Novato City Council Meeting Summary: July 9, 2024
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Novato City Council Meeting Summary: July 9, 2024
The Novato City Council met on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included presentations on the city's pavement condition, a five-year general fund forecast, and a community opinion survey, alongside public hearings on landscape assessment districts and a discussion on e-bike safety. The council also received a proclamation for Parks and Recreation Month and heard public comments on a potential sales tax measure.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved the consent calendar with the exception of item G.9 (e-bike grand jury response), which was pulled for separate discussion. Items approved included routine approvals, minutes, ordinance adoption for mobilehome rent control, notices of completion, contract amendments, and resolutions related to street sweeping, engineering services, and the grand jury response (with modifications).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mary Stump (Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers) urged the council to consider a half-cent sales tax increase with a 10-year sunset, rather than a three-quarter cent permanent tax, and provided a copy of COST's tax criteria.
- Bernard Myers (former mayor) proposed guardrails for any sales tax increase, including a 4-to-1 vote requirement to override the finance committee and salary freezes for city manager and finance director if audits are delayed. He also questioned whether funds taken from the Hamilton Trust Fund and other accounts had been replaced.
- Paul Shaw (Novato Police Officers Association) expressed concern about the city's financial projections and urged the council to take swift action to raise revenue to avoid cuts to services, including police response.
Discussion Items
- Pavement Condition Report (J.1): Margot Yap of NCE Consulting presented the city's pavement condition index (PCI) of 66, a slight decline from 72 in 2013. The city faces $38 million in deferred maintenance. Current funding of $3 million per year will lead to a PCI of 61 in five years and a $61 million backlog. To stabilize at 66, $8 million per year is needed; to improve to 72, $11 million per year. The council discussed the need for increased investment, federal grant opportunities, and the impact of declining gas tax revenues. Councilmember Eklund suggested exploring road diets to reduce maintenance costs.
- Five-Year General Fund Forecast (J.2): Finance Director Carla Carvalho-DeGraff and consultant Andy Heath presented the forecast. The general fund faces systemic deficits of $3.4–$3.8 million starting in FY 2025-26, with reserves projected to be exhausted by FY 2026-27. Key drivers include rising CalPERS costs (expected to increase by $2.2 million over five years) and the need to fill current vacancies. A potential 3/4-cent sales tax increase could generate $10.5 million annually, turning deficits into surpluses of $7.2–$8.6 million. The council discussed the complexity of the city's budget structure (85 departments, 1,500 line items) and the need for service delivery efficiencies.
- Community Opinion Survey (J.3): Brian Godby of Godbe Research presented results of a survey of 410 likely November 2024 voters. Initial support for a 3/4-cent general sales tax was 57.4%, increasing to 65.1% after information about spending priorities and accountability provisions, then dropping to 59% after negative arguments. The top priority for spending was fixing potholes and maintaining streets (78%). The survey found that a half-cent tax or an 8-year sunset would slightly increase support, but the 3/4-cent, until-repealed-by-voters option was still viable. The council discussed next steps, including bringing a resolution to the July 23 meeting to place the measure on the November ballot.
- E-Bike Grand Jury Response (G.9): Councilmember Eklund pulled the item, expressing concerns about the tone of the response to the grand jury and the community letter. Councilmembers and Chief Naugle discussed the need for a countywide approach, but also the importance of local action. The council directed staff to modify the response to soften language (e.g., changing “not warranted” to “not practical at this time”) and to revise the community letter for clarity, while retaining technical details. The council adopted the resolution with the understanding that the exhibit would be modified per direction.
Key Outcomes
- Landscape Assessment Districts (I.1–I.4): All four resolutions were adopted unanimously (5-0), with Councilmember Wernick recused on I.1 (San Marin) as a resident. The assessments for FY 2024/25 were levied as follows: San Marin ($48.12/unit, +$1.11), San Pablo ($910.06/unit, +$23.92), Wildwood Glen ($267.44/unit, +$6.18), and Hillside Park Unit 4 ($421.48/unit, +$9.74).
- E-Bike Resolution (G.9): The council adopted the resolution (5-0) directing staff to modify the grand jury response and the community letter as discussed, with the response due to the grand jury by July 25, 2024.
- Next Steps: The council will consider a resolution to place a 3/4-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot at the July 23, 2024 meeting. Staff will also bring back an update on e-bike safety efforts by October 26, 2024.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the City of Nevado, California uh city council meeting for Tuesday, July ninth, twenty twenty-four. Uh it's my pleasure to uh uh call up and I'll meet him up front, our mayor for the day, Jackson Honey Bell. Honey ball, sorry, I was been working on that. Honey ball. Uh so Jackson, come on and meet me up front and we'll uh do the Puds of allegiance together. So Jackson was the mayor of the day today, and it was a just a delight getting to know him. He's a super intelligent young man, uh loves this city, and uh we're really proud to have him here tonight to delete us on the pledge. So welcome, Jackson. Please go ahead. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. To the Republic for what it stands, one nation, under God, and indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Jackson. So I want to invite Jackson's parents, Megan and Jonathan, to please join Jackson at the Nevada Proud Sign for a photo to commemorate today. Thank you again, Jackson. It's a real pleasure. So uh McKenzie, welcome. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Okay, with that, uh, we'd like to go ahead and do the roll call. If you could take care of that for us, Laura, thank you. Councilmember Eckland. President, Councilmember Warnick, President Mayor Pur Tim O'Connor. Present. So um there was no closed session this evening, so there's nothing to report out on for that. So I'm gonna ask my uh colleagues to please join me in the front. We have a proclamation for our parks and recreation month. And in the meantime, if I can please call up the uh uh recreation, cultural and community services advisory commission chair Nancy Weber and Vice Chair Emily Larson to come up and I'll give you the proclamation. Yes, and Suzanne Crow is here as a longtime commissioner. Betsy, come on up. Betsy Ricketts is here, who's also my colleague at Ultragenics. Welcome, Betsy. Great service. Okay, I think we have everybody. Thank you. All right, so I'm gonna go ahead and read this. And uh and when we're done, I'll ask if if any of you would like to make any comments. So today we're recognizing the month of July as Parks and Recreation Month. Whereas the City of Novato recognizes the parks and recreation and enriches community life and acknowledges the importance of access to local parks, trails, open space, and indoor recreation facilities for the physical and mental health, wellness development, inspiration and safety for all Nevadaans. Whereas the Novato Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, staff and activities create memorable experiences for all Nevadaans through youth sports and enrichment activities, the Novato Gymnastics Center, Summer Camps, the Margaret Todd Senior Center, Adult Sports, Fitness and Enrichment Programs, Free Community and Cultural Events, Aquatics Programming at the Hamilton Community Pool, and beyond. Whereas PRCS supports the economic vitality of our community by partnering with local businesses and nonprofits and offering events, activities, and programs for residents' engagement. And whereas PGPRCS supports human development and endless learning opportunities that foster social, intellectual, physical, professional, and emotional growth in people of all ages and abilities. And whereas PRCS fosters social cohesive cohesiveness in our community by celebrating diversity, providing spaces to come together peacefully, modeling compassion, promoting social equity, connecting social networks, and ensuring all people have access to its benefits. Now, therefore, it's only one page here. Be resolved that the City Council of the City of Novato on behalf of the residents of Novato does hereby proclaim July as Parks and Recreation Month and offers its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the parks, recreation and community services staff for all they do to make our community Novato fun. Thank you. Let's hear it for them. Thank you. So thank you, Mayor Milburg, and um the commission, the recreation, cultural and community services commission would like to thank the council and the staff, uh parks and rec staff. You do a terrific job.
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