To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: Fiscal Year 2026 Community Project Funding Requests
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
AUTHORIZE proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Community Project Funding requests and include the approved projects in the County's adopted FY 2025-26 Federal Legislative Platform.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This action has no direct fiscal impact. However, if the proposed Community Project Funding requests are included in the adopted FY 2026 federal budget, the County will receive additional federal funding to support local needs.
BACKGROUND:
The Board of Supervisors adopted the 2025-26 State and Federal Legislative Platforms at their January 21, 2025 meeting. The adopted Federal Platform includes a placeholder for federal funding needs for community projects, pending direction from the Board of Supervisors. Although the Community Project Funding (CPF) process and deadlines have not yet been finalized, the process of project identification and support typically begins in February, to ensure that the County can respond quickly once deadlines are set. In previous years, requests to Congressional offices have been due in early March.
In anticipation of a future process for CPF requests, staff recommends that the Board adopt a list of potential requests in order to ensure timely responses by the County once deadlines are set by our congressional delegation. The County Administrator’s Office has worked with County departments to solicit CPF requests for review in consultation with our Federal lobbyists.
Table 1 below outlines proposed, new CPF projects for inclusion in the County’s adopted FY 2025-26 Adopted Federal Legislative Platform. It is important to note that the approximate dollar amount of the proposed CPF requests are listed for reference. Following action by the Board, staff will continue to work with our federal lobbyists and congressional staff to make each request as competitive as possible, including the funding amount requested:
|
|
Table 1 - FY 2026 Requests |
Approx. Request Amount |
Congressional District |
|
1 |
Iron Horse Trail Double-Tracking in San Ramon |
$1,500,000 |
CD-10 (DeSaulnier) |
|
2 |
District 3 (Brentwood & East County) Youth Center Start-Up Costs |
$1,300,000 |
CD-10 (DeSaulnier) |
|
3 |
District 4 (Concord & Central County) Youth Center Start-Up Costs |
$1,300,000 |
CD-10 (DeSaulnier) |
|
4 |
District 5 (Northern Central County) Youth Center Start-Up Costs |
$1,300,000 |
CD-8 (Garamendi) |
|
5 |
Two (2) East Bay Radio Communications System (EBRCS) Emergency Communications Sites on Wheels (SOW) |
$1,760,000 |
Countywide |
In addition to the FY 2026 CPF projects identified in Table 1 above, FY 2025 CPF projects previously submitted, but that were ultimately not included in the FY 2025 federal appropriations bills, may also be considered for inclusion by our congressional delegation for funding. A list of the prior year’s CPF requests that were not included in the FY 2025 federal appropriations bills are listed below:
|
|
Table 2 - FY 2025 Requests |
Approx. Request Amount |
Congressional District |
|
1 |
Knightsen Wetland Restoration Project |
$2,000,000 |
CD-10 (DeSaulnier) |
|
2 |
Carquinez Middle School Trail Connection |
$2,000,000 |
CD-8 (Garamendi) |
|
3 |
San Pablo Avenue Complete Street/Bay Trail Gap Closure |
$2,000,000 |
CD-8 (Garamendi) |
It is important to note that FY 2025 CPF requests that were included in the FY 2025 federal appropriations bills will continue to be advocated for as previously authorized by the Board and supported by our congressional delegation.
The recommended projects in Tables 1 and 2 will continue to be developed in coordination with support of the sponsoring County departments and partners so that they will be ready to submit to Congress for consideration. Staff will provide updates to and seek direction from the Legislation Committee as the CRF process moves forward.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If a list of potential Community Project Funding requests is not approved by the Board, the County will not be able to advocate for them.