OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting and Budget Study Session - May 5, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:40:38

Transcript — Verbatim
3:17

Good afternoon.

3:19

Francisco, would you please begin interpretation of the meeting?

3:24

For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar.

4:48

Y se les va a lanzar la opción de elegir el idioma inglés ornal, favor de es elegir el idioma español.

4:55

Les vamos a pedir que también pongan en silencio el audio.

5:13

Thank you, Mayor.

5:15

Welcome everyone.

5:16

The time is 12 05, and we'll call this meeting in order.

5:19

Thank you all for coming out.

5:21

I will point out that there are plenty of open seats down here in the front for those of you who want to move closer.

5:26

That's at your discretion.

5:27

Madam City Clerk, would you please call the role?

5:31

Thank you, Mayor.

5:33

Councilmember Rogers, present.

5:35

Councilmember McDonald.

5:36

Here.

5:37

Council Member Fleming.

5:39

Councilmember Ben Wellos.

5:41

Here.

5:41

Councilmember Alvarez.

5:42

Present.

5:43

Vice Mayor Krepke.

5:44

Aloha.

5:45

Mayor Stepp.

5:46

Here.

5:47

Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Councilmember Fleming.

5:51

Thank you.

5:52

And I believe Mr.

5:53

Okrepki would like to explain why he's remote today.

6:00

I'm remote because this is scheduled, so do I have to do a disclosure?

6:06

Oh, it's a good question.

6:06

Do we have to is there a statement that needs to be needed to be read?

6:09

No.

6:10

There's not a statement that needs to be read.

6:12

There's a agenda posted at the location where uh council member Okrepke is uh appearing.

6:18

Perfect.

6:19

So for those of you on Maui, is it Jeff?

6:23

Yes.

6:23

All right, you've got your chance to uh to participate over there.

6:26

Um we'll move on then to let's see, our our main show for today, our study session.

6:32

Thank you.

6:33

Thank you again all or thank you again for coming out.

6:35

I'm gonna turn it over to our city manager for uh for an introduction and the uh the the introduction of the item.

6:42

Thank you.

6:43

Good afternoon, Mayor Stapp and Honorable Council members.

6:47

Today we will have a review of the fiscal year 2026-27 operations and maintenance budget and capital improvement program budget.

6:56

The finance department today will recommend that the council hold a study session intended to provide City Council with the opportunity to receive information and ask questions related to the city's overall financial stability and the proposed fiscal year 26-27 operations and maintenance budget and the capital improvement program budget.

7:15

The item is intended for council's information and no action is required and the has no impact on the current fiscal year budget.

7:22

And now that I've introduced the item, I just wanted to make a few brief remarks.

7:27

As you know, today I'm pleased to present to you the city manager's proposed budget for the city of Santa Rosa for the fiscal year 26-27, which begins on July 21st, 2026.

7:39

While the discussion that we'll have will be over the next two days, it represents a month-long effort to address a book of business for this municipal corporation, which is what a city is that on an all funds basis, general fund and all enterprises combined is a $575 million operation across all city departments, all city operations, programs, and functions.

8:05

And so let me set the table.

9:00

Shortfall as we've discussed.

9:01

But the budget also does reflect prior tough decisions and cost cutting measures that have been adopted by this council in the past.

9:09

As you know, the budget is a representation of our priorities and our commitment to our residents and businesses of maintaining high quality public services and the quality of life that our community enjoys.

9:21

It's our intention that this budget is a reflection of our commitment to many of our essential programs, including public safety, despite having a deficit.

9:30

To that end, the budget that will be presented to you today dedicates 64.5%, almost two-thirds of its general fund spending to public safety.

9:39

It also reduces the table of organization to become more efficient and operating expenses.

9:44

It realigns the budget back to its general fund core staffing levels due to the elimination or reduction of county and state grants, but it also enhances cost recovery and employs a multi-pronged approach to reduce the deficit.

9:58

And lastly, I just wanted to thank the city council for your leadership, leading up to this point.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████████████████████████40%
Public Safety█████████████████17%
Miscellaneous██████████10%
Mental Health Awareness█████5%
Housing████4%
Parking Management███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Active Transportation███3%
Homelessness██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting and Budget Study Session - May 5, 2026

The Santa Rosa City Council held the first day of a two-day regular meeting on May 5, 2026, starting at 12:05 p.m. and adjourning at 5:13 p.m. The meeting featured a comprehensive study session on the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Operations and Maintenance Budget and Capital Improvement Program Budget, addressing a $17.5 million general fund deficit. The council also presented proclamations, heard public comments on non-agenda matters, and approved a consent calendar.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved minutes from March 24, 2026, April 20, 2026, and April 27, 2026 special meetings. The April 21, 2026 minutes were continued to May 12, 2026.
  • Consent Items (13.1–13.5): All approved unanimously (6-0, with Vice Mayor Okrepkie absent).
    • 13.1: Approval of cooperative purchase for Fire Department personal protective equipment from MES Service Company, LLC, not to exceed $450,000.
    • 13.2: Approval of cooperative purchase for Fire Department structural personal protective equipment from Great West Fire & Safety, Inc., not to exceed $450,000.
    • 13.3: Approval of purchase order with IPS Group, Inc. for parking meter communication and credit card fees, not to exceed $810,000.
    • 13.4: Approval of purchase order with Passport Labs, Inc. for mobile parking payment platform, not to exceed $210,000 for a one-year term with four optional extensions.
    • 13.5: Resolution approving Modification Number One of the funding agreement with Sonoma County for operations at Samuel L. Jones Hall Homeless Shelter, adding $255,000 annually (total $510,000) for FY 2026-2027.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Budget Study Session (during study session): Jennielynn Holmes, Catholic Charities, requested no further reductions to homeless services, stating that reducing services does not eliminate homelessness and shifts costs to other systems. A.J. Trombetta, representing downtown property owners and the Railroad Square Business Development Committee, emphasized the interdependence of economic development, public safety, homeless services, and parking, and noted that Railroad Square has seen reduced vacancies and renewed enthusiasm.
  • Non-Agenda Matters (Item 14): Several speakers addressed housing issues:
    • Sonia Byck Barwick, Generation Housing, urged support for SB 10 and AB 1033 to allow infill development and ADU sales, requesting the council bring these forward at the June 2 housing strategy session.
    • Abigail Zoger, Co-Chair of Climate Action Night, highlighted housing insecurity among students and supported the same legislation.
    • Bob Pendoli supported AB 1033 and SB 10 for infill and first-time homeownership opportunities.
    • Hannah Fain supported high-density housing near transit.
    • Paul Schwartz, a commercial real estate broker, endorsed the legislation, noting that housing affordability affects business retention and attraction.
    • Mario Castillo, a parent and student, emphasized the urgent need for affordable housing for future generations.

Discussion Items

  • Study Session – FY 2026-27 Budget Review (Item 4.1): The council received a detailed presentation from Interim City Manager Lori Ann Farrell, Chief Financial Officer Scott Wagner, and Budget Manager Veronica Conner. Key points:
    • The city faces a $17.5 million general fund deficit, driven by revenue growth (4.5%) outpaced by expenditure growth (6.6%).
    • 64.5% of general fund spending goes to public safety.
    • Proposed strategies include: $7.6 million one-time use of reserves, a pension savings strategy (saving $38 million over 15 years), $1 million fire apparatus lease savings, $4.9 million in departmental reductions, and enhanced cost recovery.
    • Staffing: Net reduction of 28 FTEs (22 general fund, 6 non-general fund). General fund staffing would drop to 707 employees, slightly above the Great Recession low of 705, despite a 12% population increase since then.
    • Police and Fire overtime: Budgets will be realigned to match actuals, adding $1 million for police and $2.5 million for fire overtime. Chief Cregan noted overtime hours have been reduced by 9,600 hours over five years. Chief Westrope explained that fire minimum daily staffing (47 seats) requires overtime to fill vacancies.
    • In Response mental health program: Reduced due to expiring grant funding (ARPA and Measure O). Six single-role paramedic positions will be eliminated, but the program will continue with a licensed mental health clinician funded by the county under a three-year agreement.
    • SAFER grant: 12 firefighter positions will be absorbed into existing general fund and Measure H vacancies, avoiding layoffs.
    • Department reorganizations: CERO moved into City Manager’s Office; Parking Division moved from Finance to Planning and Economic Development.
  • Proclamations:
    • 7.1: Bike to Work Month & Day – presented by Council Member Rogers to Eris Weaver, Executive Director, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition.
    • 7.2: National Wildfire Awareness Month – presented by Council Member MacDonald to Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.
    • 7.3: Jewish American Heritage Month – presented by Council Member Fleming to Danielle Feldman, JCRC Council Representative.
  • Staff Briefing – Community Empowerment Plan Update (Item 8.1): Communications Officer Misti Wood reported on upcoming events (City Works Festival, Deturk Round Barn lease, Junior Giants, Wednesday Night Market, Senior Expo).
  • Council Member Reports: Included updates on the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition, engineering awards, Sonoma State University partnership, and a federal lobbying trip for grant funding.

Key Outcomes

  • No action taken on the budget study session; it will continue on May 6, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., focusing on Capital Improvement Program and water enterprise funds.
  • Consent items approved (6-0).
  • Minutes approved for three prior meetings.
  • Proclamations presented and accepted.
  • Public comment on non-agenda items was heard; no council action required.
  • The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 12, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Francisco, would you please begin interpretation of the meeting? For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar. Y se les va a lanzar la opción de elegir el idioma inglés ornal, favor de es elegir el idioma español. Les vamos a pedir que también pongan en silencio el audio. Thank you, Mayor. Welcome everyone. The time is 12 05, and we'll call this meeting in order. Thank you all for coming out. I will point out that there are plenty of open seats down here in the front for those of you who want to move closer. That's at your discretion. Madam City Clerk, would you please call the role? Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers, present. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Council Member Fleming. Councilmember Ben Wellos. Here. Councilmember Alvarez. Present. Vice Mayor Krepke. Aloha. Mayor Stepp. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Councilmember Fleming. Thank you. And I believe Mr. Okrepki would like to explain why he's remote today. I'm remote because this is scheduled, so do I have to do a disclosure? Oh, it's a good question. Do we have to is there a statement that needs to be needed to be read? No. There's not a statement that needs to be read. There's a agenda posted at the location where uh council member Okrepke is uh appearing. Perfect. So for those of you on Maui, is it Jeff? Yes. All right, you've got your chance to uh to participate over there. Um we'll move on then to let's see, our our main show for today, our study session. Thank you. Thank you again all or thank you again for coming out. I'm gonna turn it over to our city manager for uh for an introduction and the uh the the introduction of the item. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor Stapp and Honorable Council members. Today we will have a review of the fiscal year 2026-27 operations and maintenance budget and capital improvement program budget. The finance department today will recommend that the council hold a study session intended to provide City Council with the opportunity to receive information and ask questions related to the city's overall financial stability and the proposed fiscal year 26-27 operations and maintenance budget and the capital improvement program budget. The item is intended for council's information and no action is required and the has no impact on the current fiscal year budget. And now that I've introduced the item, I just wanted to make a few brief remarks. As you know, today I'm pleased to present to you the city manager's proposed budget for the city of Santa Rosa for the fiscal year 26-27, which begins on July 21st, 2026.

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