On the agenda: an ethics commission ballot measure, military equipment, and street closures

The Richmond City Council will meet Tuesday, July 7, to consider placing a government ethics measure on the November ballot, review the Richmond Police Department's annual military equipment report, and vote on closing a street segment near Alvarado Park.

GATE Act would create an independent ethics commission

Councilmembers Cesar Zepeda, Soheila Bana and Jamelia Brown want the city attorney to draft an ordinance creating an independent Ethics Commission, under a proposal called the Richmond Government Accountability, Transparency and Ethics Act, or Richmond GATE Act.

According to the agenda report, Richmond is one of the few Bay Area cities, and among the largest in California, without an independent body to investigate ethics complaints against officials.

The proposal states that currently, any complaints regarding city officials go through the city attorney, human resources, or both, who ultimately answer to the city manager. The city attorney reports directly to the council, which in certain circumstances could be the source of the complaint.

The new commission would have seven members and be up and running by June 1, 2027. It would have a dedicated investigator, who must be a licensed California attorney and would report only to the commission, not to the city manager or city attorney. The commission could subpoena records and, if someone refused to comply, ask a judge to enforce that. Its authority would cover elected officials, appointees, contractors, lobbyists, and nonprofits doing business with the city.

Funding starts at $1 million in year one, rising in later years to somewhere between half a percent and one percent of the city's general fund revenue, an amount the investigator would set directly rather than negotiate through the city manager. The council could only reduce that funding with five of its seven members voting yes and a written explanation on the record. The $1 million floor could never be cut, even during a declared fiscal emergency.

The ordinance would also bar officials from conducting city business via personal email or apps that delete messages and would require that records be kept for 7 years after someone leaves office.

The three sponsors tried something similar in May 2025, pushing for an outside investigation of the city’s Community Police Review Commission after that panel's independent investigator resigned, citing ethical concerns.

The GATE Act would be just one of several measures Richmond voters could see this fall.

Also up for consideration is a citizen-led measure backed by the Richmond Police Officers Association, the Richmond Public Safety Funding and Minimum Staffing Charter Amendment, which would require the city to reach a staffing level of 187 sworn officers and dedicate a growing share of city revenue.

The city is also weighing whether to place its own measure on the ballot to fund upgrades to the Richmond Fire Department to provide paramedic-level care, something other fire departments in Contra Costa County already provide. Councilmembers reviewed polling on a bond versus a parcel tax in June, after funding a study into the idea earlier in the year.

Separately, a regional transit tax has already qualified for the November ballot across five Bay Area counties, not just Richmond or Contra Costa. The Connect Bay Area measure would add a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, and a one-cent tax in San Francisco, to help fund BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and other transit agencies facing budget shortfalls.

Other notable items

The council will consider the Richmond Police Department's 2025 military equipment report, a state-required annual accounting of equipment, such as armored vehicles. This item was continued from June 16.

Councilmembers Sue Wilson, Doria Robinson, and Cesar Zepeda are asking the council to back a cleanup plan for the United Heckathorn Superfund site, a former industrial site along the Richmond shoreline, developed by the Richmond Shoreline Alliance, San Francisco Baykeeper, and the Sierra Club's local chapter.

Wildfire prevention rules

Councilmembers Bana and Zepeda are asking the council to adopt recommendations from the city's Wildfire Preparedness Ad Hoc Committee. The plan would direct the city attorney's office to consider shortening the appeals process for property owners cited for fire-hazard violations in high-risk zones, set up an on-call contractor to clear vegetation on noncompliant properties, and create a one-year pilot program to help homeowners clear brush within 30 feet of their homes. Staff would report back within 60 to 90 days with cost estimates and next steps.

Routine business is also up for a vote

A second contract change with Just Cities, LLC to finish the city's Housing Equity Roadmap, adding $49,999 to the contract for a new total of $209,994 and extending it through December 2027, has been carried over from the June 16 and June 23 meetings.

A roadway change closing the connection between Glenn Avenue and McBryde Avenue, part of a project meant to make the area safer for people walking and biking to Alvarado Park, has also been carried over from June 16 and June 23.

The council will hold a public hearing on new rules for septic systems, continued from June 16. The ordinance itself carries no cost to the city; it sets construction standards and a permitting process for temporary sewage holding tanks, tied to a years-long moratorium on new sewer hookups in the Keller Beach area, where limited sewer capacity has frozen development and, in some cases, continued occupancy of existing properties. The rules are written to apply citywide and would provide the city a standard process to fall back on if similar sewer capacity problems come up elsewhere, without lifting the Keller Beach moratorium itself.

The council will also hold its annual public hearing on sewer and stormwater fees for the coming fiscal year. The hearing authorizes the collection of approximately $32.75 million in wastewater fees and $1.975 million in stormwater fees on the 2026-27 property tax rolls, money that pays for running and maintaining those systems and doesn't touch the city's general fund. Rates aren't changing: single-unit residential properties pay $1,121 a year for sanitary sewer service and $32 for stormwater; multi-unit residential pays $964 and $32. The last rate increase took effect in fiscal year 2024-25.

Two smaller continued items round out the list: an update on a proposed car-free street event on 23rd Street, where staff is asking the council whether it's worth pursuing given competing demands on public works crews, and a contract with All Star Painting KD Inc. to remove graffiti from the historic General Warehouse Building, not to exceed $87,777.

These routine items are typically approved together without discussion. The council will consider a contract change with iManage, LLC for legal document storage software, increasing the total cost to $73,680.01 and extending it through September 2027.

A fourth change to a landscaping contract with CSW/ST2 would add $266,514 for work on the Miraflores Project's historic buildings and signage, bringing the total to $637,941.50. The council would also accept a $50,000 grant that the Rotary Club of Richmond gave the city back in 2019 to help pay for that work.

The council will approve a spending plan for waste fees collected in North Richmond, and a contract with Definitive Networks, Inc. to manage emergency medical data, worth up to $216,834 over three years plus two optional one-year extensions.

The mayor's office is appointing Gage Eda and Samuel Goldheim to open seats on the Richmond Youth Council.

The Police Department is seeking approval of a contract with Contra Costa County to expand homeless outreach to six days a week, worth up to $1,660,150 over three years, and a three-year contract with the Richmond Rod and Gun Club for use of its shooting range, up to $75,000 with two optional one-year extensions. The council will also receive the monthly crime report for May 2026.

Public Works is asking the council to renew the city's sewer system maintenance plan, a state-required update, and to approve an agreement with Contra Costa County's flood control district to keep collecting stormwater fees.

YOU GET MORE WITH A PAID SUBSCRIPTION

Your subscription enables Grandview Independent to deliver more:

More time devoted to in-depth reporting
Longer, more comprehensive stories
Greater coverage of what matters to our community

Quality journalism costs money. Subscriptions allow us to keep reporting the stories that matter, without paywalls getting in the way of critical community information.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE - Starting at just $10/month

FOLLOW US FOR BREAKING NEWS:
• Twitter: @GrandviewIndy
• Instagram: @GrandviewIndependent
• Facebook: @Grandview Independent