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Council approves consent calendar including interim city manager appointment; adds urgent leases for fire‑department space
Summary
Council approved the consent calendar, which included appointing Latanya Bello interim city manager (07/11/2024–09/15/2024), scheduling Paul Budenhagen as incoming city manager effective 09/16/2024, and added urgent lease items for the Berkeley Fire Department to the agenda for later consent action.
The Berkeley City Council unanimously approved a consent calendar containing multiple administrative and operational items, including the appointment of Latanya Bello as interim city manager from July 11 to Sept. 15, 2024, and acceptance of an employment agreement to appoint Paul Budenhagen as city manager effective Sept. 16, 2024. The clerk read statutorily required compensation information into the record before the council voted.
Council also voted to add two urgent items to the agenda under government‑code urgency provisions: a lease urgency ordinance to permit leasing property at 1250–1288 9th Street for use by the Berkeley Fire Department and a clarifying action to ensure Berkeley High School staff residential parking permits can be issued expeditiously. The urgency additions carried by the required two‑thirds votes and were placed on the consent calendar for consideration that evening.
During public comment on the consent calendar, representatives from unions and the public testified in support of the fire‑department lease (Amory Langmo, president of Berkeley Firefighters Local 1227), and dozens of community speakers commented on items including school parking permits, a proposed parking benefit district, surveillance and camera contracts, and donations to community events. The consent calendar passed by roll‑call vote; one councilmember recorded an abstention on a particular item.
The council also heard a briefing from the city auditor proposing contract approval to audit the auditor’s own payroll audit division (contract with GPP Analytics) and amendments to the municipal code to formalize whistleblower reporting and protections; the auditor urged passage of those items on the consent calendar.
Next steps: The lease and permit additions will proceed as consent items; staff will implement the interim city‑manager appointment procedures and finalize necessary employment agreements and pay arrangements.
Speakers quoted and sources: City Auditor (requested consent items 37 and 38); Amory Langmo (Berkeley Firefighters Local 1227).
