23January
2026
Special City Council Meeting · One key issue

This was a goal setting session, the meeting where the council tells staff what it wants prioritised before any budget is written.

Check this moment · 2:12
3.5 hours 1 agenda items 0 located in video 60% attributed to a named speaker
Brief

What happened

Friday, January 23, 2026

  1. 01

    The mayor was explicit that it was not a budget meeting and no direction on spending was being given.

    1:03:02
  2. 02

    Staff reported that neighbourhood leaders had ranked communication from the city first and public safety second, raising homelessness and drug use.

    1:27:27
  3. 03

    The mayor pushed back on framing street problems as caused by unhoused residents, noting people come into the city from across the county.

    2:38:18
  4. 04

    Staff also floated the city taking over management of its golf course to keep more of the revenue.

    2:30:37
  5. 05

    Nothing was voted on.

    2:12
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

City Council Goal Setting

Not located
  • The council spent the session setting its priorities for the year ahead, with staff presenting where the city currently stands.2:30
  • Mayor Amezcua stressed this was a work study and not a budget meeting, so nothing said would count as direction on spending.1:03:02
  • Staff paused on how much the Measure X sales tax had changed what the city could contemplate, noting things once thought impossible to address.28:22
  • Reporting back from neighbourhood leaders, the first priority named was better communication from the city and the second was public safety, alongside homelessness and drug use.1:27:27
  • The mayor said she did not want residents reading that and concluding unhoused people are the cause, pointing out that people travel into Santa Ana from across the county.2:38:18
  • A councilmember asked the police department to study whether pedestrian deaths and injuries had actually risen, in the context of a discussion about jaywalking enforcement.2:43:25
  • Staff set out options for the River View Golf Course, including the city managing it directly and keeping more of the income rather than sharing profit with an operator.2:30:37
  • They suggested the site could earn more through better facilities and event and wedding hire.2:28:01
  • The session also touched on staff wellbeing, including a wellness and meditation space at the police department.3:24:22
Official agendaSupplied summaryNot locatedCity Manager’s Office
Official recommendation
  1. Provide direction
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