Sunnyvale council adopts budget on first reading after tense debate over taxes, public safety and parks

The Sunnyvale Town Council on Monday adopted the town's fiscal 2025–26 budget on first reading and voted to hold the total property tax rate at $0.453 per $100 of assessed valuation after a lengthy public-comment period and extended council debate about public safety pay, parks and a planned animal shelter.

Council approved the budget on its first reading with an amendment adding $172,835 to fund pay adjustments for police, fire and public-works/parks maintenance positions. That additional amount will come from the town’s fund balance, the council said; the vote to advance the budget on first reading passed 4–2.

The move followed more than two hours of public comment in which several residents urged the council to fully fund Jobson Park and to raise salaries to keep police and firefighters competitive. “After multiple years of thoughtful planning, community input and collaboration, you voted just weeks before the May election to approve a long-term parks and sports field master plan,” said Seth Gilbreth, identifying himself as a youth sports coach. “Tonight I urge you: honor the plan. Vote to fully fund the parks and sports fields.”

Other residents pressed the council on public-safety staffing and response times after a recent house fire. Jeremy Merkin, who said he lives and works in Sunnyvale, asked the council to examine response times and apparatus availability; several council members and the fire department later described a staffing and equipment gap the council is considering as it finalizes the budget.

Town staff presented the overall totals during the meeting. The proposed budget shows about $73.9 million in total revenue and about $87.7 million in total expenditures, figures the town said reflect planned spending of prior bond proceeds in the utility fund. Staff said the general fund totals are roughly $16 million in both revenue and expense, and projected asset growth of about 5.08 percent in taxable values for the year. Budget presenter Mikaela (staff) told council the budget is conservative and that some projects are funded with bond proceeds or with TERS collections.

Council discussion centered on the trade-offs between keeping the tax rate unchanged and adding recurring expenditures for staff pay and operations. Several councilmembers said they preferred to maintain the current tax rate and use limited reserves for the one-time pay adjustments; other members favored a modest tax increase to generate recurring revenue for pay raises and future capital needs.

After the budget vote, the council considered the property tax rate on first reading. Multiple proposals to raise the tax rate (including motions to set the total rate at 0.463 and at 0.4719) failed to obtain a majority. A later motion to advance the tax rate at 0.453 (the current rate) carried on first reading 4–2. The council is required by state law to adopt the budget before final action on the tax rate; the tax-rate item will return for a final reading where state-law voting thresholds apply.

Councilmembers and staff emphasized several points of context: the budget includes an 8.5 percent water and sewer rate increase to reflect higher wholesale costs (approved separately on first reading), and the town continues to plan capital work funded from prior bond authorizations, including park projects and facilities. Staff told council the town would have about 97 days of operating reserves under the adopted plan, and that adding the pay adjustment the council approved would reduce that reserve by roughly five days.

Councilmembers who voted in favor of the budget said the amendment for pay adjustments responded to public-safety recruitment and retention concerns. Those opposed argued they preferred to preserve the town’s fund balance and reconsider pay and other items at midyear or through a targeted revenue increase.

The council’s actions Monday were all first readings; by local practice the council will return the items for final votes at subsequent meetings, including the tax-rate ordinance where state law requires a higher voting threshold.

The town manager and finance staff said they will bring requested supplemental detail to the next session, including updated cost estimates for planned projects and a schedule for any bond issuance that could be affected by the council's revenue choices.

Ending: The council’s decisions on first reading set the town’s operating plan for the coming year and left open final choices about the tax rate and some capital-timing decisions. The budget and tax-rate items return to the council for final action on the schedule required by state law.