Uh, I don
t know where the
mayor is, but I
m gonna go
ahead and call. Oh, he
s out
there, ok. I know I
m getting
ready to call the meeting to
order. Ok, cool. Oh. I probably
got the last space, sorry.
Council member Woods here
Council member Honeycutt
Council member Copeland, Vice
Mayor Hanson, Mayor Jones, and
I am here. I invite everyone to
stand with me for the Pledge of
Allegiance. I pledge allegiance
to the United States of America
and which stand one nation one
nation under GOD teaching
justice for all. I think that
s
the first time I
ve gotten to
do that this year as mayor.
Usually I have my assistant
here, my mayor of the evening.
Uh, MADAM City clerk, MAY we
have tonight
s agenda items,
please. Yesterday
s special
meeting is a budget study
session for fiscal year 2025,
2026. We
ll begin with public
business from the floor. If you
wish to speak on the budget
study session, please step
forward now. Seeing none, will
proceed to agenda item 5a, the
budget study session. Thank you
Teresa. Ok Mayor members of the
city council, welcome to
tonight
s budget workshop
presentation. This evening will
begin with a budget overview of
the general internal service
and enterprise funds. Following
this, each department will
present its budget, highlights
of the fiscal years, and
accomplishments and future work
plans. Public works will also
present an update of the city
s
capital improvement program. We
will conclude the presentation
with a discussion of the
proposed decision packages
prepared for the city council
s
consideration. So why do we
budget? But provides an
informed estimate of
anticipated expenditures and
ongoing revenues that provide a
guide for staff, communicate
the goals of the city council
in an operational plan and hold
our government accountable. In
other words, budgeting supports
continuous improvements in
municipal services, programs,
and budgets. So now that we
know why the budget why we
budget and the goals of this
budget workshop, this slide
shows a quick overview of how
we get through the process. The
city is currently operating
under the year one budget which
was presented last MAY and
adopted in JUNE. Tonight we
move to the next phase,
presenting the year to budget
refresh for discussion and
approval. After receiving
feedback tonight, we will
implement all changes and
present the final budget for
adoption next month. Next
year
s staff will start the
process all over again. We aim
to adopt a structurally
balanced budget that serves as
the city
s financial blueprint,
which also allows the city
council to focus on strategic
goals and priorities, as well
as provide a path to pay for
city services and activities
provided to residents. The
overall budget development is
conservatively assessed and
remains fiscally prudent to
ensure fiscal stability and
structurally balanced budget.
As part of the budget strategy,
we examine the current economic
predictions that MAY affect the
city
s revenue base to ensure
long-term financial. Inability
Staff gathered and scrutinized
various sources of data and
analyzed how forecasts provided
by industry experts can affect
the city to provide a budget
presentation that reflects a
cautiously optimistic
perspective while remaining
vigilant of existing challenges
that includes tariff
implications, stubborn
inflation, interest rates, and
geopolitical unrest. To help
stabilize the fiscal position.
Staff actively seeks to
maximize the usage of grant
programs and special revenues,
as many of these fund programs
provide the existing and
expansion of the city
s
operations and improvement
projects. Today
s budget
presentation centers on the
general fund, the city
s core
operating fund. This fund
accounts for the general tax
revenues, which help support
essential municipal services
like public safety, public
works, community development,
and parks, recreation and
library services. The
information on this on this
presentation reflects the
city
s operate operating at a
full capacity, proactively
addressing deferred maintenance
and operational and capital
infrastructure needs. Building
and maintaining a work
environment conducive to
retaining and promoting
successful workplaces, a
strategically utilizing
software, technology and
contract management. Costs
include one-time expenditures
and very yearly depending on
planning and needs. With the
general fund, you
ll also find
committed fund balances
representing reserves
established by the city council
for anticipated future needs,
economic stability, and capital
improvements. These reserves
are crucial for our long-term
financial planning. And in this
slide, we reflect the general
fund
s projected change and
it
s divided into three
sections to highlight our core
operations and their effects on
the general fund. In our very
top section, it addresses the
beginning fund balance and any
prior period adjustments or
fund balance allocations. The
next is the operating activity
section, which presents our
core revenues, expenditures and
transfers to and from reserves
from the special revenue funds.
Below that, we summarize the
changes in reserve balances.
This includes transfers in and
out, which are typically funded
by prior years positive fund
balances and reserves
designated for the purpose of
for this purpose by the city
council. Uh, if we focus here
on year two, the projections
show that we that that a
structurally balanced.
Operating budget with a
reoccurring growth meeting or
exceeding our reoccurring
expenditure growth. So that
means that our revenues are
enough to cover our expenditure
here and uh we have an
anticipated proposed operating
balance of $687,000 as a net.
The overall general fund is
projected to decrease by $5.9
million and this is primarily
due to planned use of reserves
for one-time operating capital
outlay and capital improvement
projects such as the Civic
Center master plan and
amphitheater, and other city
infrastructure enhancements
like street improvements.
Signal Hill
s revenue base
strength is that revenue
sources are well diversified.
Here is a year to year
comparison of the actual
historical revenues and
upcoming projections. Year 2
revenues are forecasted at
$39.2 million primarily driven
by the $26.8 million of sales
and use tax inclusive of Me shr.
The 2nd largest source of
revenue is the use of money and
property, which includes the
estimated changes in interest
income and the unrealized
investment gain or loss.
Contrary to the adverse effects
on sales tax, the higher
interest rates environment
positively impacts interest
rates and the city
s investment
portfolio. Overall, the city
investment portfolio has
strengthened over time. However,
as interest rates are
anticipated to decrease, uh,
based on the Federal Reserve
s
future actions, this increase
is considered temporary. Um,
this sales tax graph depicts
the trends in a year over year
growth percentage for the
Signal Hills sales tax business
sectors. Out of an abundance of
caution, our sales tax
projections are conservative. A
substantial portion of the
city
s sales tax base relies on
retailers who export from
overseas. If tariffs were to
revert to a rate exceeding 100%,
these retailers could face
supply chain disruptions or be
forced to raise prices,
potentially leading consumers
to reduce spending.
Consequently, we have also
factored in the significant
expenditures increase driven by
ongoing inflationary pressures.
While staff considers the high
tariff outcome unlikely. The
budget was developed during
considerable uncertainty and
ever changing policy, making
this conservative strategy a
prudent and defensible approach.
Tonight, we present a balanced
budget that accounts for this
potential reduction in sales
tax while accommodating added
services, contractual
obligations, and cpi-driven
increases. As of APRIL 30th,
2025, the city
s diversified
investment portfolio, which is
strategically positioned to
navigate market fluctuations
includes holdings in California
Asset Management Program, or
camp. California class. Local
agency investment fund, also
known as laf, bonds such as
government securities and
municipal bonds, money market
funds and certificates of
deposit. All investments comply
with both government code and
the city
s investment policy.
The city of Signal Hill is
considered a no to low property
tax city. Receiving a
significantly smaller portion
of the property tax dollar,
approximately 6 cents, compared
to the average seat allocation
of 11 to 1311 to 13 cents.
Despite the small return,
property tax is the city
s 3rd
largest revenue source,
contributing 7% of total
revenues. The encouraging 4.4%
rise in assessed property
values. Values reflects
positive growth within our
community, contributing to a
stronger financial outlook.
Let
s now turn our attention to
this graph, which visually
represents the city
s general
fund revenues. To ensure
long-term financial stability,
the city actively strives to
diversify its revenue streams.
Currently, sales tax comprises
the largest portion at 68%.
This differs from previous
year
s average of 70%. The
change of the distribution of
revenue source is a result of
the increase in use of money
revenue, specifically
investment income, which now
represents the 2nd largest
portion of the city
s revenues.
Now we switch from revenues to
expenditures. This slide shows
a summary of the general fund
expenditures. Expenditures have
historically increased. This is
due to various economic factors
such as the consumer price
index, or cpi, as well as
adjustments for employee and
contracted service agreements
increasing overall. The city
has put into place policies
which assist departments to
maintain compliance with the
adopted budget as well as
promote competitive purchasing.
Expenditures will be discussed
in greater detail in the
upcoming department slides.
This chart is a visual
depiction of the projected
expenditures for the current
fiscal year as well as the
proposed budget for next fiscal
year. As the graphic
illustrates, the largest
portion of the city service
costs are depicted by police
and public works, which
demonstrates the city councils
and the community
s strong
prioritization of those
functions. As we examine the
city
s pension plan, last
year
s implementation of the
Cowper
s Fresh Start program
has resulted in a planned
increase in the unfunded
accrued liability, or also
known as ual, which is
projected to stabilize the
annual payment in the coming
years. And if you look towards
the right of the chart, this
fresh start is paving the way
for significant cost savings
beginning in fiscal year
2042-943. The funded ratio
presented in the lower right
highlights the funding
percentage for each plan. A
figure that can fluctuate with
the performance of the Calpers
investment returns. The fresh
start was essential to meeting
these obligations for years to
come as illustrated in the
chart. Funding our ual
strengthens retirement benefits,
which reliably bolsters
California
s economy by
supporting jobs, tax revenues,
and local growth. With Los
Angeles County experiencing the
most significant impact. The
city contributes 34 cents for
every retire Reid dollar, while
the major, the majority is
covered by the Calpers
investment earnings as
illustrated in the dollar on
the slide. This is a look back
chart that shows a comparison
of revenues and expenditures,
including transfers. As shown,
the revenues have increased
over time along with
expenditures. However, the core
operating activities are
structurally balanced,
represented by the blue bar
being larger than the orange
bar. The dark blue portion of
the column depicts one-time
transfers to fund capital
projects. While in fiscal year
2526, the dark blue column
looks like expenditures will
exceed revenues, these one-time
transfers will be funded by the
planned use of reserve funds.
Reserves will be covered next.
So this led provides a snapshot
of our general fund balance and
reserves as proposed for the
upcoming fiscal year. It
s
important to view these figures
through the lens of our fundal
reserves policy, which was
adopted in SEPTEMBER 2024. The
policy establishes 3 reserve
types as type 1, type 2, and
type 3. Type I reserves are the
primary safeguard against
unpredictable adverse events
like economic downturns. This
includes the general fund
unassigned and the economic
uncertainties reserve
highlighted in yellow. Looking
at your 2 for fiscal year 2526,
the proposed general fund
unassigned balance is 28.1
million and the economic
uncertainty reserve is 5.9
million. Type 2 reserves,
including the Calpers reserve,
the ope reserve, and the
insurance reserve highlighted
in orange are specifically
designated solely for their
identified purposes. Type 3
reserves highlighted green
functions as savings for larger
future expenses. The capital
improvement project reserve is
a primary example that supports
our multi-year strategies for
significant infrastructure
projects. The unassigned fund
balance will change based on
the city council review and
approval for the proposed
decision packages that staff
will propose at the end of the
presentation. This slide
provides a snapshot of our
general fund balance and
reserves. And also emphasizes
maintain thresholds. For type
one, the general fund
unassigned balance target is 55
to 80% of adopted general fund
expenditures and the economic
uncertainty reserve target is
15 to 20% of the same. The
combined threshold for type 1
reserves is 75% to 100% o
adopted general fund
expenditures. As this snapshot
illustrates for fiscal year
2526, our general fund
unassigned balance is projected
at 75% of proposed expenditures
and the economic uncertainty
reserve is at 16%. This results
in a combined type one reserve
level of approximately 91%
comfortably within our policy
target range and exceeding gfoa
recommended standards. Based on
these proposed figures, the
city meets the reserve policy
requirements. Now that we
ve
provided a comprehensive
overview of our general fund
balance and reserves, let
s
shift our focus to our special
funds. The vehicle replacement
fund and the water enterprise
fund. The vehicle replacement
fund supports the ongoing
replacement of the city
s
vehicle fleet structured on a
long term break-even basis
through cost allocations to
departments for maintenance and
replacement. This chart
summarizes its cash flow and
financial activity. The vehicle
replacement funds projected
lower ending balance in year 2
includes expenses of $150,000
for capital outlay and $834 for
vehicles. The $834 allocated
for vehicles in the year 2
budget will fund the
replacements and additions to
the city
s fleet shown on the
next slide. So 10 vehicles were
identified through the city
s
annual program assessment of
specific fleet needs. This
includes one new vehicle for
the community development
department to support its
operational needs and
prioritizes the acquisition of
3 replacement vehicles carried
over from the previous fiscal
year due to procurement delays.
Now let
s transition our focus
to another significant special
fund. The Water Enterprise Fund.
The Water Enterprise Fund is
dedicated to providing reliable
and safe water services to our
residents and businesses. This
chart provides a summary
overview of the water
enterprise fund, its annual
operations, and the change in
cash balance from year to year.
As you can see from the chart,
there is an inclusion of $3
million in loan proceeds. These
proceeds are specifically for
the capital improvement project,
the Gunry Reservoir roof
replacement and coding project.
While the loan proceeds are
dedicated to the Gundry
Reservoir cip project, the
activation of this new facility
will require additional
expenses for water acquisition,
which are reflected within the
waterfronts operating. Expenses.
Turning to debt service, this
line item encompasses several
obligations. This includes
payments for the water
refunding bonds, the ongoing
general fund loan for 9, the
wrd loan for Well 10, and the
two general fund loads
undertaken specifically for the
Gundry Reservoir cip project.
It
s important to note that the
projections presented here are
are based on current rates. Now
let
s turn the presentation
over to the departments for
their overviews, including
proposed budgets, key
accomplishments, and work plans
for the upcoming year. Please
note that the orange
highlighted columns and their
budget slides represent the
dollar amounts for the proposed
decision packages, which we
will discuss at the end. All
right, good evening, Mayor and
members of the city council.
I
m going to cover the
legislative budget along with a
portion of the administration
budget. Uh, so as you know, uh,
this department includes city
council, treasurer, city clerks,
or our elected positions. I
m
gonna provide an overview here
on, on the next slide. Thank
you. Uh, that talks about the
budget. There
s not a
substantial change here. Uh, we
try to keep our budgets
relatively flat. There are some
nominal changes to the leg.
Budget regarding operating
expenditures that increase year
over year. There are two
notable exceptions that I
ll
bring to your attention, which
are costs related to the state
of the city that have now been
shifted into this budget along
with $50,000 that are part of
our efforts to digitize all of
our citywide records, and
that
s with the city clerk
s
vision. So these two changes
account for the majority of the
changes in the legislative
budget to the approved fiscal
year 25. 26 operating budget.
All right, next slide please.
Next, I
m going to cover the
administration budget which
includes the city manager
s
office, economic development,
communications and public
relations and human resources.
Next slide, please. So each
year, as I mentioned, we work
to keep the city
s overall
operating budget relatively
stable, accounting for expected
increases related to personnel
operations and maintenance
costs, as you can see here, the
proposed administration budget
for this upcoming fiscal year
is higher because we included
one-time costs related to the
opportunity study area,
specifically $500,000 from the
economic development reserve
for sql-related work for the
lsa, anticipating that that
will, that process will
initiate next fiscal year. We
also have a $15,000 decision
package that we
ll discuss
later related to the
acquisition of software that
will further help to market and
promote the city
s potential
opportunity sites to developers.
Next line, please. Here we have
notable accomplishments for the
administration department for
this past fiscal year which are
categorized based on the major
categories of our adopted
strategic plan. So as you can
see here, under fiscal
stability, uh, we
ve
implemented the continued
implementing the strategic plan
negotiated an amended facility
agreement with edco to
diversify and increase the
city
s revenues, which has
certainly helped with this
upcoming fiscal year and
balancing our budget. We work
with the finance department to
continue to diversify the
city
s investment portfolio to
increase city revenue we
ve
addressed, as noted earlier,
our Calpers ual through the
CalFresh, Fresh Start program,
and we work with the finance
department to help the city
council adopt a new reserve
policy under community safety,
we
ve continued collaborating
with our business community to
enhance public safety. We
ve
worked with the police
department and human resources
to update our recruitment
practice. S for the police
department. We
ve also worked
with the police department to
implement a new crime mapping
tool that our new chief will
discuss later this evening. Uh,
we
ve overseen the neighborhood
enhancement team to continue to
address various quality of life
issues that enhance the city
s
livability, and we
ve
maintained our zero functional
homeless status as a city.
Under economic and downtown
development, we
ve initiated
the opportunities area recently
completing the economic study
and uh we will be initiating
the overlay zone and
development standard process
associated with that project.
We
ve also worked with
community development to help
expedite the permitting and
approval of the Audi dealership.
We executed the development and
loan agreement with National
Corps for the walnut bluff
workforce housing project, uh,
and we launched the open
rewards program, which is part
of our broader effort to
promote our local businesses.
Under infrastructure. We
ve
continued working with our
public works team on major
projects including Hillbrook
Park, advancing the renovations
to City Hall, advancing the
final design for the signal
Hill Park amphitheater, uh,
working to update our water
rates and our capital program
and of course maintaining all
of our other city assets under
high functioning government,
the city conducted the 2024
municipal election, completed
the 2nd edition of the
Leadership Academy and
conducted numerous.
Recruitments for positions
throughout the city. Next line,
please. Of course we continue
to participate in regional
leadership opportunities. This
is a part of our program that
helps to make sure that the
city is well connected to
regional issues, has a voice
when part when when programs or
partnership opportunities are
raised through the cog, and we
will continue with that effort
throughout next fiscal year.
Next slide, please. As far as
our work plan for next fiscal
year, we
re going to continue
working with all city
departments to implement the
strategic plan, advance the
opportunity, study area
initiatives, complete
renovations to signal to City
Hall and begin construction of
the signal Hill Park
Amphitheater. The city
manager
s office will also
continue working on the city
s
housing development projects,
address recruitment and
retention efforts and oversee
initiatives through our net
team. Of course, one of our key
focuses, next slide please,
will continue to be economic
development, as you know, the
city launched the Open rewards
program, which is now generated
approximately $55,000 in gross
revenue for the city
s smaller
businesses, we continued
meeting with the city
s auto
dealerships and other
businesses to understand their
needs and support our business
community, and of course, as I
mentioned, we work closely with
the Fletcher Jones Auto Group
to open the new Audi dealership.
Uh, the city also worked
closely with national. And
signiho petroleum to advance
development of the walnut bluff
project, including negotiating
an affordable housing and loan
agreement with National poor
and meeting with both parties
to address site acquisition,
remediation, and permitting for
the project. National Corps and
Signal Hill Petroleum are
currently in the process of
receiving approvals to address
site remediation, National
Corps is also applying for
funding at the federal, state,
county levels to offset the
design and construction cost of
the project as well. National
Corps will also be scheduled to
provide an update to the city
council regarding the project a
little later this summer. Next
slide, please. So as noted, the
osa is a cornerstone project
for our broader economic
development program. Our goals,
of course, are to activate
additional development
opportunities through a
rezoning and sequa process
which are based on the city
s
market potential. The recently
completed economic study
provided the city with data
regarding potential market
opportunities for the osa sites,
including hotels, additional
retail and residential
development opportunities.
Importantly, the economic study
in the usa will further enable
the city to discuss development
opportunities with respective
developers and retailers, the
city has initiated the process
of proactively marketing
opportunity sites and we
ll
continue these efforts with our
partners in community
development, uh, when
Development and economic
development staff attend icsc a
little later this year. With
respect to the next steps of
the osa, we are working with
Placeworks on the zoning and
development standards for each
area, as well as developing the
city
s marketing plan. We will
begin the process of preparing
an eir that will further
evaluate the potential
development impacts regarding
the osa that will further allow
the city to streamline
potential development
opportunities in the future.
Next slide. So another
accomplishment I wish to
highlight is the shop local
program. Last year, the city
council approved seed funding
for a pilot program to promote
our local businesses, our
economic development manager
Alpha Lopez worked with dozens
of independently owned
businesses to implement the
program which has led to an
economic impact thus far of
over $55,000 based on the
city
s $8200 investment. The
city now has over 1200 users
and it started to reach
shoppers outside of Signal Hill,
which is further. Helping to
generate more interest in our
independently owned businesses.
Staff is recommending
continuing the program this
upcoming fiscal year. Next
slide, please. So for the
upcoming year, our efforts in
economic development will
continue to focus on helping
our business community through
the shop local program
promoting businesses through
our business spotlight program
and updating our economic
development website. Staff has
also requested funding through
the budget to launch the
inaugural Taste of Signal Hill
event. The goal of this
proposed program is to further
encourage patronage of a local
businesses and promote Signal
Hill to uh new restaurants. As
always, we
ll continue working
with our partners in community
development to advance multiple
development initiatives and
look for more opportunities to
diversify the city
s tax base.
So at this time I
m going to
hand off the presentation to
our deputy city manager, Yvette
Aguilar to discuss our
communications and human
resources accomplishments and
initiatives. Thank you. Good
evening, Marin. City council
members. A few key highlights
in this realm include enhanced,
increased, and strategic
communication strategies to
garner additional viewership
and increase our engagement
footprint. In 2025, we
initiated a biweekly
communication to feature
upcoming events, programs,
services, and updates on
projects for our community
through the Mayor
s Minute,
promoting the videos on
platforms that include social
media. Additionally, the
division intentionally began to
feature more human interest
content featuring employees and
highlighting major
accomplishments as an
organization. Our business
community is also featured
through the Business Spotlight,
helping to promote shopping
local and small businesses. On
another, one other
communication improvement of
focus this past year was the
redesign of the city views with
a rebranding that more closely
aligned with the city
s current
trends, including a revised
layout and targeted coloring
marketing scheme that industry
experts recommend to attract
the right demographic for each
city offering. As we continue
to promote transparency and
accessibility, our website
remains one of the most
effective tools for reaching
residents quickly, efficiently
and reliably. We understand
that our community members lead
busy lives, and when they
re
looking for information, they
want it fast, clear, and easy
to navigate. Residents can also
subscribe to customized
e-notifications directly from
the site, whether they
re
interested in youth programs,
public safety updates, senior
services, or council agendas,
they can get alerts delivered
straight to their inbox or
phones via text message. This
service helps to ensure no one
misses an opportunity that MAY
matter to them. Beyond digital
tools, we are also creating
real world experiences that
invite the community to engage
with local government firsthand
through the Leadership Academy,
adult residents are invited
behind the scenes. To learn how
city departments operate, meet
staff, and gain a deeper
understanding of municipal
government. And through youth
and Government Day, we provide
local students with an
immersive experience to explore
civic leadership. Connect with
elected officials and see the
impact of public service up
close. These programs, along
with our online platforms help
bridge the gap between City
Hall and the community
promoting a two-way flow of
information and building trust.
Our human resources division
focused heavily on management
recruitment this past year,
including promotions of
executive level positions in
total, 46 recruitments were
initiated and completed,
comprised of both full and
part-time positions, and two
lateral police officers. At the
same time, we
ve taken
important steps in implementing
the initiatives outlined in our
new city bargaining unit
agreements. These agreements
reflect the spirit of
collaboration and shared goals,
including employee satisfaction
and increased morale, promoting
longevity and team professional
growth. We also continue to
invest in training and
development opportunities for
staff, from leadership
development programs to
technical skill workshops, we
continue to offer staff the
tools they need to succeed and
grow, both professionally and
personally. Recognition and
well-being remains central to
our work workplace culture,
whether through our formal
recognition programs or
wellness initiatives, we are
making it a priority to show
our appreciation and celebrate
the hard work and dedication of
staff. Looking ahead, we remain
focused on advancing a forward
thinking people-centered
approach to workforce
management. One of our top
priorities continues to be
targeted recruitment efforts.
We
re working to attract top
talent that reflects both the
skill sets that we need and the
diversity of the communities we
serve. That means being
intentional. In all that we do
at the same time, we are
closely monitoring trends in
recruitment and retention
strategies from hybrid work
preferences to generational
shifts in career expectations
for staying informed and
responsive. We recognize that
employee employees strive when
they are supported and
challenged. In the coming
months will be expanding
internal training, leadership
development, and mentorship
programs. We
re also excited
about our ongoing efforts
around employee wellness.
Wellness isn
t just a program,
it
s a culture. As we move
forward, we
ll continue to
review our policies and
procedures, ensuring they stay
relevant, inclusive, and
compliant with evolving state
and federal mandates. This
process allows us to stay both
proactive and adaptable.
Finally, uh, we
re deepening
our partnerships across
departments to identify
industry changing trends and
foster greater collaboration by
working more closely with
colleagues across all divisions.
We can share insights,
anticipate challenges, and stay
ahead of the curve in
everything from technology
integration to workforce
planning. And I
ll turn it over
to our finance department. In
tonight
s presentation we
ll
highlight finance department
s
projected budget for year one,
as well as the proposed budget
for year 2. We will also
showcase our accomplishments
and finally outline our work
plan to ensure effective fiscal
management and service
deliveries for the city. The
finance department budget
includes 3 divisions
non-departmental, information
technology, and fiscal services.
Non-departmental includes
related expenditures for
retiree medical, general
liability insurance and debt
service payments for the
library lease revenue bonds.
The it division includes um it
services for the whole city.
The finance division includes
staffing costs and contract
services related to financial
analysis and reporting
requirements. The department is
not requesting additional funds
through the decision packages
so that total expenditures
projected is at $5 million. In
the past year, the finance
department has successfully
delivered timely financial
reporting and will continue
this trend. The finance
department
s accomplishments
include completing the fiscal
year 2324, citywide audit with
no audit findings and was
awarded the certificate of
achievement for excellence in
financial reporting. Finance
also ensures the city remains
in compliance with any new
accounting pronouncements and
implemented the new Gatsby 100,
accounting changes and error
corrections into this year
s
acta. The finance department is
always looking to increase
efficiency and enhance
productivity and employee
opportunities. Finance became a
participant in the class
investments and has increased
the city
s interest income.
Finance has begun testing and
accounts payable automation
program, which will streamline
the process of paying invoices.
Finance was instrumental in the
rollout of laptops and it
infrastructure, which has
allowed for a flexible work
environment during the City
Hall renovation project. As we
wrap up our finance section,
our focus shifts to the
upcoming fiscal year. Key
priorities include fiscal year
2024, 25 comprehensive audit
commencing in JULY and spanning
over several months, and the
ongoing prudent investment of
funds. We will also ensure the
timely completion and
compliance of financial
reporting, including adopting
new gasb standards coming this
year. It infrastructure refresh
will continue to strengthen
cybersecurity, enhanced backup
systems, and improve
redundancies. Finance will also
take the lead in developing the
it st ic master plan to address
both immediate and future
technological requirements. Uh,
that concludes the finance
section for tonight
s
presentation, and we
ll turn it
over to Community Development
director Colleen Doan and
pawning manager Carlos Luis.
Good evening, Honorable Mayor
and council members, Carlos and
I are pleased to present our
2526 fiscally year budget for
community development, uh,
review some of our
accomplishments and work plans
for the 4 divisions shown here.
Community Development has no
decision packages or items. And
as you can see, however, the
year 2 proposed budget is
greater than the approved
year-to budget in both planning
and neighborhood enhancement
divisions. This is due to the
following. The planning budget
was increased intentionally to
cover the anticipated cost for
plan check for several large
and unanticipated projects such
as an And interior remodel for
Costco. The project has a
valuation of $10.5 million
which is a reminder, as a
reminder will also result in a
large revenue. So the budget
simply was increased on this
side to pay for the on-call
plan check that will happen
invoices and then of course,
the city gains money on that
because we don
t pay them
everything we take in for the
Planchet fees. Also, with
neighborhood enhancement, we
increase the increase reflects
e emphasis on code compliance
operations and includes the
full-time code enforcement
officer, the city is in the
process of hiring. Starting
with new development,
accomplishments in the planning
and building divisions include
a remodel of the housing, the
site housing the new Audi
dealership. The dealership
investment in the city was a
project with a $10.6 million
dollar valuation, which
included the new monument sign
at the intersection of Cherry
Avenue and East Spring Street,
um, which has the news, the
city
s new seal feature. Also
construction of the secure
self-space storage facility at
the Gateway Center North was
completed this fiscal year. And
finally, we processed the cup
amendment for the adco transfer
facility mentioned previously
to increase their capacity and
economic development project
for the city. The planning
division prepared the general
plan annual progress report for
the 2024 calendar year and
submitted all required
documents to the state. We
continued implementation of our
affirmatively furthering fair
housing programs for the 6th
cycle, housing element, which
included progress on
development of our affordable
housing projects. National Corp
executed a purchase and sale
agreement with the property
owner for Walnut Bluff site and
have submitted multiple grant
funding applications, which
will be used for site
remediation. By the numbers we
issued 29 garage sale permits
responded to 63 public records
requests and reviewed 114
business licenses. The division
made progress toward our
regional housing needs
assessment allocation with a
total of 10 above moderate
accessory dwelling units. So a
continuation of our 2025, 26
work plan includes processing
the following planning
applications for new
development. Uh, that would be
the uh distribution warehouse
at 32101 Walnut Avenue, the
residential project at 2599
Pacific Coast Highway and the
development of a single family
dwelling in adu, um, on the
property where the single
family dwelling that was
damaged, what has been
demolished at 2100 Ohio. At
8:50 East 33rd Street, uh, the
council MAY recall that when we
approved the Gateway Center
North Pacific plan, it included
a major renovation to the
existing Target store. It
included the construction of
the self-storage facility just
mentioned that was finished
last year, and it also included
3 additional retail pads. Uh,
the property owner has
submitted preliminary plans for
the retail drive-through pad
and has indicated that they are
close to securing a tenant. As
for our work plan for ongoing
activities, they include the to
continue to facilitate
development of workforce
housing, prepare and submit the
general plan annual review and
progress report to the state,
continue making progress on the
opportunity study areas
specifically. Staff will
continue to work with the
consultants on drafting zoning
code amendments consistent with
the economic analysis report in
order to encourage development
of properties within the osa
s,
uh, we will also support
economic development and attend
icsc to attract new business
and development in the city.
Regarding state grant grant
funding, plha funds have been
approved for years 1 through 4,
and will be utilized for site
remediation for the development
of the walnut bluff housing
project. The planning division
has submitted an application
for plha Year 5 funding, and we
will continue to seek
additional funding past year 5
if available, as well as
funding opportunities through
the Gateway City Housing Trust.
Uh, regarding our general plan
updates, the planning division,
uh, together with our
consultant has nearly completed
the final drafts of the
Environmental justice element
and an updated element, uh,
environmental resources element.
Staff will finalize the drafts
and present them before the
planning commission and the
city council for consideration.
Neighborhood enhancement has
successfully obtained
compliance of 124 code
violation cases, this fiscal
year, we continue to monitor
compliance with our vpo
properties to address
stormwater runoff and erosion
control. We will continue to
facilitate activities conducted
by the sec. A summer year 25,
26 work plan for
neighborhoodhancement includes
hiring a full-time code
enforcement officer, continuing
to focus on neighborhood
enhancement and continue
supporting the sustainable City
Committee and their efforts.
Notable plant check reviews and
process include 2200 East
Willow Street, which is the
Costco Deli remodel, again with
the project evaluation of $10.5
million. 950 East 33rd Street,
a Target rooftop solar project,
as well as two residential
projects located at 1933
through 1939 Temple Avenue and
2750 East 20th Street. Projects
with inspections currently
underway include 1787 East 28th
Street, which is an industrial
building rebuild that sustained
fire damage. The building and
safety division has issued 3
residential solar permits as
well as 5 ev charging
installation permits as well.
The 2025 26 work plan for
building and safety includes
continuing annual permit
reviews and implementation of
online services and permitting.
Eric Kranda, our principal
building inspector also serves
as the oil services coordinator
and monitors and inspects all
415 existing oil field
operations on a yearly basis, a
total of 16 oilfield service
permits were issued this past
year. It is worth noting that
all permits were issued
pursuant to the Signal Hill
Municipal code for existing
operations. A summary of the
oil field services work plan
for 2526 includes continuing to
work with oil operators,
continuing inspections of
existing oil field operations
and continuing implementation
of the oil code and state
regulations. Uh, this concludes
community development
s
presentation, and we will now
turn it over to the Signal Hill
Police Department. Thank you,
Carlo, I have a question. Um,
if we
re moving to a full-time
code enforcement officer. Are
we putting any more money in
the city? Attorney budget for
code enforcement, uh, right now
I
m requesting a little bit
more funding for city attorney,
legal services and the admin
department and so it really
depends on how much volume
we
re seeing. We
ll reassess
and if we
re seeing a need, we
would bring that back to
council at midear with a
request. Ok, thank you. And
gave us a preview of coming
attractions. Like those were,
there were some new info there.
And the pretty picture of the
target thing was in your report.
On the sign. Yeah. I caught
that. And then Colleen talked
about it. Welcome pd. Thank you,
sir. Uh, good evening, uh,
Honorable Mayor, council
members. So Can you hear me? Ok.
The Signal Hill Police
Department has 7 divisions upon
which the budget is distributed
to ensure operational services
are available to provide
exceptional service to the
community. During the course of
this presentation, we will
discuss various accomplishments
and successes that the police
department has experienced
during this last fiscal year.
Before I continue, I would like
to extend a thank you to Siam
Lou Cox and her team for all
their hard work and teamwork
during this last budget review.
Our executive management team
works very closely with our
finance team to ensure we
maintain a fiscally responsible
operating budget. In fact, we
are very fortunate to
temporarily have them in our
emergency operations center
during the uh City Hall project.
This has provided us with a
unique opportunity to continue
to build on the partnership and
proven beneficial in
preparation of our 2526 budget.
Now I would like to introduce
our police department
s support
services manager, Karissa
Inniguez. Period. Good evening,
Honorable Mayor and members of
the council. The Signal Hill
Police Department operates on a
$15 million budget to ensure
vital resources. This includes
staffing equipment, training,
programming, as we prioritize
public safety for our residents
and our community. On this
chart, you will see a few
variable increases in our
proposed 25, 26 year budget
that are reflective of
operational costs and decision
packages. The greatest
operational increase is in our
patrol services division as we
adjust for overtime and
staffing, as well as our
communications division to
adjust for our ongoing Motorola
police radio service agreement.
You MAY also note a balance and
slight decrease in operational
costs and other divisions as we
work to balance and maintain a
fiscally responsible approach
to the 25, 26 year. Decision
packages listed in orange are
representative of two items
that will be utilized to
provide crime analysis services
and assist the department with
resources to enhance hiring and
retention. We will be
discussing these items in more
detail in the coming slides. In
law enforcement, ongoing
training is critical to
ensuring safety and standards,
for our officers, our police
officers, and dispatcher
jailers, the training is state
governed by post, police
officer trainings and standards.
Standards and training. Our
administrative staff, including
our training sergeant, worked
diligently to monitor and
ensure patrol staff is
attending and maintaining all
necessary training. Over the
last fiscal year, staff
completed training. In
community policing, Advanced
officer training. Leadership,
health and mental services and
first aid and cpr to name a few.
Our operations lieutenant also
attended and successfully
completed the rigorous 14th
month post command College. In
the upcoming fiscal year, we
plan to continue to prioritize
training for all staff, both
sworn and professional. You
will notice a few additions to
our training matrix as we
prioritize development and
succession planning for
professional staff. Our
professional staff at Signal
Hill Police Department oversee
our records bureau, emergency
operations center department
budget, contracts, parking
administration, and hiring.
Training remains critical to
ensure operational success and
retention of staff. During this
next fiscal year, our record
supervisor will be attending
the prestigious Civilian
Leadership Institute and the
eoc division will be receiving
additional training and grant
management. Additionally, our
eoc will also be hosting the
city
s first cert program since
2021 scheduled for this fall.
Our patrol officers will be
attending active shooter
training, mental health
training, in addition to
maintaining all required
training as set for by posts.
And for the remainder of the
presentation, I
ll turn it back
over to Chief Kenneally.
Working. The 2425 fiscal year
was a year of accomplishments
for the Signal Hill Police
Department. As you can see on
the slide, our team worked to
continue key relationships and
programming in the community,
including our holiday outreach,
National Night Out,
Neighborhood Watch, and worked
with our pd Foundation to give
back to our community. We also
collaborated with several
regional organizations, some of
those being the California
Police Chiefs Association,
Joint Regional Intelligence
Center, Great Los Angeles,
excuse me, Greater Los Angeles
path and many others. In an
effort to maintain community
safety while optimizing
resources. Another important
accomplishment, our emergency
operations center secured a
grant to review and update the
city
s emergency operations
plan and hazard mitigation
plans. I am proud to say that
the eop is nearing completion
and will be presented to the
council in the next few weeks.
As we head into the 2526 fiscal
year. Our teams will continue
to focus on policing and
outreach that prioritizes
inclusivity for our entire
community. Our bike patrol team
will continue to promote access
and visibility throughout the
community. We also plan to
continue our efforts and work
with our regional partners to
increase outreach to the
unhoused and individuals
experiencing homelessness. We
plan on increasing our
community presence by
introducing new programs such
as Coffee with a cop as we
continue to foster
relationships with our
community, including our small
businesses. Our emergency
operations center will be
developing a monthly education
matrix and continue to aid in
providing resources to our
community at events and through
social media, including
programs such as map Your
Neighborhood. To better address
community concerns, we plan to
contract services to aid with
crime mapping and statistical
analysis is a vital tools in
crime prevention and to assist
with the efficient deployment
of enforcement resources. A key
priority for our department is
hiring and retention. The
police department recently
re-engaged our recruitment team,
which contains personnel from
all divisions, including sworn
and professional staff. We are
working closely with our hr
team to maintain competitive
hiring practices and streamline
the onboarding of new employees.
Our recruitment team has
attended several career and
hiring fairs and working to
introduce, excuse me, working
to introduce our own physical
agility test site with the goal
of hosting hiring workshops in
the future. Our traffic and
patrol, excuse me, our traffic
and patrol teams will continue
their efforts in the reduction
of the traffic that
s ensuring
the safety of pedestrians and
vehicles. Our teams have
secured grants through the
California Office of Traffic
and Safety to hold dui
checkpoints throughout. The
upcoming fiscal year. Our
emergency operations center has
also secured a state homeland
security program grant to aid
in the continued education and
safety. We hope that these
highlights represent to you our
commitment to safety and the
hard work of the men and women
of the Signal Hill Police
Department. We are proud to
serve this community and look
forward to a great year ahead.
This concludes our presentation.
And we will be handing it over
to Parks Recreation and
libraries. Good evening again.
This evening, the Parks
recreation and library Services
department. Um, we have Ali De
Beer, manager, Azure Strix Mara
recreation Supervisor and city
librarian Charles Hughes to
present tonight for the
department. Our department
strives to provide full service
year-round programming to a
wide range of ages from babies
to senior citizens. They
diverse age range allows us to
connect with a variety of
residents and ensures we have
programming for everyone. We
also work to provide these
comprehensive services at no to
low cost and focus on safety,
variety, and affordability to
ensure we maximize our
department
s outreach. The
department is comprised of 3
main divisions, including the
library division, community
services, and recreation.
During this presentation, we
will discuss what each division
is comprised of. Last of our
divisions is the community
services, um, area. This
division coordinates programs
out of the library, youth
center, and our parks, and
sometimes becomes a catch-all
for programs that don
t have a
centralized location.
Anticipated changes in the
department are primarily
comprised of salary changes for
both full and part-time. This
department in particular, in
particular heavily relies on
part-time staff to carry out
community-based programming.
From the time our parks opened
to the time our parks and
facilities close at night, 7
days a week. Tonight our
decision package requests are
primarily comprised of updated
software and licensing due to
increased and enhanced use of
the library, which you
re,
you
ll hear more about later,
um, replacement of equipment
for children with
neurodivergent needs enhance
arts and culture programming to
coincide with the city
s
commemorative flag schedule and
allocation of funding for the
food distribution program due
to anticipated federal funding
changes, the return of
programming for teens,
specifically for the youth and
government day and some teens
later in training, internship
program. The return of modified
holiday light display at Signal
Hill Park, and the introduction
of a city-wide community
resources fair and enhanced
volunteer programming. One time
funding includes requests for a
ribbon cutting for the
anticipated amphitheater
opening in 2026. The library
s
centennial celebration, the
City Hall grand opening. Um,
and repair and maintenance of
youth equipment for our youth
programming. I
ll turn it over
to our team to share more about
our department operations. The
department is actively engaged
from the onset of projects when
it comes to park and facility
development. Helping to
facilitate community engagement,
providing feedback on usability
of new and existing park spaces
and looking to implement
programming strategies for the
evolving needs of the community.
This year we helped to bring
the civics in our master plan
project to adoption. This
department has also been
involved with the design of the
amphitheater, which is phase
one of the plan. After initial
community input and involvement
with the design of Hillbrook
Park, our team facilitated the
marketing and opening of the
park, introducing the
revitalized open space and
generating excitement for that
neighborhood. The park patrol
program ensures the supervision
of local parks during picnic
reservations, as well as
general park oversight during
mornings, evenings and weekends.
Over the past year, we issued
95 permits, a 4% increase from
the previous year. And thanks
to the support of dedicated
partners who share our vision
to offer free community
programs to residents, we are
able to host 12 spring and
summer concerts? Increase the
holiday outreach program by 17%.
And supplement our senior food
distribution program, just to
name a few. We expanded our
senior programming this past
year and provided a variety of
opportunities for seniors to
socialize and connect with
others. We have seen an
increase of 33%. Through our
weekly senior social club
attendance from last year. And
at one time, the family food
distribution program was
implemented as a reaction to
the pandemic. And, but the need
continues as residents have
been navigating challenging
personal and socioeconomic
changes that MAY have prevented
them from reaching a
comfortable level of stability.
And as a result of the
increased participation through
our senior programs, we
recognize a need for additional
health and wellness services.
Later this month, we will get a
better sense of our community
needs when we host the first
ever community resources and
health care. We have increased
the engagement of our
volunteers and now have 81
active members. Looking ahead.
Um, the volunteer program will
continue to grow and supplement
additional help needed. Over
the past 3 years we
ve
continued to face the challenge
of creating effective programs
for 14 to 17 year olds. Um,
which we know is a critical age
and oftentimes helps to define
the future path into adulthood.
One highlight from this past
spring was a spinoff of the
leadership academy where we
introduce local middle and high
school students to city
government by inviting them to
spend a day with staff from
each department. And this
summer we will introduce the
team leaders and training
program designed to expose that
age group to civic engagement
and provide them with a place
to spend their summer in a safe
and enriching environment.
Another way we enrich the
community is by offering animal
services programming, we have
fostered a strong relationship
with Long Beach Animal Care
Services and their partners,
including community Animal
Medicine Project with more than
600 pets being vaccinated this
past year. Pet introductions at
city council have encouraged
responsible pet ownership and
exposed the need for animals to
find a permanent home.
Additional pet focused
programming included pet cpr
site tours of the shelter and
adoption facility and other
pet-focused activities. We
ve
engaged with more residents
through our pet of the month
program and enhance the pause
on the Hill event, which now
includes local community
vendors that offer services for
pet owners. Our arts and
culture section program more
than 16 activities that
included the Cambodian dance
program, Tagalog storytime, and
African drum circle and
cultural. Performing arts and
craft experiences. Special
events are one of the best ways
to engage with the community
members of various demographics.
This past year, we hosted many
of our traditional special
events, we continued ourselves
centennial celebration by
adding new and exciting
elements to offer an enhanced
experience. Many of the
additions from last year
s
events received rave reviews
from the community and due to
the positive feedback, we look
forward to keeping some
elements from our centennial
year in future events. Our
youth programs provide
consistent low-cost access to
mental, emotional, and social
support through after school
care camps and youth sports.
Many families depend on our
services for kinder to middle
school to provide a safe place
for children after school and
during the summer. Each day we
have approximately 100 youth in
our care and consistently have
wait lists for our programs. We
have many repeat families and
the majority of our youth
participate in more than one
program. Many of our sports
teams have shown great success.
With championship seasons and
highly ranked teams. As a
result of covid, several of our
programs were reduced, and we
have worked diligently to bring
those programs back to full
capacity. Thanks to city
council support, we we were
able to reintroduce our tweens
program. Middle school youth
are often underserved and
considered high risk. Our tween
enrollment has increased by
300% in the past year. In
response to feedback from the
community, we have added
additional weeks and extended
operating hours for our tween
summer day camp. Another result
of covid is an increase in
children who need additional
support coping with reactions,
getting along and simple tasks
that overwhelm them. We have
adjusted our ratios to better
serve their their social and
emotional needs. In addition,
we have been able to provide
staff more in-depth training on
how to work through challenging
behaviors. Last year, our youth
programs also created
activities around the
centennial year. Some
highlights included creating a
silent movie, hosting a
nineties dance party in
curating kids
art that was
focused on signalal attributes
like the city seal, popular
locations and even police
badges. These art pieces were
displayed in the library for
Youth Art Month, and many of
our families expressed their
excitement to be a part of the
celebration. Moving on to
library services, which is
proudly celebrating 5
successful years of service to
the community in our new
library. In our new building,
excuse me, over the past 5
years, we have issued a total
of 10,000 new library cards,
averaging 2000 cards each year.
This brings our total number of
cardholders to 19,000
demonstrating our commitment to
making Resources accessible.
Accessible. Additionally, we
have successfully circulated
more than 41,000 materials,
indicating a strong demand for
our resources. Recently, we
have introduced 85 Fox books to
our collection. These books
feature a physical book with a
built-in audio component
allowing students to read along
while listening to the
narration, this multi-sensory
approach is designed to enhance
understanding and engagement
for students with visual. An
auditory auditory. Processing
challenges, and we extend, we
intend to extend this
collection to support our
neural divergent learners. One
innovative feature of our
library is the ability to
obtain a library card online,
granting residents access to
thousands of e-books, audio
books, and streaming services.
At their convenience. Our ver
versatile multi-use study rooms
cater to various learning and
group collaboration needs in
response to the increased
demand for these reservations,
our team is actively working on
creative strategies to enhance
our library spaces and ensure a
comfortable and inspiring
environment for all visitors.
We continue to offer a wide
array of engaging programs for
individuals of all ages
throughout the week. We host 4
storytime sessions, Spanish,
Kamai. Baby and toddler story
time with attendants. At these
events have tripled with more
than 250 participants each week.
Our weekly tutoring program has
proven to be a valuable
academic resource. It currently
assists 33 students in grades
3rd to 8th, focusing
particularly on improving their
math skills. Engagement with
teens have been a challenge for
the library. But we
ve made no
notable progress by introducing
activities such as immersive
virtual reality experiences,
PlayStation 5, Social hours and
community Connections with with
their peers. Many of our
exciting programs have been
made possible through the
generous support of the Signal
Hill Community Foundation and
Friends of the Signal Hill
Library. Our library has
transformed into a lively
community hub that serves a
diverse range of residents
daily. We are committed to
adapting to the changing needs
of our community with a goal of
continuing to improve our
programs based on community
feedback and emerging trends,
fostering an environment that
encourages lifelong learning
and community engagement.
Throughout the year, our
vibrant community and dedicated
departments united in a
spectacular celebration of our
centennial, we extend our
gratitude to our sponsors whose
generous support helped us
create an unforgettable
experience that will be
cherished for generations to
come. Our celebrations were
filled with engaging activities
that brought the community
together in many ways. Signal
Hill families and friends
enjoyed the thrills of our
Halloween carnival and the
dazzling spectacle of the laser
show. The tree lighting and
festival of lights transformed
our streets and park into a
winter wonderland radiating
warmth and joy. One of the
highlights was the exhilarating
hill climb event where classic
Ford Model t cars raced. Ey
Hill, reminding us of our rich
history and the spirit of
competition. Additionally, we
proudly unveiled another panel
to complete our display, which
showcases the remarkable
journey of our city over the
past century. In the coming
year, the department will focus
on several key items and
initiatives, as you
ll hear
more about in the coming weeks,
we will turn attention to
development of programming for
the amphitheater, which is
slated to come online in 2026.
With the recent acquisition of
property on Signal Hill Park
will explore how to best
utilize a new space and bring
ideas back to city council for
consideration. Priorities will
continue to include the
offering of programs that focus
on emotional, mental, physical,
and over wellbeing of all
residents and look for changing
industry trends to ensure that
we continue to offer services
that meet the evolving changes
of the community. We
ll also
continue to work with our local
partners, including the Signal
Hill Community Foundation
Police Foundation, and sponsors
that support educational
programs such as the
aforementioned free tutoring
program that helped to promote
academic development. Upcoming
major projects include artwork
installation for the. Recently
reopened Hillbrook Park and
Heritage Point Park. We look
forward to continuing to offer
and enhance an array of
services, programs, and
community-based events. I
d
like to turn it over to our
public works team for the next
section. Thanks, Yvette. Um,
Good evening, Honorable Mayor
and members of the city council
tonight I
m joined by Gambino
Luna, our deputy director of
Public Works, Margarita Beltran,
our contracts manager Jesus
Saldanha, Associate engineer,
and myself, uh, Thomas Beckel,
public works director. Together
we
ll present the public works
portion of the proposed budget
from an organizational
standpoint, the public works
department consists of 5
divisions, engineering, grounds
and street maintenance, fleet
services, facilities
maintenance, and water division.
These divisions work
collaboratively to deliver
essential services, supporting
development, and managing
capital improvement projects,
maintaining our parks, streets,
vehicles, public buildings, and
ensuring the city meets its
environmental storm water and
sanitation-related regulatory
obligations. Our water division
operates a full service utility
overseeing everything from
groundwater extraction,
treatment and distribution to
regulatory compliance and
customary billing. Our budget
remains relatively stable or
flat with most changes
reflecting cpi adjustment or
minor updates based on last
year
s figures, ground and
maintenance increased slightly
due to staffing changes in
previous fiscal year. As you
can see, there
s no one time or
ongoing decision packages for
public works operations, which
displays a balanced budget.
Going to accomplishments, the
engineering division is
responsible for planning,
design, funding, right of
acquisition, property
management, uh, project
management, sorry, and project
close out. This year, the team
successfully completed several
key projects, including
Hillbrooks Park, 20th Street,
and Redondo Avenue, and a few
other projects that the team
will mention in the upcoming
slides. In terms of funding,
the team secured approximately
$6 million in new grants on top
of the $18 million secured in
the previous year. We are
currently managing a grant
portfolio of over $35 million
spread over 17 grants, all
acquired over the past 3 years.
This is a major achievement for
the department in the city. The
team also oversees a wide range
of permits, including over 120
encroachment permits issued
this year alone. As well as
traffic signal control plan
reviews, uh, in addition, staff
regularly holds a traffic
safety committee to address
both new and ongoing traffic
related concerns raised by the
community. To highlight a few
items uh in our work plan. One
of the things that make our
team different from other
public works department is that
we leverage gis as a tool to
craft our project goals and
track progress. Nearly
everything that we do is
integrated in our gis platform.
Um, you know, we
ll go into the
details in an upcoming slides
with regards to gis, uh, but
our team will continue to
oversee the delivery of key
capital improvement projects
such as the amphitheater, City
Hall renovation, Willow Street
Project in Gundry replacement.
Additionally, we
re actively
working to implement several
adopted planning documents such
as the local road safety plan,
uh, our facilities master plan,
our water master
s plan. And a
few other plants that we are
working with the admin group.
This team will continue
pursuing new ground
opportunities and outlining
further projects to enhance the
city
s infrastructure, and we
will continue our aggressive
pursuit to grant funding with
nearly 8.1 million currently in
the pipeline pending response
or approval. Uh, just to note a
few items in our gis. Currently
we use it for our tree planting
initiative to design exhibit
maps to improve public and to
inform the public about
upcoming tree planting and to
track progress in our recent
planting efforts. We integrate
jihadists in our water
operations, our, our, uh, maps,
our surveyed to rely accurate
location and are all
digitalized. We use it to
create mobile field maps or uh
the mobile field apps or maps
to our uh water crew.
Coordinate emergency water leak
responses and we also
coordinate big alert responses
with it. We also use it in our
capital improvement project map
on our city website. We track
the status of our capital
improvement projects and we
synchronized timeline for
efficient and effective project
planning. With that I
ll turn
it over to uh Gabbino Lunan.
Thank you, Thomas. Good evening,
Honorable Mayor and members of
the city council, our
maintenance team plays a key
role in responding to both
resident and internal service
requests as shown on the slide,
the team is organized into 4
main areas, streets, grounds,
facilities, and fleet. Some key
accomplishments include
addressing nearly 1800 graffiti
removals, helping to keep
public spaces clean and
continuing with our ongoing
work on bus shelters to enhance
the look and function.
Additionally, our team remained
committed to maintaining all
city parks. This included
regular landscaping pressure
washing and making sure
playgrounds were safe through
ongoing repairs and inspections.
Our maintenance work plan
includes continued upkeep of
city parks and facilities, as
well as ongoing maintenance of
the city
s fleet. Heavy
equipment and vacant lots.
We
ll also continue managing
citywide maintenance contracts
such as the landscaping
contract and the tree
maintenance contract. Our
environmental efforts this year
included the ongoing
maintenance of city owned
parcels with a focus on weed
abatement and erosion control
measures. We continue to meet
stormwater and npds regulatory
requirements, completing more
than 130 industrial wastewater
inspections and over 45
stormwater system inspections.
Our co recycle and organics
program also stayed on track,
remaining 100% compliant and as
part of our adoptive 3I master
plan, we secured usda funding
to plan approximately 600 trees
across the city starting JULY
of this year. We were quite
busy on the water side this
year, key accomplishments
include flushing 2.72 million
gallons of water. And
exercising 513 main valves to
name a few things on the
treatment side, we were able to
rebuild and calibrate chemical
analyzers at Gundry Reservoir,
replace and rebuild pumps at
various facilities and perform
filter maintenance at w 9.
Furthermore, our water work
plan as noted on this slide
targets many different areas.
Our focus is to touch on all
aspects of the water system and
the list in front of you today
accomplishes accomplishment
accomplishes just that. In
conclusion, the water
department has had a great year,
and we will continue to strive
for our unilateral goal, which
is delivery of clean, safe
water to wall in the city of
Signal Hill. I will now pass it
over to Jesus to cover the next
set of slides. Thank you, Gino.
Good evening, Honorable Mayor
and members of the city council
move on to our capital
improvement program next. This
program encompasses the
conceptual planning, designs
and specifications and ultimate
construction and construction
management of the various
infrastructure projects that we
have in the city across all
divisions from streets and
parks rehabs to facilities and
water system improvements. This
first slide covers our budget
summary of the projections for
this year and proposed budget
for the upcoming fiscal year
broken down by division. The
main drivers are a few large
projects that are underway
which have been incorporated
into the budget, including the
amphitheater project and
facilities, Gundry Roof
reservoir replacement in water
and in streets, budgets for
grant monies from hsip for
improvements on Willow and then
grants from usda for street
tree planting have also been
incorporated. The first
projects up are the park
projects, the Signal Hill Park,
playground resurfacing, uh, is
the first one this project
provided a complete replacement
of deteriorated rubberized
place surface for the existing
equipment, the project total
was 132,000 and was completed
in JANUARY of this year. The
city continues to conduct
monthly inspections on its
playgrounds and generates
rehabilitation projects on an
as-needed basis when equipment
is near its useful life cycle.
The Hill Brook Park Improvement
Project was another important,
uh, under uh project on this
program. This project
completely renovated the pocket
park incorporating a new more
usable open space in the center
of the park. This park also
installed a new shade cells,
decorative picnic areas, a
perimeter fence, and turf
landscaping. One other key
design feature was the
stormwater system that was
implemented below the sidewalk
of a temple, stormwater
discharge is diverted from
Temple Avenue gutter and routed
to the biofiltration. System
which is treated and then
infiltrated into the park. Now
moving on to the panorama
Promenade Trail landscape
project. This represents the
second phase following last
year
s slope failure
remediation. So you MAY recall
the emergency slope failure in
FEBRUARY 2024 affected over
100,000 square feet of slope
along the Panorama Trail, and
the scope of work for this
phase includes planting of
approximately 1100 fema
approved shrubs and 130 trees,
a complete irrigation system
was also installed to support
the establishment of new
vegetation. Currently this
project is in the punch. Space
and we expect to bring it to
city council for the notice of
completion following a 90-day
maintenance period, which will
conclude in AUGUST of this year,
and by JUNE of this year we
anticipate to see visible
healthy grown acacia shrubs
throughout the site. The 3rd
image on the right provides a
visualization of the expected
appearance once that
landscaping has fully matured.
This next slide highlights
several projects to support
public functions throughout the
city. First the California
Avenue Parkway Improvement
projects involve removing
deteriorated sidewalks and
installing a new meandering
sidewalk design. We
re
currently working on
implementing drought tolerant
landscaping to enhance that
parkway. The other project is
the Burnett Wall project. It
s
located in an alley west of
Lewis and this area faced
illegal dumping and a damaged
chain link fence in response,
our team worked and managed the
design for the improvements for
a new concrete block wall. This
project was completed earlier
this year, and photos on the
right show the before and after
conditions. Moving on, the
adaam project was funded
through cdbg. This year we
installed. 7 new compliant
ramps with plans to construct
13 more in the upcoming fiscal
year. Additionally, our team is
in the process of procuring
consulting services to prepare
the city
s ada evaluation and
transition plan. Lastly, the
annual sidewalk project will
complete over 5000 square feet
of sidewalk improvements this
year. That
s approximately 1500
square feet more than last
fiscal year. And also this
fiscal year we procured
services to successfully
complete inspections across all
city quadrants for these next
few slides, these will be
covered by Margaritta Beltran.
Thank you. Thank you, Jesus.
Good evening, Honorable Mayor,
members of the city council.
Tonight I will briefly
introduce a newly launched
citywide Alleys project, which
aligns with the previous
discussion on projects that
enhance public pedestrian
accessibility throughout Signal
Hill. As previously mentioned,
the public works department is
responsible for the maintenance
and repair of all city streets,
sidewalks and alleys, while the
annual pavement management
program focuses on street
rehabilitation, the annual
sidewalk improvement program
addresses sidewalk repairs. The
street division manages the
ongoing inspection, maintenance
and repairs of approximately 7
miles of city alleys. These
efforts include weed control,
removal of abandoned materials,
and pothole repairs, but they
do not include the full
reconstruction or
Rehabilitation of alley
sections. This new initiative,
which we hope will become a new
program, specifically targets
alley reconstruction focusing
on improvements, improving the
condition of citywide, citywide
alleys. This year, the public
works team procured an annual
master agreement with contract
with Gentry General Engineering
for pavement and concrete
repairs across city alleys and
prioritizing areas with
drainage issues and those in
the most critical needle repair.
To date, we have over 12,000
square feet of concrete all
repairs that have been
completed in 3 alleys located
in Quadran one of the city. The
images here show the before and
after conditions, highlighting
the significant improvements
made. But we
re not finished
yet. Next, we plan to complete
repairs in 4 more alleys
located north of Thirty-Third
Street, west of Orange,
Cerritos, lemon, and Lewis
Avenue. The slide here shows
additional before, during and
after photos, as you can see
the transformation is very
clear. This is just a glimpse
of the progress achieved so far,
which more alleys set to be
improving in the coming months.
We would also like to express
our appreciation to all
residents and their cooperation
patients during construction,
which has contributed to the
success of this project. We aim
to continue the program
annually to address significant
alley repair needs across the
city. Notices for the next
phase of this project will be
sent to the residents at least
2 weeks in advance. Moving on
to the master, to master plants,
which were almost nearing
completion. First is the water
master plan and rate study.
This project involved a
comprehensive evaluation of the
city
s water system and for the
first time, MARCH 2
interrelated reports, the city
updated the city
s updated
water master plan and the water
rate study. Scope included the
evaluation of both current and
projected water demands,
identifying the necessary
capital improvement projects to
maintain and enhance our
infrastructure and developing.
A financial model to ensure the
long term sustainability. The
next key milestone in this
project is the Pro to protest
hearing scheduled for the MAY
27 council meeting. If approved,
the the new rates will go into
effect JULY 1. For more updates
and additional information,
residents can visit the city
website. For the next project
is the facilities master plan.
This project kicked off at the
end of last fiscal year. Scope
consisted of the physical
inspections and evaluation of
12 city-owned facilities,
including the police station,
Signal Hill Library, cdr, and
the youth center. This project
involved collaborating with the
facility
s maintenance team to
establish routine maintenance
schedules and identify
long-term capital maintenance
needs to ensure our facilities
remain safe, functional, and
efficient. The assessment
report for each facility.
Outlines inspection findings,
condition assessments, and
provides recommendations for
maintenance projects listed in
level of priority. A key
project is the roof replacement
of various um facilities
citywide, which will be covered
in more detail in an upcoming
slide. We plan to present the
facility
s master plan to the
city council for adoption in
JUNE of this year. Last but
equally as important as a civic
center master plan, adopted in
AUGUST 27, 2024, and aiming to
establish a framework to make a
civic center central
destination for all signal hill
activities. The plan is divided
into three phases. With the
first phase focusing on the
amphitheater project. Phase one
is currently in design, and we
plan to provide a status update
also at the MAY 27 council
meeting, or will we, will we
share more details of 80%
completed design and for a
sneak peek, you can see the
pictures on the bottom. Right
hand side of this, this slide.
Next is a reservoir
rehabilitation, stormwater
capture project. This project
includes a rehabilitation of
park amenities and the
integration of the stormwater
capture system. The proposed
design will reduce runoff,
improve water infiltration, and
enhance the overall community
space. It also provides cities
ms for compliance goals and
aligns with the original
stormwater management
activities. Now, I
ll turn it
over to Gavinno to provide an
update on the next project.
Thank you, Margarita. The City
Hall renovation project has not
been without its set of
problems to solve. However,
this can be said for any
project, especially when
working with a 100 year old
buildings such as City Hall.
Despite these challenges, the
project is 30% complete. The
core components of the building
have either been installed or
are currently projected to be
installed within the next
several weeks. We will begin to
see this project ramp up in the
later months of summer fall of
this year, once the
installation of the windows are
completed. One thing to note is
that every effort is being made
by the public works team to
finish this project in a timely
manner. The end, the end result
will be a night and day
difference with every space in
the building being renovated to
meet the form and function that
is required of a city hall
building. The new spaces were a
culmination of various planning
sessions, research, and
meticulous selection to ensure
it exceeds the standards of the
residents, customers, and city
council. When this project is
completed, when this project is
finished, the city, the city
hall building will not only
complement the civic center
with its refreshed aesthetics
and updated functionality, we
will maximize the use of spaces
to serve the public. The temple
disinfection Station
Improvement Project gives me
great pride. This project was
especially critical to the
department because of its
impact. Over the last several
years, the need to add
additional disinfection became
apparent based on the
well-analy results the
department has been seeing. The
temple disinfection Project
effectively added a chlorine
boosting system, a system that
provides effective disinfection
to boost the quality of water
in the elevated areas of the
city. Much of the
infrastructure needed was
already in place, allowing us
to make the necessary upgrades
that include the installation
of dosing pumps. A logic
computer and ancillary
equipment. The water department
has been successful in not only
improving water quality for the
city, but also meeting system
requirements that is regulated
by the Department of Drinking
Water. This project is a
testament to our commitment in
providing safe, clean water to
all in the city of Signal Hill.
Next, we have facilities
projects for facilities
projects we have 2 that are
currently in progress. The
first is phase one and phase
one charging station
installation project. Our goal
for electrification and public
works is to understand the
regulation. How it affects
every piece of equipment in the
fleet. And what we can do to
ensure operations are not
interrupted. Phase one will
improve the speed of charging
at at an existing public
charger at the city library and
introduced 4 new charges at the
city yard for upcoming fleet
vehicles. The project is slated
to be completed by the end of
JUNE of this year. Another
project in the queue is the
citywide roof Replacement
Project, the need for repair,
albeit obvious, is required to
ensure costly repairs are
mitigated, but most importantly,
operations are not interrupted.
If approved by city council,
the goal of the project is to
install a long lasting systems
that would minimize risk. And
hence our values for energy
efficiency and meet our
facilities master plan goals in
investing in deferred
maintenance at City Hall,
Community Center, and the city
yard. For fiscal year 2425, the
segment of roads selected for
the annual pavement project is
California Avenue between
Spring Street and 28th Street.
This area is a prime candidate
for rehabilitation that is
evident from the latest payment
condition index survey
completed not too long ago.
Additionally, city crews has
spent a great deal of time
addressing pothole concerns and
has also been a segment of the
department receives many calls
from commuters, businesses, and
concerned residents. This
project has just kicked off on
MAY 7th. And it
s slated to be
completed next month.
Notification and detouring for
a full closure is set in place,
allowing city staff and
contractors to expedite the
work and reconstruction of a
large, large section of the
road as noted on the bottom
left of the slide. I will now
pass it on to Thomas to bring
the public portion of the
presentation home. Thank you,
Gabbino. Uh, the East Burnett
Street Historic District,
pedestrian and bicycle lane and
hazmat project, kind of a
mouthful there as part of the
city
s 2009 circulation element.
Uh, in fiscal year 2324, we
secured uh 2 $2.8 million in
grant funding through
California Transportation
Commission atp state grant. The
project includes constructing a
bicycle lane along Burnett
Avenue, beginning at Walnut
Avenue, continuing through
Skyline Drive and ending at
Dawson. This project will
include new sidewalk along
Burnett and adding, adding a
class 2 bike lane throughout
the segment as a traffic
calming measure. New lighting
that matches the specific plan
and the parkway improvements
are also part of this project.
The roadway will also be
reconstructed with new asphalt
pavement. We recently completed
the environmental phase and
we
ll begin design in the
coming weeks. Construction is
anticipated to begin in early
to mid 2026. Uh, we
re
currently tracking 3 separate
projects along Willow Street,
two of which will be high and
which are highlighted on this
slide. The first one is the
willow capacity improvement
project with a project budget
of $7.3 million. This project
is fully funded by Metro I-710
congestion improvement program,
which is a competitive uh
funding process. The design for
this project is 100% complete.
We are currently going through
a right of way acquisition
process, which we have secured
an additional $250,000 for
legal expense. S The scope of
this project include the
addition of a right uh right
turn pocket in both east and
westbound direction at Cherry
Avenue and Willow Street
intersection, as well as a
second dedicated northbound
left turn lane on Cherry Avenue.
Additionally, a new protected
left turn signal phase will be
added at the Willow and Walnut
Avenue intersection, both east
and westbound direction. While
the improvement on Willow and
cherry, while the improvements
on Willow and Cherry are aimed
at reducing congestion. The
enhancement at Willow and
Walnut are focused on improving
safety as warranted by our
traffic analysis. The second
project is Willow efficient
traffic corridor project.
Currently this project is in uh
conceptual phase. It focuses on
intelligent transportation
system or its for signal
synchronization, upgrading
traffic signals and optimizing
timing improvement. These
enhancements stem from the
recommendations outlined in the
city
s uh local roadway safety
plan which was adopted in 2023.
This plan played a key role in
us securing the highway safety
improvement program grant
funding that we previously
discussed. We also have several
beautification projects
underway, um, 3 of which are
highlighted on this slide. The
first one is California Avenue
Beautification Project where we
are installing a meandering
sidewalk with drought tolerant,
uh, landscape to enhance the
visual aspect or the visual
appeal of that corridor. This
project will transform
approximately 800 linear feet
of sidewalk. The second is
Willow Median Project, um, in
coordination with Metropolitan
Water District and the
sanitation district, we have
secured approximately $200,000
in funding to date with the
potential to secure more
funding in the upcoming years.
This, these funds will be used
to enhance our medians with
climate adaptive water
conserving and colorful
planting that will, that will
beautify the medians in our
city. A great example is the
completed median at Cherry
Avenue and Spring Street. Which
is one of the projects that we
completed last year. The 3rd
project is the I the I-405 city
monument sign standing at
approximately 15 ft tall and 8
to 9 ft wide. It is visible
from Orange Avenue exit off of
the 405 freeway. This project
was a collaboration with
Caltrans and serves as a
welcoming entry point to the
city. A few other projects that
you will hear more about in the
next few months, include our
park design concept. We
re
currently working on
standardizing park elements
such as benches, trash
receptacles, signage, trail
markers, etc. To create a
cohesive and timeless design
across all our city parks. We
are in the conceptual design
phase working with architects
on renderings that reflect the
city
s character. Community
outreach will begin this summer,
followed by a review from the
Parks and Crakes Commission and
Planning Commission, and then
ultimately decision by city
council. During tonight council
meeting, council will also
review a new street name sign
uh design previously vetted
through the Parks and Recs
Commission and the Planning
Commission. A final design will
be selected for implementation,
focusing on major arterials. We
currently have a budget of
roughly 400,000 to replace some
of our signs within the city.
The city hall generator project
is also progressing well as an
operational hub hub for
essential services, ensuring
uninterrupted power is critical
for data protection and
continuity during outages.
We
re making progress on the
20th Street and Green Green
Street project funded by
Measure w. This project will
improve storm drain, uh, storm
storm drainage issues, uh, west
of, I mean east of Orange on
28th Street. It is currently in
conceptual design and the
budget is roughly $400,000. We
also have a community-driven
projects such as Ellis and pch
and Improvement Project, which
involves sidewalk gap closure
and roadway upgrade. This
project is currently in design,
which construction is an
anticipated uh by the end of
this year. These are just a few
of the projects that we are
working on and we wanted to
take this opportunity to
provide counsel in the
community with an update,
especially on those projects
that MAY not be as visible, but
we still get asked questions
either from the community or
some of our council members,
but that I conclude my uh
presentation. I
ll pass it on
to our finance department.
Thank you. And so now for some
encouraging words, we are at
the last section of the
presentation today. Uh, we are
going, we
re now at the
decision package. And just to
bring this slide back from our
earlier overview, uh, we
presented the structurally
balanced budget, which had our
revenues exceeding, our
expenditures by $687,000. And
so now we
d uh for your
consideration, we, uh, the
following allocations are gonna
be proposed. Here we go. So in
the administration department,
uh, we are proposing 531,000,
and this is primarily to fund a
one-time sql analysis to
support the city
s future
development, as you heard in
earlier presentation, and
there
s also a $15,000 for ai
software to support economic
development site selections, um,
specifically this software will
be used to analyze city owned
land and to identify and
present optimal site selections
for potential developers. And
this, so that is an ongoing
cost of 15,000 and a one-time
cost of $516,000. And the
police budget, there is a one
time cost of 0 and an ongoing
cost of $50,000 and the police
department has practically
formed a recruitment team of
officers and professional staff
to maintain optimal staffing
levels through strategic hiring
and retention initiatives. This
team will activate, uh, will
actively participate in
activities to promote
recruitment and to support
these efforts, staff is
requesting $30,000. Um, second
here, given the data-driven
nature of modern law
enforcement, timely inaccurate
crime insights are crucial. The
$20,000 would allow for access
to consulting services for
crime analytics as a tool to
identify trends and patterns
and contribute to an efficient
resource of deployment. And 3rd
here, yeah. Um When we
implement that, are you gonna
That
s pretty cool. We
re not
haven
t talking about this
consultant and that whole thing
in detail right now. Are we
gonna get That at some point
because I think the public
would like to know. You know,
more about that because it
s a
pretty cool thing. Yeah, the uh
our chief and the police
department will provide a full
presentation on that software
and its implementation at a
future meeting. Perfect. And
parks and recreation and
library services. A preparation
requests of $106,000
encompasses several items, one
of which is the $70,000 for
holiday city lights and decor.
This initiative, which garnered
significant positive feedback
during the centennial
celebration is proposed for a
continued community engagement.
Beyond this, you
ll see other
one time and ongoing proposals
supporting various pearl
activities from facility
maintenance, youth programs,
and volunteer reventions
mentioned during the
department
s presentation. And
here staff is proposing an
allocation of $150,000 for an
artwork project that will
enhance the aesthetics of the
city
s future amphitheater. And
then to aid in the city
s
council decision, this slide
details a summary of the
proposed decision packages for
fiscal year 2025-26, year two.
In total, these decision
packages represent $150,000 in
ongoing cost,, $150,000 in one
time capital improvement
projects for the artwork and
$537,000 in one time cost,
bringing the total request to
$837,000. Staff is here and
ready for any questions you MAY
have. I think that was my line.
Just playing with you. Um, all
right, thank you for the
presentation. Council member
Honeycutt, do you have any
clarifying questions for staff.
I just have one. I had the
opportunity to go over, uh,
many of my questions with Carlo
yesterday. So, um, my, most of
my questions got answered. Just
one came to mind tonight was,
um, I don
t know if it
s
possible to go back to showing
the distribution of property
taxes. Oh, that
s always a
great one to highlight. Yes.
That
s why it
s always in the
presentation. Because we really
Get such a tiny part of it.
There it was Yeah, so I just,
um, by the arrow, it
s the
little orange arrow slice. Yeah,
so, you know, when I
m, when I
look at this, um, how do I put
this into a question. I guess,
uh, uh, you know, looking at
the budget, we, we get about
$850,000 in property tax, right?
But when we look at la County,
um, You know, they get a
significant portion of the
property tax generated in the
city of Signal Hill and I guess
my question would be, um, oh,
it
s more of a statement, but
I
ll form it in a question is,
can we, can we work with the
supervisor
s office to see, you
know, there
s some additional
funding we
re going to need for
things, um, you know, like the
Civic Center master plan and
things like that. Maybe there
s
an opportunity there that we
can work with the supervisor
s
office, um, the la County was
the big benefactor when
redevelopment went away and uh
I think it would be prudent to
work with the supervisor
s
office to see if there
s an
opportunity there. I can
provide just a quick response
to the question that that
s
certainly something that staff
is going to endeavor to do, uh,
we
re being a nolo property tax
city, we get 6 cents out of
every dollar, as you can see
from the chart, um, I, you know,
I used to think that our
property tax allocation in
other cities that I worked at
was low, uh, one city was 14.
My next city was 11. Now we
re
down to 6. I can certainly
appreciate being at 11. And
1414 cents per dollar, but
that
s certainly something that
we will do. We do have a number
of important capital projects
coming up, especially with the
Civic Center master plan, and I
do believe, uh, as, as in, in
my personal and professional
opinion as a city manager that
it is appropriate for the city
to make a request of the county,
state, the federal government,
and find as much funding as
possible as we can to offset
the costs of those projects,
but in this case specifically,
the county as it relates to our
property. Tax allocation. Thank
you. Council member Copeland. I
do not have any questions, just
want to commend the staff on
all the work they
ve done and
these decision packages are,
are great. Thank you for.
Suggesting all those. No
questions, Vice Mayor. Um, I
had one question. We have a
city hall generator we
re
working on. Do we have a pd
generator already in place. Yes,
perfect. Yeah, and I assume our
water system all has backup.
Yeah, because we
ve talked
about that before. All right,
that was my only thing that I
thought I. Thank you for an
amazing presentation. Next time
That we just vote. Yeah. Oh,
the public. Any any public
comment on this item. Actually,
that
s none of my. It
s not on
my script. Do we do public
comment at the beginning? So
Yeah, well, and you know, this
is a, a study session. This is
a workshop. Normally it
s way
chattier, but we were trying to
get through it. Uh, so normally
in a workshop scenario, we
allow comment freely, so, but
we were really on it tonight.
All right. Anybody from the
public like to comment? All
right, seeing none. I
ll
entertain a motion to provide
to provide direction, it says.
Do we have any direction, not
question. Ok. Then it
s great
to see some of our
commissioners here. I
ve said
it every year. This is my
favorite meeting. It gives an
overview of everything going on
from all departments what they
accomplished in the last fiscal
year, but they plan to
accomplish in the next fiscal
year, so I think it
s really
vital meeting for our
commissioners to know the
direction that our budget
s
going in their individual
meetings. So I want to
particularly thank the
commissioners that are here and
the, share the information with
your fellow commissioners and
encourage them to attend, uh,
next year. I think it
s really
a, a good head start, um, for
the planning and the decisions
that you have to make
throughout the year at your
meetings, and again, thank you
staff. This is an excellent,
excellent report. And normally
we would be, uh, the direction
would be if we had choices to
cut things or add things, and
in this case it sounds like
we
re all in agreement with
what
s been presented. And so
the direction would be to
proceed to bring the budget to
a council meeting. Ok, so
that
s the direction. All right.
We
re all nodding. Thank you.
Staff, you did a great job.
There
s, uh, no, no changes to
be made, so. Thank you. And I
really, it really um. Really
shows us how uh we we
ve been
working our plan, right? We,
we
ve come up with our
strategic plan and we
ve been
working on our plans every year
and, um, so when we get to the
budget, we
re just continuing
on the path that we
ve been on
and continuing to find funding,
and it
s really amazing how, um,
a lot of the additional
projects are because of staff
working hard to find additional
funding, right? And uh we
appreciate your efforts there
finding grants and other
sources of funding, so. Bravo
Thank you Alright, so now we
don
t need to adjourn our
workshop. We do. We do, ok. A
motion to adjourn our workshop.
So, we
re adjourning our
special meeting to then go to
our regular meeting and we have
a motion by Council member
Woods. 2 in a second by council
member Copeland and without