Welcome everybody to the 2025 State of the City. My name is Tim Quinn. I'm the CEO of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce. And we're so excited for you to be here today. And we're really excited to be back at the Venice Health Arena for the first time since 2006. So this is our second time here. We're so proud to be back. Let's give it up for the arena. I want to give a big shout out to the ASM Global staff. Thank you guys for all of your help in getting this set up to make this look so fantastic. One of my bosses, right? The Stockton Chamber President, Jamie Boswa, to say a couple words. Jamie. Hello, my name is Jamie Boswa, and it has been my pleasure to serve as the Stockton Chamber President for the last year. I want to start by saying thank you to all of our much appreciated sponsors. There are far too many for me to run through in a timely manner, but please see the inside cover of the program on your table, and you have been seeing the listing on the screens for the last few hours. I want to share a huge thank you to ASM Global and city staff for helping to make this a successful day and event. Thanks to all of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce members in attendance for their membership. Please raise your hands now to be recognized. If you didn't raise your hand and you're not yet a member, please join us. We have a lot of exciting things going on. From our fantastic annual events and our monthly mixers to our award-winning programs, we have something for everyone. If you are into sustainability, we have our award-winning Green Team San Joaquin program. If you want to get involved with preparing Stockton Unified High School students for the workforce and secondary education, we have our Business Education Alliance. If you want to learn more about the community and how you can make a difference, we have our Leadership Stockton program. Applications for the 2025-2026 class are open now. If you want to help curb retail theft, our newest program, Standing Together Against All Regional Theft, is for you. This public-private partnership will help with some proactive solutions to this nationwide problem. Make sure to download the Start app and create your profile if you haven't done so already. To learn more about any of the Chamber events or programs, you can visit StocktonChamber.org or stop by the Chamber booth on your way out to speak to one of our staff members. I could go on and on about the great things the Chamber does, but we have a lot to get to today. Now it's time for the main reason we're here today, to hear from the Mayor of Stockton. So without further ado, let me turn this over to the city staff and we'll start the meeting. It's my pleasure to introduce Mayor Christina Fugazi. good afternoon everyone before I get started I'd like to ask my fellow council members to join me on the stage because believe it or not this is an official City Council meeting can't get started till you guys get up here I would like to call this meeting to order city clerk take roll council councilmember Blower councilmember Enriquez councilmember Villa Padilla councilmember Ponce is absent councilmember Padilla vice mayor Lee and mayor Fugazi president we have a quorum geez I'm so much louder than everybody else I'll have to tone it down a little Okay, starting us off today will be Destiny Rivas. She is going to be giving us the land acknowledgement for Stockton. And joining her will be Joe Mays, who's going to be giving us the blessing. Hello, all of you. It is good to see you. My name is Destiny Rivas. I come from Stockton and I work at Stockton Unified Native American Indian Center. The city of Stockton acknowledges that the land and water that occupy that the land and water they occupy sits on ancestral unceded territory of the North Valley Miwok and the Central Valley Yokuts. We acknowledge the critical importance of the land and water to the indigenous people of California today and that the existence of tribal communities and preservation of traditional indigenous ways of life depend on secure and permanent land bases and the right of self-determination. The Central Valley Yokuts still do not have state or federal recognition in this land. Stockton boasts one of the largest urban Native American communities within, urban Native communities within 50 miles, there's no 50 miles radius of having a rancheria or reservation. You have the most diverse population of Native American communities in the country and that's because of something called the Indian Relocation Act of the 1956. Because of that, you have a huge population of Native communities. It's over 500 different tribes right here in Stockton. Your population is over 2% Native American. So Stockton recognizes the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples as a step towards acknowledging the historical injustices and ongoing impacts of colonialism. So we appreciate the city of Stockton's working with Native American communities to ensure we are no longer invisible and trying to take steps to create equity for the Native American peoples. And that's our land acknowledgement. I'm now going to introduce Uncle Joe. He is an elder. He is a Vietnam veteran. He is an author. He is a gore dancer. Joseph Mays will be doing a blessing for all of our council members. So if our council members could please rise so that he can bless them. We ask that you guys pray in your own denomination. He will be praying silently, but we are praying for their guidance, for their help, of our future. Uncle Joe. So his blessing is a council he is silently praying and he invites the crowd to play. He will bless the four directions, north, south, east, and west. Four is a powerful number within our Native American community. Thank you, Uncle Joe. Thank you so much City Council for letting us be part of your event. I'd like to now invite up to the stage Sacred Dawn Kaiser to do our Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise. Thank you. I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. . Hello, friends and relatives. It's very good to see you again today. My name is and my mother is and my father is . I am very honored to be here and I'm saying the Pledge of Allegiance for you all. Thank you. Okay, Miss Lakeisha Little Shaw. She's going to be giving us our national anthem. I'd like to invite Bishop Bridges to provide us with today's invocation. your presence here on today collectively as the city of Stockton we ask for your hand to be good upon us we ask for your strength for your wisdom for your courage we ask for your peace to be upon us as we invoke to do business for this city father we ask right now that you would give us wisdom from on high you said he that lack wisdom let him ask of God and that gives liberally to all men and withholdeth not. Father, we seek you for wisdom on today. Download into us what we need to do, how we need to do it, when we need to do it. Father, help us to wait in your presence. Hey, glory to God. Help us to wait before you. Help us to stand before you. Help us to seek your face while you may be found. Help us to call upon your name while you're yet near. In the name of Jesus. Father, we lift up our mayor. And we ask for your choice blessings to be upon her as she guides this city. Father, give her wisdom beyond her supernatural ability. Give her wisdom and strength and courage and insight on how to lead us as the people of Stockton. Father, bless her down sitting, her uprising, her incoming, her outgoing, everything she put her hands to do. God calls it to be a blessing. Bless every city council member, every person, Father, in a position of leadership. Bless us, strengthen us, guide us, lead us in the name of Jesus. Help us to speak on behalf of those that cannot speak for themselves. Help us to speak on those that are downtrodden, brokenhearted, crippled, lame, deaf, mute. Father, help us to stand for them. Help us to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. for the homeless, the lost, the in prison, the in bondage, the addicted, those that are away, those that lost their way. Father, help us in the name of Jesus. Help us to be a city that sets upon a hill which cannot be hid. And Father, we ask that you set this city on fire. Help us to burn with a passion for you. Help us to burn with a desire to do your will. Not our will, but let your will be done. Let your kingdom come in us as it is in heaven. And we thank you for it in advance to the extent we put our hands together collectively as the city of Stockton. In Jesus' name. usually at the beginning of the meetings we see if there's any public comment I know it was listed further down in the agenda but I want to ask our city clerk right now do we have any public comment we have not received any public comment cards thank you okay good afternoon once again I have to tell you I wasn't sure if any was going to show up today so I want to thank you all for being here for your time and for your trust and your continued investment in the future of our city. I'm taking a page out of Dr. Gill's speech book. She said the other night that her speech was like a skirt, long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep it interesting. I guess nobody got that one. Okay. THAT'S OKAY. MINE IS DEFINITELY LONG ENOUGH. SO IT'S BEEN JUST 161 DAYS SINCE I HAD THE HONOR OF STEPPING INTO THE ROLE OF MAYOR. AND I'M PROUD TO SAY TOGETHER WITH THE DEDICATION OF OUR CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER AND STAFF AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE PEOPLE THE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES OF STOCKTON. We've already made significant strides towards a safer, stronger, and more vibrant Stockton. We came into this year focused on action, not just promises, even though we'll keep them, but actual progress. And I'm proud to report we've been very busy. We developed a smoke shop ordinance to better protect our neighborhoods, especially our youth. ensuring that businesses operate responsibly and with accountability. We launched Light Up Stockton, bringing not just brighter streets and walkways, but renewed hope and safety into our communities. When we light up our city, we light up opportunities. We will be opening McKinley Park next week with a new pool. New pool, new sports fields, new courts, new park benches, new picnic areas. I mean, it's going to be fabulous. I hope that you all can make it. But this is giving families a place to gather, kids a place to play, and our community a reason to celebrate. Because like I always say, those that are first shall be last, and those that are last shall be first. And it's about time. we show some love to South Stockton. We've taken meaningful steps to strengthen public safety, making recruitment and retention of our firefighters and our police officers one of our top priorities. A safe city is a thriving city and we will continue to support the men and women who protect and serve Stockton with integrity. Our fire department, who you know was very, very busy this weekend, is being led by our new chief, Brian Carr. They've created a JPA, which is a joint powers authority, partnering with Lodi, with Tracy, and Mountain House departments to strengthen us. Chief McFadden and the Stockton Police Department have partnered with the sheriff, the district attorney, the CHP, the ATF, the FBI, the US Marshals. Does that cover the whole alphabet? I wasn't quite sure there. But they are focused on reducing gang violence and getting guns off our street. And it doesn't stop there. We've rolled up our sleeves to clean our parks, our streets, are vacant lots. We've partnered with Stockton 209 Cares, who primarily hires homeless people, Greater Valley Conservation Corp, who employs our youth, and Ready to Work, who employs those who are exiting incarceration. Because pride in our city begins with how we care for our shared spaces. On the financial front, we've begun the hard but necessary work getting our financial house in order under the direction of interim city manager Steve Coangelo we are making responsible decisions today to build a stable and prosperous tomorrow because this council will not put us back into bankruptcy And thanks to our strong partnerships at the state and federal level, we've made critical progress on repairing and strengthening our levies, protecting our homes, our economy, and our future. And this is what happens when we work together with focus, with purpose, and with a deep belief in all that Stockton can and should be. And of course, we're just getting started. We have more to do, but let me be clear. Stockton is moving forward, and we're moving forward together because we can't do this alone. And as I said earlier when I got sworn in, it's not about me, it's about we. To the residents of Stockton, thank you for your resilience, your voice, and your vision. You continue to show up, stand up, and speak up. To our city council and interim manager, Steve Coangelo, and all those that work for the city, thank you for your hard work and shared commitment. The state of our city is focused, energized, and rising. Now I'm doing my own little spin on how I want State of the City to go. So today, I have the great privilege of recognizing the people who keep stockton running not just behind the scenes but we have people that go out in the early mornings there at the late nights and moments of crisis when our city needs them the most i'm talking about our incredible city of stockton employees the heart and backbone of what keeps this city moving forward from public works to parks and rec finance to fire police department to planning department Each of you plays a critical role in making this city safer, cleaner, more efficient, and more connected. Your work might not always make the headlines, but it makes a difference every day. Whether you're fixing potholes, responding to emergencies, processing permits, improving our parks, keeping our streets clean, supporting our youth, or managing city resources, you show up, do the work, and serve with pride. In just the past few months, your efforts have transformed neighborhoods, supported families, and lifted this city forward towards its full potential. And none of it, I mean none of it, would be possible without your commitment. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your dedication, professionalism, and heart for Stockton. You are more than employees. You are problem solvers, public servants, and community builders. Our employees have been assaulted, bitten, shot at, chased, harassed, verbally berated, and cussed out. Yet they still show up and get the work done. And I do want to take a moment to recognize our employees who have literally paid with their lives serving this city. We owe debt of gratitude to your families and we will never forget you. We see you, we appreciate you, and we are deeply grateful for all that you do. Let's continue moving forward together with the same spirit of service, teamwork, and pride that defines the city of Stockton. So if you are a city employee, indulge me and please stand up. If you're a city employee, stand up. City of employees, stand up. I want you to look around this room. These are the people doing the work. So I tried to keep this a secret as long as I could, but some of you might have already read the program. If you read the program, you got keyed in. But now we are going to recognize a few of our amazing employees, and we're going to start with Councilmember Villalpudua. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you everyone for coming here. It's actually a good time today. We didn't have to go to port, and we're here. Nice air conditioning. Hopefully everyone's appreciating that. But let me get started this year. Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to introduce the show row of the year. Due to excellence work, Deputy Director of Public Works, Rosie Alvarez. Rosie, if you're hearing this, start walking over here. A proud native of Stockton. Rosie had dedicated over 26 years of her life to serve in our community through the Public Works Department as a graduate of Stockton's very own University of Pacific. Give her a clap for that. Her commitment to our city shines through in her years of loyal service. Throughout her career, Rosie has spurred numerous projects that have gratefully benefited our community. Most recently, she played a role in our completing our minor avenue project in district five represented where i'm at so thank you rosie for that showcase your dedication from the bottom of my heart thank you rosie for all you've done and for the outgoing that you have made to the beloved city i want to thank you we have done from the past to now and i wish you nothing from the best in the future thank you rosie This next employee actually started in 1996 as a tree surgeon. He transferred to the Municipal Utilities Department on June 16, 2008. And I think he might be listening because it's Jeff Vanover. So Jeff, can you come up? You got to walk up to the stage, Jeff. You can shake hands and kiss babies after. So Jeff is a plant maintenance mechanic. And you might be wondering, what does that person do? Well, if it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow. Maybe you've heard that. But he's responsible for things like pumps, Like when we have a lot of rain, you got to have your pumps working, valves at the wastewater plant, replacing chemical feed lines, and changing the water treatment membranes that kind of look like my hair. But just so you know, this man shows up every day for work so that your life is a little bit easier. So congratulations, Jeff. Thank you. Being behind a microphone is kind of a strange experience for me, as some of you that know me well, you know, that's BS. I haven't met a microphone I didn't like. But I've always had the concept that, you know, if I'm going to say something, make it worth be saying and make the people hear it so they can share the knowledge. This has been a wonderful ride here. I've got 29 years almost with the city now. I've done a lot of things here. I've seen it grow. I've seen it stumble. I've seen it prosper. I've seen a lot of things. But I always came back to this. A positive attitude, having an opportunistic kind of mentality about doing things. Be a good co-worker. Stay out of trouble as much as you can. Keep the stuff going. And remember that everybody out here makes a difference to add to the quality of life of being here in the city of Stockton. IT'S BEEN MY PLEASURE TO WORK ALMOST 29 YEARS WITH THE CITY IN VARIOUS JOBS. TREE CREW IN 96, WHEN WE HAD A BIG TREE CREW, WE TURNED OURSELVES INTO SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY PROUD. AND PEOPLE WERE COMING TO US. AND IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS COMING. IT'S A COMPLETE SURPRISE. THANK YOU, LAJUA, MR. MEL, JEFF, VANESSA. I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE IS TO THANK FOR THIS. TRULY AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE TO SERVE, A PRIVILEGE TO SERVE. THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE IN A POSITION TO DO SO, DO SO WITH PRIDE, PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD, AND KNOW THAT YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE GOOD, AND WE'LL ALL CONNECT THOSE DOTS AND COMMUNICATE AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. MICHELLE? NEXT UP, WE'LL HAVE COUNCILWOMAN PADILLA. Thank you, Mayor. This truly is a wonderful crowd here. Thank you, Mayor, for suggesting this. Okay, so I get the pleasure of introducing Karen Mora, Assistant Director of Human Resources. So Karen, please come on up. Karen is truly the backbone of human resources. She is someone who works quietly but behind the scenes, yet whose impact is felt across every single department, every team, and every single individual. In a role that she often requires balancing tough decisions with deep compassion, Karen leads with unwavering integrity, empathy, and reliability. I'm sorry, I'm a teacher. Reliability. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Anyways, I just want to add my own personal comment. It's people like Karen who quietly hold everything together. In every interaction I've had with her, she brings a sense of calm, clarity, and care that's rare to find. Her commitment to people not just policies, is what makes her truly exceptional. Thank you, Karen, for being the steady hand and the heart of the Human Resource Department. I don't have a speech like the previous one, but I do want to say thank you to the city entirely, leadership, my director, and really all the department heads. I've met wonderful people here, and so I really appreciate everyone's partnership. Thank you. Our next staff member, I have the honor of calling up Lori Green. She is from our San Joaquin County Public Library. Is Lori here? Lori Green has been a valued member of the Stockton San Joaquin County Public Library for over 35 years. Yes, that is a clap in itself. She is dedicated to serving the library and is also a dedicated Stocktonian. Lori has created the foundation of the SSJCPL's circulation policies as a circulation assistant and senior library assistant and has helped guide and train all new part-time and full-time library staff on circulation procedures and best practices. Lori's biggest passion is customer service. She knows longtime patron names, backgrounds, and likes and dislikes. She ensures that each patron who walks into the central library or calls the centralized library phone number feels welcomed and makes sure their questions and concerns are addressed. SSJCPL thanks Lori for her dedication and devotion to the library and making our library system what it is today. Thank you so much, Lori. Of course. I could not have been at my job this long if I didn't love it every day. I love the community I serve. I love the staff that I work with every day. It's just wonderful. And I'd like to make a special shout out to my mom at home. She's 93. Hi, Mom. Next up, we have Councilman Michael Blauer. Thank you, Mayor. It is my distinct pleasure and honor to recognize Officer Robert Johnson III, also known as Bobo. Can we get Officer Bobo up here? All right, he's making his way. Officer Robert Johnson III, affectionately known as Bobo by his friends, colleagues, and the community, began his career with the Stockton Police Department in December 1996. He follows in the footsteps of his father, who also served the department with distinction. With over 28 years of dedicated service, Officer Johnson has held a wide variety of assignments that showcase his versatility, commitment, and leadership. His roles have included patrol officer, field training officer, canine handler, gang violence suppression unit u.s marshals federal task force officer emergency vehicle operations course instructor currently officer johnson serves in the strategic operations section where he focuses on addressing blight in the city's unhoused population his success in this role is largely due to the strong relationships he has built and nurtured across the community throughout his career officer johnson's dedication to service mentorship and public safety continues to make a lasting impact on Stockton. Congratulations, Officer Bobo. Well, this was a total surprise. I had zero idea this was going to happen. But it was, yeah, that was very well played. Yeah, I've been here over 28 years. Anyone that knows me knows I love this city. My dad was here 30 years. My kid works for Public Works. My wife's a dispatcher. So I love the city. I love every day coming to work. Now that I've pushed into my career, when you're young, you look at that light at the end of the tunnel. When you get there, you start moving. wondering if you really want to go. So thank you so much. I really appreciate this. Love this city. Thank you. Got to have the blower selfie. It wouldn't be an event without one. I don't know how many of you have ever been to the permit center or understand what the community development department does, but this person has been a huge asset to the city of Stockton. I'd like to invite Freddie Lee Nixon up to the podium. Freddie actually came here from Texas. Usually it's the other way around. People from California go to Texas, but we'll take you here, of course. She came here to be closer to her family. So she joined the City of Stockton Community Development Department as a permit technician in September of 2019. Because of her hard work, determination, and excellent customer service, as well as a comprehensive knowledge of the building permit process, she was promoted to Senior Permit Technician in November of 2022. She has been instrumental in supporting the comprehensive training of newly hired permit technicians. And one of the great things that I love about this is that she is working on making that department more efficient so we can get those permits out faster. So Freddie Nixon. up we have the vice mayor all right good afternoon well first of all I'd like to say thank you for to the mayor for allowing us to do this because a lot of the people think the City Council is doing everything we're doing a lot of work but you all are doing the real work day to day so this is great that we're acknowledging folks All right, so I have the privilege of honoring or acknowledging Captain Kevin Taylor. So where's he at? Start walking over here, because I wrote a speech. It's going to be a minute. The mayor has made it a joke at City Hall that if I get the microphone, I won't give it up. And today, I'm not going to let you down. So today, we're going to pause to shine a light on what true public service looks like. Not the kind that asks for recognition, but the kind that quietly, steadily, and courageously serves day after day. And that is why I stand before you with great pride to honor a man who exemplifies the heart, soul, and strength of Stockton, and that is Fire Captain Kevin Taylor. Give him a round of applause because he made it up here before my second paragraph. So Captain Taylor joined the Stockton Fire Department in 2006, but his story didn't begin there. Before the uniform and the title, he was a student of design, earning his degree in graphic design from UC Davis. So if you ever get tired here, you can come to Hollywood a lot because we're hiring. And while others may have used that path to pursue personal success, Kevin felt a deeper calling, and that was to serve. And he has done exactly that with unwavering commitment for nearly two decades. From fire station two downtown to the front lines of urban search and rescue, hazardous materials, and water rescue operations, Captain Taylor has never hesitated to answer the call. He rose through the ranks not by asking for a seat at the table, but by earning it through grit, integrity, and leadership. And since becoming a captain in 2017, he has helped shape not just his team, but our city. But his service doesn't stop when the shift ends. Captain Taylor is the guardian of our history, managing the Stockton Fire Department Historical Society with care and purpose. And he preserves the stories of those who came before him, ensuring future generations know the legacy of courage they are inheriting. He also shares that history with our community, teaming up with our Public Information Office to bring the stories of our firefighters to life on social media. And through it all, Kevin remains grounded in what matters the most, and that's his family. He's a devoted husband to his wife, Dami, an emergency room physician, another hero in her own right, and a proud father of two beautiful children, Owen and Emma. And it is his family, his values, and his sense of duty that make him the extraordinary leader we honor today. So Captain Taylor doesn't ask for credit, like most of our staff don't. He doesn't boast. He just shows up every single day for Stockton. So we're going to show up for him today. And Captain Taylor, on behalf of a grateful city, we thank you. We thank you for your service. Thank you for your leadership. And thank you for showing all of us what courage, compassion, and community truly look like. Ladies and gentlemen, give him another round of applause. I'll try to be brief. I work for the Stockton Fire Department. My name is Kevin Taylor. I'm a fire captain on Engine 2 on the B shift. If you don't know anything about the fire service or about the Stockton Fire Department, you should know that you are blessed. The Stockton Fire Department is filled with individuals that are passionate about their job, that want to be here and serve the citizens of Stockton. In all of the country, the Stockton Fire Department stands out. as one of the busiest per capita in the nation. For 10 years, if you were to average those calls, we respond to approximately 50,000 emergencies with just now 13 firehouses and 54 line members on a day. We average almost one working structure fire every day. These numbers are against all common sense for the rest of the fire service in the nation. So those are the people that protect you and your homes and this community. And they go above and beyond every single day. You honor me with this opportunity and this beautiful plaque. And all I can say is that my service does not come from anywhere. It comes from the people before us. And if I could just mention one individual that has set up my career, my friend, Fellow Engine 2 Fire Captain Vidal Max Fortuna, who gave his life on January 31st, 2022, when he was on a working structure fire and he was shot and killed. I think about Max every single day. The Stockton firefighters and the Stockton police officers who also lost Officer Jimmy Inn to a similar fate not few months before. Your public service is here for you. And I'm beyond touched by this. So thank you very much. How many of you out there have gotten a parking ticket before? Anybody gotten a parking ticket? And have you been upset about getting that parking ticket? But you knew that you deserved that parking ticket. So I would like to invite Kevin Blankenship up here to the stage. Wow, I never knew everybody loved parking enforcement that much. Kevin joined the city of Stockton in October of 2022. While Kevin has been with the Economic Development Department just a mere two and a half years, his impact is widely felt. Kevin is a working supervisor that spends his time in the community ensuring that parking in and around the streets of the city of Stockton stay orderly and safe. Kevin spends a great deal of his time responding to customer parking concerns and they usually come through Ask Stockton. So if you have a concern, put it into Ask Stockton and Kevin will show up. These concerns range from Commercial vehicles, off route to name a few, blockways, blocked driveways, abandoned vehicles, which we all put in abandoned vehicles quite often. And while parking enforcement is not the easiest, most welcome, excuse me, most welcome Kevin because he's an ambassador with the mindset of always serving Stockton well. He even works with the police department and the city's parking operators, LAZ, to manage traffic for events downtown here in Stockton, as well as street closures. Kevin is the first to volunteer when help is needed and the last to leave. Kevin's can-do, positive attitude, and dedication have made a lasting impression in a short amount of time, making him one of Stockton's finest servants. Kevin. I didn't know that this was coming, so I appreciate it very much. Some of you know me in this room personally, It just makes me proud that born and raised here, raising my family here, I just try to do a good job. So it really means a lot to me that I got recognition. I just try to do my job day in, day out. I get a lot of help. I don't do this alone. There's other organizations that help me, Stockton PD, Abandoned Autos. I have the staff of the parking company of Laz, they help. So I get a lot of credit up here but it's not alone it's a group effort it's a team effort so I just want to say thank you guys okay now we're gonna have councilmember Enriquez all right so i was checking the awards just now and we i think we have one or two left i was hoping to present them at the midway point but please indulge me in this you know the mayor started as saying that you know we want to acknowledge our city staff which is a great new idea that we want to do acknowledge the hard people behind the scenes we have an energized new city council but she said one one particular group that we want to also ensure that are included in this process, and that's the people of Stockton. That's each and every one of you right here sitting down. So while some of you all might be dozing off, I want to get a sense of energy. Parking enforcement that was up there, maybe they left. Everyone that's watching, we all want to make sure that you're included in this, not just eating the great meal that we provided. But I want to just go off script just a little bit. So just indulge me in this before I present this next award. When we talk about the state of the city, we want to be able to ensure that we have good energy, right? We are Stockton. We want to highlight the positive sides of who we are as a city, the people, the organizations that you all represent. So I like to do a little chant and just get a sense of energy. We want the people listening to know that we're proud to be Stocktonians. It also helps you all get up a little bit and get moving before we get the next award going. But we want to show people that we are Stockton. I am Stockton. You're Stockton. This council is Stockton. So please indulge in a little chant. We might do it every year. We'll see. We'll find out. But this council is energetic and we want to show that. So every time I say we are, you all say Stockton. And we're going to say it three times. And I want to make sure that Lisa right now is having her delicious burrito at Nenas. can hear us. I want to make sure that Juan, who's walking into his counseling office at Delta, can hear us. I want to make sure that Susan, that's downtown, maybe getting her parking ticket, can hear us, right? So, three times, and the third one better be the loudest, okay? So, are y'all with me? Everyone listening in? Y'all in the back? Y'all good back there? There we go. There we go. Thumbs up. All right. We're going to do it three times. We're going to warm up. First one's a warm up. All right. We are. Okay. All right. All right. We are. All right, everybody. This is for Lisa, Susan, and Juan. They better hear us. Last one. We are Stockton. All right. Thank you. All right. Now actually on to business. So thank you for that. But we want to make sure that, again, we want to show people that we have the energy and we're proud to be Stockton. This next award, as city council, we always say we have two big important things that we have to do, the most important things. One of them is approving our budget and our finances. We have nearly a billion dollar budget. And in the last week, for many of us, our first time having to sit down over 10 hours of getting the right numbers in so we can ensure we're providing the right services for our people matters. And the people behind the scenes work day in and day out and the finance team to ensure that we're crunching the numbers, we're not in a deficit. As the mayor said, this council will fight hard to make sure that we don't go bankrupt. And with that, we want to acknowledge Brandon Sepulveda. So if we can please come up, Brandon. For stepping up during a time of period of staff shortages to provide exceptional support in maintaining the financial stability in our city. Despite the challenges, Brandon stepped up. proactively to provide support, ensuring seamless budget management and maintaining operational efficiency. Brandon's commitment, adaptability, teamwork, exemplify exceptional professionalism have been extremely instrumental. We are grateful for his invaluable contributions and unwavering support. Through meticulous budget oversight, timely adjustments, and proactive problem solving, Brandon ensured that critical financial operations continued without disruption. His dedication and expertise were vital in safeguarding our resources and enabling the team to navigate the challenges effectively. Brandon's contributions have been crucial in upholding the integrity and stability of our financial management, and we are so grateful to have Brandon on our team and to serve graciously as well the entire finance team. So thank you and congratulations, Brandon. also a big surprise for me I didn't prepare anything but I do want to thank all of the wonderful city employees that I work with day in and day out I've only been with the city for about two and a half years but it's been a wonderful experience and I'm hoping to stick around for a long time and watch the city grow and prosper so thank you to the council and to all the city staff I work with one more employee and I have to tell you it was extremely difficult to make sure that this person did not know that they were getting recognized today this person is a proud e-house graduate she is the wife of Everett and the mother of Anthony as well as the mother of Councilman Blower Enriquez vice mayor and Myself, Fonse, all of us. Florence Lowe, please come up here. Come on, Flo. Florence, Florence. You might not realize what Florence does, but she came to Stockton in 1991. She's been here quite a long time. she worked in asd she actually has a degree in accounting she then worked for public works she worked for the housing and redevelopment agency which our department which we don't even have anymore uh... and then in two thousand two there was a city manager by the name of mark lewis by the name of mark lewis who had her come into the city manager's office and be in charge, I shouldn't say in charge, should I? Work with the city council. Now, she answers phone calls for all of us. She checks emails for all of us. She gives us invitations for all of us. She sees when can we meet together for all of us. She literally works, I don't know how she gets it all done, sunup to sundown. She reads every Ask Stockton report that has to do with us and she works on the agenda on top of it and then she's tagged on every single email when it comes to communication for this council to staff she's usually the last person to leave the second floor of city hall everyday and she's been with me for eight years now and uh... i call her boss because i think she's an amazing boss lady and if anybody can herd cats Florence can herd cats I just want to say thank you to the council And actually, I could not do my job without every single employee in the city of Stockton and all the departments, because I couldn't do it without all of you. So I want to thank all of the departments, all the employees for letting me pester you on a daily basis and responding to me. Thank you. Simply put, Ain't no stopping us now. We're on the move. This is what progress looks like when we lead with clarity and act with unity. And we're just getting started. To our residents, businesses, employees, and council, thank you. The state of our city is strong, focused, and rising. And don't pay attention to the negative rhetoric or who's on what team. Because we're on Team Stockton. We're all in this together. You've heard that over and over again. So speak positivity. Speak it into existence. Because we are champions. You know, we got the Stockton Kings. We're champions here. We are loyal to the soil. And we are one Stockton. Thank you.