Recap: 4/21/26 City Council Meeting
Meeting Summary
City Council received presentations on the upcoming budget audit, the 26-27 plan for road repairs, the city’s current vacancies, and updates to the municipal code. City Council voted to adopt restrictions on sales of Kratom, a drug that can act as both a stimulant or an opiate depending on the dose.
In Closed Session, City Council voted to pursue litigation against fire truck manufacturers over alleged price-fixing.
Explanations of the items being discussed can be found in the meeting preview.
Audit Presentation
Grant Thornton Risk Advisory Services gave a presentation on their company and the services they can provide the city following the recently discovered budget error. They separated their services into three tasks:
Task 1: review the budget and transactions to understand what happened and why. They estimate this step could take 5-6 weeks and the cost could be around $100k
Task 2: review budget for optimization and cost-savings opportunities. They would provide an in-depth review of expenses, investment strategies, and revenue generation to make recommendations to the council on how to further optimize the funds they currently have available. This can be done at the same time as task 1 and would cost around $130k
Task 3: perform a forensic audit and deep investigation to determine the extent of fraud (if any) and provide systemic solutions. This task is recommended to be performed after task 1, as task 1 will inform the company of where in the budget to put their focus. They stated they could do this prior to task 1, but that it is more economical to allow them to narrow the scope. This could cost between $500k-$1 million depending on the extent of the issues.
Zahra asked why the firm has only met with the Mayor, City Manager, and specific staff members. They stated that the initial meeting was to acquire information for this presentation, but that they plan to meet with each Councilmember directly. He then asked whether the forensic audit would include reviewing communications and public records, to which the firm responded affirmatively. Lastly, Zahra asked how long phase 3 would take. The firm was hesitant to provide a timeline as they emphasized the time can vary greatly depending on what they find
Charles asked about the return on investment for task 2. The firm didn’t provide an exact figure but emphasized it would provide council “additional levers to pull” to help solve the deficit. She asked whether something like this has been done in the past. The City Manager says there may have been internal reviews, but that there has not been an in-depth analysis by a third-party as far as he knows.
Dunlap spoke on how he believes they need to expand the seats in the ad hoc fiscal sustainability committee, and is open to task 2. He spoke about how Orange did a similar budget analysis and that they found the results to be helpful. He also stated that he hopes any findings from task 1 are reported to council immediately so they can move forward with the audit quickly. Lastly, he expressed interest specifically in looking at the Successor Agency/Redevelopment funds in-depth as that is where the $2.9 million error originated from.
Zahra shared additional comments to the firm, stating this is about accountability and not an exercise in public relations. He said he wants this to be an objective process to find the truth and rebuild trust. The firm confirmed that they plan to do an objective analysis and have no conflicts of interest within the city.
Public Comments
The first public commenter spoke about how he was denied a contract with the city despite being the lowest bidder due to not taking action in addressing disadvantaged communities (the funds being used for this project had this legal requirement). His lawyer spoke after him stating that he is apart of those communities and thus didn’t think he needed to take additional action.
Jensen followed-up on his comments last meeting where he spoke about the WWII memorial at Hillcrest Park. He said he doesn’t want strife with the council or staff, and would like to work with them. He shared that there were redwoods planted for each name on the memorial, 55 in total, but that the last one died in 2015. He said that these redwoods can be replanted as these trees are available in the county.
One public commenter asked that council reconsider its approach to cannabis dispensaries, encouraging regulating legal cannabis shops. He said that this is a growing industry, and that it feels like council is leaving money on the table. Lastly, he discouraged fines as it disproportionately impacts lower income communities.
Payton spoke about how he is a new business owner in the city. He runs the family-owned Uptown Burger and invited people to come to their ribbon cutting on April 30th. The City Manager remarked that he thought it was a good burger.
Multiple commenters spoke about recent council decisions, including the budget error, the proposed signal light, the trash contract, and the audit.
Council Reports
Charles
Charles shared that she attended the third annual Fullerton Women’s Festival and the Mosquito Vector Control District meeting. She shared that mosquito activity is going to be higher this year, so get rid of any standing water and use bug spray. Charles agreed with a public commenter requesting more transparency and simpler explanations of the budget, saying that perhaps the new CPA firm can include that in their presentation.
Charles spoke about how she has office hours at City Hall every Thursday from 12-2, except for the last Thursday of the month where she has it at another location around Fullerton. She announced that the office hours for the last Thursday of this month would be at Tricity Park.
Charles announced that she will be having a Town Hall on food insecurity in May, as a project in collaboration with a student intern from CSUF. She said there’s not a specific date set, but to watch for that announcement soon.
Zahra
Zahra thanked Congressman Lou Correa for bringing funds to Fullerton for the Fire Department. The funds totaled to $250k that will be used to upgrade their alert system, which will improve their response time.
He responded to the commenter who spoke on cannabis, stating that he supports making cannabis sales legal to improve safety through regulations and increase revenue. He then spoke about broader policy decisions that have been made that have hurt city revenues from his perspective: lack of a strategic business plan, closing the Walk on Wilshire, bad negotiations with tenants at the train station and delays to the hotel project downtown. He spoke about how the council is not acting with a vision for the future, but rather as a reaction to donors and consultants. Zahra then said that people shouldn’t thank councilmembers for doing the right thing, but expect them to do the right thing every time. He said the budget error was downplayed by other councilmembers, and that he is happy that there are more eyes on this council now.
Zahra then spoke about a concern that was raised last meeting regarding an ADU in a preservation zone. He said he spoke with someone at Fullerton Heritage who expressed concerns with the historical aspects of the development. He requested that they agendize an update to design standards, to which Jung said that Dunlap had already agendized this. Zahra responded that Fullerton Heritage do not have this understanding of what was agendized by Dunlap.
Zahra then spoke about how he wants a discussion about the upcoming State of the City, specifically the costs and an option to cancel the event. He said this is often just a PR stunt and, given the budget situation and our road conditions, he doesn’t see what there is to brag about. Charles seconded a discussion on costs of the event.
Lastly, Zahra requested a discussion on how the City sends out cease-and-desists.
Dunlap
Dunlap shared that he attended the grand opening for Labanz Bakery, stating it was delicious. He then spoke about how Rosary High School is undertaking the next stage of their growth plan, which is an exciting moment he hopes people will follow along with.
He talked about how he wants to look into seeking damages from the auditors who missed the initial budget error, in order for the city to recuperate some of their costs.
Dunlap then responded to a public commenter who claimed that Tony Bushala was the largest contribution to his campaign, which he stated was factually incorrect.
City Vacancies
City staff gave a presentation on the current vacancies within the city. Zahra clarified that this report doesn’t reflect staffing needs, but rather is a reflection of what positions the city has budgeted for but are not filled, which staff confirmed to be the case.
Zahra then asked the City Manager about a method used in the past to balance the budget, which would leave positions intentionally vacant to save on costs. The City Manager stated that this is a common method, but imperfect in his opinion. He spoke about how these vacancies may reduce costs, but not always, as it can increase the overtime consumption of existing employees and result in more contracted consultants. He said the real cost savings isn’t clear given how leaving the positions vacant can have negative impacts in other areas.
Charles asked about the current vacancies and how the City Manager is planning future recruitment. The City Manager said, given the current fiscal situation, he is hesitant to move forward with hirings in general.
Recodification Of Municipal Code
Multiple public comments were made requesting the new draft of the municipal code be made available to the public.
Charles asked if AI was used in this process which the City Clerk said it was not. Charles then asked if the new draft will be made available, which the City Clerk responded saying that it is available in her office but not uploaded (it wasn’t confirmed explicitly but it sounded like the size of the code was a barrier to uploading it online).
SB1 Funds For Roads
Zahra asked about Commonwealth and why this road is not up for repair. Staff said that the water main is up for replacement for next fiscal year, which is when the road will be completed. Zahra expressed frustration given how this is what was said to him last year, which staff replied that the issue is following the programming of the water system.
Road Repairs For 26-27
Dunlap and Zahra expressed support for more transparency in the road repair process, to allow residents to know when their road is up for rehabilitation.
Zahra asked staff for how much money staff would need to fully rehab the city’s roads. Staff replied that to bring them to pristine condition, it would cost around $200 million. Staff said that the current funds they have now are only enough to maintain current conditions.
Charles asked about active transportation upgrades around CSUF, specifically whether any of those upgrades would be present in the rehabilitation planned for Yorba Linda. Staff said there are no plans for that currently, but that if the opportunity presents itself they will pursue those upgrades.
Charles then asked about State College and Nutwood, specifically why there are delays with those projects. Staff spoke about how working with CalTrans can be difficult, as they have very long response times. They stated that CalTrans has taken 9 months to respond in the past.
