Laguna Woods City Council reviewed a draft 11-year Capital Improvement Program and received updates on projects currently underway and planned for the next two fiscal years. Staff also briefed the council on the city's contract for law enforcement with the Orange County Sheriff's Department and noted that personnel-related increases remain the primary driver of contract cost growth.

Capital projects discussed included the recently completed second phase of a water-quality treatment facility, near-complete City Hall carpet and interior work, an elevator replacement project scheduled for summer closure, two roadway projects scheduled to begin the week of May 19 (a circulation improvement with a new pedestrian button at Gate 1 and a pavement management resurfacing on westbound El Toro Boulevard) and plans to solicit bids for the Woods End trailhead improvements. Staff described a multi-year program to add safety lights to both ends of crosswalks at signalized intersections, to replace worn traffic-signal back plates and visors with retroreflective versions and to replace illuminated street-name signs when it makes sense during intersection work. Staff proposed a downtown parking-lot design allocation, pre-design funds for a public works warehouse, and a multi-year plan to replace or redesign transit shelters and street furniture ahead of the likely end of the current advertising franchise in December 2027.

Staff noted that the largest single new capital placeholder for the two-year cycle is phase five of the City Hall refurbishment and safety project (a downstairs office and lobby remodel) with a preliminary estimate the staff listed as approximately $1.3 million; staff said some figures remain placeholders and will be refined before final budget adoption.

Law enforcement contract: staff reviewed the city's contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The budget table in staff materials showed the city's contract cost proposed at just under $3.6 million for the 2025'26 fiscal year, an increase of about 6% from the prior year and roughly a 24% rise compared with five years prior; staff said approximately 75% of the contract amount is salaries and benefits. Staff reminded the council that labor agreements affecting deputy salaries and benefits are negotiated by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and not the city, creating limited local control over the principal cost drivers. Because most public safety memorandums of understanding (MOUs) expire June 2026, staff said the second year of the two-year budget will incorporate prudent assumptions about possible additional increases.

Council members asked about service levels and how shared positions (for example shared sergeants and investigators with neighboring cities) work. Staff said the contract model includes direct-purchase positions assigned to Laguna Woods and a percentage share of regional positions; staff also noted that year-end credits sometimes occur when position vacancies offset overtime and department costs. Council members emphasized the importance of public safety and acknowledged the limited ability of cities to alter the sheriff's negotiated labor costs.

No formal action was requested at the meeting; staff asked for council input on sequencing and priorities for the CIP before the planned budget adoption on June 25, 2025.