CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA PACKET 2

Attachment 2 Community Engagement Summary Overview The City has conducted extensive community engagement throughout the Fiscal Years 2025-27 budget development process. This engagement directly supports the City Council's fiscal priority of "Community Engagement and Equity," which calls for actively engaging the community to promote collaborative and transparent decision-making. Following the November 2024 defeat of Measure PP (½ percent sales tax), the City understood that tough decisions would be necessary to address the projected structural deficit. Through multiple platforms, including a Budget Town Hall, a dedicated 11- member Budget Advisory Committee, an online engagement tool that received more than 700 responses, a farmer’s market pop-up, and informal conversations at community gatherings, the City has heard from hundreds of residents about their priorities, concerns, and ideas. The City also worked to keep the community informed about the budget development process through its Budget Development webpage, monthly e-newsletter, a special edition e-newsletter in early March, four budget-focused press releases, a budget explainer video, and social media posts. Below is a summary of the community engagement opportunities and the feedback received. This input was considered in the development of the City Manager’s preliminary budget reduction recommendation. Budget Town Hall (February 11, 2025) The Budget Town Hall at the Pleasanton Library attracted approximately 90 community members from across all four City Council districts. Participants engaged in a dot-voting exercise to indicate which services they prioritized preserving and which they would accept reductions for. Key findings included strong opposition to closing the Aquatic Center and a fire station, support for maintaining library hours, and willingness to reduce administrative expenses and planning consultant contracts. A detailed report on the Budget Town Hall feedback was presented to the City Council on March 18, 2025. Budget Advisory Committee (January-April 2025) The 11-member Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) met four times between January and April 2025, reviewing financial forecasts, evaluating potential service reductions, and providing recommendations on budget priorities. The committee's work provided valuable community perspective on difficult budget decisions. The BAC's recommendations, finalized at its March 13th meeting, prioritized operational efficiencies and administrative reductions over direct service cuts. After hearing public testimony, the committee made a notable adjustment by moving "Reduce Firehouse Arts Center hours" lower in priority—a change reflected in the preliminary budget recommendations. A recommendation is included in the April 2 BAC agenda packet. Page 26 of 40