On the agenda: The draft budget, a CO2 pipeline vote, housing law changes, and more

Tuesday's Richmond City Council meeting includes the next round of draft budget presentations from three city departments, a vote on opposing a regional CO2 pipeline project, a public hearing on zoning and changes tied to the city's state-mandated housing goals, and a packed consent calendar covering everything from animal control to e-bikes to sidewalk vendors.

The draft budget

Richmond's City Council gets another round of budget presentations Tuesday, hearing from the Community Services, Economic Development, and Fire departments as the city works toward a June 23 adoption.

The draft budget is balanced in part through a 12 percent vacancy rate, roughly $6.4 million in savings generated by leaving positions unfilled. The city is proposing 684 positions for 2026-27, but Curl said the number of authorized positions has grown over time, creating a gap between what the city has authorized and what it can afford to fill.

"The vacancy factor is not a long-term strategy," Finance Director Emily Combs told the council at the May 5 session. "It simply reflects that we can't afford the amount of positions that we have allocated."

Personnel costs are rising. CalPERS medical premiums have reached nearly $21 million. A pending increase to pension contribution formulas for public safety employees is expected to add roughly $1 million. Final labor agreements with police and fire management are still being negotiated and are not included in the draft figures; Combs said the budget will need to be rebalanced once those deals are complete.

Revenue is growing modestly across property tax, sales tax, and utility users tax. Combs said all three remain sensitive to energy prices and inflation.

Combs also outlined costs not yet in the draft: the pending labor agreements, Contra Costa County funding for homelessness programs that is not guaranteed, and Fire Department infrastructure needs without a dedicated funding source. Staff flagged potential longer-term costs from Home Key operations that may become the city's responsibility in roughly seven years.

CO2 pipeline opposition

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez has been trying to bring a resolution opposing the Montezuma Carbon Sequestration Hub to a vote since late April. Continued twice, from the April 28 and May 5 meetings, it's back on the agenda. The proposal would formally oppose a project that would capture CO2 from Bay Area industrial facilities, pipe it through Richmond and across Contra Costa and Solano Counties, and store it underground beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The presentation was already delivered at the May 5 meeting; Tuesday is for public comment and council deliberation only.

Housing element zoning changes

The council will hold a public hearing on proposed General Plan and zoning changes meant to bring Richmond’s rules into line with the state housing laws tied to the city’s Housing Element. The Planning Commission has already recommended updates affecting housing density, allowed uses and design standards in several zoning districts. Cities that fail to stay compliant can lose some local control over development approvals.

Public hearings

In addition to the housing element hearing, the council will hold two others on Tuesday. One covers a levy of special assessments against properties with unpaid administrative citation and nuisance abatement invoices. The other is on updates to the city's Master Fee Schedule. Human Resources will also present on the city's recruitment and retention efforts in 2025 at the annual vacancies hearing.

Richmond Promise

Vice Mayor Doria Robinson is asking the council to hear a presentation from Richmond Promise, the scholarship and college access organization that has served Richmond youth for nearly a decade. The item asks the council to direct staff to explore city funding for Promise scholarships.

Items on the consent calendar are considered routine and typically pass in a single vote without discussion.

Legal services

The City Attorney's Office is asking for approval of three outside legal agreements: a $75,000 increase to the existing contract with Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth and Wynner for the ongoing Winehaven Legacy litigation, bringing the total to $450,000; a new $150,000 agreement with Ellis Investigations for confidential personnel investigations; and a $110,000 contract with Thomson Reuters for Westlaw and CoCounsel legal research services.

E-bikeshare

For the third time, the council is being asked to add money to its contract with bikeshare operator Charleston Mobility to keep the city's electric bikeshare program running. The ask is $390,000, bringing the total contract to $3.54 million. Staff acknowledges that the program cannot sustain itself without city support and that its primary funding source is in its final year. The council will decide the program's long-term future during the budget process.

Sidewalk vendor ordinance

The council will take a first reading of an ordinance updating Richmond's sidewalk vendor rules, including administrative procedures, waiver provisions, and enforcement mechanisms. As with the e-bike item, this has been continued twice, from the April 28 and May 5 meetings.

Animal control

A $7.2 million contract extension with Contra Costa County Animal Services, continued from May 5, is back for a vote. The agreement would run through June 30, 2030.

Police Department

The Police Department is asking for a $150,000 contract with Verizon Connect for GPS tracking of police vehicles, and a $75,000 three-year deal with the Richmond Rod and Gun Club for shooting-range rentals used for officer training.

Public Works

Public Works has the final acceptance of the Lincoln Elementary School Safe Routes to School project, approval of a funding plan for Complete Streets improvements, and adoption of the city’s SB 1 road maintenance project list, which allocates $3.25 million for street repairs. The council will also consider funding transfers for the Santa Fe Avenue Slope Stabilization Project.

Fire Department

The Fire Department is asking the council to approve extending its agreement with Contra Costa County Health Services for emergency medical services through June 2027, along with an additional $229,462 in Measure H funding. The council will also receive a report from the Wildfire Preparedness Ad Hoc Committee and give direction on priorities ahead of upcoming budget discussions.

Mayor's Office

The Mayor’s Office is bringing forward several board and commission appointments, including Darcy A. Wheeler to the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth Oversight Board, Aleena Ornelas to the Richmond Youth Council, Cameron Smith to the Design Review Board, and Coach Sam for reappointment to the Recreation and Parks Commission. The council will also consider expanding the Macdonald Avenue Corridor Task Force with four additional stakeholder seats and issue a proclamation recognizing National Public Works Week, May 17-23.

Grants, contracts, and administrative items

The council will also consider a $35,000 grant from the Chevron Community Engagement Foundation for the Office of Neighborhood Safety to support street outreach and mobile crisis response, and a $60,000 increase to the city's contract with the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center for its Small Business Beautification Facade Improvement Program, bringing that total to $400,000 through June 2027. The Community Development Department is also seeking approval of on-call contracts with two outside hearing officers, Nastich Law and Robert M. Snider, at up to $300,000 per firm over three years, to handle administrative hearings. The council will also be asked to appoint an ad hoc committee to propose amendments to the City Council's Rules of Procedure within 60 days.

Write-off of uncollectible accounts receivable

The council will OK writing off $535,499 in accounts the city has deemed unrecoverable. The largest single entry, $121,674, is the remaining balance from a 2021 cyber fraud in which a city wire payment intended for two law firms was intercepted. Insurance covered $75,000 of the loss.

The Community Services bucket totals $201,000 and includes a range of nonprofit and youth sports organizations. Maya's Music Therapy Fund, which serves adults and children with developmental disabilities, owes $61,451. UC Berkeley's Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society is listed for $12,679. Richmond Premier SC owes $36,519 across two invoices. Urban Tilth, the North Richmond urban farming nonprofit, appears twice for a combined $4,883. The 21st Fleet Foundation owes $10,323.

PG&E is listed as owing about $47,000 in unpaid permit and encroachment fees, with some charges dating back to 2007. T-Mobile also appears on the list, with nearly $38,000 owed to the General Fund.

The council will vote on waiving auditorium fees for the West Contra Costa Unified School District's Latino/x Graduation Ceremony at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, a request from Councilmember Jimenez. The Finance Department is asking the council to set the 2026-27 pension tax override rate at 0.14 percent and adopt a new Donation Acceptance Policy.

Closed session

Before the regular meeting, the council will meet in closed session to discuss labor negotiations with six employee organizations, including SEIU Local 1021, IFPTE Local 21, the Richmond Police Officers Association, Richmond Police Management Association, IAFF Local 188, and the Richmond Fire Management Association, and a liability claim filed by Todd Kaiser against the city.

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