Feb 24, 2026 City Council Meeting

[00:00:01]

IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK. I'M CALLING

[CALL TO ORDER]

PLEASE TAKE A ROLL. COUNCIL MEMBER SHIM. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER, BURKHOLDER. PRESENT.

COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA. HERE.

MAYOR PRO TEM BOB PATEL.

HERE. MAYOR BLACKBURN.

PRESENT. ALL FIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT. CAN WE TURN THAT DOWN JUST A TAD? AND

[ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONCURRENT MEETINGS]

AND DEPARTMENTAL REPORT ITEM NUMBER 10. MS. ACOSTA, WILL YOU PLEASE LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

YES. NEXT IS APPROVAL

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

SECOND. PLEASE VOTE. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. NEXT IS PUBLIC

[PUBLIC COMMENT]

INFORMATION ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING IS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THIS AGENDA. CITY COUNCIL RECEIVED NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING. CITY COUNCIL WILL RECEIVE ANY ADDITIONAL NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THE END OF THE MEETING.

IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE BROWN ACT, NO ACTION MAY OCCUR ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS. WHEN MAKING YOUR COMMENTS, PLEASE TREAT OTHERS WITH COURTESY, CIVILITY, AND RESPECT. WE WELCOME CLAPPING DURING THE CEREMONIAL PRESENTATIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

HOWEVER, WE ASK THAT YOU REFRAIN FROM CLAPPING DURING THE BUSINESS SECTION OF THE MEETING, STARTING WITH A NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT.

THIS WILL HELP MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS WILL BE CONDUCTED EFFICIENTLY, AND THIS CHAMBER IS A PLACE WHERE ALL POINTS OF VIEW ARE WELCOMED AND RESPECTED. THE CLERK WILL CALL YOUR NAME. PLEASE COME UP TO THE PODIUM. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. AT THE END OF TWO AND A HALF MINUTES, THE LIGHT ON THE PODIUM WILL TURN YELLOW, LETTING YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE DOWN TO 30 SECONDS. I'VE ASKED THE CLERK TO TURN OFF THE MICROPHONE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE THREE MINUTES. THAT WAY, EVERYBODY GETS EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME TO TALK. PLEASE CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER. MIKE BORRELLO. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL, STAFF. IN FALL OF 2021, STUDENTS AT HOPE ELEMENTARY DRANK RECYCLED WASTEWATER FOR ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AFTER A CROSS-CONNECTION DURING CONSTRUCTION MIXED THE LINES.

IT WAS FIXED, BUT THE INCIDENT SHOULD HAVE PROMPTED A HARD LOOK. AT WHETHER WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THE HEALTH RISKS OF PUTTING THE SAME WATER INTO WIDESPREAD PUBLIC USE THROUGH PURPLE PIPES.

ON THE CONTRARY, CARLSBAD IS EXPANDING THE SYSTEM. TITLE 22 SETS THE RULES, AND THE CITY FOLLOWS THEM ON PAPER, AT LEAST ON PAPER.

BUT THOSE RULES RELY HEAVILY ON REMODELING, SORRY, MODELING AND DISINFECTION STANDARDS, NOT ON LARGE-SCALE STUDIES THAT ACTUALLY MEASURE ALL-CAUSE RESPIRATORY ILLNESS.

IN PEOPLE LIVING NEAR SPRAY IRRIGATION VERSUS PEOPLE WHO DO NOT. AFTER EXTENSIVE SEARCH OF THE PEER-REVIEWED LITERATURE, NO SUCH CONTROLLED COHORT STUDIES EXIST AT A MEANINGFUL SCALE. WE HAVE QUANTITATIVE RISK MODELS FOR SPECIFIC PATHOGENS, LIKE LEGIONELLA, BUT AS A SYSTEMS SCIENTIST, I KNOW MODELS ARE SIMPLIFICATIONS. WHEN SYSTEMS ARE THIS COMPLEX, TREATMENT PLANTS, 97 MILES OF PIPE, VARIABLE CHLORINE RESIDUALS, WIND, HEAT, OPEN WINDOWS AT NIGHT IN THE SUMMER. REAL WORLD DATA NEEDS TO COME FIRST, NOT LAST. I LIVE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE PURPLE PIPE SPRAY HEADS OPERATE A FEW METERS FROM CONDO WINDOWS.

ON HOT SUMMER NIGHTS, THOSE WINDOWS ARE OPEN. I HAVE BEEN SPRAYED IN THE FACE WITH WATER WHILE RUNNING DURING DAYTIME MAINTENANCE. I HAVE WATCHED SPRAY DRIP DIRECTLY ONTO SIDEWALKS AND PATIOS.

IN WAYS THAT VIOLATE THE NO MIST ON PEOPLE INTENT, EVEN IF THE LETTER OF THE CODE IS ARGUABLY MET.

HISTORY SHOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ROLL OUT COMPLEX TECHNOLOGIES, RELYING ON MODELS AND INDUSTRY ASSURANCES BEFORE ROBUST HUMAN EVIDENCE.

THESE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE ASBESTOS, RADIUM, PAINT, THALIDOMIDE, LEAD, GASOLINE, AND ARSENIC PESTICIDES.

IN EACH CASE,

[00:05:03]

THAT IS WHY, AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO ENGAGE THE CITY, I FILED A PETITION FOR RID OF MANDAMUS IN JUNE OF 2025. THE CASE CONTINUES. I'M ASKING THE COUNCIL TONIGHT...

TO HIT PAUSE ON THE FURTHER PURPLE PIPE EXPANSION UNTIL INDEPENDENT, LARGE-SCALE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ARE COMPLETED THAT MEASURE RESPIRATORY HEALTH OUTCOMES IN EXPOSED VERSUS UNEXPOSED NEIGHBORHOODS. WE DESERVE BETTER THAN BEING UNINFORMED SUBJECTS IN AN ILL-CONCEIVED, UNCONTROLLED EXPERIENCE. GENE WALKER. ACCORDING TO PUBLIC RECORDS, THE CITY HAS SPENT OVER $700,000 ON LEGAL FEES TO OUTSIDE COUNSEL FOR ISSUES RELATED TO PALOMAR AIRPORT SINCE 2016.

DURING THIS TIME, THE CITY WAS A DEFENDANT IN A LAWSUIT FROM THE CITIZENS FOR A FRIENDLY AIRPORT, C4FA, AND MORE RECENTLY, JOINED AS A PLAINTIFF IN A LAWSUIT FILED BY C4FA INVOLVING NEW COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS AT THE AIRPORT. A PERSON CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH C4FA. WAS APPOINTED TO THE PALOMAR AIRPORT COMMISSION. I AM VERY CONCERNED BECAUSE IT APPEARS THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT INFORMED ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF C4FA, BUT IS TAKING COUNSEL FROM THAT GROUP REGARDING AIRPORT ISSUES.

C4FA WAS CREATED IN 2018 BY COREY BRIGGS, WHO ALSO SERVES AS THE ATTORNEY FOR C4FA.

BRIGGS CREATED C4FA JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE FILING THE SUIT AGAINST THE CITY AND COUNTY REGARDING ISSUES AT THE AIRPORT.

ON THE INITIAL PAPERWORK FILED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE, THE ONLY NAMES APPEARING ON THE PAPERWORK ARE COREY BRIGGS AND BRIGGS LAW FIRM PARALEGAL. WHY WOULD BRIGGS CREATE C4FA? HE LIKELY DID IT BECAUSE HE WANTED A PLAINTIFF FOR HIS LAWSUIT. BRIGGS HAS DONE THIS MORE THAN 20 TIMES IN THE PAST DECADE. HE FINDS SOMETHING HE WANTS TO SUE ABOUT AND THEN CREATES A NON-PROFIT TO ACT AS THE PLAINTIFF. MANY OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS DO NOT HAVE A BOARD OF DIRECTORS. AND FALL INTO SUSPENSION OR FORFEITURE WITH STATE AUTHORITIES. BRIGGS IS PAID AT SETTLEMENT OR WHEN HE WINS A CASE. IF HE LOSES, HE DOES NOT GET PAID. BRIGGS PURPOSELY KEEPS THESE NONPROFITS POOR SO THAT IF HE LOSES A FRIVOLOUS CASE AGAINST THE CITY, THE CITY CANNOT SEEK REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE NONPROFIT BECAUSE THE NONPROFIT DOESN'T HAVE ANY MONEY. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED SEVERAL YEARS AGO WITH A BRIGGS LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO. THE CITY WAS UNABLE TO RECOUP THEIR COSTS. FROM 2018 TO 2023, BRIGGS FAILED TO UPDATE ANY REQUIRED INFORMATION WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE OR ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE FOR C4FA, YET THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED TO SUE THE CITY.

CURRENTLY, C4FA HOSTS A WEBSITE THAT DOES NOT DISCLOSE THEIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THEIR I.R.S FORMS 990S ARE POSTCARDS THAT ARE ALLOWED FOR NONPROFITS WHO STATE THEY DO NOT RAISE MORE THAN $50,000 IN...

REVENUE ANNUALLY. AS SUCH, NO ONE KNOWS, IF C4FA EVEN HAS A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WHAT THEIR REVENUE IS OR WHAT THEIR EXPENDITURES ARE. THIS IS INSANITY FOR THE CITY TO BE LISTENING TO C4FA AND TO HAVE SOMEONE APPOINTED TO THE AIRPORT COMMISSION. THE CITY HAS NO IDEA WHETHER THE RESIDENTS OF CARLSBAD SUPPORT EXTENDING COMMERCIAL SERVICES AT PALOMAR AIRPORT. C-4FA WILL POINT YOU TO A PETITION SIGNED BY GOD KNOWS WHO WHO LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO RESURRECT. YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED, MA'AM. THERE ARE NO

[CONSENT CALENDAR]

PLEASE VOTE. CONSENT CALENDAR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. ITEM NUMBER

[8. ORDINANCE NO. CS-508 AMENDING CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 2.30.050 MEETINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY-POLICE ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION]

[00:10:01]

SECOND. PLEASE VOTE. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. SAME THING

[9. ORDINANCE NO. CS-509 AMENDING CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 10.56, OPERATION OF REGULATED MOBILITY DEVICES, TO REGULATE E-BIKES]

ITEM NUMBER NINE IS THE AMENDING THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO THE REGULATION OF MOBILITY DEVICES TO REGULATE E-BIKES. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK HERE. MY FAMILY'S BEEN IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, IN THIS AREA, FOR OVER 50 YEARS. I HAVE TWO YOUNG CHILDREN, ONE THAT'S 11 AND ONE THAT'S 12, THAT ATTEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL HERE IN CARLSBAD. AND THE REASON I'M HERE TONIGHT IS TO TALK AND ASK FOR A VERY SMALL ADDITION TO THE ORDINANCE. I DID PROVIDE AN EMAIL WITH SOME MORE RATIONALE, ALONG WITH SOME STATISTICS THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT. BUT I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE ONE CHILD. IF A CHILD ON AN E-BIKE AFTER DARK WITH NO ADULT NEARBY, WE'RE ONE HEADLIGHT AWAY FROM A LIFE-ALTERING PHONE CALL.

TONIGHT, WE CAN PREVENT THAT WITH ONE SMALL, PRECISE GUARDRAIL. I'M ASKING FOR A TARGETED ADDITION TO THE ORDINANCE NO UNSUPERVISED E-BIKE RIDING FOR KIDS UNDER 16 AFTER DARK, NOT A BAN, A SAFETY BOUNDARY. HERE'S THE RULE, CLEAR AND ENFORCEABLE.

UNDER 16 AFTER DARK, YOU MUST BE SUPERVISED BY AN ADULT 18 YEARS OR OLDER.

WHERE THE RIDER IS TRAVELING DIRECTLY TO OR FROM, WITH THE EXCEPTION, IF THE RIDER IS TREKKING TO OR FROM. SCHOOL PROGRAMS, ORGANIZED SPORTS, LAWFUL EMPLOYMENT, OR MEDICAL EMERGENCY NEEDS.

WHY THIS MATTERS? THREE FAST POINTS. DARKNESS CHALLENGES CHANGES EVERYTHING. DRIVERS SEE LESS, KIDS ARE HARDER TO SPOT, AND REACTION TIMES DISAPPEAR.

NIGHT BRINGS HIGHER RISK DRIVING IMPAIRMENT, SPEED, DISTRACTION, AND TEENS CAN'T OUTSKILL A DRUNK. A DRUNK OR RECKLESS ADULT BEHIND THE WHEEL. GROUP DYNAMICS AT NIGHT ARE REAL.

EVEN GOOD KIDS TAKE BIGGER RISKS. I'VE SEEN IT FIRSTHAND.

AT POINSETTIA, IT IS VERY COMMON FOR 12 AND 13-YEAR-OLDS TO BE HANGING OUT ON THE ROOFS OF TOILETS, RIPPING AROUND THE PARKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WITHOUT ANY ADULT SUPERVISION.

AND THIS IMPULSE CONTROL OF THESE KIDS WHERE THEIR FRONTAL LOBES HAVE NOT DEVELOPED, I BELIEVE THAT MY KIDS ARE RESPONSIBLE. THEY'RE CAREFUL, BUT THEY CAN'T CONTROL WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW. AND THIS ISN'T HYPOTHETICAL. CARLSBAD ALREADY FACES NIGHTTIME COLLISIONS AND DUI ACTIVITY. THAT'S NOT FEAR.

THAT IS THE REALITY. THIS AMENDMENT IS REASONABLE BECAUSE IT'S NARROW AND FAIR. IT DOESN'T TRAP RESPONSIBLE TEENS AT HOME. IT PRESERVES MOBILITY FOR SCHOOL, SPORTS, AND WORK.

AND IT FORCES ONLY AN UNSTRUCTURED, UNSUPERVISED NIGHTTIME RIDING, WHERE THE RISK SPIKES.

SIGNIFICANTLY. SO HERE'S MY ASK. ADOPT THE ORDINANCE WITH THE AMENDMENT TONIGHT. IF YOU NEED LEGAL LANGUAGE TIGHTENED, DIRECT STAFF AND THE CITY ATTORNEY TO BRING IT BACK, AWARDING IN 30 TO 60 DAYS, BUT SET THE POLICY IN THE DIRECTION NOW. BECAUSE THE BEST OUTCOME IS A QUIET, NO SIRENS, NO TRAGEDY, NO CHILD IN A HOSPITAL, JUST A COMMUNITY. THAT PUT THE GUARDRAIL IN PLACE BEFORE THE CRASH. THANK YOU.

SIR, DON'T LEAVE JUST YET. I'M GOING TO ASK... MR. HABER TO COME UP AND ANSWER THE QUICK QUESTION OF I'M NOT JUST COUNTING YOUR IDEA, BUT IT'S COMING KIND OF LATE IN THE PROCESS. SO I'M GOING TO ASK JASON ABOUT CONSIDERING THAT FOR THE FUTURE AND ADDING IT TO THE POLICY. YES, PLEASE. IF I MAY JUST ADD TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, I DO BELIEVE WE HAD A DISCUSSION.

AND JASON, MAYBE YOU CAN CLARIFY FOR US AROUND THE AFTER DARK AND WHAT WE WERE WANTING TO CARVE OUT. SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SPEAKING TO THAT PIECE, BECAUSE WE DID CONSIDER THAT.

AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR RAISING THAT, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WAS A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD, AND IT WAS PRETTY ROBUST IN TERMS OF WHAT WE THOUGHT WOULD MAKE SENSE. SO HOPEFULLY JASON CAN ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. AND MOSTLY THAT IF WE REALIZE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE THAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED, HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES? THANK YOU, MAYOR. JASON HABER SAID HE'S AN INTERPRETER. SIR, YOU MAY BE SEATED. I JUST DIDN'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE THE CHAMBERS. AND MAYOR, I'M SORRY, IF YOU COULD JUST EXPAND A BIT ON THE ISSUE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK ON. SOME OF THE QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS THE SPEAKER BROUGHT UP WAS ABOUT SUPERVISED RIDING OF E-BIKES AT NIGHT FOR KIDS UNDER 16 YEARS OLD. MOSTLY JUST SAFETY ISSUES. IF WE FIND OUT AS WE, AFTER THIS IS PASSED, THIS ORDINANCE IS PASSED. AND

[00:15:02]

AS I RECALL, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE REGULATIONS AROUND POSSIBLY RESTRICTING RIDERS IN THE EVENING, ONE THING, AS I RECALL, WE TALKED ABOUT WAS THE IDEA THAT SOME OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS, IN TERMS OF APPLYING THOSE RESTRICTIONS, WOULD HAVE TO BE APPLIED UNIVERSALLY ACROSS ALL RIDERS OF E-BIKES.

AND SO WHETHER YOU DISCRIMINATE OR DISTINGUISH BETWEEN AGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, COULD BE COMPLICATED RELATIVE TO THE VEHICLE CODE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. THE CITY ATTORNEY MIGHT BE A BETTER RESOURCE FOR INFORMATION ON THAT SPECIFICALLY. I THINK AT THIS POINT, IF WE WANTED TO TARGET. AND THE CITY COUNCIL DIDN'T PROVIDE THAT AS PART OF YOUR SPECIFIC DIRECTION WHEN WE DID TALK ABOUT THIS TOPIC PREVIOUSLY.

THAT AS A POLICY PRIORITY, WE COULD CERTAINLY GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT FORWARD FOR DISCUSSION WITH SOME OF OUR LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES.

AND SEE IF THAT'S AN INITIATIVE THAT THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN CHAMPIONING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY. BUT AT THIS POINT, I WOULD WANT TO CONFER WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY IN TERMS OF THE LEGAL MECHANISMS FOR HOW WE MIGHT IMPLEMENT SOME RESTRICTIONS LIKE THAT. OKAY, THANK YOU. MS. POPITEL, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER TO ADD. I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT I KNOW WE DID TALK ABOUT IT. IF YOU COULD MAYBE JUST ELABORATE ON WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AND THEN WHAT THE DECISION WAS THAT WE CAME TO, JUST SO FOLKS ARE AWARE THAT WE DID HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. AND THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE IN THE FUTURE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADD ON TO IT IF WE NEED TO. YES, IN TERMS OF THAT. JASON, I THINK IF I COULD ADD ONE MORE TO ALSO HELP. THE DISCUSSION ABOUT MARIN COUNTY AND THEIR PILOT PROGRAM WITH REGARD TO 16-YEAR-OLDS, I THINK MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO SHARE SORT OF WHAT MARIN IS DOING, WHAT THIS COUNCIL IS GIVEN DIRECTION TO DO, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO MOVING FORWARD. RELATED TO E-BIKE USE FOR KIDS 16 AND UNDER. THANK YOU. MR. PAT.

YES, SO WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL DID ADOPT YOUR LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM FOR 2026, ONE OF THE POSITION STATEMENTS AND ONE OF THE PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE OF.

PURSUITS THAT YOU DIRECTED STAFF TO GO AFTER IN TERMS OF ENACTING AND SPONSORING NEW LEGISLATION. RELATED TO THE FACT THAT IN SAN DIEGO, WE HAVE ADOPTED AND PASSED THROUGH STATE LEGISLATION AB 2234, WHICH PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE UNDER 12 BAN. AT THE SAME TIME, DURING THE SAME SESSION, ANOTHER BILL WAS PASSED RELATIVE TO MARIN COUNTY. THAT PROVIDED PROVISIONS THAT ALLOW CITIES TO BAN E-BIKE RIDERS UNDER 16 FROM RIDING CLASS 2 E-BIKES, AS WELL AS REQUIRING HELMET RIDING AND CERTAIN OTHER PROVISIONS. THE CITY COUNCIL DID DIRECT STAFF TO PURSUE. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MARIN COUNTY PILOT, OR TO ENACT HERE LOCALLY, PROVISIONS SIMILAR TO WHAT'S PROVIDED FOR IN MARIN COUNTY. TO THIS POINT, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH STATE LEGISLATORS, BOTH HERE AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE, TO SEE IF WE COULD FIND AN AUTHOR FOR A BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW THE CITY. WE HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN FINDING AN AUTHOR TO CARRY THAT BILL FOR US AT THIS POINT, BUT WE HAVE HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS BOTH WITH LEGISLATORS AND WITH COMMITTEE STAFF FOR VARIOUS STATE LEGISLATIVE POLICY COMMITTEES. QUESTION I SEE THE CITY ATTORNEY LEANING IN, WOULD YOU? DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO ADD? I JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR THE SPEAKER TO UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS THAT ARE ON COUNCIL TONIGHT. BECAUSE WE'RE AT THE ORDINANCE ADOPTION STAGE INSTEAD OF THE ORDINANCE INTRODUCTION STAGE. SO, TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE TYPICALLY TAKES TWO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, THE FIRST TO INTRODUCE THE ORDINANCE, THE SECOND TO ADOPT IT.

AT THE POINT IN TIME THAT YOU ARE AT THE ADOPTION STAGE, WE CANNOT AMEND THE ORDINANCE WITHOUT REINTRODUCING IT. SO FOR TONIGHT, THE COUNCIL WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE, EVEN IF IT WERE SO INCLINED.

THANK YOU, JASON. SIR, PLEASE MEET WITH JASON OUT IN THE BACK SO YOU CAN ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OF HIM. HE'S A GENIUS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS INFORMATION. AS A RESULT, ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL? MS. ACOSTA.

THANK YOU. I SEE MR. HABER IS LEAVING, BUT I WAS GOING TO ASK HIM IF HE COULD TALK ABOUT AB 2234 AND HOW THAT CAME ABOUT, THAT THE BILL IN THE END... OFFERED US A PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALL THE CITIES OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY TO BAN E-BIKE USE FOR UNDER 12S, BUT THAT'S NOT HOW IT STARTED, BECAUSE THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS IS A LITTLE BIT CHALLENGING SOMETIMES TO...

[00:20:01]

YES, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA. YES, SO. INITIALLY, THE DIRECTION FROM THE CITY COUNCIL WAS TO PURSUE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD APPLY STATEWIDE, INCREASING E-BIKE RIDER TRAINING AND SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. AS WELL AS LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR E-BIKE RIDERS. WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN SECURING AN AUTHOR IN ASSEMBLYMEMBER BERNER TO CARRY A BILL FORWARD LIKE THAT. THAT IS ACTUALLY HOW THE BILL WAS INITIALLY INTRODUCED. AND, AS COUNCILMEMBER ALLUDED TO, THE STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS INVOLVES AUTHORING AND INTRODUCING OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION, WHICH IS THEN ASSIGNED THROUGH.

THE LEGISLATURE, THE HOUSE OF ORIGIN, TO POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEES.

AND THROUGH THE PROCESS OF POLICY COMMITTEE REVIEW, CERTAIN AMENDMENTS CAN BE REQUIRED, ENCOURAGED, PROPOSED INTO THE BILL. AND IF THE AUTHOR IS OPEN AND AMENABLE TO THAT THROUGH WHATEVER REASON, WHETHER THEY SEE THAT AS AN IMPROVEMENT TO THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION OR THERE ARE OTHER RISKS OR THREATS TO THE LEGISLATION GOING FORWARD, THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO THOSE AMENDMENTS. AND SO THROUGH THAT PROCESS, PRIMARILY, I BELIEVE, IN THE ASSEMBLY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, WE SAW CONCERNS AROUND APPLYING THE TYPES OF RESTRICTIONS THAT WE WERE SUGGESTING OR ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE WERE SUGGESTING BEING APPLIED STATEWIDE. THEY NARROWED THAT BILL QUITE A BIT THROUGH THE AMENDMENT PROCESS THAT WERE ACCEPTED BY THE AUTHOR AND ULTIMATELY...

THAT IS THE BILL THAT WENT THROUGH TO THE GOVERNOR'S DESK. AND SO, AS YOU STATED, THE BILL THAT WE WOUND UP WITH WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY TRIED TO INITIATE. AND LIKE YOU SAID, THE PILOT PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS FOR UNDER 12 RIDER BANS IN CITIES THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO COUNTY. IS KIND OF THE EXTENT OF WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THAT SESSION. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND THEN, IF I MAY ASK ONE MORE QUESTION ABOUT THIS. IN THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD, AND I KNOW IT WASN'T YOU, MR. HABER, I THINK IT WAS MS. JENNIFER TRUE AND SOMEBODY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT WERE UP HERE SPEAKING TO US, SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU ALSO ARE VERY WELL-VERSED ON THIS TOPIC, BUT WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT JURISDICTION. AND SOME OF THESE THINGS WE ADDED TO THE UNDER 12. PROHIBITION AND WE ARE DOING ADDITIONAL THINGS. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ADOPTING TODAY.

BUT WE HAD A WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT OTHER THINGS WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADD. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS WHETHER LIGHTS ARE REQUIRED ON BIKES AND E-BIKES. AND IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THAT CONVERSATION THAT, YES, AT NIGHT THEY ARE REQUIRED. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE THE RIGHT PERSON TO ASK.

I WOULD SUGGEST I AM NOT THE RIGHT PERSON TO ASK. IS THERE ANOTHER PERSON THAT CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION? OKAY, OUR CHIEF OF POLICE. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. CHRISTY CALDER, CHIEF OF POLICE. IF I HEARD THE QUESTION CORRECTLY, IT WAS ARE LIGHTS REQUIRED AT NIGHT. THAT IS CORRECT.

YES, GREAT.

ON BIKES AND E-BIKES.

CORRECT. GREAT. OKAY. YES, THANK YOU. SO I DO THINK ALSO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION, BUT TONIGHT IT'S THIS PACKAGE THAT WE ALREADY AGREED ON, AND I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JASON, BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF, I WANT TO KEEP CALLING YOU BACK.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND, MR. HABER, I THOUGHT, MAYBE YOU MIGHT WANT TO, IN YOUR CONVERSATION, AND THANK YOU, MR. PANTHER, FOR COMING OUT TO SPEAK ON THIS, BUT MAYBE REVIEW THE DEEP DIVE STAFF DID ON THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED AT NIGHT AND THE AGE OF THOSE DRIVERS, OUR CYCLISTS. AND THEN I WAS GOING TO REFLECT. COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA AND I BOTH SIT ON THE LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE, SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THESE THINGS, BUT THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT. THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY QUESTION AS WELL, AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. NOTHING, KEVIN? OKAY.

THANK YOU, JASON. MR. SHEN, GO AHEAD. YEAH, BEFORE OUR SPEAKER TAKES OFF, THANKS FOR PRESENTING THIS. I HAVE 10- AND 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTERS MYSELF. JUST LET YOU KNOW OVER HERE. AND I WILL SAY, NO MATTER WHAT LAW WE PUT OUT HERE, REGARDLESS, PARENTS HAVE TO BE PARENTS, AND THEY HAVE TO PARENT THEIR CHILD AND SHOW RISKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. SO WE'LL DO THE BEST WE CAN IN MY BELIEF HERE ON THIS SIDE, BUT I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE TO SEND THAT MESSAGE, AS I DO, TO MY CHILDREN'S FRIENDS, FOLKS. SO I TOTALLY AGREE

[00:25:03]

PLEASE VOTE. THAT PASSES

[10. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL UPDATE FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 AND MIDYEAR BUDGET REVIEW – 1)]

CARLSBAD'S GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT WAS ESTIMATED AT $18.7 BILLION IN 2025. SLIGHT GROWTH FROM 2024, MAINTAINING OUR POSITION AS THE SECOND LARGEST ECONOMY IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

GROWTH HAS BEEN UNEVEN, THOUGH. HOSPITALITY, TOURISM, REAL ESTATE, AND HEALTH-RELATED SECTORS HAVE EXPANDED SLIGHTLY.

MANUFACTURING AND CERTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SEGMENTS SHOWED SOME SOFTENING.

CARLSBAD'S ECONOMY REMAINS STABLE, THOUGH WE ARE SEEING CLEAR SIGNS OF MODERATION COMPARED TO PRIOR YEARS OF STRONGER GROWTH. THE LABOR MARKET CONTINUES TO REFLECT NEAR FULL EMPLOYMENT.

BUT HIRING HAS COOLED, AND EMPLOYERS ARE TAKING A MORE MEASURED APPROACH TO EXPANSION. COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IS ALSO NORMALIZING, WITH MODEST INCREASES IN VACANCY ALONGSIDE STILL ELEVATED RENTAL RATES. THE HOUSING MARKET IS STABILIZING AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF APPRECIATION, WHILE HIGHER BORROWING COSTS CONTINUE TO CONSTRAIN AFFORDABILITY AND TRANSACTION ACTIVITY.

ACROSS SECTORS, BUSINESSES CITE FEDERAL POLICY SHIFTS, TRADE VOLATILITY, AND ELEVATED CAPITAL COSTS AS KEY SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY.

INFLUENCING PRICING, HIRING, AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS HEADING INTO 2026. INFLATION TRENDS IN THE SAN DIEGO-CARLSBAD REGION GENERALLY MIRROR BROADER WESTERN U.S.

PATTERNS. WHILE INFLATION HAS COOLED COMPARED TO PEAK LEVELS, PRICING REMAINS ELEVATED ACROSS HOUSING, INSURANCE, UTILITIES, AND CERTAIN GOODS.

FOR BUSINESSES, THE ISSUE IS LESS ABOUT PEAK INFLATION AND MORE ABOUT SUSTAINED, HIGHER COST STRUCTURES, AND FOR RESIDENTS, ELEVATED LIVING COSTS CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE SPENDING PATTERNS.

CARLSBAD'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED UNDER 5%, CONSISTENT WITH NEAR FULL EMPLOYMENT.

HOWEVER, HIRING ACTIVITY SLOWED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR.

WHILE LAYOFFS REMAIN RELATIVELY LOW IN CARLSBAD, THE LABOR MARKET IS NO LONGER AS TIGHT AS IN PRIOR YEARS. THIS MODERATION MAY EASE WAGE PRESSURES, BUT ALSO COULD SLOW EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN KEY SECTORS.

IN-DEMAND SKILLS CONTINUE TO INCLUDE MARKETING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, ACCOUNTING, AND AUDIT FUNCTIONS.

ON THIS CHART, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE OCTOBER DATA IS MISSING DUE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. THAT TOOK PLACE IN 2025. THERE WERE 05,283 JOB POSTINGS IN THE SECOND QUARTER, DOWN FROM THE PRIOR QUARTER, REFLECTING MORE CAUTIOUS EMPLOYER ACTIVITY. IN-DEMAND SKILLS CONTINUE TO INCLUDE MARKETING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, ACCOUNTING, AND AUDIT FUNCTIONS. 977 CARLSBAD EMPLOYERS POSTED JOBS DURING THE QUARTER, A DROP OF ABOUT 300 COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE MEDIAN JOB POSTING DURATION WAS 20 DAYS, WHICH IS A DROP OF EIGHT DAYS COMPARED TO A YEAR AGO. THIS SHOWS THAT AS THE LABOR MARKET OPENS UP AND FEWER JOBS ARE AVAILABLE, EMPLOYERS ARE FILLING JOBS FASTER. ZILLOW'S HOME VALUE INDEX ENDED THE YEAR AT 1.33 MILLION FOR THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE, UP 4.6% YEAR OVER YEAR, BUT SLIGHTLY DOWN FROM THE OCTOBER PEAK. HOME VALUES IN CARLSBAD CREPT HIGHER THROUGH MOST OF 2025, WHICH BUCKED THE TREND OF THE REST OF NORTH COUNTY. AFFORDABILITY REMAINS A STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINT FOR WORKFORCE ATTRACTION AND RETENTION IN CARLSBAD.

BUILDING ACTIVITY STRENGTHENED DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2025. RESIDENTIAL PERMITS TOTALED 923, AN INCREASE OF NEARLY 19% YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARED TO 2024. COMMERCIAL PERMITS REACHED 125, UP SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE 77 IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR, A 62% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE.

THE REBOUND IN COMMERCIAL PERMITTING SUGGESTS SOME RENEWED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY AND IMPROVED INVESTOR CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO 2026.

THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET IN CARLSBAD REMAINED STABLE BUT CONTINUED TO NORMALIZE DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER.

INDUSTRIAL VACANCY INCREASED TO 10.4%, OFFICE VACANCY HELD STEADY AT 14.7%, AND RETAIL VACANCY ROSE MODESTLY TO 5.1%. WHILE VACANCY HAS INCREASED IN SELECT SEGMENTS, CARLSBAD CONTINUES TO PERFORM COMPARABLY OR SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN THE BROADER SAN DIEGO REGION, THOUGH SLOWER ABSORPTION REFLECTS MORE CAUTIOUS TENANT EXPANSION. HOTEL OCCUPANCY IN CARLSBAD SOFTENED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER FOLLOWING SUMMER PEAKS.

[00:30:01]

OCCUPANCY IMPROVED YEAR OVER YEAR IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, BUT ADR MODERATED COMPARED TO PRIOR PEAKS. VISIT CARLSBAD REPORTS THAT GROUP TRAVEL CONTINUES TO BUOY PERFORMANCE, WHILE LEISURE TRAVEL DECLINED AMID ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS QUARTER.

BUSINESS CONTINUES TO CITE EXTERNAL UNCERTAINTY AS A MAJOR CONCERN. FLUCTUATING TARIFFS AND GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS ARE AFFECTING INPUT COSTS AND PRICING PREDICTABILITY.

ELEVATED BORROWING COSTS REMAIN A CONSTRAINT ON CAPITAL ACCESS. VENTURE CAPITAL HAS INCREASINGLY CONCENTRATED AROUND AI-FOCUSED FIRMS. CARLSBAD HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF AI FIRMS. WE ARE HEARING FROM LOCAL COMPANIES THAT PRICE SHOCKS ARE POSSIBLE IN 2026, PARTICULARLY IN FOOD PRODUCTION, CONSUMER BRANDS. CLEAN TECH AND LIFE SCIENCES. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO FINANCE DIRECTOR ZACH KORACH. THANK YOU, MR. SANFORD. THE SECOND HALF OF TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION WILL BE ON THE FINANCIAL AND BUDGET SIDE. WE'RE STARTING HERE WITH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF FISCAL YEAR 26 GENERAL FUND REVENUES. AND HERE WE CAN SEE THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES GROUP BY SOURCE. THE FIRST COLUMN IN EACH OF THESE GROUPS REPRESENTS THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF ACTUAL REVENUES GENERATED.

IN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, THE SECOND COLUMN REPRESENTS WHAT WE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND THE THIRD AND FINAL COLUMN REPRESENTS WHAT WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS THIS YEAR. AS WE CAN SEE, WE HAVE GENERALLY MET OR EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS ACROSS THE REVENUE GROUPS.

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SALES TAX, CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HAD REPORTED OUT DURING THE FIRST QUARTER REPORT AS WELL, AND WE'LL TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO SALES TAX ON THE FOLLOWING SLIDE. SO WE'LL BE COVERING A FEW OF THESE REVENUE SOURCES. AS ALWAYS, WE DO FOCUS ON PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX, AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.

TOGETHER, THEY COMPRISE NEARLY 80% OF TOTAL GENERAL FUND REVENUES.

FOR PROPERTY TAX, WE ARE SEEING A POSITIVE 4% GROWTH, AN INCREASE OF $1.3 MILLION OVER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF LAST YEAR. THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR'S OFFICE ASSESSED VALUE INCREASE FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2026. MOVING INTO SALES TAX, WE ARE SEEING A $3.9 MILLION DECREASE, OR 13%, WHEN COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

THE LARGEST ECONOMIC SEGMENTS IN THE CITY ARE AUTO DEALERS, CONSUMER GOODS, AND RESTAURANTS. TOGETHER, THEY COMPRISE NEARLY 80% OF THE SALES TAX BASE.

FOR SALES OCCURRING IN THE THIRD CALENDAR QUARTER OF 2025, WHICH IS THE MOST RECENT DATA AVAILABLE. THIS YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECREASE WAS PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY A ONE-TIME TAXPAYER ERROR CORRECTION THAT SPANNED BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 24-25, WHICH WE ARE NO LONGER RECEIVING. DESPITE THIS ANOMALY, ON AN ECONOMICALLY ADJUSTED BASIS, THE CITY SALES TAX RECEIPTS WERE STILL DOWN APPROXIMATELY 2.7%. SO, PULLING OUT ANY ONE-TIME ANOMALIES, ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENTS, TIMING DIFFERENCES, YEAR-OVER-YEAR FOR THIS QUARTER, SALES TAX RECEIPTS WERE DOWN 2.7%. WHICH IS A MARKEDLY VAST IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO THE ECONOMICALLY ADJUSTED DIFFERENCE OR DECREASE THAT WE REPORTED IN THE FIRST QUARTER. THIS ECONOMICALLY ADJUSTED DECREASE WAS CONTINUED TO BE DRIVEN BY A DECLINE IN CONSUMER DEMAND, LIKELY DUE TO SUSTAINED INFLATIONARY LEVELS. DECREASES WERE OBSERVED IN MULTIPLE SEGMENTS.

COMPRISING THE TOTAL SALES TAX BASE, THIS INCLUDES GENERAL CONSUMER GOODS, AS WELL AS THE STATE AND COUNTY POOL. AS COMMUNICATED DURING OUR FIRST QUARTER REPORT, THE FISCAL YEAR 26 ADOPTED BUDGET DID ASSUME A YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECREASE IN TOTAL SALES TAX REVENUES.

AND WHILE THERE MAY BE A SHORTFALL AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, THIS CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE AND CONSERVATIVE BUDGETING PROCESS WILL GO A LONG WAYS TO ENSURING THAT A TOTAL SURPLUS WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND WILL COME AT THE END OF THE YEAR. THIRD, FOR TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX, AS MR. SANFORD HAD TOUCHED UPON, WITH STAGNANT AVERAGE DAILY ROOM RATES AND SLIGHT DECREASES IN OCCUPANCY RATES, WE ARE SEEING RELATIVELY FLAT YEAR-OVER-YEAR PERFORMANCE DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, A DECREASE OF JUST 1%. LOOKING AT OTHER TAXES, A 6% INCREASE. THIS IS COMPRISED OF FRANCHISE TAXES, BUSINESS LICENSE TAX. AS WELL AS TRANSFER TAXES. THE MAJORITY OF THIS YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE WAS DRIVEN BY NEW BUSINESS ACTIVITY, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL PENALTY REVENUE FOR OVERDUE RENEWALS FOR BUSINESS LICENSES. AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS IN PROPERTY. WE'RE SEEING A $1.5 MILLION INCREASE, OR 35%. WHEN WE'RE LOOKING

[00:35:01]

IN TOTAL, REVENUES YEAR OVER YEAR WERE DOWN $100,000 APPROXIMATELY, OR 0.1%.

IN LOOKING AT THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AT $242 MILLION, AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE A WORKING BUDGET OF $263.6 MILLION.

FOR REFERENCE, THE WORKING BUDGET IS COMPRISED OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET. PLUS ALL OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS AT THE END OF THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.

PLUS ANY APPROVED BUDGET CARRY-FORWARDS THAT WERE BROUGHT FORWARD FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AT THE END OF LAST FISCAL YEAR. THESE APPROVED BUDGET CARRY-FORWARDS ARE ONE-TIME EXPENDITURE REQUESTS AND ARE NOT ONGOING INCREASES TO THE BUDGET. AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, THERE'S A REMAINING BUDGET OF $128 MILLION, OR 48%, AND THIS INCLUDES ALL ACTUAL EXPENSES, AS WELL AS ALL OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS, OR OFTEN REFERRED TO AS ENCUMBRANCES THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED, BUT THE EXPENSES HAVE NOT YET BEEN PAID OR INCURRED.

HERE, WE CAN SEE THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES AND ENCUMBRANCES OR OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS PRESENTED IN THIS CHART, BROKEN DOWN BY PERSONNEL, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATIONS, TRANSFERS OUT.

GENERALLY, FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT, WE WILL SEE INCREASES IN PERSONNEL, WHETHER DRIVEN BY NEGOTIATED SALARY INCREASES OR, MORE SO, FIXED BENEFIT COST INCREASES.

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS, SLIGHT INCREASES, WHETHER DRIVEN BY NEW SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS OR INFLATIONARY INCREASES. AND TRANSFERS OUT CAN FLUCTUATE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF BUSINESS YOU'RE IN. A RESPECTIVE BUDGET'S AMOUNT OF PRELIMINARY SURPLUS AND WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL ULTIMATELY DECIDES TO APPROVE TO BE TRANSFERRED OUT FOR LONG-TERM CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDING. HERE WE CAN SEE THE BUDGET AND ACTUAL DATA PRESENTED NUMERICALLY. WE ARE SEEING THE PERCENT OF BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN SPENT TO DATE, AS WELL AS THE OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS AS OF CALENDAR YEAR END 2025. A TOTAL OF 47% OF THE BUDGET HAS BEEN SPENT, MEANING 53% IS STILL REMAINING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. NEXT, WE'LL BE TALKING BRIEFLY ABOUT A FEW OF THE CITY'S ENTERPRISE FUNDS, FIRST STARTING WITH WATER AND WASTEWATER.

WHEN COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR'S SECOND QUARTER, WATER REVENUES ARE UP 6% AND EXPENSES ARE UP 8%. INCREASES IN WATER OPERATING REVENUES ARE DUE TO AN INCREASE IN USER RATES THAT WENT INTO EFFECT IN JULY OF 2025, OFFSET BY A 4.7% DECREASE IN WATER VOLUME SALES.

INCREASES IN EXPENSES ARE DRIVEN BY BUDGETED, NEGOTIATED SALARY ADJUSTMENTS.

ALONG WITH A 12% RATE INCREASE IN THE VARIABLE COST OF WATER THAT THE CITY, OR I SHOULD SAY THE DISTRICT, PURCHASES FROM THE COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY. WASTEWATER REVENUES ARE UP 8% AND EXPENSES ARE UP 5%. THE REVENUES ARE DRIVEN BY RATE INCREASES THAT ALSO WENT INTO EFFECT IN JULY OF 2025. AND THE INCREASES IN EXPENSES DRIVEN BY NEGOTIATED SALARY ADJUSTMENTS, AS WELL AS COST INCREASES FROM ENCINO WASTEWATER AUTHORITIES, SPECIFICALLY FOR ENERGY AND INSURANCE RELATED COSTS.

FOR THE CITY'S GOLF COURSE, THE CROSSINGS, REVENUES ARE UP 9% AND EXPENSES ARE UP 17%.

ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WE'RE SEEING POSITIVE DEMAND FOR GOLF THAT CONTINUES TO KEEP REVENUES THRIVING.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE REVENUES HAVE REALLY BOLSTERED THE GOLF COURSE'S REVENUE PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR, AS HAS BEEN THE CASE IN RECENT YEARS AS WELL, AND IN ADDITION TO SLIGHT RATE INCREASES SUSTAINED BY STRONG DEMAND FOR CONTINUED GOLF. COSTS HAVE INCREASED FOR COURSE AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE, AS WELL AS INCREASED APPRECIATION FOR ASSETS THAT HAVE RECENTLY BEEN PLACED IN SERVICE. SO THE NEXT PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION IS ON THE MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW.

THIS PROCESS IS WHERE THE LED BY THE BUDGET TEAM. WE REQUEST THAT DEPARTMENTS CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET REVIEW OF ALL THEIR RESPECTIVE BUDGETS. TO ANALYZE VARIOUS OPERATIONAL NEEDS. AND ULTIMATELY DETERMINE WHETHER ONE-TIME REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING ARE NECESSARY. ANY AND ALL REQUESTS THAT ARE DEEMED NECESSARY ARE SUBMITTED TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT FOR REVIEW AND REVIEWED BY THE CITY MANAGER BEFORE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.

WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, A TOTAL OF $490,000 IS BEING REQUESTED, LARGELY PERTAINING TO $150,000 FOR AMBULANCE SERVICES. YOU'LL RECALL THAT THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE RECENTLY WAS ENCOUNTERING STAFFING CHALLENGES THAT ULTIMATELY HAD AN IMPACT AND PULLED AWAY CITY OF CARLSBAD FIRE DEPARTMENT RESOURCES. THIS $150,000 WILL ENSURE SUFFICIENT FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO... FILL THAT COVERAGE GAP FOR A PORTION

[00:40:02]

THERE'S ALSO A $200,000 REQUEST FOR MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM. I WANTED TO CALL OUT THAT THESE FIRST TWO ITEMS ARE LARGELY REVENUE OFFSET AND WILL NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE.

FOR NON-GENERAL FUND REQUESTS, A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY $275,000 IS BEING REQUESTED, AND LARGELY DUE TO VEHICLE PURCHASES AND OUTFITTING WITHIN THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, AS WELL AS $150,000 FOR CONTINUED VEGETATION AND SEDIMENT REMOVAL FROM CONCRETE CHANNELS WITHIN THE CITY. THE RECOMMENDED ACTION THIS EVENING IS TO RECEIVE THE UPDATE AND THE MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW AND TO CONSIDER ADOPTING THE NECESSARY RESOLUTIONS, APPROVING THE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.

AS FOR NEXT STEPS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR CITYWIDE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, AND, OF COURSE, MAKE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE. WE WILL NEXT BE BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL TO PRESENT THE THIRD QUARTER REPORT IN MAY OF 2026. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.

WE'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? MS. BHAT PATEL. YES, THANK YOU.

THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.

APPRECIATE IT. ALWAYS GREAT TO RECEIVE THESE UPDATES. IT GIVES US A GOOD OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE AT. JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE GAP THAT WE'RE FILLING WITH REGARDS TO THE CHANGE IN SERVICE FROM OCEANSIDE. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS. YOU MENTIONED THE $150K AND THE $200K. DO WE HAPPEN TO KNOW YET WHAT THE ONGOING COSTS WILL BE, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ANALYZING? AND THEN I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, AND THEN I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP.

IN TERMS OF THE ONGOING COSTS, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS HOPEFULLY A TEMPORARY SITUATION THAT WILL BE RESOLVED BEFORE OR AT THE END OF THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.

SO, SUBSEQUENT TO JUNE 30, OR AT THE START OF... THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, I BELIEVE OCEANSIDE ANTICIPATES CORRECTING THE CHALLENGE. SO THE HOPE IS THAT THIS $150,000, OR SHOULD THIS CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FISCAL YEAR AND ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS ARE NEEDED, IT WOULD BE ONE TIME IN NATURE. OKAY, GREAT. THAT WAS THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD.

THANKS. MS. ACOSTA. I JUST HAVE COMMENTS, NOT QUESTIONS. IS THAT OKAY? MS. BURKHOLDER, QUESTIONS. I'M SORRY. MR. SHIN, ALL RIGHT, START OFF WITH YOUR COMMENTS. THANKS FOR THE REPORT FOR BOTH OF YOU GUYS AND YOUR STAFF. IT JUST SEEMS KEENLY AWARE THAT WE'RE IN AN ECONOMIC CHALLENGE ACROSS THE BOARD, FROM LOCAL ALL THE WAY UP TO FEDERAL. SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE ASSESSMENT FROM THE FOLLOWING REPORTS. BUT IF WE ARE NOTICING SOME DRAMATIC ASPECTS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR JURISDICTION, IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW. IF YOU GUYS COULD, JUST. GIVE US A QUICK MEMO DOWN THE ROAD OF HOW THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT US AS A CITY. THAT'S ALL. MS. BURKHOLDER. THANK YOU BOTH FOR GREAT REPORTS. I JUST LOVE GETTING ALL THE ECONOMIC INFORMATION. YOU KNOW, I'M SUCH A NERD ON THAT STUFF. I REALLY AM.

BUT I WOULD FILE UNDER WORK. SMARTER, NOT HARDER, AND SO MANY OF THESE THINGS THAT YOU'RE PURCHASING AND IMPLEMENTING, IN PARTICULAR THE POLE CAMERA REPLACEMENT, I'M SO THANKFUL FOR THAT. I'M PRETTY SURE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS, TOO.

BUT THAT IS A GREAT DETERRENT TO CRIME, AND WE'VE USED IT SUCCESSFULLY SEVERAL TIMES, AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

BUT ANY ONE OF THESE THINGS ARE JUST A FABULOUS ADDITION. SO THANK YOU FOR THE HARD WORK IN MAKING ALL THE NUMBERS CRUNCH.

MR. COSTA. THANK YOU. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION.

AND I KNOW WE'RE NOT JUST THANKING THE TWO OF YOU WHO ARE SITTING HERE TODAY, BUT EVERYONE THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH ACROSS THE CITY WHO ARE SO TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE QUARTERLY UPDATES.

SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR, AND OF COURSE, AS WE ENTER OUR MID-YEAR REVIEW OF OUR BUDGET, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE WHERE WE NEED TO ADJUST. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE ARE MANAGING REALLY WELL. WE CONTINUE TO MANAGE REALLY WELL. OUR PAST COUNCILS HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB OF SETTING US UP FOR THE POSITION THAT WE'RE IN NOW, AND WE CONTINUE TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS.

TO BE GREAT STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER MONEY. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK. I ACTUALLY HEAR LOTS OF POSITIVE COMMENTARY ON BOTH OF YOU. WHEN I'M OUT IN SAN DIEGO REGION,

[00:45:01]

AT THE CITY OF CARLSBAD. HE'S AMAZING. AND I SAID, YES, HE IS. SO I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. IT IS RECOGNIZED NOT JUST BY US, BUT BY MANY OTHERS IN THE BROADER REGION. THANK YOU. MS. BOB PATEL. YES, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AGAIN. I KNOW WE'RE ALL SAYING THAT, BUT I THINK, I KNOW IT IS AN UNCERTAIN TIME, BUT I TRUST THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STABLE HERE IN THE CITY. WE'VE SEEN THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST, WHAT? SIX TO SEVEN YEARS, ESPECIALLY THAT WE'VE SEEN AN UNCERTAIN TIME, BUT WE'VE SEEN A GREAT STABILITY WITH OUR FINANCES.

SO THAT IS BECAUSE OF YOU ALL, AND BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING IN. TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE AMAZING SERVICES THAT WE DO HERE IN THE CITY. AND ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS FOR US IS TO BE ONE OF THE LARGEST GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCTS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, I MEAN, $18.7 BILLION IS NO JOKE, RIGHT? AND I THINK BEING SECOND ONLY TO THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, THAT'S PRETTY GREAT FOR A CITY OUR SIZE. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR CONTINUING TO CULTIVATE THAT, CONTINUING TO THINK OF HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. AND REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING IN. I HATE TO REPEAT WHAT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS SAID, BUT WE'RE IN GOOD HANDS WITH YOU GUYS.

I'LL TELL YOU THAT. WHEN I GO TO MEETINGS WITH OTHER MAYORS IN OTHER CITIES, I KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT BECAUSE I'M LIKE THE SPOILED LITTLE BRAT IN THE ROOM. WE'RE ONE OF THE BEST RUN CITIES IN THE COUNTY. GO NO FURTHER THAN MAYBE 20 OR SO MILES SOUTH OF US AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.

WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET. SO THANK YOU. AND OUR RESIDENTS, THANK YOU. I THINK WE NEED A MOTION. YES. MOVE ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTIONS IN ITEM 10. SECOND. PLEASE VOTE. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

ITEM 11, CITY MANAGER. THANK

[11. INTERNAL AUDIT UPDATE AND INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING PORTIONS OF CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 3.28 – PURCHASE TO STREAMLINE PROCUREMENT ]

FOR THE PRESENTATION, WE HAVE OUR INTERNAL AUDIT MANAGER, TUFIK TABSHURI, AND FINANCE DIRECTOR, ZACH KORACH. THANKS. THANKS, ZACH.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS TUFIQ DAPSHURI. I'M THE INTERNAL AUDIT MANAGER FOR THE CITY.

TONIGHT, I'M GOING TO GO OVER THE PROCUREMENT AUDIT REPORT, AND THEN AFTERWARDS, MR. KORACH WILL GO OVER MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE AUDIT. OUR PROPOSED ACTION TONIGHT IS TO ACCEPT THE AUDIT REPORT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, AND TO CONSIDER THE INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTIONS OF CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 3.28, PURCHASING. TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION WILL COVER THE AUDIT BACKGROUND, AUDIT OBJECTIVES, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE, AND PROPOSED ACTION.

FOR THE PURPOSES OF BREVITY, I WILL NOT GO OVER THE SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE AUDIT AND THE WORK THAT I DID, BUT IT IS FOUND IN PAGES THREE AND FOUR OF THE REPORT. PROCUREMENT IS AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION BECAUSE ALMOST ALL CITY SPENDING GOES THROUGH SOME PROCUREMENT PROCESS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LABOR COSTS, EMPLOYEE PAY. A GOOD PROCUREMENT SYSTEM OPERATES EFFICIENTLY, ENSURES COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, AND MAXIMIZES THE VALUE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS.

CONVERSELY, AN INEFFICIENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS CAN ADVERSELY IMPACT MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS. IT CAN BASICALLY SLOW DOWN WORK IN A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS. THIS AUDIT HAD FOUR OBJECTIVES. THE FIRST WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS ARE PROCESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY'S LAWS, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE WAS TO EVALUATE THE DESIGN AND FUNCTION OF INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER PROCUREMENTS. THE THIRD OBJECTIVE WAS TO COMPARE THE CITY'S PURCHASING REGULATIONS TO THOSE OF OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, GUIDELINES, AND BEST PRACTICES. THAT THIRD OBJECTIVE IS TIED TO THE FIRST ONE. BASICALLY, IT VALIDATES THE FIRST ONE, EVEN IF WE HAVE A POSITIVE.

FINDING FROM THE FIRST OBJECTIVE, IT WOULDN'T BE AS GOOD IF WE WEREN'T FOLLOWING BEST PRACTICES. FINALLY, THE LAST AUDIT OBJECTIVE, IT'S TO EVALUATE THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS AND TO ASSESS THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROCUREMENT FUNCTION.

THAT IS WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE HEART OF THIS AUDIT REPORT, IS HOW WELL THAT FUNCTION IS WORKING.

SO I HAD FOUR FINDINGS, REALLY, EACH FINDING RELATES TO AN AUDIT OBJECTIVE. THE FIRST FINDING OF THE REPORT WAS THAT, BASED

[00:50:02]

AND THAT WAS BASED ON MY SAMPLING OF ABOUT 24 DIFFERENT CONTRACTS. AND THEN I LOOKED AT PAYMENTS AS WELL. SO THAT WAS A GOOD FINDING.

BECAUSE IT WAS A GOOD FINDING, THERE WAS NO NEED TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION.

THE SECOND FINDING WAS THAT INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESSES, THEY WERE EFFECTIVE, BUT THEY WERE CUMBERSOME, SLIGHTLY INEFFICIENT. THAT'S NOT A BAD FINDING, PER SE.

IT'S MERELY A REFLECTION THAT SOME OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT ARE USED FOR PROCUREMENT, THEY'RE OLD AND ANTIQUATED.

AND SOME OF THE PROCESSES THAT WE USE ARE MANUAL AND PAPER-BASED. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A COMPLETE UPGRADE OR REVAMP OF OUR TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, AND THE RELATED PROCUREMENT MODULE. I DID MAKE ONE RECOMMENDATION.

SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT CONTROLS, YOU CAN FIND THEM TO BE DEFICIENT, BUT SOMETIMES YOU CAN ALSO FIND THAT THEY'RE SET A LITTLE BIT TOO TIGHT.

IN THIS CASE, THE RECOMMENDATION ONE WAS FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER INCREASING THE CITY MANAGER'S APPROVAL AUTHORITY TO AT LEAST $150,000. AND TO ADJUST THIS FIGURE PERIODICALLY FOR INFLATION. THAT RECOMMENDATION IS BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE CURRENT CITY MANAGER'S APPROVAL LIMIT IS SET AT $100,000, BUT IT WAS ESTABLISHED AT $100,000 IN 2008. SO IT HASN'T BEEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION IN ABOUT 18 YEARS. HAD WE ADJUSTED IT AT THE ANNUAL CPI RATES, IT WOULD BE ABOUT $154,000 OR SO. SO I THINK AT LEAST $150,000 IS IN ORDER, AND IT WOULD ENTAIL NO ADDITIONAL RISK IN CURRENT DOLLAR TERMS. THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION ALSO RELATED TO HOW CONTRACTS GET. APPROVED.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN THE FIRST ONE, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE NUANCED. IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO DEVELOP.

BUT BASICALLY, THE CURRENT METHOD FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A CONTRACT REQUIRES COUNCIL APPROVAL IS JUST SIMPLY BASED ON THAT $100,000 THRESHOLD. THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME UP WITH A MORE SOPHISTICATED OR NUANCED TOOL THAT INCORPORATES OTHER FACTORS THAN SIMPLY A FINANCIAL THRESHOLD.

BUT THAT WILL TAKE A WHILE TO DEVELOP. IT WILL NEED INPUT FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY, BUT IT CAN TAKE INTO ACCOUNT FACTORS SUCH AS THE INHERENT RISK OF VARIOUS CONTRACTS. SO THAT'S MAYBE FOR THE FUTURE.

FINDING THREE. I DID COMPARE THE CITY'S PURCHASING LAWS AND REGULATIONS TO THOSE OF SIMILAR MUNICIPALITIES, AND TO THOSE OF THE STATE AND TO LARGER MUNICIPALITIES. AND I FOUND THAT, BASICALLY, OUR...

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK WAS GOOD.

IT WAS IN LINE WITH THOSE OF OTHERS, AND THERE'S NO DEFICIENCY OR GLARING OMISSION THAT CAME UP. I DID MAKE ONE RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS TO UPDATE THE PURCHASING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL, WHICH HASN'T BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2016. THEY WERE WORKING ON A DRAFT AND IT WAS ALMOST APPROVED, BUT NOW, WITH THE NEW SYSTEMS, THAT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. TIME TO UPDATE. THE FOURTH FINDING, WHICH REALLY PERTAINS TO AUDIT OBJECTIVE NUMBER FOUR, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF OPERATIONS, I DID FIND THAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON OPERATIONS BY DOING A FEW THINGS. I LISTED THREE OF THEM HERE, WHICH IS ESTABLISHING SOME PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE GOALS, CENTRALIZING OVERSIGHT OF PROCUREMENT, AND ADOPTING NEW SYSTEMS. AGAIN, THE GOOD NEWS HERE IS THAT THE ADOPTING NEW SYSTEMS PART IS IN PROCESS. I DID MAKE THE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS. ONE IS THAT THE CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE SHOULD ASSIGN A QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE TO COORDINATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR PROCUREMENT.

THAT'LL TAKE A WHILE. THAT'S GOING TO INVOLVE REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS. BUT REALLY, WE DO NEED TO MEASURE THINGS LIKE THE WORKLOAD THAT PROCUREMENT STAFF HAVE AT VARIOUS... PARTS OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND THAT WE NEED TO SET SOME STANDARDS FOR TIMELINESS FOR HOW FAST THE PROCUREMENTS ARE BEING PROCESSED. THE LAST RECOMMENDATION IS THE CITY MANAGER SHOULD CONSIDER CENTRALIZING THE PROCUREMENT FUNCTION AND CREATING A PROCUREMENT MANAGER POSITION.

DOING SO WILL INCREASE THE CAPABILITIES OF PROCUREMENT STAFF AND MAY LEAD TO EFFICIENCIES AND HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION. THIS IS A SOFT RECOMMENDATION. I WROTE IT AS SHOULD CONSIDER RATHER

[00:55:01]

RIGHT NOW, THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROCUREMENT FUNCTION IS COMPLETELY DECENTRALIZED.

THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO A CENTRALIZED VERSUS DECENTRALIZED APPROACH. THERE ARE ALSO HYBRID APPROACHES, MATRIX APPROACHES. I DO THINK THAT THAT CONVERSATION NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN THIS CITY AT SOME POINT, PERHAPS AFTER.

WE IMPLEMENT THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM AND THEN DEVELOP PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MR. KHORACH. GREAT.

THANK YOU, MR. TABSHURI.

BEFORE I GET INTO THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSES, I DID WANT TO JUST SPEAK VERY QUICKLY.

THE CITY COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2025, DID MAKE A MINUTE MOTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE. WITH THE INTERNAL AUDITOR'S REPORT ON PROCUREMENT, PROPOSED EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS ON THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT PROCESS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE AUDIT RECOMMENDATION, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENT BEST PRACTICE STANDARDS. AS WE GO THROUGH MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSES.

YOU WILL SEE A FEW INSTANCES WHERE WE TRIED TO ADDRESS THAT REQUEST FROM THE CITY COUNCIL. SO, WITH MANAGEMENT RESPONSE NUMBER ONE, AGAIN, THE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT DID RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY MANAGER AWARDING AUTHORITY BE INCREASED TO AT LEAST $150,000. COMPARABLE JURISDICTIONS ACROSS THE REGION HAVE LIMITS THAT RANGE TO AS HIGH AS $250,000.

IN AN EFFORT TO NOT ONLY STREAMLINE THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, BUT TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND DECREASE COSTS, MEANING THE AMOUNT OF TIME, STAFF TIME AND EFFORT THAT GOES INTO DEVELOPING AND ULTIMATELY FINALIZING EACH AGENDA ITEM.

THAT, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT REASONABLE AND SUFFICIENT CONTROLS HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN PLACE, STAFF RECOMMEND INCREASING THE CITY MANAGER AWARDING AUTHORITY LIMIT TO $250,000. FURTHER, THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE DOES REQUIRE STAFF TO ISSUE A MONTHLY REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF ALL PURCHASE ORDERS THAT ARE GREATER THAN $45,000. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BE DONE REGARDLESS OF THE CITY MANAGER AWARDING AUTHORITY LIMIT SHOULD IT REMAIN UNCHANGED OR INCREASED.

FOR MANAGEMENT RESPONSE NUMBER TWO, THE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT RECOMMENDED STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT APPROVAL PROCESSES.

MANAGEMENT DOES AGREE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY. MORE IMMEDIATELY, STAFF ARE PROPOSING A CODE AMENDMENT THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY ALLEVIATE THE NEED FOR CITY COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE BIDDING FOR A PROJECT. FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW, THE CITY COUNCIL MUST APPROVE THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR A PROJECT TWICE. FIRST, TO AUTHORIZE THE BIDDING PROCESS.

AND THEN A SECOND TIME TO AWARD THE CONTRACT. THIS AMENDMENT, IF APPROVED, WOULD ONLY REQUIRE THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AT TIME OF CONTRACT AWARD, WHICH WOULD ALSO INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING TO BRING THOSE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS A SECOND TIME. MANAGEMENT DOES AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION TO UPDATE THE CITY'S PURCHASING POLICIES AND MANUAL. AS MR. TAPSHIRI REFERENCED, THE CITY IS CURRENTLY ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE CORE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION PROJECT, REPLACING AND UPDATING ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL AND HR MODULES, AMONG OTHERS. MANY OF THE CITY'S PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES WILL BE CHANGING SIGNIFICANTLY AS WE LEVERAGE THE NEW TECHNOLOGY. FOLLOWING IMPLEMENTATION, STAFF WILL CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE TO THE CITY'S PURCHASING POLICIES AND MANUAL TO ENSURE. APPLICABILITY IN THE NEW ENVIRONMENT. WE ESTIMATE THIS BEING COMPLETED BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 28 AND 29.

FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, ONCE AGAIN, WE DO AGREE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND WORKLOAD INDICATORS ALIKE.

CURRENTLY, THE CITY'S BUDGET INCLUDES A NUMBER OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND WORKLOAD INDICATORS, HOWEVER, GIVEN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW FINANCIAL AND HR SYSTEMS, IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO REEVALUATE THE CURRENT PROCESSES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE CAPTURING AND REPORTING OUT THE MOST RELEVANT AND INFORMATIVE MEASURES. WE ANTICIPATE COMPLETING THIS EFFORT IN FISCAL YEAR 28. FIFTH, AND FINALLY, REGARDING CENTRALIZATION OF THE PURCHASING FUNCTION, WE DO AGREE THAT THE CONCEPT AND POSSIBILITY OF CENTRALIZING THE FUNCTION COULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR EFFICIENCY AND STREAMLINING.

THAT SAID, STAFF RECOMMEND ENGAGING A CONSULTANT TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS AND TO STUDY THE CURRENT AND POSSIBLE STRUCTURE.

TO FURTHER IDENTIFY THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COST BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH A CHANGE. THE STUDY IS ANTICIPATED TO BE CONDUCTED. FIRST, SUBSEQUENT TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CORE PROJECT, COMPLETED BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 28-29,

[01:00:01]

AND ALSO TO CONSIDER THE INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 3.28 PURCHASING.

THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS? THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS. I'LL START OFF WITH A QUESTION. YOU'RE ASKING FOR AN INTERJECTION OF THE ORDINANCE AMENDING ALL THESE DIFFERENT SECTIONS. NONE OF THEM ARE SNEAKING IN A MANAGEMENT POSITION. IS THAT RIGHT? THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBERS BEING REQUESTED. OKAY. WHEN YOU SAID ADDING A MANAGEMENT POSITION, I KIND OF CRINGED. QUESTIONS FROM MR. SHIN? JUST HAVE ONE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND WE'RE CONFIRMING THE $250,000 INCREASE FOR THE CITY MANAGER'S ABILITY.

BECAUSE IN THE SURVEY THAT WE'VE SEEN, OR THAT I SAW IN OUR PACKET, IT SHOWED SAN MARCOS AT $250,000. IS THIS CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT, YES. WE HAVE THE CONFIDENCE IN KNOWING THAT WE CAN KEEP UP TO PAR WITH THEIR CITY MANAGER COMPARED TO OUR HEAVYWEIGHT CITY MANAGER. I LIKE IT.

OKAY, THAT'S ALL I GOT. MS. BURKHOLDER. LET ME REGROUP HERE. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT COUNCIL NOT APPROVING THE BIDDING OF THE CONTRACTS, BUT JUST AFTER THEY'VE BEEN SECURED. I DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVEN'T BEEN DOING IT THAT WAY, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS OF WHAT THE REASONING WAS THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN DOING IT THAT WAY.

I CAN TAKE THAT ONE, COUNCILMEMBER. THE WAY THAT THE PURCHASING ORDINANCE IS CURRENTLY WRITTEN IS THAT IT REQUIRES THE COUNCIL TO APPROVE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE TO BE BID. AND THAT PHRASE, TO BE, HAS CAUSED OUR OFFICE TO INTERPRET THAT TO MEAN THAT IT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE THE BIDDING OCCURS.

WE'RE ASKING COUNCIL TO CHANGE THAT LANGUAGE TO THAT OUR BID, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY CAN COME TO YOU AT A LATER POINT IN TIME. THANK YOU. THAT WAS CLEAR. AND I DON'T KNOW.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU.

MS. ACOSTA. THANK YOU. I READ THROUGH THIS AND I COULD KIND OF SEE BOTH SIDES OF SOME THINGS. I NOTED THE COMPARABLE JURISDICTION. AUTHORITY LEVELS.

I DIDN'T SEE CHULA VISTA OR SAN DIEGO. DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW WHAT THEIRS WERE? I DON'T RECALL WHAT THOSE TWO WERE, BUT I COULD TELL YOU, HAVING DID THAT ANALYSIS, I COULD NOT FIND A STRONG, DISCERNIBLE RELATIONSHIP. THE FIGURES, THE APPROVAL AUTHORITIES SEEM TO BE ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE ONE THING THAT I DID PICK UP ON IS THE VERY LARGE JURISDICTIONS, YOU KNOW, LIKE SAN DIEGO OR L.A. TENDED TO HAVE A HIGHER APPROVAL LIMIT.

BUT THE OTHERS JUST WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND, I MEAN, I CAN SEE HOW MUCH EFFORT AND RESEARCH WAS PUT INTO THIS, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I ALSO WONDERED A BIT ABOUT THE COUNCIL APPROVAL AT THE BEGINNING, AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE WERE ANY EXAMPLES OF WHERE COUNCIL CHANGED AN RFP OR CHANGED THE PROCESS TO DO BIDDING. MAYBE THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE PREVIOUSLY HAD THAT. DO YOU KNOW? I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER. WOULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION, PLEASE? YES. SO, WITH REGARD TO COUNCIL APPROVING AN RFP BEFORE IT GOES OUT AND ALSO APPROVING IT WHEN WE HAVE SUBMISSIONS BACK, IS THE REASON THAT WE APPROVED IT BEFORE IT WENT OUT? BECAUSE MAYBE WE MADE SOME CHANGES TO IT OR WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE INPUT? HAS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE? I CAN'T SPEAK TO ALL TIME, BUT... IN MY TIME AS YOUR CITY ATTORNEY, I THINK IT'S BEEN RARE FOR YOU GUYS TO CHANGE THE PACKET AT THAT TIME. TYPICALLY, AT LEAST IN MY OBSERVATION, IF A PROJECT IS GOING TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY, I'VE OBSERVED THE CITY MANAGER TO BRING THAT TO YOU BEFORE WE ACTUALLY GET TO BIDDING. OKAY. THE ONE THAT I CAN REALLY REMEMBER WAS THE POOL, MONROE POOL, AND THAT WAS A BIG DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO. AND CHOOSING THE DIFFERENT TYPES, THE DIFFERENT SCOPE, SIZE. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE PUBLIC ON THIS. I DON'T MIND CHANGING IT TO JUST ONE, BUT I DON'T WANT

[01:05:01]

THANK YOU. AND THEN I ALSO NOTED THE PROCUREMENT MANAGER RECOMMENDATION, AND I AM NOT A FAN OF INCREASING BUREAUCRACY. OR BOTTLENECKING ANY PROCESSES.

AND I UNDERSTAND THERE'S PROS AND CONS. ALL OF THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT LIKE YOU CAN SEE BOTH SIDES.

SO, THE ULTIMATE RECOMMENDATION IS NOT TO HIRE A NEW PERSON AS A PROCUREMENT MANAGER, BUT TO DISPERSE THE DUTIES AMONGST PEOPLE, AS IS CURRENTLY DONE.

ISN'T THAT RIGHT? SO THAT RECOMMENDATION CAME FROM MY THINKING ABOUT HOW IT'S COMPLETELY DECENTRALIZED NOW, AND HOW I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE WITH A LITTLE BIT OF CENTRALIZATION. IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CREATE A NEW POSITION, BUT TO HAVE SOMEBODY WHO PROVIDES A SECOND-LEVEL REVIEW FOR PROCUREMENT WORK AND ALSO COULD KIND OF SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR THE INITIAL PROCUREMENT STAFF THAT ARE DOING, IF THEY HAD QUESTIONS, IF THEY NEEDED IN-DEPTH ADVICE.

SO THAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND IT. IT WAS NOT TO CREATE A NEW POSITION PER SE, BUT THANK YOU. OKAY. YES, THANK YOU. IT'S VERY CLEAR, AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER, THAT A LOT OF RESEARCH, DATA AND THOUGHT WAS PUT INTO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

FROM BOTH YOU AND THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE. SO I SUPPORT ALL OF THEM. I JUST WANTED TO THINK THROUGH THOSE OUT LOUD WITH YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS AWARE THAT THERE WERE KIND OF SOME PROS AND CONS INVOLVED.

THANK YOU. MS. BOB PATEL. NO QUESTIONS, JUST COMMENTS. YOU DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE GOING TO GET YOUR HEAD CHOPPED OFF BY EVEN MENTIONING A NEW POSITION, BUT WE'RE BEING VERY CAREFUL WITH OUR FUTURE BUDGET. I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB ON THIS. I'M GOING TO VOTE TO APPROVE IT. I'M ALSO GOING TO VOTE TO APPROVE THE INCREASE IN CITY MANAGER TO 250. MR. SHIN. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR THIS REPORT. I TEED UP THIS MINUTE MOTION FOR US TO KIND OF... DEEP DIVE AND GET YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE NORMAL REPORT FOR A COUPLE REASONS.

PERSONALLY, I WAS, UM, JUST HAVING SPENT MY TIME IN CITY GOVERNMENT, I DID NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETIMES WHY WE WE PURCHASED THINGS IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THAT DID NOT MAKE SENSE. AND I ALWAYS FELT LIKE, OKAY, IF ONE DAY I'M IN THIS SEAT? I WOULD HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO ASK YOU GUYS TO JUST REALLY, REALLY THOUGHTFULLY LOOK AND SEE HOW WE DO THIS. AND I'M GLAD WE HAVE AN INTERNAL AUDITOR LIKE YOURSELF TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR NOTE, WHICH IS REALLY FUNNY, WHAT YOU WERE DOING IS VERY INTERESTING.

BECAUSE IN MY TIME IN THE FIRE SERVICE, I WAS DESIGNATED AS OUR PROCUREMENT MANAGER, AND I DID NOT GET A RAISE, AND I DID NOT GET ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT I WAS DESIGNATED TO JUST REALLY MAKE SURE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT WAS RECEIVING, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT WE DID, ALL OUR EQUIPMENT AND GEAR, WAS GOING THROUGH IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER. SO I'M IN TOTAL APPROVAL OF ALL OF THIS, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND WE HAVE, I BELIEVE, ALL OF US HAVE A LOT OF...

UH, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE, AND AN INCREASE OF WHAT THE RESPONSIBILITY FROM OUR CITY MANAGER WILL BE, MR. BERCOULTRE. MISS ACOSTA, I THINK I ALREADY MADE MY COMMENTS WHEN I WAS DOING MY QUESTION. SORRY, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MISS PATEL. YES, JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. I KNOW WE ALWAYS MENTION HOW ENTHUSIASTIC YOU ARE ABOUT THIS ROLE. AND I JUST HAVE TO SAY, UM, I THINK.

EVEN AS RECENT AS THIS WEEK, JEFF AND I WERE TALKING AND YOUR NAME CAME UP AS TO HOW YOU LOVE THIS JOB. AND I HAVE TO SAY, IT REALLY IS REFRESHING TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

AND FOR YOU TO PRESENT IT AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DIGEST IT AND SHARE IT WITH THE PUBLIC IS SOMETHING THAT I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. MS. POPATEL, MOTION. YES. MOVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO INTRODUCE THE ORDINANCE.

SECOND. PLEASE VOTE. PASSES

[12. STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE]

[01:10:02]

THIS IS TO ALLOW THE CITY COUNCIL AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND CONSIDER OPTIONS FOR REPRIORITIZING WORK, RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND TIMELINES, OR ANY COMBINATION OF THOSE. SHOULD THE COUNCIL DIRECT STAFF TO REPRIORITIZE ANYTHING WITHIN THE PLAN, STAFF WILL DEVELOP A RESOURCING STRATEGY FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR 26-27 PRELIMINARY BUDGET PROCESS. NOW, ALSO, SINCE WE'RE HEADING INTO THE FIFTH AND FINAL YEAR OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, STAFF WILL INCLUDE RESOURCES NEEDED TO PREPARE AN UPDATED PLAN IN THE FISCAL YEAR 26-27 BUDGET. IN THE FALL, WE WILL BRING FORWARD AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, INCLUDING OUR APPROACH TO GATHERING PUBLIC INPUT, WHICH WE ARE PLANNING TO BEGIN IN EARLY 2027. AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO HAND THIS BACK TO OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, JASON HABER. JASON. THANK YOU, MR. PATNOE. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. I'M JASON HABER, CITY'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR. AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, THIS ITEM IS TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR OVERALL PROGRESS TOWARDS THE GOALS OF THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, AN OVERVIEW OF WORK PLANNED THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 27, AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND DIRECTION TO STAFF. AS YOU'LL RECALL, THE CITY'S STRATEGIC PLAN WAS CREATED TO ACCOMPLISH SEVERAL PRIMARY OBJECTIVES, IDENTIFYING THE CITY COUNCIL'S HIGHEST PRIORITY GOALS, ALLOWING RESOURCES TO BE FOCUSED ON ACHIEVING RESULTS OVER TIME, PROVIDING CLEAR AND CONSISTENT POLICY DIRECTION, ENABLING SUSTAINED MOMENTUM NEEDED TO ACHIEVE MAJOR COMMUNITY GOALS, ALIGNING CITY COUNCIL POLICY DIRECTION WITH THE CITY'S DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS, AND INCREASING ACCOUNTABILITY BY IDENTIFYING MEASURABLE AND TRANSPARENT INDICATORS OF SUCCESS. THE PLAN IDENTIFIES FIVE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, 24 OBJECTIVES TO PURSUE IN SUPPORT OF THOSE GOALS, AND 65 HIGH-PRIORITY PROJECTS.

TO COMPLETE DURING THE FIVE-YEAR PLANNING PERIOD.

SPECIFIC WORK PLANS AND RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS ARE DEVELOPED EACH YEAR AND INCLUDED IN THE CITY'S ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. SO, THESE ARE THE FIVE BROAD GOALS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND THE REPORT IN YOUR PACKET PROVIDES DETAILS ON THE WORK THAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED TO DATE AND WHICH WE EXPECT TO COMPLETE OVER THE COMING YEAR. I'LL TOUCH ON SEVERAL OF THE HIGHLIGHTS TONIGHT. AND WE HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON ANY GOAL, OBJECTIVE, OR PROJECT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO DISCUSS. SO, JUMPING INTO THE FIRST GOAL AREA OF COMMUNITY CHARACTER, THE GOAL HERE IS TO MAINTAIN CARLSBAD'S UNIQUE COMMUNITY CHARACTER AND CONNECTEDNESS. IN PURSUING THE OBJECTIVES LISTED HERE, THE CITY'S BEGUN TO IMPLEMENT COUNCIL-APPROVED RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT CITIZENS COMMITTEE. INCLUDING ONGOING EVALUATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, FUNDING, AND UPDATES TO POLICY DOCUMENTS THAT GOVERN THE CITY'S GROWTH MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, BOTH OF WHICH WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL IN THE COMING YEAR OR SO.

WE'VE ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS THAT APPLY TO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS OBJECTIVE IS MARKED AS COMPLETE CURRENTLY, AS THOSE ARE ACTIVE AND BEING... USED AS A STANDARD FOR PROJECT REVIEW. WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING HOUSING ELEMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS RESULTING IN THE ADDITION OR PRESERVATION OF OVER 250 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS IN THE CITY DURING THE PLANNING PERIOD.

AND WE'VE INITIATED UPDATES TO THE CITY'S REAL ESTATE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A RECOMMENDATION TO PROVIDE A MINIMUM 40% AFFORDABLE HOUSING STANDARD ON ANY FUTURE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ON CITY-OWNED PROPERTY. WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH SANDAG AND NCTD TO SECURE FUNDING FOR LOWERING THE RAILROAD TRACKS THROUGH THE VILLAGE IN BARRIO, WITH THE CITY RECENTLY RECEIVING A $1 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT WITH THE HELP OF CONGRESSMAN MIKE LEVIN, AND WITH SANDAG BUDGETING NEARLY $21 MILLION TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT'S PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE PHASE OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. AND FINALLY, WE'VE BEEN PRODUCING A WIDE VARIETY OF AGE-FRIENDLY AND INTERGENERATIONAL EVENTS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE WELLNESS AND ACTIVE LIVING, INCLUDING VARIOUS COMMUNITY READING PROGRAMS, SENIOR PROGRAMMING, AND CULTURAL ARTS AND RECREATION

[01:15:02]

SIX ARE ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING PERIOD, AND FOUR ARE NOT ON TRACK, AND WE'LL GET INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THOSE LATER. YOU SEE HERE, FEATURED ON THIS SLIDE, PHOTOGRAPHS OF THREE COMPLETED PROJECTS RELATIVE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE STAGECOACH COMMUNITY PARK, COMMUNITY GARDEN, THE SHULMAN AUDITORIUM UPGRADES, AND THE MONROE STREET POOL REPLACEMENT, WHICH WAS SLATED FOR DESIGN COMPLETION DURING THE PLANNING PERIOD.

THE NEXT GOAL AREA IS QUALITY OF LIFE AND SAFETY.

IN THIS AREA, TO PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES OF OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS THESE OBJECTIVES, THE CITY'S ADOPTED AND CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT AN UPDATED HOMELESS ACTION PLAN, SEEING PROGRESS ON OUR EFFORTS TO INCREASE SHELTER CAPACITY OF APOSADO DE GUADALUPE, SECURING GRANTS AND UPDATING CITY POLICIES TO ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT PEOPLE LIVING IN THEIR VEHICLES AND PROHIBITING CAMPING IN VEHICLES IN PUBLIC SPACES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. WE CONTINUED WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY POLICE ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION, PRESENTING INFORMATION ON A WIDE VARIETY OF CRIME PREVENTION AND PUBLIC SAFETY TOPICS, AND CONTINUING POLICE DEPARTMENT PARTICIPATION IN VARIOUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. WE CONVERTED SIX EMT POSITIONS TO FIREFIGHTER ROLES AND ACTIVATED A NEW URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE APPARATUS, WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY STRENGTHENS THE CITY'S FIRE SUPPRESSION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITIES. AND IN THE COMING YEAR, WE'LL BE DEVELOPING NEW WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND PROTECTION PLANS, GUIDELINES FOR MID-RISE FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS, AND EXPANDING THE CITY'S FIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PROGRAM, AFFECTING CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

AND WE'VE IMPLEMENTED DOZENS OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS IDENTIFIED IN THE SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY PLAN AND SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PLANS, INCLUDING RESURFACING 38 MILES OF CITY STREETS LAST YEAR, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO FINALIZING A HANDFUL OF COMPLETE STREETS PROJECTS.

WIDENING ALONG ECR, EL CAMINO REAL, NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECTS, AND A SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROJECT AT KELLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

IN THIS GOAL AREA, YOU SEE THE CITY COUNCIL IDENTIFIED 31 PRIORITY PROJECTS. SEVEN OF THOSE HAVE BEEN COMPLETE.

SIXTEEN MORE ARE ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE IN THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF.

FIVE ARE NOT ON TRACK, AND THREE PROJECTS HAVE BEEN STOPPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRIOR CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION.

YOU SEE IN THESE PHOTOS FEATURED PROJECTS, THE BEACH ACCESS STAIRWAY PROJECT AND SIDEWALK PROJECT ALONG CARLSBAD BOULEVARD, THE COMPLETED TEMPORARY FIRE STATION 7, THE COMPLETED PERMANENT FIRE STATION 2, AND IMPROVEMENTS ALONG WITH THE SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY PLAN IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING GREEN PAINT FOR BIKE LANES, HIGH VISIBILITY CROSSWALKS, AND SPEED CUSHIONS. MOVING INTO SUSTAINABILITY AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. THE GOAL HERE IS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE CITY.

IN THIS AREA, THE CITY HAS RESEARCHED AND EVALUATED THE POSSIBILITY OF ADOPTING A CLIMATE ADAPTATION OR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN, WHICH WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE CITY'S NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION IN THE COMING YEAR. WE'VE ADOPTED A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN UPDATE WITH 10 TRANSPORTATION-RELATED STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS, APPROVED.

MULTIMODAL SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PLANS FOR JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY AND SAGE CREEK HIGH SCHOOL HELPED ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE. AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONSTRUCTING THE COASTAL RAIL TRAIL SEGMENT BETWEEN PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD AND THE POINSETTIA COASTER STATION IN THE COMING YEAR.

IN THE PAST YEAR, WE INSTALLED ABOUT A DOZEN NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS AND ADDED MORE THAN 20 ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES TO THE CITY'S FLEET.

WITH PLANS TO ADD NEARLY 30 MORE EV AND HYBRID VEHICLES AND ABOUT 20 MORE CHARGERS IN THE YEAR AHEAD. WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE COASTAL COMMISSION APPROVALS FOR OUR LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM, WITH AN EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE IN EARLY 2027. WE ALSO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND GROW SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS RELATED TO WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, HABITAT CONSERVATION, HAZARDOUS WASTE AND RECYCLING, AND CLIMATE CHANGE, MITIGATION, ADAPTATION, AND RESILIENCY.

IN THIS AREA, THE CITY COUNCIL IDENTIFIED FOUR PRIORITY PROJECTS. ONE IS CURRENTLY ON TRACK. TWO ARE NOT ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING PERIOD.

AND WORK ON ONE PROJECT, THE MERKLE SOLAR PROJECT, HAS STOPPED AT COUNCIL'S DIRECTION. AND HERE YOU SEE PROJECT IMAGES RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANS FOR THE DESIGN OF THE REALIGNMENT OF

[01:20:03]

IN THIS AREA, THE CITY'S ADOPTED THE CITY'S FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN AND CREATED AN ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE DASHBOARD, PROVIDING INFORMATION ON CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE LOCAL LABOR MARKET. AS YOU SEE, THIS OBJECTIVE HAS BEEN MARKED AS COMPLETE. WE HOSTED A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY EVENTS, INCLUDING LAUNCHING THE NEW SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE HOURS PROGRAM, HOSTING BUSINESS WORKSHOPS, DEVELOPING AND MARKETING NEW DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS, AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE CITY COUNCIL'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE, WHICH WILL BE RECOMMENDING A VARIETY OF STRATEGIC ACTIONS.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER FUNDING IN FISCAL YEAR 27. WE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE AND OFFER BUSINESS EXPANSION, ATTRACTION, AND RETENTION PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT CARLSBAD'S KEY INDUSTRIES. AND PARTNERING WITH LOCAL BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE VISIT CARLSBAD, THE CARLSBAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND CARLSBAD VILLAGE ASSOCIATION, AS WELL AS LOCAL COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND BUSINESS OPERATORS.

IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY OF SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS.

THE CITY COUNCIL DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY PRIORITY PROJECTS IN THE AREA OF ECONOMIC VITALITY. SO, MOVING ON TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND FISCAL HEALTH, THE GOAL HERE IS TO BE A MODEL FOR EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT. WITH REGARD TO THIS GOAL, THE CITY HAS DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED AN EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE TRACKING AND REPORTING PROGRAM FOR THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. SO YOU SEE THAT OBJECTIVE IS MARKED AS COMPLETE. THE CITY IMPLEMENTED A VARIETY OF TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADES AND DATA MANAGEMENT TOOLS TO INCREASE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS, INCLUDING A NEW ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, NEW ELECTRONIC TRAFFIC CITATION PROGRAM, AN ENHANCED INNER SIGNAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND A NEW CLIMATE ACTION PLAN DASHBOARD. WE LOOK FORWARD TO IMPLEMENTING NEW POLICE COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE COMING YEAR, AS WELL AS AN UPGRADE LIBRARY, CHECKOUT AND RETURN SYSTEM AND THE CORE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION PROJECT.

TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY WITH NEW HUMAN RESOURCES, PAYROLL, CASHIERING, FINANCE, AND UTILITY BILLING PROGRAMS IN THE COMING YEAR. WE'VE ADOPTED NUMEROUS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO MAINTAIN THE CITY'S FISCAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY, AS EVIDENCED BY THE CITY'S CLEAN EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS. AND AAA CREDIT RATING, INCLUDING MAINTAINING A 61% GENERAL FUND RESERVE RATIO IN THE CURRENT BUDGET, ADOPTING A NEW PENSION TRUST INVESTMENT POLICY, AND INITIATING ONGOING PARK IMPACT FEE AND PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE STUDIES.

IN THE YEAR AHEAD, COUNCIL WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERING POTENTIAL CHANGES TO A VARIETY OF OTHER DEVELOPMENT RELATED IMPACT FEES. THE CITY HAS MAINTAINED 100 PERCENT COMPLIANCE WITH MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING, WORKPLACE HARASSMENT TRAINING, AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES. WE ACHIEVED A 4.9 PERCENT EMPLOYEE VACANCY RATE IN 2025, FILLING OVER HALF OF OUR AVAILABLE FULL-TIME POSITIONS THROUGH PROMOTIONS AND OF EXISTING EMPLOYEES. AND WE OFFER A VARIETY OF GENEROUS AND COMPELLING TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF. AND FINALLY, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO ACHIEVE THE TARGET. CALPERS FUNDED STATUS OVER TIME, INCLUDING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNDING OF THE CITY'S SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST. THIRTEEN PRIORITY PROJECTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THIS AREA. SIX ARE COMPLETE, FIVE ARE ON TRACK, AND TWO ARE NOT ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING WINDOW.

ON THIS SLIDE, YOU SEE PHOTOS FEATURING THE RECENT RENOVATION OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT POLICE AND FIRE HEADQUARTERS. AS WELL AS OUR LOGO FOR THE CORE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION PROJECT. THE NEXT SERIES OF SLIDES GIVES YOU A GRAPHIC OF THE PRIORITY PROJECTS SPREAD ACROSS THE CITY, WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED GEOGRAPHICALLY, AS WELL AS THEIR STATUS.

EITHER COMPLETE OR ON TRACK TO MEET STRATEGIC PLAN TARGET.

NOT ON TRACK INDICATED BY THE YELLOW DOTS, NOT ON TRACK, AND THEN WORK STOPPED DUE TO CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION AS INDICATED BY THE GRAY DOTS.

YOU CAN SEE OVERALL, ACROSS THE ENTIRE PLAN, NEARLY 75% OF THE PROJECTS ARE ON TRACK OR ALREADY COMPLETE.

20% ARE NOT ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING WINDOW.

THOSE MOST ARE SIMPLY A FUNCTION OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY OR WORKLOAD PRIORITIZATION, AND THEN FOUR PROJECTS, OR 6% OF THE TOTAL PROJECTS, ARE WORK STOPPED DUE TO PRIOR CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION. SO HOPEFULLY YOU SEE ALL YOUR FAVORITES IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES. THESE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE COMPLETE, ARE READY TO DATE.

AGAIN, THE MONROE STREET POOL DESIGN WAS THE TARGET FOR THIS STRATEGIC PLAN. WE'RE WELL BEYOND THAT AT THIS POINT.

WITH THE PROJECT UNDERWAY INTO CONSTRUCTION AND LIKELY TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING WINDOW BEFORE THIS STRATEGIC PLAN EXPIRES. ALSO, THE COMPLETION OF THE STAGECOACH COMMUNITY

[01:25:01]

THE TEMPORARY FIRE STATION 7 ALSO CONSTRUCTED. ALSO HIGHLIGHTED HERE THE ADOPTION OF THE LOCAL ROADWAY SAFETY PLAN AND THE SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST THAT WAS CALLED OUT IN THE PLAN. THE NEXT SERIES OF PROJECTS ARE THOSE THAT ARE ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE IN THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF.

SO HERE YOU SEE THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION OF VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK, COMPLETING THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR THE BUSINESS PARK RECREATIONAL FACILITY. CONSTRUCTING THE BARRIO TRAFFIC CIRCLE AND OTHER TRAFFIC CALMING LOCATED IN THE BARRIO NEIGHBORHOOD. AS WELL AS THE COMPLETION OF COMPLETE STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN THREE SEGMENTS OF EL CAMINO REAL. CONTINUING WITH THE ON-TRACK PROJECTS, COMPLETION OF THE SEGMENT OF THE AVENIDA ENCINAS IMPROVEMENTS AND COASTAL RAIL TRAIL BETWEEN PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD AND THE POINSETTIA COASTER STATION. INITIATING ADA BEACH ACCESS UPGRADES BETWEEN PINE AND TAMARACK ALONG CARLSBAD BOULEVARD. BEGINNING ADDITIONAL CARLSBAD BOULEVARD PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING AND MEETING VARIOUS SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GOALS.

CONTINUING ON TRACK, WORKING TO EXPAND LA POSADA DE GUADALUPE SHELTER CAPACITY, REFURBISHING OUR FLEET MAINTENANCE FACILITY, AND COMPLETING THE POLICE AND FIRE HEADQUARTERS UPGRADES AS WELL.

SO NOW WE GET TO THE PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT ON TRACK TO BE COMPLETE WITHIN THE PLANNING PERIOD.

AGAIN, YOU SEE A COUPLE PROJECTS RELATED TO THE REDESIGN AND REALIGNMENT OF SOUTH CARLSBAD BOULEVARD.

AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS SEEKING GRANT FUNDING TO ADVANCE THOSE PROJECTS, AND THE CITY HAS SET ASIDE SOME FUNDS AVAILABLE TO SERVE AS LOCAL MATCH AND HELP ADVANCE THOSE PROJECTS. THE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE GRAND AVENUE PROMENADE IS EXPECTED TO INITIATE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT WILL BE COMPLETE OUTSIDE OF THE PLANNING WINDOW. AND SIMILARLY, AGAIN, A FUNCTION OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND WORKLOAD PRIORITIZATION IN TERMS OF THESE PROJECTS NOT BEING COMPLETED WITHIN THE PLANNING WINDOW. A COUPLE PROJECTS TO DESIGN STREET IMPROVEMENTS ALONG CHESTNUT STREET. AS YOU KNOW, A FEW PROJECTS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THAT EXPLANATION RELATED TO FUNDING AND WORKLOAD. FIRE STATION 7, AS YOU KNOW, THERE WERE EXTENDED NEGOTIATIONS AROUND THE PROPERTY. DEAL RELATED TO SITING FIRE STATION 07, AND THEN AN EXTENSIVE REGULATORY PROCESS INVOLVING THE CPUC FOR FINALIZING THAT PROJECT.

AND THEN THE ORION CENTER AND CITY HALL, ADDITIONALLY CITY PROJECTS THAT HAVE ONGOING DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT WORK.

IN TERMS OF SCOPING AND SITING, THAT WILL FALL OUTSIDE OF THE PLANNING WINDOW AS WELL.

AND THEN, FINALLY, FOUR PROJECTS THAT WERE STOPPED AT CITY COUNCIL'S DIRECTION.

TWO ROADWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ALONG PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD THAT WERE DEEMED UNNECESSARY AND UNFUNDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 25 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM DUE TO CHANGING TRAFFIC PATTERNS.

SIMILARLY, THE CHRISTENSEN WAY IMPROVEMENTS ALSO UNFUNDED IN THE CITY'S FISCAL YEAR 25 CIP. AND THEN, FINALLY, MERKLE RESERVOIR SOLAR PROJECT, WHICH THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED. STAFF TO DISCONTINUE IN LIGHT OF FIRE HAZARD AND RISK THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT LOCATION. SO, AS YOU HEARD FROM THE FINANCE DIRECTOR IN THE EARLIER ITEM, THE CITY IS CURRENTLY IN A STABLE FISCAL CONDITION, AND ALTHOUGH A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY REMAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DYNAMICS YOU SEE HERE, AMONG OTHERS. THIS EVENING, THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT BEING ASKED TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS, BUT RATHER PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND DIRECTION ON THE OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANS. FIVE GOALS. STAFF WILL TAKE THAT DIRECTION AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, SIMILAR TO HOW WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST. WHILE WE'RE STILL IN THAT BUDGET PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE, CITY COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN MORE HEAVILY DURING THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET PRESENTATION, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 19TH, AND PROVIDE FURTHER DIRECTION AT THAT TIME. WE'LL ALSO BE HOLDING A COMMUNITY BUDGET WORKSHOP ON MAY 21ST FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE INPUT ON THE PRELIMINARY OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET, INCLUDING AS IT APPLIES TO ADVANCING THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

AND ALL OF THAT BEFORE FINAL ADOPTION, SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 16TH.

FOR ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED IN GETTING THE LATEST INFORMATION ON STATUS FOR STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION, THIS SLIDE PROVIDES A LINK AND A QR CODE THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN DASHBOARD ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE. AND WITH THAT, STAFF, AGAIN,

[01:30:01]

MAY 21ST, FIRST BUDGET WORKSHOP. CAN YOU JUST REVIEW THAT TIMELINE AGAIN? THANK YOU.

I JUST DIDN'T SEE THIS. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER. YES, JUST TO GO OVER THE BUDGET REVIEW DATES, MAY 19, STAFF INTENSIVE. I GOT IT. YEAH, I JUST MISSED THE 19TH. THAT'S WHY I'M LIKE, WHAT DID I MISS? SO, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR SCHEDULING THE BUDGET WORKSHOP. YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT. WHEN THIS STRATEGIC PLAN WAS IMPLEMENTED, THERE WAS ROBUST COMMUNITY INPUT, IN THE WAY OF ONLINE AND QUESTIONNAIRES AND SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS IN THE REPORT.

SO I'M WONDERING IF THAT IS THE SAME. I GUESS I WANT TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS, BECAUSE YOU GUYS WERE PART OF THE FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I WASN'T HERE QUITE YET.

BUT IF IT, BECAUSE WE USED TO DO SURVEYS, I THINK THE LAST ONE WAS IN 2019, JUST SURVEYS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE, THEY WERE SURVEYED.

BUT ANYWAY, I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU GUYS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHAT THE ROBUST OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY INPUT WAS LAST TIME, IF THERE'S ANY CHANGE FOR THAT, IF WE NEED TO GO BACK TO A SURVEY, JUST GETTING YOUR INPUT.

BECAUSE I THINK THIS WOULD PROBABLY BE THE TIME THAT WE SAY, OKAY, THIS IS GOOD, BUT MAYBE WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I DON'T KNOW. OUR PLAN IS TO COME BACK TO THIS COUNCIL IN THE FALL TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE VARIOUS IDEAS FOR OUTREACH, THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE TO ENGAGE AS MANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO WEIGH IN ON WHETHER THINGS ARE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, THE THEMES, THE PROJECTS. I MEAN, I THINK WE HAD THOUSANDS OF COMMENTS LAST TIME THAT HELPED PROVIDE SOME DIRECTION TO COUNCIL. SO THEN WE STARTED HOLDING COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE COUNCIL WAS ABLE TO HELP PRIORITIZE AND IDENTIFY VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND THAT PORTION WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR. SO WE'RE NOT BEING ASKED TODAY TO COMMENT ON OR TALK ABOUT ANY OF THE OUTREACH STEPS, BUT YOU ARE CORRECT THAT 2019 WAS THE LAST TIME THAT PUBLIC DOLLARS WERE SPENT ON A COMMUNITY POLL, IF YOU WILL, ASKING THE PUBLIC WHAT THEIR...

WHAT THEIR FEELINGS ARE ABOUT VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE CITY. WE TRANSITIONED AWAY FROM THAT ONCE WE BEGAN THE STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS. SO WE USED THAT PRIOR TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO GET A SENSE OF WHERE THE RESIDENTS WERE CURRENTLY. SO, I THINK AS WE DEVELOP THIS NEXT FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO DISCUSS ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT INCLUDE.

SURVEYS YEAH, THANK YOU. I THINK THAT'S AS LONG AS WE'RE MAKING GUIDED DECISIONS WITH DATA-DRIVEN INFORMATION. I THINK THAT'S GOOD. AND I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, GET THE FEEL OF WHETHER THEY FEEL LIKE THAT'S IMPORTANT. IT SEEMS LIKE, YES, YOU ALL DO THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. SO, UM, AS LONG AS THIS WORKS, THEN I DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT TO DO DIFFERENTLY. BUT THAT'S WHY THAT BROUGHT THAT UP, AND THAT'S, UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE FIVE OF US BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. WE WERE VOTED TO REPRESENT OUR RESIDENTS, AND I'M SURE YOU GUYS GET PLENTY OF OPINIONS SHARED WITH YOU ON A DAILY BASIS, AND WE GET TO SEE THE CITY FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.

SO I THINK THAT IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE SURVEYS, THE FIVE OF US GET AN AWFUL LOT OF INFORMATION FED TO US FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.

MS. ACOSTA. THANK YOU. CAN I JUST RESPOND TO THE QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER BURKHOLDER ABOUT OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? THAT IS WHAT I WROTE DOWN IS ACTUALLY THE SAME THING. I'M SO GLAD WE DID A GREAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THAT AGAIN. I ALSO LOVE WE'VE GOT THE MAY 21ST BUDGET WORKSHOP, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED BY THE COUNCIL IN THE PAST. OF COURSE, WE NEED MORE PEOPLE, SO LET'S CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT OUT THERE, THAT THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE.

NOT EVERYONE CAN COME OUT ON AN EVENING.

DURING THE MIDDLE OF A WEEK.

SO WE HAVE TO OFFER MANY WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT WITH US AND SHARE THEIR OPINIONS. I ALSO REALLY LOVE THAT QR CODE ON THAT SLIDE, THANK YOU. I THINK WE SHOULD DO THAT MORE OFTEN BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF THE THING NOW IS THAT PEOPLE JUST SCAN AND IT TAKES THEM RIGHT TO THE WEBSITE TO READ UP MORE. SO I ALSO WROTE DOWN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO I'M I'M IN ALIGNMENT. THAT WE NEED TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, US INDIVIDUALLY. AND THEN THE

[01:35:02]

SO IN THE FALL, WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU FOR A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE PREPARING, WHAT TYPE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THAT NEXT PLAN, WHICH WE ANTICIPATE INITIATING IN THE BEGINNING PART OF 2027.

OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC, AND ONE IS AROUND THE SUSTAINABILITY AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT ARM, WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT, OF COURSE, WE HAD STOPPED THE MERKLE RESERVOIR PROJECT.

IN THAT SAME CONVERSATION, I KNOW A MAJORITY OF US HAD TALKED ABOUT WANTING TO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE, YOU KNOW, SITES. OR WAYS THAT WE COULD MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON THAT PARTICULAR GOAL. ARE THERE ANY UPDATES ON THAT SPECIFICALLY? AND IF NOT, THAT'S OKAY, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS. YES, I KNOW WE RECEIVED THE COUNCIL DIRECTION AROUND THAT ITEM.

FOR MORE SPECIFICS AROUND INITIATIVES THAT ARE RELATED TO ADVANCING THAT DIRECTION, I'D LIKE TO DEFER TO... PAZ GOMEZ, OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. GOOD EVENING, PAZ GOMEZ, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER FOR PUBLIC WORKS. ONE OF THE DIRECTIONS THAT WAS GIVEN TO US WAS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE SOLAR FACILITIES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AND CERTAINLY OUR FACILITIES.

AND SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN RFP. RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE SPEAKING, AND SO WE'LL BE VETTING THAT THROUGH AND GETTING OUT THERE AND GETTING A CONSULTANT TO ASSIST US IN THAT EFFORT.

OKAY, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE IS SOME PROGRESS BEING MADE.

THERE IS SOME PROGRESS, YES.

GREAT, AND WE'LL GET AN UPDATE SOON ONCE YOU ALL HAVE GOTTEN TO THAT POINT. YES, MA'AM.

OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. THE LAST QUESTION IS AROUND...

JUST SOUTH CARLSBAD REALIGNMENT. I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT WITH REGARDS TO THE PROJECT ITSELF, WE ARE DELAYED DUE TO IS IT BECAUSE OF THE PERMIT AND DESIGN? AND I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE AT, WHY IT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MOVE THAT ALONG.

SO, UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE HAD RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE STATE COASTAL CONSERVANCY OF OVER 500, 000 THAT WAS PRESENTED HERE AT THE END OF THE GRANT. THE REALIGNMENT WAS PRETTY MUCH FOCUSED, MOSTLY FROM MANZANO WAY TO ISLAND WAY, AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS REALLY THE COST THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. AND SO AS MR. HABER HAD MENTIONED, WE'RE TRYING OUR BEST TO GET SOME GRANTS AND FUNDING TO TAKE THAT EVEN FURTHER. BUT AT THE MOMENT, IT IS A HEFTY... PRICE TAG.

AND SO WE HAVE NOT MOVED FORWARD WITH IT, BUT WE ARE CERTAINLY TAKING A LOOK AT THAT OPPORTUNITY. GREAT.

THANK YOU. I JUST HAVE COMMENTS AFTER. LET'S START WITH COMMENTS WITH YOU, MS. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK, LET ME START OFF WITH, I'M SO GLAD THAT WE HAD PUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS TOGETHER. I KNOW THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANS, SOMETIMES. THEY WORK SOMETIMES, THEY DON'T FOR DIFFERENT AGENCIES, AND I THINK THIS HAS BEEN AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT'S WORKED FOR OUR AGENCY. IT'S BEEN A GREAT WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO TRACK HOW THINGS ARE GOING, BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH AN UPDATE ON HOW THINGS ARE GOING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, FOR US AS POLICYMAKERS, HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO REFINE WHERE WE WANT TO GO AND HOW WE FORESEE THE FUTURE.

I THINK IT'S JUST A GREAT LIVING DOCUMENT. THE DIFFERENT

[01:40:02]

A BETTER REPRESENTATION OF OUR ENTIRE CITY. THAT IS OBVIOUSLY INCUMBENT ON ALL OF US AS WELL. UP HERE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT OUTREACH TO OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR NEIGHBORS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN.

I'LL JUST PUT A PLUG IN. I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT PTAS A LOT. THAT MIGHT BE A GREAT WAY TO DO OUTREACH.

AND SO IF WE CAN MAYBE THROW THAT OUT THERE, I KNOW THAT WOULD HELP MAYBE INCREASE SOME OF THE ENGAGEMENT FROM FOLKS THAT WE MAY NOT BE REACHING ALREADY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO ALSO MENTION IN COMMENTS. I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD WROTE DOWN. BUT IN ECONOMIC VITALITY, I KNOW WE HADN'T FOUND ANY PRIORITY PROJECTS. I'M HOPEFUL THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'LL BE ABLE TO THINK OF SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE. I KNOW WE'VE BEEN HAVING GREAT CONVERSATIONS AT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE. I'M SURE THERE WILL BE THINGS COMING OUT OF THAT. NOW THAT COUNCIL MEMBER SHIN AND I ARE ALSO WORKING ON THAT. BUT I KNOW THAT WHEN THE MAYOR AND I WERE SITTING ON IT, THERE WERE DEFINITELY THINGS WE WERE WORKING ON. I'M SURE THERE COULD BE THINGS THAT WE COULD LOOK TO PRIORITIZE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BE ONE OF THE LEADERS IN THE COUNTY.

AND THEN THE OTHER ONE I WANTED TO SAY WAS I KNOW WE'VE BEEN SPREADING THE LOVE AS MUCH AS WE CAN WITH THE PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOUTH CARLSBAD, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A FEW MORE PRIORITY PROJECTS.

IN THE NEXT, MAYBE GO AROUND.

AS WE LOOK FORWARD, IT'S EXCITING TO SEE THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING TO FRUITION THERE. THERE IS A LOT THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, AND I KNOW ONE OF THEM, FOR INSTANCE, IS THAT COASTAL RAIL TRAIL. I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE UTILIZE, A LOT OF PEOPLE UTILIZE. IT'LL BE GREAT TO GET THAT CONNECTIVITY. AND THEN THE LAST PIECE WOULD BE JUST, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP WITH THAT, AGAIN, THAT SOUTH CARLSBAD REALIGNMENT PROJECT. YOU'VE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT IT. I THINK I MESSAGED JEFF OR CALL HIM. ALMOST ON A WEEKLY, IF NOT MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK, WHEN I'M WALKING THAT AREA OR RUNNING THAT AREA, OR WHATEVER ELSE. IT'S SINCE 2018 WHEN I FIRST STARTED.

IT'S SOMETHING I'VE TALKED ABOUT. I'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT AREA MORE IMPROVED FOR OUR RESIDENTS, FOR ANYONE COMING THROUGH THAT CORRIDOR. THERE IS A LOT THAT WE CAN DO IN TERMS OF PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND CYCLING SAFETY OVER THERE. AS OBVIOUSLY, NOW AS A MOM, BECAUSE IN 2018 I WASN'T A MOM AND NOW I AM, I CAN TELL YOU IT IS DEFINITELY FRONT AND CENTER FOR ME. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE THAT. SO THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME AND I'LL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR IT. I DO HOPE THAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AS A COUNCIL, THAT YOU'LL LET US KNOW. AND I'M HAPPY TO ADVOCATE ON THAT PARTICULAR REGARD.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THIS AGAIN. MS. ACOSTA. THANK YOU. THANKS FOR THE EXCELLENT PRESENTATION. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO FIT SO MUCH INFORMATION ON THOSE SLIDES AND STILL HAVE IT BE READABLE, BUT IT WAS EXCELLENT. AND, OF COURSE, THE STAFF REPORT WAS, TOO. I'M A HUGE PROPONENT OF STRATEGIC PLANS. I WENT TO BUSINESS SCHOOL, SO THEY KIND OF TAUGHT US TO REALLY CARE ABOUT SETTING UP THAT FRAMEWORK AND TO USE IT AS A GUIDE. SO, AS LONG AS THE STRATEGIC PLAN DOESN'T SIT ON A DUSTY SHELF SOMEWHERE AND IT'S BEING USED, IT CAN BE SUCH AN EXCELLENT FRAMEWORK FOR WORK, AND IT HAS BEEN AT OUR CITY.

IT'S BEEN SUCH A WONDERFUL GUIDE. WE EVEN USE IT AT THE LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE TO HELP GUIDE OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT DEFINITELY HAS BEEN A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS, AND I WANT TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

IT WAS SO EXCELLENT THAT WE DID IT AT THE BEGINNING LAST TIME, AND I JUST THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO REACH THE COMMUNITY AND LET THEM KNOW THEY HAVE A VOICE, THEY CAN WEIGH IN, THIS IS THEIR COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THAT SERIOUSLY. I ALSO REALLY WANT TO CALL OUT... A COUPLE OF GREAT PROJECTS. THE COMMUNITY GARDEN AT STAGECOACH PARK, I'M SO PLEASED TO SEE IT COMPLETED AND FIRE STATION 2 IN MY DISTRICT. I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE HOW GREAT THEY HAVE INTEGRATED INTO THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WELL THEY FIT INTO THE COMMUNITY. SO I HEAR LOTS OF GREAT COMPLIMENTS AND JUST WANT TO PASS THOSE ALONG TO YOU. THANK YOU. MS. BURKHOLDER. YES. I APPRECIATE

[01:45:03]

THANKS. MR. SHIN. USUALLY, WHEN I'M TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY AND I'M DONE BRAGGING ABOUT OUR CITY OF CARLSBAD TO OTHER CITIES, AND WHAT HAVE YOU, THEY ASK, HOW DO WE DO IT? AND I THINK I. I LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF THE CITY SO FAR AND ITS GOVERNANCE, AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT PLANNING. IT'S JUST A DEEP-ROOTED CULTURE HERE IN THE CITY OF CARLSBAD THAT WE PLAN AHEAD AS FAR AS WE CAN, INCLUDING HOW WE DID OUR HOUSING PRIOR TO STATE LAWS. I THINK, SO THIS IS A TESTAMENT OF THAT.

I KNOW IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR STAFF. BECAUSE THE CITY THAT I WORKED FOR HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL, AND I REMEMBER THE SCUFFLING BETWEEN ONE DEPARTMENT TO THE OTHER TO SEE WHICH ONE'S A HIGHER PRIORITY AND NOT, AND THEN THE DECISION ENDS UP BEING OURS AS WELL. SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE A LOT OF PROPS TO OUR STAFF, ESPECIALLY THE DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT HAVE TO FIGURE THAT PIECE OUT. AND ARE PROBABLY THE MOST TACTFUL DURING THOSE MOMENTS, WHILE ALSO TRYING TO LISTEN TO THE EYES AND EARS OF OUR CITY COMMUNITY. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. IT WAS INTERESTING SEEING ALL THE THINGS WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED. AS YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THAT LIST, I KEPT THINKING TO MYSELF, OH, YEAH, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT.

OH, YEAH, THAT TOO. IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE. SO THANK YOU FOR GOING THROUGH ALL OF THAT FOR US. AND THIS IS A INFORMATION ITEM ONLY. NO VOTE IS NECESSARY. SO THAT BRINGS US

[COUNCIL COMMENTARY AND REQUESTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS]

SO I'M SO GLAD THAT IT WAS A GOOD SHOWING OF SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IN OUR VILLAGE, SOME FOR 50 YEARS. AND IT'S A BITTERSWEET TIME. WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY HERE IN THE VILLAGE AND IN THE CITY OF CARLSBAD. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THIS MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBER SHEN AND I WERE PRIVILEGED TO BE AT THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE TRI-CITY EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT FACELIFT REMODEL. SO IT WAS A WONDERFUL OCCASION AND SUCH, AGAIN, COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THAT HOSPITAL. I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL ASSET FOR US HERE IN NORTH COUNTY.

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. MR. COSTA. THANK YOU.

JUST WANT TO REPORT OUT, I WAS AT THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES BOARD MEETING LAST WEEK AND REALLY HAD AN EXCELLENT DISCUSSION WITH THAT HUGE BOARD, ABOUT 57 BOARD MEMBERS. I'VE GOT A WATER AUTHORITY MEETING THIS THURSDAY. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST ONE WHERE I AM THE NEW SECRETARY OF THE BOARD. AS YOU MAY RECALL, I WAS ELECTED LAST MONTH BY MY COLLEAGUES UNANIMOUSLY TO BE THE SECRETARY OF THAT BOARD, SO THIS WILL BE THE FIRST ONE WHERE I GET TO SIT AND PERFORM IN THAT ROLE. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO IT, AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK. THANKS. MS. BOB PATEL. YES, THANK YOU. WE HAVE THE CLEAN ENERGY ALLIANCE BOARD

[CITY MANAGER COMMENTS]

THANK YOU. CITY ATTORNEY.

NOTHING, THANK YOU. CITY CLERK.

AND TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT THE CITY MANAGER SAID ABOUT BRAGGING ABOUT OUR STAFF, UM, ON FRIDAY, I SAW THIS AT ABOUT 03:32 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND I TOOK A PICTURE OF IT.

AND I SENT IT TO CITY HALL.

AND I SAID, CAN WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? AND THEN, AT 5:04, I RECEIVED THIS. SO THAT WAS AN HOUR AND 32 MINUTES. TONIGHT, I GOT A, SOMEBODY COMPLAINED ABOUT SOME GRAFFITI ON A WALL. AND I SENT IT TO CITY MANAGER. I SAID, LAST TIME IT WAS AN HOUR AND 32 MINUTES. THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT TOO LONG. WHAT CAN YOU DO? AND UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE THE PICTURES BECAUSE IT JUST HAPPENED WITHIN THE LAST FEW HOURS. BUT AN HOUR AND TWO MINUTES LATER, I WAS ABLE TO SEND THE RESIDENT A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GRAFFITI THAT WAS FIXED AND PAINTED

[01:50:02]

GRAFFITI THAT FAST.

BUT THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE.

AND I TELL THE STORY ALL THE TIME OF WHEN I CAME AROUND A CORNER AND SAW A POTHOLE, FIGURED I WAS ON MY WAY TO CITY HALL. I'LL TELL SOMEBODY WHEN I GET TO CITY HALL, I FORGOT. THE NEXT DAY I COME AROUND THE CORNER, THE POTHOLE WAS FILLED. I NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TURN IT IN. SO THIS IS THE KIND OF WORK OUR CITY'S DOING AND OUR EMPLOYEES ARE DOING. AS A GAME, JUST FOR FUN, NEXT TIME YOU SEE SOME GRAFFITI SOMEWHERE ON THE FREEWAY, AND IT'S CALTRANS' JOB TO COVER THAT UP, JUST START PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW MANY DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS PASS BEFORE THEY GET TO IT. SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW OUR CITY TREATS OUR RESIDENTS AND HOW OUR EMPLOYEES TAKE PRIDE IN THE WORK THEY'RE DOING. AND THIS WAS, IT GAVE ME SO MUCH PLEASURE, I COULDN'T WAIT TO SHARE THE STORY. SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE CONCLUSION OF OUR MEETING. WE'RE ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.