The City Council on Monday will consider modest annual adjustments to taxes and fees associated with New Year’s Day events and the Rose Bowl Game, in accordance with city code and inflation indexing.
Under the proposal from the Department of Finance, the City Council will approve scheduled rate increases effective February 1 for the Grandstand Permit Application, the Rose Bowl Admission Tax, and the New Year’s Day Related Business Grandstand Seat Surcharge.
The recommended changes reflect a 3.51% rise in the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim area between October 2024 and October 2025.
According to the agenda report, the Grandstand Permit Application Fee would increase from $0.88 to $0.91 per seat, with the minimum fee rising from $56.88 to $58.87.
The Rose Bowl Admission Tax would remain largely unchanged, with minor rounding adjustments that bring the maximum rate to $2.24 per ticket.
The Grandstand Seat Surcharge for New Year’s Day–related vendors would increase from $7.61 to $7.87 per seat.
The changes are required under the Pasadena Municipal Code, and are based solely on inflation and will generate additional revenue but will not have a material impact on the city’s Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget or affect other capital or operational programs.
Here are the remaining items on Monday’s consent calendar.
- A $297,000 Tree Planting Contract to United Pacific Services
The City Manager Miguel Márquez would be authorized to enter into a contract for citywide tree planting services as part of the city’s ongoing effort to maintain and expand its urban forest.
The Department of Public Works recommended the contract following a competitive bidding process that drew six proposals. United Pacific Services, based in South Gate, submitted the lowest responsive and responsible bid at $270,000, with an additional $27,000 contingency included for potential change orders.
The City, a Tree City USA for 35 consecutive years, manages approximately 60,000 street trees. Over the past three years, Public Works crews have planted more than 1,400 new trees, and plans call for 600 additional trees to be planted during Fiscal Year 2026.
The program supports Pasadena’s long-term sustainability goals, enhances public safety, and preserves the health of the city’s urban canopy. The funding for the contract will come from existing street maintenance operating budget appropriations.
- A $1 Million Contract for Citywide Sidewalk Repairs
A contract with CJ Concrete Construction, Inc. for the city’s annual Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Citywide Sidewalk Improvements and Miscellaneous Sidewalk Repair Program for Fiscal Year 2026.
The company’s $744,500 base bid came in 29 percent below the city engineer’s estimate, allowing staff to recommend a larger-than-usual contingency of $255,500 to maximize the amount of work completed while market prices remain favorable.
The project, created in 2016 following a citywide sidewalk inventory that identified more than 1.1 million square feet of damaged pavement, is part of Pasadena’s long-term effort to improve accessibility and pedestrian safety. Since its inception, the city has invested $11.5 million to replace nearly 900,000 square feet of sidewalk.
This year’s work will include the removal and replacement of roughly 55,000 square feet of sidewalk at more than 450 locations citywide, as well as curb and gutter repairs to improve stormwater flow. Construction is expected to begin in March .
Under the city’s sidewalk ordinance, property owners are responsible for repairing damage along their frontage when making improvements valued at more than $20,000. The new contract includes privately funded repairs from those fees, with $332,885 being transferred from prior-year accounts into the 2026–2030 program to cover those costs.
CJ Concrete has completed six similar Pasadena sidewalk projects totaling $8.5 million in recent years and received favorable references from other agencies, according to the staff report.
- City Council Could Upgrade Collections Software Under $443,000 Contract
A contract with Avenu Insights & Analytics, for the upgrade of the city’s collections software under a five-year agreement not to exceed $443,290.
According to a Department of Finance report, the city’s current system, the Columbia Ultimate Debt Collection System (CUBS), is obsolete and no longer supported by the developer. The proposed upgrade to Avenu’s modern, hosted software will improve the city’s ability to manage and recover delinquent accounts — including property damage, returned checks, paramedic ambulance services, utility bills, and civil citations.
The Municipal Services Collections Division receives an average of 120 new accounts per month, each with an average balance of about $700, and collected more than $2 million in Fiscal Year 2025.
Avenu Insights, established in 1978, provides revenue recovery and software services to more than 3,000 state and local governments nationwide, including Los Angeles, Sarasota, Fla., and the state of Louisiana. The company already manages Pasadena’s Utility Users Tax and Transient Occupancy Tax systems.
The software will allow city staff to create and track payment plans, send automated electronic notices and text messages, and generate customizable reports and dashboards for data analysis.
Funding for the software upgrade will come from existing and future appropriations in the Finance Department’s General Fund operating budget, with no indirect costs anticipated.
- Pasadena to Consider Expanding Disaster Recovery Consulting Contract to $1.45 Million
The Pasadena City Council on Monday will consider authorizing the city manager to amend the city’s contract with Frame Group LLC, increasing the total not-to-exceed amount to $1.45 million for ongoing disaster recovery consulting services following the January 2025 windstorm and critical fire events.
The amendment would add $1.2 million to the existing $250,000 contract, allowing the city to continue working with Frame on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) reimbursements, insurance claims, litigation assistance, and long-term recovery planning. Funding will come from the city’s unappropriated General Fund balance, which will be added to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Finance officials said Frame’s work has been critical in helping Pasadena respond to FEMA’s rapidly changing information requests and complex reimbursement requirements. The firm is assisting the city with damage assessments and funding recovery for key infrastructure projects, including the Don Benito reservoir and the Police Training Center, both of which require extensive technical analysis and coordination with multiple agencies.
Finance officials said the expanded contract is necessary to maintain progress as FEMA accelerates project approvals and to ensure the city recovers the maximum possible reimbursement from federal, state, and insurance sources.
According to the report, Pasadena the City to recover most of the contract cost through insurance coverage (up to $1 million) and FEMA management cost reimbursements capped at 5% of approved project totals, currently estimated at $450,000.
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