My 12.2.25 Meeting Summary

Last night the Council met and discussed a couple of significant items:

- We continued discussion on the adoption of a City flag.  The Council felt it could be a worthwhile effort in order to bring together community.  Ultimately the cost should be minimal, and it would be an opportunity to encourage civic engagement.  Various ideas were discussed, including involving residents in both the creation and selection process, with specific mention of including our local high school and other students.  The process could include holding a contest, providing various themes, inviting artists, etc.  The Council formed an Ad-Hoc Committee (5-0) consisting of Mayor Trupiano and Councilmember Diaz.  The Ad-Hoc Committee will work together to formulate an overall process and bring it back to the Council for discussion.

- We had our fourth session on future revenue options.  There was a report out from the Financial Sustainability Committee regarding their recommendations.  The Committee recommended that the City pursue a renewal of the assessment for the Landscape Maintenance District (LMD) on the November 2026 ballot, include a small market adjustment to the base rate, and preserve the 10 year sunset.  The Committee also recommended that the City consider a 1% sales tax on the November 2026 ballot as well.  This idea was advanced in order to preserve the City's ability to levy this tax should the the County or State attempt to preempt this in the future.  Clayton has the lowest sales tax rate in the County, including being lower than our Concord neighbors.  Assuming market conditions hold, a sales tax would shore up the projected budget shortfalls in the future.

The Council gave direction (5-0) to staff to pursue both the renewal of the LMD, and the 1% sales tax.  The specifics of each will be discussed and solidified at a future meeting.

Upcoming Meeting 12.2.25

At our next meeting, we will be discussiong a couple significant items:

- We will have further discussion on creating a City flag.

- We will continue discussing future revenue options for the LMD and General Fund and provide direciton to staff.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

Upcoming Meeting 11.18.25

At our next meeting, the Council will be discussing several significant items:

- A reclassification of a position from Public Works Director/City Engineer to Public Works Director.  In most cases the City Engineer is not actually signing off on projects as an engineer, and this qualification makes finding candidates for this role more difficult.  This change will better meet the needs of the City.

- A discussion regarding engaging Civic Plus for various technology support including updating the City's website, supporting resident 311 reporting of issues, facility rentals, permit and form handling, etc.

- A discussion around a holiday banner with an updated City logo.

- A continued discussion of targeted Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and associated costs.

- A report out on the FY25 year end financial results, 1st quarter FY26 budget status, and proposed revisions to the FY26 budget.

Unfortunately I will be absent from this meeting as I have a prior commitment but will watch and report out on the outcomes.

My 10.21.25 Meeting Summary

At our last meeting, the Council discussed several signficant items:

- We approved a new job description for a Community Services Coordinator.  Given the volume of community events and the level of effort needed to facilitate these events, as well as contemplating new events, staff recommended repurposing an existing unfill role to perform these duties.  The role would serve as point on logistics for community events and be on site during events as needed.  

- We continued our discussoin around the City's financnes.  In our previous meetings, the Council established some aspirational goals around maintaining infrastrucure (roads, sidewalks, etc.) and compensation.  Based on those goals, the City would need to increase revenue so this meeting we also continued our discussion around various potential revenue options.  

Now that staff has done the dilligence in determining the need, and the dilligence in determining what options are available, it will be up to Council to decide on which of the options move forward with.  The simple question of more taxes, less services, or both remains the same, however now we equipped to make informed decisions.  There were a few follow up questions to get more detail, and staff will return at our next meeting.

- We gave feedback on updating the City's logo.  The current logo is sometimes difficult to see in various forms of media.  We provided feedback on ways it could be improved and staff will come back with updates.

Upcoming Meeting 10.21.25

At our next meeting, we will discuss several significant items:

- We will discuss updating the job description of the Community Services Coordinator to better align with the City's needs.

- We will continue our discussion of future revenue options as it related to the needs of the City.

- We will discuss updating the City's logo.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

My 9.16.25 Meeting Summary

On Tuesday, the Council met to discuss several significant items:

- We adopted a resolution dissolving the Clayton Successor Agency.  Since the City's Redevelopment Agency (RDA) was dissolved by the state in 2012, the Successor Agency was established to fulfill any remaining obligations of the RDA.  Since that time, activity has been winding down, including the repayment of RDA debts.  As all activity is now concluded, there is no longer a need for the Successor Agency.  The City did receive approximately $250K per year from the state to administer the Successor Agency, so there is expected to be a decline in revenues in the out years for that amount.

- We extended the contract of our outside City Engineer while the recruiting for an in-house City Engineer continues.

- We modified the City's salary schedule to repurpose the existing role of Management Analyst to a Project Manager to better meet the needs of the City.

- We designated Councilmember Enea as the City's representative to the League of Cal Cities for their annual conference in early October.

- We had an extended discussion about the City's infrastructure needs both in terms of work needed, and the associated costs.  This discussion focused on two main areas - pavement and hardscape, and staff compensation as it relates to recruitment and retention.

RE: Pavement and Hardscape:

We discussed back in our March 18 meeting the current state of our streets, and what it costs to maintain them.  Approximately $2.6M per year in order to keep the roads in their current condition is what the City would need to spend.  We currently receive approximately $800K/year in road related funding from a mix of sources.  In addition to the roads, there are several areas in the City where the sidewalks are in need of repair.  Net new sidewalks could cost over $1K/foot, where repairing an existing sidewalk could be in the range of $3-$800/ft.

After discussion, the Council provided feedback to staff that we would like to maintain the roads as they are now - no significant increase in cost or quality, and no significant decrease in quality either.  In total, the high level estimate of this policy including the cost of sidewalks would be an additional approximately $3M in spend each year.  Staff will use this figure, refine it, and come back with a future agenda item to discuss what options exist to make this happen.

RE: Compensation as it relates to recruitment and retention:

We discussed that overall City staff is approximately 22% below market in terms of compensation, with certain positions less than that in the mid teens, and some positions greater than 45% below market.  We as a Council gave guidance to staff that we would like our aspirational target to be approximately 15% below market.  Staff will include this in determining possible options to make this happen as well.

When we meet in mid October (first meeting in October has been cancelled), we should have a more full picture to discuss our plans going forward in order to close the projected future deficits.

Upcoming Meeting 9.16.25

At our next meeting, we will be discussing several significant items:

- We will discuss the potential dissolution of the City of Clayton Successor Agency. This Agency was formed to manage and wind down the affairs of the former Clayton Redevelopment Agency.

- We will discuss a contract amendment with the City Engineer to extend services while the City continues to look to fill the full time position.

- We will discuss updating our job classification of the Management Analyst position to better meet the needs of the City.

- We will continue to discuss future revenue options, focusing on the long term needs of the City.

- We will designate a voting delegate and alternate to the League of California Cities.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.