Minutes
Lakewood City Council
Special Meeting held
June 2, 2026
At 6:00 p.m. the City Clerk was present in the Council Chambers, 5000 Clark Avenue, Lakewood, California and adjourned the meeting to the Executive Board Room, 5000 Clark Avenue, Lakewood, California.
MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER at 6:17 p.m. by Mayor Chase in the Executive Board Room, 5000 Clark Avenue, Lakewood, California.
ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Mayor Cassandra Chase
Vice Mayor Jeff Wood
Council Member David Arellano
Council Member Steve Croft
Council Member Todd Rogers
PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS IN THE AGENDA:
Alan Gafford, 1) expressed the opinion that sales tax will not increase until there is new development at the Lakewood Center; and 2) thanked the City Council for recruiting new businesses into the city.
PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026- 2027 AND 2027-2028
For the record, 1) Mayor Chase introduced the item; and 2) City Manager McCormack provided a verbal report of the Agenda report.
Director of Finance and Administrative Services Gomez 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Agenda report and proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, highlighting Lakewood’s a) budget principles of prudent fiscal management; b) strong financial oversight; c) general fund budget; d) Measure L benefits; and e) noteworthy expenditures; and 2) along with City Manager McCormack, responded to Council Members’ questions and comments.
At the request of Vice Mayor Wood, City Manager McCormack confirmed that an Ad Hoc Committee could be created to review the City’s current street sweeping agreement.
Following brief discussion, Director of Community Development Cervantes 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the noteworthy expenditures for the Community Development Department; and 2) along with City Manager McCormack, responded to Council Members’ questions and comments.
City Council Minutes
June 2, 2026
PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026- 2027 AND 2027-2028 – Continued
In response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Arellano, Director Cervantes 1) confirmed that $38,000 was invested to create the Economic Development Master Plan; and 2) the proposed “Ombudsman” position will be a contract employee, noting that the intent of this position is to support the operations of the Community Development Department, such as managing economic development programs, conducting outreach efforts, and assisting with grand openings of new businesses within the City.
Following discussion, Director of Public Safety Yordt 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the noteworthy expenditures for the Public Safety Department; and 2) along with City Manager McCormack, responded to Council Members’ questions and comments.
For the record, Council Member Croft suggested documenting the changes in the Budget for easy reference.
Following brief discussion, 1) Council Member Rogers a) expressed concern with creating a new full-time Homeless Coordinator position, further noting that he does support a contract approach for this position as it allows the City to be more adaptable; and b) stated the opinion that the City should have a proactive response to homelessness within the City; 2) Council Member Arellano reiterated that the City should have a proactive and aggressive response to homelessness within the City; and 3) Vice Mayor Wood expressed concern with the proposed salary for the Homeless Coordinator position, further suggesting that in addition to providing homeless outreach services, the Homeless Coordinator can also assist with other citywide efforts, such as cleanup, loitering, and graffiti reporting.
In response to questions and comments provided by Council Member Rogers, Council Member Arellano and Vice Mayor Wood, 1) City Manager McCormack clarified that the Homeless Coordinator would take a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach, further explaining that the Homeless Coordinator would be strategic with their efforts to get more individuals into housing and off the streets of the City; and 2) Director Yordt confirmed that a) two new positions are being proposed, noting that if approved, the Public Safety Department would have a total of seven positions dedicated to homeless services; and b) an internal and external recruitment would be held for the Homeless Coordinator position.
Following brief discussion, in response to questions and comments provided by Vice Mayor Wood relative to sharing the proposed Homeless Coordinator position with the Station Cities Public Safety Joint Powers Authority (JPA), 1) City Manager McCormack stated that staff can look into sharing the position with the City of Bellflower and City of Paramount; and 2) Council Member Rogers noted that the JPA is also exploring the idea of creating a Civilian Investigator position.
City Council Minutes
June 2, 2026
PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026- 2027 AND 2027-2028 – Continued
Director of Public Works Pickler 1) introduced Ken Rosenfield, Senior Project Manager, Ardurra Group, Inc., who provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Capital Improvement Program; and 2) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the noteworthy expenditures for the Capital Improvement Program.
For the record, and without objection, the report was received and filed.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be brought before the City Council, Mayor Chase adjourned the meeting at 8:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dakota Wallace, CMC
City Clerk