Pasadena officials are asking the City Council on Monday to authorize a $7 million payment to CalPERS and a refinancing-style move intended to reshape the City’s largest public-safety pension debt, a proposal City staff presents as a way to reduce long-term costs and steady annual payments as the City’s own five-year forecast anticipates ongoing General Fund shortfalls.
In an agenda report routed through the Finance Committee, the Finance Department recommends that the City Manager execute documents with CalPERS and the City’s Section 115 pension trust to make an “additional discretionary payment” toward the City’s unfunded accrued liability in the Safety plan and initiate a CalPERS “Fresh Start.”
The pension trust was created in 2017 with $10.5 million from the General Fund and, the report says, had grown to about $14.9 million as of Oct. 31 through investment earnings. The City had discussed using the funds in early 2020 but paused amid pandemic-era economic uncertainty, according to the report.
The report links the proposal to broader budget pressures. It states that while Pasadena has balanced its General Fund operating budget annually, that has been “challenging,” and the current five-year forecast projects a $7.6 million shortfall in FY 2027 and deficits each year after that. The report describes pension obligations as a key contributor to rising General Fund expenditures and presents tables comparing the baseline forecast with a scenario using the trust to implement the Fresh Start and discretionary payments.
A “Fresh Start,” staff explains, is a CalPERS option that consolidates numerous individual unfunded-liability components into a single amount over a new repayment term; the report says it can yield net savings when paired with an additional payment from the trust. In the scenario described, the City would make the $7 million payment in FY 2026 and use the remaining trust balance for additional payments over subsequent years, which staff says would reduce repayment duration and produce savings over time.
The same meeting agenda includes other policy matters that could shape City governance and regulation beyond the budget discussion.
The Council is scheduled to consider adopting an anti-discrimination policy statement and whether to direct the City Attorney to return with a draft ordinance within 90 days addressing discrimination in private employment, housing, education and commerce. An agenda report from the City Manager’s Office says Pasadena does not currently have a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy statement of the type proposed, though it cites an existing city employment equal-opportunity ordinance and a separate AIDS anti-discrimination ordinance adopted in 1988.
A draft policy statement presented in the materials declares that “No person shall discriminate against another person in private employment, housing, education or commerce” on the basis of enumerated characteristics, including race, religion, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, gender identity and sexual orientation, among others. The report also outlines enforcement options discussed by staff—civil action, administrative action and criminal prosecution—while noting that any ordinance would be brought back later if directed by the Council.
Two ordinances are also listed for adoption on second reading. One would amend the Pasadena Municipal Code to create a new City Council Housing, Homelessness, and Planning Committee, while also making changes related to the Council’s Economic Development and Technology Committee.
The other would amend the City’s police towing franchise system. A City Attorney/City Prosecutor fact sheet says the changes would extend the term of nonexclusive towing franchises from one year to three years, expand the definition of “police towing” to include towing connected to the Transportation Department’s parking enforcement program, incorporate the Police Department’s towing franchise operations manual into the municipal code, and allow the Council to limit the total number of towing franchises granted.
Public safety oversight is also on the agenda as an informational item: an annual report by the Independent Police Auditor. The agenda report—submitted by City Attorney/City Prosecutor Michele Beal Bagneris—describes the auditor’s role as advising the Community Police Oversight Commission, reviewing categorical uses of force, reviewing investigations of personnel complaints of bias-based policing, and recommending changes to Police Department policy, procedures or training. It says the report is the first to the Council by auditor Teresa Magula of OIR Group LLC and that an attached presentation summarizes the work produced during the 2025 calendar year and provides a forecast for the upcoming year.
On the operational side, the agenda includes several major contract items—many on the consent calendar—spanning technology, infrastructure and facilities.
The Council is being asked to authorize a $1,489,315 contract with Motorola Solutions for the purchase, installation and training of 12 police dispatch radio communication consoles, replacing a platform the Department of Information Technology says will be out of support in 2026. The agenda report describes the replacement as intended to mitigate risks of running end-of-life equipment and improve dispatch processing capabilities.
A separate Police Department agenda report recommends a $1,507,109 contract with CDW for ruggedized convertible computers and related equipment, describing the goal as issuing laptops with integrated cellular internet access to employees with field duties and reducing vehicle idle time required to keep in-vehicle computers powered and logged in.
In transportation infrastructure, the Council is asked to reject all bids for the Walnut Street Corridor Signal Improvement Project—described as upgrades along Walnut Street between Fair Oaks Avenue and Greenwood Avenue—after staff concluded that costs “as currently scoped” exceeded identified and available funding. The Public Works report says staff intends to repackage the project and issue a new solicitation reflecting available resources and any resulting scope adjustments.
Other capital items include a recommended $1,037,398 contract for a redesigned playground project at Brenner Park (235 Barthe Drive), with the agenda report citing community input favoring relocation of the play area within the park for better visibility and usability.
The Council’s public meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue. The agenda notes that a separate Closed Session Special Meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., followed by an additional closed-session segment listed on the regular agenda prior to the public meeting. The closed-session materials enumerate multiple matters, including pending litigation, real property negotiations identified by address, and a conference with labor negotiators regarding the City Manager position, before the Council reconvenes in open session.
The full agenda and its accompanying staff reports is online and can be read here.
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