Letters from the Public — San Jose City Council, June 9, 2026

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Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Fiscal Year 2026 2027 June Budget Message.

I am writing in support of incorporating Budget Document #40, Planning in San José: A Community Guide Update, into the Budget Message.

The Community Guide provides valuable, accessible information to the public about land use planning and development in San José. It is unique in its presentation and scope, providing a strong foundation for anyone interested in participating in otherwise arcane and non intuitive processes.

However, at over 20 years old, the Community Guide is no longer accurate. It references the previous General Plan and contains other outdated information. The original Community Guide was produced by the San José State University (SJSU) Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and the last revision was completed in October 2005. As with the original Guide, the SJSU Masters of Urban Planning Program (now within the School of Planning, Policy & Environmental Studies (SPPES)), is available to provide substantial support in refreshing the document, with updated references to the Envision San José 2040 General Plan, the amended Municipal Code, and other important information benefiting community members interested in participating in local land use decision making processes.

This project would offer a valuable collaboration between the City and SPPES, providing a solid educational benefit to our graduate students who would conduct the research and prepare the updated Guide.

An independent study effort within the Program could begin as early as Fall 2026, with the project completed in Spring 2027. Alternatively, I would be happy to coordinate with Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement to determine a reasonable timeframe for project delivery.

Thank you for considering this letter of support.

Sincerely,
Richard ("Rick") M. Kos, AICP

Senior Lecturer
MUP Program Graduate Advisor
Admissions Director
Associate Director, Spatial Analytics and Visualization Institute Practitioner in Residence
San Jose State University | School of Planning, Policy & Environmental Studies One Washington Square | San Jose, CA 95192 0185

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Yours sincerely,
Dawn

Dawn Coppin, PhD (she/her)
Chief Executive Oﬃcer
San José Public Library Foundation
Tax ID: 77-0142379
P .O. Box 611540, San Jose, CA 95161-1540
| www.sjplf.org

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Mayor Mahan, your June budget memo includes roughly $3.85M in recommended one-time project and program funding. Keeping the California Room partially open through MBA #19 is estimated at $245,000 annually, about 6.4% of that amount. I am not suggesting which items should or should not be funded, but I am asking that this essential, citywide civic resource be prioritized in the final package. While I can see value in virtually all of the one-time funding suggestions, I do not see universal or equal value and impact in many of them when I weigh tax-funded dollars and “bang for your buck” return for residents.

I ask that you please adopt MBA #19 as the responsible compromise that reduces costs while ensuring the California Room can remain staffed and open to the public. San José deserves a future that remembers its past.

All the best,
Jonathan
--
Jonathan Francisco Borca
East San José Advocate
Vice Chair, San José Arts Commission (District 5)
CORE Team Member, San José Arts Advocates
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/jonathanborca

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I also want to specifically commend the Mayor's decision not to advance a business tax modernization study at this time. Businesses, including restaurants, retailers, service providers, and cultural venues are hurting. We are still navigating rising costs and an uneven recovery. Now is not the time to introduce the kind of uncertainty that a tax study creates. Allowing our recovery to continue building momentum before pursuing potential changes to the business tax structure is the right call, and I appreciate the Mayor's judgment in making it.

As a downtown that is made up of mom & pop shops instead of corporate chains moreso than many other cities of our size, it’s important that the city protect and adapt more deliberately for those that cannot protect themselves from increased costs from all angles. We have proven time and again as small business owners how to survive, pivot and adapt through uncertainty but it continues to be on our shoulders to go it alone.

Surviving is not enough- it’s time we get to a point we can thrive.

This budget reflects the kind of focused, practical investment that Downtown needs. I urge the Council to adopt the June Budget Message and follow through on these priorities. Thank you for your leadership and your continued commitment to Downtown San Jose.

Cheers,
Tomoyo Yoshinaga
Cash Only

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San Jose is better than that. Our history deserves better than that. And our residents expect better than that.

I urge you to support the funding compromise outlined in Budget Addenda #19 and #28, as well as the 6/5 Kamei‑Tordillos‑Cohen memo, which together provide a reasonable, balanced path to ensure continued public access and professional stewardship of this irreplaceable resource.

Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to preserving San Jose’s cultural and historical legacy.

Gayle Frank
Native San Josean
District 6

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Allowing our recovery to continue building momentum before pursuing potential changes to the business tax structure is the right call, and I appreciate the Mayor's judgment in making it.

This budget reflects the kind of focused, practical investment that Downtown needs. I urge the Council to adopt the June Budget Message and follow through on these priorities.

Thank
you for your leadership and your continued commitment to Downtown San Jose.

Respectfully,
Fernanda Carreira

PASTELARIA ADEGA

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. changes to the business tax structure is the right call, and I appreciate the Mayor's judgment in making it.

Respectfully,

Fernanda Carreira

PETISCOS ADEGA

San Jose Downtown Association
28 N. First Street, Suite 1000
San Jose, CA 95113

sjdowntown.com
408.279.1775

June 6, 2026
Mayor Mahan & Members of San Jose City Council
City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Re: Support of June Budget Message
Dear Mayor Mahan and Members of the San Jose City Council:

Downtown San Jose is the economic, cultural, and civic heart of our city, and its continued recovery is essential to San Jose's long-term prosperity. On behalf of the San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA) and our Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) Boards of Directors, I write to express our strong support for the Mayor's FY 2026-2027 June Budget Message as presented and to thank you for prioritizing investments that strengthen Downtown and the community it serves.

While Downtown has experienced meaningful momentum in recent years, our recovery remains incomplete. Office occupancy continues to lag pre-pandemic levels, many small businesses continue to operate in a challenging environment, and the success of our urban core depends on sustained public and private investment. The initiatives included in this budget recognize Downtown's role as an economic engine for the entire city and demonstrate a commitment to creating a safer, more welcoming, and more vibrant place for residents, workers, businesses, and visitors.

Stitching Districts - The Stitching Districts initiative is already demonstrating the value of physically and programmatically connecting Downtown's neighborhoods. By improving walkability, activation, and the public realm, the program strengthens safety and the sense of place that supports local businesses and encourages exploration across Downtown. The City's current $250,000 investment in Stitching Districts along Sharks Way and adjacent areas was leveraged to invest more than $1M in private funds towards public space and parks improvement projects.

Downtown Patron Safety - The proposed pilot of ID scanning technology is a targeted, data-driven approach that will help participating establishments manage disruptive behavior while improving the experience and safety for patrons, employees, and neighboring businesses. SJDA looks forward to partnering with local operators to implement the program and measure its effectiveness.

Downtown Bike Lane Beautification - Beautification and landscaping improvements will ensure these corridors contribute not only to mobility but also to the sense of place, neighborhood pride, and welcoming environment that supports residents, workers, and businesses.

Holiday Ice Skating - This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of San Jose's signature civic traditions. Continued investment in this destination event will bring families, residents, and visitors into the heart of Downtown during the holiday season, supporting local restaurants, retailers, and hotels, and reinforcing Downtown as the region's gathering place.

SURJ Santa Clara County
c/o Urban Sanctuary
80 South 5th Street
San Jose, CA, 95112

June 8, 2026

Mayor Matt Mahan
Vice Mayor Pam Foley
Councilmember Rosemary Kamei
Councilmember Pamela Campos
Councilmember Anthony Tordillos
Councilmember David Cohen
Councilmember Peter Ortiz
Councilmember Michael Mulcahy
Councilmember Bien Doan
Councilmember Domingo Candelas
Councilmember George Casey
City Manager Jennifer Maguire

Re: Item 3.3, Mayor’s June Budget Message for FY 2026-2027 and Supporting Councilmember Memoranda
Dear Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmembers,
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Santa Clara County organizes white people and others with privilege to act as part of a multiracial movement for justice, in accountability with the partners who lead this work: Silicon Valley De-Bug, the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network and its member organizations including Amigos de Guadalupe, and the immigrant community leaders of Grupo de Justicia. We follow their lead, and we are writing because three of the memoranda before you on Item 3.3 reflect what our neighbors have been asking this Council to do all along.

A budget is a statement of priorities. We write in strong support of the memoranda from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey; from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas, and Casey; and from Councilmembers Kamei, Tordillos, and Cohen. Together they move this budget toward the people San José too often treats as the easiest line items to cut.

We urge you to adopt them.

Fund immigrant defense fully, now, and without strings.

We strongly support Recommendation 1 of the Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey memorandum: allocate the full $1 million for immigrant defense and legal services at the start of

FY 2026-2027, including both the $500,000 in the City Manager’s Proposed Budget and the $500,000 the Mayor’s message places in reserve.

Holding half of these funds in reserve “in case of emergency” misreads this moment. The emergency is already here. Santa Clara County is experiencing roughly three times the immigration detentions of any other Bay Area county, and San José is the most impacted city in the county, with residents detained across 22 zip codes. No neighborhood is untouched. Our partners in the Rapid Response Network serve as the first line of defense for families facing enforcement, and the consistent message from directly impacted community members has been clear: this work needs more attorneys and more capacity, not money held back until conditions get worse.

The investment the city made last year shows what this funding does. It scaled up deportation defense and the Rapid Response Network, supported more than 70 Know Your Rights presentations reaching nearly 1,100 residents and small business owners, handled more than 3,800 Rapid Response calls, served over 300 individuals with immigration support, and helped file 50 immigration petitions. Service providers cannot build the capacity to respond to a surge in enforcement if they are forced to wait for the surge before the money is released. We insist that the Council activate the full $1 million up front, as unrestricted funding, at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Invest in youth, in workers, and in growing the pie.

We support the same memorandum’s call to restore $54,531 for the San José Works youth jobs initiative, putting roughly 30 young people, ages 14 to 18, into summer employment, mentorship, and income. Youth employment is one of the most cost-effective investments this city can make in long-term community safety and stability.

We also support restoring $90,000 for the business tax modernization work (MBA #7). San José’s general business tax has not been updated in a decade. Studying a fairer structure is how the city grows the resources available to every underfunded need on this list. Gutting that study to pay for immigrant defense funding sets neighbor against neighbor in a fight over scraps while the largest corporate interests in this city are shielded from even being examined. We ask the Council to keep the study alive and fund immigrant services fully, rather than trading one community’s needs for another’s.

Name the cost of living as a priority.

We support the memorandum from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas, and Casey directing the City Manager to develop a “Reducing the Cost of Living” Focus Area. Your own Community Opinion Survey now ranks the cost of living among residents’ top concerns, and recent reporting confirms that high rents are the single clearest driver pushing Bay Area residents toward homelessness (San José Mercury News, May 21, 2026). Naming this concern as a formal

Focus Area, with indicators that track actual reductions in what families pay for rent, housing, and essentials, is a meaningful step toward a budget measured by whether residents can afford to stay in the city they built.

Keep the California Room open to the public.

We support the memorandum from Councilmembers Kamei, Tordillos, and Cohen to adopt MBA #28 and restore the roughly $245,000 needed to preserve public access to the California Room, and we support the related direction in the Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey memo to prioritize restoration through any available General Fund balance.

The proposed appointment-only model would cut practical access from more than 5,200 visitors a year to roughly 250. The California Room at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library holds irreplaceable records of this valley’s history, including its Indigenous, Spanish, and Mexican California past, that students, educators, researchers, and ordinary residents rely on. Quietly removing public access to the community’s own history to save a fraction of a percent of the General Fund is the wrong trade. We also support exploring philanthropic and grant funding so this access is sustained beyond a single year.

What this budget still needs.

We support these memoranda, and we ask the Council not to stop there.

San José has an affordability crisis, and the answer is resources, not punishment. Stop towing the vehicles people live in, and stop sweeping people. Counting parking citations and tows of lived-in vehicles as a measure of success ignores what happens to the people inside them:
residents afraid to leave their RVs for fear of losing their homes, residents who came home from work to find their vehicle and belongings gone, in at least one case with a pet cat still inside, and residents towed off the street only to be displaced again by an encampment sweep, with no alternative ever offered. We urge the Council to halt tows tied to vehicle parking enforcement, and halt the sweeps. Spend these dollars on homelessness prevention, permanent affordable housing, and safe parking.

Restore Viva CalleSJ and Viva Parks. These programs serve the neighborhoods with the fewest free, safe public spaces and the families with the fewest other options. Cutting them takes the most from the residents who already have the least.

You are closing a roughly $50 million shortfall, and we know none of these choices is easy. But you can balance this budget without treating immigrant families, unhoused neighbors, youth, and library patrons as the first to be cut, and without forcing them to compete against one another to be spared. The memoranda before you show it can be done. We ask you to adopt them, fund immigrant defense in full, and keep building a San José where our most vulnerable neighbors are cared for.

Thank you for your service and for your consideration.

In solidarity,

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Santa Clara County

Outlook
Fw: Budget funding
From City Clerk
Date Mon 6/8/2026 11 :59 AM
To Agendadesk
Office of the City Clerk I City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax:408 -292-6207
How is our service? Your feedback is appreciated!
From: Annette Dow
Sent: Monday, June 8, 2026 11:58 AM
To: City Clerk
Subject: Budget funding
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Dear City Council members,
Learn why this is im12ortant
I am writing to ask that you support the following:

Support the Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, Casey Memo and allocate the full $1 M to immigration organizations now so that they can continue to protect our most vulnerab le neighbors.

The City of San Jose has an affordability problem and should focus on providing resources, NOT towing, sweeping, criminalizing our unhoused neighbors, and punishing people struggling to survive the affordability crisis.

Support the Campos, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas, Casey Memo, and make affordability a key focus area with metrics.

Support the Kamei, Tordillos, Cohen Memo and restore funding to the California Room at the MLK Library.

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

Annette Dow

Outlook
Fw: Support of FY 2026-2027 June Budget Message
From City Clerk
Date Mon 6/8/2026 12:01 PM
To Agendadesk
Office of the City Clerk I City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax:408 -292-6207
How is our service? Your feedback is appreciated!
From: Kenton Kuwada
Sent: Monday, June 8, 2026 11:15 AM
Tordillos, Anthony
Subject: Support of FY 2026-2027 June Budget Message
Gvatua, Alexander
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Kenton Kuwada
• • t • ! I • I •
June 8, 2026
Learn wh',' this is imP.ortant
Mayor Mahan & Members of the San Jose City Council
City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: Support of FY 2026-2027 June Budget Message
Dear Mayor Mahan and Members of the City Council:

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I am writing as a business owner in Downtown San Jose to express my strong support for the Mayor's FY 2026-2027 June Budget Message. Downtown San Jose is the economic, cultural, and civic heart of our city, and while we have seen real progress in recent years, our recovery is not yet complete. This budget reflects a genuine commitment to the investments that keep that recovery moving forward.

As someone who operates a business in Downtown San Jose, I see firsthand what sustained investment means for our businesses, our public spaces, and the people who live, work, and visit here. Several initiatives in this budget stand out as particularly important including
funding for Stitching Districts, the Patronscan Safety Pilot, Bike Lane Beautification, and free 90 minute parking at the Convention Center garage.

Allowing our recovery to continue building momentum before pursuing potential changes to the business tax structure is the right call, and I appreciate the Mayor's judgment in making it.

Is there a way to simplify the process for new local small businesses to open? We have to find a way to fill these vacated buildings in order to keep neighborhoods and downtown vibrant and up to speed with Santana Row.

This budget reflects the kind of focused, practical investment that Downtown needs. I urge the Council to adopt the June Budget Message and follow through on these priorities.

Thank
you for your leadership and your continued commitment to Downtown San Jose.

Respectfully,
Kenton Kuwada
Managing Partner
Courage Anyone

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Agenda Item 3.1 and June 9 Council Agenda Items 3.3 and 3.4.

SVCN submits this letter in its role as co-convenor of the REAL Coalition, together with Sacred Heart Community Service.

We appreciate your consideration of our recommendations and comments on next year's budget. Please contact me with any questions.

Best,
Kyra

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1 June 8, 2026
San José City Council
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
Sent via electronic mail
RE: FY 2026–27 Proposed Budget, June Budget Message, and Related Council Memoranda
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and Members of the San José City Council:

On behalf of the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition, we write regarding the FY 2026–27 Proposed Budget, the Mayor’s June Budget Message, and several Council memoranda currently before the City Council.

We recognize that the City is navigating a difficult fiscal environment marked by a significant budget shortfall and growing uncertainty regarding future federal, state, and local revenues. We appreciate the efforts of the Mayor, City Council, and City staff to preserve critical community investments while balancing the budget.

Earlier this year, REAL advanced the STAY in San José framework, which called on the City to center affordability, racial equity, prevention, and community stability in its budget decisions. We are encouraged that several priorities championed by REAL and many community partners have been reflected in the June Budget Message and related Council memoranda. We write both to express our support for those proposals and to identify several areas where additional action remains necessary.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 2 Support for a New Affordability Focus Area
REAL strongly supports the memorandum from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas, and Casey establishing a new Council Focus Area dedicated to reducing the cost of living.

San José residents consistently identify affordability as the defining challenge facing our city. Housing costs, childcare costs, transportation expenses, healthcare costs, and economic insecurity are deeply interconnected and shape whether residents can remain in the communities they call home. Yet affordability has not had a dedicated place within the City's existing focus area framework.

The proposed focus area represents an important step toward institutionalizing accountability around affordability and ensuring that City departments regularly evaluate how policies and investments affect household stability. This proposal closely aligns with the goals of REAL’s STAY in San José framework and reflects the reality that affordability must be treated as a core City priority rather than a secondary outcome of housing production or economic growth alone.

REAL also encourages the City to view affordability broadly. While reducing costs is essential, affordability is also shaped by wages, economic mobility, wealth-building opportunities, and access to good jobs. Should the City develop this new focus area, we encourage robust community engagement throughout the process and, wherever possible, co-creation with residents and community organizations most affected by affordability challenges. The people most impacted by rising costs should help shape how success is defined and measured.

Homelessness Prevention
REAL appreciates the Mayor’s proposal to invest $1 million in homelessness prevention services and to maintain the Measure E set-aside supporting homelessness prevention assistance.

Preventing homelessness remains one of the most humane and cost-effective investments available to the City. Every household that remains stably housed avoids the far greater costs associated with shelter, healthcare, law enforcement intervention, and long-term housing instability. We appreciate the City’s continued recognition that reducing inflow into homelessness must remain a central strategy.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 3 Children, Youth, and Families
REAL appreciates the City’s continued commitment to the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, including the preservation of funding for the Santee and Mayfair/Poco Way demonstration sites and the broader commitment of approximately $3.4 million toward implementation efforts.

These investments represent meaningful progress from earlier budget discussions and acknowledge the importance of supporting children, youth, and families before crises occur. The demonstration sites offer an important opportunity to build cradle-to-career systems of support that strengthen family stability, educational outcomes, and long-term community well-being.

At the same time, we encourage the City to continue moving toward a durable and ongoing funding commitment for implementation of the Children and Youth Services Master Plan. Even in difficult fiscal years, investments in children and families should be viewed as foundational infrastructure for a healthy and equitable city.

We also encourage continued coordination with Santa Clara County, school districts, community-based organizations, philanthropy, and families themselves to maximize impact and ensure that investments are aligned across systems serving children and youth.

REAL also strongly supports the preservation of BEST funding and other community-based violence prevention and intervention programs. We appreciate the efforts of Councilmembers and City staff to protect these investments during a difficult budget year. Prevention and intervention services help young people and families navigate challenges before they escalate into more serious crises, improving community safety while reducing long-term public costs.

As REAL and numerous community partners emphasized in recent advocacy regarding BEST, the City should not simply seek to preserve these programs. It should continue moving toward a strategy that expands and strengthens prevention and intervention services over time. San José cannot arrest, shelter, or enforce its way out of challenges rooted in trauma, poverty, disconnection, and lack of opportunity. Community-based prevention and intervention programs are among the most effective tools available to improve public safety, strengthen neighborhoods, and support positive outcomes for young people and families.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 4 REAL has also long supported the creation of a City office dedicated to coordinating community-based safety approaches. As the City continues investing in youth development, violence prevention, intervention, behavioral health response, and neighborhood stabilization, there is a growing opportunity to better coordinate these efforts through a dedicated community safety infrastructure that complements traditional public safety systems.

Older Adult Services
REAL appreciates the inclusion of $300,000 in funding for the Older Adult Health and Wellness Grant Program. REAL stands in solidarity with the providers, advocates, and older adults who have worked tirelessly to preserve these critical programs that often serve those from historically marginalized and underserved communities.

This funding will help maintain legal services, healthcare navigation, wellness supports, and programs that reduce social isolation among older adults – many of whom live on fixed incomes and face heightened risks of housing instability, poor health outcomes, and economic hardship. We appreciate the City's willingness to work with providers and advocates to identify a path forward and encourage continued attention to the needs of older adults.

Support for Immigrant Protection and Community Stability REAL appreciates the City’s continued recognition of the importance of immigrant protection services during a period of heightened fear and uncertainty for many immigrant families.

We offer this support in solidarity with immigrant-led organizations and coalitions, including Amigos de Guadalupe, the Immigrant Protection and Empowerment Network (IPEN), Rapid Response Network, SIREN, and the many community-based organizations leading this work every day. REAL does not lead immigrant defense efforts; rather, we stand alongside the organizations and community leaders who have long protected and advocated for immigrant communities.

We strongly support the memorandum from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey calling for the full $1 million allocation for immigrant protection services to be available at the beginning of the fiscal year rather than partially contingent on future events.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 5 Community organizations cannot wait until a crisis escalates to build legal capacity, outreach infrastructure, staffing, volunteer networks, and rapid response systems. The need already exists.

Immigrant families are essential to San José’s economic, civic, and cultural life.

These investments help ensure that residents can continue to access schools, healthcare, employment, and public services without fear.

Community Safety Through Prevention and Community-Based Services In addition to youth development, violence prevention, and intervention strategies such as SJYEA and BEST, San José must continue investing in community-based approaches that respond to crises when they occur. Prevention and intervention are strongest when paired with systems that connect residents to care, support, and stabilization rather than relying solely on emergency or law enforcement responses.

REAL continues to support community-based crisis response services such as TRUST.

TRUST emerged from community demands – particularly from Black community leaders and youth leaders – in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the broader Black Lives Matter movement. It reflects years of work by community members, behavioral health advocates, and public agencies to develop alternatives to emergency room and law-enforcement-centered responses to behavioral health crises.

The City previously made a modest but important investment in this partnership with Santa Clara County, and we encourage continued City participation especially as County resources remain constrained.

REAL also supports continued investments in violence prevention and intervention strategies that strengthen neighborhoods, support young people, and address the root causes of harm before crises occur.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 6 Revenue, Economic Equity, and Long-Term Stability
REAL supports the memorandum from Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey restoring $90,000 for business impact research associated with future revenue measure exploration.

San José’s affordability challenges cannot be solved through service reductions alone. The City must continue exploring equitable and sustainable revenue strategies that can preserve investments in housing stability, immigrant protection, youth services, violence prevention, older adults, and other essential community priorities.

We also appreciate that the City continues to advance the Working Families Housing concept first elevated during the March budget process. The inclusion of a workforce housing demonstration project in the Building More Housing workplan reflects continued movement toward innovative financing models that can create permanently affordable homes for working families while leveraging regional, labor, and institutional partnerships.

Continued Priorities
While we appreciate the progress reflected in the June Budget Message and Council memoranda, several important priorities remain worthy of future consideration.

REAL supports tenant calls for the exploration of an eviction representation pilot targeted toward residents facing the greatest risk of displacement. Eviction prevention remains one of the most direct and cost-effective strategies available to preserve housing stability and reduce homelessness.

Throughout this budget process, REAL has consistently emphasized that budget decisions are not race-neutral. Cuts to prevention, stabilization, and community-based services disproportionately affect Black residents, Latino residents, immigrant communities, older adults, people with disabilities, low-income families, and residents of historically underinvested neighborhoods.

Consistent with the City’s Racial and Social Equity Ordinance and Equity Values and Standards Policy, budget choices should be evaluated based on whether they reduce or deepen those disparities.

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 7 Conclusion
REAL appreciates the meaningful movement reflected in the June Budget Message and the Council memoranda currently under consideration. We are encouraged that many community priorities advanced over the past several months have been incorporated into the City's budget discussions.

As the Council moves toward final budget adoption, we respectfully urge you to:
● Adopt the proposed Council Focus Area on reducing the cost of living; ● Increase immigrant protection funding to the full $1 million level, up-front; ● Maintain and strengthen homelessness prevention investments; ● Continue investing in the Children and Youth Services Master Plan and community-based violence prevention programs;
● Sustain community-based crisis response services such as TRUST; ● Protect older adult services; and
● Continue exploring equitable long-term revenue solutions that support affordability and community stability.

Thank you for your leadership and consideration. We look forward to continuing to work together to ensure that San José remains a place where all residents can stay, belong, and thrive.

Sincerely,
Vaughn Villaverde
Co-Chair, REAL Coalition
Kathy Cordova
Co-Chair, REAL Coalition
Kyra Kazantzis
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
Co-Convenor, REAL Coalition
Poncho Guevara
Sacred Heart Community Service
Co-Convenor, REAL Coalition

Letter from REAL to San Jose City Council re FY27 Budget, June 7, 2026, Page 8 About the Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition REAL Coalition, a community of Santa Clara County-based nonprofit leaders and allies, has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially-just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge. REAL Coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community, including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food security, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, intermediary organizations, and others. REAL has 50 core nonprofit members, numerous individual members, and hundreds of active participants in the nonprofit community. Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and Sacred Heart Community Service are proud co-conveners of REAL Coalition.

June 8, 2026

The Honorable Mayor and Members of the San Jose City Council 200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Re: Agenda Item 3.3: MBA #7: Business Tax Modernization

Dear Mayor Mahan and esteemed City Councilmembers,
We'd like to offer our support for the Mayor's June Budget Message for FY 2026-2027 and address Item

3.3 on Business Tax Modernization. San José's Business Tax Modernization study proposal misses a fundamental reality: our city is already one of the most expensive and challenging places in the region to operate a small business.

All of our business owners expressed concerns of the rising costs of doing business: fees, utilities, insurance premiums, labor expenses, and commercial rents. For many of the businesses, these costs are already threatening their survival.

San José's current business tax structure disproportionately impacts labor-intensive businesses such as restaurants, retailers, hospitality operators, and manufacturers—the very businesses that create jobs, activate commercial districts, and contribute to the character of our neighborhoods. Potentially increasing the burden on these businesses is economically unwise.

What’s striking is the statement of MBA #7, that the tax review needs to “...provide recommendations given the ongoing structural budget shortfalls.” A business-friendly city does not balance its budget on the backs of its businesses.

If the City truly wants to modernize its business tax structure, it should first focus on improving its competitiveness by reducing costs and streamlining regulations. Unless that is the express purpose of the Business Tax Modernization study, we cannot support this budget item.

Best regards,
Tamiko Rast Paul Pham
President, Japantown Business Association President, Story Road Business Association

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Silicon Valley Council of Nonproﬁts
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June 8, 2026

San José City Council
San José City Hall
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San José, CA 95113
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RE: FY26-27 Proposed Operating Budget and the Mayor’s June Budget Message Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and Members of the City Council, On behalf of the BEST providers and grantees of the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance (SJYEA), Bringing Everyone’s Strengths Together (BEST) Grant, we respectfully submit this letter in response to the June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026–2027.

First, we appreciate that MBA #11 no longer includes a cut to BEST grants and includes a 3% COLA to address rising operational expenses for the BEST grant program, and that the Mayor’s June Budget message supports this plan. We also appreciate the City’s longtime investment in the services supported through the BEST Grant program while we continue to believe that further investments are warranted and that, even in a difficult budget year, increased investment in prevention and intervention services represents one of the most effective public safety and community well-being strategies available to the City, preventing more expensive downstream costs while strengthening outcomes for youth, families, neighborhoods, and communities.

These investments are critical to sustaining trusted relationships with schools, community institutions, families, and young people throughout San José. The City’s commitment to youth development and community safety has allowed providers to build meaningful pathways of support that strengthen neighborhoods and improve outcomes for some of our most vulnerable residents.

As the City finalizes its budget for the coming fiscal year, we urge continued investment in both prevention and intervention services for youth. While intervention programming remains represented in the proposed budget, prevention programming has been significantly reduced. We strongly encourage the Council to reconsider this approach moving forward, as we think ahead to

Letter from BEST Providers to City Council re FY26-27 Proposed Operating Budget and Mayor’s June Bugdet Message, Page 2

mitigating the projected shortfall of upcoming fiscal years. Especially as community-based organizations continue to face increasing demand for services while navigating rising operational costs and ongoing funding uncertainty. Many organizations are forced to make difficult decisions about reducing services, limiting program capacity, or discontinuing programs altogether. Currently, the scale of this investment does not fully reflect the growing needs of youth and families across our city.

Prevention services are designed to support young people and their families before they become involved in the justice system, experience violence, or become disconnected from school and community. These investments help address the root causes of violence and create opportunities for youth to thrive.

Prevention is not simply an upstream strategy; it is a proven public safety strategy.

Investing in prevention is also fiscally responsible. The Sentencing Project estimates that state and local governments spend approximately $129 billion annually on policing, while community-based prevention and violence interruption strategies represent a fraction of that cost and often produce stronger long-term outcomes for public safety and community well-being.1 Research further shows that residents who participate in neighborhood and civic organizations are more likely to feel responsible for their communities and contribute to improved quality of life outcomes, particularly in historically marginalized neighborhoods.2 As BEST providers, we see these outcomes firsthand through our daily work with youth, families, schools, and community partners.

Beyond being cost-effective, prevention investments have played an important role in helping San José remain one of the safest large metropolitan cities in the nation. According to a recent analysis by the Center for American Progress examining the 50 most populous U.S. cities between 2021 and 2025, San José experienced the steepest decline in gun victimization rates among all cities studied.3 The report highlights the role of community-based violence prevention 3 Nick Wilson & Chelsea Parsons, What City Leaders Say Is Helping Drive Down Gun Violence in Their Communities, Center for American Progress (Apr. 7, 2026), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/what-city-leaders-say-is-helping-drive-down-gun-violence-in-thei r-communities/.
2Ibid.
1 Liz Komar & Nicole D. Porter, Safety Beyond Sentencing, The Sentencing Project (Aug. 3, 2023), https://www.sentencingproject.org/policy-brief/safety-beyond-sentencing/.

Letter from BEST Providers to City Council re FY26-27 Proposed Operating Budget and Mayor’s June Bugdet Message, Page 3

and intervention strategies in reducing violence and improving public safety outcomes.

While many factors contribute to San José’s success, investments in programs such as SJYEA and other community-based violence prevention initiatives have helped create the conditions for safer neighborhoods. These programs engage young people before crises occur, connect families to resources, and provide credible, community-rooted support systems that help prevent violence before it starts.

For these reasons, we stand ready to work with the Council not only to sustain current BEST funding levels but to expand investments in both prevention and intervention services through SJYEA. Continued investment in these strategies is an investment in youth success, family stability, community safety, and the long-term well-being of San José.

Thank you for your continued leadership and partnership during this challenging budget cycle. We appreciate the City's ongoing commitment to collaborative solutions and look forward to continuing our work alongside the Council to ensure that all young people and families in San José have the support they need to thrive.

Sincerely,
BEST Providers convened by Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN)

Celina Chun
Alum Rock Counseling Center

Josh Selo
Bill Wilson Center

Maritza Henry
Caminar

Don Taylor
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara
County

Lori Ramos Chavez
ConXion to Community

Kris Scott
Fresh Lifelines for Youth

Letter from BEST Providers to City Council re FY26-27 Proposed Operating Budget and Mayor’s June Bugdet Message, Page 4

Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez
MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y
Cultura Latino Americana

Eva Terrazas
Pacific Clinics

Brendan Rawson
San Jose Jazz

Victor Vasquez
SOMOS Mayfair

June 8th, 2026 Mayor Matt Mahan and Members of the San José City Council 200 East Santa Clara Street San José, CA 95113 Re: Support for Mayor’s June Budget Message Dear Mayor Mahan and Members of the City Council: The California Apartment Association writes in support of the City’s efforts to adopt a balanced and responsible budget that protects core services, supports San José’s long-term economic vitality, and avoids placing new cost pressures on rental housing. A fiscally stable city is essential to maintaining public safety, infrastructure, cleanliness, housing production, and the overall quality of life that residents and businesses rely on every day. CAA appreciates the Mayor’s continued focus on these priorities and commends the Mayor for putting forward a balanced budget. CAA also appreciates that the Mayor’s proposed budget does not advance a business tax modernization study. Any increase in San José’s business license tax would add to the cost of operating rental housing in the city. Rental housing providers are already facing rising insurance costs, maintenance expenses, utilities, labor costs, financing costs, and regulatory compliance burdens. Adding another local tax would only increase the cost of providing housing. Those costs do not exist in isolation. When the cost of providing housing increases, it places additional pressure on the housing market and makes it more difficult to maintain, operate, and invest in rental housing. San José cannot improve housing affordability by increasing the cost of housing operations. CAA supports the City’s focus on growing jobs, investment, housing production, and economic activity as the most sustainable path to strengthening the City’s fiscal health and generating the revenue needed to support essential public services. We thank Mayor Mahan for his leadership and urge the City Council to support this balanced approach as part of the budget process. Sincerely, Anil Babbar Senior Vice President, Public Affairs California Apartment Association

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. affordability crisis. This is a racial and economic justice issue. The brunt of the affordability crisis falls squarely on the shoulders of our most marginalized residents including elders, immigrants, Black and brown people and people with disabilities.

I know multiple residents who had their RV towed and were then forced to live on the street in their car, were harassed by police for living on the street in their car and so moved to an encampment, where they were then also displaced by a sweep, yet again. These community members were not offered any alternatives for where they CAN go.

The city is not being honest or accountable to the truth that your parking enforcement programs affect some of our most vulnerable community members, leading to trauma, criminalization, deeper debt and MORE homelessness. The city should instead provide resources for stabilization and safe parking and housing options.

Focus on real solutions to the affordability crisis, including cost effective homelessness prevention, permanent affordable housing and safe parking, and our whole community will benefit.

Thank you,

Lori Katcher
District 6

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Alie Victorine
President, D7 Leadership Group

Outlook
Fw: California Room compromise option
From City Clerk
Date Tue 6/9/202611:29 AM
To Agendadesk
Office of the City Clerk I City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Your feedback is appreciated!
From: Kathryn Ribay
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 10:52 AM
Subject: California Room compromise option
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
Hello,
Learn wh',' this is imP.ortant
I recently became aware of the memorandum submitted by Council members Kamei, Tordillos, and Cohen proposing a cutback in lieu of full closure of the California room, and I am writing to share my support for this option. As a Japantown homeowner, I recently used the California room to learn about the history of my home and its earliest residents. I learned that one of those early residents was an 1885 graduate of the San Jose normal school, which was so exciting to me as a current faculty member of Teacher Education at SJSU! I was hoping to be able to keep using the room to learn more about the early history of my home. Please keep this amazing resource accessible to residents! Best,
Kathryn Ribay

of $57.63/employee to $69.40/employee.
~8 standard businesses with greater than 2,603 employees that are paying the maximum $180,674, contributing $1.5M revenue (7.2% of all standard business tax revenue), average of less than $69.41/employee. A business of 10,000 employees would be paying an average of $18.06/employee.

The highest cost-per-employee falls upon the single-employee businesses, and the second highest cost-per-employee falls upon the <17 employee businesses.

Business Tax Modernization has the potential to decrease the cost-per-employee for small businesses, by shifting the higher cost-per-employee burdens to bigger, higher-margin businesses.

Given that the funding will be shifted from a program for which "no funds were expended in 2025-2026 and there are no immediate plans for this program in 2026-2027", there seems to be no downside to continuing the study, learning more, and continuing to discuss these ideas. If such a modernization is deemed to be a net negative to the economy, the Council can still decline to move any proposals forward to the ballot.

Taxes provide a value to the community. There would be no economy if we eliminated all business taxes and stopped funding beautification, policing, economic development, etc. And of course, there would be no economy if we taxed all businesses at 100%. We must find the right balance. We do ourselves a disservice by always assuming that the taxes are already higher than the inflection point. The modernization study will help us find the present-day inflection point. Skipping that study risks that we are currently far away (in either direction) from the inflection point, and will not be able to find and correct that problem.

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Please approve the Memorandum from Campos, Ortiz, Doan, Candelas & Casey, 6/5/26. Please investigate adding a "Reducing the Cost of Living" Council focus area for future fiscal years.

"Building More Housing" substantially addresses the most significant aspect of the highest cost of living barrier, but it does not fully address the entire housing affordability problem. This focus area should identify and address the other housing cost problems. Possible areas to explore:
unreasonable fees; pass-thru of long-term capital investments onto tenants; violations of SJMC 17.23.315 (illegal pass-thru of certain metered utility fees); collusion (including via algorithm) in setting rents; tax and and fee structures that subsidize single-family zoning at the expense of multi-family renters; preservation of naturally affordable housing.

After housing, the second-largest household expense for a super-majority of families is transportation. This includes: cost of purchasing a car; cost of insurance; amortized annual cost of maintenance; cost of surprise repairs; cost of fuel; the opportunity cost of time lost to driving long distances; transit fares.

Excessive car infrastructure also has a large cost to society, in the form of: healthcare costs after crashes; stalled traffic after crashes; deployments of emergency personnel to crash sites; removal of disabled vehicles and debris; and more. Residents pay these costs via higher taxes; higher premiums; hospital and ambulance bills; slower response times for other types of emergency calls; more general fund spending on SJPD/SJFD and less available for other essential services.

As such, "Reducing the Cost of Living" should have a strong focus on transportation issues. The Move San Jose plan and all plans under its umbrella should be incorporated into this Council focus area.

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Housing expenses and transportation expenses are also correlated. When housing is too expensive (relative to wages), families have to move to more affordable areas, which usually are further away from jobs and less connected to public transit. Thus, trying to avoid a housing expense leads to incurring more substantial transportation expenses. We must build more housing, but we must build it in higher densities than we are accustomed to, and we must expand and enhance public transit and public bikeshare to go along with it. I hope that the "Reducing the Cost of Living" focus area can track these correlated issues.

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Please approve the Memorandum from Kamei, Tordillos & Cohen, 6/5/26. Please preserve public access (via regular drop-in hours) to the California Room, and seek to restore consistent, ongoing funding in future fiscal years.

Best,
Jordan Moldow
District 3

San Jose City CouncilJune 9, 2026

San Jose City Council
June 9, 2026