Milpitas mayor touts budget gains, housing pipeline and electrification in 2025 State of the City
Loading...
Summary
At a June 26 special meeting of the Milpitas City Council, Mayor Carmen Montano said the city reduced its projected five-year deficit by 43% and highlighted investments in parks, housing, transit and clean-energy programs while noting new jobs and business investment.
Mayor Carmen Montano delivered the 2025 State of the City address at a special Milpitas City Council meeting on June 26, saying the city has cut a projected five-year deficit by 43% and is investing in parks, housing, transportation and electrification.
Montano said the council’s recently adopted fiscal year 2025–26 budget preserves core services, avoids staffing cuts and underpins the city’s short- and long-term financial stability. “I am a down to earth mayor. I was raised here, and I love this city,” Montano said as she framed the year’s accomplishments as the product of long-term planning and community partnership.
The address summarized specific investments and projects. Montano said the city invested $3.1 million to upgrade 13 parks and is using federal grants to fund nearly $5 million in safer intersections and school-zone improvements. She said about 2,700 housing units are in the pipeline and listed a series of local and incoming businesses, including Rivian, as contributors to what she characterized as roughly 48,000 local jobs.
Montano highlighted energy and clean-transportation initiatives, including a partnership she called “Go Electric Milpitas” with Silicon Valley Clean Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy that she said could provide up to $3 million in home-electrification rebates for residents and that leverages $874,000 in grant funding to electrify city infrastructure and add vehicle charging at city facilities. She also noted the city’s on-demand microtransit program, Milpitas Smart, is approaching its 100,000th ride.
The mayor identified several capital projects in design or construction: water-line upgrades and repaving on Dempsey Road; a new playground at Synod Park; citywide street and sidewalk repairs with added bike lanes; a new pathway at Strick Roth Park; and a new well and treatment facility at Delano Monong’s Park followed by a pedestrian bridge and dog park. Montano said the city is advancing a Gateway Main Street specific plan and storefront grants to support downtown restaurants and a newly formed Milpitas Historic Downtown Business Association.
A city staff member who introduced the program described this year’s theme as “charging ahead,” framing the presentation around economic growth, community investments and sustainability. Montano said the city built a “custom emergency rescue cruiser” for the police department and emphasized the role of partnerships with businesses and regional agencies in pursuing jobs and infrastructure.
The meeting included routine procedural items: the council called the special meeting to order, took a roll call (Council Member Evelyn Chua was absent and sent greetings), led the Pledge of Allegiance, opened a public forum (no speakers were registered) and heard a city code-of-conduct announcement before the State of the City presentation. Montano formally adjourned the meeting after the address and noted refreshments were available for attendees.
The presentation was largely celebratory and did not include formal votes or ordinances on the agenda; the mayor and staff described projects, funding sources and program milestones rather than asking the council to take immediate legislative action. “Together, we are not just navigating today’s challenges, we are actively building the future of Milpitas,” Montano told the audience.
