COUNCIL AGENDA: 03/21/2023
ITEM: 3.5
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Councilmember Domingo
Candelas
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: 3/21/23
APPROVED:
SUBJECT: MAYOR’S MARCH BUDGET MESSAGE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Mayor’s March Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 with the additional direction to the City Manager to:
1. Issue a Manager’s Budget Addendum to explore funding opportunities and provide recommendations from the FY 2023-2024 general fund and other available funding sources stemming from actions taken by Council during the March 14th council meeting for item 7.2 (Actions Related to the Lake Cunningham Shoreline and Water Quality Report and Prototype Wetland Restoration Project).
2. Issue a Manager’s Budget Addendum that would estimate the cost to implement and/or expand youth mental health services in partnership with the County and Community Based Organizations.
3. Return to the City Council during the Budget Study Session with the following:
a. A recommended funding plan that would allow all the affordable housing developments in the immediate pipeline to move forward. This plan should include options for supporting:
i. The seven prospective affordable housing developments highlighted during the March 14th City Council meeting;
ii. Any other prospective affordable housing developments that the Housing Department expects to be ready to apply for funding in FY 23-24;
iii. Additional information on the long-term affordable housing development pipeline in San José, including an analysis of the estimated amount of City funding that may be required in future fiscal years to support these additional pipeline projects;
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
03/21/2023
Subject:
Rev 1/2018
OVERVIEW
I appreciate the Mayor for diligently outlining and speaking to his priorities including addressing homelessness, creating safer streets, and enhancing our neighborhoods throughout the City. I would like to take this opportunity to add additional recommendations to continue to move this city forward as we look to both strengthen our communities while addressing challenges facing our community today. It is my strong desire that we incorporate the recommendations outlined in my memorandum with the final budget, so we are addressin g a broad set of priorities including equitable park improvements, affordable housing, and mental health services. Pairing these recommendations alongside other priorities allows our city to move forward with a budget that is rooted in a framework geared towards supporting and working for our entire community.
Lake Cunningham
At the March 14 council meeting, the Council unanimously agreed that the current conditions at Lake Cunningham Park were not ideal. When staff returns later this year with a project scope, they should have funding to start the much-needed improvements. Lake Cunningham’s issues can be addressed but it requires the Council to make it a priority. There is an environmental disaster at Lake Cunningham and resolving water quality is an absolute necessity. We have an opportunity to start rehabilitating this critical regional lake that can transform our community. Let’s make sure the conversation we started at Council does not go to waste and we start making investments in our parks.
Affordable Housing
I look forward to working with my colleagues to address our housing crisis through a holistic lens rooted in protection for renters, production of affordable housing, preservation of existing sources of affordable housing, and measures to prevent homelessness amongst residents at risk of becoming unhoused.
I am recommending that we move forward with a funding plan to address our current pipeline.
Additionally, I am recommending that we direct staff to look beyond our existing pipeline as we have worked diligently through various land use processes including our most recent general plan update to open opportunities for affordable housing to be built throughout this city. With this comprehensive analysis, we as a council will be equipped to discuss how to ensure that we are providing resources to a broad array of housing solutions. We are in a housing crisis, and our community is seeing this at the forefront with glaring impacts such as increased homelessness and the growing risk of displacement.
I look forward to working to address and combat all housing challenges facing our community through this budget process and further opportunities elsewhere.
Mental Health Services for Youth
As this council looks to discuss numerous priorities, I would like to ensure that we are intentional about providing robust mental health services for youth. If we have existing partnerships and programs in place, we should add resources so that no young persons are left without ample opportunity to find support for their mental health. If we need to create that program or partnership,
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
03/21/2023
Subject:
Rev 1/2018
we must do so now and through this budget. With depression, anxiety, and all the severe effects that come from those conditions affecting so many youths on a regular basis, we owe it to our community to provide these services at scale so no one seeking services is turned away due to lack of capacity.
Youth programming is a cost-effective investment that pays dividends long-term, we should not wait until people in San José are suffering with severe mental health issues before intervention.
Conclusion
I look forward to continuing to discuss priorities outlined in this memo and the breadth of priorities laid out by the Mayor and other members of Council during the coming weeks. Through further discussion and analysis, our Council should be equipped to act, lead, and carry out a plan on how to move our city in a direction that supports our entire community.
For questions, please contact Teddy Adera, District 8, at [email protected].
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.