Sabha, Tamer
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Sonja Berndt
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 4:26 PM
Rivas, Jessica; Hampton, Tyron; Jones, Justin; Madison, Steve; Sabha, Tamer; Gao, Beilei Carmona, Manuel
Correspondence for Public Safety Meeting 5/20/2026 Agenda #2(b) FY2027 PPHD Budget.PSC.pdf
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Please include the attached correspondent in the public file for the Public Safety Meeting May 20, 2026. Thank you.
Sonja Berndt
Pasadena
1 SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA
May 19, 2026
Vice Mayor Jessica Rivas
Members of the Public Safety Committee
Pasadena, CA
tsabha(a),cityofpasadena.net
Q.@[email protected]
Re: Public Safety Committee Meeting May 20, 2026; Agenda Item# 2(b) Dear Members of the Public Safety Committee:
The FY 2027 Recommended Operating Budget reveals gross inequities in General Fund support for both the Public Health Department (PPHD) and the Housing Department.
The Power Point presentation for the May 20, 2026 discussion of PPHD's proposed FY2027 budget is beyond alarming:
• Total appropriations of only $17.7 million with a meager 8% of that amount coming from the General Fund;
Almost half of all appropriations are proposed to come from grants at a time when both federal and state grants are at great risk;
• Nine grants sunsetting by the end of this calendar year, including grants for homeless outreach (which is already severely underfunded); • A decrease of 21.54 FTE's from FY2026;
• Unfunded personnel costs of $510,000; and
• Health and safety programs are under threat; volatility in federal funding and limited grant opportunities are a threat to public health services and programs.
What is your plan? The buck stops with the City Council. The City Council is the only body that can increase General Fund support and allocate more funding for PPHD from the city's reserves, which are reported as at historic levels. The Interim City Manager notes in his budget transmittal letter: "Without adjustments to service levels, staffing, or long-term financial strategies, the gap between revenues and expenditures will continue to expand." The necessary "adjustments" need to start with the Police Department (PPD) which receives over $121 million from the General Fund.
While both PPHD and the Housing Department are severely underfunded from city generated sources, PPD's General Fund appropriations have increased by over $10 million over last year's adopted budget with a nearly $10 million increase in personnel costs. The year-after-year steep increases in PPD salary and pension costs are unsustainable. To make matters worse, the City Council continues to approve nearly every piece of equipment that PPD wants, at the expense of critical community programs and people suffering on the street. The City Council cannot expect to keep rubber stamping all the PPD appropriations without community push back. The failure to adequately fund PPHD has severe ramifications on its health and safety programs which face potential further cuts from the federal government.
For all these reasons please do the following:
• Recommend funding the unfunded personnel costs identified in the slide presentation;
• Recommend funding a year-round shelter for our unhoused residents; • Recommend funding 100 units of transitional housing for our unsheltered residents; and
19 Instruct PPHD to conduct a community meeting updating residents about the state of public health at both the federal and local levels, including PPHD' s public health emergency preparedness.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this letter.
Cc: Manuel Carmona
Director, Public Health Department
2 Sincerely,
Isl
Sonja K. Berndt, Esq. (retired)
Pasadena