Fiscal Sustainability — A Divided Council and a Revenue Measure in Limbo

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San Leandro's fiscal debate has been marked by unusual transparency — and unusual dysfunction. The City Council failed to approve a direction to continue exploring a potential revenue measure for the November 2026 ballot after a heated debate about transparency and legal privilege over survey work — with council members and residents debating whether the city should spend $92,000 on polling and outreach for a possible November 2026 revenue measure and whether results should be public or covered by attorney-client privilege. The underlying fiscal picture tells the story: the city ended FY 2025 with a projected ending fund balance of about $69.6 million but drew down roughly $5.89 million from reserves — a trajectory that is unsustainable over the long term. The city's Council Goals explicitly list fiscal sustainability as the first priority, but disagreement about how to get there — and how much transparency to provide during the process — has produced stalemate.

Related cause: Budget priorities

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