MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
CITY OF MONTEREY
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
4:00 PM
COUNCIL CHAMBER, 580 PACIFIC ST., MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
AND TELECONFERENCE LOCATION: HILTON GARDEN INN, ROOM 105, 6070
MONTEREY ROAD, GILROY, CALIFORNIA
Councilmembers
Present: Barber, Garcia, Rasch, Smith*, Williamson
Absent: None
* Attended remotely by teleconference at the duly noticed teleconference location listed above
City Staff
Present:
City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Community Development Director, Finance Director, Fire Chief, Human Resources Director, Library & Museums Director, Parks and Recreation Director, Police Chief, Public Works Director, City Clerk, Deputy Public Works Director/City Engineer, Recreation Manager, Assistant Police Chief, Fleet Manager, Finance Analyst, Park Operations Manager, Division Chief, Police Lieutenant, Harbormaster, Streets & Utilities Operations Manager, General Services Superintendent, Police Sergeant, Assistant Human Resources Director, Senior Administrative Analyst (Public Works), Senior Facility Specialist (Monterey Sports Center), Fire Captain Teleconference Notice
This meeting was held with a combination of in-person and teleconference attendance, pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act, Calif. Gov. Code sec. 54953(b).
AFTERNOON SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Williamson called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Mayor Williamson prompted Councilmember Smith to confirm that he could hear the meeting proceedings, the agenda had been posted 24 hours prior to the meeting at the teleconference location, and that the public could access the meeting at that location, pursuant to Calif. Gov. Code sec. 54953(b). City Clerk Klein called the roll with the Council present as indicated above.
Pledge of Allegiance
Councilmember Barber led the Pledge.
Afternoon Session Items
Public Appearance (Afternoon)
1. Study Primer for Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Budget and Provide Direction Regarding Alternative Budget Options (Not a Project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061)
Action: Received presentation, discussed
City Council Minutes April 29, 2026
2 City Manager Hall, Finance Director King, and Assistant City Manager Rojanasathira gave the staff presentation and answered Councilmembers' questions with additional input provided by Finance Analyst Olsen and Fleet Manager Van Slyke. Councilmember Garcia left the Chamber from 5:27 p.m. to 5:28 p.m.
Based on the number of people interested in speaking, Mayor Williamson limited the time for public comment to two minutes per person. Public comment was received from: Kevin Dayton of Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, who referred to a previous state of fiscal emergency and said that the City needed long-term solutions such as economic development; Kathie Buaya, who spoke in support of the proposed sales tax increase, citing the importance of addressing infrastructure issues for future generations, and suggested a commission to involve the community in budgeting decisions; Tom Reeves, who referenced various reasons for declining property taxes, and stressed the importance of filling engineer positions; Kris Richardson of Monterey Police Association, who warned about the operational impact of proposed Police Department staffing reductions; Dennis Duke, in favor of funding First Night, further analyzing the City's overtime and debt service, and preserving NCIP; Ellen Martin and Michael Houston of First Night Monterey, in favor of funding their First Night, citing the importance of the arts; Nelson Vega, who said the City needed to live within its means and not tax residents; Lori Mazzuca, who said there needed to be more sense of urgency on budget cuts, and inquired whether the City could hire contractors to reduce labor costs; Rick Heuer of the Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association, who said the community had a lack of trust with proposed new taxes, and echoed that the City needed to live within its means; Philip Bezouska of the Monterey Firefighters Association, who warned about the operational impact of proposed Fire Department staffing reductions; Kent Glenzer, who urged the Council and staff to focus on the structural part of the budget issue; Ken Peterson of First Night Monterey, who spoke in favor of funding First Night and suggested the City look into green energy and infrastructure bonds for future revenue; Diane Dahms, who urged the continued funding of First Night Monterey; and Esther Malkin, who spoke in support of maintaining, but not adding to, the City's fiscal reserves.
Based on the time remaining in the meeting, Mayor Williamson limited speaking time for the Council to two minutes per member. The Council briefly discussed the proposed budget reduction strategy.
In discussion regarding the sales tax measure for the June 2, 2026 ballot, it was noted that visitors pay the larger portion of the sales tax in the City and that using a sales tax to close budget gaps was a strategy used by the majority of cities. It was stressed that revenue generating sources like sales taxes were being suggested in conjunction with deep expenditure cuts by City departments, and that the Council and community needed to build a bridge to making difficult decisions and filling the budget gaps together. It was stressed that City staff had worked hard to make cuts. It was noted that if the City did not put forward the sales tax measure to reach the allowable maximum sales tax percentage, the County could do so, and at least this way if approved by the voters the tax would benefit the City.
In discussion regarding positions recommended to be frozen, it was stated that the suggested positions made sense. On the other hand, concern was expressed about not recruiting for the Economic Development Director position, stating that having someone in that role could make a difference for the City. Concern was expressed about cutting Fire and Police positions, and it was stressed that a deeper analysis was needed on issues including the impact of frozen safety positions on overtime costs and emergency readiness. It was stated that the staff positions suggested to be frozen had been identified to stop the bleeding but that the City ultimately needed to identify positions to cut on a long-term basis, and it was urged to identify what the community could and could not live without so that the City could make structural cuts to programs and jobs.
City Council Minutes April 29, 2026
3 Caution was expressed for how to discuss savings from staff salaries and benefits, citing the need to retain and recruit high quality talent for City staff.
In discussion regarding community contributions, it was expressed that First Night Monterey did a great job with the alcohol-free family event, and that the Fourth of July and First Night events should continue to receive financial support from the City for community building.
Briefer remarks were made on the following subjects: expressing support for continuing to provide rental assistance, citing the need to take care of the community; expressing concern about limiting contributions to the City's reserves, stating that the reserves needed to be seen like any other funded project within the City; and expressing concern about the proposed lack of allocation to Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
City Manager Hall informed the Council that the budget adoption discussion would come forward on the June 2, 2026 agenda.
Adjournment
The Council adjourned at 6:08 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Approved,
Clementine Bonner Klein Tyller Williamson
City Clerk Mayor