Stockton council authorizes change orders for new City Hall; council presses for transparency on escalating costs

Stockton — Council members voted Nov. 4 to authorize professional services contract amendments and change orders for the new City Hall renovations and relocation project while pressing staff for clearer budget and timeline information.

Council debate focused on the project’s growing cost and moving schedule. City staff said the purchase price for the main building had been $13.7 million and an earlier all‑in projection was $25.1 million; extensions to scope, pandemic impacts and multiple change orders have driven costs higher. City staff and project managers told council that staged furniture unwrapping is underway and that staged moves begin in December, with the first full council meeting at the new facility targeted no later than June 2026.

Council members repeatedly asked for a public fact sheet that provides a clear accounting of funding sources (including ARPA carryover funding and contingency allocations), the current budget, obligations to date and a schedule of remaining work. Council member Blauer asked whether inspections had been done when the property was purchased; staff said additional unforeseen work drove major change orders after the original design discovery.

City staff said some design change‑order percentages reached roughly 50 percent, a signal that the original design assumptions changed substantially, and acknowledged the need for tighter contract language and improved risk allocation in future contracts. Council approved the amendments and change orders unanimously, and staff said they will provide a factsheet and follow‑up briefings to the council and public.