Why this meeting matters. Most of the money on this agenda was decided in titles that don't show it. The two biggest examples: the General Fund cash backstop for the water fund (item 15) and the City Manager's severance (item 18) appear only inside the staff reports. If you only read the agenda, you'd miss both. Every vote below is copied from the meeting video, because the Council has not approved minutes for this meeting yet.
Public speakers are not named on this site. City officials and staff are, because they act for the public.
A flag means “check this one,” not “something is wrong.” Votes are copied from the meeting video until the Council approves minutes; the minutes are the official record.
Two members of the public spoke. A local business owner asked the City for a permanent fix to a neighborhood problem at the east end of 6th Street (the audio is partly unclear on the exact issue) Unverified2. A Public Works employee briefly said he would speak on item 18 instead Verified2.
Lessons: First Amendment: public commentCal. Const. Art. I §3: petition and open government
Item text: Verified2
Fees/rates
Recology, the garbage hauler, notified the City of its yearly rate increase. The Council only "receives" letters like this; there is no vote Verified1.
Look closer: Your garbage bill is going up and it reached the Council as a letter, not a decision. Ask what the franchise agreement lets Recology raise without a vote, and when the Council last reviewed it.
Lessons: Art. XIII D §6: notice, hearing, majority protestWilliams: fees and rates
Item text: Verified1
State notices about El Niño flood and storm readiness. Received for the record; no vote Verified1.
Item text: Verified1
A recommendation letter from the Mayor Pro Tem for the Chief of Jackets at City Hall. Received; no vote Verified1.
Item text: Verified1
Money
A consultant study supporting an increase in the wastewater the City is permitted to discharge to Salt Creek, from 0.5 to 0.7 million gallons a day. The packet lists the cost as part of PACE's "existing engineering service contract." Received and filed; no vote Verified1.
Look closer: A real environmental and growth decision arrived as "written communication." Ask what PACE has billed under its existing contract this year, and when the Council will actually discuss the discharge increase.
Item text: Verified1
Creates a fast-track permit process for EV charging stations, which state law (Government Code §65850.7, added in 2015) requires cities to adopt. Staff lists no immediate fiscal impact Verified1. During the hearing staff said it "should have been put in 10 years ago" Verified2. A second reading is needed before it takes effect.
Look closer: This was about a decade late. Ask what other state-required updates the City has not made yet.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Introduced, first reading waived 4-1 Verified2
motion: Belmontes Leyva, second: Troughton · No: Parsons · Video time 00:12:38–00:13:16
Lessons: State and city: ordinancesArt. XI §7: city police power
Item text: Verified1
Approves the written record of last month's meeting Verified1.
Look closer: The September minutes say the Council accepted the cybersecurity grant with a required 30% City match ($107,143). Item 7 says the match was 20% and has been waived Verified1. Both can't be right as written.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Consent calendar (items 6–10) approved Unverified2
motion: Troughton, second: Parsons · Video time 00:13:49–00:14:18
The chair announced "Motion carries." We heard ayes from Belmontes Leyva, Dunlap and Sellers; Parsons' and Troughton's answers were not clear on the recording, so the exact count is unconfirmed.
Lessons: The Brown ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Item text: Verified1
Money
A paperwork resolution the state (Cal OES) requires for the $250,000 grant accepted in September. It names the City Manager or designee to sign grant documents. Staff says the local match was waived and lists the fiscal impact as "none" Verified1.
Look closer: Ask for the waiver in writing, and whether the $107,143 match approved in September is still set aside in the water and sewer funds.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Consent calendar (items 6–10) approved Unverified2
motion: Troughton, second: Parsons · Video time 00:13:49–00:14:18
The chair announced "Motion carries." We heard ayes from Belmontes Leyva, Dunlap and Sellers; Parsons' and Troughton's answers were not clear on the recording, so the exact count is unconfirmed.
Lessons: The Brown ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Item text: Verified1
Money
Names the City Manager as the City's representative for a $2 million state (DWR) grant application to reduce manganese in the water supply Verified1.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Consent calendar (items 6–10) approved Unverified2
motion: Troughton, second: Parsons · Video time 00:13:49–00:14:18
The chair announced "Motion carries." We heard ayes from Belmontes Leyva, Dunlap and Sellers; Parsons' and Troughton's answers were not clear on the recording, so the exact count is unconfirmed.
Lessons: The Brown ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Item text: Verified1
Contract
Joins a joint powers authority that issues bonds and other financing for member cities. Membership is free and non-voting, and any actual financing would come back to the Council Verified1.
Look closer: The staff report reads like a sales pitch: "the only meaningful cost is the cost of 'not joining'." The agenda says the Mayor and City Manager sign the agreement; the report's recommendation names only the City Manager Verified1. Ask who approached the City, and who gets paid when a member city borrows through it.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Consent calendar (items 6–10) approved Unverified2
motion: Troughton, second: Parsons · Video time 00:13:49–00:14:18
The chair announced "Motion carries." We heard ayes from Belmontes Leyva, Dunlap and Sellers; Parsons' and Troughton's answers were not clear on the recording, so the exact count is unconfirmed.
Lessons: Art. XVI §18: the debt limitThe Brown ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Item text: Verified1
A support letter requested by Congressmen Gallagher and Thompson. The packet notes the bill text had not been released yet Verified1.
Look closer: The City put its name behind a bill nobody could read yet.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Consent calendar (items 6–10) approved Unverified2
motion: Troughton, second: Parsons · Video time 00:13:49–00:14:18
The chair announced "Motion carries." We heard ayes from Belmontes Leyva, Dunlap and Sellers; Parsons' and Troughton's answers were not clear on the recording, so the exact count is unconfirmed.
Lessons: The Brown ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Item text: Verified1
Money
The monthly cash, investment and check report from Finance Director Rex Greenbaum. Hotel-tax (TOT) revenue is running well ahead of budget Verified1. Received and filed; no vote Verified2.
Look closer: The narrative says TOT is $101,987 over a $475,264 budget; the table on the next pages says $100,987 over $476,264. One page is also dated "as of August 2025" Verified1. Small errors, but this is the report the Council relies on. Read the check register: it lists every payment.
Item text: Verified1
Money Contract
Awards a traffic-safety intersection contract: $207,257 base bid plus $79,850 for an optional add-on, up to $315,818 with contingency. A federal safety grant (HSIP) covers up to $288,000 of eligible costs Verified1. The City's own share, if the contingency is fully used, is up to $132,709 Calculated1.
Look closer: Only two bids. The lower bidder, Vaca Valley, was rejected as non-responsive over its subcontractor list, and the 90-day bid validity had already lapsed because of Caltrans delays Verified1. Ask for the rejection letter.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved 5-0 Verified2
motion: Belmontes Leyva, second: Sellers · Video time 00:23:25–00:23:59
Lessons: Art. VII: conflicts of interest (Gov. Code §1090)Williams: open government and Form 700
Item text: Verified1
Money Contract
Pedestrian safety work at 8th and F streets, awarded to FBD Vanguard Construction: $208,124 base plus $50,850 optional add-on, up to $284,871.40 with contingency. Three bids Verified1. City funds cover up to $114,705.11 including contingency Calculated1.
Look closer: The agenda title never names the contractor; you had to open the staff report to learn it Verified1.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved unanimous Verified2
motion: Troughton, second: Sellers · Video time 00:29:44–00:30:13
Lessons: Art. VII: conflicts of interest (Gov. Code §1090)Williams: open government and Form 700
Item text: Verified1
Money Contract
Decides whether to drop a raised median on E Street between 9th Street North and South. Staff found no collision or safety data requiring it, so it is a policy choice. Removing it adds about $10,000 to the design budget, handled as a change order on Teichert's $8,894,068 construction contract under the City Manager's existing authority Verified1.
Look closer: Staff admits the pushback from residents happened "outside of formal meetings and was not captured in meeting minutes" Verified1. Decisions shaped off the record are exactly what to watch. Ask how many change orders the $8.9 million contract has had so far, and their total.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved removing the median 4-0, 1 abstention Verified2
motion: Parsons, second: Belmontes Leyva · Abstained: Mayor Dunlap · Video time 00:45:57–00:46:39
Announced as "motion carries four with one abstain." No reason for the abstention was stated in the portion we transcribed.
Lessons: Art. VII: conflicts of interest (Gov. Code §1090)Williams: open government and Form 700
Item text: Verified1
Money Contract
Awards the underground water and sewer work for E Street: $1,472,074 (14 bids; the engineer estimated $2.5 million), up to $1,619,281 with contingency Verified1.
Look closer: Two things are in the staff report but not in the agenda title: (1) $122,936.35 more for WEI's construction management (negotiated down from $290,500), for a total of $1,742,217.35; and (2) the General Fund will cover the water fund's cash shortfalls up to $800,000, to be paid back "by the end of Fiscal Year 2028" Verified1. That is a loan from the fund that pays for police, parks and everything else. Ask for the repayment schedule and what happens if it slips. A losing bidder (R&R Pacific) protested; the Council rejected the protest in a separate vote.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved (after separately rejecting a bid protest) unanimous Verified2
motion: Belmontes Leyva, second: Parsons · Video time 01:03:23–01:04:23
Bid-protest rejection, voted first: motion Troughton, second Sellers, at 00:49:57–00:50:38. Ayes were heard but the count was not clear on the recording Unverified2.
Lessons: Art. VII: conflicts of interest (Gov. Code §1090)Williams: open government and Form 700
Item text: Verified1
Fees/rates
Business license and building fees will now rise every year with the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward consumer price index, with no new vote each year. Staff says this fixes an omission in the 2025 fee resolution. It also adds a $2,500 deposit for repeat building reinspections, suggested by the City's building-inspection contractor, BPR Consulting Group Verified1.
Look closer: The report does not say how much more residents and businesses will pay. Automatic increases mean the Council never has to vote on them again. Ask for the dollar impact and who benefits from the reinspection deposit.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved 5-0 Verified2
motion: Sellers, second: Troughton · Video time 01:06:29–01:07:10
Lessons: Art. XIII C: what counts as a taxWilliams: fees and rates
Item text: Verified1
Money
Buys two Public Works trucks from Geweke Ford: an F-450 for $94,866.92 (water fund) and an F-350 for $62,710.59 (sewer fund), and raises those budgets by $94,867 and $62,711. The old 2010 trucks go to auction. Staff says it has asked Janus Solar about a possible $85,000 donation toward the F-450 Verified1. Together: $157,577.51 Calculated1.
Look closer: A council member asked why this did not go to the finance committee first; staff said that was probably an oversight Verified2. Water and sewer funds come from your utility bills. Ask whether the Janus Solar donation came through, and whether the donor has business before the City.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved 4-1 Verified2
motion: Parsons, second: Belmontes Leyva · No: Mayor Dunlap · Video time 01:14:37–01:15:17
Lessons: Art. XIII D §6(b): fee money pays for that serviceWilliams: fees and rates
Item text: Verified1
Staff pay/benefits Contract Money
Eight months after her employment agreement took effect (February 19, 2026), the City Manager's contract is amended to: run five years, to February 18, 2031; raise base salary from $175,000 to $178,500; add a $500-a-month vehicle allowance; and raise severance (if fired without cause) from three months' pay to four, then five, then six months by February 2028. The City Attorney, Andreas Booher, negotiated it after the Council's direction following her August performance review Verified1.
Look closer: The agenda title just says "Approve Employment Contract Amendment for the City Manager," with no dollar figures Verified1. The stated fiscal impact is $6,500 a year, and it leaves out severance. Six months at the new salary is $89,250 Calculated1. The $500-a-month allowance is $6,000 a year, but the report counts a $3,000 increase without explaining the difference. The recommendation reads "Staff and the City Attorney recommend" adoption Verified1: city staff report to the City Manager whose pay is being set. A closed-session item was kept as a backup "in case that item didn't pass" and dropped after the vote; it does not appear on the posted agenda Verified2. The City Attorney also mentioned receiving anonymous comment letters, which were not read aloud Verified2.
Unofficial result, from the meeting video Approved 4-1 Verified2
motion: Mayor Dunlap, second: Belmontes Leyva · No: Troughton · Video time 01:40:32–01:40:48
Announced as "Motion carries 4-1." Council Member Parsons' answer was inaudible on the recording; the 4-1 count implies an aye Unverified2.
Item text: Verified1
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