Pinole City Council meeting, 5-16-2023

Today, 5-16- Regular City Council meeting, 5 PM, Hybrid. You can find the agenda packet here.

The meeting will start with a closed session conference with labor negotiators. I expect that will take at least an hour, so the meeting proper will probably start between 6-7. That will be followed by six proclamations honoring Mental Health Awareness Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Emergency Medical Services Week, Jewish American Heritage Month, Affordable Housing Week, and National Police Week. After that there will be a presentation from AC transit (link here).

There’s then consent calendar items- First, to award a 2 year contract to Planeteria to design and implement a new website for the city for an amount not to exceed $58,620. Then a resolution confirming that the city of Pinole will comply with state housing law (to access grants), one opposing a statewide initative that would remove local community’s (and not just councils- the power of the local electorate itself) authority to assess taxes and fees via various methods, a resolution in support of workforce housing for teachers in Contra Costa County, a letter of support for US Department of Transportation funding for the Bay trail connection to Point Pinole (and some other regional trails), options for a city-sponsored job fair, and a resolution authorizing the city manager to make a contract with Pun group for the next 5 years to conduct auditing services for the city. Then there’s a plan for high school student internships with city councilmembers, an update on the activity of the Project Labor Agreement Subcommittee, and a resolution to start the normal Pinole Valley Road landscape and lighting district assessment process.

And after that, we get to public hearings. First one is a hearing on the Police Department’s military equipment policy- mostly a review of last years’ report, with the exception of a robot that I don’t think was mentioned in the prior one. You can see the presentation associated with that hearing here. The second one is adopting updated user and regulatory fees- 5% increase due to inflation across most, though not all categories.

For new business we have the Ten-Year General Fund Status Quo Financial Forecast, which shows 2 key points- until 2030, a gradual increase in deficit caused by expenses generally increasing by 4% per year while revenues increase by 3%, and a colossal increase in deficit starting in 2030 when the Pension Trust Fund is expected to be empty (page 377 of the agenda packet).

That’s followed by the proposed Operating and Capital Budget, which has balanced ongoing expenditures and revenues through unspecified expenditure reductions, and finally a discussion on the proposed 5 year Capital Improvement Plan (FY23/24-27/28).

You can join the meeting by zoom direct link here, entering the webinar ID 893 3500 0272 into zoom directly, or calling +1 (669) 900-6833 or +1 (253) 215-8782 or +1 (346) 248-7799, then entering the meeting ID 893 3500 0272#. Once in the meeting by phone, you can raise your hand by pressing *9, and unmute by pressing *6 once called on. You can also attend the meeting in person at Pinole City Hall, 2131 Pear St.