Development and finance directors summarize permitting, housing and billing changes; staff notes $650,000 downtown funding

The council on Sept. 10 heard back-to-back department-head briefings from Development Services and Finance that recapped FY 2023–24 accomplishments and outlined goals for 2024–25.

Ally Giudice, director of Development Services, said the department processed 117 entitlement applications in the prior fiscal year, helped negotiate five development agreements that yielded more than $40 million in exactions, and administered mitigation fees totaling roughly $30 million for capital projects over the past five years. She also said the housing and homelessness team received grants totaling about $1,650,000, implemented a mobile-home-park rent-control program covering about 1,186 spaces, and monitors 722 below-market-rate units citywide. Giudice told the council the department has secured $650,000 intended to support affordable housing in the downtown area and listed priorities including completion of the General Plan 2040 and zoning updates to implement the Housing Element.

Interim Finance Director Betsy Ho reviewed core finance functions and described the department’s recent ERP implementation. Ho said the city migrated utility billing into a new Munis module and shifted to monthly utility billing, a change staff said should help customers manage payments. She outlined controls and metrics the department tracks — bank reconciliations, deposits, vendor invoices and budget amendments — and noted the city is working to return to its usual audit schedule following the system change.

Council members thanked staff for the reports, asked operational questions about billing cycles and staffing, and encouraged continued outreach and transparency on housing and permitting work.

Next steps: staff will return with project-specific items tied to the General Plan update, zoning-code amendments and any funding proposals for downtown housing.