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San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong gathered with his colleagues on the council, representatives from the city’s chamber of commerce, and other notable figures and community members this month for his first State of the City address following his election to the mayor’s seat in November.
A number of major changes have occurred in San Ramon since the previous State of the City event led by former mayor Dave Hudson in 2024, including a $14.1 million deficit that was identified in last year’s budgeting process, $8.1 million in subsequent budget cuts, plus the passage of a new 1% sales tax measure and two new faces on the City Council in the wake of last year’s election.
While this was Armstrong’s first State of the City as mayor, it was his second overall, having filled in as vice mayor for the event while Hudson was out with a medical emergency in 2023.
In addition to the flurry of changes locally, Armstrong noted that this year’s event came in the midst of other major national news and events.
“I think we need to re-look at the schedule of the State of the City next year, because in the same week as the Oscars and a presidential address to Congress, that’s a hard one to follow,” Armstrong said. “But I can guarantee you what I’m going to tell you today is probably a whole lot more relevant to your daily lives than what you’ve been getting the rest of the week.”
To set the stage, Armstrong pointed to key figures regarding the city’s physical infrastructure and services. The city is tasked with maintaining and operating 153 miles of creeks and storm drainage, 242 miles of streets, sidewalks, gutters and curbs, 4,700 traffic signs, 101 traffic signals, 7,000 street lights, 440,520 irrigation heads, 18 radar speed display signs, and 19 traffic shelters, plus 2,248 acres of open space, 58 parks, 57 miles of trails, five swimming pools, and four community centers.
“The reason I bring this up is that these are things that cost a lot of money to take care of,” Armstrong said.
He also introduced the City Council’s current strategic goals, which consist of maintaining a safe and secure environment and a secure financial base, providing cost effective and responsive services that sustain the current quality of life, building and maintaining quality facilities and infrastructure, enhanced communications and outreach to residents and business owners, and land use planning that balances housing, open space, jobs and retail.
“A common thread that ties them all together is something I’ve talked a lot about during the campaign season last year – that our city provides a great quality of life, and we do this in a safe environment, and we try to do this in a way that is protecting our existing neighborhoods and our retail spaces, and our beautiful open spaces last as well,” Armstrong said.
From there, Armstrong addressed what he called the “elephant in the room” — the city’s ongoing financial struggles and last year’s budget gap.
“This was mainly due to increases in expenditures that have been growing over several years,” Armstrong said. “Things like rising costs and utility payments, the maintenance of our beautiful parks and roads, insurance contract costs, and other things that affected the city in the same way they’ve affected all of you as residents. And yet, meanwhile, our revenues continue to remain relatively flat.”
In terms of revenue, things are now looking up for the city following the passage of Measure N, the 1% sales tax measure that is set to go into effect next month.
“We’re going to start seeing the first revenue from that to come in starting in June,” Armstrong said. “And our estimated revenue from that should be about – right now we’re projecting $15.2 million annually. That’s slightly lower than the initial projection we had, but the city is still approaching this budget season with a lot of caution and restraint.”
While the additional revenue is set to make it possible to restore some of the services impacted by last year’s budget cuts, Armstrong said that he and the council would continue to be looking for ways to reduce ongoing costs.
“As we go forward in terms of an outlook, the city is approaching this upcoming budget as a baseline year, without adding a whole lot of new expenditures,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to have to figure out how to live within our means. We’re going to have to operate more efficiently.”
While Measure N was ultimately successful, Armstrong added that the city would be seeking to consider the alternative mentioned by several opponents of the measure – reducing staff, albeit with caution.
“The city is bringing in some outside experts,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to evaluate our efficiency. We’re doing an organizational audit, and this evaluation of our current service delivery is going to help us identify ways as a city to build a foundation for a sustainable physical future. And just as a reminder, when you cut staff you’re really cutting the services. So you’ve got to be cautious with that and go about it in a smart way.”
Armstrong also sought to emphasize accomplishments in the city over the past year, including progress on both planned Iron Horse Trail overcrossings – with the one over Bollinger Canyon nearing completion – and new mental health and public safety initiatives, including the city’s shift to a “fire first” response to mental health calls in which no threats to the public are present rather than an initial police response, the city’s new public safety facility, and a new playground coming close to completion near Gale Ranch Middle School.
He also provided an update on the retail theft suppression task force that was developed by SRPD with the use of a $5.6 million grant awarded in 2023, but noted that funding for the three-year program is nearing its end.
“That team’s established relationships with many of City Center’s major retailers, and they’ve collaborated with other area agencies, and participated in some large takedowns in some adjacent jurisdictions,” Armstrong said. “Area retailers have expressed a deep gratitude for the impact of this team locally.”
So far, the $5.6 million grant for the program from 2023 through 2026 has resulted in the recovery of approximately $163,000 in stolen goods and more than 100 arrests.
SRPD is also in the throes of another new initiative, with the adoption of a drone first responder pilot program.
“Under this model, drones are able to respond to calls, just like officers, just like other responders who are on patrol, and they can often arrive on scene in just minutes,” Armstrong said. “So when our dispatch receives a priority one or a priority two call, that remote pilot can dispatch the drone, and then that initiates a response to any location within the operational area.”
“So then, upon arriving on the scene, the remote pilot can fully control the aircraft, take control of the camera, record the incident,” he continued. “It provides a live video feed, and gives valuable situational awareness of the area to the responding officers, and this could save valuable time and clarify the type of response that our officers need to be prepared for when they arrive.”
Armstrong also pointed to the city’s progress in meeting its RHNA goals set forth by the state, with multiple new housing projects opening or in the works over the past year, including the ongoing phased opening of the 404-unit City Village project, the completion of Aspenwood Apartments and Belmont Village senior living, the ongoing construction of the 117-unit Iron Horse Village, and the new Padera Apartments project near the Dougherty Station Community Arts Center.
In addition to emphasizing opportunities for community input and engagement and the city’s plans for increasing its connection with residents, Armstrong said that the existing connection and input from residents was already being taken into consideration in this year’s budgeting process.
“Our residents love our city – you know we’ve got a great quality of life,” Armstrong said. “We’ve got excellent services and programs. You’ve let us know what’s important to you. We’ve listened to you. We’ve begun the city budgeting process already this year, and we’re on track to balance the budget this year again. With the community’s support, we’ve been able to restore some services and programs – thanks to Measure N – to continue to deliver those services that you value the most.”
“And we’ll also continue to thoughtfully plan,” he continued. “For now we’re going to take care of that required state mandated growth. We’re going to focus most of that in the city core area that’s going to go a long way towards protecting our existing neighborhoods. With that, I’ll just say San Ramon continues to be a great place to live, to work, to play, to raise a family.”
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“Armstrong also pointed to the city’s progress in meeting its RHNA goals set forth by the state…” For those unable to attend, what is the city’s progress on RHNA goals??? Please and thank-you!