Note on date: The agenda lists Monday, July 13, 2026, but per user instruction this summary uses the provided date of July 14, 2026. The discrepancy is noted.
The City Council met to hear public comments, receive a presentation from the Lamorinda Arts Council, introduce a new senior planner, approve the consent calendar, take positions on three state bills, recognize outgoing commissioners, and enter closed session to discuss pending litigation (Vesce v. City of Lafayette). All votes were 4-0 with Councilmember Witherspoon excused.
Seven o'clock. Call the meeting to order. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Council Member Witherspoon, who has an excused absence. I have a motion for adoption of the agenda. So moved. I second. All in favor say aye. Aye. It's unanimous four zero. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. All right. As we meet this evening, we acknowledge that Lafayette is part of the unceded ancestral homeland of the Bay Miwok people. The Bay Mi Wok and neighboring Ohlone people have lived in and moved through this place for thousands of years. They stewarded and shaped this land for hundreds of generations. We express our appreciation and gratitude for this profound legacy which enhances and contributes to our lives to this day. We will strive to honor this land and strengthen our ties with the indigenous communities that continue to live and work in our East Bay region as our neighbors and community members. We acknowledge and honor them and their ancestors, elders, and next seven generations. We're now on to public comment. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the council on any item that is not on the agenda but is within the purview of the council. You have up to three minutes. Mayor Ann Durry, City Council members, we do have members of the public that wish to wish to speak. We'll take members in the Don Catson community hall first, and then we'll go to members of uh the public that are participating via the Zoom webinar. Um please raise your virtual hands. First speaker is Mario DePrisco to be followed by Mr. Sturm and his daughter Hadley. Okay, welcome. Okay, super. Uh Mayor Anduri, Council members and neighbors, thank you for the time. Uh almost two years ago, Lafayette passed uh Measure H. Uh, it was a responsible thing to do. Uh in retrospect, it was timely given other proposals for sales taxes. But it was always meant to be a temporary uh fix of about seven years, right? At a half cent on the sales tax. And the reality was that just about every dollar from that has gone to maintaining services that we already have. It buys us time, but it doesn't fundamentally fix our finances, especially as as we look farther to the future. That seven-year clock is already running, and when it sunsets, the city's gonna face the same structural pressures we face today, plus the cost of liabilities that only compound drainage, deferred maintenance, wildfire, and recreational needs. Right now, our finance work happens in a two-member council subcommittee of the mayor and vice mayor working along staff. I think this neglects an enormous resource that we have in the community, and that's residents in here in this town. Uh Lafayette, as we all know, is full of people with a lot of skills, especially in this matter, investors, accountants, business owners, folks who have spent careers finding efficiencies and growing revenue, and they want to help, and I think we should let them. So my request is simple. Expand the finance subcommittee into a standing fiscal advisory body, one that brings residents with real financial expertise to the table alongside council. Give it a clear charge, explore efficiencies and cost savings across the city, and bring this council concrete, well-vetted ideas to grow revenue that don't depend on the next tax measure. I think we should start planning for that day when Measure H expires two years ago. This wouldn't take a single power away from the Council, its advisory. Uh it meets under the Brown Act and you decide what to act on. We already have a Measure H oversight Committee. It looks backward at how the money is spent, but this would be a forward-looking partner. How do we spend less and earn more so we depend less on temporary taxes and can finally invest in our future? In the recent successful campaign for the parcel tax, I saw firsthand the credibility the school district has earned by having exactly this type of body. If the city wants to renew the tax or issue a bond for a community center, for example, it will be crucial to show that we've done everything we can to be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars.