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The Livermore City Council is set to hold two public hearings during its regular meeting Monday, including a report on the city’s job vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts as well as a vote to approve the May 2025 Wastewater Cost of Service Study.
During the first hearing on the agenda, the council will receive a presentation for information purposes only during which staff will report on the personnel related topics as required by Assembly Bill 2561, according to the city staff report.
As of Jan. 1, AB 2561 added a new government code to the Brown Act to create a new obligation for public agencies to address the status of job vacancies publicly. As a basis for the new requirements, the state legislature determined that vacancies are a widespread and significant problem in the public sector, which negatively impacts the delivery of public service.
In compliance with the new obligations, city officials must follow certain criteria which includes holding a public hearing to present the status of vacancies to the city council at least once per fiscal year. The presentation must be made prior to the adoption of a final budget for the fiscal year.
The report must also address the recruitment and retention efforts currently employed by the city and identify any changes to policies, procedures or recruitment activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process, according to the staff report.
The second agendized hearing facing the council Monday is a vote to approve the Wastewater Cost of Service Study for the month of May as well as review the objections received and the city’s responses to the objections, review and tabulate protests received in accordance with Proposition 218 to determine if a majority public protest exists, consider updated proposed wastewater service charges and approve a resolution adopting the updated charges if no majority protest exists.
The city provides wastewater collection, treatment and disposal services as a single municipal enterprise that is fully funded by customer service charges.
NBS Government Finance Group completed the March 2025 Wastewater Rate Study, which evaluated the Wastewater Enterprise’s financial needs and proportionately allocated costs of service to each wastewater customer class.
The study recommended an increase to the current wastewater service charges. Ratepayers were advised of the upcoming public hearing to consider the proposed rates and their opportunity to protest the proposed rates by mailed notice.
However, after the notices were sent out, the city discovered errors in the estimated cost of service included in the March 2025 Rate Study. NBS corrected those errors and issued the May 2025 Wastewater Rate Study, which sets forth rates that are lower than those calculated in the March 2025 Wastewater Rate Study.
Staff is recommending that if the city does not receive written protests from a majority of parcels receiving wastewater services, the council should adopt the revised rates set forth in the May 2025 Wastewater Rate Study.
Ahead of Monday’s hearing, the city received 12 objections. The concerns raised by ratepayers ranged from affordability, lack of justification for an increase, suggestions for the city to explore grant opportunities and the proposed increase on single-family customers being greater than the increase on nonresidential customers, among several other issues.
The Livermore City Council regular meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday (June 9). The complete agenda is available here.
In other business:
As part of the consent calendar — which includes items considered routine in nature that are typically approved by a single vote — the council is set to adopt a resolution authorizing the purchase of a 2025 Lenco BearCat G3 4-Wheel Drive Armored Vehicle for $534,356 to be used by the police department.
“In recent years, law enforcement agencies across the country have increasingly faced threats that require specialized equipment to protect both officers and the public. The acquisition and replacement of an Armored Vehicle (ARV) would significantly enhance the department’s ability to safely manage and de-escalate these dangerous situations,” according to the staff report.
The LPD currently owns an Armored Vehicle that was purchased from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2014 for one dollar, according to the staff report. It is a 2006 GMC C4500 Armored Truck and has reached its life expectancy. Replacement parts are hard to purchase due to the age of the ARV, making servicing it difficult, and the vehicle has become a safety hazard for staff who are needed to operate it.
The purchase of a new ARV would be fully funded through the Citizen’s Option for Public Safety state grant in which funds are currently available, according to staff.
The council is also poised to adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager, or her designee, to execute the first amendment to the loan agreement with Housing Consortium of the East Bay for the property located at 2346 Walnut Street, which previously served as a church but in recent years was eyed for conversion into a substance abuse treatment facility for unhoused residents.
It was ultimately determined that the property could not adequately meet the needs of the proposed treatment facility and now the developer seeks to amend its agreement with the city to provide additional time for predevelopment activities on the property to repurpose it for affordable housing.
The developer is exploring plans to create approximately 15 units of service-enriched housing, with a focus on providing support for unhoused senior residents. If approved, the developer will conduct community outreach on the concept and return to the city with a development plan and timeline for approval by June 1, 2026.
Ahead of the regular meeting during closed session, the council is set for conferences with the city’s labor negotiators regarding negotiations with three unions representing different employee groups, including the Association of Livermore Employees, the Livermore Management Group and the Livermore Police Management Association.
Also during closed session, the council will discuss recruitment for a new city attorney, following the announcement of Jason Alcala’s upcoming retirement.
