COUNCIL AGENDA: 06/09/2026
FILE: 26-682
ITEM: 3.3
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Councilmember Bien Doan
SUBJECT: MAYOR’S JUNE BUDGET
MESSAGE FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2026-2027
DATE: June 08, 2026
Approved Date:
06/08/2026
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 with the following additions:
1. Support the $500,000 allocation from Budget Document #7 (Doan) and Recommendation #1 of the memorandum submitted by Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey regarding immigrant defense and legal services.
2. Direct the City Manager to establish a Neighborhood Safety Overtime Reserve (NSOR) to provide supplemental overtime capacity for officers assigned to patrol District 7. a. Allocate $250,000 to San José Police Department.
b. Eliminate the Historic Buildings Inventory fund of $250,000 from the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department.
3. Direct the City Manager to work with San José Firefighters Local 230 and apply for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant funding to support the hiring of new firefighter positions necessary to open and permanently staff Fire Station 32, while addressing other critical operational staffing needs within the Fire Department.
BACKGROUND
CITYO F ~
SANJOSE _____ M_e_m_o_ri_a_n_du_m_
CAPI'D\L OF SILICON VALLEY
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
June 08, 2026
Subject: Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
Immigration Assistance
The City of San José has long recognized the importance of supporting immigrant communities through access to legal services, education, outreach, and emergency response resources. During last fiscal year’s budget process, the City Council approved $1 million in one-time funding to support immigrant communities, representing a significant increase in the City’s investment in these services. These resources have helped nonprofit partners provide legal representation, know-your-rights education, case management, and other forms of assistance to immigrant families throughout San José.
The Mayor’s June Budget Message continues this commitment by including $500,000 in funding for immigrant defense and legal services while placing an additional $500,000 in reserve to address potential increases in immigration enforcement activity. The June Budget Message recognizes the dynamic nature of current conditions and the importance of maintaining flexibility to respond to changing community needs.
Immigrant families play a vital role in the social, cultural, and economic fabric of San José. They are workers, business owners, students, parents, and community members who contribute to the strength and vitality of our city. Access to trusted legal services and accurate information can be critical for individuals and families navigating complex immigration processes and responding to changing federal policies.
I have consistently supported efforts to strengthen immigration legal services and advocated for additional funding during the budget cycle. During this budget cycle, Budget Document #07 from my office highlighted the need for additional investments to support immigrant families through immigration assistance, emergency response services, worker protections, and programs aimed at preventing family separation during periods of heightened immigration enforcement. The proposal also identified the importance of organizations such as ConXión, whose Day Worker Center provides workforce access, supportive services, and stabilization resources for vulnerable immigrant residents. The recommendation included in the memo submitted by Councilmembers Campos, Ortiz, Candelas, and Casey aligns with those efforts by providing access to the full $1 million allocation at the beginning of FY 2026-2027.
Making the full funding amount available at the start of the fiscal year would provide nonprofit service providers with greater certainty, improve planning efforts, strengthen organizational capacity, and ensure that resources are available to respond quickly to community needs.
Supporting this recommendation reaffirms the City’s commitment to protecting vulnerable populations, promoting access to essential services, and ensuring that immigrant families continue to receive the support necessary to thrive in San José.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
June 08, 2026
Subject: Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
Establish a Neighborhood Safety Overtime Reserve (NSOR) The City of San José continues to face ongoing public safety and neighborhood quality- of-life challenges that impact residents, businesses, and community corridors across the city. While the Police Department remains committed to responding to emergency calls for service, staffing constraints and increasing demands on patrol resources have limited the Department’s ability to consistently address lower priority but highly visible neighborhood concerns.
Residents throughout District 7 frequently report issues such as illegal dumping, public disturbances, narcotics activity, abandoned vehicles, chronic nuisance locations, encampment related concerns, and other quality-of-life issues that affect neighborhood safety and cleanliness. These concerns often require proactive enforcement and sustained attention but can be difficult to address when patrol officers are focused on responding to Priority 1 and Priority 2 emergency calls. As a result, many recurring neighborhood problems remain unsolved for extended periods of time, contributing to resident frustration and declining perceptions of public safety.
Budget document #8 proposes the creation of a Neighborhood Safety Overtime Reserve within the Police Department to provide supplemental overtime capacity for officers assigned to District 7 patrol operations. This reserve would not create a new unit or duplicate existing Police Department programs. Instead, it would provide operational flexibility for SJPD leadership to deploy additional resources as needed to address recurring neighborhood complaints, conducts proactive enforcement, and respond to community concerns that may otherwise go unaddressed due to staffing limitations.
The proposed $250,000 one-time investment would be funded through the reallocation of funding currently designated for the Historic Buildings Inventory project within the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department. Redirecting these one-time funds would support targeted public safety efforts in impacted neighborhoods while allowing officers to address quality-of-life concerns that residents routinely identify as priorities.
By providing additional overtime capacity, the City can improve responsiveness to neighborhood issues, enhance public confidence in local government services, and support safer and cleaner communities throughout District 7.
SAFER Grant Funding for Fire Station 32
Fire Station 32 is a fully constructed public safety facility built with voter-approved Measure T funding to improve emergency response times and enhance public safety services for residents. Voters approved Measure T with the expectation that new fire
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
June 08, 2026
Subject: Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
stations would not only be built, but fully staffed and operational to deliver the life- saving services promised to the community.
Located in District 7, near the border of District 5, Fire Station 32 serves one of the busiest emergency response areas in San José, including predominantly working-class, immigrant, and underserved neighborhoods with high emergency medical service demand. Currently, Station 26 at Senter Road and Tully Road handles most emergency calls in District 7, placing significant strain on existing personnel and resources and limiting the system’s ability to respond as quickly and effectively as residents deserve.
San José responds to more than 100,000 emergency calls annually, the majority of which are medical in nature. Although the City has made a substantial investment in constructing Fire Station 32, the station has not yet been opened due to a lack of ongoing staffing funding. Opening and staffing Station 32 would immediately improve emergency response capabilities in one of San José’s busiest service areas, reduce strain on overburdened surrounding stations, and help address ongoing morale and operational challenges within the Fire Department.
The federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant program was specifically created to help fire departments increase frontline staffing and maintain safe deployment levels. SAFER funding can be used to hire firefighters needed to place new apparatus and stations into service, providing the City with a unique opportunity to secure substantial federal funding for positions that would otherwise need to be funded entirely through the General Fund. Pursuing SAFER funding would establish a sustainable pathway toward opening Fire Station 32 while strengthening the City’s overall emergency response system.
While MBA #5 proposes staffing Fire Station 32 through a combination of ongoing overtime and the reassignment of existing Rescue Medic positions, this approach does not provide a sustainable long-term staffing solution. Reliance on overtime for permanent station staffing increases operational costs, contributes to workforce fatigue, and creates ongoing staffing challenges. Additionally, eliminating Rescue Medic positions would reduce emergency medical response capacity and jeopardize ambulance transport revenue that helps support Fire Department operations. A more effective and sustainable approach is to utilize SAFER Grant funding to hire new personnel, allowing Fire Station 32 to open without reducing existing emergency response resources elsewhere in the system.
Rescue Medics provide a critical citywide service and are an integral component of San José's emergency medical response system. While a traditional engine company may provide greater overall operational flexibility and fire suppression capability, removing existing Rescue Medic resources to staff another facility simply shifts service gaps from one part of the system to another. The City should not be forced to choose between
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
June 08, 2026
Subject: Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
maintaining ambulance transport capacity and opening a voter-approved fire station when federal staffing resources may be available to support both objectives.
The more responsible and sustainable approach is to secure funding for new firefighter positions that allow Fire Station 32 to open without reducing existing service levels.
SAFER Grant funding presents an opportunity to achieve that objective by adding personnel rather than reallocating or eliminating existing resources. This approach would honor the commitment made to voters through Measure T, improve emergency response in a high-demand service area, preserve critical Rescue Medic services, and establish a long-term staffing plan capable of keeping Fire Station 32 operational for decades to come.
As the City evaluates long-term deployment strategies and budget priorities, consideration should also be given to whether older facilities in lower-demand or overlapping service areas could eventually be adapted, consolidated, or taken offline with minimal service impact. Unlike many aging facilities, Station 32 was specifically built to meet current public safety demands in a high-call-volume area and represents a more efficient and effective long-term investment for both residents and firefighters.
Public safety must remain the City’s highest priority. As the City evaluates ongoing budget challenges, non-essential and discretionary programs should be reassessed to ensure core services such as police, fire, and emergency medical response are fully funded first. Opening Fire Station 32 with newly hired personnel supported by SAFER funding represents a fiscally responsible, operationally sound, and sustainable solution that strengthens public safety while preserving existing emergency response resources throughout San José.