State of the City Address 2026
The annual State of the City Address provides an opportunity to reflect on Folsom’s progress and share priorities for the year ahead. From public safety and infrastructure to economic development, parks, and education, the address outlines how the city is planning for a strong and sustainable future.
Due to a technical issue, a complete video recording of the address is not currently available. If a full recording becomes available, it will be added to this page.
Mayor’s State of the City Address – Prepared Remarks
Good afternoon, Folsom! I am deeply honored to serve as your mayor this year and to be able to share with you the State of Our Incredible City.
I’d also like to take a moment and acknowledge my fiancée, Tara Baird. I am sure her transitional kindergartners over at Blanche Sprentz are missing her today, so I thank you for being here and for your support this year as I represent the city. This is Tara’s second year teaching here in the Folsom Cordova School District and so I get to see firsthand the great work our teachers do in Folsom schools each and every day. Thank you to all of our educators for the work you do to prepare our youth for the journey ahead.
As I reflected on today’s speech, I wanted to share a bit of my own personal history with the State of the City. In fact, I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for this tradition. Eighteen years ago, I boarded a plane from London to Sacramento, having never been to Northern California. We came seeking the outdoor lifestyle and fertile ground for our new small business. We were armed with demographic data from the internet and six months of corporate housing. Data had driven us to Sacramento, but we bounced around, opening our first location in Cameron Park, moving to Arden for a bit, joining a couple Chambers of Commerce and buying a house in El Dorado Hills. Not sure if you all remember 2008, but not many folks were looking to start small businesses at that time.
In January 2009, then-Folsom Mayor Steve Miklos gave the State of the City address and acknowledged the Great Recession’s impact on Folsom. He also shared that the Palladio was still under construction when most big developments had come to a screeching halt. He shared that Cal-ISO’s new facility was moving forward, that the Sutter Streetscape project was underway, that Folsom Ranch annexation was proceeding according to voter-approved guidelines, and the Folsom Lake Crossing would soon be open. Many of you who have led or contributed to these projects are here in this room today, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge you. Personally, I’ll never forget Harry Elliot continuing to invest in Folsom and the Palladio when the economic future seemed very uncertain. These iconic projects shaped the city we know today and were delivered during a period of steep declines in tax revenues when the city had to draw on reserves. Mayor Miklos shared a story of Folsom’s resilience and a bright future for its residents and businesses despite the challenges.
So, here I am, almost 20 years later, and I really hope there are a couple future Folsom business owners here in the audience today, making that important decision about whether Folsom is the right place to open shop or to expand their business. I think once I share the good news and where we are headed, that decision should be much easier for you to choose Folsom.
Thanks for joining me and now let’s dive in. At last year’s State of the City event, Sarah introduced our new City Manager Bryan Whitemyer and outlined some big challenges we needed to work on together. Bryan’s financial, leadership and problem-solving skills were vital as we navigated a $3 million general fund shortfall. For many years, the city has projected a structural deficit without a sustainable, long-term solution. Our resources have been strained trying to provide the same high level of service to our residents and the results have been a growing backlog of deferred maintenance and increasing PERS payments to deal with our unfunded future liabilities.
The City of Folsom has $1.2 billion worth of assets on the books but has spent on average just under $14 million per year to maintain them. Typical maintenance of assets runs from 2% to 5% of the asset value, but Folsom has been spending just 1.1% per year. This is unsustainable and has led to more expensive emergency repairs on our aging infrastructure. While we might not be able to fix this underinvestment overnight, Bryan’s plan establishes dedicated funding for renovations and asset replacement, helping us move from reactive fixes to proactive planning and long-term financial sustainability. So while City Manager Whitemyer initially asked us to approve using reserves to cover the shortfall, he brought back $5 million in service reorganizations and staff reductions to cover the budget deficit and realize savings in the years ahead. Living Within Our Means will not be easy, but it is the right way to run a household, and it’s also the right way to run our city. Thank you to Bryan but also to Mayor Aquino for her leadership during these community discussions.
This year we’ll see a $1.6 million investment in our library to replace the leaking roof and the HVAC system, which are both original and reaching 20 years old. Our library stands out amongst its peers with the highest circulation in Sacramento County, hosting just shy of 200,000 visitors throughout the year and circulating over 400,000 items. They do this with per capita operational funding at about half of our regional peers. I also want to give a big shoutout to the volunteers on Community Service Day and the Friends of the Folsom Library for helping freshen up the wallpaper to keep our library looking great. And to the State of California, thanks for the grant for the new Wi-Fi. You’ll hear this story often throughout my speech – tax dollars play a role, private donations play a role, and state and federal grants play a role. It makes sense to maximize all of our funding sources to ensure Folsom’s public amenities stay top-notch.
Folsom continues to prioritize public safety as our top commitment to our residents. In our Fire Department, 2025 saw the retirement of longtime Fire Chief Ken Cusano. I want to take a moment to thank Jason Solak, a Folsom resident of 24 years, for stepping in as our interim Fire Chief. His leadership during this time has been invaluable and we are blessed to have him until we find our next Chief.
Last year, we took delivery of five ambulances, a ladder truck and two fire engines. We ordered this equipment on average four years ago and it means we’re running three all new ambulances each day with two in reserve for special events and maintenance. We also now have redundancy for our ladder truck closing a significant service gap for our city.
We had some tough decisions to make in 2025. After a lot of public discussion on our budget and our priorities, we reassigned fire apparatus throughout our city, including the browning out of an engine company to save money, reduce the overtime strain on our firefighters, and to get our third ambulance fully back in service. These discussions made it clear we had work to do on improving our data collection and reporting. Late last year, we contracted a firm to provide data analysis, and this year we are transitioning to a new records management system so we can provide robust neighborhood-level performance data on our fire and emergency medical services. We also established an ad-hoc committee with Sac Metro’s fire board to explore regional collaboration and partnership models to see if we can lower costs while maintaining our high level of service. Because nearly 80% of our calls are medical, we plan to introduce single-role paramedics this year, whose primary focus is medical response rather than fire suppression, to better match how we serve the community.
So while we are working on improving efficiency, let me assure you we have an incredible team of firefighters. Each year, they respond to over 10,000 calls for service and log over 11,000 hours of training. We continue our commitment to providing Advanced Life Support for all Folsom Fire Department responses, and I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Folsom Fire Department.
Moving over to our men and women in blue, we also had some hard discussions on cost savings and some unfilled positions were eliminated. The City Council approved a new MOU with the Folsom Police Officers Association to help attract and retain police officers as we were having a difficult time filling open positions. While our actual staffing levels are now similar to 2024 levels, we expect to add positions as the city grows.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment and acknowledge the recent discrimination lawsuit settlements reported on in the media. My colleagues and I have approved four settlements and one workers compensation claim without admission of fault, totaling just over $1 million. I don’t want to sugarcoat this: these lawsuits were serious, costly to taxpayers, and we have taken concrete steps to ensure we do better moving forward. Our city leadership is committed to ensuring all employees are treated with dignity and that any accusations are investigated promptly and fully in the future.
2025 also included a transition in our Police Department’s leadership. After Chief Hillman’s retirement, we were blessed to have Folsom resident Randy Ulibarri step in to lead the department for a second time as interim Chief. At the end of 2025, we welcomed Adam Green as our new Police Chief. Chief Green comes to Folsom after 24 years with the Sacramento Police Department where he most recently served as Deputy Chief. Chief Green has a long list of accomplishments and executive level trainings, but most importantly, he brings his strong record of ethical leadership, and he offers an opportunity for increased cooperation with our neighboring agencies. We’re glad to have you, Chief Green, and thank you for serving Folsom.
We also opened a police records counter down at Station 34 and purchased 1 Natoma St. across from the police station. With the increased needs of our police department as the city grows, PD had already been leasing extra space. Purchasing an existing building realized substantial cost savings over a new build and also ends our ongoing leasing costs. In 2026, Investigations will be moved over to the new facility, freeing up space for an expanded communications center and records center at the main facility.
I want to thank the men and women of the Folsom Police Department for responding to over 73,000 calls for service last year and answering 99% of 911 calls within 15 seconds. They also had the largest fentanyl seizure in department history working to keep this dangerous drug off our streets. Your work 24/7, 365 days a year does not go unnoticed and we appreciate you.
In 2025, Folsom was again ranked as one of the safest suburbs in the country by the financial services provider SmartAsset. However, we occasionally have properties that are used for illegal purposes and can cause their neighbors significant distress. Last year, we instigated civil litigation against a property where we had over 400 calls for service in the last seven years. The proactive steps we took to resolve the problem were from City Manager Whitemyer’s playbook in Oakdale and it was a game changer for this neighborhood. The city successfully negotiated an agreement with the incarcerated property owner to sell the property and cover all of the city’s legal costs. I am pleased to report that the rehabilitation of this property is underway.
A year ago, we were also talking a lot about homeless encampments in Folsom. While the Grants Pass decision by the Supreme Court had allowed us to start cleaning up our public and open spaces, we struggled with some state properties where they did not have funding for cleanup and we didn’t have the authority to intervene. After months of work by our HOT Team, we signed an agreement allowing us to clean up camps on the state parcels. Thanks to Assemblymember Hoover and Senator Niello for their support and applying urgency in our negotiations with this state agency.
This is what effective local government looks like: protecting safe neighborhoods, addressing problem properties, and delivering real results for residents. That same commitment carries over to how we care for our parks and recreation facilities.
Back in 2024, I met with Folsom Parks & Recreation staff and reviewed the $600,000 proposal they had received to get the bike park fixed up and back to being fully open. Approximately 70% of the park had been closed off in 2022, and there were no funds available to invest in this older park. Last year, we got creative. Parks and Rec partnered with Folsom Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition (FATRAC) to bring back the original designer of the park, Randy Spangler, to redesign and fix the park up. Through fundraising by FATRAC and a generous donation from Claudia Cummings, the bike park will fully reopen this summer with almost no cost to the taxpayer. Some local Folsom businesses have also stepped up, and the plan is to maintain the park going forward with private funds and volunteer hours from FATRAC.
Last year was also a good reminder that sometimes in government, what you choose not to do can be just as important as what you choose to do. My colleagues and I decided to end paid staff supervision at the skate park. Since we were no longer trying to limit staffing costs, this meant Folsom’s residents could now use the park anytime as long as the weather cooperated. Attendance has increased and we have not seen an increase in calls for service. And did I mention we saved $40,000 annually?
Thinking back to the Bernie Sanders rally over at Folsom Lake College back in April, I want to bring this event up for an important decision that came out of it. The city received less than a week’s notice for the event, and historically required special event permits at least 30 days in advance for events that could impact public facilities. A question from our new City Manager prompted us to reconsider why the city was requiring permits for events held on private property. As a result, we eliminated the special event permit requirement for events not held on city property, since the liability does not rest with the city. The event drew a large crowd, and aside from increased traffic, there were no issues. Moving forward, the City of Folsom is focusing its resources on core responsibilities while getting out of the way when others choose to host events in our community.
2025 was a banner year for the public-private partnership we have with the Friends of Folsom Parkways. They took over the Adopt-a-Trail program and every trail segment available has been adopted to date – 41 segments in all. Each month, 115 hours of volunteer time are donated to keep our trails beautiful. But don’t worry if you want to get in on the trail adoption; we’re building plenty of new trails, with nine more miles completed in 2025, and we will have six new segments up for adoption in the Mangini Ranch / Regency area by this summer. A side note: construction of some of these new trails were delivered by a different public-private partnership with Toll Brothers. The Friends of the Folsom Parkways have also put in 661 volunteer hours in brush clearing and ladder fuel reduction work having a huge impact on the Humbug Willow Creek Trail System, Hinkle Creek and Natoma Station trails.
Our new Major Projects guide has a section dedicated to the upcoming trail network expansions. The White Rock Road Trail connecting Folsom Ranch to El Dorado Hills is expected to open in fall 2026. And 2027 will see the Class I trails under Highway 50 at Placerville Road and the rail trail improvements along East Bidwell from Oak Avenue to Iron Point Road. Folsom’s impressive network of trails continues to expand and be a source of pride and connection for our city.
So what public-private partnerships are next? A pickleball expansion and resurfacing is in the works for Lembi Park, in cooperation with the Folsom Pickleball Club. And those of us with kids in soccer know we need one with SURF to get our fields back in shape. Folsom, we’re working on it.
This spring break we will be rebuilding the beloved Castle Park. Originally built by the community, we will be rebuilding this park WITH the community. My Rotary Club of Folsom helped remove the old playground structures on our last Community Service Day, site work has been in progress, and soon it will be time to get out your hammers and drills to build for our next generation. Our total cost on this project will be about $1 million with roughly $700,000 coming from the General Fund and $150,000 from donors organized by Folsom resident and volunteer extraordinaire Joanne Brausch. You can still order those fence posts with your name on them until the end of the month. Using some volunteer labor will help bring the project on quicker and cheaper and I am proud that Folsom is willing to roll up our sleeves to get this done.
When I was campaigning for Measure G, people asked what happens if it fails? My answer then is the same as it is now: you are all going to be asked to kick in a bit more to keep our parks and recreation amenities in good shape for Folsom’s youth. Folsom is answering the call, and we are committed to partnering with non-profits, businesses, and residents to help renovate and maintain our amenities. We have 49 parks throughout the city with an average age of 30 years. So our parks are on average past their life expectancy and we have to start renovating our parks or we will be removing amenities in the years ahead.
New park construction is funded from development impact fees and we have many projects in the works. After feedback from Folsom Ranch residents, Neighborhood Park #1 was prioritized as the next park in the Folsom Plan Area. Community workshops are being held, and design will kick off this year. We are also re-analyzing the costs to deliver all of the Folsom Plan Area parks and will introduce a way to track and adjust so we aren’t leaving the last park spaces undeveloped due to a lack of funds.
Livermore Park Phase 5 will be completed in 2026, adding in 62 much-needed parking stalls and a trail connection. Amenities for Benevento Park in Empire Ranch will be decided soon, and design will be underway this year. Thank you to the community for providing lots of input and to Parks and Rec staff for being responsive to both the immediate neighbors and all of the future users of this important park.
The Folsom Water Vision, a 50-year strategic plan for Folsom’s water, was completed, highlighting our strong water rights and abundant supply. The Vision identified projects that would increase resilience during droughts and redundancy for critical equipment. The Environmental and Water Resources department was also renamed back to the Utilities Department, highlighting the core services they provide to Folsom residents such as water, wastewater and trash collection.
In August, Rebecca Neves was named as our new Public Works Director while continuing to serve as our City Engineer. Rebecca has a strong background in project delivery and regional collaboration.
Our top regional infrastructure priority continues to be the Empire Ranch Interchange and we are making progress on its delivery. Large projects like this don’t get done without federal, state and regional support. I want to thank Congressman Kiley for securing $4 million toward this project already and for ensuring our project is a top priority for federal funding. Last year we worked with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to get our future interchange added to the Regional Project Priority List which means better state and federal advocacy for reducing traffic on East Bidwell. And this month, we received approval from Caltrans to proceed with design. We will be working tirelessly this year to secure funding and get our project shovel ready so we can break ground by 2028.
We also received federal funds for the Riley Street Safety Improvement Project for better pedestrian connections between the Historic District and the Central Business District including Sutter Middle School. Design is underway with construction anticipated in 2027. Congressman Kiley also secured over $1 million for Phase II of the Folsom Lake Crossing safety improvements, and 2026 will see the extension of the metal median barrier along with improvements to increase driver awareness.
Down in Folsom Ranch, Alder Creek Parkway is a top focus to get traffic over to Prairie City Road which will be improved as development moves west.
Last fiscal year, Folsom’s sales tax came in below projections and has essentially been flat since fiscal 2022. Without any distribution and fulfillment centers, Folsom loses in the shift to online sales. While the expectation is for sales tax to start growing again from 1% to 2% per year, it is not keeping pace with inflation or the cost to provide municipal services. Last Thursday, I had my first meeting as an appointee to the League of California Cities Tax and Revenue Policy Committee. There, we supported a proposal that is gaining traction to change how sales tax is distributed. Under this proposal, online sales tax would be split 50/50 between the fulfillment center and the destination. While Folsom is estimated to receive 20% more sales tax in this proposal, it would require a constitutional amendment and would likely take five to 10 years to phase in so don’t get excited just yet. We are advocating for our interests long term but it is not our shorter-term solution. I will continue to work with the California League of Cities to build support for this in the year ahead.
On the advocacy front, we are also working with the League on a smaller change in state law which would allocate more online sales directly to the city from our countywide pool. And we are working closely with Assemblymember Hoover on a cleanup bill to protect our historic district from the intense housing development that SB 79 authorized near transit stops.
While sales tax revenue has remained flat, broader economic indicators continue to show a strong local economy. Folsom continues to be a magnet for people looking to put down roots in the Sacramento region, with single-family resale homes selling on average for $374 per square foot, and a median sales price of $831,000. Many of those buying here in Folsom cite our excellent schools as a strong factor in their decision.
Our school district continues to be one of the few growing school districts in California. The district has plans to open Granite Springs Elementary School in 2028, Buffalo Creek High School in 2029, and Prairie City Middle School in 2031. These estimates are based on home sales and funding availability but we’re excited for these new facilities. Folsom’s Career Technical Education programs are also providing new and exciting career paths for students. Last year, Folsom High School’s Manufacturing Program led by Andrew Bias received national acclaim with student Jacob Wollwerth bringing home our first-ever gold national title from the SkillsUSA National Conference. And did I mention our Folsom High School football team are now six-time state champions? And they took the title with their backup quarterback?
2025 was a boom year for our healthcare systems, cementing Folsom as a regional healthcare hub. In June, Sutter Health broke ground on their 106,000-square-foot medical office building with an expected opening date in mid-2027. The Sutter Health Folsom Care Complex will include a cancer center, an outpatient surgery center, an expanded Sutter Urgent Care and more than two dozen specialty physicians.
UC Davis opened their 112,000-square-foot outpatient center/medical office in September and it’s beautiful both inside and out. This is just the first phase for UC Davis as they have plans for almost 300,000 more square feet on the site. A month after UC Davis opened, on a very rainy day in October, our long-term healthcare partner Dignity Health broke ground on their 90,000-square-foot Advanced Ambulatory Care Center in Folsom Ranch. This is the first of five phases and they have plans for 400,000 more square feet in the future.
Is anyone keeping track of the healthcare investment? By my tally, we’re close to half a billion dollars and we’ve got two more in the works. Kaiser’s 27,000-square-foot expansion is being reviewed by the city and should start construction this year with an anticipated 2028 opening. Also in 2028, Kaiser will start construction on their 183,000-square-foot medical office building. And in March, Shriners Children’s Northern California will open their very first off-campus clinic right here in Folsom on Creekside.
One of my favorite ribbon cuttings of 2025 was the Habitat for Humanity project where 10 affordable homes were sold to families who qualified for a 0% interest, 30-year loan and who put in at least 500 hours of sweat equity. This project was developed on land that was owned by the City of Folsom, but the affordable housing trust fund fully reimbursed our general fund for the land value. We now have 10 new homeowning families in Folsom and we are looking for opportunities to use this model again in the future.
Semiconductor companies continue to be a major employer here in Folsom. Intel has started marketing the sale of their campus but has committed to leasing back over 1 million square feet for the next 12 years. AMD recently leased 28,000 square feet next to Intel establishing a more permanent location here. And Micron, Samsung, and Moneta Ventures-backed Azimuth AI are all taking advantage of our strong local talent pool in this industry. A couple weeks ago, a city team and I met with Kratos who just leased a 35,000-square-foot building in the Blue Ravine Business Park. They have submitted plans to bring their high-tech manufacturing here to Folsom and are bringing 80-100 engineering and manufacturing jobs to town.
I want to take a moment and acknowledge the incredible work Choose Folsom does in helping businesses get started here. Folsom’s economy is strong and I thank you all for spending your dollars locally.
In 2026, we also have a number of new businesses opening including the AC Hotel by Marriott at the Palladio. This 130-guestroom hotel will take the total hotel rooms in Folsom up over 1,000 total hotel rooms and bring in over $300,000 per year in transient occupancy tax that will be reinvested in our community.
And for some external validation, last June Folsom was ranked fifth in the nation by the Social Progress Map. This ranking isn’t based on economic wealth but by the opportunities people have to thrive including basic needs, education, safety and housing. Way to go, Folsom.
I know today I have been pretty raw about the challenges we face as a city. Let’s be honest – I’m still much more of an engineer than I am a politician. But with all of these challenges, not a day goes by where I don’t hear from someone how amazing Folsom is to do business in, to visit, or to call home. We live in a truly special city and we have lots to celebrate.
This year is America’s 250th birthday and Folsom’s rodeo tradition will be better than ever to commemorate our great nation. This year is also Folsom’s 80th birthday and I want to invite you to our throwback birthday party on May 9. It will be a family-friendly event next to the library and we are bringing back the snail races for one year only in partnership with the Folsom Athletic Association.
I stand before you today realizing that each day you make a choice whether to invest your time, your talents and your treasure here in Folsom. I see a bright future for our community and I encourage you to tell our story far and wide. Folsom is pointed in the right direction, we are focused on the right priorities and we will always find the ways to make this city the best place to work, play and raise a family.