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Taft council approves consent calendar, clears roughly $490,000 in bills and recesses to closed session on labor, property and litigation
Summary
The Taft City Council approved consent calendar items including SB1 project listings and a $16,128 LCTOP allocation for a zero-emission bus, approved payment of roughly $490,000 in warrants with one council member abstaining, and moved to closed session to discuss labor negotiations, a real-property matter and ongoing litigation with Taft Union High School (case S-1500-CV-283804).
The Taft City Council on April 21 approved a routine consent calendar covering minutes, special-event waivers, local road projects funded by SB1, awards for four 'safe and sane' fireworks stands and related items, and authorized a Low Carbon Transit Operations Program certification to purchase a zero-emission transit bus using $16,128 in LCTOP funds. The council approved the listed consent items on a 4-0 vote.
Council members then took up payment of bills (item 9). Staff said the warrants totaled about $490,000 across three warrants. A council member announced a conflict on a small item and left the room to abstain; the remaining members approved payment after roll call (the transcript records the approval as "approved on a 3 vote").
Mayor pro tem Bryant used his council statement time earlier to note he had requested and obtained the dollar figure the city provided to the Chamber of Commerce and said he would present the number at the next meeting, stressing his request was not intended to imply misuse of funds. "Literally I was curious what the dollar figure is that the city by way of taxpayer funds has provided to the chamber," he said.
No department reports were presented. The council adjourned the open session and recessed to closed session to consider three items: (A) labor negotiations with negotiator Craig Jones (all units) under government code section 54957.6; (B) conference with real-property negotiator Craig Jones regarding one undisclosed parcel under section 54956.8; and (C) existing litigation, Taft Union High School v. City of Taft, Kern County Superior Court case number S-1500-CV-283804. The meeting record indicates the council entered closed session following the open business.
The consent calendar included a resolution to adopt a list of SB1 (Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017) projects for fiscal year 2026–27 and multiple administrative items (minutes, special-event permits, sewer system management plan revision and authorization for a professional services agreement with Moore and Associates). The council did not take public votes on individual consent items beyond the roll-call approval of the combined list.
