Committee member says adding 1¢ to Measure P could avoid cuts, fund roads and homelessness services

A committee member said the council is considering adding one cent to Measure P to generate revenue that would prevent planned budget cuts and provide additional funding for roadway maintenance and homelessness services. "Adding 1¢ to Measure P," the speaker said, is one option under consideration.

The speaker told the meeting that "a city manager, I can cut... We have created a plan on how we could cut to a balanced budget, or an update of Measure P can generate the revenue that would prevent those cuts and give a little bit more so that we could address some of those issues like roadway maintenance." The comments framed the proposal as a choice between departmental cuts and new revenue.

According to the speaker, the purpose of the proposed update is to protect services "that the community has come to rely upon," noting that the cost of those services has exceeded current revenues. The speaker identified roadway maintenance and addressing ongoing homelessness challenges as specific priorities the additional revenue could support. The transcript did not specify the size of the budget gap or the estimated revenue that a one-cent increase would generate.

The speaker said the council is considering placing the Measure P update on the 2026 ballot. The transcript records consideration of the ballot placement but does not record a formal vote or final decision at this meeting.