Mayor Tim Hepburn was absent Monday night, so Mayor Pro Tem Meshal "Kash" Kashifalghita ran the Council meeting—and there was a lot on the agenda to run.

🔗 June 1 City Council Meeting Agenda Packet (pdf)

✅ Consent Calendar

All consent items were approved—with one exception pulled for separate discussion: the e-bike ordinance.

🔥 Hot Topic

E-Bike Ordinance—Final Adoption

After months of discussion, La Verne officially has new rules for electric bikes, scooters, and other regulated mobility devices on the books. The ordinance passed—but not unanimously.

The most contested issue: whether Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes should be allowed on sidewalks. The ordinance permits it, and Police Chief Gonzalez made the case with data—since April 2022, La Verne has had zero bicycle collisions on sidewalks. All incidents have been on roads. The City's insurer, the California JPIA, also recommended against a full sidewalk ban, noting potential City liability if riders are pushed into traffic and get hit.

Council member Steve Johnson dissented. He lives near Old Town and said it simply doesn't make sense to have e-bikes competing with pedestrians on sidewalks.

The rest of the Council supported the ordinance as a first step—with an emphasis on first. Multiple members noted it's a living document, and if the data changes in six to 12 months after enactment, it can be revisited.

The ordinance will go into effect July 2, 2026. Before enforcement kicks in, there will be an education period—likely 30 to 60 days—with social media campaigns and outreach.

The vote: 3-1 (Johnson dissenting, Hepburn absent)

Read more

It’s Official! La Verne Adopts New Rules for E-Bikes

The new ordinance adds age restrictions, lighting requirements and a misdemeanor penalty for violations.

La Verne DailyStaci Baird

Discussion Calendar

Measure GG—Direction on a Potential Ballot Measure

This is one to pay attention to.

Measure GG is the parcel assessment La Verne voters approved in 1980 to fund paramedic services. According to the City of La Verne website, Measure GG funding helps support Advanced Life Support emergency medical services and ambulance transport operations. Under the City's resident billing program, insurance may be billed for covered services, but residents do not pay out-of-pocket costs beyond the Measure GG assessment.

The assessment started at $1.75 per month per household. Today it's $6.90. In 45 years, it's only gone up about $5.

Since 1981, the general consumer price index in the LA area has increased about 300%. Medical costs have increased closer to 700%. Measure GG, even with its built-in escalation mechanism, hasn't kept up.

Fire Chief Brandon Coatney laid out the numbers. Measure GG currently generates approximately $1.06 million per year. EMS billing—where the City bills insurance for transport services—brings in another $1.7 million annually. Together, that's about $2.76 million toward a program that costs approximately $3.88 million to run. That leaves a $1.04 million gap—roughly 27% of the program's cost—absorbed by the General Fund every year.

For context on what that program delivers: the City's CARES data (which tracks cardiac arrest outcomes) shows La Verne has significantly improved its performance. The rate at which paramedics restore a pulse in cardiac arrest patients has more than doubled—from 14.8% to 33.3%. Survival to hospital discharge has improved from 3.7% to 11.1%. Both metrics now exceed county, state, and national benchmarks.

The question before the Council wasn't whether to raise the assessment—it was whether to direct staff to develop a formal ballot measure for November. The Council said yes. They also said: come back twice before we vote, so the public has an opportunity to weigh in.

Staff floated some potential assessment ranges for comparison:
$12.50/month would generate approximately $1.92 million annually
$14/month would bring in about $2.15 million
$15/month would generate roughly $2.3 million

Those figures are illustrative—no amount has been proposed yet.

One thing that came up in legal discussion: because this is technically an assessment, not a tax, it would only require a simple majority (50% plus one) to pass—not the two-thirds threshold required for a tax measure.

Measure GG may be back on the June 15 agenda for additional public discussion, with a formal information package at the July 20 meeting and Council action at the Aug. 3 meeting. The deadline to submit to the LA County Registrar is Aug. 7 for the November ballot.

Consensus to move forward. No formal vote required.

Q3 Budget Review — FY 2025-26

Finance Director Christy Lopez presented the third quarter financial update. The General Fund is trending approximately $300,000 over budget on personnel costs. About $42,000 of that is vacation payouts tied to retirements and departures—expenses that have historically been funded from designated reserves.

No General Fund appropriations were requested yet. Lopez said she expects to know more once the fiscal year closes and the approval period ends in August. If the overage remains primarily tied to those accrued leave payouts, staff may return to ask the Council to tap reserved funds set aside specifically for that purpose.

The one new appropriation: $57,000 for fuel modification activities, funded by FEMA money the City didn't expect to receive this year. Additional supplemental appropriations in other funds—totaling around $165,000 across the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, Measure A, the fire equipment fund, and miscellaneous grants—were also included, most offset by corresponding grant revenue.

The vote: 4-0 (Hepburn absent)

FY 2026-27 Draft Budget — Follow-Up and Direction

This was the heaviest conversation of the night—and one that brought out direct public comment.

The structural gap going into next fiscal year remains approximately $233,628. Staff has identified about $75,000 in proposed cuts, leaving around $158,000 still to resolve.

"What I've heard a lot from our residents is how important our safety is—with our fire being in-house and our police being in-house—which is a very expensive thing to have compared to contract cities that contract with the county sheriff's and the county fire department, which do not give the personal experience that we benefit from and enjoy with our city," said Council member Rick Crosby.

"I'll say it again and again—we live in a city that does not have a car dealership, that does not have a Costco, that does not have hotels. So we don't see the revenue that some other cities see," Council member Wendy Lau said.

The Council walked through the options in detail. On community events: the total net annual City subsidy for all Parks & Recreation special events is approximately $43,000. Nobody wants to eliminate them—but the direction was clear: think differently. Combine events where possible. Pursue more sponsorships. Consider modest participation fees as an alternative to cutting programming. Lau suggested exploring bundled sponsorship packages rather than asking the same businesses to respond to event-by-event requests throughout the year.

One note of reality from Lau: local businesses are also feeling economic pressure, and the Fourth of July committee has already seen sponsorship declines from longtime contributors. Sponsorships alone won't close the gap.

The preschool at Oak Mesa is moving to Veterans Hall and that space will become rentable space, said Parks & Recreation Director Yvonne Duran.

The Veterans Hall discussion surfaced something worth noting: Duran said it is uncommon for a municipal veterans hall to be used by a VFW post without any rental fee or maintenance contribution. Durant confirmed the City is already moving to put a formal agreement in place with VFW Post 12034—and that youth sports organizations, similarly, are being brought into formal agreements for the first time. La Verne Little League and Girls Softball are currently paying far less than comparable cities, Durant said.

"A lot of these organizations pay upwards to $15,000 a season. We get pennies right now. So we need to look at that in terms of sustainability, our infrastructure, how we're going to move forward," Duran said.

One public commenter pushed back hard on the overall direction of the budget conversation, expressing frustration that when cuts come, they seem to fall on services for residents first—while employee costs continue to grow.

At what point are we going to say, 'I'm sorry, staff, that you don't like it, but we can't keep raising the money for you," asked Pam Berry during public comment. "Why is it always that the thing related to the residents is first—that the expenses are for the residents first, that the trimming is for the residents first?"

Crosby's direction: keep our reserves, target around 28-30% in reserves.

"We want to make sure that we maintain a balanced budget. You know, a structural deficit is never good," Crosby said.

Council member Steve Johnson concurred.

"I agree that we want to try to keep as many things as possible, but it's also the reality of is it sustainable?" Lau said. "And are people going to have to get real uncomfortable and comfortable with change?" Lau said.

Kash asked staff to "please continue to collaborate and consolidate." He then offered a statement that Lopez has been known to say: "Change is good, but spare change is better."

No vote required. Item received and filed. The City Manager will return to the June 15 meeting with a balanced budget—presented two ways: one that uses reserves to close the remaining gap, and one that doesn't.

Police Middle Management Association—New Contract

The Council approved a new Memorandum of Understanding with the La Verne Police Middle Management Association—the bargaining unit that covers sergeants, lieutenants, and, for the first time formally, the police captain classification.

The previous MOU expired in June 2025. Negotiations ran through early spring, influenced in part by the concurrent negotiations with the Police Officers Association (POA), since lieutenant salaries are directly tied to sergeant pay in the POA agreement.

Key provisions of the new three-year contract (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2028): compensation increases are effective May 3, 2026—the first full pay period after the tentative agreement was reached. Medical benefit contributions will increase in July 2026, aligned with the POA structure. A new master's degree educational incentive and longevity pay provision was established. Employee CalPERS contributions will increase from 9% to 11% by July 2027. The Council also approved an additional $19,412 appropriation from Measure LV to cover current-year costs.

The vote: 4-0 (Hepburn absent)

👥 Upcoming Dates to Note

Senior Movie Matinee
Monday, June 8, 12:30 p.m.
La Verne Community Center, 3680 D St., La Verne

Public Financing Authority (EIFD) Meeting
Wednesday, June 10, 9 a.m.
City Hall Council Chambers, 3660 D St., La Verne 

Planning Commission Meeting
Wednesday, June 10, 6:30 p.m.
City Hall Council Chambers, 3660 D St., La Verne 

Senior Seminar Series/ Health, Wellness, and Wholeness
Friday, June 12, 10:30 a.m.
La Verne Community Center, 3680 D St., La Verne

City Council Meeting
Monday, June 15, 6:30 p.m.
City Hall Council Chambers, 3660 D St., La Verne 
On the agenda: Measure GG public discussion, balanced budget options.
How to attend: In person or via Zoom at LaVerneCA.gov/zoom
Call: 1-669-900-6833, ID can be found in the City Council Agenda

Concert in the Park series begin Sunday, June 28, 6:30 p.m. with a Pat Benatar Tribute band| Heritage Park, 5001 Via de Mansion. The Concert in the Park series is a free event. Bring blankets, lawn chairs, and your appetite for live music, and tasty treats.

Fourth of July Parade applications still open. Commemorative t-shirts available online. Sponsorships welcome. Visit the La Verne Friends of the Fourth of July website for more information.