City Council 2025 Priorities Pt. 1
In Which: Police Department alleges budget woes, Old City Hall becomes a "public art piece", and Council divided on enforcement priorities--street vendors or landlords?
Updates Across The City
The City Council spent five hours last Saturday getting high level updates from every City department. The idea was to get a better understanding of where the different departments are—especially their limitations and current workload—so the City Council can develop priorities for the coming year.
One of the cool things that should be coming out of this process is an interactive dashboard that will have quarterly updates for every project being worked on throughout the City. From what I understand, it wasn’t supposed to be fully live yet, but I am a Librarian and if it’s publicly accessible, I’ll find it.
It’s not fully functional, but it is a pretty good way to keep track of City projects. It’s a lot nicer to look at than the recent CIP Semi-Annual Budget dashboard. I swear there was a nicer looking one, but I can’t seem to find it anymore. Anyway, the new Strategic Roadmap Dashboard has been in the works for a long time and there’s hope that Capital Improvement Projects will be cross-referenced so that you can use the Roadmap dashboard to check in on specific CIP projects.
Public Works - Building the City
The Public Works department is responsible for the City’s infrastructure. From street lights to roads to sidewalks to City parks to water and sewer, Public Works has a huge impact on how you experience the City. There are over 200 project in the Capital Improvement Program with about half actively being worked on.
Highlights are La Vista Park—in partnership with HARD, Mission and Main changes, adding even more bus stop seats, charging stations coming to behind the AT&T building on C and Mission, increased pavement condition throughout the City, and an upcoming evaluation of the Loop. For the Loop, there’s a consultant who will be looking at “safety enhancements” and adding some parking in new places along Mission that should help businesses and also slow traffic.
Council Priorities
Councilmember Zermeño was interested in La Vista Park and the bus benches, both marquee projects of his. The Park is getting started soon—HARD recently approved the plans—and a map of the bus benches should come soon.
Councilmember Andrews was concerned that Federal issues may impact the water treatment plant loans, but Director Ameri wasn’t too concerned. She also asked if there were more partnerships in the works with CalTrans—she’s expressed particular concern about unhoused residents living around freeway on/off ramps—but Director Ameri said, “they are not as responsive” as they may like.
Councilmember Goldstein asked about nature-based solutions around the new wastewater treatment plant. Director Ameri explained that the effluent pools pull double-duty as shoreline protection and treating discharge. Goldstein was also worried about fire hydrants in the hills—a more popular topic since the release of new Local Responsibility Zone from CalFire—but Director Ameri assured him that there are pumps with generators that can last without power for 24-48 hours in emergencies. After hearing Ameri’s comments, Councilmember Goldstein confirmed, “We’re pretty well prepared.”
Councilmember Syrop asked varied questions about electric water heaters—Public Works only points to State incentive programs—the recent wastewater ruling in San Francisco—doesn’t impact Hayward—and also the wildfire risk of the hills. From Director Ameri’s comments, things are as prepared as they can be within City limits.
Councilmember Roche asked about the bike lane projects around the City and if Public Works was keeping an eye on how bike lanes were being removed in some Cities. Director Ameri emphasized that many of the projects are pilots, “by definition that means we are open to changing and tracking and making it safer.”
Director Ameri stressed that Orchard Avenue was never meant to be a thoroughfare from the hills to Jackson and that the City needs to balance that need with the needs of residents living in those neighborhoods. Councilmember Roche also asked about the Stack Center—Phase 1 is complete, but Phase 2 has a big budget shortfall—and data centers—not big job creators and use a lot of electricity.
Councilmember Bonilla was concerned about lighting on Tennyson and if was a priority area for changes. Director Ameri said that there is nothing on a large scale in the works right now. He also explained that lights are often attached to PG&E poles, which may not be in the best places, but they make changes and upgrades where they can.
Police Department - Tech And Surveillance
The Hayward Police Department is the largest department in the entire City. With over 300 Full-Time Equivalent employees—for context, Community Services has 5—HPD takes up over 40% of General Fund spending. The priorities from Chief Bryan Matthews include employee wellness, a so-called Real-Time Crime Center, and an organizational assessment.
Chief Matthews said, “We have the most vacancies in the City.” The last report indicated 20 vacancies, so with a workforce of 333, that would put the vacancy rate at 6%—the Citywide average is 10%, if I recall correctly.
Other updates include issues around the call center—the entire emergency dispatch falls under the purview of HPD, regional collaborations around the Real-Time Crime Center, and the need for a culture change, with an emphasis on empathy and compassion.
Chief Matthews mentioned financial constraints for the department. “[There are] challenges… sustaining and meeting community expectations with limited funding.” He alleged that HPD was cut by 10% during the lockdowns and that funding was never given back—though sworn officer salaries have increased by nearly as much over the same period.
Council Priorities
Councilmember Andrews wanted to be sure that Animal Control was able to take advantage of the wellness programs and asked for details about the County support for mental health responses. Chief Matthews said that there was no dedicated officer for the HEART program, which causes increased overtime costs, and that HPD funds are used to support the LINK team.
Councilmember Bonilla was curious about the connection between schools—especially high schools—and HPD. Chief Matthews said there was a Sargent who is assigned as a liaison to the schools and seemed to indicate a personal interest in restarting the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which put armed police officers on school grounds to act as security. HUSD, under community pressure, discontinued the SRO program several years ago.
Councilmember Roche expressed concerns about recruitment and asked about lateral transfers. Chief Matthews said that they only hire about 5% of lateral transfers, “We’re not interested in bringing on someone else’s baggage.” He said he usually asks transfers, “What are you running from?” He expressed a preference for a “firsthand opportunity to develop [new recruits].”
Councilmember Syrop asked about the effects of the Hayward Mobile Evaluation Team (HMET), where an HPD Officer works with someone from the Alameda County Behavioral Health department to address mental health crises. Chief Matthews said that mental health calls usually result in a high use of force by officers, but that there has only been one use of force instance so far, since the clinician is the primary contact.
Councilmember Syrop was also curious about the solvability rate, but Chief Matthews said, “Solvability is tough.” The Chief expressed a desire for more surveillance technology—especially FLOCK cameras—to increase the clear rate. Councilmember Syrop then asked about a downtown beat, but Chief Matthews said that the beats are going to be restructured to better align with the new voting districts.
Councilmember Goldstein spoke glowingly about the Police Department and seemed excited for them to use more surveillance technology and even AI. He then asked about training classes at Chabot college, which turned out to be for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
The City Attorney, Michael Lawson, chimed in to say that his office and Chief Matthews are developing a relationship with the new District Attorney, hinting that the previous DA was causing issues.
The new City Manager, Ana Alvarez, seemed sympathetic to HPD’s budget. “[HPD is] doing a lot with very little right now,” she said. She then talked about plans to grow HPD and HFD in the future, “so that public safety grows in line with population growth.” Public safety appeared to be limited to the Police and Fire departments, despite the success of the HEART program.
Maintenance Services - Keeping Things Nice
Where Public Works handles the construction of infrastructure, Maintenance Services keeps it running and looking nice after it’s been installed. If you’ve ever submitted a request through Access Hayward, then there’s a good chance Maintenance Services has answered it. They’ve received 5,300 requests so far, so they’ve been busy.
Notable projects include the Hayward Monument sign on Jackson and Silva, which they are now building in-house for $200,000—outside bids came in around $2,000,000. They are on track to exceed their goal to plant 1,500 trees—though they still don’t say whether that’s all new trees or also includes replacing removed trees. They’re also working on making the Old City Hall look nice—at least from the outside, fixing the City Hall fountains, a new fancy crosswalk by the Downtown Library, and finally getting the electric Bike Lane Sweeper they ordered last November.
Council Priorities
Councilmember Zermeño wanted to see a draft of the gateway sign.
Councilmember Bonilla asked how Maintenance Services resolves the unhoused encampments they get called to. Generally speaking, the procedure seems to be asking them to leave and then cleaning up after them—sometimes they give notice before sweeping them, but not always. Councilmember Bonilla then asked if they offer services, and Director Rullman clarified that they work with “the Police Department, Fire, and Community Services” to offer services.
Councilmember Andrews was interested in painting traffic light boxes, and Director Rullman said that they can refocus on that work—alluding to the former Chair of the Keep Hayward Clean and Green Task Force, Jeff Haman, being a roadblock to that work. Mr. Haman has since moved to the Planning Commission.
Councilmember Roche celebrated the work making Old City Hall a massive art piece. “I was glad to hear about the work on restoring the Old City—not restoring Old City Hall but sort of making it more of a like a public art piece.” Due to it being classified as a local Historic Building, Old City Hall can’t be demolished. But the designation only calls for preserving the exterior, which recently led to multiple fires in the earthquake-unsafe building. “We want this place to look amazing at night,” Director Rullman said, “We want it to be a photo opportunity.”
Councilmember Syrop asked about the Corporate Yard on Soto Road and whether the plans included expanding it. Apparently there was a plan to use some adjacent HUSD property—a massive field for Winton Middle School is next door—and Councilmember Syrop wondered if HUSD might be willing to part with some of the land given its recent budget hardship. Director Rullman said he’s finding out.
Development Services - Making Sure Things Happen
Development Services is a really diverse department. It’s made of four different divisions—Building, Planning, Code Enforcement, and Housing—which each handle things that are related but also very different from each other. Building handles permitting for construction, Planning covers zones and plans for development of all kinds, Code Enforcement makes sure rules are followed, and Housing covers affordable housing, and renter/landlord services and ordinance. They also do more I likely have forgotten, so it’s a big set of stuff.
Some of their projects include working with the Downtown Hayward Improvement Association (DHIA)—a group of downtown landlords who pool money together to maintain downtown—to address graffiti, have done housing workshops, aligning plans with Metropolitan Transportation Commission Transit-Oriented Communities stuff to position the City to get grants, and they’re looking to change building codes soon to align with State law.
Their biggest challenge, according to Director Buzier, their biggest issue has been balancing low-impact high-cost projects and delivering core services. She explained that she meant specifically sidewalk vendor enforcement and rental property inspections, respectively. She wanted clear guidance about priorities so she can allocate resources appropriately—the City only has so many Code Enforcement staff and they’re super over-burdened.
Mayor Salinas Wants Street Vendors Gone—Even If It Hurts Renters
Until this point, Mayor of Hayward Mark Salinas had not given many comments or asked many questions. But on the subject of code enforcement, he tried to set the tone for the discussion. “One of the central concerns I have,” he said, “is the public facing image of street vendors… the concern I have is that it is really really getting out of hand.”
Mayor Salinas alleged that many street vendors are not small operations on a low budget, but are professionals working the system. “What we’re dealing with are large professional vending businesses,” he said, “that know the loopholes in our ordinance and they’re completely disregarding—often disregarding our ordinance and doing this.” He also complained about the use of styrofoam containers, though there is evidence that brick and mortar businesses use styrofoam containers, as well.
Mayor Salinas also alleged that street vendors behaved with hostility during enforcement. “When we do go enforce our ordinance, sort of the hostile nature that is surrounding these events.” He made clear that street vendor enforcement was his only concern. “For me, enforcement has to be a priority,” he said, “That is a central concern I have, is the street vendors.”
Councilmember Zermeño agreed, but seemed unwilling to offer more resources to address Director Buzier’s concerns about staffing levels. “I believe that, just as you’ve done so well on the other issues,” he said, “this will also be solved.”
Data Suggests Prioritizing Renters and Others On Council Agree
Councilmember Syrop agreed with Director Buzier that focus was needed. “To the degree that we can focus on what our core legal obligations are,” he said, “that is my top priority.” He recognized that the current approach isn’t working. “The current enforcement I want to rethink a bit more so we’re not wasting City resources or limited staff time… I don’t know if our current approach is working.” He suggested that renters should take priority. “I would put our rental inspecting above that enforcement, just personally,” he said.
In the past Councilmember Syrop has been suggested giving more funding to Code Enforcement, and he continued that advocacy. “I hope we can give Code Enforcement more support,” he said, “it seems like there’s quite a bit to deal with with such a small team.” Councilmember Goldstein asked how much money from Development Services goes to Code Enforcement—about 1/4.
Councilmember Bonilla also pushed back on making street vendor enforcement a priority. “If we’re going out with all of these resources and it’s not making an impact,” he said, “why are we continuously doing the same thing?” He asked Director Buzier what the residents have been saying about street vendors, because almost all of the complaints have come from brick and mortar businesses.
Director Buzier had the numbers on hand. In 2024 there were:
49 complaints about vendors, but 119 proactive enforcements against them
255 complaints about rental housing
1409 complaints about community preservation
125 complaints about unhoused encampments
170 complaints about building code violations
That means street vendor complaints account for around 2% of the total for 2024. “We are not seeing the complaints,” Director Buzier said, “yet we are being very proactive—as proactive as we can be with the street vendors—but in comparison, we’re not seeing the complaints… We’re doing what we can and we’re making very little impact.” She gave an anecdote about a large enforcement action where they had moved dozens of vendors and confiscated 230 lbs. of food, but multiple vendors returned within an hour.
Councilmember Bonilla explained how market incentives work on street vendors, too. “The market drives the needs period,” he said, “Anywhere, anytime, including street vendors.” Councilmember Roche agreed that there were other, more pressing, issues for Code Enforcement. “Knowing that there’s so much other need in the City,” she said.
Councilmember Andrews pushed for a focus on amenities—seemingly not including street vendors in her definition—asking about “how we look at amenities for the City.” She suggested that more amenities could solve the problem. “I think this also speaks to some of the sidewalk vending,” she said, “and why there is sidewalk vending.”
She suggested having a kind of amenities goal for the City, similar to the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goal. “I know we have a RHNA,” she said, “but maybe we need to look at an amenities number—an amenities goal to balance off of the RHNA… because we are seeing more residents come, but we’re also seeing the side effects of not having enough amenities in our community.”
Councilmember Andrews also, again, encouraged brick and mortar restaurant owners to go complain to the State and County.
That concludes part one of the meeting. I’ll be back next week with Part 2. Somehow. There’s a Council meeting next week AND there was a HUSD Board meeting on Wednesday. I’ll keep you informed as best I can.