Special City Council Meeting Minutes – March 2, 2026 Page 1 of 2
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MONTCLAIR
CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026, AT
5:32 P.M. IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 5111 BENITO
STREET, MONTCLAIR, CALIFORNIA
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dutrey called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Dutrey; Mayor Pro Tem Martinez; Council Members Ruh, Lopez, and Mendez
City Manager/Executive Director Starr; Assistant City Manager/ Director of Human Services Richter; Director of Community Development Diaz; Director of Finance Kulbeck; Director of Public Works/City Engineer Heredia; Police Chief Reed; Fire Chief Dierck; City Attorney Robbins; City Clerk Myrick
III. PUBLIC COMMENT — None
IV. COUNCIL WORKSHOP
A. Fiscal Year 2025–26 Midyear Budget Review
Director of Finance Kulbeck reported the status of the City’s financial operations at midyear in conjunction with the showing of a PowerPoint presentation.
City Manager Starr addressed the City Council's questions regarding police overtime, the sewer fund, sick leave redemption, expenditures on senior nutrition program meals, the allocation of online retail sales taxes, and increases in general liability and workers’ compensation expenses. He highlighted the ongoing decline compared to this time last year in the City’s sales tax revenue, primarily resulting from other municipalities in the County establishing tax–sharing agreements with online retailers such as Amazon, which involve designating distribution centers as the point–of–sale for goods shipped out from that facility to the customer, thereby directing the associated sales tax revenue to the host city rather than to the County tax pool, which is divided among all municipalities proportionally based on population.
City Manager Starr addressed current revenue projections, noting potential impacts from global events such as the recent war the county has entered into with Iran, and regional economic trends including declines in the construction of warehouses, layoffs in educational institutions and hospitals, and declining affordability. Additionally, he addressed the anticipated future impacts of the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s decision to defund light rail expansion to the City and, later, the broader County, noting potential impacts on future workforce development and economic growth.
ACTION – Council Workshop – Item A
ACTING: City Council
MOTION: Approve proposed changes to both revenues and
appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2025–26 Budget.
MADE BY:
SECOND BY:
Council Member/Director Ruh
Council Member/Director Lopez
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Mendez, Lopez, Ruh, Martinez, Dutrey
None
None
None
RESULT: Motion carried 5–0.
Special City Council Meeting Minutes – March 2, 2026 Page 2 of 2 VI. ADJOURNMENT
At 6:14 p.m., the City Council was adjourned.
Submitted for City Council approval,
Andrea Myrick,
City Clerk