Visalia City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - April 20, 2026
Visalia City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - April 20, 2026
The Visalia City Council held a work session starting at 4:00 PM and a regular session at 7:00 PM on April 20, 2026. The work session included a public hearing on vacancies and recruitment, a mid-year budget review, and a capital improvement program review. The regular session approved a consent calendar of 15 items, adopted the 2026 Annual Action Plan for HUD grants, held a first public hearing on the Measure N 10-year plan and budget, approved an ordinance update for code enforcement procedures, and authorized an airport lease agreement. Mayor Brett Taylor presided. Council Member Steve Nelsen was absent; all votes were 4-0.
Consent Calendar
The Council approved the consent calendar as read without discussion, including:
- Authorization to read ordinances by title only.
- Recording of a final parcel map at Lovers Lane and Walnut Avenue.
- Filing of notice of completion for Valley Strong Stadium expansion.
- Formation of Landscape and Lighting Assessment District for Carleton Acres.
- Agreements with Tulare County Association of Governments and Caltrans for Cross Valley Express bus prioritization.
- Acceptance of $649,000 Cal OES grant for dispatch equipment.
- Award of plumbing services contract to American Inc. (up to $180,000/year).
- Contract for AMREP refuse truck parts and service (up to $100,000/year, renewable).
- Adoption of Ordinance No. 2026-01 rezoning for Tulare County Office of Education.
- Alcohol permit for Independence Spectacular at Riverway Sports Park.
- Side letter agreement with Police Officers Association for schedule change.
- Amendment to Mike Clark Trucking contract for biosolids hauling (increase to $479,520).
- Contract for FY 2025-26 Reclamite Project ($1,329,050.76).
- Recordation of amended final map for Belissa Phase 1 subdivision (147 lots).
- Letter of support for Tulare Irrigation District Seaborn Reservoir Project.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Irene Lapin (Visalia) commented during general public comment on a recent neighborhood presentation regarding the Tulare Avenue project. She criticized the meeting setup (poor signage, echoing, no opportunity for public questions) and urged staff to improve communication and execution.
- Maria Guillen (Visalia) spoke during the mid-year review public comment. She expressed concern that the proposed budget reflects values, noting that police expenditures constitute 43% of operating expenses while parks and recreation is 12.7%. She supported using surplus for arts programs and alternatives to police and code enforcement for homelessness. She also asked about a $104,000 deficit in FY 24-25 actuals and whether a sales tax measure would threaten current tax revenue.
- Jim Reeves (mentioned in minutes) also provided public comment during the mid-year review; his remarks were not captured in the transcript but are noted in the minutes.
Discussion Items
- Vacancies, Recruitment, and Retention (Work Session Item 1): Human Resources Manager Amy Powell and Analyst Rachel Archer presented under AB 2561. No bargaining units chose to present. As of February 28, 2026, the city had a low vacancy rate below the 20% threshold. Recruitment activity from Sept 1 to Feb 28 included 34 recruitments, 2,593 applications, 32 new hires, and 14 promotions. The presentation was received and filed without action.
- Fiscal Year 2025-26 Mid-Year Review (Work Session Item 2): Finance Director Renee Nagel, Manager Nichol Ritchie, and Analyst Amee Swearingen presented. General Fund revenues are projected at $112 million ($9.5M over budget), with sales tax up 5% ($2.3M above budget). Expenditures are $107.5 million. A surplus of $4.5 million is projected. Staff recommended appropriating $2,717,100 for four capital projects (including police bear cat ballistic window replacement, partially reimbursed by county). Council discussed uses of the remaining $1.8 million surplus. Council Member Soto proposed funding arts and youth grants. Vice Mayor Wynn and Mayor Taylor suggested homeless prevention programs. Council ultimately approved the capital appropriations and directed staff to bring back recommendations for the $1.8 million, which will be held in the Civic Center Reserve pending future direction. The motion carried 4-0.
- Capital Improvement Programs Review (Work Session Item 3): Finance Manager Ritchie reviewed the proposed six-year capital plan for several restricted funds. $2.5 million is proposed for the first two years, with $27 million in outer years. Projects included a corporation yard master plan, library expansion planning, fire station equipment, police equipment (night vision, patrol vehicle replacement), baseball facility retaining wall repairs ($300,000) and accessible walkways ($140,000), and convention center feasibility study ($428,000). No action required; presentation received and filed.
- Measure N Public Hearing (Regular Item 2): Budget Analyst Amee Swearingen presented the first public hearing on the proposed 10-year plan (2027-2037) and budget for the half-cent sales tax. Key elements include funding for 7 additional police officers, 2 CSOs, 2 professional staff, fire Station 57 design and construction, and increased street and park maintenance. The proposed budget is $39.6 million for FY 26-27 and $19.2 million for FY 27-28, with fund balances of $20.2 million and $21.8 million respectively. No public comment was received. The hearing was received and filed; the second hearing is set for May 4, 2026.
- Ordinance Update (Regular Item 3): Neighborhood Preservation Manager Tracy Robertshaw presented amendments to Chapter 1.13 to correct errors and improve flexibility for code enforcement. Changes include standardized working day timelines, removal of rigid 10-day compliance periods (except for life-safety issues), corrected legal references, and clarified appeal timelines to 60 days. Council praised the resident-friendly changes. The ordinance was adopted on first reading 4-0.
- Airport Lease Agreement (Regular Item 4): Airport Manager Jody Miller introduced the first reading of an ordinance to authorize a 10-year lease with the FAA for the Automated Weather Observation System equipment. The lease replaces a month-to-month arrangement. No public comment. The ordinance passed first reading 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- Mid-Year Budget Approval: Council approved capital appropriations of $2,717,100 and directed staff to return with recommendations for using $1.8 million in surplus funds, to be held in the Civic Center Reserve. The motion carried 4-0.
- Consent Calendar: All 15 items approved 4-0.
- HUD Annual Action Plan: Approved and adopted the PY 2026 Annual Action Plan and PY 2025 Amendment for CDBG/HOME activities, including allocation adjustments due to a $85,000 reduction in HUD funding. Motion carried 4-0.
- Measure N Public Hearing: First hearing held; no action required. Second hearing scheduled for May 4, 2026.
- Code Enforcement Ordinance Update: Adopted on first reading (Ordinance No. 2026-03) 4-0.
- Airport Lease Ordinance: Introduced on first reading (Ordinance No. 2026-02) 4-0.
- Upcoming Meetings: May 4, 2026 at 7:00 PM and May 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
Note: Council Member Steve Nelsen was absent for all votes, resulting in 4-0 for all actions requiring a vote.
Meeting Transcript
So we're gonna go ahead and uh start the meeting in about five minutes. Uh we actually did have our roadway assist vehicle, the one that scans the roads. Uh it was supposed to be here a few minutes ago, but it showed up a few minutes late, so we're gonna do a quick five-minute break so we can go out and take a look at it and we'll we'll reconvene in about uh five to ten minutes. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Everyone's welcome to join us, but we will go ahead and get started just a few minutes late today. All right, well, thank you everybody. We appreciate that. Uh we got to go out and look at our machine that's out there checking our roadways and seeing the condition that they're in so we can uh better uh make sure those roadways are safe and uh prepared for our community. So uh we appreciate you letting us take that little break. Uh we're gonna go ahead and uh call this uh work session to order, and we will start off with uh public comments. Citizens are now invited to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Visaya City Council and items listed on the closed session agenda. The council asks that you keep your comments concise and positive. Creative criticism presented with appropriate courtesy is welcome. Each speaker will be allowed three minutes and a timer will notify you when your times expired. Please begin your comments by stating and spelling your name and providing your city of residence. Anyone wishing to speak at this time, please come forward to the podium over here. All right, and seeing no one running up there, we're gonna go ahead and start our our work session with item number one, which is vacancies, recruitment, and retention efforts. Staff report, please. Good afternoon, Mayor Taylor and Council members. I'm Amy Pell, the human resources manager with the city, and presenting with me today is Rachel Archer, Management Analyst in Human Resources and Risk. Today we will be presenting on Assembly Bill 2561. As you may recall from last year's presentation, AB twenty 2561 requires public agencies to present during a public hearing on job vacancies, recruitment, and retention efforts prior to the adoption of the annual budget. Included in this law is that bargaining units can come and make a presentation during this meeting. We did reach out to all five of our represented bargaining units, and none chose to do so today. So the data contained in this report was compiled as of February 28th. This slide shows the status of our city workforce as of that date. This reflects the health of the city workforce and the efficacy of our recruitment and retention efforts. Some of these are like the professional uh land surveyor, the wastewater treatment plant superintendent, and senior communications operator positions. Communication operator positions are challenging to fill, and this isn't just a city of Visalia issue, this is a nationwide issue. Um there are currently seven vacant communications operator positions within group M. And we are pleased to report we recently conducted another round of testing, and this produced our largest list of candidates in a long time. That candidate group is now moving through the interview and testing process. So this page right here, this is a visual breakdown of that data. On this chart, you can see the number of budgeted positions by bargaining unit in the dark blue. The light blue shows the amount of vacancies by bargaining group, and the green line shows the vacancy rate. So at the top of the chart, you see that 20% vacancy rate threshold that triggers further reporting and uh would show to us that there is a possible issue. As you can see, we are far below that rate, reflecting the health of our staffing levels within each bargaining unit. So this slide right here is an overview of our recruitment process. Hiring the right people and filling critical vacancies is fundamental to maintaining the level of service our community expects and deserves. So step one, you'll see on the top right, is vacancy and requisition. So departments will identify a vacancy and submit a requisition to initiate the recruitment. Step two is job posting and advertisement. The position is posted and advertised to attract a qualified and diverse applicant pool. Step three, application screening and examination process. HR screens applications for minimum qualifications and administers any exams if required. Step four is eligible list and certification. Qualified candidates are placed on an eligible list and certified to the hiring department. Step five is department interviews, selection, and appointment. The department conducts the interviews, selects the top candidate, and makes an appointment, and then we have onboarding and probationary period begins. So the new hire is onboarded and begins their probationary period.
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