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Unofficial until approved by the
Alhambra City Council
MINUTES
Special Meeting
ALHAMBRA CITY COUNCIL
May 6 , 2025
12:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL: At 12:07 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the Alhambra City Council met in Council Chambers in Alhambra City Hall.
CITY COUNCIL: PRESENT: WANG, ANDRADE-STADLER, LEE
ABSENT: MAZA, MALONEY
Officials Present: City Manager Binnquist, Assistant City Manager Garcia, Deputy City Manager Stover, City Attorney Montes, City Clerk Myles, Director of Parks & Recreation Macias, Director of Library Services LohGuan, Director of Public Works/Utilities Ahlen, Director of Finance Lieu, Director of Human Resources Ko, Director of Community Development Ho, Fire Chief Ragusa, Chief of Police Kennedy, Assistant Finance Director Tran, Manager Analyst Alvarez , Budget Analyst Pinto, CITY CLERK REPORT - NOTICE NO. N2M2 5- 52
The City Clerk hereby report ed that she duly gave notice of the special meeting of the City Council being held this afternoon pursuant to the order of the Mayor and in accordance with Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California.
PRESENTATION
1 . BUDGET WORKSHOP – F2M25-17
MAZA & MALONEY: Councilmember Maza and Vice Mayor Maloney entered Council Chambers at 12:08 p.m.
At the February 24, 2025 City Council Meeting, it was requested staff provide a Budget Workshop in addition to the June 23, 2025 Public Hearing to consider approval of the Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26 through 2026-27, and Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2025-2030. City Manager BINNQUIST and Director of Finance LIEU delivered a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk ’s office. Topics discussed in the Budget Workshop include d : Explanation of Budgetary Funds; Overview of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 and 2026-27 Budget; Fiscal Year 2025-3030 Capital Improvement Plan; 5-Year Financial Forecast; Long-Term Liabilities; Reserve Fund Balances; Reserve Policy; Potential Federal Funding Impacts; Upcoming Fiscal Challenges; Review of 2025 Strategic Plan Priorities; Funding Estimates for Priorities; Economic Development Opportunities; and, 2025 Strategic Plan Funding Recommendations . After the discussion, it was expected Council would provide direction to staff on funding recommendations for Fiscal Year 2025-26. Said requests would be included in the Draft Fiscal Year 2025-26 and 2026-27 Budget for consideration at the June 23, 2025 Council Meeting.
City Manager BINNQUIST delivered an explanation of budgetary funds including unrestricted funds, special revenue funds – restricted funds, enterprise funds – restricted for specific uses, internal service funds . Director of Finance LIEU provided a budget overview and reviewed topics such as: All Funds Spending plan, proposed budget for all funds, proposed unassigned general fund budget overview, general fund revenue sources, sales and use tax industry groups, general fund expenditures, CAL PERS Rates, and the 5-year financial forecast. 2 5-6 -25
Discussion : Mayor LEE, Ms. LIEU, and Ms. BINNQUIST discussed the use of the Budget Surplus, the projection for the future of the Budget Surplus, and the use of the General Fund – Unrestricted Use for various projects including deferred maintenance projects.
Councilmember ANDRADE-STADLER, Ms. LIEU and Ms. BINNQUIST discussed various taxes such as the Measure AL tax and its specific uses as well as the proposed TOT tax ballot measure. They also discussed City departments which use restricted funds or restricted funds for specific use, such as Public Works and Utilities. Vice Mayor MALONEY and Ms. LIEU also discussed Special Revenue Funds. Councilmember WANG and Ms. BINNQUIST briefly discussed Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) which were funded and those that would be deferred at this time. Councilmember MAZA and Ms. BINNQUIST discussed the uncertainty of federal funds at this time.
Ms. Binnquist and Ms. Lieu continued the presentation. Ms. LIEU provided an overview of FY2025-2026 Capital Improvement Projects (CIP), Public Safety CIP, other CIP requests, the FY2026-2027 CIP Plan, and the FY 2026-2027 CIP Requests. Ms. BINNQUIST provided an overview and explanation of FY 2025-2026 and FY 2026-207 Position Changes for Full-Time Staff. Ms. LIEU continued with an explanation and overview of long -term liabilities , General Fund Reserve balance, and the General Fund Review history . Ms. BINNQUIST concluded this presentation with an explanation of Federal Grants and upcoming fiscal challenges anticipated by the City.
Discussion : Ms. ANDRADE-STADLER and Director of Public Works and Utilities AHLEN discussed the unfunded mandate from the State of California for a Cross Connection Coordinator. Mr. AHLEN explained that the State required a full-time staff member to supervise the connection device to the potable water system for monitoring purposes.
Ms. WANG and Ms. BINNQUIST discussed the City ’s preparedness in the event of an economic recession. Ms. BINNQUIST stated that the City maintained and operated a conservative baseline budget and that any additions were based on necessity. She stated that the City insisted on grants whenever possible to alleviate the burden on the general fund. She discussed the additions to the general fund reserve and that the City continued to try to add money to it whenever possible. She stated that in the event of a recession, the City would not continue with unfunded projects. She also addressed concerns regarding staff and stated that the City would only hire necessary staff members based on expanding needs and Council priorities for programs. Ms. WANG supported staff ’s practices and supported continuing to align reserves with long term liabilities. Ms. LEE emphasized the need to prioritize current staff positions and maintaining health benefits in the event of a recession.
Ms. BINNQUIST delivered a presentation regarding the 2025 Strategic Plan funding estimates , a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk ’s office. In addition to providing costs and funds for current projects, Ms. Binnquist highlighted items which were unfunded general fund items and requested Council consider providing input or recommendations on which items would receive funding from the budgeted amount of $1,300,00 0 . Ms. BINNQUIST provided two corrections.
Firstly, that Objective Number 2.16 be removed from consideration, as staff discovered that funding could be provided through Measure R funds. Secondly that Objective Number 3.9 did not have a ballot cost associated.
Ms. BINNQUIST stated that given the time allocated for the special meeting , she suggested that Council was not required to provide recommendations at this time if they required more time. She stated that Council could review the provided worksheet and make recommendations during an agendized discussion at the next City Council meeting. She further clarified that should Council decide to not provide recommendation on any of the Strategic Planning Objectives at this time, that these unfunded items would not be included in the draft budget which would be presented at the June 23, 2025 regular City Council m eeting; 3 5-6 -25
but could be added through budget amendments at a later date. She added that if Council did not choose to move forward with funding allocation, then staff would be unable to begin working on the strategic plan items.
Discussion : Ms. ANDRADE-STADLER supported moving forward with Objective 3.9.
Mr. MALONEY suggested staff discuss future grant opportunities with Clean Power Alliance for Objective 1.2. He supported funding for Objective 2.9. He went on to suggest that Staff work with the Downtown Business Association regarding Objective 2.12. He stated that there was an opportunity to reevaluate operation of the downtown area as a model for Valley Boulevard. He suggested staff review the assessment district for the area and include provisions for maintenance of Main Street and the public parking structures. Mr. MALONEY further suggested seeking grants from outside entities for Objective 2.14. He discussed Objective 3.6 and suggested either staff or a Council Subcommittee first meet with the local business community and the Downtown Business Association to receive their input directly before hiring a consultant. Mr. MALONEY and Director of Community Development HO further discussed staff ’s interpretation of the work required for Objective 3.6 and 6.5. Mr. MALONEY went on to discuss the East Main Corridor and the Central Business District up to Almansor Street. He stated that he continued to have reservations about hiring a consultant but added that he would support a consultant to pinpoint specific issues and properties for development, especially if there was less incentive to enact a vacant property tax.
Mr. MAZA stated that he supported any measures for Police, Fire, and public education. He discussed the correlation between successful economic development and public safety. He stated that given the time allotted, he would reserve additional comment for another meeting.
Ms. WANG stated that she would also reserve most of her comments and recommendations for the next meeting. She supported Mr. Maloney ’s suggestion for Objective 1.2 as a green initiative and discussed the public safety aspect. She suggested in the interim for a Street Light Master Plan, staff should address the most problematic areas from the master plan. She suggested allocating funding and resources to prioritize problem areas to ensure safety. Ms.
WANG went on to discuss Objective 2.14 and added that being proactive in structure updates would save money as opposed to more expensive damage in the event of an earthquake. She stated that under the Hazard Mitigation Plan, the City could also look to federal funding and grant opportunities in the future. Ms. WANG also supported Mr. Maloney ’s comments regarding Objective 3.6 and supported meeting with the business community and use the partnership with the Chamber of Commerce to discuss their issues and concerns. She supported more in -depth conversations regarding Objective 3.9 in the future.
Ms. LEE discussed Objective 2.12 and expressed support for allocating funds for street washing. She added that she would prefer monthly washing in the downtown area. She stated that she would continue to review the recommendation worksheet and would provide further recommendations at a later date.
Action Taken : City Council reviewed and discussed presentation. No action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT: At 1:56 p.m., Mayor LEE adjourned the meeting.
LAUREN MYLES, CMC
CITY CLERK
by
BRIANNA LAMB MCCARTHY
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK