's not forget Folsom has not raised its sales tax in 29 years.

If your household income hadn't increased in nearly three decades, you would your solution be to cut off your water supply to save money on plumbing?

Of course not.

You would look at sustainable revenue, not dismantle critical infrastructure.

The city manager has compared the city budget to a household budget.

But let's look at that more closely.

If your costs and responsibilities continue to increase, well, your income has stayed flat.

You would start, would you start tearing out the electrical system without knowing how much it's going to cost?

That's not fiscal discipline, that's long-term damage.

Cutting critical roles with no cost analysis, no replacement plan, no guarantee of savings, isn't responsible.

It's risky and it's expensive.

Before recommending my position for elimination, there was no consultation with me or IT staff, no evaluation of what GIS actually does, no side-by-side cost analysis comparing staff to contractors.

So let me offer that now.

To replace the work that I do, you would need one GIS analyst, one GIS developer, and one CMMS consultant.

For the GIS consultants, between 120 an hour to 160 an hour times two people times 30 hours a week, plus a CMMS consultant at 110 to 130 an hour times 20 hours a week is roughly between 500,000 and 624,000.

That is nearly double my complete compensation.

My work supports live emergency response systems for police and fire, asset management for utilities and public works by providing them streamlined workflows and more efficient reporting, data that supports planning, permitting software, public dashboards and maps that increase transparency for both residents and council.

I helped bring station 39 online.

We divided the city into 120 zones and calculated the response time from each one of those zones, creating a list of which fire station would be called first through the CAD dispatch system.

So in answer to your question, I could tell you what your response times were going to be if you were going to eliminate a station.

That's part of my job.

And I'm sorry, but I do need you to wrap it up.

This isn't back office IT, it's core operational infrastructure.

Before any GIS or IT positions are eliminated, I would respectfully ask that the council require a full cost analysis, direct engagement with current staff, exploration of other revenue options like L truing up or a technology fee, which every other jurisdiction in this region has.

And public transparent outsourcing plant with hard numbers.

We all want Folsom to remain a great place to live for families and businesses and future generations.

Thank you very much.

Okay, the next speaker, Kinga Major, followed by Rob Allen and Sherry Richter.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Can you hear me okay?

Yep.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members, and community members.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity today to speak.

My name is Kingham Major, and I'm a senior at Folsom High School.

As youth director for Friends of Folsom Parkways, I'm truly honored to be a part of this community and to have been so warmly welcomed into it.

I'm also proud to work alongside an incredible variety of volunteers, from board members to neighbors, retirees to young professionals who dedicate countless hours to caring for and improving Folsom's trails.

Over the years, Friends of Folsom Parkways has partnered with more than 2,000 volunteers to plant trees, build bridges, remove invasive species, clear fire fuel, and beautify our shared spaces.

It is amazing to see how much behind the scenes effort these dedicated adults contribute, making Folsom truly distinctive by nature.

Their hard work, passion, and warmth create a community where residents care for their environment and each other.

And it is the spirit that makes Folsom what it is today.

I grew up in Los Angeles, where trails were often unsafe and uninviting.

For many kids like me, getting into nature was not a welcoming experience.

It often felt inaccessible and even risky.

That is why I feel so fortunate to be a part of Folsom, where friends at Folsom Parkways work every day to make our trail safe, inviting, and enjoyable for everyone.

Being able to share these experiences and see our community thrive in nature is something I'm deeply grateful for.

As we consider the city budget tonight, I want to gently emphasize that trails in open spaces are not areas that should be cut.

They are essential to the well-being, safety, and quality of life for our residents.

Maintaining trails requires both the dedication of volunteers and the expertise of professional staff.

Paid staff provide the oversight, training, and care needed to keep our trails safe and sustainable.

Without them, it would be impossible to fully leverage the incredible volunteer contributions that make Folsom's trails so special.

Friends of Folsom Parkways will continue to partner with the city to care for and enhance our trails, clearing fire fuel, removing invasive plants, maintaining paths, supporting programs like adopted trail.

Protecting and nurturing these spaces is vital for our community.

Let us come together to ensure our trails in open spaces remain safe, welcoming, and vibrant per by preserving and strengthening their funding this year's in this year's budget.

Thank you so much for your time and unwavering commitment in keeping Folsom distinctive by nature.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay, Rob Allen, if you want to go ahead and approach the podium, followed by Sherry Richter and Peggy Plett.

Good evening.

Hello, Mayor, City Council and Brian.

Great to be here and see you guys.

It's been a few weeks since I've been.

I do encourage everyone that's here tonight to come to meetings more often.

Uh, I've been here a lot since November, and you really get to learn about the city, it's spending how things work.

Uh you hear the effort and things that the city council goes through and the mayor and the challenges that Brian faced.

If you're only here tonight, or you're only here a few times a year, and I'm just talking since November, how much I've been here about 10 or 15 years ago.

Um, I came to meetings off and on, but now I've just been here a ton, so I really encourage you to turn out and really bring ideas to them.

Real quick, Brian, can you flip to the slide that had all the positions that was listed?

Especially yes, that one.

When we were discussing the hiring of firefighters, there were offers extended, and I got clarification from city council how offers were extended.

But then we were still discussing on if they should be hired.

On the jobs that are listed here, have there been recent offers made that are gonna be affected tonight?

Do we know that answer?

Yeah, no filled positions will be affected.

You know, so um uh if you recall back in July when the decision was made to go through with the recruitment of the firefighters, uh we had originally had 10 positions, and we have a graduating class now.

Um, you know, two had dropped out prior to the start of the academy, and then another dropped out.

So we have seven graduates that will be filling.

So uh essentially um we needed to hire those folks to fill the vacancies that were coming, and we have retirements, and then not everyone filled those.

So uh the recommendation of five um firefighter uh uh positions being eliminated are not going to be any positions that have a person filling those spots.

Was that your question?

Um I mean, anything on here, like the police down near the bottom.

Uh the community service officers, are there offers out that are gonna change based on your votes?

Oh no, no.

Okay.

I just want to get clarification because when that happened, that was without me understanding that was very awkward for me to see firefighters.

It was great for me.

I know, I'm sure.

I remember that.

Yeah, so yeah, I mean, so I mean, it is awkward.

And so in in some ways, just like we're talking about the zoo.

Yeah, um, it's awkward.

Yeah, right.

I mean, uh, but we have to have those difficult conversations.

So when we were going in in the reason why I brought up the 10 firefighter positions, whether we should hire those or not.

I think that's something really important for the community and the council to have dialogue about, right?

Because all the things that happen, um people get really frustrated in my opinion when decisions are made, like, well, wait a second, I I may have had a different opinion and I didn't even get a chance.

So that's I think some of the beauty of what we're trying to bring to this is we're in this together.

And in as um difficult as that meeting was, I came out of that meeting feeling great about our community, about our fire department, about you know our public safety, but it was difficult to get there, but the outcome I think was really positive.

We got to hear those perspectives, and we made a decision that I think was ultimately the correct decision to hire those, and then because the perspective was then shared by participants, by um members of the community, by our fire personnel that, hey, wait a second, there's more information.

And the more information was hey, we we know that there are people that are going to retire, and if we don't fill these spots, we're going to have those retirees and we'll have more vacancies, and and we may be saving money, but we're not providing the service.

And so our goal is how do we provide the best level of service at all stages of this?

And so, I mean, all these conversations are awkward, uh, but I think we will have a better outcome because of the conversation.

No, I appreciate it.

The explanation was important to me because I was like, We're not and I don't like seeing the cuts, of course, anyone losing their job.

Um, but it was like, are we doing this again where job offers have been made?

No.

And okay.

Um the email I sent, I think months ago about the volunteering thing.

You're gonna see an updated version of that sometime soon.

So that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, the next speaker will be Sherry Ricker, followed by Peggy Platt and Rochelle Barcelona.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor Kido and Council members.

As president of the docent council, I once again stand before you to speak on behalf of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.

In a free market society, money and budgets are extremely important for the sustainability of its entities.

However, often the benefit to humanity of some things cannot be monetized.

In a world that often feels disconnected, we believe in nurturing the bonds that truly matter.

At our sanctuary, we're not just protecting animals, we're fostering a deep love for nature that resonates within children and adults alike.

Every animal comes to us with a unique story.

It is these stories that connect our visitors to this very special place.

Every interaction, every moment of shared wonder reinforces the simple truth, our connection to the natural world as part of who we are.

By showing our kids the magic magic of these wild creatures, we're teaching them empathy, responsibility, and the profound beauty of a life intertwined with all living things.

We're not just saving animals, we're cultivating a legacy of compassion for generations to come.

The Folsom City Su sanctuary is a regional treasure.

While neighboring cities look for a place to connect with wildlife, we stand alone as a haven, a sanctuary, rescued animals find a forever home, and our community finds its heart.

The Folsom Zidisou Sanctuary is a valuable educational resource for the Sacramento region, attracting over 120,000 visitors annually and reaching thousands more through our outreach programs.

It provides engaging hands-on learning experiences for people of all ages, promoting a deeper understanding of wildlife and conservation.

Regional school districts visit annually, it draws schools from as far away as Truckee, San Francisco, and Oakland, and returning visitors from as far away as Alaska.

By offering a safe and welcoming space for families and hosting various events, the sanctuary also serves as a significant tourist attraction and a key contributor to the local economy.

There are several ways that our public can become involved at the sanctuary.

Every year we welcome and train volunteers to join our docent program.

In 2024, we generated over $55,000 in tour revenue and donated more than 10,000 volunteer hours.

This year we're on track to exceed both of those numbers.

In addition to the docent program, there also is a volunteer program through the zoo directly.

We encourage everyone to become a member of the Friends of the Folsom Zoo.

That membership offers unlimited access to the zoo on the days they are open, and then through donations to the Friends of the Folsom Zoo nonprofit.

This agency provides the zoo with financial support as well as purchases for much-needed unfunded expenditures.

Last year they contributed money towards vet care equipment, maintenance, and zoo keeper education.

The public can also adopt our animals.

We encourage everyone to attend our special events and to such as upcoming Halloween and Wild Nights and Holiday Lights.

There are camps available for almost all age groups, beginning with ABC Zoo Camp, growing all the way through our junior and senior zookeeper camps.

And we encourage people to visit our online wish list.

Folsom Zoo is not a zoo like any other.

It is a sanctuary, a safe and nurturing place for both of animals and the people who visit.

Sure, I need you to wrap it up.

I will and just you cannot put a monetary value on the greater good this place provides for our community.

It is priceless.

Thank you so much.

Okay, the next speaker, Peggy Platt, followed by Rochelle Barcelona and Antonette Clark.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I am president of the Friends of the Folsom Zoo, and I am also a longtime docent at the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary.

We noted that in the staff report there was a discussion about a nonprofit potentially taking over the zoo.

Well, I wanted to inform you that friends really exist to support the zoo economically, and it has long been one of our objectives to reduce the subsidy that the city provides by helping to support financially in a more robust way.

Over the last several months, we have been working diligently to research what other facilities similar to ours have done and what we can do.

We saw that the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo had experienced similar economic situations and is doing much better now.

We toured their facility, which resulted in multiple contacts, including their very successful friends organization, and also with an economic consulting firm that they hired to create an economic development plan.

So I'm pleased to announce that earlier this month, the Friends contracted with that same firm, Robinet Economics, and we are having our kickoff meeting with them this coming Monday, September 29th.

A key focus of their business plan that they're working on is to look at governance options and operating structures for the zoo sanctuary and make recommendations.

They will be meeting with the city manager and with Kelly, the Parks and Rec Director.

And I would hope that you would all make yourselves available to meet with them as well to let them know what your concerns, interests, and values are as it relates to the zoo sanctuary.

It could be something as little as a 30-minute Zoom call, so it doesn't need to take a whole lot of your time.

And we'll get that scheduled.

We'll work on getting that scheduled if you're available, and we would absolutely love to have your participation in this economic development process.

It will take about 10 to 16 weeks for that plan to be fully researched and developed and alternatives identified.

Our endowment fund, however, even though it has more than doubled since I started on the Friends Board at the end of 19, not 19, at the end of 2017, we had um $659,000 in our fund, and today it is, and that was in 2017 at the end of that calendar year, and we're about 1.54 million dollars now.

So we have more than doubled the size of our fund, but it's certainly not enough to take over operation and management on a daily basis of the zoo sanctuary.

We are currently cultivating two new board members.

We've recently introduced them.

They'll be attending their first meeting with us, we hope, on this Thursday.

And we are working with some members of the community for fundraisers that will help build the fund.

The more money we have in our fund, the more money we are able to use to help support the zoo sanctuary.

So I look forward to working with you, and I think the economic development plan that is being put together will really help look at a governance structure that or governance structure alternatives that will give us a thoughtful approach to decision making.

Thank you, Peggy.

Thank you for that information.

I'm sure we'd all be happy to participate in conversations with your consultant.

Okay, the next speaker will be Rochelle Barcelona, followed by Antonette Clark and Loretta Hedinger, and then the last and final speaker will be Colleen Shannon.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Hi, Mayor and members.

I'm Rochelle Barcelona.

I'm a 35-year resident of Folsom, past Park and Recreation Commissioner, past library commissioner, and currently on the board of the Friends of the Folsom Zoo.

And I am here to express my support of the zoo.

I know some people say we just have a zoo.

I say we are so lucky to have this community cultural treasure in the zoo.

It's nothing like anyone else has in the area, and like has been mentioned earlier already.

People come from way outside of the area and bring their dollars here, not only to spend at the zoo sanctuary, but outside in restaurants and businesses around town.

In fact, I'm so proud that our Zoo Sanctuary staff is really known internationally for the work that they have done with the animals there, and especially with its mission to teach and educate on compassion and respect for all animals, including humans, and I think that's something that uh we all really need right now in our world.

Um, one of the things that I love about the zoo sanctuary is that people who no longer live in Folsom, they're in their 30s, 40s, 50s, even up until their 60s, who come back to visit, come to the zoo.

My daughters do that, they now live in Oregon and Los Angeles.

They're 29 and 31.

When they come and bring friends with them, one of the first places they go is to the zoo sanctuary to show their friends where they grew up.

It is something special that we don't want to lose.

Um, the city manager said, you know, he wants us all to be aware of the challenges at the Friends.

We are oh so aware of these challenges, and we are working on these challenges diligently, as you could hear by what Peggy talked about with the economic report, and we just hope that you will work transparently with us to find these solutions.

The easiest solution isn't always the best solution, so we're committed to finding the best solution for the city for the animals and for all the residents.

One point of clarification that I did want to bring up is it was showing that the subsidy is approximately 1.6 million dollars right now, but I don't think that factors in the new revenue from the increased prices.

I think that takes that down to about 1.3, and I just hope that's reflected in reports and discussions going forward.

Um, like 27 seconds.

Um, like Peggy mentioned, you know, we are looking for new board members, anyone out there who's um interested in, we're really looking at people who have different skills and experience with how to tackle problems like this.

So if you're interested, go to the Friends of Folsom Zoo Sanctuary website and let us know.

Thank you very much.

So much.

Okay, our next speaker will go ahead and be um Antonette Clark, followed by Loretta Hedinger and Colleen Shannon.

Good evening.

Good evening, thank you very much for this opportunity to speak.

Um, I'm Anthony Clark, I've been a resident here for 25 years.

Um, I'm registered civil engineer, and I've worked with the State Department of Transportation for over 35 years.

So, in my experience, I'm very concerned when I hear about the levels of first responder protection lowered.

And also the fact that over those 25 years of living here, I've seen such tremendous growth on both sides of Highway 50 here in Folsom.

So with population growth comes extra traffic.

We've all witnessed the backup traffic on the left turn lanes, especially at East Bidwell and Iron Point, backing up all the way into the through lanes at various times of the day.

So there's it really isn't a pink anymore.

It's throughout the day.

And with that comes higher crash rates and a need for first responders, which we are now have all heard that the majority of their calls are not fire related, they're more related to injury or health type issues.

So along also with that growth has been the expansion of many of our bike paths throughout the city streets and bike trails, and an increased number of motorized bicycles and scooters.

So we can all expect that there are going to be some conflicts now at driveways with the pedestrians and with these new motorized uh types of vehicles.

And are we prepared to handle that if we're going to be lowering the first responder uh potential uh rates and and responder times?

And also another thing to consider, I hope that you will also consider is that during different times of year, those crash rates increase.

The onset of inclement weather with the rain, you're gonna have more crashes.

Also, with school, when school comes in, there's gonna be more potential uh bike pad uh with traffic type crashes.

So when we're looking at the reduction, please also consider that um these things are cyclical, and are we prepared to go with the change if things do elevate?

And um, that's basically all I wanted to inspire you with.

Okay, thank you very much for coming out.

Okay, our next speaker will be Loretta Hedinger, followed by Colleen Shannon.

Good evening, Loretta.

Hello.

Uh first I want to say how much I appreciate the way that we are now handling our budget discussions.

I so appreciate that Brian is tackling them head on and publicly.

And uh I came to say a few words about the zoo, but others have been much more eloquent than I.

I'm not involved with the zoo just as a resident who has brought children and grandchildren there.

And to me, it's as much an icon as the rainbow bridge for Folsom.

So we've got to be really careful about messing with the zoo.

So, but we all know that if Measure G had passed, we would not be having this much stress now.

And I know that people are smarting from the defeat of Measure G, and have just basically put the whole idea of a sales tax increase over into the impossible category.

Perhaps it would be impossible to do a one-cent sales tax.

Perhaps we should consider a half cent sales tax.

I have talked to people who were opponents of Measure G leaders, some of them of the Measure G opposition, and their hindsight tells them now that they should have voted in favor of it.

I don't know how many of them who were the leaders are willing to stand up and say I was wrong, but at least one of them told me that.

So I really think that in these times of pain, we need to revisit that possibility of a half cent sales tax.

Frankly, the city blew it in trying to support without supporting the measure G.

And so with the new approach of openness and transparency, the public is able to see for themselves the problems that we have that are due to lack of revenue.

And I don't know who will tackle that again, but I think it's not something that should just be put over in the impossible category.

We have a lot of new residents, as that one lady was reminding us, they care deeply about what happens here.

And I really think that we need to look at all avenues, not just the ones that look more possible.

Let's look at this impossible one also.

Thank you.

Okay, our last and final speaker is Colleen Shannon.

If you want to go ahead and approach the podium.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

You know, I can't come to a city council meeting without having an opinion.

So I just want to express a tremendous amount of empathy for the task that you guys have before you of having to make some really difficult decisions that are really the consequences of kind of past council's decisions and with the way that things have gone.

I do not envy you for a second.

So good job.

You guys are doing a great job.

Kate Cassara brought up a really excellent point about the expense that comes along with outsourcing things that our city has gotten so great at handling in-house.

And I I want to echo that, not only as far as the IT department is concerned, but also with another potential revenue generation for the city, which has to do with permits for businesses.

And as a as a resident of Folsom, for going on 14 years as a small business owner, as a member of the board for our chamber of commerce, as the chair for our library commission, I've seen firsthand the challenges of getting a business permit in the city of Folsom.

I've seen the direct costs that it is to our small businesses to go through that process.

And I would just like to urge the city council to consider two different options.

One would be bringing that permit process back in-house.

I understand that that would be an initial upfront cost to the city of filling in those positions, which is challenging when you're looking at cutting positions in other departments.

But if you look at the amount that the city spends in outsourcing the to uh to a third-party agency that does not have the same kind of care that people who live and work in Folsom would have.

If we do not, if that's not something that the city's able to do to bring in-house, um I would urge the council to reload at the uh the contract that's in place and the obligations of the third party, how quickly they need to respond, how in touch are they with getting businesses open within the city of Folsom.

Um we had to jump through a lot of hoops to open our automotive shop.

Um it cost us almost half a million dollars to go through the process of not only getting the permit but also having to pay to have occupancy in the building before we were able to get construction started, and those are things that could have been avoided very, very quickly.

Um, an automotive shop should not have to submit a school impact report, um, and they should not have to submit a sewer impact report on an existing building.

And those were some of the hoops that we had to jump through.

We thought those were the only things we would have to do, but once we submitted those, then we got another couple of things, and then we got another couple of things and another couple things, and it was doled out very slowly.

Um, and I think the city could do a much better job of generating revenue in the city by getting businesses up and going a lot faster.

I know Taron Gross would certainly agree with me.

Um, another point to bring up with permits in particular would be the idea of bringing back over-the-counter permits.

Um, that was something that was done away with, I believe, during COVID when it became scary to talk to people over the counter.

Um, and that's something that could also really speed up the process of um of getting businesses up and running within the city of Folsom.

So those are my two thoughts on that.

Um I have it up coin questions.

Yes, I have a question, and then um I'll make one last point.

I do fully support um keeping the library assistant position as chair of the library commission.

I cannot possibly let that go.

We need our library.

Um, and the other question I have for you is what else is the city subsidizing besides the zoo?

So the zoo is subsidized at 1.5 million.

What else does the city subsidize and how much does that cost?

And what else could we get out of subsidizing besides a great resource like our zoo?

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Best of luck.

Thank you.

Brian, you want to tackle that last question?

Then I'm gonna ask Chief Casano to come back down here too, please.

Sure.

So first off, related to the building permit process, I definitely would welcome the opportunity to meet, you know, with anyone who's had challenges with that, just so we can learn more about what the process is to see how we can improve.

Uh also as far as what we are subsidizing, uh we're subsidizing anything that doesn't generate revenue.

So I mean, the police department, the fire department, you know, um uh parks and recreation, the zoo, uh, we're a service-oriented business or uh uh municipality, and so um typically uh the aquatic centers uh subsidize uh most of the reasons why we subsidize it is because uh, for example, to make uh if we were to charge an entry fee to the aquatic center so that it would not cost money, uh folks would say, Well, why are you charging so much to get in?

And so we recognize that we can't uh have cost recovery on everything, and so we just highlight those areas where you know, related to the zoo, maybe we'll never get there where we eliminate completely the subsidy.

The main reason for this conversation is uh how can we generate ideas?

How can we work together to find something different that will help us provide that service uh in a more efficient way so that we can provide all those necessary things for for law enforcement and for fire services and all those things?

So there's a lot of things we subsidize.

Pretty much everything we do is a subsidy because the revenue comes from you.

I mean, we don't generate the revenue.

Thank you.

Uh Chief Cassano, I just I want to um go back to the um just the where the apparatus is placed because um obviously, you know, our job is to provide the very best services we can with the resources we have.

Every section of the city is important.

We don't want any section to feel like they are um not valued as much as others.

Um can you talk a little bit about?

I mean, obviously we have six stations, but even when we have all ambulances in service, we only have three ambulances, so not every station at this point gets an ambulance.

Correct.

But can you also please talk about it's typically the engines and in some cases a truck that are the first responders, and what sort of medical capabilities do they have while they are waiting on an ambulance to do the transporting?

Sure.

So in our regional system, the ambulance are I mean, there's there's not a whole lot of them in the entire region, and so they get they get kind of sporadically placed throughout the day.

Um we're running out of the city, other units are running in the city, and that's why we rely on the engines and trucks as our first responder.

The nicety about the city of Folsom is that our fire department, all of our apparatus are uh ALS capable, which is advanced life support.

So all of our apparatus, the truck, the engines, they have equipment on them, just like the ambulance have.

The only thing they can't do is transport, and that's why they end up waiting for the ambulance.

Um in our region, ambulances are typically sometimes not even dispatched, code three lights and sirens.

Uh that's why they the first responder will get there and then either they'll request the ambulance if it's necessary or or the ambulance is coming at a at a normal driving pace unless they're requested to speed up if it's an actual emergency.

And in terms of um other cities that that have their own fire departments, the city of Sacramento, City of Roseville, do they all um run their own ambulances also or do they contract out with others?

Uh the the city of Roseville contracts out.

Uh the Sac Sacramento Fire Department has their own ambulance, Metro Fire.

They have their own ambulance and they also contract some of their stations with ambulances.

Okay.

Casumness has their own ambulances as well.

And then, just in terms of the proximity, I mean, probably station 34 and then 36 are the farthest away from the hospital.

Does that does that factor into where an ambulance is placed?

Or what what what goes into determining where the ambulance is placed?

Ambulances are just kind of placed so that they can get to really anywhere in the city.

We have one at station 37.

What you sometimes don't want to do, I mean there's one on the north side of the river at station 36, and that's because there's a barrier.

So we need an ambulance on that side typically.

But what we really don't want to do a lot of times is put them on the outskirts of the town.

You want them really more centrally located, and that's why we have one at Station 37.

Um it can get to the south side of the 50, it can get to in the Empire Ranch area.

It's just more centrally located.

The same with, you know.

Well, there's one at 35 now, but 38's not too far away, and it's basically centrally located in the city as well.

Okay, but so okay, so station 35 by Walmart and station 34 south of 50 are basically swapping the engine and the truck, but both of them will continue to have life saving capabilities.

Correct.

Correct.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Oh, I have another question while you're here.

You're very popular now.

That's okay.

I think we're gonna miss you now.

I thought I thought I was retired.

We keep you here, we're retired.

I keep having to come over.

We'll keep you here with another hundred questions or two.

Um anyway, I I did um want to bring up that we do have cross coverage with SAC Metro when we're down an ambulance or two.

I don't know quite what the ratio is, but they do send ambulances up here to sit at one of our local stations when we don't have the capacity to provide service.

They'll they'll send an ambulance up.

That's when it's not that common that they'll send one up just to sit at one of our stations.

Um regionally they they have a a matrix of where they're looking at ambulance placement.

Um typically, you know, unless Folsom is completely out of the ambulances, like they're all on calls or sitting at hospitals, and and the region is is flush with ambulances.

They may send one up into Folsom to sit at our station, but really they're they're more or less responding from uh areas that they're available when we need them, and that's part of our our mutual aid and automatic aid system.

Like we rely on uh El Dorado Hills fire department, they provide an ambulance that'll come down sometimes for us, and it works vice versa.

We'll respond into El Dorado Hills as well.

Right, and then I understand we are switching to having some EMTs only on staff.

Uh we we currently have uh two uh two EMTs on staff.

We we typically like to uh have paramedics, firefighter paramedics, and that's just really because I said all of our apparatus are ALS capable, and we need that paramedic to do that.

What and maybe I should have said paramedic instead of VMT, but um what and what what would be the threshold to adding an additional ambulance?

You know, should the budget allow for increased ambulance service and staffing?

I think the threshold to that is we we really have to look at the unit hour utilization of the medic units, and and when that starts to get over a certain threshold, because which you really don't want to add an ambulance if it's gonna cost more to staff it, then it's gonna bring in in potential revenue.

So, right now I don't think we're not not there yet for a fourth ambulance.

Um, maybe down the future a little bit, we we will need another fourth ambulance.

And there is reimbursement for ambulance transports, that is one of the income producing things that are the fire departments.

We have a we have a billing agency that uh they they deal with all that insurances, Medicare, Medi-Cal, and then of course, with the the Medicare Medical federally, we get reimbursed through that PPGEMT program.

Um so yes, we rely heavily on our ambulances for revenue.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other questions okay um do we want to make a motion so we can focus this discussion and then we can make our comments based on the motion that word I'll I'll move that we um accept the city manager's recommendation and approve resolution number one one four six three and I will second all right as the maker of the motion I'm gonna let you go first council member Kosowski and then we'll um it's it's been challenging times working our way through the anticipation of this day for the last six or seven years um and it has been coming for that long and plain as day in the future and the future's here right now um it's I think the um the way that we have responded at each step of the way has been responsible and I think the work that the staff has done um the very careful work that the fire department and the police department have done to prepare you know for these adjustments um and especially the work and leadership of our city manager has been exemplary in dealing with what we have to deal with right now so I don't have any further comment except to say thank you to the staff you guys have done a magnificent job of getting us through a difficult discussion and um preparing a plan that's uh hopefully will be successful and I look forward to um having happier discussions in the future thank you thanks Mary Rethel yeah I think um I commented a little bit during uh the questions earlier I don't think I have anything else to add uh in the areas of um you know the the staff reductions uh for this phase one um it's not a position I think we've all said it it's not a position that any of us want to be in um but I do think getting our house in order and stop being in a budget crisis every single year I I've censored it before I've gone back I'm new to this council but I've watched it for years and going back as far as you can on the website of for budgets that are posted on the website there's been a budget crisis in the city of Folsom and so I appreciate the efforts to write the ship as painful as it might be uh and I do want to make a few comments on the zoo um because I think that's an ongoing discussion uh and let me start with I was on a zoo roof uh on Monday of the Reptile House um tearing off the roof not with my city council hat on but with my rotary hat on um and absolutely absolutely in preparation uh for that I you know I helped create signs as far as the Folsom leadership project back in 2014 uh with the mayor uh I love the zoo I I always go when family's in town um that being said that the the subsidy number is large and so I really appreciate the efforts that you guys are going through uh in order to figure out how we move forward how we keep the zoo viable um for future generations uh in fulsom uh being that I like to research everything uh way too much I dove into the 2007 zoo master plan uh and looking at it you know the the back then the revenues that the zoo generated was enough to cover the operations and maintenance uh of the zoo but not the salaries uh and I think that's what we're in a similar position to today there was a lot of recommendations in that 2007 general plan to change that fact um but here we are what is this 18 years later oh and the numbers have changed but the ratios are still roughly the same uh and so it does look like we need to take a different approach um I did appreciate the comments about the Sacramento Zoological Society um dove into that a little bit too.

There are still two full-time positions, roughly three hundred and fifty thousand dollar subsidy that comes from the city of Sacramento uh to the zoo.

So they are not standing um you know completely alone.

That makes up one or two percent.

It's a very small number of their budget.

They're three times the size of the Folsom zoo.

And so I don't think we're here tonight to say that or I'm not, at least I'll speak for myself.

I'm not here to say that there's no subsidy going forward, but we gotta figure out, you know, how to make it work.

There's some other things that I found really interesting uh in that 2007 uh master plan.

One of them was that uh, you know, the transition of the gift shop uh into more of a revenue generator uh was great to see and having those revenues be attributed to the zoo, also including the train concession.

Oh, because most of the folks that are coming for the train uh are also there for the zoo.

They're coming and they're doing doing both.

So I thought that was interesting.

So I'm making these comments for your economic consultant to watch this later and hopefully include these in the report.

Uh I also love the zip line idea.

I've been a long supporter of getting a zip line in Folsom.

The zoo would be a really cool spot.

I think we have a volunteer first rider on that zoo to test it, Mr.

Holderness in the audience.

Maybe a gondola ride, a gondola ride to honor our sister city.

Uh, but there was zip line, amphitheater, sleepover area.

There were a lot of ideas that were in there uh that were that could be revenue generating, and I and I appreciated those.

Um the only other thing I saw that was in there too uh was looking at the costs of the services that are provided.

And I don't know how many of these things are still going on today.

Uh, but just something to uh talk about in our future discussions.

You know, are there services to the community that the zoo provides that we wouldn't necessarily uh have or would have to pay for?

And those were quoted as uh wild animal rescue, um assisting animal control, disposal of roadkill.

I'm not sure that's still going out of the zoo.

It is, I'm getting some thumbs up, no, getting some thumbs down, some thumbs up.

So, what are these other things uh that are there uh to make sure we're including those community benefits that come with the zoo?

Maybe we've gotten rid of them, maybe we bring them back.

Uh, you know, I I think the zoo used to be a much more informal thing that worked with other city departments and met different needs.

Uh and maybe one of the challenges is we've gotten more more siloed and more professional, and maybe we need to go back to more uh, hey, the zoo helps out some of our other departments and our other departments help out the zoo.

So uh I'm definitely willing to climb on the old roofs, uh, tear off tiles, replace things, replace railings throughout.

I know a lot, a lot of our community members are, um, and I think we can uh I think we can make the zoo bigger and better going forward, maybe not bigger.

We can make the zoo even better going forward.

It's already a gym.

Uh, and I know this process isn't gonna be easy.

There are going to be awkward conversations uh, but it's all part of the process, and I look forward to to working through the process uh with you all as partners.

Thank you.

Councilmember Warbo.

Yes, um I want to ditto up several things that have already been said.

Um I do appreciate one of the comments that um they appreciate our city manager um having these um financial discussions um head on and um publicly, and I think the the word that keeps um coming popping out to me is the word stability.

And I think you know, in the past three years, many of you have been in this room too when I've been asking questions about our budget.

Why are we going over millions of dollars without accountability, without it coming to council and being held accountable?

And you know, Brian and I have had many conversations on this, and every single time he's been able to deliver, maybe not the first month, but after that, every single time has been able to deliver and answer quickly.

I mean, within minutes, if not within the next hour.

And I really think that the trust he's um been able to uh build with me with that accountability and that transparency by presenting the real numbers, um, is, I think, by the calmness in this room and the discussions we've had the last several months is showing up in our public as well.

And I think I feel like they are you are also rebuilding that trust with the city, and I think that's the most important thing we can do to bring about that stability in our city.

Um, you know, I think public safety is a big deal to me, as it is, I think to the to most of my, if not all of my council members, uh my colleagues.

Um, so I think you know, continue what I said earlier about having these data points about our service levels and our response times, so we can compare today's numbers to six months from now and really take a real view, same with our budget.

What are the real numbers with these response times and then we can make a decision going forward from there?

Um I do want to speak um about South of 50.

I think languaging and communication really do matter in the city.

You see it in this conversation.

Um, and I think um, you know, we gotta be more um creative and aware of how we speak of South of first, even saying South of 50.

That means we're separate.

Um, so you know, they have been South of 50's revenue has been subsidizing north of 50.

That is very true.

So really being cognizant, and I think our city manager and our city council are about what we are providing um down there and how we use um the money that is due.

Um I I did appreciate Ken Cassano's our chiefs, answer your question about the fourth medic.

That was gonna be a question of mine.

Is that something we can look at?

And I think that goes back to having data points on, you know, would it be would it be usable and relevant and would it make sense?

And it might not make sense.

Um I think in perspective, um, I do appreciate the emails we received from a few of the staff members that that got let go.

That's not an easy decision.

I know that Brian did not take that lightly.

Um and I think at this point, I have to trust our city manager's decision, his experience, his expertise, and just allow him to make some decisions that are hard.

Um, but in a way, this is what we hired him for.

We hired him to stabilize our budget to rebuild the trust in our city and to continue to build a great culture and build up the morale in the city, and unfortunately, that is hard.

Um, and so some positions um have been cut, and I apologize for that, but that's just what it is.

Um, and so I you know, I bless and I hope that everyone that did get let go can find a new position or or find some other side of it.

Um, but I do want Brian to know that I know that he took this seriously and it wasn't on a whim.

Um, so anyways, but in conversation about the zoo, um, it does make us look at a want versus a need.

Um, we are cutting several positions, over 10 positions in public safety, um, and we have to look at the other options, other things that we are subsidizing.

Um, and I think that we want to put a plan in place to how do we retain the zoo?

Um, how do we work in a private public partnership?

Is there somebody out there that's gonna work with us to maintain it?

And I'm looking at all the docents here who have been coming for I think two years now, pretty steadily.

Um, but that is all that also could be a tough situation.

So, you know, I would like to kind of see a timeline on this, a plan in place.

Are we looking at a year or three years out?

Um, and maybe those are conversations that are gonna be continuing to have.

Um, but that is unfortunately something that we have to look at.

Um, and maybe it's gonna be the best solution, as one of you um said, is maybe it's gonna be even better.

Um, a private company or a private partnership or um, you know, SAC Zoo, you know, there's lots of conversations about zoos lately.

Um, maybe it can even be better than it is right now.

So I do appreciate the stability, you know.

Obviously, I think this is gonna go forward, and um, thank you for your patience and your understanding and the calmness of today and many of the conversations that we've had the last um six months.

So, thank you very much.

Councilmember Leary.

Okay, thank you.

I really appreciate all the people that showed up to um come up with some new ideas uh on how we can make things better and um expressing all their concerns, and it's been um a really difficult time going through this process and and um seeing where some of the cuts have been made already and the proposals for um future changes.

I do like the idea that the uh reorganization of the department is going to enhance a lot of the um collaborative work among the departments in supporting each other and accomplishing their missions.

There are some skills or needs that each department has that can be contributed to another department.

I'm not sure where we are exactly in that process.

I think they're currently on leave but have been notified.

And I am concerned about people not having been given an advanced notice, you know, or as much advanced notices.

So I can speak to that if you'd like.

Sure.

Yeah, so uh we we have notified those affected employees and and um you know nothing as far as the layoff uh is going forward until the council makes a decision.

So if the council were to make that decision uh tonight, um they would receive the layoff notices tomorrow.

Uh and then per their MOU or different uh labor agreements, we would follow the process.

So they're on paid administrative leave now, and then they would continue to be on paid administrative leave depending on their agreement, either 10 or 15 days uh until uh the process uh that is uh stipulated in the uh labor agreements is is fulfilled.

And so I I guess one thing that was missing from this uh conversation or or in more uh depth was the amount of the cost savings.

I I think you said something where around eighty or ninety thousand dollars was that per year or per month or what uh yeah, so uh essentially, I mean, we we've done uh a tremendous amount of uh research.

I've worked personally with IT firms and other jurisdictions that handle the complexities of municipal government uh that range from GIS services to handling the complexities of our dispatch center with CLETS and Department of Justice requirements.

I mean, it's very complicated, and so uh moving forward with this decision is very uh challenging and difficult, but we have a plan to be able to make sure that those services are in place.

So uh as I mentioned uh earlier in the presentation that we have uh IT uh consultant firm that is uh, you know, if approved coming this week to make sure and to start our audit and go through those uh those things uh and and uh I would anticipate we would bring um a temporary agreement at the October 14th meeting for the council's considerations so that we could have that six-month plan to do the IT audit uh to help uh with the managed IT services, and then ultimately put together an RFP so that all uh we can make sure that we get the best possible price going forward.

Okay, thanks.

I know those are awkward questions to um have to answer.

This is an awkward situation for all of us.

Um and uh and I appreciate the work that you've done on it and the explanation.

Um in addition, I kind of wanted to talk about, you know, we had people come here and talk about Friends of Folsom Parkways and our uh, you know, our open spaces and our trails and our and we have people come from the zoo are really valuable resources for economic development, and I I that's why I think it's it's uh well worth looking into all of the possibilities they we have to maintain these essential resources while we're still looking at other options for um economic development in conjunction with the uh chamber.

I appreciate the comments from Commissioner Rethel about seeking um additional sources of income and uh I think it would be fair for us to maybe do a have a little bit more conversation in the future about some of the draws on the general fund that are um costing the city a considerable uh larger amount of money than uh than the zoo is currently costing us, uh some of those being the lighting and landscaping districts, and that's a whole nother complex issue, but um we still have a lot of work ahead of us to do.

Uh but I appreciate all the feedback.

Um I don't know, this is still a difficult decision for me.

Thank you.

And I I don't want to repeat everything that has been said, but I agree that this is a difficult but necessary decision, and I also want to thank the city manager and his staff for all their work on this.

Thank you to the public for um your feedback.

We do greatly appreciate it.

I do have just one comment on the zoo.

I also did a little bit of research over the weekend.

Um, Jocelyn, maybe with a nod of your head you can confirm, but I believe we're regulated by USDA and not the Association of Zoos and Aquariums because we're a zoo sanctuary.

But um I did see that the city of Waco, Texas just last month is dealing with the same um you know scenario that we are.

Theirs is called the Cameron Park Zoo, and they have retained a consultant.

And I thought these were just some interesting facts and figures.

Again, we are not accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums, but of those 225 zoos and aquariums that are uh accredited in our AZA.

22 zoos are municipally owned and operated, eight aquariums are municipally owned and operated, 32 are governed by another form of government or district, 133 operate as nonprofits, and 30 operate as for-profit businesses.

So it seems like a lot of them are going this direction.

And although they may not be um, you know, we may at some point get to the point where we it's not owned or operated by the city.

It to Vice Mayor Rethel's point, it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a subsidy.

Um, and I would just think in terms of the budget, you know, with the public support, one percent of our general fund budget going to the zoo.

Um, that's kind of how I think about it.

So anyway, uh, we have a motion and a second.

Would you please call the poll?

Okay, council members Kazowski.

Yes, Larry.

Uh yes.

Rathel, yes.

Horbah, yes, and Aquino.

Yes.

Thank you very much for that.

Uh that takes us to city manager reports.

Uh thank you.

Uh, just a few items.

Uh Natoma Station Lightning Landscape District.

Uh, there's a timeline uh update.

Uh the city of Folsom has extended the timeline for the Natoma Station landscaping and lighting district proposition 218 process to allow for more thorough financial analysis uh in early 2026.

The city council will review the preliminary engineers report, announce its intent to form the district, and direct staff to mail proposition 218 ballots to the property owners 45 days later.

The council will hold a public hearing, count uh the ballots and may approve the final report and confirm the new assessments.

Uh we'll also have community outreach, and the reason why we're sharing this is we want to make sure that the community knows that we haven't forgotten about them and that this will not change the overall timing of the Prop 218 assessment process that we talked about earlier.

Um also we have our um Folsom Water Vision Draft Report available for public review, and we encourage our uh anyone who wants to review that and comment to do so prior to October 10th.

And then uh coming up, we have our homecoming parades, Vista de Lago and Folsom High School will host their annual homecoming parades, and the city is assisting with the road closure Vista is uh on Wednesday, September 24th.

Uh, and so just so you know, uh Golf Lynx Drive between Empire Oaks Elementary School and Vista de Lago High School will be closed from 6 to 7:30 parade or PM for the parade, and then Folsom High School uh homecoming parade will be held on Wednesday, October 15th.

Motorists should be aware of road closures along Coloma Street, Sutter Street, Reading Street, and Leadersdorf uh Street from 6 to 7 30 p.m.

Uh, and that concludes my report.

Thank you, Councilmember Kosnowski.

Any comments?

Um, just one thing.

I wanted to double down on something that uh Bruce Klein clued everybody in on.

Um, first of all, community service day happened on Saturday and was a smashing success, and an enormous amount of work got done by close to 2,000 volunteers.

So thank you to the organizing committee for that once again.

Um, 20 of those volunteers and myself were out at Hinkle Creek clearing um uh ladder fuel out of one small part of Hinkle Creek Nature Center, and we pulled enough debris out of that, like probably three quarters of an acre to fill this room about eight feet deep, which should give you a sense of the scale of the issue of ladder fuel and fire safety work that has to happen in our park areas.

So kudos to the Friends of the Folsom Parkway.

That project will be ongoing every Thursday until further further notice, or it gets too dark to do it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Rethel.

Just want to give a quick report out on the Sacramento Sewer District.

And this really dates back to the time where my colleagues served on the sewer district.

But with all the changes coming from the 2010 change and standards with sewage disposal, the project has moved forward, and unfortunately, one of the effects that they've seen is biosolids accumulation.

This gets into the weeds and technical details, but the they showed basically to resolve this issue, they're looking at another 450 million dollars in capital expenditures.

Good thing is originally they had come in uh not quite a half million dollars under budget what the original estimate was.

Turns out they're actually gonna have to spend that money now.

Um and they didn't know this until they had operated the plants for many months.

Now they've come up with a better plan.

They've been doing kind of emergency operations since then.

Uh, a very big number.

The good thing is, you know, there's uh I think between almost 700,000 of us that get serviced um by SACSUR.

So the costs are spread out amongst uh many, many, many, many folks.

Uh and so long-term, you know, this their long-term financial plan, they'd be looking at about six dollars uh per year uh increase, and then they do it over four years, so like a dollar fifty for four years of an increase uh to the sewer rates.

So not a huge uh impact to an individual household, even though that number is is very, very large uh because of the amount of people that they serve.

So just wanted to throw that out there.

If anybody has a real interest in biosolids or sewage, uh the staff report is out there, uh, feel free to give me a call on it and uh and we can talk about about that.

Uh also wanted to give uh a shout out, uh the sister city celebrations, um the Folsom Historic District Association, the Mirror House, um also Palladio.

Um you guys did a great job, and I think the community really enjoyed celebrating um our sister city.

Uh and I'm sad that service day is over for the year.

It is obviously my favorite day of the year.

Yeah, really excited every year, um, had a great time out there.

Looking forward to uh starting to plan 2026's service day.

Community service every day.

Thank you.

Council Member Warba.

Yeah, I just want to do uh I'll just jump on the community service day.

I was at Granite City or Granite, not Granite City, Granite School, redoing their entire um landscaping out front, and that was uh really fun and um with the rotary as well.

And then we went over to Castle Park to help finish some cleanup.

There's still some cleanup to go, but um and that leads me to Castle Park, which I want to do a quick update on.

I've been in three design meetings the last week, I think seven to ten days.

Um, and what's really great about the last one I was in, I uh first of all, I think our staff is doing a great job keeping under budget or trying to keep under budget while serving our community.

One of the last meetings that we were in, um we were able to connect with some ADA accessible um needs.

Um, so parents of ADA um kids that need different things.

Um and they were so excited to be a part of the input of the park, and what was really great to see is in the draft design that there are we were already implementing um some of the things that they were looking for and love in other parks.

Um we are always ADA accessible, um, but sometimes that doesn't mean we meet the needs of um, you know, different um entities.

So um we we put our heads down and got to work and really kind of figured out some more things that we could do.

We adjusted some things.

Um, and so while Castle Park isn't gonna be everything to everyone, we are definitely making some great improvements there that can serve a broader and more inclusive community.

Um, but what was great about that meeting as well is there are so many things that we learned as we have two more parks on our plan to build Benevento and Neighborhood Park One, which will have a new name, I think, in your district, and what we can do there and what is needed.

So I think we'll gonna continue to keep them a part of the process, and it was just really fun to see how excited and and welcomed they felt by being able to just give some input and such um great people.

Um that's it.

So thank you.

Great, thank you, Councilmember Leary, okay.

I'm gonna have to add a little bit more about community service day.

I think this is the 12th one I've organized, and um, as usual, it was a lot of fun, and we had a great turnout and got a lot of the work done uh in the Thomas Station that hasn't been able to be done because we're still working on our lighting and landscaping uh program changes.

But we um actually managed to produce over 40 large bags of brush and trash and repaint um probably between a quarter and a third of a mile of uh rusted wrought iron fencing along Iron Point, or not long Iron Point um Turnpike Drive.

And uh I think everybody enjoyed the day.

It was a great turnout that to see uh I don't know how many projects got done, could have used a little report there, but there were a lot.

Uh and um the other thing I I did want to bring up that uh I think um Brian touched on a little bit, and that is you know communicating about updates, and I was just wondering if there's any way that council members could have access to some kind of um a list of or a way to communicate with the residents in our districts because right now it's a little haphazard, you know, being able to use you know the lists that we've gathered and social media, but the message always doesn't get out to everybody, you know, which inspired me to send you the email from one of my residents to get an update put out there.

Yeah, well, I appreciate all the information that the council shares uh with me and our our team, and it helps us you know develop plans going forward.

And and I guess you know, Councilmember Leary maybe uh at our next you know opportunity to get together, we can kind of talk about how we can better do that for you.

Yeah, I appreciate I think everybody everybody's district would like a little bit more info.

Sure.

Yeah, thank you.

And uh thanks to everybody again for coming out tonight, and that will be it.

All right, and I just want to thank Jennifer for serving as our clerk at the meeting tonight, and we will adjourn at 9 22.

Thank you, everyone.