Over the past ten months, the City of Weed has confronted significant challenges while continuing to provide essential services and advance projects that have been delayed for years.

The temporary closure of City Hall, the continuing economic effects of the Roseburg Forest Products mill closure, aging infrastructure, downtown fire damage, increasing demands on emergency services, and limited financial resources have all required difficult decisions and sustained attention. Rather than avoiding these challenges, the City Council has faced them directly by approving key budgets, contracts, agreements, engineering work, grant applications, policies, and project authorizations needed to move the City forward.

Council’s priorities have been translated into action and represented throughout the community with integrity, transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public resources. Staff have coordinated with legal counsel, engineers, consultants, partner agencies, businesses, and residents to address both immediate needs and long-term priorities.

The City has also placed strong emphasis on public engagement. Multiple public meetings, town halls, listening sessions, community presentations, and small-group discussions have been held to hear residents’ concerns, explain the City’s financial and operational challenges, and gather input on Weed’s future. These efforts have included discussions with local businesses, service organizations, community leaders, senior residents, and participants in the Weed 2035 community vision process.

As a result, the City Council and staff have achieved meaningful progress in downtown revitalization, public safety, infrastructure planning, financial transparency, organizational stability, economic development, and community engagement.

Some accomplishments are highly visible. Others involve engineering, legal, financial, administrative, and regulatory work that must be completed before construction or implementation can begin. Together, these efforts represent substantial progress toward a stronger, safer, more transparent, and more resilient City of Weed.

Main Street Cleanup: Moving a Longstanding Problem Toward Construction

The Main Street Cleanup Project remains one of the City’s highest priorities and is now approaching an important new phase.

A critical turning point occurred when the City pursued the acquisition of the fire-damaged downtown properties. Had the City not taken that step, the properties could still be tied up in receivership, litigation, and private ownership disputes, with no reliable timeline for cleanup. By acquiring the sites, the City gained the legal authority and access necessary to move the project forward. Although the process has taken time, the schedule is now largely within the City’s control rather than being dictated by legal gridlock or an outside receivership process.

Since acquiring the properties, the City has completed the environmental investigation, legal review, and technical preparation necessary to move toward demolition and remediation. These steps are essential because the sites contain asbestos, lead-based paint, petroleum-impacted debris, and other materials that must be handled in accordance with strict environmental, public contracting, and worker safety requirements.

Following direction from the City Council, the City engaged PACE Engineering to prepare a revised and professionally structured solicitation. PACE is now finalizing the technical and contractual details to ensure the bid package accurately addresses demolition, hazardous-material abatement, site restoration, prevailing-wage requirements, contractor responsibilities, and construction administration.

The City’s goal is to publish the solicitation this week or next, depending on the outcome of the final internal review. Once released, contractors will have a 14-day window to submit bids.

City staff and PACE will then evaluate the bids for legal compliance, qualifications, cost, and the contractor’s ability to complete the work safely and effectively. The City hopes to present the bids and a recommendation to the City Council for consideration on the August agenda, with September as the latest anticipated timeframe.

The final construction schedule will depend on the bids received, contractor availability, environmental requirements, and weather conditions. Nevertheless, the City is substantially closer to removing the fire-damaged structures than it was ten months ago. Most importantly, the project is now advancing through a process controlled by the City and accountable to the public, rather than remaining stalled in receivership or prolonged legal uncertainty.

The cleanup will remove a longstanding public-safety hazard and source of downtown blight while preparing the properties for future redevelopment, private investment, economic activity, and renewed community use.

Until the cleanup is completed, the sites must remain closed to public access because potentially hazardous materials remain intermixed with the debris. Protecting residents, workers, nearby businesses, and taxpayers will continue to guide every step of the project.

Greater Financial Transparency

The City completed and adopted its Fiscal Year 2026–2027 budget while maintaining essential services and directly confronting significant long-term financial obligations.

The budget provides residents and decision-makers with clearer information about City revenues, restricted funds, staffing, capital projects, grants, infrastructure needs, and ongoing financial pressures. It presents the City’s fiscal condition with honesty and integrity, including an approximately $1.6 million deficit that developed over several years.

The budget also reflects the City Council’s priorities and its commitment to responsible governance. By empowering City staff to communicate these priorities and represent the Council’s work within the community, the City is strengthening public understanding, accountability, and trust.

Major priorities reflected in the budget include Main Street revitalization and the Juarez properties, public safety, economic development, utilities, public works, grant-funded projects, financial accountability, and community engagement.

This also includes the sales tax discussion, public information campaigns, and having honest conversations with the public. 

Potential Local Sales Tax Measure: Providing Information and Preparing for a Community Decision

The City has also undertaken a comprehensive review of its long-term financial position and the possibility of placing a local sales tax measure before Weed voters in November 2026.

The process began with an informational financial analysis presented in March. That analysis examined a possible 1% local transactions and use tax and the City’s dependence on sales tax as its largest discretionary source of General Fund revenue. As updated taxable sales data became available and the City examined its infrastructure and service needs more closely, the current discussion shifted toward a potential 1.5% local measure.

No new tax has been enacted. The City Council must first decide whether to place a measure on the ballot, and the final decision would then rest entirely with Weed voters.

Weed’s current combined sales tax rate is 7.5%. Of that amount, approximately 1.25% currently returns directly to the City, including the existing voter-approved Measure O revenue. The remainder is distributed through the state and county sales tax system.

If voters approved an additional 1.5% local measure, the combined rate would increase from 7.5% to 9%. Based on current taxable-sales estimates, the measure could generate approximately $1.5 to $2 million annually for the City’s General Fund. Revenue from the local measure would remain under local control. It could be used to maintain police, fire, and emergency response services; repair streets; address water and wastewater infrastructure needs; maintain public facilities; support staffing; and fund day-to-day municipal operations.

Many necessities would remain exempt from sales tax, including most unprepared groceries, prescription medications, rent and housing costs, most professional services, and qualifying purchases made with CalFresh benefits.

The City has made public education and community participation central to this process. Actions completed or underway include:

• Preparing detailed financial and sales tax analyses;
• Creating a City services, infrastructure, and funding presentation;
• Mailing informational material to Weed households;
• Establishing a budget and fiscal-outlook section on the City website;
• Conducting two public town hall sessions on June 24;
• Planning a virtual community presentation;
• Meeting with community organizations and local leaders;
• Presenting information to groups including the Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and senior community members; and
• Working with the City’s staff, consultants, and attorneys on the ordinance, resolutions, and other documents that would be required for City Council consideration.

The City’s responsibility is to provide accurate and understandable information, not to tell residents how to vote. The community deserves to understand the City’s financial condition, the services being provided, the remaining infrastructure needs, the cost of maintaining those services, and the consequences of the available options.

City Hall Remediated and Reopened

Another major accomplishment was the successful remediation and reopening of City Hall.

Environmental concerns necessitated the temporary relocation of employees and public services beginning in December 2025. During that disruption, City employees continued serving the community from alternate locations while remediation, testing, and cleaning were completed.

On April 9, 2026, the City’s industrial hygienist issued its final post-remediation report. The tested areas met the assessment criteria, indicating that the identified mold and moisture conditions had been addressed acceptably. City operations subsequently returned to City Hall.

Additional professional cleaning was completed, window screens were replaced, and the City continues to work through longer-term recommendations for windows, moisture prevention, electrical systems, and other facility improvements.

The reopening restored normal public access and operations while demonstrating the City’s ability to continue providing services during a significant operational disruption.

Confronting Deferred Maintenance and Strengthening City Contracts

The City Council and staff have also begun confronting years of deferred maintenance affecting critical infrastructure, equipment, and contractual relationships.

The City approved a comprehensive water-tank inspection and rehabilitation contract that will fully rehabilitate the Gazelle water tank. The remaining City water tanks will also be professionally inspected, evaluated, and brought into compliance with applicable federal standards. This work will help extend the useful life of these essential facilities, protect water quality, and allow the City to plan future repairs before minor problems become costly emergencies.

Staff also identified water-system and wastewater-system pumps that had not been placed on consistent preventative-maintenance schedules. The City is now addressing these deficiencies through inspections, servicing, repairs, and improved maintenance planning. These systems operate largely out of public view, but their reliability is essential to protecting public health, maintaining service, and avoiding emergency failures.

Deferred maintenance was not limited to physical infrastructure. The City has also begun reviewing longstanding contracts that had not been regularly evaluated to determine whether their terms remain fair, legally appropriate, and financially responsible. This work reflects the City Council’s commitment to integrity and responsible stewardship by ensuring that agreements protect both the public interest and the City’s financial position.

By addressing neglected infrastructure, establishing preventative-maintenance practices, and carefully reviewing City contracts, the City Council and staff are replacing reactive decision-making with a more responsible and sustainable approach to municipal management.

Public Safety Partnerships Strengthened

The City completed a new five-year law-enforcement services agreement with the College of the Siskiyous.

The agreement strengthens the partnership between the College and the Weed Police Department while providing additional financial support for the services being delivered. It includes a 5% increase beginning in 2026 and an additional 10% increase in 2027.

Police recruitment also remains an active priority. While vacancies continue within the department, the City has been processing new candidates and working to stabilize staffing while maintaining emergency response and law-enforcement services.

Planning for a Permanent Fire Station

The City has moved the concept of a future fire station from a general discussion into formal planning. Weed’s current fire station is more than 100 years old, does not belong to the City, and presents operational limitations for modern apparatus, training, volunteer support, and emergency response.

The City is now evaluating the development of a permanent fire station on City-owned property. PACE Engineering has been tasked with the Phase I development of a new fire station, including surveying, civil engineering, architectural design, structural engineering, mechanical and electrical planning, geotechnical work, and assistance with a USDA Rural Development funding application.

The City is pursuing grant and low-interest financing opportunities while coordinating with the Fire Department, Public Works, engineers, architects, legal counsel, and USDA representatives.

At the same time, the Fire Department continues benefiting from the multi-year SAFER grant supporting 24-hour station coverage. The City has also secured a CAL FIRE mitigation grant of up to $1.58 million for eligible fire-mitigation activities.  Also, Roseburg Forestry Products, through its partnership with District Attorney Kirk Andrus, has agreed to pay for the design work (Phase I) in the amount of $146,250.00.  We appreciate their partnership and support as we plan a permanent solution for the City’s public safety future. 

Infrastructure Projects Advanced

The City has continued engineering, funding, and planning work for several major infrastructure needs, including:

• The Lincoln Heights pavement improvement project;
• Drinking-water system improvements;
• Water storage tank evaluation and maintenance planning;
• Wastewater-capacity planning;
• Storm-drainage deficiencies;
• Mill Fire-related infrastructure repairs;
• Roadway rehabilitation priorities; and
• Long-term water and sewer investment.

Approximately 15 miles of City roadway require repair, portions of the sewer system date to the 1940s, and the wastewater system is operating at or near capacity. These problems cannot be corrected in a single budget year, but the City is developing the technical documents, funding strategies, and project priorities necessary to begin addressing them systematically.

Organizational Stability and Workforce Development

As the City entered the new budget year, 33 of its 36 authorized positions were filled, an overall vacancy rate of approximately 8.3%. Administration, Public Works, Fire, and Library positions were fully staffed, with Police Department recruitment remaining the primary staffing challenge.

The City also established a workforce-development partnership through which two Public Works employees are attending technical programs at College of the Siskiyous. The College is covering tuition, creating an opportunity for employees to develop additional skills while strengthening the City’s future operational capacity.

Modernizing City Policies and Operations

The City has continued updating policies, ordinances, and administrative procedures that had become outdated or inconsistent with current operations.

Work has included:

• Modernizing building and construction codes;
• Beginning a comprehensive update of the City’s personnel policies;
• Updating administrative and operational procedures;
• Reviewing the City Manager, Fire Department, and other organizational ordinances;
• Strengthening code-enforcement and collections practices;
• Contracting with Pacific Credit Services to assist with outstanding accounts;
• Improving consistency in utility, fine, and loan collections; and
• Expanding online communication and public access to City information.

These changes may not always be visible, but clearer rules, defined responsibilities, consistent procedures, and improved accountability directly affect the quality and reliability of City services.

Community Engagement and Weed 2035

The City launched the Weed 2035 community vision initiative to begin developing a shared, long-term direction for the community.

The first discussion brought together representatives from the College of the Siskiyous, Weed Chamber of Commerce, Weed Elementary School, Siskiyou Food Assistance, Great Northern Services, the Weed Museum, local faith organizations, businesses, nonprofit groups, and residents.

Participants identified community strengths, challenges, priorities, and opportunities. The information gathered will help inform future conversations about economic development, downtown revitalization, housing, public services, beautification, recreation, partnerships, and Weed’s long-term identity.

The City has also increased its outreach through community presentations, public meetings, departmental information, online updates, and direct engagement with businesses and community organizations.

Library Services Remain Strong

The Weed Library continues serving as an important educational and community resource.

During the first months of 2026, the library averaged approximately 1,000 checkouts per month, including roughly 300 children’s materials. Nearly 50 new library cards had been issued by May, and the library continued offering school visits, workshops, youth activities, and community programming.

Continuing the Work

Much remains to be done. The Main Street properties have not yet been demolished; the City continues to face substantial needs in roadways, water, wastewater, drainage, facilities, and public safety; and the local economy is still adjusting to the closure of the Roseburg Forest Products mill. The City must also address an accumulated financial deficit while preserving essential services and preparing the community to make an informed decision regarding a potential local sales tax measure.

However, the City is no longer simply identifying these problems. The City Council is confronting them directly by approving the budgets, contracts, engineering services, agreements, grant applications, policies, and project authorizations necessary to move the City forward. Through the City Manager and staff, those priorities are being implemented with an emphasis on integrity, transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public resources.

Properties have been acquired, environmental investigations have been completed, and professionally prepared bid documents are advancing the Main Street Cleanup Project toward a new competitive solicitation. City Hall has been remediated and reopened. A budget reflecting the City’s true financial condition has been adopted. Public-safety partnerships have been strengthened, fire-station planning is underway, and major infrastructure projects continue to advance.

The City is also confronting years of deferred maintenance. The Gazelle water tank is undergoing a complete rehabilitation, while the City’s remaining tanks are being inspected and evaluated for compliance with applicable federal standards. Water and wastewater pumps that had not received regular preventative maintenance are now being inspected, serviced, and incorporated into more responsible maintenance schedules.

Deferred maintenance also extends to the City’s contracts. Longstanding agreements are being evaluated to ensure that they remain fair to both the City and the public. This reflects a broader effort to ensure that private use of public property and rights-of-way is governed by clear, equitable, and financially responsible terms.

Residents have also been invited to participate in the process through repeated public meetings, listening sessions, town halls, community presentations, and small-group discussions. These conversations have allowed the City to hear concerns, explain difficult financial and operational realities, and ensure that future decisions are made by the people who live, work, and invest in Weed.

Progress in local government is rarely the result of a single decision or individual. These accomplishments reflect the combined work of the Mayor and City Council, City employees, department heads, engineers, attorneys, consultants, partner agencies, local businesses, community organizations, and residents.

The work ahead will continue to require patience, discipline, collaboration, and difficult decisions. The progress achieved during the past ten months demonstrates that longstanding challenges can be addressed honestly and directly, and that the City of Weed is building a stronger, safer, more transparent, and more resilient future.

Thank you for reading, 

Dr. Dustin Stambaugh
City Manager