Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
San Jose council hears hours of public comment on 2025–26 budget, Measure E and homelessness plans
Loading...
Summary
At a May 13 public hearing on the proposed 2025–26 operating and capital budgets, hundreds of residents pressed the City Council on Measure E spending priorities, urging more permanent affordable housing, prevention funding and expansion of non‑police crisis responses; council took no vote and said it will continue study sessions and town halls.
At a May 13 public hearing, the San Jose City Council heard more than three hours of public testimony on the proposed 2025–26 operating and capital budgets and related proposed fees and charges, with speakers focusing on how the city should use Measure E real property transfer tax revenues to address homelessness, housing prevention, immigrant legal defense and seniors services.
The meeting drew sustained public comment from housing providers, nonprofit advocates and market vendors who urged the council to prioritize permanent affordable housing and to avoid diverting Measure E funds away from housing toward expanded enforcement or temporary shelter programs. City staff did not ask the council to vote at the hearing; councilmembers said the budget will be refined through upcoming town halls and study sessions.
Why it matters: Measure E is a major ongoing local revenue source created to support affordable housing. Many speakers said shifting Measure E toward short‑term shelters or policing would undermine long‑term housing goals and public trust. Others urged the council to expand rapid‑response legal defense funding for immigrants and restore proposed cuts to seniors’ health and wellness programs.
What people told the council - Advocates from community organizations including SiREN and the Real Coalition urged the council to keep Measure E focused on affordable housing and to allocate more money for prevention and immigrant legal defense. A representative of SiREN said the city “is once again failing the voters and residents” if Measure E funds are shifted away from permanent housing. - Several nonprofit providers and coalitions — including Sourcewise, Sacred Heart Community Service, Family Supportive Housing, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and the Save Our Seniors Coalition — described specific programs at risk under the budget as proposed. Speakers asked the council to restore $526,000 proposed cuts to an older adult health and wellness grant program that supports nine nonprofit providers and roughly 4,600 older adults. - Speakers with lived experience of homelessness, and representatives of SURGE Santa Clara County and the Trust pilot program, urged the council to expand the Trust crisis‑response team to 24/7 rather than fund additional police responses to encampments. - Multiple speakers asked the council to increase funding for rapid‑response immigrant legal defense and the Rapid Response Network; organizers asked the city to allocate $1.5 million to that work and to ensure prior commitments are fully paid.
Process and next steps: The council held the hearing to collect public comment; staff said the budget will be revised and that the council would continue budget study sessions and town halls to refine spending priorities and allocations. City staff said they received 38 public comment cards and that the city will post further budget materials and respond to questions raised during the hearing.
Context: The hearing followed an earlier council budget study session. Speakers repeatedly cited results of the 2023 homeless census and federal funding changes that they said increase local need for prevention and permanent housing investment. Several speakers warned that repeated reliance on temporary shelters without sufficient permanent housing will not reduce homelessness over the long term.
What councilmembers said: Councilmembers acknowledged the volume of input and said staff will use the feedback in next rounds of budget review. No formal vote was taken at the public hearing; councilmembers said they would consider amendments in subsequent meetings and that the public will have further opportunities to weigh in.
Ending note: The hearing made clear broad agreement among many speakers that permanent, deeply affordable housing and prevention programs should be emphasized in the budget; disagreements centered on how much Measure E and other local funds should be redirected toward interim shelters, enforcement or crisis response teams.
