Name: Petaluma City Council meeting, May 12, 2025
Start: 2025-05-12
Location: City of Petaluma

City Council

Mon, May 12, 2025

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF Watch Video

Agenda items

Vote records

Discussion summary

Transcript

Meeting summaryAI-generated

City Council Special Meeting — May 12, 2025

This was a special joint session of the City Council and the Petaluma Community Development Successor Agency (PCDSA), held as a budget workshop with no binding votes taken. Councilmembers DeCarli and Cader Thompson were initially absent; Cader Thompson arrived at 5:22 p.m., and DeCarli was absent for the entire meeting.

Review of Proposed FY 2025–26 Operating and Capital Budgets and Revised Long-Term General Fund Operating Forecast

City Manager Peggy Flynn opened the presentation, which was divided into two segments: the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the General Fund Budget Overview. The presentation team included Finance Director Jessie Gooch, CIP Manager Jonathan Sanglerat, Assistant City Manager Brian Cochran, Assistant Finance Director Corey Garberolio, Economic Development and Open Governance Director Ingrid Alverde, Community Development Director Brian Oh, Parks and Recreation Director Drew Halter, and Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Kat Reisinger — reflecting the broad scope of the budget review.

The meeting ran from approximately 5:03 p.m. to 9:26 p.m., with a brief recess around 7:30 p.m., indicating a lengthy and substantive discussion. Unfortunately, the minutes do not capture the specific figures, programmatic proposals, or detailed council deliberations from either segment. The revised long-term General Fund operating forecast was also part of the discussion, suggesting the council was examining the city's financial trajectory beyond just the coming fiscal year.

Public Comment on the CIP: One member of the public, John Hanania, spoke during the Capital Improvement Program portion of the meeting. The substance of his comments is not recorded in the minutes.

Public Comment on the General Fund Budget: No members of the public came forward to speak during the General Fund Budget Overview portion.

Council discussion followed both segments, but the specific content of those deliberations — including any direction given to staff, concerns raised by individual councilmembers, or preliminary decisions about budget priorities — is not reflected in the official minutes as provided.

Vote: This was a workshop session; no formal votes were taken. Any direction given to staff was advisory in nature.

Key Takeaways

The City Council held a nearly four-and-a-half-hour budget workshop to review the proposed FY 2025–26 operating and capital budgets, as well as a revised long-term General Fund forecast — signaling the budget cycle is well underway.

No formal votes were taken; this was a review and discussion session intended to give council an opportunity to weigh in before the budget is formally adopted.

Public engagement was minimal: only one resident (John Hanania) spoke on the CIP, and no one commented on the General Fund budget overview.

The detailed substance of staff presentations and council discussions is not captured in the official minutes provided, so residents seeking specifics on proposed spending, revenue projections, or program changes should consult the staff report and presentation materials posted to the city's website.

Councilmember DeCarli was absent for the full meeting, meaning one council district's perspective was not represented during this key budget review session.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

Agenda items (1)

Procedural (1)

1ProceduralReview Proposed Fiscal Year 2526 Operating and Capital Budgets and Revised Long

Verbatim transcript available

1 transcript segments indexed

CITY OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL & PETALUMA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUCCESSOR AGENCY (PCDSA) City Hall Council Chamber 11 English Street Petaluma, CA 94952 MINUTES Monday, May 12, 2025 SPECIAL SESSION 5:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER – SPECIAL SESSION - 5:00 P.M. Mayor McDonnell called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m.  ROLL CALL PRESENT: Mayor McDonnell, Councilmember Barnacle, Vice Mayor Nau, Councilmember Quint, Councilmember Shribbs ABSENT: Councilmember Cader Thompson*, Councilmember DeCarli  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE  MOMENT OF SILENCE AGENDA CHANGES AND DELETIONS (TO CURRENT AGENDA ONLY) None. WORKSHOP 1. Review Proposed Fiscal Year 25-26 Operating and Capital Budgets and Revised Long-Term General Fund Operating Forecast The Mayor explained that staff's presentation would be broken into two segments, and after each presentation the Mayor will open public comment. City Manager Peggy Flynn introduced the presentation. Finance Director Jessie Gooch, Capital Improvement Program Manager Jonathan Sanglerat, and Assistant City Manager Brian Cochran presented. *Councilmember Cader Thompson arrived at 5:22 p.m. Mayor McDonnell opened the public comment on Capital Improvement Program (CIP). John Hanania Mayor McDonnell closed the public comment. Council discussion followed. There was a brief break from 7:27 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. Staff continued the presentation. Assistant Finance Director Corey Garberolio, Assistant City Manager Brian Cochran, Director of Economic Development and Open Governance Ingrid Alverde, Director of Community Development Brian Oh, Director of Parks and Recreation Drew Halter, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Kat Reisinger presented the staff report. Mayor McDonnell opened the public comment on General Fund Budget Overview, and seeing no one come forward to speak, he closed the public comment period. Council discussion followed. ADJOURNMENT Mayor McDonnell adjourned the meeting at 9:26 p.m.