Vacaville City Manager, department heads to forgo raises
Vacaville City Manager Savita Chaudhary announced at Tuesday evening's City Council meeting that she will forgo a raise and Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for this year. She said the city's department heads, City Attorney and Assistant City Manager all chose to forgo COLAs this year as well.
"This collective action reflects a strong sense of accountability and our commitment to lead by example," Chaudhary said. "Through this commitment, the leadership is reinforcing its focus on protecting the essential services and maintaining the city's financial health during this challenging budget cycle."
"These are tough times, and I appreciate everyone stepping up," Mayor John Carli said in reply.
The council also ratified Carli's nomination of Heather Krause for a one-year term to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Krause received the nomination after another applicant appointed at a previous meeting decided not to take the position. Krause has lived in Vacaville since 2020 and has two sons who have graduated from Vacaville High School. She said her children's involvement in athletics when they were younger got her interested in Parks and Recreation.
"I love the town, I love everything about Vacaville, and I have been eager to jump in to provide any assistance I can in becoming a part of the community," she said.
Councilmember Sarah Chapman expressed concern about the amount of water used by Artificial Intelligence during council member comments. She said she learned about the issue with Councilmember Jeanette Wylie at the California League of Cities Conference recently.
Councilmember Ted Fremouw moved to put on a future agenda a discussion on De Colores Park due to the city's financial situation. Councilmember Roy Stockton offered a second to that motion. Stockton later said he would like to have a discussion about cutting other future city amenities to provide more funding for public safety.
"It's a big price tag that we are getting ready to spend money on in the coming years," Fremouw said.
Housing and Community Services Director Tamara Colden said the project currently has $6.7 million in Measure M funds and $6.7 million in state grant funds allocated. The city currently has an application in for about $6 million more in Section 108 funding.
About $800,000 in downtown bond funding and about $800,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funding have also been allocated, Colden said. About $400,000 has already been spent on the project in CDBG funds.
Chaudhary said the city would lose all grant funding from the project if it pulls its own funding. She said the design for the project is about 90 percent completed, but it remains on hold because the city is still waiting for federal funding to be approved.
Vice Mayor Michael Silva, a longtime champion of De Colores Park, asked Fremouw if he had any discussions with staff about this issue before suggesting it to the council. Fremouw said he had not. The motion passed 4-3 with Silva, Chapman and Wylie voting no.
Wylie suggested that the city name a Poet Laureate, similar to Vallejo, Benicia and other communities in the region, which the council expressed support for and directed staff to follow up on.
Community and Economic Development Director Erin Morris received a proclamation from the council honoring May as Building Saftey Month. In 2025, she said, the Building Division issued 3,942 permits, completed 1,465 plan reviews, collected more than $25 million in fees and completed 16,643 building inspections.
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