May 19, 2026 City Council Meeting

[00:00:03]

SO, NOT YET.

IN JUST A MOMENT.

OKAY.

[CALL TO ORDER]

PLEASE TAKE ROLL.

COUNCIL MEMBER SHIN? PRESENT.

COUNCIL MEMBER BURGHOLDER? PRESENT.

COUNCIL MEMBER ACOSTA? HERE.

MAYOR PROJAN BHATPATEL? HERE.

MAYOR BLACKBURN? PRESENT.

ALL FIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT.

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.

[ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONCURRENT MEETINGS]

THE CITY COUNCIL IS SERVING AS THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE PUBLIC FINANCE AUTHORITY, THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, AND THE CITY COUNCIL AS THE SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ON DEPARTMENTAL AND CITY MANAGED REPORTS, ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

USUALLY WE DON'T HAVE THAT DISAPPOINTED OF AUDIENCE MEMBERS UNTIL LATER IN THE MEETING.

APPROVAL

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

MOVE APPROVAL.

SECOND.

PLEASE VOTE.

PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

PRESENTATIONS WE GET THIRD

[PRESENTATIONS]

ANYBODY HERE FOR THIRD GRADE ART? SO I GET TO MEET WITH JAMIE JACOBS AND JOHN MAY FOR THIRD GRADE ART.

YEAH, HANG ON JUST A MOMENT.

I JUST GOT TO, LET ME GET ORGANIZED, BE PATIENT.

OKAY, FIRST I'M GOING TO INVITE THE COMMISSIONERS TO COME TO THE PODIUM AND I GET TO READ THE PROCLAMATION.

IT SAYS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR MANAGING GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

REVITALIZING NEIGHBORHOODS, FOSTERING LOCAL PRIDE, PROMOTING TOURISM, AND MAINTAINING COMMUNITY CHARACTER WHILE ENHANCING LIVABILITY.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS RELEVANT FOR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION, AMERICANS OF ALL AGES AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE THE ROLE OF HISTORY IN OUR LIVES AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS IN HELPING TO PRESERVE THE TANGIBLE ASSETS, ASPECTS, OF THE HERITAGE AND THAT SHAPE US AND A PEOPLE.

ALL PEOPLE ARE CARL'S ARE CREATED EQUAL.

THIS IS THIS YEAR'S THEME FOR NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH AND HIGHLIGHTS PRESERVING SITES AND TELL COMPLETE INCLUSIVE AMERICAN STORY AND FOSTER CIVIC CONNECTION.

THEREFORE, I, KEITH BLACKBURN, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL, DO PROCLAIM MAY 26TH.

AS HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH IN CARLSBAD.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU COULD SHARE, PLEASE? YES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR BLACKBURN.

GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME IS JAMIE JACOBS, AND I'M CURRENTLY SERVING AS THE CHAIR OF THE CARLSBAD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION.

IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO SERVE ON THE COMMISSION FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS AND TO HELP SUPPORT THE PRESERVATION OF THE PLACES, STORIES, AND HISTORY THAT MAKE CARLSBAD SO SPECIAL.

ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION, I WOULD LIKE TO SINCERELY THANK THE CITY COUNCIL.

FOR THIS PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING HISTORICAL PRESERVATION MONTH AND WE APPRECIATE THE CITY'S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING OUR COMMUNITY'S HISTORY FOR OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS IS GOING TO BE INTRODUCING THE RECIPIENTS.

I GET THAT PLEASURE AND COMMISSIONER MAY IS GOING TO BE WELCOMING ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS.

ALL RIGHT, SO TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE WAY THAT YOU'VE ALL HELPED BRING THE HISTORY OF OUR CITY TO LIFE THROUGH ART.

YOUR WORK REMINDS US THAT EVEN THE YOUNGEST ARTISTS CAN HELP PRESERVE AND SHARE THE STORIES THAT MAKE CARLSBAD SUCH A SPECIAL COMMUNITY.

I'LL CALL YOUR NAME.

PLEASE COME OUT TO COMMISSIONER MAY.

AND WHEN THE RECIPIENTS, WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR RECOGNITION, PLEASE COME UP HERE BECAUSE AT THE END OF THIS WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A GROUP PICTURE.

EXCELLENT.

OKAY.

ADELINE DIRKMAAT AMMA SIMON,

[00:05:09]

DANIELA SIGNORELLI, DYLAN GERBAG, DUDA GOLO, EASTON ONTIVEROS, ELLIE WHITE, ELLIOT POUVET, EMERSON LAWLER.

EVELYN BUGGY, FINLEY WILLIAMS, ISLA STRATTON, ISABEL CROSTA, GIANNA KIM, LAURA CRUZ, MARCEL RILEY-SERA, NICOLE...

FAIR AIR.

RAELYNN MENDEZ.

REAGAN RODRIGUEZ.

SOPHIA BORIS-SAVUSKY.

TAYLOR REAGAN.

THOMAS MORRIS.

VALERIE COOK.

AND ZARA JACKSON.

AND ONE PARTICIPANT WAS ABSENT TONIGHT, BUT WE'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE HADLEY BAKER.

I BELIEVE THEIR TEACHERS, MANY OF THEIR TEACHERS ARE HERE AS WELL, CORRECT? TEACHERS? TEACHERS, IF YOU CAN JOIN AND COME ON ALL THE WAY UP TO THE TOP, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

THAT'S OKAY.

THANK YOU.

DO YOU WANT TO BE IN? THANK YOU, GUYS.

OKAY, YAY THANK YOU.

FOR A NOTE TO ALL THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS ATTENDING AND ALL THE STUDENTS.

YOU CAN JOIN THE REST OF THE GROUP OUTSIDE FOR MORE PHOTOS AND THERE'S ALSO SOME REFRESHMENTS AND ALSO EACH PARTICIPATING STUDENT THAT PARTICIPATED AND WON THE AWARD.

WE'LL RECEIVE AN ART SET, SO MAKE SURE YOU COLLECT THAT ON YOUR WAY OUT.

[00:10:01]

THERE ARE 700 ENTRIES, SO THE 30 THAT WON IS PRETTY PHENOMENAL.

SO CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL.

THAT'S THE FUN PART OF THE MEETING.

[PUBLIC COMMENT]

I HAVE TO READ THE FOLLOWING.

THE BROWN ACT AND THE CITY'S MEETING RULES ALLOW MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA, AS LONG AS THE COMMENTS ARE REGARDING MATTERS WITHIN THE CITY COUNCIL'S SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY ALSO COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS AS LONG AS THE COMMENTS RELATE TO THE QUESTION OR MATTER UNDER CONSIDERATION.

INFORMATION ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING IS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THIS AGENDA.

CITY COUNCIL WILL RECEIVE NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR THE 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 ANY NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM OR ANY 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 COUNCIL MEETING.

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

THIS WILL HELP MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS CAN BE CONDUCTED EFFICIENTLY AND THAT 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'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

AT THE END OF TWO AND A HALF MINUTES, THE LIGHT ON THE PODIUM WILL TURN YELLOW, GIVING YOU NOTICE 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 SPEAK.

PLEASE CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER.

KAITLIN WARNIG.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS KAITLIN WARNIG, AND I'M A STUDENT AT PACIFIC RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, AND I'VE BEEN A CARLSBAD RESIDENT FOR THE MAJORITY OF MY LIFE.

GROWING UP IN A CITY AS BEAUTIFUL AS OURS HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE, AND I FEEL BEYOND GRATEFUL TO CALL CARLSBAD HOME.

I'M HERE TODAY, THOUGH, TO BRING UP A CHANGE THAT I'D LOVE TO SEE HAPPEN.

THE BEACH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO GO, AND I HAVE COUNTLESS MEMORIES FROM CHILDHOOD TO NOW ENJOYING THE ENVIRONMENT AND SCENERY.

ALTHOUGH MORE RECENTLY, I'VE NOTICED THAT MANY OF THE CARLSBAD BEACHES, STORMS AND NATURAL ELEMENTS HAVE CHANGED THE FLUFFY SAND WE USED TO HAVE INTO A BED OF ROCK.

WHILE I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CAN BE TYPICAL DURING WINTER MONTHS, OUR BEACHES ARE FACING THIS GROWING CRISIS DUE TO SEA LEVEL RISE, COASTAL EROSION, AND HEAVY STORMS. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR BEACHES ARE THE HEART OF CARLSBAD, AS THEY SUPPORT THE LOCAL ECONOMY, WHICH GENERATES AN ESTIMATED $1.7 BILLION AND SUPPORTS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS.

BESIDES THAT, THE BEAUTY OF THE BEACHES IS TRULY WHAT MAKES THIS CITY SO SPECIAL FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS.

THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING A LOT TO FIX THIS, INCLUDING COORDINATING WITH THE SAN DIEGO ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS FOR REGIONAL SAND REPLENISHMENTS AND DREDGING OUR LAGOONS.

HOWEVER, THE NEXT REGIONAL SAND DEPOSIT ISN'T SCHEDULED UNTIL 2027.

I'M ASKING THAT WE CONSIDER PRIORITIZING AND EXPEDITING THESE SAND REPLENISHMENT EFFORTS.

BY INCREASING THE FREQUENCY OF LAGOON DREDGING AND WORKING MORE CLOSELY WITH THE BEACH PRESERVATION COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN FIND A FASTER, MORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO KEEP SAND ON OUR SHORES.

I UNDERSTAND THESE EFFORTS CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND HAVE THEIR CHALLENGES BUT PROTECTING OUR COASTLINE IS WORTH IT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION.

[00:15:05]

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS MATEO PAPANICOLA, AND I'M A STUDENT HERE IN CARLSBAD.

I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE PARKING IN THE CARLSBAD VILLAGE, AND THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT CONTINUES TO AFFECT RESIDENTS.

VISITORS, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES EVERY DAY.

THE CITY'S RECENT EFFORTS TO ADDRESS PARKING CHALLENGES HAVE SHOWN PROGRESS AND DETERMINATION.

ADDING 44 NEW SPACES AS WELL AS THE NEWLY PROPOSED PROJECTS ARE STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE PLAN TO INSTALL AN ALL-WAY STOP AT GRAND AVENUE AND MADISON STREET NOT ONLY IMPROVES SAFETY BUT ALSO CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADD PARKING.

CONVERTING PARALLEL PARKING INTO DIAGONAL PARKING ON GRAND AVENUE COULD ALSO ADD ADDITIONAL SPACES WHILE IMPROVING TRAFFIC THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

THE UPCOMING PARKING STUDY SHOWS COLLECTING DATA OVER THE NEXT YEAR IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD UNDERSTANDING DEMAND AND MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS.

HOWEVER, WHILE THESE EFFORTS ARE BOOSTING THE PARKING THERE, THERE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO FULLY MEET THE DEMAND DURING RUSH HOURS AND BUSY SEASONS.

I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A FEW ADDITIONAL SOLUTIONS.

ALTHOUGH A MULTI-LEVEL PARKING STRUCTURE COULD CAUSE CONTROVERSY AMONG BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE, IT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE CAPACITY WITHOUT NEEDING ADDITIONAL LAND.

IMPROVING SHUTTLE SERVICES FROM MORE DISTANT PARKING AREAS WOULD ALSO REDUCE CONGESTION AND PARKING IN THE VILLAGE, MAKING IT MORE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE.

PARKING ISN'T JUST ABOUT CONVENIENCE.

IT DIRECTLY IMPACTS LOCAL BUSINESSES, TRAFFIC FLOW, AND THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY.

BY COMBINING SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS WITH LONG-TERM PLANNING, WE CAN CREATE A MORE ACCESSIBLE AND VIBRANT VILLAGE FOR EVERYONE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION.

DIANA RICKER.

WHEN FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY NADINE SAIG WAS APPOINTED TO OUR CUSTODY CASE, NADINE SAIG RAN AN ILLEGAL DIGITAL SEARCH ON BOTH ME AND MY EX-HUSBAND'S DEVICES.

IN THIS DISCOVERY, NADINE SAIG FOUND MY EX-HUSBAND TO BE A GOOD CANDIDATE TO RECRUIT AS A CLIENT SINCE MR. RICKER WAS ALREADY COMMITTING ASSAULT CRIMES AND HIS ADDICTION TO PORNOGRAPHY AND OPIOIDS WOULD SUIT EXACTLY THAT TYPE OF CORRUPTION WORK SHE DOES ON THE SIDE.

NADINE SAIG SOLICITED HER HIGH-TECH PEN SIZE PINHOLE-SIZED CAMERAS KNOWING MR. RICKER ALREADY HAD A SEVERE ADDICTION TO CHRONOGRAPHY.

THIS, TO HER ORGANIZATION, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF ONLYFANS, BUT MUCH, MUCH MORE ADDICTIVE AND DARKER.

AND SO THEN MY HOME WAS IMPLANTED WITH THESE HIDDEN CAMERAS.

FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY NADINE SAAG WORKS WITH IMMIGRANTS OF H-1B VISA HOLDERS BECAUSE IN THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, THEY NORMALLY WORK AS UBER, LYFT, AND DOORDASH DRIVERS, AN EMPLOYMENT THAT CONCEALS CASING NEIGHBORHOODS.

COMING IN AND OUT OF AS NORMAL ACTIVITY.

THIS ALSO GIVES FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY NADINE SAAG ACCESS TO SENSITIVE DATA AND OR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS CRUCIAL TO HER OR CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT'S SUCCESS.

OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEARS, THIS HAS STRENGTHENED MY EX-HUSBAND'S ABUSE.

AND LIKE THE SAYING GOES, MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO.

MR. RICKER DEPLOYED HIS OWN NETWORK BY RECRUITING NEIGHBORS OF MINE TO ASSIST IN MY ABUSE.

I SEE THE CITY OF CARLSBAD MAKING SUPERFICIAL AND EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS ALL AROUND THE CITY, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE.

IT WOULD ALSO BE GOOD IF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD WOULD DO THE SAME WITH THE RAPISTS, PEDOPHILES, AND CRIMINALS LURKING IN THE DARK HOURS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

SINCE THE CARLSBAD POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE NOTHING TO INVESTIGATE THIS CORRUPTION, I AM COMING TO YOU TO SUGGEST A TASK FORCE BE ASSIGNED IN CLEANING UP UNDERGROUND CRIME.

BECAUSE THE USE OF INCAPACITATING GAS AND ON OUR STREETS SHOULD BE OF GREAT CONCERN TO YOU ALL.

A GOOD PLACE TO START CLEANING UP CORRUPTION WOULD BE WITHIN THE CARLSBAD POLICE DEPARTMENT.

THANK YOU.

BOB VISOTKY.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS BOB VYSOTSKY.

I AM A REALTOR AND A RESIDENT HERE IN CARLSBAD.

I AM HERE TO RAISE A CONCERN ABOUT OUR CURRENT SIGN ORDINANCE.

WHILE IT'S WELL-INTENTIONED, IT'S HAVING UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES ON HOMEOWNERS AND BUYERS.

BY HEAVILY RESTRICTING DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE, ESPECIALLY FOR OPEN HOUSES, WE'RE LIMITING BUYER AWARENESS AND REDUCING EXPOSURE FOR SELLERS.

MANY BUYERS WILL STILL DISCUSS...

MANY BUYERS STILL DISCOVER HOMES BY DRIVING THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS.

WHEN THEY CAN'T FIND THEM, FEWER PEOPLE SHOW UP.

THAT MEANS LESS COMPETITION, LONGER TIME ON THE MARKET, AND POTENTIALLY LOWER SALES PRICES.

THIS ISN'T JUST A REALTOR ISSUE, IT'S A CONSUMER ISSUE AND AN ECONOMIC ONE.

I'M NOT ASKING

[00:20:01]

ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, MY SIGN WAS CONFISCATED, BUT I DID NOT PUT MY SIGN THERE.

MY SIGN, THERE WAS ONLY ONE SIGN THERE AND MY SIGN WAS HERE BEHIND THE POLE.

SO YOU CONFISCATED MY SIGN AND CHARGED ME $25 TO GET IT BACK WHEN I DIDN'T MOVE IT.

AND THE OTHER THING IS, THIS GUY PROBABLY WAS TRYING TO BE NICE SO WE COULD ALL HAVE EXPOSURE FOR OUR SIGNS.

I HAD NO ONE, ZERO, COME TO MY OPEN HOUSE BECAUSE THOSE WERE THE DIRECTIONAL SIGNS TO THE HOUSE.

PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

I BEG YOU, BECAUSE EVERY REAL ESTATE AGENT THAT I KNOW COMPLAINS THAT CARLSBAD IS SO STRICT ON SIGN ORDINANCES.

OUR JOB'S HARD ENOUGH.

PLEASE JUST DON'T MAKE IT HARDER.

THANK YOU.

THIS IS JEFF MURPHY RIGHT HERE.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TALK WITH HIM ABOUT THE REASONS WE HAVE SOME OF THESE RULES IN PLACE? RUSSELL DAVID OWENS.

HELLO, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

TONIGHT I'M GOING TO DISCUSS ART OVER GRAFFITI.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ART MUST DEFEAT THAT OF THOSE OF GRAFFITI.

THERE'S NO PLACE FOR THIS IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE IDEA THAT GRAFFITI IS ACCEPTED OR ENCOURAGED IS NOT ALLOWED BECAUSE OF THE DANGEROUS MESSAGES TO FAMILIES AND CITY MEMBERS.

THE IRONY OF THESE SUB-SUBJECTS ARE CRUCIAL TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE PUBLIC SIGNS.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT TRUE ART ENTAILS, LIKE THE THIRD GRADE WINNERS.

THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TONIGHT, MR. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

IS THAT THE CONCLUSION OF ALL THE SPEAKERS? YES.

THANK YOU.

[CONSENT CALENDAR]

DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS ON THOSE? THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS ON CONSENT CALENDAR.

ANYONE ON COUNCIL WISH TO PULL ONE? ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? MOTION.

SO MOVED.

SECOND.

PLEASE VOTE.

PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

[3. SB 707 RALPH M. BROWN ACT UPDATE]

ITEM NUMBER THREE IS AN UPDATE ON THE RALPH M.

BROWN ACT AND CHANGES FOUND UNDER SB 707.

TO SHARE A PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM, WE HAVE OUR DIRECTOR OF CONSTITUENT AND CLERK SERVICES, FLAVIOLA MEDINA, AND ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, MORGAN FRYE.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS MORGAN FRYE, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, AND WITH ME TONIGHT IS DIRECTOR OF CONSTITUENT AND CLERK SERVICES, FLAVIOLA MEDINA.

THIS ITEM BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING IS TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON RECENT CHANGES TO THE BROWN ACT.

THE PROPOSED ACTIONS THIS EVENING ARE TO RECEIVE A REPORT ON CHANGES TO THE BROWN ACT AS REQUIRED BY NEW LEGISLATION, INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTERS RELATED TO MEETINGS AND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AN ADOPTION OF A CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT ON TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTIONS, AND A CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT ON PUBLIC MEETING PARTICIPATION OUTREACH EFFORTS.

ON OCTOBER 3, 2025, GOVERNOR NEWSOM SIGNED INTO LAW STATE SENATE BILL 707 WITH THE SUNSET CLAUSE OF JANUARY 1, 2030.

AMONG THE VARIOUS NEW REQUIREMENTS UNDER SB 707, THE CITY COUNCIL MUST NOW OFFER HYBRID PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026.

STAFF INTENDS TO USE ZOOM WEBINAR TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE HYBRID MEETINGS SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS FOLLOWED DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

FOR BOTH NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT AND COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS, IN-PERSON SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED FIRST, FOLLOWED BY REMOTE PARTICIPANTS.

REMOTE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE AUDIO ONLY AND MAY EITHER CALL IN OR JOIN THE MEETING VIRTUALLY, BUT FOR SECURITY REASONS.

WILL NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENABLE VIDEO OR SHARE THEIR SCREENS.

TO MANAGE PUBLIC COMMENT DURING HYBRID MEETINGS, STAFF ARE RECOMMENDING THAT REQUESTS TO SPEAK BOTH IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE FIRST SPEAKER FOR THE ITEM BEGINS, THAT ALL NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKERS BE HEARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING WITH THE PRESIDING OFFICER RETAINING THE DISCRETION OF ADJUSTING SPEAKING TIME.

DUE TO ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLEXITIES AND DIFFICULTY OF VERIFYING REMOTE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, THE GROUP SPEAKER OPTION FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED.

SPEAKERS REQUIRING EXTRA TIME FOR INTERPRETATION WILL BE PROVIDED DOUBLE THE SPEAKER TIME TO ALLOW SUCH PROCESS TO TAKE PLACE WITH THEIR

[00:25:01]

THE HYBRID MEETING REQUIREMENTS ONLY APPLY TO THE CITY COUNCIL.

THEY DO NOT APPLY TO THE CITY'S SUBSIDIARY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND SUBCOMMITTEES, THOUGH THE LEGISLATION ALLOWS FOR THAT OPTION.

CITY STAFF ARE NOT RECOMMENDING THE OPTIONAL HYBRID MEETING REQUIREMENTS BE APPLIED TO THESE OTHER BODIES AT THIS TIME.

AN ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT OF SB 707 IS THE ADOPTION OF A TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTIONS POLICY.

SB 707 REQUIRES THAT IF A DISRUPTION OCCURS THAT PREVENTS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FROM ATTENDING OR OBSERVING A CITY COUNCIL MEETING THROUGH THE TWO-WAY TELEPHONIC OR AUDIO-VISUAL PLATFORM, THE CITY COUNCIL MUST RECESS THE OPEN SESSION AND MAKE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO RESTORE SERVICE.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY NOT RECONVENE THE MEETING, UNTIL AT LEAST ONE HOUR FOLLOWING THE DISRUPTION OR UNTIL TELEPHONIC OR INTERNET SERVICES ARE RESTORED WHICHEVER IS EARLIER.

SB 707 ALSO REQUIRES THE CITY COUNCIL TO DETERMINE THE REASONABLE EFFORTS STAFF MUST TAKE TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND INVITE GROUPS THAT DO NOT TRADITIONALLY PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC MEETINGS TO ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS PARTICULARLY AMONG UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES.

THE PROPOSED COUNCIL POLICY ESTABLISHES THE CITY'S APPROACH TO OUTREACH.

THIS APPROACH INCLUDES INVITING PARTICIPATION IN CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AS OPPORTUNITIES ARISE AND CONSISTENT WITH AVAILABLE RESOURCES FROM MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE CITY, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, CIVIC OR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING THOSE SERVING NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES.

AT THIS TIME, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO MS. MEDINA FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU, MS. FRY.

IN ADDITION TO THE REQUIREMENTS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, SB 707 REQUIRES TRANSLATION OF AGENDAS AND PUBLIC MEETING INFORMATION WEBPAGES INTO APPLICABLE LANGUAGES BASED ON THE MOST RECENT DATA PROVIDED BY THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.

STAFF HAVE REVIEWED THE LANGUAGE DATA AND DETERMINED THAT THE CITY OF CARLSBAD DOES NOT MEET THE 20% REQUIRED FOR...

THE THRESHOLD FOR TRANSLATION OF ANY GIVEN LANGUAGE.

IN ADDITION TO THE TRADITIONAL TELECONFERENCE PROVISIONS OF THE BROWN ACT, THERE WILL NOW ALSO BE AN ALTERNATIVE CONFERENCING PROVISION KNOWN AS JUST CAUSE.

WHEN PARTICIPATING REMOTELY FOR JUST CAUSE, THE TELECONFERENCING MEMBER IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE MEETING THROUGH BOTH AUDIO AND VISUAL TECHNOLOGY.

MEMBERS ARE LIMITED TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF JUST CAUSE TELECONFERENCE MEETINGS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT THE LEGISLATIVE BODY MEETS PER MONTH, WHICH FOR CARLSBAD WOULD BE FIVE TIMES IN A YEAR.

ALLOWABLE REASONS FOR JUST-CAUSE TELECONFERENCING INCLUDE CONTAGIOUS ILLNESS, CARE FOR CHILD, PARENT, GRANDPARENT, SIBLING, SPOUSE, OR DOMESTIC PARTNER, A NEED RELATED TO PHYSICAL OR MENTAL CONDITION THAT DOES NOT QUALIFY AS A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR A DISABILITY, TRAVEL ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS OF THE AGENCY, PHYSICAL OR MEDICAL EMERGENCY, FAMILY EMERGENCY THAT PREVENTS A MEMBER FROM ATTENDING IN PERSON, TO PROTECT AN IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CLOSE RELATIVE FROM EXPOSURE TO ILLNESS, AND MILITARY SERVICE.

LASTLY, SB 707 ALSO ALLOWS A LEGISLATIVE BODY MEMBER WITH A DISABILITY TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY IN ANY MEETING AS A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.

IF A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUEST IS GRANTED, THE LEGISLATIVE BODY MEMBER MUST PARTICIPATE WITH AUDIO AND VIDEO TECHNOLOGY UNLESS THE DISABILITY RESULTS IN A NEED TO JUST TO PARTICIPATE OFF CAMERA DISCLOSE THE PRESENCE OF ANYONE 18 YEARS AND OLDER AND THE GENERAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE LEGISLATIVE BODY MEMBER BEFORE ANY ACTION IS TAKEN THE LEGISLATIVE BODY MEMBER MUST MAKE SUCH A DISCLOSURE AT THE START OF THE MEETING AND WHENEVER THEREAFTER THERE IS A CHANGE TO WHO IS PRESENT STAFF WILL HANDLE DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON AN INDIVIDUAL AND CONFIDENTIAL BASIS THROUGH THE CITY'S STANDARD INTERACTIVE PROCESS.

IN REVIEW, TONIGHT'S REMAINING ACTIONS INCLUDE ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTERS 1.20 MEETINGS AND 2.15 BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, ADOPTING A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CITY COUNCIL POLICY ON TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTIONS, AND ADOPTING A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CITY COUNCIL POLICY.

ON PUBLIC MEETING PARTICIPATION OUTREACH EFFORTS.

THIS CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.

WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS? THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL.

MR. SHIN.

THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I JUST HAVE ONE IN REGARDS TO THE TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTIONS.

[00:30:02]

THAT COUNCIL MEMBER HAS TO BE VIEWABLE SINCE THEY HAVE TO HAVE THEIR AUDIO AND VIDEO ON AT ALL TIMES.

BUT OTHERWISE, IF ALL MEMBERS OF THE BODY ARE PRESENT, THE CURRENT VIEW THAT THE CITY DOES HAVE ON THE LIVE STREAM WOULD MEET THE REQUIREMENTS.

I SAY THAT BECAUSE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION, THAT BASICALLY MEANS THAT IF THE FEED GETS DISRUPTED HERE FOR THE PUBLIC, WE HAVE TO STOP THE MEETING COMPLETELY FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR UNTIL RESOLVED.

THIS APPLIES TO THE INTERNET SERVICE AND OR ZOOM, ANY PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS FOR THE REMOTE PARTICIPATION.

SO IF THE LIVE STREAM WERE TO GO DOWN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY COVERED UNDER THE DISRUPTION POLICY BECAUSE THEY CAN STILL PARTICIPATE.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE ZOOM PLATFORM IS GONE.

THEY CAN STILL LOG IN THROUGH THERE AND VIEW THE MEETING.

THERE WILL NOW BE MULTIPLE WAYS OF BEING ABLE TO OBSERVE THE MEETING.

THIS IS FOR MORE OF THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WITHIN OUR CONTROL.

THAN OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL.

SO IF, LET'S SAY, THE CABLE CHANNEL WENT DOWN, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OVER.

THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HOLD HERE IS WHAT THAT DISRUPTION POLICY APPLIES TO.

OKAY, SO THESE CAMERAS RIGHT NOW POINTING AT US AND US HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, IF THIS THING GOT DISRUPTED RIGHT NOW, BEING A LIVE FEED, THAT ISN'T THE DEFINITION OF A TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION? IF IT WENT DOWN THROUGH ZOOM, YES, BECAUSE THEN AT THAT POINT, THEY'RE NO LONGER ABLE TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY TO PROVIDE THEIR PUBLIC COMMENT.

BUT THE LIVE STREAM ITSELF IS NOT THE INTERACTIVE PIECE.

THAT'S MORE OF A PASSIVE VIEWING MECHANISM.

AND SO IT'S REFERRING MORE TO THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION PIECES THAT ARE COVERED UNDER THE POLICY.

AND THEN IS THERE, LIKE, ANY REDUNDANT MEASURES THAT WE CAN DO TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION SO THAT WE DON'T, LIKE, IF THAT WERE TO TAKE PLACE, THAT WE'RE NOT HERE FOR JUST AN HOUR, EVEN THOUGH THE FIX TOOK PLACE FOR, LIKE, FIVE MINUTES? OR IS IT JUST SOMETHING WHERE...

WE'RE BOUND TO HAVE TO FACE.

WE DO HAVE A POLICY IN PLACE OR WORKING ON A POLICY AS TO WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN RESTORE SERVICE IF CERTAIN EVENTS WERE TO OCCUR.

THERE ARE SOME REDUNDANCY MEASURES THAT ARE IN PLACE FOR THE ZOOM PARTICIPATION PIECE THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY PROBABLY HAVE DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SITUATION IS.

BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING WHERE.

AGAIN, THE CABLE CHANNEL WENT DOWN.

AT THAT POINT, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN BRING BACK UP, AND IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROL OF THE CITY.

SO IN THE EVENT THAT IT'S WITHIN OUR CONTROL, WE DO HAVE THOSE MEASURES AVAILABLE.

IF FOR SOME REASON WE'RE ABLE TO RESTORE BEFORE THE HOUR, WE CAN CONTINUE THE MEETING.

IT'S ONLY IN THOSE INSTANCES WHERE WE ARE NOT ABLE TO THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO STAY IN RECESS FOR AN HOUR.

OKAY, SO ZOOM ITSELF.

CRASHES, THEN THAT'S THEIR FAULT, NOT OURS.

AND AS SOON AS IT'S RELOADED AND WE CAN GO, WE CAN GO.

THERE'S NO HOUR DELAY.

IF IT'S BEFORE THE HOUR, YES.

IF THE SERVICE IS RESTORED, THEN WE'D BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE MEETING.

ADDITIONALLY, IF LET'S SAY ZOOM JUST HAD AN OUTAGE AND THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WE COULD DO TO RESTORE SERVICE WITHIN THAT HOUR, THEN THE CITY COUNCIL AT THAT POINT CAN MAKE FINDINGS TO EITHER CONTINUE THE MEETING.

AS GOOD FAITH EFFORTS WOULD BE NOTED AND WHAT THEY WOULD BE NOTED FOR IN THE MINUTES AND IF THE COUNCIL FELT THAT WAY THEY COULD CONTINUE THE MEETING OR THEY COULD ADJOURN TO A DIFFERENT TIME GREAT.

THAT'S ALL.

THANK YOU ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MR. COSTA.

THANK YOU.

AND THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION AND AND KIND OF FIGURING OUT HOW THIS CAN WORK IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE THE NEW STATE LAW JUST TO REVIEW, FOR THE NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT, LIKE WHAT WE HAD TODAY WHEN WE HAD THE FIVE SPEAKERS, SAY WE HAD A LOT, LIKE 100 SPEAKERS, IT WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON MANAGING THE MEETING, THE MAYOR, TO DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF TIME GIVEN TO THOSE SPEAKERS.

BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THEM ALL.

WHAT WE'RE APPROVING IS TO HAVE ALL OF THE NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT UP FRONT, NOT THE 15 MINUTES.

AT THE BEGINNING AND THE 15 MINUTES AT THE END, LIKE WHAT WE HAVE HAD UP UNTIL NOW, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.

OKAY.

AND IT'S THE MAYOR'S PREROGATIVE TO SHORTEN THE AMOUNT OF TIME SO PEOPLE CAN BE PREPARED WHEN THEY COME HERE FOR NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT.

RIGHT NOW THEY'VE HAD THREE MINUTES, BUT IF THERE'S A LOT OF SPEAKERS, THEY COULD HAVE ONE MINUTE.

SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

IS THAT RIGHT? YES.

THE MAYOR WOULD RETAIN, THE PRESIDING OFFICER WOULD RETAIN THE DISCRETION OF BEING ABLE

[00:35:02]

YEAH.

I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT SO THAT SPEAKERS KNOW THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE REDUCED TIME.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

I'M GOING TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT QUESTION.

FOR NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT, ONCE THE FIRST SPEAKER STARTS TO SPEAK, THEN WE DON'T TAKE ANY MORE SPEAKERS IS THAT ACCURATE THAT IS ACCURATE THANK YOU MISS PAPA TELL YES THANK YOU THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING TO SEE IMPLEMENTED AND I KNOW CERTAIN AGENCIES HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED IT SO IT'S BEEN FUN TO SEE THAT NAVIGATED AND THEN I KNOW IT'LL BE DIFFERENT AND MAYBE SOME SOME SIMILARITIES HERE TOO BUT A COUPLE OF A FEW DIFFERENT QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THIS WITH THE PUBLIC I'M ASSUMING WE'LL USE OUR SIMILAR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS THAT WE ALREADY DO TO LET FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE UP AND COMING WITH THE CITY TO JUST MAKE THEM AWARE THAT THERE WILL BE NOW THIS NEW REMOTE PARTICIPATION OPTION.

YES, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM WILL WORK WITH US TO CREATE OUTREACH AND ALSO DISSEMINATE THE INFORMATION.

ALSO, OUR WEBSITE WILL HAVE A SLIGHT CHANGE TO IT WHERE IT WILL HAVE MORE OF THE PARTICIPATING ROLES.

AND THE MEETING LINKS ONCE THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE MEETINGS.

SO THERE WILL BE MORE INFORMATION OUT THERE FOR THE PUBLIC.

OKAY, GREAT.

AND THEN IS THERE ANYTHING IN TERMS OF DATA THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO COLLECT, OR ARE WE GOING TO BE COLLECTING ANY DATA IN TERMS OF PARTICIPATION OR USAGE OR ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE TO THEN REPORT BACK? I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT PIECE TOO.

CURRENTLY THERE IS NO REQUEST FOR THAT.

OUR PROFESSIONAL AGENCIES DO REACH OUT TO US TO SO...

HAVE US PROVIDE INPUT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AND THEY CHECK IN BUT THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE AT THIS TIME OKAY AND ONE I KNOW UH THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AT LEAST A FEW YEARS AGO WE WOULD SEE QUITE A BIT IS SOMETIMES WE'D SEE SOME DISRUPTIONS IN TERMS OF YOU KNOW PEOPLE THAT WERE PART OF THE MEETING AND SO UH I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT'S PART OF THE DISRUPTION POLICY AS WELL I KNOW THERE'S THE TECHNOLOGY PIECE BUT THERE'S ALSO IF THERE IS A DISRUPTIVE MEMBER FROM WHAT I HAD READ, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THAT THERE'S CLEAR AUTHORITY TO MUTE SOMEONE, KIND OF SIMILAR TO HERE IF SOMEBODY WERE BEING DISRUPTIVE OR DISRESPECTFUL, THAT WE COULD ASK THEM TO OR JUST MUTE THEM IN THAT PARTICULAR INSTANCE.

AND PART OF THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE ASKING, THE ORDINANCE PIECE DOES GET UPDATED TO EXTEND THAT SAME POLICY TO THE VIRTUAL SPEAKERS.

SO THEY WOULD GET THAT WARNING AND WE WOULD MEET THEM IF THEY...

ALSO BEHAVED IN THAT MANNER.

OKAY.

AND THEN THIS WOULD BE READY, I THINK YOU HAD MENTIONED JULY, STARTING JULY 1ST IS WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE ALL READY AND WE NEED TO BE COMPLIANT.

SO IT WOULD BE OUR FIRST MEETING BACK, WHICH IS I THINK THE 7TH OR SOMETHING? I BELIEVE IT'S JULY 9TH. OH, JULY 7TH.

OKAY.

OKAY, GREAT.

NO OTHER QUESTIONS, JUST COMMENTS.

THANKS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? MS. BOB PATEL.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR SOME TIME, WHETHER I KNOW I HAD QUESTIONS AROUND IT YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE IMPLEMENTING IT DURING THE PANDEMIC.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, LIKE AS WE'VE NAVIGATED PAST THAT, THE CERTAIN AGENCIES THAT I SIT ON ACTUALLY STILL UTILIZE SOME OF SOME OF THIS.

AND SO NOW IT'S JUST, I GUESS, MAKING IT COHESIVE THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY PROS AND CONS ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

IT MAKES IT MORE ACCESSIBLE, SO THAT PART'S REALLY SOMETHING THAT I'M SUPPORTIVE OF AND EXCITED FOR.

WE DID SEE A LOT MORE ENGAGEMENT, OF COURSE, DURING THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE PEOPLE COULD JOIN FROM WHEREVER THEY WERE.

AND SO I THINK FROM THAT PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE, FOR FOLKS THAT ARE UNABLE TO MAKE IT, THEY'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.

I THINK THE PART THAT I'M A LITTLE BIT INTERESTED TO SEE HOW IT GOES IS THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION.

AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR STAFF, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ALSO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE PUBLIC, AND IF IT'S ACTUALLY MAKING IT, HOPEFULLY WHAT THE GOAL WAS IS TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE, BUT ALSO MAKE IT SO THAT PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY CAN ENGAGE REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE.

HOPEFULLY THAT'S WHAT WE END UP SEEING.

BUT I DO HOPE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WROTE THIS BILL AT SOME POINT JUST WILL ASK FOR FEEDBACK FROM ALL OF US BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAD TAKEN POSITIONS ON THIS PARTICULAR BILL.

AS AN AGENCY, I KNOW AS CALCITY, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT POSITIONS TAKEN ON THIS.

AND ONE THING THAT I HAVE TO SAY IS I DON'T THINK THEY TOOK...

THE FEEDBACK THAT WE PROVIDED.

AND SO FROM THAT PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE, I DO HOPE MOVING FORWARD THAT THEY WILL LISTEN TO THE LOCAL AGENCIES BECAUSE,

[00:40:02]

BUT, AGAIN, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE IMPLEMENTATION PIECE, AND HOPEFULLY THIS DOES MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR FOLKS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

THANK YOU.

MS. ACOSTA.

THANK YOU.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE HARD WORK.

A YEAR OR MORE AGO, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE LEGISLATION AT THE LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE AND HAD ISSUES WITH IT, AND AT THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES, WHERE WE VERY ACTIVELY OPPOSED THE VERSION OF THE BILL THAT ACTUALLY PASSED, WE UNDERSTOOD THAT WE WANTED TO SUPPORT THE INTENT, THE INTENT BEING TO INCREASE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND DIVERSIFY PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

THAT'S GREAT.

WE WANT THAT.

BUT THERE WERE SOME PARTS OF THIS BILL THAT WERE UNWIELDY.

UNCLEAR AND GIVE A BIT OF A COST BURDEN TO CITIES TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN TECHNOLOGY WISE I THINK YOU ALL OUR CITY STAFF HAVE FOUND A REALLY GREAT WAY TO TO WORK WITHIN THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE LEGISLATION AND TO SUPPORT THAT INTENT THAT GOOD INTENT SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT I DO THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE CLEANUP LANGUAGE AND I KNOW THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES HAS BEEN SEEKING THAT SOME SOME CLEANUP BILL THAT COULD HELP MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR AND MAYBE FIX SOME OF THE ISSUES WITH THIS.

BUT I THINK WHAT WE HAVE COME UP WITH, WHAT YOUR TEAM HAS COME UP WITH, HAS BEEN REALLY FANTASTIC.

SO THANK YOU, AND I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THIS.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I WONDER IF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA JUST SITS AROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE OUR LIVES MORE MISERABLE.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE.

I THINK THAT...

THIS JUST CREATES MORE CUMBERSOME PROBLEMS FOR THE CITIES, AND I THINK THE NEGATIVES FAR OUTBALANCE THE BENEFITS.

BUT THE LAW SAYS BIG BROTHER TELLS US WHAT TO DO, AND WE HAVE TO STEP IN LINE AND DO IT.

SO AS MUCH AS I DON'T WANT TO SAY YES, I'M OBLIGATED TO VOTE YES ON IT.

MOTION, PLEASE.

SURE.

MOVE INTRODUCTION OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPT BOTH RESOLUTIONS IN ITEM THREE.

SECOND.

PLEASE VOTE.

IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

[4. FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET, STRATEGIC DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INVESTMENT PROGRAM AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, COST OF SERVICE STUDY, PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 MASTER FEE SCHEDULE AND UPDATES TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY NO. 95 – COST RECOVERY POLICY FOR FEES AND CHARGES FOR SERVICES]

ITEM FOUR IS THE FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 PRELIMINARY OPERATING BUDGET, STRATEGIC DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INVESTMENT PROGRAM, AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, COST OF SERVICE STUDY, PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 MASTER FEE SCHEDULE, AND UPDATES TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY.

NUMBER 95, WHICH IS THE COST RECOVERY POLICY FEES FOR CHARGES FOR SERVICES.

THE ANNUAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITY MANAGER TO PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND REALLY ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF THE CITY MANAGER'S JOB.

OUR METICULOUS BUDGETING PROCESS BEGINS SHORTLY AFTER THE PREVIOUS BUDGET IS ADOPTED.

AS PART OF DEVELOPING A BUDGET, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION YOU TO EVALUATE PRIORITIES, OPERATIONAL PRESSURES, AND SERVICE NEEDS.

WE ASK WHERE INVESTMENTS ARE MOST NEEDED, WHERE WE MAY BE SEEING SERVICE DELAYS OR GROWING MAINTENANCE DEMANDS, AND WHERE WE CAN SIMPLIFY OR PAUSE EFFORTS TO ENSURE STAFF REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE SERVICES THAT MATTER MOST TO OUR COMMUNITY AND CITY COUNCIL.

OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT PUBLIC DOLLARS ARE BEING UTILIZED IN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY POSSIBLE, AND WE APPROACH EVERY CARLSBAD BUDGET CYCLE IN THE SAME COLLABORATIVE AND FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY.

THIS PHILOSOPHY IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE DISCIPLINED FINANCIAL PLANNING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, BUDGET POLICIES, AND LONG-TERM FORECASTING PRACTICES THE CITY HAS PUT IN PLACE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

BEFORE WE GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION OUR CITY CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN, EVEN DURING A PERIOD OF SOME ONGOING ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY.

FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, THE PROPOSED GENERAL FUND BUDGET INCREASE REMAINS BELOW THE REGIONAL INFLATION RATE.

WHILE CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN STRONG RESERVES, DELIVERS ON CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES, AND INVESTS IN SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE OUR COMMUNITY RELIES ON EVERY DAY.

OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE ACCOMPLISHED A GREAT DEAL ON ISSUES AND PROJECTS THAT MATTER MOST TO RESIDENTS, TO OUR BUSINESSES, AND THE CITY COUNCIL, AND STAFF IS GOING TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS TODAY.

AS WE HEAD INTO THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, WE REMAIN FOCUSED ON DELIVERING ON THE COMMITMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE REMAINED DISCIPLINED AND CONTINUING TO KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON EXPENDITURES ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.

WHILE THE OVERALL FISCAL HEALTH OF OUR CITY REMAINS STRONG, WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME REVENUES BEGIN TO LEVEL OFF, PARTICULARLY AS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO FLUCTUATE.

CONTINUED INFLATIONARY PRESSURES AND LOWER CONSUMER CONFIDENCE ALL CREATE UNCERTAINTY THAT CAN ULTIMATELY AFFECT CITY REVENUES,

[00:45:01]

AS OUR CITY CONTINUES TO AGE, SO DOES OUR CORE INFRASTRUCTURE.

THAT'S WHY MANY OF THE KEY INVESTMENTS PROPOSED THIS YEAR CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE TO MAKE SURE THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY REMAINS STRONG.

THE RESULT IS A BUDGET THAT REMAINS MEASURED, RESPONSIBLE, AND FOCUSED ON DELIVERING VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY WHILE PROTECTING THE CITY'S LONG-TERM FISCAL STABILITY.

THE PROPOSED BUDGET CONTINUES THE CITY'S TARGETED INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, SUSTAINABILITY, AND MAINTAINS THE HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTS WHILE POSITIONING THE CITY TO REMAIN FINANCIALLY STABLE IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

FINALLY, I WANT TO SINCERELY THANK CITY STAFF FOR THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO DEVELOPING THIS BALANCED BUDGET BEING PRESENTED TO YOU TONIGHT.

AT THIS TIME NOW, I'D LIKE TO TURN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION OVER TO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, LAURA ROCHA, AND OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, ZACH KORECH.

OKAY.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, MAYOR PRO TEM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

TONIGHT WE ARE HERE TO PRESENT THE FISCAL YEAR 26-27 PRELIMINARY BUDGET.

AND I'D LIKE TO KICK THINGS OFF BY TALKING ABOUT OUR OVERALL APPROACH AND PRIORITIES TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

AND THEN I WILL HAVE FINANCE DIRECTOR ZACH KORECH WALK YOU THROUGH THE DETAILS, STARTING WITH THE CITYWIDE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, THE BUDGET FOR EACH OF OUR MAJOR SERVICE AREAS, AN UPDATE ON CITY FEES, AND FINALLY, OUR INVESTMENTS IN DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TONIGHT ARE FOR YOU TO ACCEPT THE REPORT AND SET THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR JUNE 16, 2026.

NEXT SLIDE SHOWS SOME OF OUR KEY DATES.

TONIGHT IS A CHANCE FOR YOU AND OUR PUBLIC TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED BUDGET, ASK QUESTIONS, AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, CITY COUNCIL HAS ASKED US TO BRING BACK THE COMMUNITY BUDGET WORKSHOP, WHICH WE HAVE SCHEDULED FOR THIS THURSDAY, MAY 21ST, AT THE CITY'S FARADAY CENTER.

THIS WILL BE AN INFORMAL OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE BUDGET, ASK QUESTIONS OF STAFF, AND, AGAIN, PROVIDE INPUT.

WE WILL THEN PROVIDE THAT INPUT TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN CONSIDER IT IN YOUR DECISION-MAKING.

THE PUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT THE BUDGET IS SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 16TH.

ALL OF THIS LEADS UP TO THE BEGINNING OF OUR NEW FISCAL YEAR, JULY 1ST.

SO OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TAKEN SEVERAL ACTIONS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR IMPROVED FINANCIAL POSITION.

THIS INCLUDED UPDATING AND CREATING NEW BUDGET POLICIES THAT PROVIDE CLEAR DIRECTION ON BOTH BUDGET POLICIES AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES, DIRECTING STAFF TO REDUCE ONGOING EXPENSES, TO CLOSE THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT, AND SETTING OUT A FIVE-YEAR VISION IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN HAS ALLOWED STAFF TO REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITIES.

STARTING SEVEN YEARS AGO, CITY STAFF BEGAN TO MAKE CHANGES, INCLUDING NEW BUDGETING BEST PRACTICES.

WE ELIMINATED THE PRACTICE OF PROVIDING ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASES TO DEPARTMENT BUDGETS BASED ON INFLATION AND AUTOMATICALLY ROLLING OVER UNSPENT MONEY INTO THE FOLLOWING YEAR'S DEPARTMENT BUDGETS AS A CONTINGENCY FUND.

WAS ELIMINATED.

WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE FIFTH AND FINAL YEAR OF THE CITY COUNCIL FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN AND CONTINUING TO ALIGN AND PRIORITIZE SPENDING TO MEET THE NEXT FIVE MAJOR GOALS.

IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR THE CITY HAS INCLUDED BUDGET TO BEGIN THE PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO DEVELOP THE NEXT FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE SEEN THE CONTINUED IMPACT OF OUR UPDATED BUDGET POLICIES AND PRACTICES, ALLOWING US TO STRATEGICALLY USE CITY RESERVES TO FUND FUTURE CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT WHILE MAINTAINING HEALTHY RESERVE LEVELS WELL ABOVE THE CITY'S COUNCIL SET TARGET OF 40 PERCENT, MAINTAINING ALIGNMENT WITH CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES THROUGH THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, AND AS WE ENTER THE FIFTH AND FINAL YEAR OF THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE WILL BE WORKING TO UPDATE OUR NEXT PLAN, WHICH WILL BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL LEADING UP TO FISCAL YEAR 27-28.

WE CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN STRONG LEVELS OF SERVICE WITH A FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE TIMELY DELIVERY OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.

ALL THIS WHILE WE CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN OUR AAA CREDIT RATING, SOMETHING ONLY A HANDFUL

[00:50:01]

AT THE SAME TIME, THE PROPOSED BUDGET ALSO CONTINUES TO SET ASIDE MONEY FOR FUTURE NEEDS WE KNOW ARE COMING.

THIS SPEAKS TO COUNCIL POLICY NO.

91 FOR LONG-TERM CAPITAL FUNDING YOU AND THE 6% OF ANNUAL GENERAL FUND REVENUE SET ASIDE.

THE PROPOSED BUDGET ENSURES FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR LONG-TERM, LARGE-VALUE CAPITAL PURCHASES SUCH AS ROADS, PARKS, AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE ARE ONLY PROPOSING A GENERAL FUND BUDGET INCREASE OF 2.8% OVER THE PRIOR YEAR AT A TIME WHEN INFLATION IS 3.7% ACROSS THE STATE.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS BUDGET...

MAINTAINS A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

BEFORE SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR, WE WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THE MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM FISCAL YEAR 25-26.

AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 26 ADOPTED BUDGET, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE BUDGET AND AUTHORIZATION TO PROCURE A $2.6 MILLION AERIAL LADDER FIRE TRUCK FOR ENHANCED SERVICES.

THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO APPROVED FUNDING FOR FIRE MITIGATION EFFORTS ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS AND ALSO ADDED SIX POLICE OFFICERS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAM.

NEW E-BIKE SAFETY MEASURES AND LAWS WERE PUT IN PLACE AND ENFORCED, AND WE NOW HAVE REACHED THE FIRST FULL YEAR SINCE THE RETURN OF OUR LIBRARY HOURS, SUNDAY LIBRARY HOURS.

FISCAL YEAR 26 INCLUDED THE START OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BARRIO LIGHTING WITH MORE PLANNED FOR THE VILLAGE.

WE'VE ADDED 44 PARKING SPACES TO THE VILLAGE AND BARRIO, ADDED CROSSWALKS AND ALL-WAY STOP SIGNS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, AND IMPROVED ACCESS ALONG THE SEAWALL WITH STAIR AND WALKWAY IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY.

SO INVESTING IN CITY INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN A TOP PRIORITY FOR THE CITY.

THIS BUDGET CALLS FOR NEW PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING IN THE VILLAGE.

A BACKUP GENERATOR FOR THE SAFETY TRAINING CENTER, AND VARIOUS WATER AND WASTEWATER AND LIFT SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS.

BEFORE WE GET TO THE DETAILS OF THE OPERATING BUDGET, WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE NEW PROPOSED PROJECTS AND SERVICES THAT CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE GOALS OF THIS STRATEGIC PLAN.

SIX FULL-TIME POSITIONS FOR NEW COMMUNITY POLICING PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAM, RECLASSIFYING SIX ENT.

EMTS TO PARAMEDIC FIREFIGHTERS AS PART OF A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT.

THIS ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO INCREASE ITS SERVICE CAPACITY AND ABILITY WITHOUT INCREASING ITS EMPLOYEE ACCOUNT.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK, THE CITY'S LARGEST PARK TO DATE, WILL BE BREAKING GROUND IN THE COMING WEEKS, AND STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS TO MITIGATE FUNDING AND INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.

MONROE STREET POOL IS ANTICIPATED TO REOPEN TO OUR COMMUNITY LATER THIS YEAR.

SO NOW I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO FINANCE DIRECTOR ZACH KORCH TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN FURTHER DETAIL.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MS. ROCHA.

NEXT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT GENERAL FUND RESERVES.

THIS INFORMATION WILL BE PRESENTED IN RESPECT TO AND IN REFERENCE TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY NUMBER 74 AND THE 40% RESERVE REQUIREMENT, WHICH, BASED ON THE PROPOSED BUDGETED AMOUNT WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR, TRANSLATES TO APPROXIMATELY $100 MILLION.

AND WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A BRIEF HISTORY AND TIMELINE OF THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE, STARTING WITH FISCAL YEAR 24-25.

AT THAT TIME, WE WERE PROJECTING A RESERVE BALANCE.

OR A RESERVE RATIO OF 55 PERCENT OR 131 MILLION DOLLARS.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY AND THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR, WE WERE PROJECTING A RESERVE RATIO OF 61 PERCENT OR 152 MILLION DOLLARS.

ALSO AS PART OF THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WE DO MONITOR AND WHEN APPROPRIATE AND APPLICABLE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POSSIBLE ONE-TIME GENERAL FUND RESERVE USES FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION.

AS SUCH, THE CITY MANAGER IS RECOMMENDING A ONE-TIME TRANSFER TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $8 MILLION.

THIS WILL GO A LONG WAYS TOWARDS FUNDING FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT EFFORTS CITYWIDE.

IF THE CITY COUNCIL WERE TO ADOPT THE BUDGET AS PROPOSED THIS EVENING ON JUNE 16TH, THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE BALANCE WOULD BE ADOPTED AT A PROJECTED RATIO OF 58% OR $145 MILLION, $45

[00:55:02]

IN ADDITION TO THE $145 MILLION THAT IS PROJECTED WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE, THE GENERAL FUND DOES ALSO MAINTAIN SOME ADDITIONAL SET-ASIDE FUNDS, APPROXIMATELY $10 MILLION FOR ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, $30 MILLION WITHIN ITS SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST, AS WELL AS $7.2 MILLION FOR FUTURE ASSET REPLACEMENTS SPECIFIC TO THE GENERAL FUND.

HERE WE HAVE A LOOK AT THE LEVELS OF FUNDED STATUS ACROSS JURISDICTIONS IN THE SAN DIEGO REGION.

THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE PERTAINS ONLY TO THE DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO CALPERS IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY SEPARATE OR SET-ASIDE FUNDS THAT CITIES OR JURISDICTIONS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ESTABLISHED.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY'S $30 MILLION THAT HAS BEEN CONTRIBUTED TO ITS OWN SECTION 115 TRUST IS NOT REFLECTED IN THIS DATA.

GENERALLY, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS IS THE CITY OF CARLSBAD AND THE CITY OF CORONADO SWITCHING OFF BETWEEN ONE AND TWO IN RESPECT TO THE COMPARATORS ON THIS SLIDE.

SO NOTABLY THIS YEAR WE'RE SEEING THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE MOVE UP TO THE NUMBER ONE SPOT.

MUCH OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH ADDITIONAL DISCRETIONARY PAYMENTS THAT THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE ELECTED TO MAKE IN RECENT YEARS, MOST NOTABLY A $15 MILLION ADDITIONAL DISCRETIONARY PAYMENT IN FISCAL YEAR 24-25, WHICH IS WHAT ACHIEVED THE ADDITIONAL ONE OR TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS FOR THE CITY.

I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THERE ARE FOUR JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED ON THIS SLIDE FOR REASONS RELATED TO THEIR ISSUANCE OF PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS OVER THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS AND AS ALWAYS THE DATA THAT WE PRESENT IS ALWAYS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY ON CALPERS'S WEBSITE.

SO WHILE THE CITY DOES REMAIN IN A VERY FINANCIALLY STRONG POSITION WE CONTINUE TO PLAN AND PREPARE FOR BOTH CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES THAT LIE AHEAD.

FIRST, STARTING WITH INFLATION.

AS OF JANUARY 2026, WE HAD SEEN INFLATION COOL TO LEVELS APPROXIMATELY 2.6%, BUT THAT HAS SINCE RISEN TO 3.2% AS OF MARCH 2026 AND 3.7% THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS OF APRIL OF 2026.

THAT ALSO TIES INTO LOW CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.

THROUGHOUT MOST OF FISCAL YEAR 25-26, OR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE OBSERVED DIMINISHING CONSUMER DEMAND, DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY THE RISE OF INFLATION AND MARKET VOLATILITY, PARTICULARLY IN THE MONTH OF MARCH OF 2026, THAT HAS LED TO SUSTAINED LEVELS OF LOW CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.

PENSION FUNDING CONTINUES AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRESENT CHALLENGES, AGAIN, PARTICULARLY DURING TIMES OF MARKET VOLATILITY.

INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT NEEDS CONTINUE TO GROW, AND WHILE THE CITY HAS BEEN AFFORDED THE ABILITY TO FUND A GREAT DEAL FROM ITS GENERAL FUND, THE ANNUAL 6% OF ESTIMATED GENERAL FUND REVENUE STRUGGLES TO KEEP UP WITH THE PACE OF THE GROWING LIST OF PROJECTS AND FUNDING NEEDS CITYWIDE.

LASTLY, GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS CREATE ECONOMIC INSTABILITY, AS WE'VE SEEN MOST NOTABLY IN THE RISE OF OIL PRICES, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN MORE DETAIL WHEN WE DISCUSS SALES TAX.

NEXT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE PROJECTED REVENUES AND PROPOSED EXPENDITURES.

FIRST, STARTING ON A CITYWIDE BASIS, THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES ARE PROPOSED TO INCREASE BY 2.6%, CONSERVATIVELY BELOW CURRENT INFLATIONARY LEVELS THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING.

SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ARE PROPOSED TO DECREASE BY 27%.

THAT'S DRIVEN BY A ONE-TIME ENCAMPMENT RESOLUTION FUNDING THAT WAS RECEIVED IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR THAT IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE RECEIVED IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.

ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE PROPOSED TO INCREASE BY NEARLY 3%, MUCH OF WHICH IS DRIVEN BY PLANNED OR ANTICIPATED RATE INCREASES ACROSS WATER, POTABLE, RECYCLED WATER, AS WELL AS WASTEWATER SERVICES.

INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS ARE DECREASING BY NEARLY 3% IN AN EFFORT TO STABILIZE RESERVES IN BOTH FLEET AND IT REPLACEMENTS.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN MORE DETAILS IN A SLIDE TO COME.

FOR CITYWIDE EXPENSES, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THE GENERAL FUND IS PROPOSED TO INCREASE BY 2.8%, BELOW THE CURRENT INFLATIONARY LEVELS OF 3.7%.

SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ARE PROPOSED TO INCREASE BY 7%, AND THAT IS DRIVEN BY AN INCREASE IN FEDERALLY FUNDED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMING.

ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE BY 12%, MUCH

[01:00:01]

INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS ARE STAYING RELATIVELY CONSISTENT WITH A SLIGHT DECREASE OF APPROXIMATELY $600,000.

THERE ARE NORMAL OPERATING INCREASES IN SOME OF THE CITY'S INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS THAT ARE OFFSET BY REDUCTIONS IN THE CITY'S FLEET REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.

YOU MAY RECALL IN THE PRIOR YEAR, THE CYCLE OF VEHICLE REPLACEMENTS INVOLVED A COUPLE OF LARGE ITEMS, NAMELY FIRE TRUCKS, WHICH ARE NOT UP FOR REPLACEMENT IN THE UPCOMING YEAR.

NEXT, WE'LL BE DIVING DEEPER INTO GENERAL FUND REVENUES.

AGAIN, IN TOTAL, A 2.6% YEAR-OVER-YEAR PROPOSED GROWTH, AND I'LL BE SPEAKING TO EACH OF THESE BRIEFLY.

STARTING WITH PROPERTY TAX, IT CONTINUES TO BE THE LARGEST AND ONE OF THE MOST STABLE REVENUE SOURCES IN THE GENERAL FUND.

WHILE MUCH UNCERTAINTY EXISTS AROUND WHETHER INTEREST RATES WILL CONTINUE TO FALL OR CONTINUE TO HOLD STEADY, THE MEDIAN HOME PRICE IN CARLSBAD HAS STABILIZED AT APPROXIMATELY $1.35 MILLION.

THE COUNTY ASSESSOR'S OFFICE SETS THE PROPERTY TAX ROLE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 USING ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUES AS OF JANUARY 1ST OF 2026.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS EVEN IF THERE WERE TO BE A DECLINE IN PROPERTY VALUES, THE CITY WOULD NOT BE IMPACTED FROM A REVENUE STANDPOINT UNTIL THE SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEAR 27-28.

FOR SALES TAX, THE MOST ECONOMICALLY SENSITIVE REVENUE SOURCE IN THE GENERAL FUND IS ESTIMATED AT A CONSERVATIVE LEVEL OF $55 MILLION, REPRESENTING AN INCREASE OF $600,000 OR 1.2% COMPARED TO CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATES.

HOWEVER, COMPARED TO PREVIOUS BUDGET YEARS, WE ARE PLANNING FOR A CONSIDERABLE MARKDOWN IN OUR ESTIMATES AS A RESULT OF A TAXPAYER ERROR CORRECTION THAT WAS ULTIMATELY DETERMINED TO BE ONE TIME IN NATURE AS OPPOSED TO ONGOING.

THIS APPROXIMATE $4 MILLION REDUCTION COUPLED WITH A PULLBACK IN CONSUMER DEMAND ARE DRIVING THE CONSERVATIVE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS.

ANY POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS THAT MAY BE EXPERIENCED ACROSS VARIOUS INDUSTRY SECTORS THAT COMPRISE SALES TAX MAY BE OFFSET BY A POSITIVE UPTICK IN FUEL AND SERVICE STATIONS AS OIL PRICES CONTINUE TO SURGE.

TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY STABLE IN RECENT YEARS.

ANY POTENTIAL REDUCTION IN TRAVEL? OR TOURISM THAT MAY BE EXPERIENCED HAS BEEN AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO BE OFFSET BY A SLOW RETURN OF GROUP OR BUSINESS TRAVEL.

BASED ON THE TRENDS OF OCCUPANCY RATES AND AVERAGE DAILY ROOM RATES IN RECENT PERIODS, WE ARE CONTINUING TO APPLY A CONSERVATIVE OUTLOOK IN THE UPCOMING YEAR.

FOR FRANCHISE TAXES, THIS COMPRISES MOSTLY OF SDG&E, REPUBLIC SERVICES, AS WELL AS VARIOUS CABLE PROVIDERS.

WE ARE EXPECTING CONSERVATIVE GROWTH WHILE RECOGNIZING THAT WE DO CONTINUE TO SEE YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECLINES IN THE CITY'S CABLE FRANCHISE REVENUE AMOUNTS AS MORE FOLKS OR CUSTOMERS SWITCH OVER TO STREAMING PLATFORMS, WHICH ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE FRANCHISE FEE.

FOR BUSINESS LICENSE TAX REVENUES, WE ARE PROJECTING THEM TO REMAIN RELATIVELY FLAT.

WE HAVE SEEN CONSERVATIVE TO MODERATE NEW BUSINESS GROWTH, BUT MUCH OF OUR YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH HAS COME FROM PENALTY REVENUE, WHICH HAS BEEN TRENDING DOWNWARDS.

AS SUCH, WE ARE ANTICIPATING A MORE LEVEL YEAR IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.

FOR DEVELOPMENT REVENUES, WE ARE EXPECTING THEM TO INCREASE MODERATELY BY APPROXIMATELY 3.6%, AND VERY CLOSELY RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CITY'S RECENTLY COMPLETED USER FEE STUDY IN CONJUNCTION AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL'S COST RECOVERY POLICY NO.

95.

WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SLIDES THAT WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THE USER FEE STUDY.

AND MASTER FEE SCHEDULE IN MORE DETAIL.

AS FOR THE ALL OTHER REVENUE CATEGORY AT THE BOTTOM, THIS COMPRISES AND INCLUDES INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES OR REVENUES THAT THE CITY RECEIVES FROM OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.

IT INCLUDES LICENSES AND PERMITS, AMBULANCE FEES, RECREATION FEES, AS WELL AS INVESTMENT INCOME AND INTERDEPARTMENTAL CHARGES.

WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN MINOR FLUCTUATIONS IN A NUMBER OF THOSE CATEGORIES, IT HAS BEEN VERY MUCH BOTH DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR AS WELL AS PLANNED FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR BEEN BOLSTERED BY THE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS PERFORMANCE IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO THE RISE IN INTEREST RATES AND THE YIELD ON THE CITY'S GENERAL INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO LOOKING AT GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES, BY EXPENDITURE TYPE WE CAN SEE A 2.8% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE, MUCH OF WHICH RESIDES WITHIN THE PERSONNEL EXPENDITURE TYPE.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS REASONS FOR THIS, NAMELY NEW LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR BOTH CFA, FOR CCEA.

WE TALKED ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL

[01:05:02]

THE EMT RECLASSIFICATIONS TO PARAMEDIC FIREFIGHTERS, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL STAFFING SUPPORT FOR LIFEGUARDS, FOR MAINTENANCE, AND AQUATICS INSTRUCTORS AT THE ANTICIPATED REOPENING OF MONROE STREET POOL.

ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE IS MITIGATED BY REDUCTIONS IN OTHER AREAS OF SPEND.

MUCH OF THE INCREASES ACROSS PERSONNEL, CITY STAFF WERE AWARE OF.

AND WANTED TO PROACTIVELY MITIGATE THE IMPACTS ON THE GENERAL FUND.

FOR EXAMPLE, WITHIN MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS, WE ARE PROPOSING A $1.1 MILLION DECREASE YEAR OVER YEAR, AND THIS IS REALLY A REDUCTION OR A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ONE-TIME SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION IN COMPARISON WITH THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

A SIMILAR TREND CAN BE APPLIED FOR THE CAPITAL OUTLAY LINE ITEM.

THE MAJORITY OF THIS YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECREASE IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE $2.6 MILLION AERIAL LADDER TRUCK THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL ON A ONE-TIME BASIS LAST YEAR.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES AND SPECIFICALLY THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS THAT COMPRISE PERSONNEL, WE CAN SEE THE INCREASES FOR SALARIES AND WAGES FOR MANY OF THE REASONS THAT I CALLED UPON ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.

BUT I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT INCREASES.

TIED TO RETIREMENT BENEFITS OR CALPERS, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A 9.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE, MUCH OF WHICH HAS TO STILL DO WITH CALPERS' NEGATIVE INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE THAT THEY INCURRED BACK IN FISCAL YEAR 22 AND FISCAL YEAR 23.

WHEN CALPERS INCURS AN INVESTMENT LOSS OR AN INVESTMENT GAIN, THEY TAKE THAT AMOUNT AND AMORTIZE IT OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD AND BEYOND.

WE ARE STILL REALIZING THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF THAT POOR INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE, AND WE'LL HAVE A DEEPER CONVERSATION ON CALPERS IN JUST A MOMENT.

HEALTH INSURANCE RATES OR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY 6.5%.

THIS IS DUE TO INDIVIDUAL BENEFIT ELECTIONS AS WELL AS ANTICIPATED RATE INCREASES AND OTHER PERSONNEL LARGELY COMPRISED OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND ALSO DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THAT YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE.

WE DO LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT DURING THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET PRESENTATION TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW AREAS OF SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE THAT THE CITY PROVIDES THAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER ENTITIES WHETHER IT'S SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND SPECIFICALLY THE STATE PARKS DEPARTMENT.

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THOSE EXAMPLES FROM CROSSING GUARD SERVICES TO SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS TO PARKS AND BEACH MAINTENANCE APPROXIMATELY 1.1 MILLION DOLLARS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

SO HERE WE HAVE THE GENERAL FUND FORECAST THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 25-26.

THIS FOLLOWED THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF BUDGET REDUCTIONS SPANNING BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 23 AND FISCAL YEAR 25 THAT ACHIEVED APPROXIMATELY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN ANNUAL ONGOING SAVINGS.

THAT WAS COUPLED WITH POSITIVE REVENUE PERFORMANCE THROUGH THE SUSTAINED INFLATIONARY PERIOD AND AT THAT TIME THE CITY WAS SUCCESSFUL IN DELAYING THE PROJECTED FUTURE DEFICIT.

UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 31.

AS IS USUALLY THE CASE, MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.

WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT SOME OF THE COST INCREASES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FROM LABOR AGREEMENTS TO ADDITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY INVESTMENTS, AS WELL AS THE MONROE STREET POOL REOPENING.

BUT JUST AS, IF NOT MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, WAS THE REDUCTION IN SALES TAX.

WITH THE TAXPAYER ERROR CORRECTION BEING ONE TIME IN NATURE AS OPPOSED TO ONGOING, THAT HAS IMPACTED OUR OUTLOOK IN EACH OF THE YEARS OF THE FORECAST.

WHEN WE COMPARE THE PROPOSED SURPLUS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR TO LAST YEAR, WE'RE SEEING AN APPROXIMATE $3 MILLION DECLINE, MUCH OF THAT AND REALLY ALL OF THAT HAVING TO DO WITH THE SALES TAX ADJUSTMENT.

BECAUSE IT IS RATHER THAN ONE TIME AND ONGOING IN NATURE, THAT FLOWS THROUGH EACH OF THE OUT YEARS.

OF THE FORECAST.

NOW THROUGH THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND AS HAS BEEN THE CASE IN PREVIOUS YEARS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED AN INITIAL BUDGET SURPLUS IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR OF 5.7 MILLION DOLLARS AND AN ANNUAL BASIS MAKE STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER.

THIS YEAR, THE CITY MANAGER IS RECOMMENDING A $5 MILLION ONE-TIME TRANSFER TO THE STORMWATER PROTECTION PROGRAM BE CONSIDERED.

AND THE CITY COUNCIL MAY RECALL A SIMILAR RECOMMENDATION AS PART OF LAST YEAR'S ADOPTED BUDGET, AS WELL AS LAST YEAR'S CARRY-FORWARD REPORT.

[01:10:01]

IF THE CITY COUNCIL WERE TO ADOPT THE BUDGET ON JUNE 16TH, AS PROPOSED THIS EVENING, THIS IS A LOOK AT THE FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

WE ALWAYS SAY THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A FINANCIAL FORECAST, TO TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, WE ARE USING CURRENT DATA AVAILABLE AS OF THIS POINT IN TIME.

AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT DRIVE THE FORECAST THAT ARE CHANGING EVERY SINGLE MOMENT, FROM ONE MOMENT TO THE NEXT.

AND SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AND USING A FORECAST, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS NOT SO MUCH A COMMITMENT OR A SPENDING PLAN, BUT RATHER A TOOL AND A MEANS TO ENSURE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS ABLE TO CONTINUE MAKING THE MOST INFORMED DECISIONS AS POSSIBLE.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FIVE YEARS HERE THAT ARE PROJECTED WE ARE LOOKING AT PROJECTED SURPLUSES AND DEFICITS PLUS OR MINUS ROUGHLY $1 MILLION, WHICH IS A STRONG INDICATION THAT THE CITY IS WORKING WITHIN ITS MEANS AND DOING WHAT IT CAN TO MITIGATE AND MANAGE ANY CURRENT AND FUTURE COST INCREASES.

AND WHAT IS PARTICULARLY UNIQUE WITH THIS FIVE-YEAR OUTLOOK IS THE LAST THREE YEARS OF THIS CHART, AND PARTICULARLY IN RESPECT AND COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST VERSIONS THAT WE HAVE SHARED WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.

WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING IS A DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF THAT PROJECTED DEFICIT, OR IN OTHER WORDS, AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CITY'S PROJECTED FINANCIAL POSITION.

AND THAT IS DRIVEN BY TWO MAIN REASONS.

ONE, THE CITY'S LABOR AGREEMENTS ACROSS ALL BARGAINING GROUPS AND BARGAINING UNITS HAVE TERMS BETWEEN THREE AND THREE AND A HALF YEARS.

WHEN THOSE AGREEMENTS BEGIN TO TERM OUT DURING FISCAL YEAR 28-29, FROM A FINANCIAL PLANNING AND FORECASTING PERSPECTIVE, WE REVERT BACK TO MORE CONSERVATIVE WAGE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS, WHICH IS HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE OUTLOOK.

SECONDLY, AND MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, IS CALPERS.

I REFERENCED EARLIER THAT CALPERS INCURRED SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT LOSSES IN FISCAL YEAR 22 AND FISCAL YEAR 23.

HOWEVER, TO CALPERS' CREDIT, THEY DID ACHIEVE HIGH INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE IN BOTH FISCAL YEAR 24 AND EVEN STRONGER IN FISCAL YEAR 25.

BECAUSE THERE IS A TIMING DELAY FOR WHEN CALPERS IS...

CALPERS ACTUALLY ACHIEVES AN INVESTMENT RETURN AND WHEN THAT BEGINS IMPACTING MEMBER AGENCIES, WE'RE REALLY NOT BEGINNING TO REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF THAT UNTIL ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

BUT WE WILL SEE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THE ANNUAL REQUIRED CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THE CITY HAS TO MAKE TO CALPERS DECREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.

NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS ENTERPRISE FUNDS BRIEFLY.

WE DO AT THE CITY HAVE WATER, SEWER, OR WASTEWATER, AS WELL AS SOLID WASTE, AND OF COURSE THE CROSSINGS GOLF COURSE.

THESE ARE DIFFERENT REVENUE SOURCES AND OPERATE DIFFERENTLY THAN THAT OF THE GENERAL FUND THROUGH RATEPAYER FEES.

THERE IS INHERENTLY LESS VOLATILITY, AND ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE, WE DO AS AN ORGANIZATION WITHIN ENTERPRISE FUNDS HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE FUND BALANCES.

AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE ENTERPRISE REVENUES AND EXPENSES, WHEN EXPENSES EXCEED REVENUES, AND IN THIS CASE FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR BY AN AMOUNT OF $2.5 MILLION, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THERE IS $41.3 MILLION THAT HAS BEEN ACCUMULATED AND IS AVAILABLE.

IT IS NEVER BY ACCIDENT THAT EXPENSES WILL EXCEED REVENUES.

WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, BUT RATHER IT IS BY DESIGN AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH RATE STUDIES THAT ARE PREPARED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, AND ALSO AS PART OF STRATEGIC RESERVE MANAGEMENT ACROSS POTABLE, RECYCLED, AND WASTEWATER PROGRAMS. SO NEXT WE WILL BE TALKING, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH EACH OF THE FUNCTIONAL AREAS OR BRANCHES AND TALKING ABOUT YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGES.

FIRST, STARTING WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IN TOTAL A 7% INCREASE.

MUCH OF THAT IS RELATED TO THE ADDITION OF THE COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAM.

WE CAN SEE THE FULL-TIME PERSONNEL YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE REFLECTING THAT.

FOR INTERDEPARTMENTAL CHARGES, I'LL EXPLAIN THIS ONCE, BUT OF COURSE AS MANY TIMES AS NEEDED, THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL BRANCHES, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECREASES.

RESIDING WITHIN THE FLEET REPLACEMENT AND IT REPLACEMENT, AND THIS IS A STRATEGIC EFFORT TO ALIGN AND MANAGE RESERVE BALANCES IN THOSE RESPECTIVE PROGRAMS. AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, THOSE PROGRAMS WILL BE CHARGING OTHER

[01:15:03]

NEXT FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE ARE SEEING INCREASES IN PERSONNEL RELATED TO, PARTIALLY RELATED TO THE PROPOSED RECLASSIFICATION OF SIX EMTS TO PARAMEDIC FIREFIGHTERS.

AGAIN, AS MS. ROCHA HAD NOTED, A STRATEGIC EFFORT TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE AND THE OVERALL CAPABILITY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF WHILE ALSO NOT INCREASING THE TOTAL HEADCOUNT FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

WITHIN THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS LINE, WE'RE SEEING A YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECREASE THAT IS MOSTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE ONE-TIME $2.6 MILLION AERIAL LADDER TRUCK THAT WAS AUTHORIZED AS PART OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET.

ADDITIONALLY, AND AS PART OF EXHIBIT 7, WHICH DETAILS ALL OF THE ONE-TIME AND ONGOING SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO REQUESTING FUNDING FOR PORTABLE RADIO REPLACEMENT, FIRE VENTILATION TRAINING, PROP CONSTRUCTION, AND INCREASES FOR NORTH COUNTY DISPATCH JPA SERVICES.

NEXT, FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS BRANCH, WE ARE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR OF NEARLY $20 MILLION, OR 11%.

AND AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THIS, APPROXIMATELY $16 MILLION, IS DUE TO A ONE TIME TRANSFER FROM RECYCLED WATER OPERATING TO RECYCLED WATER CAPITAL THAT WAS AUTHORIZED AS PART OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET ON A ONE TIME BASIS.

ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE SEEING OUR STANDARD INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR FOR SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY AND THE WATER THAT THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT PURCHASES.

INCREASES FOR ENCINO WASTEWATER AUTHORITY BY ACIDOS WATER DISTRICT.

AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL FUNDING REQUESTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND UPDATES OF DEPARTMENT-WIDE MASTER PLANS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS.

ADDITIONAL BUDGET FOR ALL-WAY STOP ANALYSIS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS CITYWIDE.

DRAINAGE CHANNEL MAINTENANCE, AS WELL AS INCREASES FOR THE CITY STREET SWEEPING CONTRACT.

NEXT, WE HAVE COMMUNITY SERVICES.

A YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE OF 5%.

WE'RE SEEING INCREASES IN PERSONNEL RELATED TO NEGOTIATED COMPENSATION INCREASES AS WELL AS RETIREMENT AND HEALTH COSTS, AS WELL AS THE ADDITION OF 4.39 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS.

THIS IS THE FULL-TIME MAINTENANCE WORKER AND 3.39 PART-TIME POSITIONS FOR ADDITIONAL LIFEGUARDS AND AQUATICS INSTRUCTORS AT THE MONROE STREET POOL.

THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS BUDGET IS INCREASING.

FOR TWO PRIMARY REASONS, ONE, AND WE CAN SEE THE INCREASE IN THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDING SOURCES, THIS IS FEDERALLY FUNDED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FUNDING, AS WELL AS FOR THE CROSSINGS GOLF COURSE, APPROXIMATELY $1 MILLION.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT FOR THE GOLF COURSE, ANY PROPOSED INCREASES IN EXPENSES ARE OFFSET AND PLANNED FOR IN ACCORDANCE WITH ESTIMATED REVENUES FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.

NOW WHILE THE VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK PROJECT HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED BOTH FROM A FUNDING STANDPOINT AS WELL AS A CONSTRUCTION AWARD STANDPOINT BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

THE MAJORITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE UPCOMING YEAR AND DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT EFFORT, AND WE ARE EXCITED FOR THAT PROJECT TO PROGRESS.

ALSO, THE RENOVATION AND THE ANTICIPATED REOPENING OF THE MONROE STREET POOL LATER THIS FALL.

THERE ARE ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS FOR...

PARKS MAINTENANCE OUTSIDE SERVICE AGREEMENT INCREASES, A $15,000 REQUEST FOR TREE LIGHTING AT THE HOLIDAY AT THE RANCHO EVENT, AND, OF COURSE, HIGHLIGHTING THE CONTINUATION OF SUNDAY LIBRARY HOURS, WHICH RETURN FOR THE FIRST FULL YEAR DURING FISCAL YEAR 25-26.

FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS OF ABOUT 1%.

THIS INCLUDES INCREASES FOR ITEMS. SUCH AS WORKERS' COMPENSATION THAT ARE OFFSET BY SAVINGS IN OTHER AREAS LIKE HUMAN RESOURCES WITH FEWER PLANNED EXPENDITURES FOR THE CITY'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REPLACEMENT NEEDS.

NO CHANGES IN STAFFING AND AN OVERALL 4% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.

WHILE THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC BRANCH BUDGET REQUESTS RELATED TO CORE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION, THIS IS THE CITYWIDE EFFORT TO REPLACE AND UPDATE ITS FINANCE AND HR SYSTEMS, AMONG MANY OTHERS.

WE DO WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY

[01:20:01]

STAFF THROUGHOUT THE BRANCH AND REALLY THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK, AND WHILE THERE IS STILL A GREAT DEAL OF WORK TO BE DONE, WE ARE HOPEFUL AND EXCITED TO FINALLY, GO LIVE AND FOR STAFF AND CUSTOMERS ALIKE TO REALIZE THE BENEFITS.

FROM A BUDGET REQUEST STANDPOINT AND ALSO INCLUDED IN EXHIBIT 7, THERE IS A $583,000 COMPREHENSIVE REQUEST FOR ALL IT APPLICATIONS AND SOFTWARE AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR AND, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, A $500,000 INCREASE FOR ADDITIONAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUNDING.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE POLICY AND LEADERSHIP, YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE OF 12%.

THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASES THAT WE'RE SEEING, AND ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THE SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS, RESIDE IN THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS LINE, NEARLY $300,000, OF WHICH THE MAJORITY IS RELATED TO THE UPCOMING NOVEMBER ELECTION FOR 2026.

$265,000 IS ESTIMATED FOR THAT EFFORT.

ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS $65,000 THAT'S ALSO BEING REQUESTED FOR THE CITY'S FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE, WHICH WILL COVER THE PERIOD 2028 THROUGH 2032.

AND ALSO WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY TREASURER, A $50,000 TOTAL REQUEST WITHIN THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

THAT INCLUDES A SUBSCRIPTION FOR A BLOOMBERG TERMINAL AS WELL AS AD HOC CONSULTING SERVICES.

SO NEXT WE WILL BE COVERING A FEW SLIDES REGARDING FEES AND THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE.

FIRST WE'LL GO OVER THE FEE INCREASES BASED ON INDEX.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE USER FEE STUDY AS WELL AS THE COST RECOVERY POLICY.

SO ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WE ALWAYS REPORT OUT TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND TO THE COMMUNITY THE VARIOUS INDEXES THAT ARE APPLIED TO THE CITY'S FEE CATEGORIES AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE INCREASING FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE INDEX IS ALWAYS UM IS ALWAYS LOOKED AT AND APPLIED AS OF JANUARY OF 2026, AND THAT WAS A RELATIVELY LOW INFLATIONARY PERIOD YEAR OVER YEAR.

AND WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE THAT IN COMPARISON WITH FISCAL YEAR 25 AND FISCAL YEAR 26, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASES IN THE UPCOMING YEAR RANGING AS LOW AS 0.4% AND AS HIGH AS 2.7%.

FOR THE USER FEE STUDY, THIS WAS A CITYWIDE EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF.

DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS WITH OUR CONSULTANT MBS, FIRST IN COMPLETING THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS.

THIS WAS AN EXERCISE WHERE STAFF DETERMINED THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES TO COMPLETE A PARTICULAR TASK ASSOCIATED WITH A FEE TYPE.

AT THAT POINT, A FULLY BURDENED HOURLY RATE, WHICH INCLUDES LABOR AS WELL AS INDIRECT COSTS, IS APPLIED TO COME UP WITH THE FULL COST OF SERVICE.

THIS IN ESSENCE IS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE FEE AMOUNT THAT THE CITY CAN CHARGE.

AT THAT POINT, DEPARTMENTS REVIEWED AND MADE DETERMINATIONS AS TO WHAT ADDITIONS TO THE SCHEDULE AND WHAT DELETIONS TO THE SCHEDULE AND OTHER REVISIONS AS NECESSARY WERE NEEDED.

A TOTAL OF 35 FEES ARE PROPOSED TO BE ADDED AS A RESULT OF THE STUDY.

HOWEVER, 36 FEES ARE PROPOSED TO BE DELETED.

SO AS A RESULT OF THE FEE STUDY, THERE IS ONE LESS FEE THAT WILL BE PROPOSED FOR THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE.

THE THIRD AND FINAL STEP PERTAINS TO COST RECOVERY AND IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, SPECIFICALLY AROUND CITY COUNCIL POLICY NO.

95, WHICH, DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF INDIVIDUAL VERSUS COMMUNITY BENEFIT, THE RISK OF NONCOMPLIANCE, AS WELL AS OTHER MARKET CONSIDERATIONS, SETS FEE TYPES AT EITHER A LOW-, MID-, OR HIGH-COST RECOVERY LEVEL.

THE USER FEE STUDY DETERMINES THE FULL COST OF SERVICES, BUT THE COST RECOVERY POLICY IS WHAT DICTATES WHAT THE ACTUAL FEE AMOUNT SHALL BE.

CURRENTLY, THE COST RECOVERY POLICY, NUMBER 95, REQUIRES ANY FEE INCREASE IMPLEMENTATIONS TO SPAN NO LONGER THAN THREE YEARS.

AS A RESULT OF THE USER FEE STUDY THAT HAS SINCE BEEN COMPLETED, THERE ARE PROPOSED FEE INCREASES, SOME OF WHICH ARE NOT SO SIGNIFICANT AND MAY BE IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY IN YEAR ONE, AND OTHER FEE INCREASES THAT MAY BE MORE SIGNIFICANT.

AND AS SUCH, IN AN EFFORT TO TAKE A MORE THOUGHTFUL APPROACH WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION, STAFF WILL BE PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THIS POLICY ON JUNE 16TH TO INCREASE THAT TIME FRAME FROM THREE YEARS TO FIVE YEARS, AND IN SOME EXCEPTIONAL CASES EVEN BEYOND, OF COURSE, SUBJECT TO CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.

SO FOR ANY FEES THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUTSIDE OF THE POLICY RANGE, THEY WILL BE PHASED IN BETWEEN ONE AND FIVE YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL

[01:25:01]

THIS SLIDE WILL HOPEFULLY PROVIDE A BIT MORE CONTEXT IN TERMS OF WHERE, FROM A DEPARTMENT AND DIVISION STANDPOINT, THE CITY IS CURRENTLY RECOVERING COSTS ON AN AVERAGE BASIS.

THE MIDDLE COLUMN SHOWS, BASED ON THE FIRST YEAR OF FEE INCREASE IMPLEMENTATION, WHERE THAT UPDATED COST RECOVERY LEVEL WOULD BE.

AS WE CAN SEE, AND AS NOTED IN THE EXHIBITS, THE AVERAGE COST RECOVERY CITYWIDE IS 45%.

AND TRANSLATED TO A DOLLAR STANDPOINT, THAT MEANS APPROXIMATELY $6.7 MILLION IS UNRECOVERED IN ANY GIVEN YEAR.

NOW, THE GOAL OF GOING THROUGH A USER FEE STUDY IS NOT TO ACHIEVE 100% COST RECOVERY, BUT RATHER IT IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE CLEAR AND UPDATED FIGURES FOR THE FULL COST OF THE SERVICES THAT CITY STAFF PROVIDE FOR ITS COMMUNITY.

AND IMPORTANTLY THAT THE FEES THAT WE'RE CHARGING ARE SET IN ACCORDANCE WITH CITY COUNCIL'S COST RECOVERY POLICY.

THE NUMBERS ON THE FAR RIGHT ARE ROUGH ESTIMATES OF POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT COULD BE GENERATED IN THE FIRST YEAR FOLLOWING IMPLEMENTATION.

IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT AS THE VOLUME AS WELL AS THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF A PARTICULAR APPLICATION OR REQUEST FOR SERVICE CAN VARY SO DRASTICALLY FROM ONE APPLICATION OR SERVICE REQUEST TO ANOTHER.

SO NEXT WE'LL BE TALKING FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT THE STRATEGIC DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INVESTMENT PROGRAM.

THIS IS A FIVE-YEAR PLAN THAT INCLUDES 35 PROJECTS VALUED AT $42.1 MILLION.

THERE ARE THREE NEW PROJECTS THAT ARE PROPOSED FOR CITY COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION, THE FIRST BEING AN AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER REPLACEMENT, INTERSECTION TRAFFIC DETECTION UPGRADES, AS WELL AS ONLINE SERVICES FOR ADA COMPLIANCE, A TOTAL OF $1.1 MILLION.

FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.

AND HERE IS A LIST OF CONTINUING OR ONGOING PROJECTS WITH NEW FUNDING REQUESTS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER FROM ANNUAL HARDWARE AND INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT, AV UPGRADES, CORE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION, CYBER SECURITY, AS WELL AS FACILITY SECURITY MASTER PLAN.

AND HERE ARE THE CONTINUING PROJECTS OR ONGOING PROJECTS.

THAT DO NOT COME WITH ADDITIONAL OR NEW FUNDING REQUESTS.

A TOTAL OF $6.2 MILLION IN PREVIOUS AUTHORIZED FUNDING BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

AS PART OF COUNCIL POLICY NUMBER 91, WHICH STIPULATES 6% OF ESTIMATED GENERAL FUND REVENUES ARE TO BE TRANSFERRED TO GENERAL CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION, INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT, AS WELL AS TECHNOLOGY.

THIS BEING THE THIRD FUNDING SOURCE AND FUNDING RECIPIENT OF THE GENERAL FUND.

THIS IS A FIVE-YEAR LOOK AT THE PROJECTIONS OF THE FISCAL HEALTH OF THAT FUND.

STARTING WITH A REMAINING BALANCE OF $3.2 MILLION, WE FACTOR IN THE FIVE YEARS OF ESTIMATED TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND.

WE DEDUCT THE PLANNED NEW SPENDING OF $12 MILLION OVER THAT FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, RESULTING IN A PROJECTED ENDING BALANCE OF NEARLY $19 MILLION.

LASTLY, WE HAVE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.

AND FIRST IS A LOOK AT THE COMPLETED PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTING OR NOTING THE STRATEGIC PLAN PROJECTS FROM AVENIDA AND CENAS COASTAL RAIL TRAIL AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS, THE CARLSBAD BOULEVARD PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS THE SHULMAN AUDITORIUM.

ONE IMPORTANT NOTE IS THAT THROUGH THE COMPLETION OF THESE PROJECTS, THEY WERE COMPLETED UNDER BUDGET, AND A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $4.8 MILLION WILL BE RETURNED TO EACH OF THE RESPECTIVE FUNDING SOURCES.

ON THIS SLIDE AND THE FOLLOWING SLIDE, WE HAVE A LIST OF THE PRIORITY PROJECTS AS SET FORTH IN THE FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE PLANNED CONSTRUCTION FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.

AND HERE WE HAVE A VISUALIZATION SHOWING THE 15-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE FOUR DISTRICTS AND ALSO PRESENTED BY PROJECT TYPE OR DEPARTMENT.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHAT IS NOT INDICATED ON THIS MAP ARE 59 CITY-WIDE PROJECTS WHERE MULTIPLE DISTRICTS ARE REPRESENTED FOR EACH OF THOSE 59 PROJECTS.

AND HERE WE HAVE THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR REQUEST

[01:30:01]

NEXT, FOLLOWED BY UTILITIES, FACILITIES, AND PARKS.

AND ONE IMPORTANT NOTE IS THAT THE FORECASTED CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE INCLUDED IN THESE FIGURES.

AND HERE WE HAVE THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR REQUEST BY CATEGORY, AS INCLUDED IN THE CIP DOCUMENT, BROKEN OUT BETWEEN MAINTENANCE AND ENTERPRISE FUNDS, CRITICAL NEED, STRATEGIC PLAN PROJECTS, AND THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN REMOVED, COMPLETED, OR CLOSED OUT.

THERE ARE SIX NEW PROJECTS THAT WE'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT ARE PROPOSED TO BE ADDED TO THE CAPITAL PROGRAM, FOUR OF WHICH RESIDE IN THE UTILITIES DIVISION FOR LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS, SEWER IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.

FOR GENERAL FACILITIES, WE ARE PROPOSING THE ADDITION OF A DOVE LIBRARY HVAC REFURBISHMENT, AS WELL AS LEO CARRILLO RANCH STAIR REPLACEMENT.

AND LASTLY, THERE ARE FIVE PROJECTS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED FOR REMOVAL.

A TOTAL FUNDING AMOUNT OF NEARLY $1.9 MILLION WILL BE RETURNED TO THE RESPECTIVE FUNDING SOURCES.

AND AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO OUR CITY MANAGER FOR CLOSING REMARKS.

THANK YOU, ZACH.

THERE IS A LOT TO DIGEST FROM TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION.

THERE'S ONE THEME IN PARTICULAR THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THE COUNCIL AND OUR RESIDENTS, AND THAT'S THIS.

AS A CITY, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS AND WE'RE COMPLETING MORE PROJECTS THAN WE ARE ADDING NEW PROJECTS TO LISTS.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OLDER, PLANNED PROJECTS TO DETERMINE IF THEY STILL MAKE SENSE, AND IF NOT, WE ARE STOPPING THEM OR REIMAGINING THEM.

IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE WILL BE SPLASHING AROUND IN A REMODELED MONROE STREET POOL.

WE'LL BE TURNING ON THE LIGHTS IN 121 LOCATIONS IN THE BARRIO, PROVIDING A MUCH-NEEDED BENEFIT TO AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CITY.

WE ALSO SEE CONSTRUCTION BEGIN AT THE FUTURE HOME OF WHAT WILL BE THE CITY'S LARGEST PARK, VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK, AND WE WILL ALL EXPERIENCE THE BENEFITS OF THE FIRST COMPLETED PHASE OF A WIDENED AND ENHANCED EL CAMINO REAL.

WHILE ALL THESE MEANINGFUL PROJECTS TAKE SHAPE AND COME TO FRUITION IN OUR COMMUNITY, RESIDENTS WILL CONTINUE TO DRIVE ON SMOOTH ROADS, DRINK CLEAN WATER, EXPERIENCE ENHANCED POLICE SERVICES THROUGH A NEW COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING TEAM, AND REST EASY WITH EXPANDED FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITIES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES.

THIS IS WHAT A HEALTHY, VIBRANT LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATION LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE ARE UNITED AS A COUNCIL AND A CITY WORKFORCE, DELIVERING ON THE PROMISES MADE TO OUR RESIDENTS.

THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT OR AREAS WHERE WE CAN DO BETTER, AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CRITICAL PRIORITIES THAT WILL COMMAND OUR ATTENTION, LIKE INVESTING IN OUR CITY'S AGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

BUT AS WE HEAD INTO THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, BEGINNING WITH THIS PRELIMINARY BUDGET, THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR FOR CARLSBAD LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.

SO IN CLOSING...

I WANT TO THANK THE FINANCE TEAM FOR THIS GREAT BUDGET AND RECOGNIZE ALL OF OUR CITY EMPLOYEES WHOSE SERVICE, ENERGY, AND OUTSTANDING WORK EVERY DAY MAKE CARLSBAD SUCH A GREAT CITY.

IT'S THROUGH THEIR DEDICATION AND COUNCIL'S DIRECTION THAT WE WILL DELIVER ON THE VISION AND PROMISES OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET WE ARE SO PLEASED TO PRESENT TO YOU THIS EVENING.

AND WITH THAT, WE'RE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS? THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS.

QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? YES.

MR. SHEN.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

JUST TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.

SLIDE 15 SHOWS THE PENSION FUNDING.

IT SHOWS US IT'S 76%. AND THEN JUST TO CONFIRM, THAT 4% GAP IS ABOUT ROUGHLY $40 MILLION, AND $30 MILLION OF IT IS WE HAVE A TRUST FOR THAT.

SO WE JUST HAVE THAT 1% GAP AT $10 MILLION.

YES, THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER.

THAT IS CORRECT.

THE SHORTFALL FROM 76% TO 80%.

REPRESENTS A $40 MILLION VALUE WITH $30 MILLION SET ASIDE IN THE 115 TRUST, RESULTING IN A $10 MILLION SHORTFALL OR ONE PERCENTAGE POINT.

WITH FLUCTUATIONS THAT CAN OCCUR JUST BECAUSE OF HOW THE MARKET WORKS IN CALPERS INVESTMENTS? CORRECT, YES.

CALPERS' INVESTMENT YEAR WILL END ON JUNE 30TH, AND WE WILL BE REPORTING BACK OUT TO CITY COUNCIL AT THE END OF THE SUMMER.

I FORGOT TO ASK THIS IN OUR BRIEFING, BUT SO THE COST RECOVERY SCHEDULE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IT MARCH OUT FOR, YOU SAID, LIKE SOMETHING LIKE.

THREE TO FIVE YEARS, ESSENTIALLY.

WITH THAT ADJUSTMENT, ARE YOU MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT AS EVERY YEAR GOES? WE'VE SCHEDULED THIS THING OUT, BUT CAN THE ADJUSTMENT ALSO BE MADE ON THE FLY, ESSENTIALLY, ONE YEAR GOES BY AND WE REALIZE WE NEED TO UPTICK OR DECREASE? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE ARE PLANNING TO PROPORTIONALLY INCREASE THOSE FEES.

IF A FEE IS SET TO INCREASE BY $100 OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, THEN $20 EACH YEAR.

HOWEVER, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND EVEN MORE SO FREQUENTLY AS NEEDED, WE CAN REEVALUATE.

PART OF THE CONSIDERATION IS MARKET COMPARISONS AND WHAT IS

[01:35:01]

TO EVALUATE ARE WHERE OTHER CITIES SET THEIR FEES AND WHAT METHODOLOGY THEY'RE USING AND THEIR RESPECTIVE LEVELS, DESIRED LEVELS OF COST RECOVERY, BOTH DESIRED AND ACTUAL.

AND SO ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WE WILL BE RE-EVALUATING WHERE WE'RE AT IN RESPECT TO THE COST RECOVERY POLICY, AND THEN ALSO SOME OF OUR MARKET COMPARATORS.

AND WE HAVE A DISCRETION TO ADJUST THAT ALL THE WAY UP TO 100%, BUT BEYOND THAT, WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY, THAT'S ALL.

SINCE YOU HAVE THAT SLIDE UP, JUST A REAL QUICK QUESTION ON IT.

NOT THAT WE'RE IN COMPETITION WITH OCEANSIDE, BUT TO BE COMPLETELY ACCURATE, OCEANSIDE CHOSE TO SEND THE MONEY TO CALPERS.

WE CHOSE TO PUT IT IN A TRUST.

WHEN OCEANSIDE SENDS IT TO CALPERS, THAT'S REFLECTED ON THIS GRAPH.

WHEN WE CHOSE TO PUT IT INTO A TRUST, IT'S NOT REFLECTED ON THIS GRAPH.

IS THAT RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.

SO IF WE WANTED TO MAKE THAT AN ACCURATE COMPARISON, WHERE WOULD WE STAND WITH OUR MONEY IN OUR PENSION TRUST? IF WE HAD SENT THAT MONEY TO CALPERS, TECHNICALLY IT'S STILL THERE.

WHERE WOULD THAT PUT US IN THAT PERCENTAGE CATEGORY? THANK YOU, MAYOR.

TO BE FAIR, OCEANSIDE ALSO HAS A SECTION 115 TRUST THAT THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED WITH A BALANCE OF APPROXIMATELY $15 MILLION, I BELIEVE.

SO IF THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE AND THE CITY OF CARLSBAD ELECTED TO TAKE THE FUNDS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE TRUSTS AND GIVE IT TO CALPERS, BOTH AGENCIES WOULD PROBABLY BE VERY CLOSE TO 79%. THANK YOU.

MS. BURKHOLDER.

THANK YOU.

I HAVE COMMENTS, BUT I WAS JUST THINKING OF THIS DURING YOUR PRESENTATION.

THE COMMUNITY WILL BE WEIGHING IN ON THIS BUDGET, THE 21ST, CORRECT? THURSDAY, BECAUSE WE VOTED AND APPROVED WATER RATE INCREASES, BUT THE WATER IS ACTUALLY LESS NOW BECAUSE WE WERE KIND OF DOING AN ANTICIPATORY, LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERED KIND OF VOTE.

I'M WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO EXPLAIN TO THE PUBLIC WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON WITH WATER.

AND I KNOW YOU DIDN'T GET INTO THAT TONIGHT BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE HELPFUL BECAUSE IT.

IN MY COMMENTS, I'LL SORT OF EXPLAIN WHY I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.

THANKS.

YES, YES.

MS. ACOSTA.

THANK YOU.

I JUST HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.

ONE WAS ABOUT OUR APPROACH AND BEING VERY CAREFUL, FISCALLY DISCIPLINED, AND ALSO MAYBE...

UNDERESTIMATING POSSIBLY SOME REVENUES BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN SO IN LOOKING AT THE REVENUES COMING IN CAN YOU KIND OF JUST GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THE APPROACH OF OUR STAFF IN KIND OF BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE AND IN TAKING THE DATA THAT'S OUT THERE AND ESTIMATING WHAT KIND OF REVENUE WE MIGHT HAVE COMING IN YES THANK YOU COUNCILMEMBER SO ON THE SLIDE BEFORE YOU THIS IS A LOOK AGAIN, A SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES, AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PROPERTY TAX, WHICH AGAIN IS RELATIVELY STABLE EVEN DURING PERIODS OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, WE ARE TAKING A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, NAMELY WITH SALES TAX, WHICH ALREADY IN THE CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATES FACTORS IN THE $4 MILLION REDUCTION THAT WAS INCLUDED IN PREVIOUSLY BUDGETED YEARS.

EXPANDING THROUGH REALLY ALL OF THE REVENUE CATEGORIES, HOVERING AROUND 1% WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DEVELOPMENT REVENUES WITH ANTICIPATED FIRST YEAR IMPLEMENTATION USER FEE INCREASES.

AND AGAIN, LOOKING AT YEAR OVER YEAR INCREASES OF 2.6%, THERE IS SOME CORRELATION FOR REVENUE GROWTH WITH INFLATION.

AND NOTING THAT THAT IS MORE THAN ONE PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW CURRENT LEVELS OF INFLATION, WE DO FEEL.

THE LEVEL OF CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES IS SUFFICIENT, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

I THINK THAT WAS THE ANSWER TO MY QUESTION ABOUT OUR APPROACH, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST THIS YEAR.

IT'S LONGSTANDING, AND IT'S PART OF WHAT HELPS OUR CITY STAY SO STRONG.

AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE PROCESS.

I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE ARE SETTING THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR JUNE 16TH.

AND WE'LL BE COLLECTING FEEDBACK.

CAN YOU REMIND US AGAIN ABOUT MAY 21ST BUDGET WORKSHOP, WHERE AND WHEN AND WHAT IS THAT FOR? YES, THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER.

THE COMMUNITY BUDGET WORKSHOP

[01:40:02]

WE WILL HAVE OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM THERE AND AVAILABLE.

WE'LL BE PROVIDING THE EXACT SAME PRESENTATION THAT WE DO FOR THE CITY COUNCIL THIS EVENING AND AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AND TAKING THE INPUT THAT OUR RESIDENTS.

PROVIDE TO US, AND OF COURSE, RELAYING THAT BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON JUNE 16TH AS PART OF FINAL ADOPTION.

GREAT.

SO WE'LL BE COLLECTING FEEDBACK THIS WHOLE TIME, AND THEY CAN COME ASK QUESTIONS.

IT'S AN INTERACTIVE KIND OF Q&A PART OF THE COMMUNITY BUDGET WORKSHOP ON THE 21ST. AND THEN ON THE JUNE 16TH, WHEN WE BRING THIS BACK, WE WILL BRING THAT FEEDBACK THAT YOU ALL HAVE HEARD, THAT OUR STAFF HAS HEARD, AND THAT WE HAVE HEARD INTO THAT DECISION-MAKING ON JUNE 16TH.

THAT IS CORRECT.

OKAY, GREAT.

THANK YOU.

MS. BAPACHAL.

YES, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER.

SO JUST A FEW QUESTIONS, EXCUSE ME.

WITH REGARDS TO THE GENERAL FUND AND JUST THE SURPLUS THAT YOU MENTIONED, WE HAD ABOUT, OR NOT THE SURPLUS, SORRY, IN THE RESERVES.

YOU MENTIONED THAT FOR THE RESERVES WE ARE AT, AFTER, IF WE WERE TO TALK ABOUT THE TRANSFER, WE'D BE AT ABOUT $145 MILLION.

IS THAT CORRECT? SO WE'D BE $45 MILLION ABOVE WHAT OUR POLICY REQUIRES? THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

AND THEN WITH THE COSTS ASSOCIATED IN THE POLICY AND LEADERSHIP TEAMS, THE INCREASES THAT WE SAW IN THE COSTS, THAT WAS BASED ON WHAT YOU SAID FOR THE ELECTION AND FOR A CONSULTANT FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE THAT WE'LL BE SEEING, JUST TO CONFIRM THAT.

THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

AND THEN I KNOW THERE WERE A COUPLE OF ACRONYMS MENTIONED DURING THE PERSONNEL PORTION AND THE INCREASES THAT WE SAW THERE, WHICH WERE CFA AND CCEA.

I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU.

I KNOW THAT WE HERE KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND.

SHARING AND THEN MAYBE ELABORATING ON THAT PIECE SO THAT IF FOLKS DIDN'T REMEMBER WHY WE SAID THAT, IF YOU COULD JUST RESHARE THAT PIECE.

OF COURSE.

THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.

SO CFA REFERS TO THE CARLSBAD FIRE ASSOCIATION, WHICH JUST HAD THEIR RESPECTIVE LABOR AGREEMENT AUTHORIZED BY THE CITY COUNCIL THAT WENT INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY OF 2026.

AND THE CARLSBAD EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION.

ALSO, THE SAME TIME FRAME WENT INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY OF 2026.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN, JUST FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT KNOW, WHAT EMPLOYEES MAKE UP THE LATTER ONE, THE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION? OF COURSE.

THAT WOULD BE, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE NON-PUBLIC SAFETY AND ALSO NOT PART OF THE UNREPRESENTED GROUP.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION I HAD WAS, I KNOW YOU SHOWED US THE FORECAST, AND GIVEN WHAT THE FORECAST IS TELLING US, JUST AS WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK AHEAD, AND I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT IT TODAY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LEVERS WE'RE LOOKING AT TO STAY AHEAD OF THAT CURVE? AND I KNOW WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

THAT'S WHY WE'RE ON SOLID FOOTING TODAY AND HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.

BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WE LOOK AT THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR AS WELL.

SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE QUESTION.

SOME OF THE LEVERS THAT THE CITY HAS, AND WE'VE EXPERIENCED THIS THROUGH VARIOUS CYCLES, OBVIOUSLY THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 23 AND FISCAL YEAR 25, IN RESPONSE TO ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RECOVERY AND THE SUSTAINED INFLATIONARY LEVELS.

THE DIRECTION TO STAFF AT THAT TIME AND ALSO FROM THE CITY MANAGER WAS TO LOOK INWARD AND TO DO WHAT WE COULD TO REDUCE FUTURE ONGOING COSTS.

THAT IS ALWAYS A LEVER THAT'S AVAILABLE TO LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.

ADDITIONALLY, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT JUST A SMALL GLIMPSE OF THE FISCAL CONDITION OF THE GENERAL FUND.

THESE ARE JUST PROJECTED SURPLUSES AND DEFICITS.

OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO ALSO KEEP IN MIND IS THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE ITSELF, AGAIN PROJECTED TO BE A LEVEL OF $145 MILLION, AS WELL AS THE ADDITIONAL SET-ASIDES FROM

[01:45:01]

A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THAT FOR THE PENSION 115 TRUST AS A POSSIBLE LEVER, SHOULD CALPERS INCUR SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT LOSSES AND THE CITY'S ANNUAL REQUIRED CONTRIBUTIONS SKYROCKET, THE CITY AND THE CITY COUNCIL COULD LOOK TOWARDS THE FUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN ACCUMULATED IN THAT TRUST TO OFFSET SOME OF THE BUDGETARY IMPACTS.

THANK YOU.

AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THIS DOES LOOK MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAD PROJECTED IN PREVIOUS YEARS.

YES.

IN A SENSE, IN RECENT HISTORY, WHAT WE'VE TENDED TO SEE ARE LARGER YEARS OR YEARS WITH LARGER SURPLUSES AS WELL AS YEARS WITH LARGER DEFICITS.

AND SO LOOKING OVER THE FIVE YEARS, PLUS OR MINUS $1 MILLION IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, $1.3 MILLION IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, I SHOULD SAY, AGAIN, THAT REPRESENTS A MORE STABLE OUTLOOK.

AND FOR THE REASONS I MENTIONED, WHETHER IT'S WAGE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS, CALPERS, AND THEIR POSITIVE INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

ANY BRIEF COMMENTS? JUST A REAL QUICK QUESTION, LAURA.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE? IT WILL BE EIGHT YEARS IN OCTOBER.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THIS IS YOUR LAST ONE, RIGHT? THIS IS MY LAST BUDGET YEAR.

WHEN YOU'RE DONE, ON THE OTHER SIDE, WRITE A BOOK ON WHAT YOU DID.

AND PUT IT IN OUR LIBRARY IN CASE A COUNCIL DOWN THE ROAD GOES DOWN THE WRONG PATH AND WE'LL TELL THEM THAT THEY NEED TO READ YOUR BOOK I'M UNBELIEVABLY IMPRESSED I'VE BEEN YOU KNOW IN THE CITY THAT I WORKED FOR FOR 20 YEARS WORKED ON THE BUDGETS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT AND EVERYBODY THAT WAS A PART OF THIS BUDGET PREPARATION TEAM SHOULD JUST BE STRUTTING WHEN THIS IS ALL SAID AND DONE SOME OF THE THINGS I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT REAL QUICK IS THAT YOU CREATED A BUDGET THAT'S UNDER THE CURRENT RATE OF INFLATION.

THAT'S A BIG DEAL, BIGGER THAN I THINK MOST PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND.

AND THEN I WILL JUST SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HIGHLIGHTING WHAT MAY TAKE PLACE IN THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN 2007 WHEN WE HAD A BIG ISSUE WITH THE RECESSION, AND THAT'S THAT OUR AUTO SALES DIPPED, AND THAT'S WHERE WE MAY FIND OURSELVES IN ANOTHER INFLATION.

THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO JUST HIGHLIGHT AS WELL, THANK YOU TO THE PREVIOUS COUNCILS AND SOME OF YOU GUYS ON IT, BECAUSE IT'S READ THAT ALL OUTSTANDING LOANS AND INTEREST ACCRUED HAVE BEEN PAID TO THE CITY BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2020 AND 21, AND DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS WERE COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 2023 AND 2024.

THAT'S YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHOW UP HERE WITHOUT ANY DEBT.

SO THAT'S PRETTY COOL.

AND THEN.

YOU KNOW, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FROM THE PERSON ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR LEVEL THAT HAS BEEN ASKED TO GO, HEY, GO COUNT THESE BEANS, GO DO THIS ONE THING OR GO DO THAT THING IN ORDER TO GET THIS COMPLETE BUDGET.

AND I JUST HOPE THAT YOU GUYS CAN PASS THAT ALONG DOWN TO YOUR SUBORDINATES OF WHAT AN IMPACT THIS IS.

THIS IS JUST STELLAR.

THANK YOU.

MS. BURKHOLDER.

THANK YOU.

SO I WAS ASKING ABOUT A LITTLE MORE EXPLANATION ON THE WATER BECAUSE WE ARE ALSO SEEING THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE INCREASES.

IN THIS BUDGET, AND I, YOU KNOW, AS A BUSINESS OWNER MYSELF, I THINK 50% RECOVERY IS NOT GOOD, RIGHT? I'M LIKE, ZACH, I WANT 100% ON THAT, BUT I GET IT.

BUT I DO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT WITH A THREE- TO FIVE-YEAR ROLLOUT.

I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.

IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WITH WATER, BUT ALSO I THINK IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT IMPACTFUL.

I THINK I RECALL SIX.

MILLION DOLLARS IN THAT TYPE OF REVENUE THAT WE'RE, WELL IT'S NOT REVENUE, BUT FEES THAT WE'RE LEAVING ON THE TABLE.

SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO ACTUALLY BE DOING THE WORK AND NOT BEING COMPENSATED FOR THAT AT THE RATE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK.

AND THAT'S REALLY BASICALLY ALL THAT IS.

I ALSO ENJOY THE 2.8% INFLATIONARY INCREASE VERSUS THE 3.7% ACTUALS.

I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, AND IT SPEAKS TO THE DEPARTMENTS FOR BRINGING FORWARD THE WORK THAT THEY DID TO BRING FORWARD THIS BALANCED BUDGET AND AN EQUALLY BALANCED APPROACH, I THINK, THAT THE PEOPLE EXPECT HERE.

FOR OUR LEVEL OF SERVICE.

SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THOSE HIGH LEVELS OF SERVICE AND DELIVER THAT.

AND I JUST WANTED TO REFLECT THAT IT WAS ADDING ONLY ONE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE, SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, NOTWITHSTANDING THE MONROE STREET POOL ISSUE, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL THING.

[01:50:01]

AND WITH THAT, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SUPPORT AND WISH YOU LUCK ON THURSDAY NIGHT.

MS. ACOSTA.

THANK YOU.

THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS AND TO ALL OUR STAFF, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY HAD TO CHIP IN AND FIND THOSE EFFICIENCIES.

OVER THE YEARS, PEOPLE ASK, YOU KNOW, WHY IS CARLSBAD SO STRONG, SO FISCALLY HEALTHY, SO WELL RESOURCED? AND IT'S NOT JUST OUR REVENUES.

IT REALLY IS OUR STAFF WORKING TOGETHER ON EFFICIENCIES AND COST SAVINGS AND BUDGET POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT KEEP US STRONG.

SO I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AND OUR CITY MANAGER.

FOR LEADING THE TEAM ON THAT.

I ALSO REALLY LOVED, I WANTED TO CALL OUT SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID EARLIER, MR. KORACH, THAT WAS PLUS OR MINUS A MILLION DOLLARS IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS MEANS, LIKE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH ON TARGET.

WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GREAT JOB OF ESTIMATING WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.

SO I AGREE.

I THINK THAT'S REALLY FANTASTIC.

I ALSO APPRECIATE.

HAVING A BUDGET THAT IS UNDER THE INFLATION RATE AND WANTED TO ALSO CALL OUT THE GUIDANCE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

I KNOW WE'RE ABOUT TO DO A NEW ONE BECAUSE WE'VE JUST FINISHED THE END OF OUR FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I THINK WE HAVE REALLY WORKED TO STAY ON TRACK WITH WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS ASKED US TO PRIORITIZE, AND WE DO THAT THROUGH THE FRAMEWORK OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO I WANT TO...

GIVE KUDOS TO EVERYONE WHO'S WORKED ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE TYING OUR FUNDING PRIORITIES TO WHAT OUR COMMUNITY WANTS AND THAT'S ALL LAID OUT IN THE IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT HAPPY TO SUPPORT THIS TO YOU KNOW TO PUT THIS ON THE THE JUNE 16 AGENDA THANKS.

MS. BOB PATEL.

YES THANK YOU UH THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED I KNOW IT'S TAKEN A LONG TIME TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER AND OF COURSE UM TO THE BOTH OF YOU FOR LEADING THE CHARGE ON THIS EFFORT.

I THINK JUST BEING ABLE TO SEE OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST AND WHAT IT TELLS US, IT'S WORTH SAYING THAT WE'RE CLEARLY IN A STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION, AND THAT'S DUE TO THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE PUT IN.

AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS SO IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THAT SETS US APART AS A CITY IS THAT WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING OF WAYS TO BE PROACTIVE AND WE PROVIDE TRANSPARENT PLANNING.

AND REALLY TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

AND SO THIS REALLY SHOWS US WELL IN ADVANCE WHAT'S ON THE HORIZON, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED BY MY COLLEAGUES IS THAT WE SEE THIS FISCAL CULTURE THAT'S BEEN BUILT BY THIS CITY FOR MANY YEARS, AND I DO THINK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB AT REALLY BEING CONSISTENT AND LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS IN THAT PARTICULAR REGARD.

WE SEE THAT OUR RESERVES ARE HEALTHY, WE HAVE THAT FISCAL DISCIPLINE, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT I WOULD HOPE THAT AS YOU WORK HERE OR IF YOU LIVE HERE THAT YOU SEE IT AS A POINT OF PRIDE.

WE AREN'T THAT CITY THAT WAITS FOR A PROBLEM TO SHOW UP.

WE'RE REALLY WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THINGS, PRIORITIZING THINGS PROACTIVELY AND REALLY STARTING TO PLAN FOR THAT.

I THINK THAT AS WE LOOK FORWARD, IT'S GIVING US A RUNWAY TO REALLY THINK OF WAYS TO CONTINUE TO DO THE GOOD WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.

AND I THINK I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BEING THIS, YOU KNOW, BUDGET BEING ONE OF THE STRONGEST, BUT OF COURSE, CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN AS WE LOOK FORWARD.

AND I DO HOPE THAT YOU ALL ARE PROUD OF THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE, TOO, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HOW YOU ALL ARE THE BEST.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING WHAT YOU'VE DONE.

AND I KNOW THIS WILL REASSURE OUR RESIDENTS THAT WE'RE ON SOLID FOOTING.

SO THANK YOU.

I AGREE WITH ALL THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS.

YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB, BUT THIS IS HOW I KIND OF LOOK AT IT.

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA WORKED REALLY HARD TO PUT TOGETHER A GREAT INHERITANCE FOR US.

SO OUR PREDECESSORS WHO WERE THE DECISION MAKERS, AND I'M GOING TO JUST MENTION THEIR NAMES, RAY PICHETTE, BUD LEWIS, MATT HALL, JULIE NYGAARD, RAMONA FENELLA, MARK PACKARD, ANN COLCHIN.

I LOOK AT THEM AS THEY MADE THE CITY WHAT IT IS.

THEY PUT TOGETHER A CITY THAT HAS A GREAT PROPERTY TAX BASE, HAS A GREAT TRANSIENT OCCUPANT HOTEL TAX, AND GREAT SALES TAX.

AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAVE INHERITED A WONDERFUL CITY WITH WONDERFUL RESERVES AND WONDERFUL INCOME.

AND NOW IT'S OUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROTECT WHAT WE INHERITED.

AND YOU GUYS ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB AT THAT.

BUT I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE I MENTIONED THOSE.

OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY MANAGER WHO PRETTY MUCH BUILT THE CITY TO MAKE IT THE WAY IT IS TODAY.

SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU GUYS

[01:55:01]

THANK YOU TO THE COUNCIL.

AND NOW I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION.

YES.

MOVE ADOPTION OF ALL RESOLUTIONS IN ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

SECOND.

PLEASE VOTE.

[COUNCIL COMMENTARY AND REQUESTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS]

THANKS.

THAT BRINGS US TO THE CONCLUSION OF OUR AGENDA.

THAT TAKES US TO MR. SHIN.

YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THOSE THAT WERE AFFECTED WITH THE SHOOTING YESTERDAY, AS WELL AS JUST A LOT OF PRAISE TO THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THAT DID SUCH AN AMAZING RESPONSE.

BE ABLE TO PASS THAT THROUGH AT OUR NEXT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WITH ARGUS.

AND THEN ON A HIGHLIGHT, THIS IS PUBLIC SAFETY WEEK, SO I JUST WANTED TO ALWAYS GIVE A LOT OF PRAISE AND KUDOS TO OUR, I GUESS YOU'D JUST CALL IT WRENCH-TURNING MAGICIANS, KNOWING ALL OF A SUDDEN THINGS ARE GETTING FIXED AROUND OUR TOWN, AND I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE A TRUST IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY DEFERRED MAINTENANCE COSTS, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY PROACTIVE WITH THIS.

THAT'S ALL.

MS. BURKHOLDER.

THANK YOU.

YEAH, I SHARE MY COLLEAGUES' SADNESS ABOUT YESTERDAY'S EVENTS AS WELL.

AND IT'S TIMELY.

THE PEACE OFFICER MEMORIAL RUN WAS SATURDAY, AND A FEW OF US WERE THERE.

AND, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICES WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE MAKE IN THIS COUNTRY ON A DAILY BASIS TO KEEP US SAFE AND PROTECTED.

AND THAT'S THE LOW NOTE, SORRY.

ON A LITTLE HIGHER NOTE, HOPEFULLY YOU WERE ABLE TO JOIN US AT TASTE OF CARLSBAD BRUNCH EDITION ON SATURDAY IN THE VILLAGE.

IT WAS WONDERFUL.

IT WAS MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE THAN THE EVENING DINNER VERSION BECAUSE THERE WERE FEWER OPTIONS, BUT IT WAS JUST A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

SO IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE THAT YET, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO IT AT THE CARLSBAD VILLAGE ASSOCIATION.

YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.

THERE WILL BE ONE IN THE FALL THAT'S THE DINNER VERSION.

THIS SATURDAY IS ST.

MICHAEL'S CHURCH 10TH ANNIVERSARY AND I'M SUPER EXCITED TO BE PARTICIPATING WITH THEM AND THEIR FESTIVITIES RIGHT IN THE VILLAGE.

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE, COME ON BY AT THEIR PICKLEBALL COURTS.

AND THEN HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO EVERYONE ON MONDAY AND A SPECIAL HAPPY 20TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO MY HUSBAND ON WEDNESDAY.

MR. COSTA.

THANK YOU.

I ECHO THE SENTIMENTS ABOUT THE TRAGEDY AND THE VIOLENCE YESTERDAY.

WE DEFINITELY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH VIOLENCE IN THIS COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY GUN VIOLENCE, AND IT WAS VERY SAD TO HEAR THE NEWS.

I AM PLEASED THAT WE ARE HONORING THOSE WHO'VE MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE ON MONDAY WITH MEMORIAL DAY, SO I HOPE THAT YOU ALL HAVE SOMETHING NICE PLANNED AND REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE HOLIDAY, NOT JUST A LONG WEEKEND.

AT THE WATER AUTHORITY, WHERE I SERVE AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE, WE ARE ALSO ENTERING BUDGET SEASON.

SO ON THURSDAY, NEXT THURSDAY, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING OUR POTENTIAL RATES AT THE WHOLESALE LEVEL.

AND SO OUR BUDGET AND RATES WILL BE THE DISCUSSION OF THE WATER AUTHORITY.

SO MUCH MORE READING FOR ME OVER THIS WEEKEND, BUT I APPRECIATE.

BEING PART OF THIS AWESOME CITY AND JUST THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD TODAY ABOUT OUR UPCOMING BUDGET AND BEING A COMMUNITY THAT REALLY TAKES CARE OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES.

WE REALLY LOOK OUT FOR EVERYBODY HERE IN CARLSBAD, AND I KNOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT WITH THIS LEADERSHIP TEAM.

THANK YOU.

MISS BHATPATEL YES, THANK YOU.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.

AND BEFORE I TALK ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN DOING OR WILL BE DOING THIS WEEK, I ALSO WANT TO ADD MY VOICE TO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID.

YESTERDAY'S ATTACK WAS A REMINDER THAT HATE ISN'T ABSTRACT.

WE SAW, YOU KNOW, A HATE CRIME AND REALLY SAD TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

AND MY HEART IS WITH THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.

AND JUST... HOPING THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN EMBRACE THEM.

AND THEN I KNOW I TOO WAS AT THE PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL RUN AND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH OUR POLICE OFFICERS THERE.

AND ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE FAMILY MEMBERS PARTICIPATING IN THAT AS WELL. MY DAUGHTER CAME ALONG WITH ME. AND THEN THIS WEEK WE HAVE THE NORTH COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT PERFORMANCE ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.

WHERE I WILL GET THE PREVIEW FOR OUR BUDGET, AND THEN LATER ON IN THE DAY WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION BECAUSE I'LL HAVE OUR BOARD MEETING FOR NORTH COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT REGARDING THE BUDGET

[02:00:03]

[ANNOUNCEMENTS]

THURSDAY, MAY 28TH AT 5 O'CLOCK P.M. CLEAN ENERGY ALLIANCE FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AT THE AGUA HERION DE LAGOON FOUNDATION AT 1580 CANNON ROAD IN CARLSBAD. I'D LIKE TO END THE MEETINGS WITH SOMETHING POSITIVE. I DID MEET A HOMELESS WOMAN WHO I ASKED TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES WITH HER TO ASK HER WHAT HER STORY WAS, HOW SHE ENDED UP ON THE STREET. AND SHE TOLD ME IT REALLY DIDN'T MATTER. HER WHOLE GOAL WAS TO MAKE SURE OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE ON THE STREET GOT HELP. AND THEN SHE OPENED HER NOTEBOOK FOR ME, AND SHE WAS JUST SITTING ON THE CURB WRITING DOWN ALL THESE DIFFERENT IDEAS.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ALL HAD PRICE TAGS ATTACHED TO THEM, AND I DON'T THINK SHE HAD THE MONEY TO FUND THEM.

BUT SHE WAS WRITING DOWN ALL THESE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF WAYS TO KEEP FELLOW HOMELESS PEOPLE OFF THE STREET. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS A NICE CONVERSATION.

BUT NOTHING BEATS LOOKING AT THE PROUD THIRD GRADERS AND THE PROUD PARENTS OF THOSE THIRD GRADERS THAT WE HAD HERE TODAY.

SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE'RE ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.