15May
2025
Special City Council Meeting · One key issue

This was a work study on the 2025-26 budget, where the council gives staff direction and takes no votes.

Check this moment · 1:19:35
2.8 hours 1 agenda items 1 located in video 64% attributed to a named speaker
Public meeting recording2.8 hoursOpen on YouTube ↗
Public recording

Watch the meeting

Choose any timestamp in the meeting record to play that moment here. When opened directly from disk, timestamps open on YouTube instead.

Open the full recording on YouTube
Brief

What happened

Thursday, May 15, 2025

  1. 01

    Staff brought a balanced budget, and Councilmember Hernandez said he was happy with what was in front of him.

    1:20:02
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Valerie Amezcua
    Valerie AmezcuaMayor

    No, and I agree with you, and I wanna generate revenue as well. I just, again, I don't wanna step on our seniors here. So I also wanted to say that thank you for all of the work staff. You know, this is my third year sitting here and doing the budget with the…

    1:34:52
    Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
    Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember

    NEIGHBORHOOD ON 15TH AND PARTON. WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR POLICE AT THAT INTERSECTION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN INTERSECTION WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT REGARDING CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC COLLISIONS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. SO HAVING A BLUE SAFETY LIGHT AT…

    1:21:23
    Jessie Lopez
    Jessie LopezCouncilmember

    yeah um so just lastly i wanted to cover um the last part of what my constituents have submitted committed. There's a lighting request off of 18th Street and Jefferson. They've never had any lights, street lights or any other form of illumination there and…

    2:27:59
    Benjamin Vazquez
    Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem

    GOING TO SPEED. THE SENIORS AT SOUTHWEST SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT GOING TO SPEED. THE TWO CHURCHES IN BACK OF HARDEMARY AND THERE'S A VETNAMESE CHURCH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S TONS OF OTHER PEOPLE GOING THROUGH. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HIT 80. BUT YOU…

    1:26:32
  2. 02

    Much of the discussion was about earning more from buildings the city already owns, including renting community centres for weddings and parties.

    1:34:32
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Valerie Amezcua
    Valerie AmezcuaMayor

    No, and I agree with you, and I wanna generate revenue as well. I just, again, I don't wanna step on our seniors here. So I also wanted to say that thank you for all of the work staff. You know, this is my third year sitting here and doing the budget with the…

    1:34:52
    Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
    Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember

    NEIGHBORHOOD ON 15TH AND PARTON. WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR POLICE AT THAT INTERSECTION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN INTERSECTION WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT REGARDING CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC COLLISIONS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. SO HAVING A BLUE SAFETY LIGHT AT…

    1:21:23
    Jessie Lopez
    Jessie LopezCouncilmember

    yeah um so just lastly i wanted to cover um the last part of what my constituents have submitted committed. There's a lighting request off of 18th Street and Jefferson. They've never had any lights, street lights or any other form of illumination there and…

    2:27:59
    Benjamin Vazquez
    Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem

    GOING TO SPEED. THE SENIORS AT SOUTHWEST SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT GOING TO SPEED. THE TWO CHURCHES IN BACK OF HARDEMARY AND THERE'S A VETNAMESE CHURCH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S TONS OF OTHER PEOPLE GOING THROUGH. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HIT 80. BUT YOU…

    1:26:32
  3. 03

    Mayor Amezcua supported generating that revenue but asked for quarterly reports on hours and rates so seniors are not squeezed out of their centres.

    1:34:52
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Valerie Amezcua
    Valerie AmezcuaMayor

    No, and I agree with you, and I wanna generate revenue as well. I just, again, I don't wanna step on our seniors here. So I also wanted to say that thank you for all of the work staff. You know, this is my third year sitting here and doing the budget with the…

    1:34:52
    Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
    Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember

    NEIGHBORHOOD ON 15TH AND PARTON. WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR POLICE AT THAT INTERSECTION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN INTERSECTION WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT REGARDING CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC COLLISIONS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. SO HAVING A BLUE SAFETY LIGHT AT…

    1:21:23
    Jessie Lopez
    Jessie LopezCouncilmember

    yeah um so just lastly i wanted to cover um the last part of what my constituents have submitted committed. There's a lighting request off of 18th Street and Jefferson. They've never had any lights, street lights or any other form of illumination there and…

    2:27:59
    Benjamin Vazquez
    Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem

    GOING TO SPEED. THE SENIORS AT SOUTHWEST SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT GOING TO SPEED. THE TWO CHURCHES IN BACK OF HARDEMARY AND THERE'S A VETNAMESE CHURCH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S TONS OF OTHER PEOPLE GOING THROUGH. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HIT 80. BUT YOU…

    1:26:32
  4. 04

    Councilmember Lopez asked again about a safety fund for staff whose jobs depend on grants that may not be renewed.

    1:38:27
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Valerie Amezcua
    Valerie AmezcuaMayor

    No, and I agree with you, and I wanna generate revenue as well. I just, again, I don't wanna step on our seniors here. So I also wanted to say that thank you for all of the work staff. You know, this is my third year sitting here and doing the budget with the…

    1:34:52
    Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
    Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember

    NEIGHBORHOOD ON 15TH AND PARTON. WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR POLICE AT THAT INTERSECTION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN INTERSECTION WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT REGARDING CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC COLLISIONS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. SO HAVING A BLUE SAFETY LIGHT AT…

    1:21:23
    Jessie Lopez
    Jessie LopezCouncilmember

    yeah um so just lastly i wanted to cover um the last part of what my constituents have submitted committed. There's a lighting request off of 18th Street and Jefferson. They've never had any lights, street lights or any other form of illumination there and…

    2:27:59
    Benjamin Vazquez
    Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem

    GOING TO SPEED. THE SENIORS AT SOUTHWEST SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT GOING TO SPEED. THE TWO CHURCHES IN BACK OF HARDEMARY AND THERE'S A VETNAMESE CHURCH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S TONS OF OTHER PEOPLE GOING THROUGH. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HIT 80. BUT YOU…

    1:26:32
  5. 05

    About a thousand residents had filled in the budget survey, and staff had spoken to more young people than adults.

    1:37:42
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Valerie Amezcua
    Valerie AmezcuaMayor

    No, and I agree with you, and I wanna generate revenue as well. I just, again, I don't wanna step on our seniors here. So I also wanted to say that thank you for all of the work staff. You know, this is my third year sitting here and doing the budget with the…

    1:34:52
    Johnathan Ryan Hernandez
    Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember

    NEIGHBORHOOD ON 15TH AND PARTON. WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR POLICE AT THAT INTERSECTION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN INTERSECTION WHERE RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT REGARDING CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC COLLISIONS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. SO HAVING A BLUE SAFETY LIGHT AT…

    1:21:23
    Jessie Lopez
    Jessie LopezCouncilmember

    yeah um so just lastly i wanted to cover um the last part of what my constituents have submitted committed. There's a lighting request off of 18th Street and Jefferson. They've never had any lights, street lights or any other form of illumination there and…

    2:27:59
    Benjamin Vazquez
    Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem

    GOING TO SPEED. THE SENIORS AT SOUTHWEST SENIOR CENTER ARE NOT GOING TO SPEED. THE TWO CHURCHES IN BACK OF HARDEMARY AND THERE'S A VETNAMESE CHURCH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S TONS OF OTHER PEOPLE GOING THROUGH. IT'S NEVER GOING TO HIT 80. BUT YOU…

    1:26:32
How this brief was made

The current summaries were prepared during an in-session review of the transcripts. This prototype shows only sentences with a timestamp citation. 0 uncited sentences were withheld from this page.

Agenda

Every item

1 items in agenda order

1
Work Study Session

Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session

1:02:33
  • Staff presented the draft budget for 2025-26 for the council to give early direction on, ahead of a formal budget later.1:19:35
  • Councilmember Hernandez thanked staff for a balanced budget and kept his comments short.1:20:02
  • Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez welcomed the workforce changes and the savings they produced.1:23:23
  • Councilmember Bacerra thanked staff for assembling a budget with seven councilmembers adding their own requests, and questioned the reasoning applied to the Santa Ana Stadium.1:30:48
  • The city manager said the aim is to get more use out of the properties the city owns, as neighbouring cities do by hiring out community centres for quinceaneras, weddings and graduations.1:34:32
  • Mayor Amezcua agreed with generating revenue but said she did not want to push out the seniors who use those centres, and asked for quarterly reports on what they are let for and at what hours.1:34:52
  • She asked how many young people staff had consulted on the budget and remarked they had reached almost as many children as adults.1:35:52
  • She also raised a bus shelter at McFadden and Center Street that residents had asked to have improved.1:36:05
  • Councilmember Lopez asked how many residents completed the budget survey and how much had been spent advertising it, and was told about a thousand.1:37:42
  • She returned to a request she had made in late May for a safety fund protecting employees whose posts depend on grants.1:38:27
  • The city manager said he was not sure such a fund could be provided on that basis but would bring information back at a meeting in June.1:38:48
Official agendaSupplied summaryClerk timestampFinance and Management Services
Official recommendation
  1. Discuss and provide direction to staff
Full transcript

Read or search the complete meeting

433 merged speaker turns are available in a dedicated reading view. It opens with unidentified speech hidden.

Open transcript

Agenda location