CITY OF GARM EL.BY.THE-SEA
CITY COUNCIL
SPEGIAL MEETING MlNUTES
Tuesday, March 24,2026
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL - 4:00 PM
Mayor Byrne called the meeting to order in the Chambers at 4:00 p.m.
Roll call: Councilmembers Jeff Baron, Hans Buder, Robert Delves, Alissandra Dramov, and Mayor Dale Byrne were present.
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
Mayor Byrne requested that item #2 be moved to the end of the meeting, and Council gave consensus agreement.
Item 1 - Resolution2O26-022 receiving the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025
Sheldon Chavan, CPA, gave a summary of the City's ACFR forfiscal yearending June 30, 2025.
Public Comment:
Tim Twomey
Council thanked Sheldon and Finance Manager Jayme Fields for their excellent work and clear presentation.
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Delves to adopt Resolution 2026-022, receiving the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, seconded by Councilmember Buder, and approved 5-0-0-0 by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Gouncilmembers Baron, Buder, Delves, Dramov, and Mayor Byrne NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Item 3 - Receive a presentation on the Five-Year Financial Forecast and provide direction to staff Finance Manager Jayme Fields presented the five-year financial forecast, including key challenges, trend analysis, and recommendations based on the economic outlook, major revenue and expenditure assumptions, and historical data. She identified three primary "levers" available City Council Special Meeting Minutes - March 24,2026
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to affect the forecast: capital improvement project timing and prioritization, City services and service levels, and revenue sources and rates. She requested Council direction on next steps related to the proposed CIP list, potential revenue options, and possible budget reductions, and responded to Council questions.
Councilmembers Baron and Dramov asked how the future Police DepartmenUPublic Works building would be financed, including whether a bond or other funding source would be needed.
Mayor Pro Tem Delves noted that the City's CaIPERS unfunded liability payment under operating costs is essentially debt service for pension obligations related to past employees.
Public Comment:
NancyTwomey
Harry Ross
No name
Kelly Brezoczky
Jim Beck
Atlas Toby
George Finkelstein
Council opted to defer their comments and direction on the 5 year financial forecast until they receive the proposed FY 26-27 CIP Program presentation.
Item 4 - Receive a presentation on the proposed FY 26-27 CIP Program and Five-Year plan and provide direction to staff
Project Manager Shari Carlet, introduced by Public Works Director Ken \Afusocki, presented the proposed FY 2026-27 Capital lmprovement Program and five-year FY 2026-2031ClP forecast.
She presented projects currently underway in FY 2025-26, citywide infrastructure priorities, and long-term investment needs. Ms. Carlet requested Councildirection on project priorities and any needed budget adjustments before finalizing the CIP budget.
Mayor Pro Tem Delves asked about the high projected costs for Mission Trail Nature Preserve improvements included in the five-year plan. Councilmember Dramov asked whether the Fire lnspector vehicle should instead be included in the City of Monterey's budget under the fire services contract. City Administrator Swanson stated that staff would review those questions and return with answers. Councilmember Dramov also questioned the projected costs for the Picadilly restroom expansion, the traffic safety study, and increasing annual costs for beach- and infrastructure-related projects, including North Dunes planting.
Councilmember Buder expressed similar concerns about high projected future costs and asked how those estimates were developed. Ms. Carlet explained that the estimates were based on current hard-cost assumptions and prior experience with similar projects, with a 5 percent annual CPI escalation and soft costs added. She noted that the figures were intentionally conservative City Council Special Meeting Minutes - March 24,2026
because bid pricing can be unpredictable. Councilmember Buder also asked about the City's microresurfacing strategy and whether it reflected best practices for preventive maintenance or available funding constraints. He further asked why construction of the 4th Avenue outfall was forecast for 2O3l despite his understanding that it was a more urgent safety issue. Mr. Wysocki responded that the timing reflected funding and staff capacity, and that the project had recently been prioritized below other higher-priority safety projects. Councilmember Buder also asked about planned improvements at Sunset Center, including fencing, paving, and sidewalks, and stated that he would not support chain-link fencing. Ms. Carlet agreed that chain-link would not be appropriate and indicated that other material options would be considered.
RECESS
Counciltook a recess at 6:57 p.m- and returned at7:25 p.m.
Mayor Byrne opened public comment on item #4.
Public Comment:
NancyTwomey
Scott Lonergan
During Council discussion, Councilmembers generally agreed that deferred maintenance, particularly infrastructure needs, remains the City's primary long-term budget challenge, and that the five-year forecast and CIP should serve as planning tools to identify a realistic path forward.
Council generally agreed that current capital funding is insufficient to meet annual investment needs, and that future CIP documents should include clearer prioritization, better explanation of large placeholder amounts in future years, and stronger alignment with deferred maintenance goals, measurable outcomes, and pavement condition targets. Council also agreed that street improvements should remain a high priority, and that future budget discussions should include a clearer road strategy tied to funding scenarios, project timing, and expected PCI results.
Councilmember Buder expressed interest in reviewing additional budget scenarios, including an 85/15 operating-to-capital allocation, while noting the need to better understand the potential effects on services, staffing, and capacity before considering any policy change.
Mayor Pro Tem Delves raised concerns regarding the pace and priority of certain major projects, including Mission Trail Nature Preserve, and emphasized the need to focus limited resources on the most plessing and visible community needs. He also noted that over the years Council has set aside $5 million for unknown pension liabilities and stated that the City should also begin focusing on known liabilities. Councilmember Dramov stated that many CIP projects appearto be constrained by staff capacity and supported reviewing an 85/15 operatingto-ClP scenario for comparison.
Councilmember Baron expressed concern about the staff time that would be required to prepare two separate proposed CIP budgets and suggested instead identifying where an additional 5 City Council Special Meeting Minutes - March 24,2026
percent for CIP would come from within the existing budget. He also noted that the Housing Element requires the establishment of a $1 million housing trust, which could replace the $1 budgeted for CaIPERS debt. He further commented that the Picadilly restroom project may cost more than cunently projected, that the CIP should include visible public improvements in addition to deferred infrastructure needs, and that the projected cost and timing forthe Police/Public Works building architecturalwork did not appear realistic.
Mayor Byrne stated that the five-year cumulative deficit forecast may be overly optimistic and that the City should proceed cautiously. He also demonstrated a dashboard toolthat could be used to evaluate alternative scenarios and assist in assessing staff productivity and capacity, and stated that the Picadilly restroom project could use some value engineering, that significant investment in the Sunset Center property should be approached cautiously until future housing plans for the site are known, and that creating additional parking in town should be considered a high priority.
Council directed staff to continue refining the budget and ClP, including clearer scenario analysis and additional prioritization, and to return with a 5 percent reduction to the proposed operating budget to evaluate whether an85l15 operatingto-ClP allocation is feasible.
Item 2 - Receive a presentation on the updated Council Strategic Priorities list following the January 22nd workshop, and provide direction to staff
Item #2 was initially postponed until the end of the meeting, however, due to the late hour, the Council reached a consensus to continue this item at a subsequent meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned al8:27 p.m.
APPROVED:
r9(a '
Dale Byrne, Mayor Nova