City Council - February 24, 2025

Council funds interim cross-staffing at Fire Station 4

The City Council voted 7-0 to approve FY 2025 midyear budget amendments that include $300,000 for interim cross-staffing at Fire Station 4 through the remainder of the fiscal year. Staff’s plan calls for a reserve engine and one overtime position per shift, with activation expected within 30 to 60 days.

The motion, moved by Councilmember Pat Burt, also directed staff to prepare an FY 2026 budget alternative that would replace the overtime arrangement with three permanent full-time positions. Continuing the overtime model is estimated to cost about $1 million annually. Staff will return to the Finance Committee in April to evaluate mid- and long-term fire services and staffing.

Staff said the current and temporary facilities cannot accommodate a fully staffed engine and ambulance simultaneously. The replacement station is intended to accommodate both with five personnel. Staff anticipates awarding a construction contract before the council’s summer recess, with completion expected in early 2027.

Public speakers broadly opposed making cross-staffing permanent and urged full engine staffing, citing emergency-response reliability, wildfire risk and firefighter overtime. The decision came as staff reported lower-than-estimated sales-tax revenue and General Fund deficits of about $6 million for FY 2025, a projected $12 million for FY 2026 and a projected $7.9 million for FY 2027.

Council sends competing city-values drafts to an ad hoc group

Council voted 7-0 to create an ad hoc group to reconcile competing drafts of a city-values resolution responding to actions by the federal administration. No final resolution was adopted, and the group is expected to return promptly with a unified proposal; Mayor Ed Lauing expressed a preference for a return as early as the following week if possible.

Most public speakers supported adopting a resolution, although some sought stronger language while others urged a strategic, nonpartisan tone. Councilmember Burt said the revised proposal was less confrontational than the original but still needed work. Lauing, a co-sponsor of the original proposal, supported using the ad hoc process to resolve the differences.

Mayor announces pause over $23 million resilience transfer

Mayor Lauing announced a 60-day pause concerning Valley Water’s proposal to transfer $23 million from the North County Sea Level Rise Project to San Jose. The city had asked Valley Water to defer the proposal, and Lauing said a council ad hoc effort would work on the issue during the pause. Council took no final action on the proposed transfer at this meeting.

Council authorizes $264,600 in Cubberley contracts

As part of its unanimous consent-calendar approval, council authorized professional-services contracts with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates and The Lew Edwards Group for Cubberley Project public-opinion research and communications strategy. The contracts, for $126,225 and $138,375, total $264,600. Council also approved associated FY 2025 budget amendments.

Council continues 2025 priority discussion to March 10

Council took public comment but continued its substantive discussion of 2025 priority objectives to March 10. No objectives were finalized, and public comment remains open. Speakers urged greater emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, climate and natural-environment measures, and residential protections.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet