Providing The Service Levels Our Community Expects

These are uncertain economic times for the City of San Mateo, our residents and businesses.  The City has implemented a Financial Sustainability Plan that examines if we can generate revenues, where we can streamline program spending, whether we need new budgeted hires, and how we can do more with less.  

As I shared in an earlier D1 Digest, the City of San Mateo also has joined with every city on the Peninsula and the County of San Mateo to sue the State of California to recover monies legally due all of us that the State is saying it does not have to pay.  In San Mateo’s case, it amounted to $2+ million in 2025 and could reach over $6 million in 2026/7.  We are fighting hard for the money, your tax dollars, to help close our current budget deficit of $14 million.

One example of working smarter is the new app the City will be launching in February.  It will let you submit your questions directly to the relevant department and then track them until they are resolved.  We expect this system to give you quicker results while reducing the amount of time spent by multiple staff on your requests.  I hope this will lead to greater resident and business satisfaction while saving staff time and expense.  

This system was one of the strategic objectives I proposed when I was first elected to City Council.  I am excited to see the tangible benefits it will deliver and will share more details we you as they are available.

At our January 12 special meeting, Council also reviewed the results of a citywide poll on potential revenue measures that could be put on the November 2026 ballot.  We take the possibility of asking residents to increase their financial contribution to the City very seriously.  

The two ideas tested were 1) a ¼ cent increase in the sales tax to maintain public safety and current City services, and 2)  a bond to pay for the repair of many of our City buildings and infrastructure.  You can read the full report and watch the Council meeting at https://sanmateo.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=10838

The poling results indicated that San Mateans were open to considering a sales tax increase to maintain city services.  You were not in favor of considering a bond to pay for infrastructure improvements at this time.  Council voted, as a result, to have City staff begin a community outreach and education program on the potential sales tax, but not to proceed with the potential bond.  You will be hearing a lot about this in the coming months.  I look forward to talking with you about this and hearing what your opinions about these tradeoffs are.