HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024_02_21 - SpecialMINUTES
Special meeting of the City Council of the City of Redlands held in the Council Chambers, Civic Center,
35 Cajon Street, on February 21, 2024 at 6:30 P.M.
Present: Eddie Tejeda, Mayor
Paul Barich, Mayor Pro Tempore
Denise Davis, Council Member
Jenna Guzman -Lowery, Council Member
Mario Saucedo, Council Member
Staff:
Charles M. Duggan, Jr., City Manager; Yvette M. Abich Garcia, City Attorney; Jeanne
Donaldson, City Clerk; Phillip Doolittle, City Treasurer; Janice McConnell, Assistant
City Manager; Chris Boatman, Assistant City Manager; Carl Baker, Public Information
Officer; Danielle Garcia, Management Services/Finance Director; Brian Desatnik,
Development Services Director; John Harris, Municipal Utilities and Engineering
Director; Rich Sessler, Fire Chief; Rachel Tolber, Police Chief; Tabitha Crocker,
Facilities and Community Services Director; Robert Meteau, HR/Risk Management
Director
Mayor Tejeda called the special meeting to order and explained that comments could be presented
in -person, via Zoom, via cell phone or landline. He offered the public an opportunity to provide
comment on any matter scheduled on this agenda or any matter within the jurisdiction of the City
Council which is not already scheduled on this agenda.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None forthcoming
FISCAL YEARS 2025-2026 BUDGET PRIORITIES WORKSHOP
City Manager Duggan explained this special meeting was meant to give Council Members an
opportunity to rank priority focus areas to aid staff in the development of the next Biennial Budget
for Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026. Staff identified 18 priority focus areas which were provided to
each individual Council Member on a ranking form. Council Members were tasked to rank the
priority focus areas from 1 to 18, with 1 being the highest priority and 18 being the lowest. Each
one submitted their completed ranking forms to the City Manager. Additionally, Council Members
had the opportunity to write-in two additional priority areas, with Mayor Tejeda and Council
Member Davis each submitting two write-in projects to add to the list.
The eighteen priority focus areas were included in the staff report and listed in order of their total
aggregate scores, from lowest to highest, as received from each Council Member's individual
ranking forms. The list was intended to serve as a guide and starting point for the Council's
discussion at the workshop. Additionally, when available, service scores and/or budgetary priority
rankings derived from the 2023 Citizen Survey were included with the corresponding item. The
four write-in projects were not ranked among the original eighteen items.
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The 18 focus areas included: Animal Shelter Improvements, Police Department Staffing, Park
Improvements, Sidewalk/Curb Repair, New Police Department, Youth and Senior Programs,
Aging Infrastructure Replacement, Climate Action Plan, Homeless Solutions General, Homeless
Solutions Mental Health Team, Affordable Housing, Downtown Parking, City-wide Street
Resurfacing, Emergency Management, Code Enforcement Staffing, Technology Improvements,
Communication and Engagement and Museum Construction. Four write-ins included: Police
Patrol Units, Colton Avenue and Orange Street Beautification, Sustainability/Climate Change
Budget and Community Choice/Clean Energy.
As public comment, Eric Shamp offered criteria to consider when prioritizing, such as the
reduction of harm, project timelines with short and long term goals, the interconnection between
projects, and the consequences of taking no action at all. Bobby Garrity pointed out the City was
in a housing shortage crisis and, in particular, a lack of affordable housing, and he urged the
Council to reform policies that inhibit development, adding he also supported the use of funds for
the Climate Action Plan, Sustainability/Mitigation projects and Clean Energy. Dennis Bell thought
the criteria proposed by Eric Shamp were useful, and he was concerned about spending taxpayer
money on a Mental Health Team and Museum Construction. Brianna Egan spelled out her reasons
for supporting Climate Action, Affordable Housing and Street Resurfacing.
Throughout a lengthy discussion filled with dialogue and questions, Council Members provided
their thoughts and perspectives on the various projects, listing their top individual choices. They
were thankful for the great input as presented by the speakers, and with a spirit of compromise, the
first ranking outcome led to the selection of the groups' top six projects, included in no specific
order:
Item A) Animal Shelter
Item H) Climate Action Plan
Item B) Increased Police Department Staffing
Item E) New Police Department site
Item K) Affordable Housing
Item L) Downtown Parking Study
Additionally, the Council selected four more projects to represent ranking numbers 7-10. These
projects included:
Item C) Park Improvements
Item G) Aging Infrastructure Replacement
Item I) Homelessness (General)
Item 0) Code Enforcement Staffing
City Manager Duggan closed the meeting stating the prioritized list of the top ten projects
provides sufficient guidance for staff to develop appropriate funding plans to be included in the
next biennial budget for FY 2025 and 2026.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further action required the special meeting adjourned at 7:37 P.M.
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