HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2507-5010CITY OF PALO ALTO
Finance Committee
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Agenda Item
4.Status Update on Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Finance Committee Referrals. CEQA Status --
Not a Project.
Finance Committee
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: Administrative Services
Meeting Date: November 18, 2025
Report #:2507-5010
TITLE
Status Update on Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Finance Committee Referrals. CEQA Status -- Not a
Project.
RECOMMENDATION
This report provides a status update of Council referrals requested and approved, during the
City Council Retreat and annual Budget Process. Staff recommends the Committee review and
accept this report.
BACKGROUND
This report provides an update of the outstanding Council referrals to the Finance Committee
as requested during the February 2025 City Council Retreat, during the May - June 2025 Budget
Process, and throughout the year. The City Council requested information on various items that
are discussed in this report, and is provided in coordination with the assigned departments. A
summary table of the current referrals and their status follows.
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
FY 2023:
Planning and
Development Services
Fee Study
Planning and
Development
Services
Nov 2025 Status: Completed
Staff presented the Planning and Development
Services Cost of Services Study and proposed
municipal fee adjustment to the Finance
Committee on March 3, 2025, with a follow up
on April 29, 2025. The study and
corresponding adjustments to fees were
approved and adopted as part of the FY 2026
Operating Budget. On September 8, 2025 staff
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
added an additional subsidized permit fee for
the installation of stand-alone residential gas
powered, water and space heating equipment.
The fee amount is lower than full cost recovery
to encourage installers of residential water
and space heating equipment to obtain
permits, thereby helping ensure these
appliances are installed in a safe and code-
compliant manner.
FY 2023:
Parking Permits Pricing
and Parking Permit
Funds Financial Status
Office of
Transportation
Nov 2025 Status: In Progress
On October 15, 2024, staff presented the
Finance Committee (#2409-35371) the parking
funds’ financial status (University Avenue,
California Avenue, and Residential Preferential
Parking Program (RPP)) and overview of
potential parking improvements and
adjustments under development. Since then,
Staff have recommended continuing the
practice of designating General Fund financial
support as a subsidy with obligation for
repayment. Options for program changes will
be developed in consultation with a new
permit management vendor (onboarding is in
process) and to align preferred stakeholder
alternatives with vendor capabilities and
prioritized program goals. Options will be
brought for Council consideration in Spring
2026 including paths to improve financial
sustainability for the programs involved.
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Ability Path (Request
$250,000)
CMO Nov 2025 Status: Completed
On February 24, 2025 for the FY 2025 Mid-
Year Budget Review2, Council did not
appropriate funding at that time.
1 Finance Committee, October 15, 2024; Agenda Item #: AA1, Staff Report #: 2409-3537,
https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=64678
2 City Council, February 24, 2025; Agenda Item #: 9, Staff Report #: 2412-3865,
https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=83263
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Analyze Fire Emergency
Medical Response Fee
Adjustments (Ongoing
Revenue TBD)
Fire Nov 2025 Status: Completed
On June 16, 2025 City Council approved the
increases the Fire Emergency Medical
Response Fees that were proposed in the
Municipal Fee Study, and became effective in
FY 2026, including the new First Responder
Fee. The Base Ambulance Transport Fee was
increased to $3,897 and the new First
Responder Fee of $497 was added to the fee
schedule. An estimated
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Fire Emergency Medical
Response; Supplemental
Resources (Estimated
costs: $1,000,000-
$4,000,000 Ongoing)
Fire Nov 2025 Status: In Progress
In November 2024 and April 2025, the Fire
Department presented multiple options to
Finance Committee on the expansion of
Emergency Medical Services (EMS). On April 1,
2025 Finance Committee directed staff to
propose options towards implementing Option
F, which would add 2.5 Single Role
Ambulances to the City’s Emergency Medical
Response Services.
On May 6, 2025 the Department presented
options considering an initial step by creating
the new Single Role Division and starting by
adding the 12-HR Peak ambulance with Single
Role staff. This plan was added to the FY 2026
Budget and approved on June 16, 2025 by City
Council.
This initial phase adds a 12-Hour Peak
Ambulance with Single Role staff and support
staff to begin building the Single Role Division.
The ongoing annual cost of these changes is
$1.2M.
The Department is on track to meet the
timeline outlined to Finance Committee at the
May 6th Meeting. A Job Description has been
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
drafted and the City is working with IAFF and
CalPERS for final determination of sworn
status. The Department has begun the internal
process to post the support position, which
will assist in developing the onboarding
process and policies for the new Single Role
Division allowing the Department to hire Single
Role Ambulance staff in the Spring or early
Summer.
The shorter onboarding time for Single Role
staff will allow for deployment of the 12-HR
Peak ambulance before the end of the Fiscal
Year as planned.
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Review Parks Restroom
Prioritization;
Specifically, Pardee Park
(Ongoing capital project
costs TBD)
Community
Services
Department
Nov 2025
Staff incorporated the Eleanor Paradee Park
restroom into the FY 2026 CIP that was
approved by City Council on June 16, 2025.
Staff is currently working on the Mitchell Park
restroom project, prioritized for its high use
related to the Magical Bridge Playground and
pickleball courts. Eleanor Pardee Park
Restroom is the next planned project under
CIP PG-19000. This project is anticipated to
begin mid-2026.
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Active Recruitment
Digital Marketing
Services (Contract
Services)
Human
Resources
Nov 2025 Status: Completed
The Human Resources Department has
completed it analysis of available digital
marketing resources as well as analysis of the
existing labor market and determined no
additional digital marketing resources should
be purchased at this time due to the current
fiscal situation, layoffs occurring both at the
federal level and local tech, and the limited
reach of digital marketing into the hard to
recruit industries within which Palo Alto
Competes for talent.
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Establish Organizational
Development & Safety
Division ($135,000
Ongoing; 50% GF/50%
ISF)
Human
Resources
Nov 2025 Status: Completed
The City’s Safety and Risk Management
programs have transitioned from Human
Resources to Administrative Services,
supported by 1.0 FTE Senior Management to
oversee day to day operations. This position
has been filled and appropriate responsibilities
transitioned.
In order to accommodate the heightened need
for Organizational Development work without
adding headcount, the Human Resources
department created a merged division of
Organizational Development and HRIS tasked
with overseeing the revamp and expansion of
professional development and enhancement
of existing personnel processing. This is
currently overseen by a Senior Management
Analyst however HR will review to determine
the appropriate classification to oversee this
work.
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Explore financial,
outreach, and policy
processes for adding
East Palo Alto to
resident rates for the
golf course (Ongoing
revenue reduction TBD)
Community
Services
Department
Nov 2025 Status: Completed
Staff added East Palo Alto to resident rates for
the golf course for FY 2026 as part of the
Municipal Fee updates. This change went into
effect July 1st, 2025. Staff estimates that
extending Palo Alto resident rates to East Palo
Alto residents may result in an annual green
fee revenue loss of approximately $8,000 to
$16,000, or about 0.3% of budgeted annual
green fee revenue.
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
FY 2025 Adopted
Budget:
Increasing Revenue-
Generating CSD
Programming to Meet
Demand (Ongoing cost &
revenue TBD)
Community
Services
Department
Nov 2025 In Progress
CSD programming has increased as a result
of increased resources in FY25 and a
staffing reorganization in the Art Center.
From FY24 to FY25, programming-related
revenues increased by about 9%, or
$421,000. The Bryant Street Community
Center will open in January 2026 with
additional revenue-generating programming
for youth and adults.
FY 2026 Adopted
Budget:
Cost Recovery Policy -
Update the City Cost
Recovery Policy to
include a new 100% cost
recovery category
Administrative
Services
Nov 2025 Status: In progress
Staff intends to bring forward a new 100% cost
recovery category in Spring 2026. This will
align with the annual fee update.
FY 2026 Adopted
Budget:
Update Fee Cost
Recovery Category -
Summarize the current
fee cost recovery
category by fee type and
update to reflect current
policy direction on cost
recovery and revenue
enhancement
objectives.
Administrative
Services
Nov 2025 Status: Not Started
Review of all individual fees and associated
cost recovery category is beyond available
resources to undertake the project. Narrowing
the referral scope and/or prioritizing fee
categories would enable incremental review
given resource constraints.
FY 2026:
Risk Management,
General Liability, and
Insurance – Update
Council on risk
management and safety
policies, including risk
Administrative
Services
Nov 2025 Status: In Progress
Staff will forward to the City council the
summary of risk management and relevant
updates on oversight, management, and
mitigation strategies.
Referral
Assigned
Department Status
transfer, claims analysis
and mitigation strategies
Staff will continue evaluation of expanded
insurance policies with ACCEL pool broker
aligned with annual budget development.
City Manager’s Office will explore adding tort
reform to the proposed 2026 legislative
guidelines, which may limit public agency
maximum liability/ general damages.
Staff will continue to review existing claims
data and litigation, departmental reporting
procedures, and citywide recovery strategies.
Staff are coordinating meetings with
departments to:
-evaluate risk management and safety
within the current SOPs,
-increase risk management engagement
citywide, and
-assess safety roles shared across
departmental staff
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This is an informational report to follow up on Council referral items and has been coordinated
internally among departmental parties.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This item is presented for the Finance Committee’s information and discussion purposes only
and therefore it is not a project within the definition of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) because no action is being recommended for the City Council.
APPROVED BY:
Lauren Lai, Administrative Services Director