0CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Addiego called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
ROLL CALL
Councilmember Coleman, joined at 9:02 a.m.
Councilmember Flores, present
Councilmember Nicolas, present
Vice Mayor Nagales, present
Mayor Addiego, present
AGENDA REVIEW
No changes.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
The following individuals submitted eComments to the City Council:
• Maureen Kelly
• Cynthia Marcopulos
Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5, all written public comments submitted to the City Council become public record and will be made available to the public. Public comments submitted via the eComment portal can be viewed in the City Clerk’s repository at https://ci-ssfca.granicusideas.com/meetings?scope=past The following individuals addressed the City Council:
• Annie Lo – City Budget
• Joseph Lopez, Carpenters Union Local 217 – Contract Prequalification language • Julie Lind, San Mateo Central Labor Council – Project Labor Agreements Complete Council members' discussions of meeting items can be viewed in archived video/audio recordings on the City’s website at https://www.ssfca.gov/Government/Video-Streaming-City-and-CouncilMeetings/City-Council
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2026
8:30 a.m.
1 Tower Place, Lobby 1
South San Francisco, CA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 24, 2026
MINUTES PAGE 2
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITY-SETTING WORKSHOP
1. Conduct a facilitated Council Priority-Setting Workshop. (Mark Addiego, Mayor) Nancy Hetrick with Raftelis introduced herself as the workshop facilitator. The City Council and City Manager received an overview of the workshop agenda and discussed governance practices, expectations for collaboration, and key topics for the day, including potential revenue measures and Council priorities for 2026.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
2. Report presenting Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 mid-year update and proposed budget amendments for FY 2025-26 Operating and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budgets (Drew Corbett, Interim Finance Director)
Interim Finance Director Corbett presented the report.
The following individuals addressed the City Council:
• Fionnola Villamejor – City finances / legal issues
• Annie Lo – Taxes / affordability
Motion – Vice Mayor Nagales/Second – Councilmember Nicolas: To approve Resolution 02- 2026, accepting mid-year update for fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and approving proposed budget amendment 26.048 to provide additional appropriations for FY2025-26 City Operating and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budgets as detailed in Attachment 1, by roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Coleman, Flores, and Nicolas, Vice Mayor Nagales and Mayor Addiego.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
Meeting recessed at 10:37 a.m.
Meeting resumed at 10:52 a.m.
Workshop facilitation continued with an in-depth discussion regarding potential revenue measures. Refer to the attached Raftelis 2026 City Council Workshop Report.
Meeting recessed at 12:15 p.m.
Meeting resumed 12:36 p.m.
Workshop facilitation then transitioned to a discussion on Council priorities for 2026. Refer to the attached Raftelis 2026 City Council Workshop Report.
ADJOURNMENT
Being no further business, Mayor Addiego adjourned the City Council meeting at 2:09 p.m.
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 24, 2026
MINUTES PAGE 3
Submitted by: Approved by:
Jazmine Miranda Mark Addiego
Assistant City Clerk Mayor
Attachment: Raftelis 2026 City Council Workshop Report
Approved by the City Council: / /2026
NOTE: The Meeting Minutes record actions taken by the City Council during the meeting. These action minutes are the City’s record of actions taken at the meeting.
City of
South San
Francisco
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
Held on: JANUARY 24, 2026
City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 1
On January 24, 2026, the City of South San Francisco (City) held a City Council Workshop. Planned and facilitated by Raftelis, in cooperation with City staff, the workshop’s primary focus was on sustaining effective governance, addressing the City’s budget and revenue options, and identifying top priorities for 2026.
Welcome and Opening
Mayor Mark Addiego welcomed his colleagues, staff, and members of the public, thanking everyone for their contributions and attendance. The schedule for the day included the facilitated Council Workshop, as well as staff-led administrative business regarding a mid-year budget update for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26. After the public comment period, the facilitator gave an overview of the workshop agenda, objectives, and meeting norms for the day. The norms included leaning into curiosity, seeking areas of consensus, respecting different perspectives, and holding the “One City” mindset.
The facilitator also asked Councilmembers and the City Manager, Laura Snideman, to share their hopes for the workshop, and the responses all echoed themes of clarity in both communication and planning for 2026.
Two Councilmembers hoped to have a roadmap for a successful 2026, with one focusing on a financial roadmap, in particular. Similarly, other Councilmembers expressed hopes for key strategies to continue the City’s success over a longer horizon, a framework of ‘doables and not-doables,’ and clear direction for staff.
Regarding communication, one Councilmember hoped to have discussions grounded in financial truth. The City Manager affirmed similar goals, highlighting her hopes for clear staff direction and hearing open conversation from all of the Councilmembers.
Governance
The City’s Councilmembers have worked successfully together for several years, but 2026 anticipates some change with a November election that will bring in new members. This, in addition to having a new City Manager, meant that time spent reflecting on good governance practices and ways to sustain effective governance in South San Francisco into the future was an important topic. Acknowledging this context, the facilitator asked the members to reflect on what they want their Council to be known for. Their responses are summarized in the table below.
What do you want this Council to be known for?
• Acting strongly and quickly in times of crisis (e.g., diaper donations, response to SNAP cuts) • Political will and resources to respond and act
• Maintaining diversity and supporting staff through adversity • Enabling the City to thrive and to support all groups and ages • As a highly functional Council
o Get in the news for achievements
o Familiar with each other, have strong relationships
• Making decisions rooted in integrity, transparency, purpose, and equity • Being seen as a resource by peer agencies
• As connected to the community and accessible
• Engaging positively, with goals of decisions based on doing the best work, not from factions In preparation for the workshop, the facilitator shared an article from the Institute for Local Government (ILG), “Attributes of Exceptional Councils,” which is attached to the report. The article summarizes best practices and specific characteristics of high-performing councils as they relate to six attributes shared by exceptional City Councils:
City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 2
1. Have a sense of team – a partnership with the City Manager to govern and manage the City
2. Have clear roles and responsibilities that are understood and adhered to
3. Honor the relationship with staff and each other
4. Routinely conduct effective meetings
5. Hold themselves and the city accountable
6. Have members who practice continuous improvement
Councilmembers were asked to reflect on the article and its tenets, which were reviewed by the facilitator. Several discussion questions were provided to the group, and the responses are summarized by question below.
Exceptional City Councils
What does this Council do especially well? Are there any specific ideas you would want to incorporate into how you govern?
• Collaborate well across differences
• Responsive
• Decisions reflect long-term values
• Stewardship
• Continually learn from each other
• Very informed
• CalCities training sets a strong foundation for new members • Good norms (humility, kindness, assuming good intentions) • A strong team can cover the many regional ‘hats’ to support the City • Institutional knowledge and experience both benefit the group and enable long-time presence and relationships
What do the Council and City Manager need from each other to be successful? • Council does not want to micromanage staff, and wants to respect roles, with a preference for openness and partnership
• What Council is looking for/needs from the City Manager:
o Open and frank discussions and responses [repeated by others and the City Manager] o Continue building relationships, with grace for each other o Maintain confidence in strong City staff, and ensure resources and a “just right” balance of support for them o Maintain and prioritize a community presence, and be a true fighter for residents • City Manager is looking for open and proactive communication from the Councilmembers Focus on Finance
Mid-Year Budget Update and Adjustments
Under an item of administrative business, as referenced earlier, Interim Finance Director Drew Corbett delivered a report presenting the FY 2025-26 mid-year update and proposed budget amendments for the FY 2026-26 Operating and Capital Improvement Program Budgets. Since joining the City, the Director has worked with staff to implement revised forecasting and better understand current conditions. This work informed the presentation and clarified the City’s financial status as the Council considered 2026 and beyond.
Overall, the City has strong financial policies in place, which put it in good financial health. This allows the City to be intentional about addressing its projected budget shortfall. The Director affirmed that the structural deficit exists, but that it is manageable, and the City’s fund balance position enables resiliency to withstand economic cycles. Staff and Councilmembers alike noted taking these conditions seriously while recognizing that the City has appropriate confidence in its policies and reserves. The Director shared that the City does not have excess financial capacity to add materially to service levels or staffing, and there was agreement in City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 3
the room that the City will have to be intentional about limiting any new investments and prioritizing current levels of service.
Following more discussion among Councilmembers and staff, some community members contributed their views through a second public comment period. Subsequently, the Council unanimously adopted a resolution to accept the mid-year update and approve the proposed budget amendment, with no follow-up action required.
Discussing a Potential Revenue Measure
Building off the understanding of the City’s finances established in the prior section, the Assistant City Manager, Rich Lee, initiated the next section on revenue measures. The presentation reviewed information from a 2025 Council study session on the topic and highlighted key logistical details for the time-sensitive discussion. Options under discussion included a sales tax and a parcel tax, which could be pursued through Council action or a citizen’s ballot measure. The figure below was a table from the presentation that summarizes many of the key points for consideration.
Figure 1: Revenue Matrix presented by City Staff
As referenced in the last row of the Revenue Matrix, the City’s ability to levy a higher sales tax would depend on receiving legislative exemption from the state. The Assistant City Manager informed Council that the area’s State Senator Jesse Arreguín is preparing a bill seeking legislative exemption for portions of three nearby counties and more than ten nearby cities. This legislative step adds to timing considerations from impending deadlines for the 2026 ballot, which would be even more compressed for a citizen’s measure, given necessary outreach and signature-gathering. Additional context for the discussion included details on how the potential measures would impact South San Franciscans across a socioeconomic spectrum, and on other potential revenue measures that would be on the same 2026 ballot for the City and its neighbors.
Next, the City Manager introduced some of the investment needs and ideas she has heard from Council and staff, which are key drivers behind the revenue ballot measure. A wide variety of topics were on the list, ranging from existing facility upkeep and long-term benefits liabilities to matching staff levels to anticipated population growth and creating a revolving housing loan fund. The City Manager highlighted that the list of potential ideas was not fully vetted yet, meaning that other City needs could be missing, and there had not been time to investigate the costs of the ideas.
The Councilmembers and participating staff engaged in a rich discussion about their specific goals for a revenue measure, their shared concerns about affordability and burdening residents, and their common goal City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 4
to set the City up for long-term success and financial sustainability. Overall, there were mixed sentiments around the best path forward, with key questions centered on the timing and method for the ballot measure.
Councilmembers identified a number of knowledge gaps and expressed wanting further details about the City’s needs and trade-offs before deciding. The City Manager acknowledged a similar wish, noting that ballot measure preparation typically benefits from a long planning period and more robust data to estimate the opportunity cost of inaction.
After a pause for lunch, the plan was to recap the revenue measure discussion before moving on to the next activity, priority-setting. The facilitator noted that the highest-level takeaway from the discussion was a desire for more information. However, due to timeline constraints and the preparation needed, staff would soon need Council’s direction toward or elimination of some options. Following further healthy discussion, the group was able to clarify a consensus among Councilmembers that the City will need to take some kind of action in the near future to expand revenues.
Ultimately, the Council reached a consensus to work toward placing a revenue measure on the 2028 ballot.
There was a lot of deliberation around the feasibility of bringing a ballot measure in 2026, whether through a citizen’s measure or Council direction. Councilmembers agreed that aiming for 2026 could seem overly rushed, and they recognized that the City has strong reserves and policies to be able to navigate changes of the next two years. In light of this decision, the Council decided that the plan for now would be to maintain, not add to, current services and spending levels.
As part of preparations for 2028, the Council directed staff to engage with State Senator Arreguín to add the City to his sales tax limit exemption bill. Likewise, the workshop discussion surfaced specific areas of interest and information for staff to research or compile, where it is already available, over the next two years. The table below summarizes some of these topics and their anticipated use.
Action Anticipated Use or Goal
Create or update a facility condition assessment for all City assets and a facilities management plan
Understand the volume, timing, and costs of operating,
maintaining, and/or repairing current assets, including preventative actions that cost less than reactive repairs or replacement
Develop a long-term financial sustainability plan, including conditions if the City does or does not add new revenue, if there is a significant economic shock, and under different potential population changes
Compare and contrast the different revenue options,
understand the urgency for action relative to expected
tradeoffs, and identify worthwhile investments that can generate non-tax revenue
Determine the value or total of all City subsidies for
community services, such as childcare and housing
assistance
Understand costs associated with different service levels, and engage with the community on their priorities and how they would view service cuts versus new taxes
Assess current staffing relative to service levels, potentially with contracted support, to determine adequacy and how
levels might need to adjust to respond to population growth and local development
Evaluate whether current staffing is sufficient to achieve City goals and identify possible changes for improvement in the near-term and as the community grows
Explore or compile more tier options for parcel tax and data on consumer responses to sales tax increases, and identify the detailed/example impacts on different residents for both Understand how the revenue options would impact different demographics, and prepare a 2028 ballot measure that both aligns with the City’s values and advances its goals
Conduct or continue meaningful community engagement
around the City’s finances and community goals Inform planning for and the success of a 2028 ballot measure City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 5
Priority-Setting for 2026
The facilitator reviewed the priorities set during the City’s 2025 workshop and how they were aligned under the Council’s major focus areas. The figure below reflects these areas and the definitions that the Council reviewed and revised in the prior year.
Figure 2: Major Focus Areas (2025)
Topics that Councilmembers raised during pre-workshop interviews followed very similar themes to these focus areas, and the member priorities frequently repeated or aligned with each other. These topics are listed below:
• Fiscal Health and Governance
o Revenue and budget (ballot measure, unified understanding of budget) o Supporting the new City Manager’s success
o Possibility of shared services (e.g., fire services)
• Infrastructure and Public Services
o Address road repairs and infrastructure needs
o Maintain progress on Westborough pre-school (open 2027) o Open Linden Park
• Social Services and Community Support
o Housing and homelessness
o Childcare support
o City is age-friendly and empowers youth and women
• Community Engagement and Events
o 250th Celebration
o Maintain calendar of local events
o Public safety education
• Sustainability
Throughout the 2026 workshop, the lengthy revenue discussions resoundingly showed that a common priority for the Council over the coming year is financial sustainability. This reinforced the themes from the interviews, as all of the Councilmembers had discussed the budget and the City’s finances in some form. After affirming this shared priority, the Mayor and Councilmembers were given time to reflect on specific priorities.
City of South San Francisco
2026 City Council Workshop 6
Councilmembers were asked to share three priorities, though as they went around the table, they also affirmed priorities mentioned by colleagues. The complete list of priorities and details that each Councilmember shared are in the following table.
Representative 2026 Priorities (and supportive comments for priorities Identified by colleagues) Mayor Mark Addiego
(District 1)
• Hold a City event to celebrate the Nation’s 250th
• Enforce the mooring ordinance
• Continue implementing the anti-displacement plan
Vice Mayor Mark Nagales
(District 2)
• Continue implementing childcare master plan (e.g., childcare facilities grant) • Continue enhancing bike infrastructure (e.g., bike bus) • Engage with labor groups on Project Labor Agreements and/or prequalification Councilmember Buenaflor Nicolas
(District 3)
• Continue partnerships and advance policies related to youth, families, and seniors
• Maintain the City’s infrastructure for today and the future • Continue implementing childcare master plan (e.g., childcare facilities grant) Councilmember James Coleman
(District 4)
• Continue implementing the anti-displacement plan
• Update zoning code (e.g., codes to allow for beekeeping at corporate properties)
• Discuss and take action for retail cannabis
Councilmember Eddie Flores
(District 5)
• Support staff retention (e.g., conduct a staffing study) • Engage with labor groups on Project Labor Agreements and/or prequalification o Agreements should be customized to South City
• Continue partnerships and advance policies related to youth, families, and seniors (e.g., emphasis on culture and heritage; and sustaining current programming)
Although several identified priorities were only raised by one Councilmember, most of the priorities were repeated or affirmed by the rest of the body. As an example, Mayor Addiego and Councilmember Coleman each want to prioritize continued implementation of the City’s anti-displacement work, as well as action on retail cannabis in 2026.
Both Vice Mayor Nagales and Councilmember Eddie Flores expressed support for reopening the discussion on retail cannabis, and all four representatives noted that identifying rules that support City values will be key.
The Vice Mayor and Councilmember Flor are working toward a childcare facilities grant as part of their priority to continue implementing the City’s childcare master plan. In a similar vein, Flor and Flores want to prioritize continuing partnerships and advancing policies related to youth, families, and seniors. Finally, Nagales and Flores want to engage with labor groups on Project Labor Agreements and/or prequalification.
Following the workshop, the City Manager will work with staff to develop and present a work plan to the Council that demonstrates the ability and timing to address the priorities.