Let's talk Hollister

08/07/2025

I’m deeply saddened to hear that 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 — a visionary development that would have supported agritourism, generated significant gas tax and transient occupancy tax (TOT) dollars for the County, and honored the memory of a young man lost to cancer — is officially dead after 10 long years of struggle.

For over a decade, the project’s owners faced opposition by Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki as well as 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗖/𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼, an anti-growth group closely aligned with both Supervisors Kosmicki and Velazquez. This group has repeatedly sued both the County and local businesses to block progress. Unfortunately, their efforts have now succeeded in killing yet another job-creating, revenue-generating project in our community.

With the passage of 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔 — which this same political group championed — it will effectively 𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 in San Benito County. We have seen both the cities and the county in financial turmoil this year, and with Measure A it is going to get worse. This Measure basically puts out a clear message that new business is not welcome here.

What makes this loss even more tragic is the 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: the owners had committed to donating profits to pediatric cancer research in honor of their late son, who passed away from brain cancer at 18. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗲. And instead of celebrating a project that would have served both economic and humanitarian goals, we’re left with nothing.

After losing substantial time and money,and enduring years of obstruction, it seems they have given up and the owners have turned to 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀 — not by choice, but because it's their only pathway forward to use the land that they have invested huge amounts of money into.

As a result, we’re 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝟮𝟱𝟴-𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 — not the agritourism/commercial site we planned for — a direct outcome of 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 by the County.

𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗕𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥 – 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗗.

𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧 𝙆𝙤𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝟱 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨: 𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙮’𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚-𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

This 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 triggered Builders Remedy law provisions—which has stripped the County of local control and 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀. We now have 7 Builder’s Remedy projects in San Benito County.

Frankly it is frustrating to hear Kosmicki claim to be this great slow-growth leader when he has 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 and is accountable for these Builders Remedy housing projects.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 — lost economic opportunity, lost charitable impact, and a project that could have been 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 — leaders who will act responsibly, take care of business and defend local control, while supporting balanced, sustainable growth and especially, promoting and supporting business growth and jobs for our community.

San Juan Planning Commission hears about new county projects

07/16/2025

Just one more example of Public Safety being ignored and not considered a priority by the County. We need leaders who recognize that essential services like our FIrefighters and Sheriffs should be at the top of their priority list, not an afterthought.

SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) - San Benito County Civil Grand Jury's newest report finds that the communications systems for the county's Sheriff's Office require an upgrade. According to the Civil Grand Jury, an authorization of the California Radio Interoperability System has been stalled fo...

07/12/2025

Hi, Folks have been asking me about how they can sign the recall petitions for Supervisors Velazquez and Kosmicki. My understanding is you can contact the PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST committee and request to sign on their website at:

They promised leadership–but betrayed the public’s trust. Instead, we got political agendas, backroom deals, and a dangerous disregard for public safety.

07/03/2025

I support this group's recall effort. Things have to change. These two supervisors have betrayed our community and seem to be working on their personal political agendas. They have ignored the public, or worse yet belittled or dismissed them. In a small community like San Benito County, we find strength in unity–and these two have demonstrated an inability to work with city and state leaders, and cannot even treat their own colleagues on the Board with Respect. San Benito County deserves better.

No amount of Town Hall campaigns or videos change the fact: Supervisors Velazquez and Kosmicki have betrayed the public trust.

Their pattern of dismissing community voices, distorting facts, backroom dealing and avoiding accountability reveals not just failed leadership—but unethical leadership.

This recall is not about growth; it’s about integrity. They’ve ignored urgent calls for public safety, silenced dissent with accusations of “misinformation,” and prioritized their personal political agendas over the community’s wellbeing. Leadership requires transparency, courage, and service. The people of San Benito deserve better—and it’s time to take our community back.

www.safersanbenito.org

07/01/2025

COMMUNITY OPINION: What really happened to our fire contract?

06/25/2025

06/18/2025

I support these recall efforts. The fire service contract was mishandled from the start. Despite public input, the final deal locked Hollister taxpayers into continuing to subsidize millions for the County’s fire protection—even as San Juan Bautista stepped up to pay its fair share.

Instead of prioritizing public safety, these two Supervisors diverted critical funding to other projects, ignoring the community. 𝘚𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

Despite Supervisor Kosmicki’s claim that his recall is being pushed by a “small group” trying to benefit developers, the facts—and the irony—say otherwise. Just recently, the Board of Supervisors approved zoning for 𝟰,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 under his watch.

This recall isn’t about lining developers' pockets. It’s about holding our elected officials accountable. Here’s why residents are calling for his removal:

𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 in key decisions and communications

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 a fair fire contract with partner agencies for over six months—only to sign a deal 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 after being served recall papers

𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀’ 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 and failing to represent the public interest

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 at community members and the press who dare to question or criticize

𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 effectively with fellow Board of Supervisors members

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆—layoff notices and press restrictions weren’t “his doing”? Then who issued them? The County’s own Public Information Officer was suddenly laid off following backlash from BenitoLink (who Kosmicki regularly attacks) over these decisions.

📢 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟?
Check your district here: https://tinyurl.com/326ayum9
Kosmicki serves District 2
📩 Email [email protected] to sign the petition or help gather signatures.

Let’s bring 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙮.

06/07/2025

𝗥𝗘𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘. 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗟.

Last night, in yet another chapter of the fire contract debacle, the Hollister City Council held a surprise Special Meeting—on a Friday night, on high school graduation day, with less than 24 hours’ notice to the public. Intentional or not, it appears to be a deliberate attempt to suppress public input. Despite this word did get out, and some residents showed up to protest this move.

Originally the 4 member Fire Ad Hoc committee made up of Mayor Stephens, Councilmember Resendiz, and Supervisors Velazquez and Kosmicki, had emerged in March from their 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 with a set of 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 attempting to rush through approval via a series of Special Meetings in a week. 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲, and the City ended up rejecting that bad contract.

But now, after the County walked away from negotiations and postured about forming its own department, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹—𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀—𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘇 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.

The approved contract 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 $𝟰 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹. It offers a 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 $𝟭.𝟭𝗠 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, a 𝟯% 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲, and a 𝟰-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲. Staffing language includes 𝟮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸, a known safety risk. And while "brownouts" were removed from the language, the conditions that can cause them, such as reducing staffing, remains.

Some firefighters understandably supported the deal—fearful that failure to approve it could lead to layoffs. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱.

This contract is 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. It was crafted in backrooms and pushed through in 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵. Stephens and Resendiz were always planning to bring it back, honoring a deal they made with Supervisors Velazquez and Kosmicki—𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲. It is expected the Supervisors will also push approval through at their Tuesday, June 10th Supervisor’s Meeting.

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘. 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡.

06/06/2025

🔥 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗘–𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗟 𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗝𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗬–𝗪𝗛𝗬??🔥

Over the past year, fire contract negotiations between the City of Hollister and the County have been dragged out, stalled, and manipulated behind closed doors — leaving Hollister taxpayers footing a $4 million cost every year to subsidize fire services for the County.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s happened:

• 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰: The City of Hollister issued a termination clause after nearly a year of failed attempts to get the County to the table to negotiate and address the $4 million funding gap
• 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝟲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀: The County still refuses to negotiate, despite repeated requests from the City.

• 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: After new City Council members were sworn in, the Supervisors finally re-engage — but only in private, closed-door meetings between Mayor Stephens, Councilmember Resendiz, and Supervisors Kosmicki and Velazquez–even the Fire Chief was excluded!

• 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 '𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀' 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝟰 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, the County offered only $1.1 million, leaving Hollister taxpayers responsible to continue subsidizing the remaining $3 million shortfall. Why did Stephens and Resendiz agree to that??

• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 — especially after learning about unsafe staffing (2 firefighters per truck), potential brownouts, and a contract with no clear way out.

• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 and rejected the initial terms after public outcry and talks of recall..and claimed to want further negotiations.

• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆, claiming it would create its own fire department — and somehow magically found $6.4 million for its fire budget, despite the claim it couldn’t afford more than $1.1 million earlier.

𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘇, it still doesn’t address that shortfall and the city is in financial crisis in part due to this bad fire contract. This time though, the contract is a 𝟰-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠-𝙞𝙣 and no termination clause, 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚.

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗟 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 $𝟰 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗭𝗜𝗡𝗚?

𝙎𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙯 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙨? They emerged from that ad hoc in January and tried to push this through and now they've brought it back again with a rush meeting and little public notice... it certainly is not for the benefit of Hollister!

Below is a comparison of the January and June contracts–not much that's different here. 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 $𝟰 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣.

𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹
$1.1M (one-time payment)/3% yr increase
3 years
2 firefighters per truck
Brownouts possible
Removed, except non-payment

𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 (𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁'𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲)
$1.1M (one-time payment)/3% yr increase
4 years
2 firefighters per truck
B̶r̶o̶w̶n̶o̶u̶t̶s̶ p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ (removed)
Termination clause gone/except non-payment

𝗧𝗛𝗘 $𝟰 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗚𝗔𝗣 𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗟𝗘𝗙𝗧 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗦!!

𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩'𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜!🔥🔥🔥

https://pub-hollister.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=c889e900-5505-455b-9972-e10e8f340f4f&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English

06/03/2025

𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗟 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗙𝗙:
𝙏𝘼𝙆𝙀 𝘼 𝙋𝘼𝙔 𝘾𝙐𝙏, 𝙒𝙀'𝙑𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙏 𝘼 𝙍𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝙏𝙊 𝙍𝙐𝙉

Police, firefighters, and city staff showed up tonight and pleaded with the City Council not to cut their salaries or jobs. They were ignored. Instead, the Council chose to keep funding a biker rally that will cost hundreds of thousands—while asking the workers who protect and serve this community to take a 10% pay cut or face layoffs.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

06/01/2025

𝗔 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗘𝗜𝗨:

"The City of Hollister is all but imposing the following choice on workers and the community:

𝗔 𝟭𝟬% 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝘁𝗵𝗲-𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝘁 to essential services or 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 of frontline staff.

These cuts would directly impact emergency response, fire, water, police, public works, and animal care — the services residents rely on every day.

These cuts could lead to a mass exodus of workers in search of better treatment and competitive pay, impeding the ability for the city to function properly

𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺:

𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 and degraded public safety.

𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 for residents — from clean water to timely infrastructure maintenance.

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 to city operations due to worker attrition and public mistrust.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺:

City employees are being told to 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 while the City refuses to comply with its own financial duties.

𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆, further undermining services.

Workers and residents alike are left to pay the price for poor planning and lack of transparency."

𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙎𝙀𝙄𝙐, 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮'𝙨 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝟲:𝟯𝟬 𝙥𝙢.