Agenda Highlights

   [ Items of special note are highlighted in red ]

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2. APPOINTMENTS

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A-B. Appointment to the Pathways Committee and Reappointments to the Open Space Committee
 

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C. Report from the Los Altos Hills County Fire District

The Los Altos Hills County Fire District (LAHCFD) is primarily and educational and administrative organization serving Los Altos Hills and unincorporated areas. They get 11 cents for every dollar of our property taxes. (The town gets 6 cents.) According to their budget narrative (p. 19), their coffers have swelled to over $50 million in fiscal year (2025-2026).

Actual spending has routinely come in far below budget. (See table below.) ​The Budget for FY’27 also exceeds the likely spending.  Some items are padded and there are contingencies included of over $1 million, which as in prior years have never been spent.

Work has yet to begin on a new fire station, despite a contract having been awarded almost a year ago.  The District expects to end FY’26 with just shy of $50 million and end FY’27 with $46 million. LAHCFD has committed to paying for two fire engines and one fire truck, approximately $4 million, which are not included in these figures.  Lead time is two to three years.  The truck is intended to replace the existing truck at Station 74 (El Monte), which rarely leaves the station but is getting along in years.  The engines are intended for other SCCFD stations.  The Contract with SCCFD states apparatus (trucks and engines) will be provided at no charge.  LAHCFD is paying for these as a “regional” partner.  Staffing is the same as prior year 13.5 FTE but in reality is more like 15 or 16 considering the regular consultants used and the remaining  program spending is relatively flat.

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Historically, the Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD) has provided the actual fire protection services under a three-party contract (Los, Altos, LAHCFD and SCCFD). The City of Los Altos has recently indicated that they are exploring other options and may not renew the 3-party contract. There are important logistical and support issues if Los Altos is serviced by Cal Fire and Los Altos Hills is servuced by SCCFD. The LAHCFD report does not mention this, only that they plan to present a new, two-party, ten-year agreement at the upcoming LAHCFD Commission Meeting.​​​

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4. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS (ITEMS PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES)

​Routine monthly and quarterly reports

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A. Treasurer's Report (Staff: T. Leung)

B. Disbursement Report (Staff: T. Leung)

​​Regular monthly and quarterly reports. December unaudited cash and investment balance all funds totaled $30 million.

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5. CONSENT CALENDAR  (A consent calendar is a means of handling a number of routine matters with one motion and vote, and no discussion. These items can be considered separately at the request of a Council Member or a member of the public.)

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​A. Approval of past Council meetings: January 15, 2026

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B. Vacating Appointments to the History Committee - Jitze Couperus and Duffy Price

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C. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase a Replacement Chipper Not to Exceed $100,000 and Either Sell or Donate the 2009 Carlton 1790 Towable Chipper (Staff: M. Schloetter)

The Town's 2009 wood chipper is used for chipping from trimming on town-owned property and for storm response. The maintenance and downtime have increased. The equipment replacement policy recommends replacement after 13 years or 5,000 hours of operation. The current chipper has been in service for 16 years but with approximately 1,000 hours of operation. A new chipper would cost around $100,000, be more reliable and have more useful features. The discussion is likely to focus on whether it makes more sense to rent or buy. Further details can be found in the staff report for Item 5C.

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D. Consideration of a Resolution Adopting the 2026–2027 Two-Year City Council Work Plan (Staff: C. Einfalt)

The Town hired a consultant, Dan Rich of RPMG, to assist with obtaining input from the Council, Committees and Staff. The consultant's report can be found here:
   https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4360/files/attachment/13678
At a Goal Setting meeting on February 4, 2026, staff presented their assessment of the feasibility of "special projets" (those beyond day to day operations) for the proposed 2-year Work Plan for calendar years 2026 & 2027. The Work Plan included 60 projects identified by the Council, Committees and Staff. After discussions and public comments, the City Council elected to add six projects ( *some with budget impact ):
 

City Manager’s Office:
   1. Green Sheets – commitment to have Council discussion
City Clerk’s Office:
   1. Implement a PRA software or solution*
Community Development:
   1. Improve Deposit Management for Current Projects*
   2. Inspection Scheduling System*
   3. Heat Pump Rebates*
Public Works:
   1. Heritage House Phase II Native Garden*

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Some projects were removed or deferred to committees:
  Re-Evaluate ALPR System (Removed due to completion)
  Green House Gas Inventory (Removed and deferred to Environmental Initiatives Committee)
  Establish senior-focused programs and activities at Heritage House (Deferred to Senior Commission)
  AI Workshop - to improve staff work efficiency (Deferred to the Technology Committee)
 

The final Work Plan can be found here:

   https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4360/files/attachment/13679

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6. NEW BUSINESS

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A. Discussion on Emergency Management Services in Town and Possible Council Action to Approve Resolution Adopting Job Classification for an Emergency Manager and Amendments to the Town's Salary Schedule (Staff: C. Einfalt)

Previously, the Town had a Public Safety Officer. and later the role evolved to: Public Safety Officer - Emergency Operations Manager and later to part time consultants. At present, the Town has a 1-year agreement with Victoria Bebee for part time emergency management consulting (20 hours/week).

At the January 15, 2026 goal setting meeting, Council adopted a goal to fill a full-time position for emergency management. Staff is presenting the Council with two alternatives:

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a) Approve a Town Emergency Manager job classification and and amend the Town's salary schedule

b) Maintain the current model of a Consultant Emergency Manager and direct staff to begin recruitment for a full-time position since hte workload has expanded: wildfire, PSPS, storms, evauation, alerts, grant compliance, EOC readiness, training, etc.

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The argument in favor of a full time role is that there are several emergency planning requirements on which the town has fallen behind. And planning for emergencies is sorta important. The argument to continue in a consulting role is that many of the requirements are one-time or periodic (not ongoing), so once we catch up, we may not need someone full time. Not surprisingly, the EPRC is strongly in favor of a full time Emergency Manager.

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Some other jusrisdictions have a full time EM (Cupertino, San Jose, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Gilroy, Morgan Hill) and some do not (Campbell, Los Altos, Saratoga). Woodside and Portola Valley are supported by the Woodside Fire Protection District.

Past efforts to hire a full-time consultant have not been successful since the compensation in a full-time role is more attractive and there are relatively few candidates.
 

Perhaps LAHCFD should support this role?

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B. Process and Considerations for Establishing a New Standing Committee (Staff: A. Miller)

Council will review the process for creating a new standing committee for the Housing Element.

C. Discussion on Adjustments to the City Council Member Stipend (Staff: J. Parcutilo)

Vice Mayor Tyson proposed a review of City Councilmember stipends, considering that the last review was in 2017. Ccurrently Councilmembers receive a stipend of $300/month and are eligible for medical, vision and dental benefits (optional). Planning Commission members get a stipend of $100/month. In comparable jurisdictions Councilmembers have a range of compensation plans, e.g., Atherton (no stipend, no benefits) Woodside ($950/month, no benefits) and Cupertino ($743.07/month with benefits).

The Council will debate increasing the stipend and possibly review the benefits.
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7. PUBLIC HEARINGS

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A. Update from Mayoral Rotation Ad Hoc Committee

An ad hoc committee consisting of Vice Mayor Tyson and Councilmember Tankha has proposed a "policy" (more like a tradition) for an orderly transition process for Mayor and Vice Mayor. The major changes proposed are that candidates for Vice Mayor need to have served at least 1 year on the Council, and candidates for Mayor need to have served at least 2 years on the Council. The policy would not be binding and Councils would be free to decide otherwise. Most other criteria proposed are consistent with the existing tradition, which uses votes received in the last election and duration since previous term of Mayor or Vice Mayor.

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Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga have no requirement for years of service for the Vice Mayor role. In most general law cities, the Mayor is typically selected by elevating the Vice Mayor.

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B. Update from Community Survey Ad Hoc Committee

Mayor Bhateja and Vice Mayor Tyson are on an ad hoc committee to perform a survey of town residents. The last such survey was conducted in 2015. In addition to a broad "horizontal" survey, several smaller domain-specific "vertical" surveys are proposed. Historically the broad survey is done by an outside consultant using online, phone, with notifications through town email lists, news media and US Mail. Doing the survey in March with results in April, would inform budget decisions to be made in May for the 2026-2027 financial year.

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8. STAFF REPORTS

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A. City Attorney
B. City Clerk
C. Community Development Director
D. Finance Director
E. Public Works Director
- Update on the Town Hall HVAC Replacement Emergency Project
F. City Manager

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9. COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS

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10. ADJOURN

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