Saratoga will not hire a consultant to study how City Hall is staffed and run until the incoming City Council weighs in.
At its Nov. 4 meeting, the council was asked to let City Manager Leslie Arroyo sign an agreement worth up to $165,000 with Bell Burnette & Atwater for an organizational assessment.
After about half an hour of debate, members instead voted unanimously to send the question to the next council, with a target of taking it up within roughly three months, according to the meeting video.
The vote came the night after an election for three open council seats, with ballots still being counted.
What the review would cover
The council asked staff on Oct. 7 to come back with a consultant. According to the staff report, the study would examine Administrative Services, the City Manager's Office, Community Development and Public Works: their structure, workloads, division of duties and how they coordinate. It would compare Saratoga with similar cities and recommend changes, with estimates of savings, avoided costs and possible new revenue.
Staff said money for it is already in the City Manager's 2026-27 operating budget.
Staff talked with six firms and received proposals from three: Bell Burnette & Atwater, Gallagher and Jacob Green & Associates. Arroyo told the council the work would take about six months, finishing around April 2027, with early findings meant to feed into the 2027-28 budget.
She said the city's departments had never been reviewed together this way and that the community development workload has grown sharply.