2024_02_21 - Special - Laserfiche WebLink

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The 18 focus areas included: Animal Shelter Improvements, Police Department Staffing, Park Improvements, Sidewalk/Curb Repair, New Police Department, Youth and Senior Programs, Aging Infrastructure Replacement, Climate Action Plan, Homeless Solutions General, Homeless Solutions Mental Health Team, Affordable Housing, Downtown Parking, City-wide Street Resurfacing, Emergency Management, Code Enforcement Staffing, Technology Improvements, Communication and Engagement and Museum Construction. Four write-ins included: Police Patrol Units, Colton Avenue and Orange Street Beautification, Sustainability/Climate Change Budget and Community Choice/Clean Energy. As public comment, Eric Shamp offered criteria to consider when prioritizing, such as the reduction of harm, project timelines with short and long term goals, the interconnection between projects, and the consequences of taking no action at all. Bobby Garrity pointed out the City was in a housing shortage crisis and, in particular, a lack of affordable housing, and he urged the Council to reform policies that inhibit development, adding he also supported the use of funds for the Climate Action Plan, Sustainability/Mitigation projects and Clean Energy. Dennis Bell thought the criteria proposed by Eric Shamp were useful, and he was concerned about spending taxpayer money on a Mental Health Team and Museum Construction. Brianna Egan spelled out her reasons for supporting Climate Action, Affordable Housing and Street Resurfacing. Throughout a lengthy discussion filled with dialogue and questions, Council Members provided their thoughts and perspectives on the various projects, listing their top individual choices. They were thankful for the great input as presented by the speakers, and with a spirit of compromise, the first ranking outcome led to the selection of the groups' top six projects, included in no specific order: Item A) Animal Shelter Item H) Climate Action Plan Item B) Increased Police Department Staffing Item E) New Police Department site Item K) Affordable Housing Item L) Downtown Parking Study Additionally, the Council selected four more projects to represent ranking numbers 7-10. These projects included: Item C) Park Improvements Item G) Aging Infrastructure Replacement Item I) Homelessness (General) Item 0) Code Enforcement Staffing City Manager Duggan closed the meeting stating the prioritized list of the top ten projects provides sufficient guidance for staff to develop appropriate funding plans to be included in the next biennial budget for FY 2025 and 2026. ADJOURNMENT There being no further action required the special meeting adjourned at 7:37 P.M. Special CC_Budget Priorities_February 21, 2024 Page 2