SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MILPITAS
BILPIT
CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
CALIFORNIA
JANUARY ES 1104 TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2024
The City Council of the City of Milpitas convened on the City Council meeting day in a Special Meeting of the Milpitas City Council on January 30, 2024, in the Barbara Lee Senior Center, 40 N Milpitas Blvd, Room 140/141, Milpitas, CA, and via teleconference/Zoom webinar.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER by Mayor and ROLL CALL by City Clerk Mayor Montano called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 5:37 PM. Roll Call was taken by City Clerk Guzzetta.
PRESENT: Mayor Montano, Vice Mayor Chua, Councilmember Barbadillo, Councilmember Lien, Councilmember Phan
ABSENT: None
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Montano led the pledge of allegiance.
PUBLIC FORUM
There were the following public speakers:
1. Dina Nadler-Serber
2. Arjan Kovali
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS City Attorney Mutalipassi asked the Mayor and City Councilmembers if they had any personal conflicts of interest. By roll call, there were no conflicts of interest.
READING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT
Mayor Montano read the City Council Code of Conduct.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
After discussion, motion: to approve the agenda.
Motion/Second: Vice Mayor Chua/Councilmember Barbadillo by the following:
AYES: Mayor Montano, Vice Mayor Chua, Councilmember Barbadillo, Councilmember Lien, Councilmember Phan
NOES: None
AGENDA ITEMS
1. Receive a Staff Presentation on the Preliminary FY 2025-34 Ten-Year General Fund Financial Forecast and Current Prioritization of Council Referrals and Provide Feedback on Desired Service Levels to Inform the FY 2024-25 Budget Development (Staff Contact: Matt Cano, Assistant City Manager, 408-586-3012 and Lauren Lai, Finance Director, 408-586-3111) January 30, 2024 Militas City Council Minutes Page 1
City Manager Thomas welcomed Council and Staff and introduced the item, highlighting current projects and key accomplishments over the past 7 months across all city departments.
Finance Director Lai discussed Council priority areas and results from the community survey showing top concerns such as homelessness, traffic, inflation/costs, illegal dumping, and jobs/economy. Mayor Montano emphasized the necessity of convening a goal-setting meeting, with Finance Director Lai highlighting the upcoming strategic planning session slated for March. Vice Mayor Chua questioned whether the survey results truly reflected citizen priorities or merely highlighted areas of concern.
Finance Director Lai then spoke on the 10-Year General Fund Financial Forecast showing a modest surplus next year, then growing deficits in later years, especially following the expiration of Measure F in 2029. Mayor Montano asked about options for offsetting deficits. Finance Director Lai spoke on the importance of extending Measure F and economic development. Vice Mayor Chua highlighted the importance of addressing the impending deficit before it becomes an issue. Councilmember Barbadillo asked about the data use in developing conclusions. Councilmember Phan asked to receive the crosstabs on the residential growth assumptions. Finance Director Lai offered to send the relevant information to the Mayor and Council. Vice Mayor Chua questioned how much of sales tax indirectly returns to the City of Milpitas. Mayor Montano asked for a breakdown of general fund contract service expenditures. She also asked to see an analysis of permitting activity levels from other cities. Vice Mayor Chua also asked to receive an analysis of factors affecting permitting activity levels. Building Official Tott offered insights into City development over the past five years and the effect on permitting.
Assistant City Manager Cano reviewed funding requirements for projects prioritized by council over the past year, including senior & youth programs, charter city evaluation, international festival, recreation facility assessments. Councilmember Lien asked after her request for ham radios to bolster public safety and emergency preparedness, a request that Assistant City Manager Cano committed to exploring further within the context of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) deliberations. Recreation and Community Services Director Lorentzen elaborated on the proposed adjustments to the special events calendar, emphasizing the need to align it with resource capacity following the conclusion of ARPA- funded cultural events in 2023. Assistant City Manager Cano affirmed that the proposed changes would be brought back to the Council for consideration at a later date, concluding the presentation with closing remarks.
Vice Mayor Chua requested additional information on projected full-time equivalents (FTEs), vacant positions, and potential fund allocations in the absence of vacancies. She also advocated for the creation of a "Going Electric" section on the city's website in anticipation of funding and grants from Congressman Khanna and Silicon Valley Clean Energy, as well as the establishment of an Annual Milpitas Community Heroes Award, allowing each Councilmember to nominate an individual, organization, or club, with the awards incorporated into the Commissioner Recognition event.
Councilmember Barbadillo expressed interest in examining projections based on a 6% assumption instead of the current 3% COLA, with Finance Director Lai explaining the city's reliance on an actuarial assumption and agreeing to provide comparative data.
Councilmember Lien sought clarification from Vice Mayor Chua regarding the recognition of community heroes, prompting City Attorney Mutalipassi to suggest the formulation of a Council Policy outlining criteria for selecting honorees.
Councilmember Phan proposed referring the idea of relocating, removing, or donating the Minute Man statue to the Arts Commission for further study, garnering support from Vice Mayor Chua.
The Assistant City Manager then called for consensus on the Council's prioritization items and requests January 30, 2024 Milpitas City Council Minutes Page 2
put forth by Councilmembers, resulting in agreements on:
1. Additional funding for a Senior Discount, with a consensus vote of 4-1, Councilmember Lien voting no, and Mayor Montano suggesting exploration of AARP resources.
2. Charter City funding for the initial phase of a Charter City evaluation, which saw opposition from Councilmember Barbadillo and Mayor Montano, and conditional support from Vice Mayor Chua for discussion purposes
3. Creation of a "Going Electric" corner on the website, receiving unanimous support to proceed.
4. Adoption of a Community Heroes Policy, also receiving unanimous support
5. Referral of the Minute Man statue study for relocation or removal to the Arts Commission, with unanimous agreement to proceed.
6. Organization of an International Festival on Main Street, which gained consensus with a 3-2 vote, with Councilmember Barbadillo and Mayor Montano dissenting. Vice Mayor Chua specified that it should be a one-day event and suggested that the Council finalize details when the full recreation event calendar is presented.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Vice Mayor Chua spoke on BD Biosciences coming to Milpitas and thanked staff for their hard work.
City Manager Thomas thanked everyone for their attendance at the 70th Anniversary event.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Montano adjourned the meeting at 8:03 pm
The foregoing minutes were approved by the Militas City Council on February 20, 2024.
January 30, 2024 Militas City Council Minutes Page 3