Council Adopts $158M Budget, Overhauls Flag Policy After Emotional Pride Debate

San Ramon's City Council unanimously adopted a $158 million budget that remains tethered to a sales tax measure to close a $14 million structural deficit, then spent more than an hour navigating an emotionally charged overhaul of the city's commemorative flag policy — landing on annual reviews that will require the Pride flag and other commemorative flags to earn renewed approval each January. The meeting also locked in a four-year labor deal and set new rules to end the council's pattern of midnight sessions.

• $158M budget adopted, but a $14M structural deficit persists — Measure N sales tax revenue is the only thing keeping the city in the black

• Flag policy overhauled amid emotional testimony — Pride flag now subject to annual January vote rather than permanent approval; LGBTQ+ advocates call the change "painful"

• Four-year SEIU contract approved — 55 maintenance workers get 3% annual raises through 2030 at a total cost of $860K

• Council shifts to 6:30 p.m. start time — a 10 p.m. extension threshold aims to end the era of midnight meetings

• Resident's seven-year financial analysis sounds alarm — city's asset-to-liability ratio has dropped from 8.72 to 3.83 in a decade

San Ramon's City Council unanimously adopted the FY 2026-27 operating and capital budget via Resolution 2026-066, setting total revenues across all 70 operational funds at approximately $158 million. The general fund accounts for 55% of operations. Total expenditures stand at $115.7 million, producing a net increase of $7.5 million across all funds — roughly $1 million of that in the general fund. General fund reserves remain above the 36% target at approximately 40%.