Okay, I'd like to welcome everyone to the personnel and public employee committee meeting here in the city of Sacramento and City Hall.

We're glad you're here.

Thank you for coming.

Would the clerk please do a roll call?

Thank you, Chair.

Vice Mayor Talamantes.

Chair.

Member Kaplan.

Member Vang is absent.

And Chair Jennings.

Here.

Thank you.

We have quorum.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

I'd like uh Councilmember Kaplan to do the land acknowledgement and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Please rise if you are able for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands.

To the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, the Valley and Plains Miwok, the Putwin Winton peoples, and the people of Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe.

May we acknowledge and honor the people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' histories, lives, and contributions.

Thank you so much.

Please remain standing for the pledge.

Pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the United States of America.

And to the Republic for which is one nation under God, indivisible and justice for all.

Okay, we will move to our first item, which is the consent calendar.

I'll move consent.

All second.

It's been moved and second.

Any further discussion?

The record I have no speaker slips on this item.

Perfect.

Hearing none, seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Abstain.

Let the record show we are unanimous.

Okay.

We're gonna move this right on through.

Item number two.

Thank you, Chair.

Item two is review of applicants for the Housing Code Advisory and Appeals Board.

Uh the seat meeting recommendation today is seat F.

The requirements for seat F are as follows.

A member who must have an expressed interest or demonstrated history of involvement in the provisions of the city's housing code.

We have two applicants for review today.

Our first applicant is Krista Bunting.

They do not appear to be in the audience.

Also not in the audience.

That concludes my item.

I'm here for any questions.

So will this go to our next um meeting of this board.

Well Chair, if you don't mind, I I think it's it's important when people fill out applications.

You know, sometimes that's that's all we get, and we are at 11 a.m.

So I truly do understand when people can't make it.

Um they are both uh qualified if you read the amount of information um that they uh submitted.

Um I I really think that um uh miss Krista Diane Bunting, uh, who works for Blank at the City is a nonprofit, she's an executive director, uh can use that experience um on this.

Uh I do see her as very qualified uh for serving on this.

Um I would make a motion to um to have her fill that seat if there's if there's no objections from my from my other colleagues.

Yeah, I am happy to second that motion.

Uh both candidates look qualified, they took the time to fill it out and has good experience.

Okay, so my only question was if in fact we didn't do that today, would they come back on the next agenda where they could have an opportunity to interview in front of us?

Would that be the case?

It could be, or they have work and they still can't make it.

I'm okay with just moving forward the recommendation with them without them coming back.

It's been moved and seconded.

Correct.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

We are unanimous.

Okay.

All right.

Item number three.

Thank you, Chair.

Our next item is review of applicants for the preservation commission.

The seat meeting recommendation today is seat E, and the requirements are as follows.

A landscape architect, designer, or historian with training or experience in historical landscapes.

We have one applicant for review today.

John Nicholas.

Thanks for having me in.

Nice to see you, Lisa.

And to see you.

A lot of the projects I've done around town have had to take into consideration that very thing.

I've uh worked on projects in Capitol Park.

I did the Capitol Park Security Perimeter, the Rose Garden there.

I did Rayleigh Field, I did West Sacramento Riverwalk Park.

I've done a lot of work in Lisa's district at North Lake, having designed most of that community from the ground up from a landscape architecture perspective.

And I've also served as the chair when there was a SMAC.

I was a SMAC chair and the APP chair back in the day.

So I have a fairly uh good working knowledge of public art and culture within our city.

And uh would be pleased to take on this assignment if you guys so chose.

All right, thank you very much.

We're gonna ask you a few questions and then we're gonna move forward.

Uh Vice Chair Lisa Kaplan.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, my question I just want to, because one of the things that makes the preservation commission a little differently.

Um, can the clerk confirm that we have authority to appoint somebody who lives outside the city boundaries?

Thank you, Councilmember Kaplan.

Uh yes, per the um per the city code on the preservation commission, it does allow uh for members uh to not live within the city, sorry, uh the city limits.

Uh that was carved out by the council with the um ordinance update done in 2024.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure because sometimes there are limitations of they have to live within city residents.

Um honestly I could not speak more highly of you, your history, Mr.

Nicholas, and what you've done in Sacramento and your background.

Um there really couldn't be a more qualified person to look at things for our preservation commission.

Um I think we would do uh our city a great service if if we appointed you because of your knowledge and background and all the work that you have done.

You have truly lived it.

Um so uh I would make a motion to appoint Mr.

Nicholas to C E.

And I would second that motion based on everything that she said, and have no more further questions from you, but when I get a chance to have coffee, I'd like to know about the fifth generation and how the family stayed here in Sacramento for so long.

So that'll be another opportunity to get to know you better.

So I will second that motion.

Further questions, comments.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

By unanimous congratulations.

Welcome.

Have a good day.

Thank you.

And for the record, we had no uh public comments on that item.

Our next item is item four, review of applicants for the Natomas Basin Conservancy Board of Directors.

The seat needing recommendation today is seat B.

The requirements for this seat are as follows.

A member who is not a current employee of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Department of Interior, California Department of Fish and Game, or the State of California's resources, natural resources agency, uh, and must not be currently compensated by the Natomas Basin Conservancy for services rendered to it within the previous 12 months, whether it's a full-time or part-time employee, independent contractor or otherwise, or any brother, sister, ancestor, descendant, spouse, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, or father-in-law of any such person.

Uh, we have three applicants for review today.

Our first applicant is Henry DeBay.

Well, Chair, Vice Chair, Council members.

Uh, thank you for the opportunity this morning.

Uh so my name is Henry DeBay, and I currently work as the deputy executive officer for science at the Delta Stewardship Council, which is an independent state agency focused on the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, so the area just south or or downstream of here.

And so in this role, I work every day at the intersection of environmental protection, economic development, and community interests.

So many of the same challenges that this board is navigating.

And I'm interested in serving on this board because this work isn't just professional for me, it's personal too.

So seven years ago, my wife and I uh moved to Sacramento and have built a life here.

So we adopted a dog, uh, we had two kids, we bought a house.

Um, and and those roots have just made me more invested in this community and wanting to give back.

Also, as an avid cyclist, uh, I spent a lot of time riding through Sacramento and uh including along the Garden Highway at the edge of the Natomas Basin.

Uh and through that, I've really come to value this area not just as an open space, but as a dynamic system of agriculture, habitat, and evolving land use.

In terms of my qualifications, I won't rehash what's in my application, but do want to just highlight three areas of relevant experience.

So, first, science-based decision making.

So I'm trained as an environmental scientist and geographer, and over the last 16 years working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United Nations, and now the state.

Uh, I've led decisions that balance environmental, economic, and community needs using best available science.

Second, uh, adaptive management and stewardship.

So, in my current role, I oversee science programs that inform real world decisions where monitoring learning and adjusting over time are essential, and that experience aligns directly with stewarding the habitat conservation plan.

And I know I'm close on time here, I'll wrap it up.

And and third, just collaboration and communication.

So I've worked across agencies, stakeholders, and communities, often on complex and contentious issues, and I'm passionate about making.

Your two minutes is complete.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you very much.

We'll get more time to talk when we ask you some questions here.

Uh Vice Chair Lisa Kaplan.

Oh, oh, nope.

Uh all after, all of them.

Okay.

Okay.

We do have two more applicants.

Our next applicant is Michael McCray.

Hi, my name is Kevin McRae.

I'm gonna give you the backstory, which is I received a phone call from the executive director, John Roberts, about three weeks ago, asking if I would be interested in serving on the board of directors of the TNBC again, and to my surprise, I said yes, at that time in that phone call.

And what he said is that they were trying to fill the empty seat B with somebody who had a financial numbers background, and I'm that guy.

I'm I'm very impressed with the prior speaker.

It's great to have folks with a background in environmentalism and management.

But what John says they need now is somebody who can look over the shoulders of all the pros they hired to make sure that the city's getting the best recommendations.

I'm I've been a board member twice before for more than 10 years.

I lived in the garden highway for 30 years.

Sacramento's my home.

My qualifications, I've been self-employed as a certified public accountant for 40 years, specializing in taxes, but my background is auditing.

I'm a certified fraud examiner.

I'm an economist working 25 years as a forensic economist with attorneys.

Um I get it.

And because of my prior experience on the board looking at the financials brought by the brokerages representing the investments and by the two other CPA firms hired by the board to either audit or produce returns.

I've been able to, you know, comment knowledgeably and solicit input from the other guys and gals to make the decisions that we all felt comfortable with ultimately.

I'm uh was a commercial fisherman.

I'm a master falconer.

I have a four-year degree in science from Davis in agriculture and agronomy, food fiber, and oil.

Um I'm happy to take any questions.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for being here today.

Our final applicant is Francesca Parent.

Hi, good morning, Chairman.

My name is Francesca Parent.

My history here began with my grandfather who lived in Sacramento working for the California State Department of Education, and my very fond memories of his boat up and down the American River and playing in the basin as a child.

I have now worked 13 years in economic and community development with a focus in in the overlap of green and gray infrastructure and its preservation.

And that has included projects of you know 50,000 to 220 million dollars across 15 states, looking at our interactions and the way we preserve and take care of our natural environment, both with a focus in often natural disaster mitigation, but also outdoor recreation and economic opportunities.

I have a very extensive background in grant and grant development, but even more so than that, the way that we communicate the impact of funds and projects as well as the impact of our natural environment.

What does it mean to our community to hold open space?

Why is it important?

And how do we communicate that impact both to the city and our officials, but also our users and constituents and the people who actually make use of this space?

We can talk forever, and I can soapbox happily about why green space is important for communities, but the ways that we make decisions that are sustainable, that are long-term, that are envisioned the long-term impact of that environment, balancing that with the economics, the funding, the city's priorities, and our budget.

And those are all what I do every day for work.

Currently, I work across 56 municipalities in Central Louisiana looking at long-term disaster mitigation, and most recently have worked, done actually a significant amount of work in California on the same.

So open for questions, and thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for being here today.

Chair, I have no more applicants for review.

We will now entertain some questions.

Vice Chair Kaplan.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Just wanted were there any public comments?

Mr.

Clay.

Thank you, Vice Chair.

I have no speaker slips for public comment.

Um of you individually, um, we have a wealth of applications and absolutely qualified.

And as uh the vice mayor and I represent Netomas and the Natomas Habitat Base and Conservancy, its survival is fundamental to the development in Nethomas specifically.

I live right next to it on the west side of the freeway.

So it is in my backyard and something that I enjoy on a on a daily basis.

Uh what's also important as we look at it, while you are all wonderfully qualified, um, it is something that I do take into consideration with the executive director and Mr.

Roberts' recommendation of what the board needs at this time.

Um and I and I please take that with um knowing that I want those that um you know, Henry and Francesca, you know, I I think you are incredibly qualified, and I hope you look at other boards and commissions um and keep the Natomas Habitat Basin uh conservancy in mind.

But at this critical juncture where there is development that could potentially destroy uh the basin conservancy, um the recommendation of the executive director is something that that I uh really feel that I must take into consideration right now.

But I do want you guys to keep in mind other things that you can apply to because you are both very qualified.

Um with that, I will uh take the advice of of the executive director and uh appoint uh Mr.

Kevin McCray uh to the seat B.

Vice Mayor Telemonte.

Um I just want to echo my colleagues' comments.

Uh, there's a lot of movement and activity in the Natomas Basin with all the developments around us and having experience coming into this role at this time is important.

But like she said, you are both wonderful, and we look forward to seeing you here for another border commission, and we will follow up with you to see where we can find you uh spaces even within our own teams for leadership positions.

Thank you.

So I'll second.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded.

Any further questions, comments?

Hearing none, seeing none.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Oppose abstain.

Let the record show we are unanimous.

Congratulations.

Thank you all so much.

Okay.

Our next item is item five.

City of Sacramento Measure U Community Advisory Commission 2025 Annual Report and 2026 work plan.

Awesome.

How are you guys doing?

Uh, my name's Seti George off.

I'm the chair of the Metro U Community Advisory Commission.

Today I'm gonna talk about what we did last year.

Um, so first off, who we are, we're a 50-member oversight committee.

Uh, we're established when measure you passed, basically ensure that we're spending money appropriately.

Uh that when we collect it, it's about 150 million dollars per year sales tax revenue.

Um, and we have four ad hoc committees right now.

Um, one is for goals and metrics, which I'll talk about, um, budget recommendations, which are coming up, and then the annual report, which is what I'm doing right now, and community outreach, which is how do we reach out to our community?

I have three priorities primarily with this uh commission, which is transparency and accountability, uh, fiscal responsibility, like how many, what's our return on investment, and uh community voice.

But right now, obviously, we are facing um a pretty serious fiscal reality in Sacramento.

Um we have a structural deficit, we have had one for a few years.

Looks like we're gonna have one in the future.

And taxpayers are already carrying a pretty significant economic strain.

So we've seen um federal funding starting to go away.

We have no appetite for new taxes shown in these previous measures that have been uh have not passed.

And so, what does this mean for measure you?

It means that we must demonstrate a clear return on investment per dollar that we collect.

And we need to ensure that the citizens of Sacramento see that return per dollar because although this is a codified tax, it could be undone.

And in a time of um you know, structural deficit, that would be very devastating to our city.

So every initiative must tie to Measure U's core purpose and what it was passed for, and we must build public trust, uh public trust through transparent data.

So I'm talking about a few of our key accomplishments of last year.

Um first is transparency and accountability.

We worked with city staff to identify per program metrics across all Measure U fund departments.

Um If remember uh member Kaplan, we were in an office talking about this, and I said I would get it done.

It has uh at least mostly been done at this point.

Uh we still have work to do, but um it's it's on a good path.

And then first uh systematic effort to link programmatic outcomes to measure U purposes from a results-based accountability perspective.

Um of course we take fiscal responsibility very seriously.

We're empowering ourselves uh for budget recommendations, which uh we'll deliver to you all very soon.

And then on top of that, we are uh trying to capture more community voice.

We did run some focus groups.

I think those focus groups, you know, sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some.

This was a very small outcome because we just didn't have very many people show up to these groups.

Um so from this point forward, we'll probably just be looking more at the uh city uh the the one that the city runs essentially, um the city survey.

Um, and we're obviously gonna consider that community priorities now take uh direct inform from commission recommendations.

Um sorry, the other way around.

We want the community to inform community uh commission decisions.

So, how do we evaluate uh three vectors of the of our programs uh that measure you runs?

So, first is do programs measure impact?

Uh we currently still have, and this is why I said it's almost done.

We still have 17 programs, about 19 million dollars in total, that report no metrics.

So we have no idea the results of what those programs are accomplishing.

Um we feel it's strongly that programs must provide measurable impact data for continued funding recommendations from our commission.

Um we need to start moving from what did we do to did it change anything?

What's the impact?

What's the results?

And our programs aligned with measure you.

So some spending should be general fund, is what we feel like when we're looking at our budget.

Um $2.2 million is spent from Measure U funding on facility roof repair and structural repairs.

Um there's $58,000 on department IT or on IT equipment.

There's $500,000 on ADA compliance.

Of course, these are essential things, but they don't really reflect what Measure U's purpose was.

Um lastly, uh outcomes over activities, and I touched on this a little bit earlier, but we need to stop counting number of things and start measuring community impact.

Uh, how is it impacted people?

And so we have a few priority areas and in program alignment.

Um we're looking at small business and workforce development because we need to start raising the economic uh gains that we can collect through taxes, and the way we do that is make everyone like the all boats rise together, sort of thing.

So we want to see businesses be more profitable.

We want to see more people with better jobs.

Um that includes that sort of very highly highly relates to the inclusive economic development as well.

Um, homelessness is of course a problem, um, and we continue to focus on that as well.

Uh, youth and community programs, extremely important, cultural art grants.

Um, as we get to the lower levels, it maybe have a little bit less priority, but still important in our eyes.

Um, libraries, of course, public safety is actually very important.

Um, but how we approach it maybe um could use some thinking and participatory budgeting is a wish that our committee has, um, which I know in this uh economic environment isn't a possibility, but we will continue to push for it because it did have extremely high impact when it was run.

Basically, the dollar per dollar value we got out of it was extremely high.

And we're looking at 2026 work plan, um, program bull program goals and transparency, uh, just continuing to work with the departments to get presentations to the commission, um, publicizing our metrics dashboard, like the equity GIS tool did.

Uh, Ash is here in the audience, he did a wonderful job with that dashboard, and we'll continue to work on it and refine it.

Um, budget engagement.

So we always every year submit recommendations uh earlier in the budget cycle.

Uh we're still gonna be pretty close on this one, but uh we'll try and get it sooner and sooner as we uh figure out our pipeline better.

Um, and then lastly, performing or second to last performance measure, continuing to refine this outcome-based measures uh quarterly, track progress across across measure you priority areas, public safety, equity, economic development, youth, etc.

Um, this is again just working on that dashboard and refining it.

And lastly, community engagement.

So exploring new channels.

We have an ad hoc that's doing this now.

Um, how do we participate more?

How do we get out there more?

How do we show people measure you is here to stay and make an impact for you?

This includes like going to some of your guys' fairs that you uh host, or maybe pitching up a tent some in and in some park.

I don't know, we'll figure it out.

Um, but yeah, we want to increase our community engagement.

And so, how do we measure our success?

Um basically we take the percent of measure you programs with measurable goals that we view as uh goals we that the public and us, of course, want to see in our quarterly updates.

We have community engagement, a stronger community engagement.

So we'll measure this by the number of public speakers and participation levels.

So again, getting a metric uh associated with even how we evaluate ourselves, and then the quality and timeliness of annual reports and deliverables.

Um, our ask to PMPE is basically continued support for the program level outcome reporting that we've been working on.

Um, I think it's not only valuable to us, but valuable to you all when you are doing those uh program analysis for figuring out what to keep, what to cut.

I mean, this is a frequent decision that you guys have to make.

And of course, advocating for um earlier commission engagement in the budget.

This is already happening.

I think we're working with Pete Coletto quite nicely with this, so um, just more of a continuance than anything.

And lastly, um, you know, just a continued partnership as we build Sacramento's impact driven model.

Um, I think together we can ensure Measure U remains a catalyst for long-term positive change across Sacramento neighborhoods, and uh with that I'll take any questions.

Chair, I have no speaker slips for this item.

Okay, my colleagues, my colleague Lisa Kaplan would like to speak.

Thank you, Chair.

Great job.

From the time we met in my office, what year?

Year ago.

Yeah, about a year ago, yeah.

I think so.

Um, and I have been fully supportive of what you have been trying to set up with measure you for that accountability and the data and the metrics, um, which really does help us as we're in this structural uh budget deficit.

What's working, what's not working, what data do we have?

So I want to say kudos to you for your leadership on that and pushing and get measure you kind of on board, because I think that's you know, a lot of what we talked, you know, in my time on the racial equity committee of how do we do that in our budgeting and seeing that and seeing you be able to work through that, working with our staff and setting the standard.

Um, I'd love to see that this kind of metrics becomes a standard and it's make sure that it's it lives beyond you and lives beyond me.

Um Markdown, April 16th, I'm having my community conversation, which means I bring in all my boards and commissions, and I also talk about budget and have the community give feedback.

So I always have my commissioner uh out there uh for community engagement specifically like on the budget um and what do they want to see and measure you?

Um so I just I I really like your goals of transparency, performance, budget engagement, and community engagement.

Um, and and thank you for what you're doing and how clearly you presented that.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

Councilmember Marbang.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Um Teddy, I just want to take this moment to say thank you for your service and being the chair of the Measure U committee.

Um, and thank you for the thorough presentation.

Um thank you, Councilwoman Kaplan, for the work that you did prior as PP chair to this to get all of our commissions in alignment in terms of work plan.

Um I was just looking at the package, and I know last year Measure U commission made um budget recommendations to mayor and council.

Um, and when do we anticipate that coming?

Because I like to uh look at our community survey, also look at the uh recommendations from our commission to line that up with the conversation that we are having right now in this moment about budget.

Um, and I was just looking at some of the funding recommendation from last year.

Um, and many of these items are on the table for discussion already.

And so um, you know, when do you anticipate that the commission will be?

So we're gonna have a draft of this coming to the committee uh next month in April, and because we have a ad hoc that's working on it now, and then we'll refine it and ideally give it to you.

Uh not even we don't we won't even wait till the next meeting.

We'll basically send off that ad hoc with our recommendations and then ship it to you as soon as we can, yeah.

So hopefully end of April is the is the goal.

Okay, great.

Thank you so much.

Looking forward to that letter to see what your recommendation is, and just want to thank you and all our commissioners for their for their great work.

So thank you.

Yeah, appreciate it.

We should include some more of like the metrics analysis on that one too, which we haven't been able to do in previous years because of all the work that we've been doing with that dashboard.

So, yeah.

Okay, great.

Thank you so much.

Yep.

Okay.

I will make a motion to move this on.

I'll second.

Questions?

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Oppose, abstain.

Thank you.

Very good job.

Next item, please.

Thank you, Chair.

Our next item is item six City of Sacramento Utilities Rate Advisory Commission 2025 Annual Report and 2026 Work Plan.

All right, good morning, Chair Jennings and Committee members.

I'm David Levine, long-range financial planning manager for the Department of Utilities.

The item before you today is the Utilities Rate Advisory Commission, or URAC 2025 annual report and 2026 work plan.

The report includes three primary sections, a summary of the purpose, powers, and duties of the URAC, and a list of commissioners as of December 2025 with their expiration dates of their terms, a meeting-by-meeting summary of the key accomplishments from 2025, including a total amount of hours and costs expended to support the commission's activities.

Lastly, a presentation of the work plan goals and meeting calendar for topics in 2026.

There were six meetings conducted in 2025.

The first three were focused on educating the commission on DOU operations, capital and financial conditions in preparation for the last three meetings of the calendar year, which kicked off the FY28 rate development process for the water and wastewater funds.

Some highlights from 2025 include in March 2025, the city auditor presented the independent water and wastewater fund reviews, which recommended rate adjustments for each fund beginning in fiscal year 28.

At the June 2025 meeting, staff provided three presentations.

One, an overview of the department's infrastructure systems, staffing and impact of increased regulations.

Two, an explanation of debt management services provided by the city treasurer's office, and three, an update on two key water planning efforts, River ARC and Water Plus.

In July, staff provided a financial update focused on the FY26 approved budget, five-year fund forecasts and reserves.

Additionally, our engineering team provided an overview of the deferred maintenance challenges affecting water, wastewater, and storm drainage systems, and presented a combined sewer system long-term control plan.

At the August 2025 meeting, the city uh attorney's office provided an overview of the URAC roles and responsibilities, and DOU staff presented three topics to kick off the rate development process.

This included a timeline and overview of the water and wastewater rate study, an overview of the water and wastewater rate needs analysis and prioritization process, and a deeper dive into the department's designated reserve policy.

Last in our October and December meetings, staff provided specific updates on rate planning efforts for each fund, which included information on the necessary financial investments needed to ensure continued financial viability and address the most critical operational, administrative, and capital needs over the next five-year rate cycle, beginning in FY28.

In total, the cost of the commission's work in 2025 was approximately 95,000.

These include personnel costs for city staff time to prepare agenda materials, attend meetings and complete post-meeting tasks, and costs associated with commissioner stipends and their processing by city staff.

For 2026, we have two primary goals.

One is to prepare the commission for making responsible utilities rate recommendations to the city council, and two communicating the needs and plans for the upcoming rate adjustment, including outreach to the community.

There are six meetings planned for this calendar year.

In January, the commission approved this work plan, elected a new chair and vice chair, and reviewed the fiscal year end results for FY25, including a deferred maintenance update.

In our March meeting, which is tomorrow night, actually, we will discuss the strategic stakeholder and outreach communications associated with the water and wastewater rate process and get URAC feedback.

In June, we will present the recommended financial plans and proposed rates for water and wastewater funds beginning in FY28 and provide an overview of the proposition 218 and AB 2257 objection processes.

In September, the Department of Public Works Recycling and Solid Waste Division will provide an update presentation, and the DOU will provide a financial update, including FY27 approved budget and FY26 year end projections.

And then last in the December meeting, we will conduct the proposition 218 rate hearing on our proposed rate adjustments for each fund.

So today we are asking the PMPE committee to pass a motion forwarding the 2025 work plan uh annual report and 2026 work plan to the city council for review.

And this concludes my brief presentation.

I'm available as I do have colleagues in the audience behind me to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Thank you, David.

Okay.

Do we have any public comment on this item?

Thank you, Chair.

I have none.

Okay.

Vice Chair Lisa Kaplan.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, I appreciate that overview, David.

I think what's really important, you know, is as we look at, we know we need uh Prop 218 utility rate adjustment.

Um, and it's not something like I understand, but it's how do we involve the community because the earlier I think we start educating the community what this is and why we have to do it, I think the better.

Um, just in the environment of how expensive things are, everybody's struggling early.

Outreach, I think is better to the extent of maybe reaching out to our offices and how can you engage in some of our community meetings that we have to start having that conversations.

I'm even willing to have a community meeting of what is it, why is it, what do we need to do?

Um, because getting those questions and being as transparent as possible, I think is we have to do a little bit more due diligence nowadays.

Um I I appreciate because I saw that one you're discussing that March and then June.

Um, but wanting to know what is uh some of your plans because I you only meet six times a year, and that goes so quickly for that more public outreach.

Sure.

Um, thank you for the question.

Um, number one is we do have a challenging situation, um, and we recognize that we want to be out in the community as soon as possible.

So um we have already developed plans internally.

We recently sent out a survey through Flash Vote to city residents to get their uh to kind of get a pulse uh through that mechanism.

Um, our meeting tomorrow night at the URAC.

We will um pose um some questions to them around outreach messaging and get their involvement.

And we're very fortunate to have commission members who want to be out there in the community, and this is very invaluable.

This is very valuable for us because they're the ones that have heard a lot of the information about what our needs are.

They can be great advocates for us.

Um we also are planning uh city council member briefings starting in April as well.

So we're just working on some briefing materials for that, but uh will be a good opportunity to reach out to your districts as well.

Um we're working with the community engagement office, um, Lynette and her team for hard-to-reach uh communities and that um approach, and then we've uh worked with our consultant who's putting together our strategic communications plan, who is doing some interviews, they call them influencer interviews.

So folks within each council district hopefully have taken advantage of the opportunity to just provide feedback to the consultant so that that is taken into consideration as the plan is developed.

So the plan um should you know come out in the next month, um, but the briefings and the and the work is already begun.

Awesome, and I look forward to uh having that scheduled briefing because I really want to hear what the survey said, um, what's your your getting feedback because I think it's important because the messaging might have to be slightly different depending on the area in the city and and please continue to work with with Lynette because that unique tailoring to the message that will work with different communities, I think is really important.

So appreciate it.

Thank you.

I'll make a motion to move it to council directly to council.

I will second that motion.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Oppose and abstain.

Okay, I got all ayes.

Uh thank you very much, David.

That was a great report, and uh looking forward to when I see you in the office.

A lot of work ahead of us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

So therefore we are adjourned at eleven forty-eight.