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Agenda Highlights

Bakersfield City Council
January 21, 2026

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Agenda Highlights
Meeting
January 21, 2026
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Bakersfield City Council
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AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
January 21, 2026 COUNCIL MEETING

REGULAR MEETING – 3:30 PM

REPORTS
Item 3.a Clean City Initiative and Community Vitality Programs Update (All Wards) Staff will provide a presentation update on the Clean City Initiative and Community Vitality Programs.

Item 3.b Jail Bed Task Force Update (All Wards ) Despite increased patrol staffing, limited jail bed capacity continues to hinder accountability for chronic low-level offenders. On September 10, 2025, the City Council established a Jail Bed Task Force with participation from Councilmembers Smith and Bashirtash to evaluate challenges and potential solutions in coordination with regional partners. Staff will provide an update on the task force’s work and seek Council direction on next steps.

REGULAR MEETING – 5:15 PM

RESOLUTIONS
Item 7.d.1 On-Call Library of Professional Firms (All Wards) On September 18, 2025, the City issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify surveying, architectural, and engineering firms to support future City projects. Thirty -three firms submitted qualifications by the October 30, 2025 deadline, which were reviewed by an interdepartmental evaluation committee. On November 21, 2025, the committee recommended firms for inclusion in a Library of Qualified Consultants, as detailed in Exhibit A. Selected firms agreed to the RFQ’s terms and rate schedules, with future project costs funded through approved project budgets; adoption of this resolution has no fiscal impact.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS AND SALARY UPDATES
Item 7.e.1 Bakersfield Professional Fire Association Labor Agreement (All Wards) The City of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Professional Fire Association (BPFA) have reached a tentative two -year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. The agreement includes general language updates, adjustments to education pay eligibility, and salary increases of 2% following City Council adoption and 1.6% effective July 1, 2026. With this agreement, all represented units except the Bakersfield Police Officers Association are under contract. The MOU provides upd ated salary ranges for affected classifications, with fiscal impacts for the remainder of the current year estimated at $966,018, funded through vacancy and operational savings, and future costs incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget.

PUBLIC SAFETY / VITAL SERVICES MEASURE
Item 7.j.1 Extension of Private Security Patrols (All Wards) The Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) has successfully utilized private security patrols in high-crime areas since a 2019 pilot program, demonstrating measurable reductions in quality -of-life crimes. Following a competitive solicitation, Citiguard, Inc. was selected to provide high -visibility vehicle, bicycle, and foot patrols under Agreement No. 2023 -028, which has been amended several times to increase total compensation and extend the term.

Citiguard’s services have enhanced community safety, and the BPD now proposes extending the agreement through January 31, 2027, with an additional $1,284,000, bringing the total not -to-exceed compensation to $4,766,948. Funding for the amended agreement will come from the Department’s PSVS allocations in the FY 2025-26 budget.

REPORTS
Items 10.a Sumner Station Lease Review (Ward 2) City staff presented Agreement 2021 -142, the lease between the City and Union Pacific for Sumner Station, for City Council review and direction. The lease, originally executed on June 24, 2021, for a 12-month term with waived rent, has automatically renewed annually and obligates the City to maintain the building and indemnify Union Pacific. Since 2021, the City has spent approximately $140,000 on maintenance and security, not including staff time from various departments responding to property issues. Council has three options: take no action and allow the lease to continue, direct staff to terminate the lease with 30 days’ notice or provide alternative direction. Fiscal impacts will depend on the Council’s chosen course of action.

Prepared by: Jaritza Nunez, Management Fellow CC: Department Heads City Manager’s File
City Clerk’s File
News Media File

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