San Jose City Council Budget Study Session on Neighborhood Services and Public Safety CSAs - May 11, 2026
San Jose City Council Budget Study Session on Neighborhood Services and Public Safety CSAs - May 11, 2026
This study session focused on the proposed Fiscal Year 26-27 operating budgets for the Neighborhood Services and Public Safety City Service Areas (CSAs). Council members and city staff discussed a range of service reductions, investments, and contingency plans, with particular attention to library cuts, homeless encampment management, and public safety staffing.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Multiple speakers urged the council to preserve public access to the California Room at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, emphasizing its unique historical collections, its role in student projects, and the irreplaceable value of in-person research. Speakers included historians, teachers, students, and community advocates.
- Jonathan Francisco Borga (speaking for himself) urged support for the recommended library budget as a compromise that preserves branch hours, but asked continued advocacy.
- A representative from San Jose Firefighters Local 230 expressed concern over the proposal to defer Fire Station 32 by two years and eliminate 14 sworn vacant positions, arguing it reduces emergency response capacity.
- A second firefighter representative opposed the elimination of three engineer positions at Station 24, calling for enhanced wildfire preparedness instead of cuts.
- Janel Erdonias (Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits) asked the council not to cut youth violence prevention services such as BEST, and noted disappointment over lack of continued investment in the TRUST community crisis response model.
Discussion Items
- California Room: The proposed budget eliminates positions that staff the California Room, resulting in closure of public access. Jill Bourne (City Librarian) stated that the library will work on alternative access methods such as appointments and retrieval services. Several council members (Vice Mayor Foley, Councilmembers Cohen, Candelas, Tordillos, Mulcahy) expressed concern and suggested exploring reduced hours, partnerships with San Jose State University or History San Jose, and community engagement to shape a new service model.
- PRNS Preschool Program: The budget eliminates 4.58 positions due to low enrollment, attributed to the expansion of free transitional kindergarten in public schools. John Cesarelli (Director of PRNS) said this is a long-term strategy to transition out of a business line that cannot compete with free, full-day TK.
- Senior Health & Wellness Program: Vice Mayor Foley noted the program was cut last year but partially restored; she intends to find $300,000 to continue it. Councilmember Tordillos expressed concern about year-by-year extensions of one-time funding.
- POSO Meal Program: Councilmember Ortiz raised concerns about reduced funding for the Portuguese Organization for Social Services and Opportunities (POSO) frozen meal delivery for homebound seniors. Eric Sullivan (Housing Director) explained that a one-time funding spike last year is not continued; the city is working with POSO to identify other funding sources.
- Park Maintenance Redistricting: John Cesarelli noted the redistricting is designed for optimization and should produce better results. Councilmember Candelas asked about impacts on Arcadia sports fields, and was told the site will transition to a citywide reservation system with prioritization for underserved areas. Councilmember Ortiz asked about expected impacts from $1M in cuts; Cesarelli said the park system should remain as is, with no major cuts, but some shifts at PAL and Arcadia.
- Beautify SJ Optimization: Cesarelli described shifting 15-20 FTEs from waterway abatement teams to no-encampment zones and illegal dumping enforcement, with minimal impact on streets.
- Encampment Management: Discussion included the end of large encampments such as Coyote Meadows, with resources moved to maintaining no-encampment zones. Councilmember Mulcahy asked about coordination with Caltrans; Eric Sullivan noted challenges as displaced individuals move to neighborhoods.
- Arena Hotel / Interim Housing: Eric Sullivan provided updates on the Arena Hotel transition to permanent housing with a new developer, and the Taylor Street navigation hub (over 200 individuals transitioned, average stay 3-4 weeks). The budget proposes cutting funding for the latter, saving $1M.
- Homelessness Prevention: The proposed budget allocates 10% of Measure E revenues ($4.5M) to prevention, with additional collaboration with the county.
- Children Youth Master Plan: Councilmember Campos noted the one-time funding nature (originally $1.2M ARPA, now proposed $500K) and called for ongoing funding commitment.
- Police Walking Beats: The budget eliminates walking beats (16 positions never filled). Chief Paul Joseph said downtown beats will continue; other areas can use overtime if needed.
- Fire Station 32: The budget defers opening Fire Station 32 by two years, saving $4.7M. A budget addendum (MBA #5) proposes temporarily staffing it by eliminating Rescue Medic 26 and Rescue Medic 3, shifting resources. Fire Chief Robert Sapien and City Manager Jim Shannon noted this is a temporary fix.
- Crossing Guards: Councilmember Ortiz expressed concern about cuts to crossing guards, noting safety issues at schools. Chief Joseph said the positions are vacant and the cuts are part of a balanced approach.
- AI Report Writing Software: The police department seeks software to speed up report writing, with high upfront cost but expected savings in overtime. Councilmember Ortiz asked about guardrails; Chief Joseph said officers must review and supervisors sign off.
- Contingency Plan: Several members (Councilmembers Cohen, Kameh, Campos) highlighted that if the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) measure fails, deeper cuts including library hours reduction would be triggered. They called for more discussion on the contingency plan.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; this was a study session.
- Council members directed staff to explore reduced hours or partial staffing for the California Room and to engage the community and partners (San Jose State, History San Jose) in developing alternative access.
- Vice Mayor Foley and Councilmember Ortiz expressed intent to find funding for senior health & wellness and crossing guards, respectively, possibly through budget addenda.
- Councilmember Candelas asked staff to provide a cost estimate for a reduced-service option at the California Room.
- Councilmember Kameh urged revenue generation and increased code enforcement fines, and called for public awareness of the contingency plan.
- The city manager noted that if the TOT measure fails, the contingency plan (including library hour reductions) will be brought forward as a budget addendum.
- The council will continue public safety discussion after a break and proceed with further budget hearings.
Meeting Transcript
Please call the role. Kameh Campos. President Tordillos. Here. Cohen. Ortiz. Present. Walkhi. Here. Duan. Here. Candeles. Here. Casey. Foley. Mayhan. Here. You have a quorum. Okay, great. Thank you. All right. We are continuing on with neighborhood services, and I believe I'm handing it over to Jill. Yes, good morning, Mayor and City Council members. I am Jill Bourne City Librarian. I'm here with my colleagues, Eric Sullivan, Director of Housing Department, John Cesarelli, Director of Parks Recreation, Neighborhood Services, Rachel Roberts, the Assistant Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, and Angel Rios, our deputy city manager. We are here to present the overview of the fiscal year 2627 proposed operating budget of the neighborhood services city service area. Collectively, this CSA is responsible for such elevated and critical outcomes as providing community spaces, equitable access to opportunity, vibrant public life, and housing security. Through our wide variety of core services, the departments in the city service area are uniquely integral to our residents' quality of life. While the foundations of a city include buildings and streets and infrastructure, the foundations of community are found in connection, inclusion, and opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive, both individually and together. In the neighborhood services CSA, residents learn to read, to Zumba, to swim, to 3D print, to upskill for their next job, or even to apply online. They grow with nutrition, with therapeutics, fresh air, and opportunities for youth to lead the way. And they thrive by maintaining their neighborhoods or simply finally having a room of one's own. The programs provided by the CSA create the net of services that engage and support our residents, creating meaning and authentic connection from shared knowledge, shared spaces, and shared experiences. And like community, this CSA is more than the sum of its parts. Yet some positive changes to the housing and code enforcement budgets, both of which have additional funding budgeted in other city service areas. First, blight on private property. Code enforcement is pursuing strategies to address complaints more rapidly and effectively. Second, graffiti. We will add graffiti as one of the objects detected by our limited deployment of AI object detection cameras. And third, illegal dumping. Beautify San Jose and environmental services staff are pursuing strategies to increase usage of legal waste disposal methods and enforce against illegal dumpers. The CSA priorities for service delivery going into fiscal year 26-27 include stewardship of public spaces, encampment management and cleanup services, high-quality library access collections and programs, continuing contracted veterinary services and care for animals through animal care and services programs, continuing to implement recommendations from code enforcement's operational assessment, and continuing to optimize the shelter system management. Okay, significant actions in the proposed budget include following the transition of animal care services to PRS department. We are also making an additional investment in low-cost spay and neuter services at the animal care center. Assuming the passage of the proposed transit occupancy tax, there will be no major impacts to park maintenance, which therefore allows new investments in fire prevention in Alam Rock Park and open spaces. Savings will be entailed in the optimization of the beautify SJ program. There is a reduction to the rec preschool program. Salary savings associated with the temporary closure of the Biblioteca Latinoamericana Branch Library for an upcoming renovation. We also have reductions of positions that would result in the closure of public access in the California Room Special Collection space at the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Library.
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