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Jun 23, 2026

city council

The Compton City Council adopted the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget, which includes approximately $30 million for the sheriff's contract, new street sweepers, a vacuum truck, and a community services manager position for homeless outreach that has gone unfilled for two years despite being budgeted. The council approved $600,000 in federal HOME ARP funds to formally partner with [HOPICS](https://www.hopics.org) for homeless supportive services for the first time and authorized $2.03 million to purchase four ambulances and one paramedic squad for the fire department. The council voted to pause its membership in the California Cities for Self Reliance Joint Powers Authority after discovering the JPA had not actually joined a critical lawsuit challenging the state's ban on blackjack-style card games, potentially jeopardizing casino revenue. During discussion of extending contracts with eight outside law firms, Councilmember Bowers raised conflict-of-interest concerns about council members voting on a firm's contract after accepting holiday gifts from that firm, prompting a public exchange with the city's special legal counsel about [Form 700](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/Form700.html) reporting requirements.

Jun 4, 2026

personnel board

The Compton Personnel Board held a special meeting on June 4, 2026, approving several routine staffing actions including eligibility lists for two assistant electrician and three office assistant positions, three temporary 90-day appointments, and the exemption of an associate civil engineer position from classified service for up to six months while recruitment continues. The board abolished the Code Enforcement Officer 2 eligibility list because those positions have been reclassified as Public Safety Supervisors, and abolished the Painter list after the top candidate fell through. The board tabled approval of October 2023 meeting minutes so newer members could review video recordings, while approving the May 2026 minutes with one abstention from newly appointed member Bryant. Board member Black raised concerns about expiring temporary payroll specialist appointments in the city controller's office and was told recruitment should be ready for the next regular meeting.

Jun 3, 2026

city council

The Compton City Council held its annual AB 2561 public hearing on workforce vacancies, with HR reporting the city's vacancy rate dropped from 27.8% to 20.1% after 136 successful hires this fiscal year. The Fire Fighters union raised concerns about 15 fire department vacancies and the loss of 239 years of combined experience from 22 departures over the past decade. Multiple residents urgently demanded action on World Oil refinery emissions near Cesar Chavez Park, citing repeated citations, a facility fire, and ongoing health effects including nosebleeds and nausea affecting families and children. A proposed memorandum of understanding with SLA Inc. for a Raymond Street Park equestrian project failed on a 2-2-1 vote after concerns about the lack of a competitive bidding process. Council Member Bowers was appointed the new Mayor Pro Tem for District 3, and the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget public hearing was rescheduled to June 16.

Apr 27, 2026

city council closed session

The Compton City Council held a closed session to discuss the evaluation and potential dismissal of the City Manager. The council reaffirmed a prior 3-2 vote from April 7 to place the City Manager on paid administrative leave, with Council Members Spicer and Duhart dissenting. The council also voted to appoint Jerry Grooms, a retired annuitant, as acting City Manager during the leave period, with a contract to be brought back for ratification. During public comment, multiple residents raised concerns about transparency, alleged [Brown Act](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=54950.) violations, a disputed $300,000 check related to [Republic Services](https://www.republicservices.com), and demanded the removal of appointed Council Member Spicer. Council Member Duhart stated on the record that she disagreed with the actions, citing a state audit that highlighted instability in the City Manager position.

Apr 16, 2026

personnel board

The Compton Personnel Board unanimously approved eligible lists for seven city positions, including 13 firefighter vacancies focused on paramedic-certified candidates narrowed from nearly 200 applicants. The board also approved three temporary appointments, abolished six outdated eligible lists, and granted temporary exemptions from classified service for three positions in the Water and General Services departments. HR Director Jones acknowledged an oversight in failing to bring an exempt appointment before the board previously and apologized for the lapse. Battalion Chief Jason Henderson was recognized for commanding the response to a major fire at a metal processing facility that drew national news coverage, and board members urged city leadership to prioritize inspections of high-risk industrial buildings.

Apr 14, 2026

city council

The council voted 2-3 to reject a travel authorization (Item 5) totaling $1,623 structured across three separate General Fund line items — $1,000, $548, and $75 — for elected officials to attend the 67th Annual Municipal Seminar in Indian Wells in May 2026, with Mayor Sharif, Spicer, and Bowers voting no and Duhart and Darden voting yes; the three-way split of expenditures for a single event is a pattern flagged in the structured agenda. A right-of-entry and access agreement with nonprofit Connecting Compton for a former landfill site at 2815–2901 West Alondra Boulevard (Item 6) was tabled 4-1 (Bowers dissenting) after council members raised concerns about soil contamination, the city's disclosure of two unresolved competing access challenges filed against the city, and the revelation that vendor NV5 holds an active city stormwater-sampling contract at the site yet has produced no reports to the council. Staff was directed to bring NV5 before the council for a full presentation, explore a request for proposals for soil site analysis, and contact the EPA directly, with all three components targeted to return by mid-May 2026. The closed session on public employee discipline — concerning the city manager currently on administrative leave — was referred to outside retained counsel Enzo Law with no additional reportable action; two members of the public addressed the closed-session item before it convened, both speaking in support of the city manager.

Apr 7, 2026

city council

The council's two largest expenditure approvals were a combined $1,129,333 to Savi Construction, Inc. — structured as an $847,000 three-year citywide red curb painting contract plus a separate $282,333 first-year purchase order to the same vendor — approved 5-0 with Councilmember Bowers voting yes while stating 'reluctantly'; and a $801,642 two-year sole-source lease with Flock Safety, Inc. for 74 automatic license plate readers and 37 PTZ cameras, approved 5-0 despite opposition from at least four public speakers who cited privacy concerns, potential conflicts with California's SB 34 and SB 54, and the sole-source designation of the contract. The consent agenda — which included a $62,100 contract to Mariposa Eco Consulting for SB 1383 implementation, acceptance of a $32,208 LA Dodgers Foundation grant paired with a $24,000 contract to Harold Johnson (an amount that sits just below the $25,000 council approval threshold), and two sets of meeting minutes — passed 5-0 after item 7, a $5,662 Grainger purchase order for portable evaporative coolers at Wilson Park Gymnasium, was pulled for separate discussion and then approved 5-0. At the close of the meeting, following a reconvened closed session, council reported that the city manager was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Item 12, a discussion on facilities honoring Cesar Chavez, received no council direction and died; item 11, scheduling public hearings for the FY 2026-27 budget, was tabled to be returned with printed dates.

Mar 24, 2026

city council

The largest spending approved at this meeting was a five-year SEIU Local 721 collective bargaining agreement (Maintenance and Trades and Public Safety Auxiliary, FY2025–2029) carrying five expenditure line items totaling approximately $2.45 million; the city manager stated the deal brings wages closer to comparable-city market rates, it passed on an electronic vote, and no individual tally was captured in the transcript (Councilmember Darton was absent throughout the meeting). The council also approved a contract with Agiloft, Inc. for a contract lifecycle management platform — described from the dais as not to exceed $257,418 with a $76,000 implementation cost and $55,821 annual subscription — but the structured agenda items show Agiloft across six line items totaling $716,433, with four sub-$100K entries summing to $201,597 flagged as a possible split-payment pattern; additionally, a $76,000 line item attributed to Spectrum Mobility, LLC appeared in the structured agenda data but was not mentioned in the city manager's presentation, and the item passed with no tally stated. The consent agenda passed 4-0 with Darton absent, approving $102,245 in planning consultant contracts split between Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. at $180/hr and 4Leaf, Inc. at $160/hr from the General Fund. The largest single dollar item on the agenda — a right-of-entry agreement for the former Alondra Boulevard landfill site with $3 million flowing to Connecting Compton in two line items ($2M and $1M) — was pulled from the consent agenda before any vote; two Connecting Compton co-founders spoke in support during public comment, while two other residents raised concerns about unresolved environmental hazards at the site, including what one speaker described as visible daily gas emissions.

Mar 19, 2026

personnel board

The Compton Personnel Board unanimously approved six items at its March 19, 2026 meeting, with the most significant being the authorization of temporary firefighter appointments to address a severe staffing shortage in the fire department. Fire Chief Donald reported 10 current vacancies across captain, engineer, and firefighter ranks, with retired fire captains and firefighter paramedics being brought in temporarily while the department works to fill 20 positions. The board also approved eligible lists for city clerk technician, street maintenance supervisor, and associate civil engineer positions, abolished a building inspector eligible list due to unsuitable candidates, and extended the fire captain eligible list for six months. Compton College's upcoming fire academy, expected to launch in fall 2026, was noted as a future pipeline for local firefighter recruitment.

Mar 3, 2026

city council

The council's largest spending approvals came through the consent agenda — passed without individual vote tallies verbally recorded — totaling $141,115: $57,000 to UCLA Center for Prehospital Care for paramedic training, $70,560 across two line items to New West Landscaping for weed abatement (a vendor with recurring contract appearances in Compton records dating to at least 2018), and $13,355 to TAJ Trading Corporation for office furniture and counter purchases; a travel authorization totaling $1,253.24 from the General Fund for elected officials to attend the 2026 City Leaders Summit in Sacramento passed separately, 5-0 (Duhart, Spicer, Bowers, Darden, Sharif all yes). A $350,000 California DOJ Tobacco Grant budget amendment — which would have directed $332,668 of those funds to overtime pay for code enforcement inspections, $16,664 to salaries, and $668 to equipment — was tabled after council members questioned why inspection work was structured as overtime rather than regular-duty assignments; the item is scheduled to return the following week. The council discussed but did not vote on special legal counsel, directing the city manager to bring back a formal action item for three finalist firms: Alvarez-Madruga, Sanders and Roberts, and Norseman. Approximately sixteen residents addressed the Richland Farms parking permit ordinance during public comment — the night's dominant topic — with the majority demanding termination of the program and a smaller number expressing support.

Feb 19, 2026

personnel board

The Compton Personnel Board approved several key actions at its February 19, 2026 meeting, including certifying eligible lists for six city positions ranging from Payroll Specialist to Accountant 2, and approving multiple temporary and temporary exempt appointments across departments. The board reviewed the city's hiring and examination process, which requires candidates to score at least 70% on written and oral exams. A notable restructuring was approved renaming the Community Improvement department to Public Safety, with the new Public Safety Director serving as a liaison between the city and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An employee raised concerns about why external candidates were being considered for positions when qualified internal candidates were available. The board also modernized the Business License Inspector job specification, which had not been updated since the 1980s, and created a new Permit Service Supervisor position.

Feb 10, 2026

city council

No new spending was approved at this meeting; the sole action item was the appointment of Sandra Lightner to the one vacant Beautification Committee seat designated for Councilmember Bowers to fill, approved 4-0 with Councilmember Spicer absent and no dollar amount attached. The city treasurer's FY26 Second Quarterly Investment Report — an informational receive-and-file item, not a spending decision — reported a $312.18M investment portfolio generating $3.01M in total interest revenue for the quarter, drawn from the General Fund ($1.19M), PERS ($890,903), Measure P ($376,350), the Successor Agency ($347,864), and Low Cost Housing ($201,513). Approximately twenty-two residents addressed the council during public comment, the majority focused on the Richland Farms preferential permit parking program; the city manager stated the program was erroneously suspended by a former city attorney, that the current ordinance enforces parking restrictions 24/7 with no time-of-day limits unlike surrounding cities, and that staff would return the following week with amendment options — no vote was taken on the ordinance. No repeat vendors, split payments, or threshold-adjacent amounts appear in the approved items because no spending was authorized.

Feb 3, 2026

city council

The council's only spending approval was a contract with EUNA Solutions for a payment kiosk platform at three city locations: $50,220 for the first year from the General Fund, plus a renewal option of $47,970 per year — that recurring figure sits $2,030 below the $50,000 council approval threshold, and EUNA Solutions is named in both line items of the same agenda item; the vote passed via electronic ballot with no individual tally verbally stated in the record. Three law firms — Alvarez Glassman & Colvin (serving as special counsel since July 2024), Hawkins, and Le Altrejo — gave informational presentations for potential outside legal counsel and bond counsel roles, but no contract was awarded at this meeting. The council made five board and commission appointments: Gerald Griffin and Joshua Baker to the Charter Review Board (5-0 each), Delores Holbrook to the Charter Review Board (5-0), and Dr. Johnny Withers to the Olympics Tourism Committee (5-0); Brunell McDaniels was appointed to the Public Safety Committee 4-1, with Bowers dissenting. Approximately 24 members of the public addressed the council, with multiple speakers raising concerns about ICE enforcement activity in Compton, Richland Farms parking permit enforcement, and critically low fire department staffing; the city manager's performance evaluation was conducted in closed session with nothing publicly reported.

Jan 27, 2026

city council

No new spending was approved at this January 27, 2026 session; the informational item on outside legal counsel services (Item 3) was tabled to the following week without presentation, and the city manager stated during council reports that a roughly $1.7 million street sign replacement contract will come before the council at a future date with no vendor named on the record. The consent agenda covering four sets of meeting minutes passed 5-0; City Attorney Eric Perrodin's resignation effective December 8, 2025 was received and filed separately 5-0; the council voted 5-0 to extend its meeting beyond four hours and adopted a Comprehensive City Council Training Policy mandating state-required ethics, harassment prevention, Brown Act, and fiscal oversight training 5-0. Twelve appointments were approved: Rashina Young to the Planning Commission (5-0) and Juanita Wright to the Planning Commission (4-1, Bowers dissenting); David Colbert, Jessica Hunter, and Virginia Brown each to the Olympic Committee (all 5-0); to the Charter Committee: Lamika Butler, Rodney Lister, Dolores Williams, Dr. Crystal Williams, Mack Warren, and Shirley Gideon (each 5-0), plus Fidel Marquez (4-1, Spicer dissenting); acceptance of Inez Atkins' resignation from the Public Safety Committee passed 5-0; four charter committee seats remain vacant and the application deadline was extended to January 29. The city manager stated the city would rotate multiple law firms to present on the charter review process — a pattern a public commenter flagged by asking how many law firms currently hold agreements with the city and who oversees them, a question that received no on-the-record response. More than twenty residents addressed the council; approximately eight to ten speakers — including the president and vice president of the Compton Latino Chamber of Commerce — demanded the city disclose any coordination with ICE and provide immediate community guidance following enforcement activity in Compton that day, while additional residents raised unresolved concerns about city credit card misuse and the absence of a seated city attorney.

Dec 16, 2025

city council

The council's only spending approval was Item 5: $1,487.96 in General Fund expenditures for travel to the League of California Cities Mayor and Council Members Academy in Sacramento (January 21–23, 2026), structured as four separate line items — $675.00 payable to League of California Cities and three additional amounts of $508.96, $229.00, and $75.00 with no named vendors — approved 4-0, with Spicer absent. The city attorney publicly described a $200,000 settlement with former city official Eric Perrodin resolving two cross-litigation matters, but those agenda items were classified as informational and no open-session vote was recorded. Approximately 30 residents signed up for public comment; the dominant issue was opposition to the Richland Farms preferential parking ordinance, with multiple speakers citing the city's own code provision requiring 50% resident permit uptake before enforcement signs may be installed and stating that only roughly 40 of more than 400 homes had applied. Two speakers read California Penal Code 424 — covering misappropriation of public funds — into the record and formally noticed the city manager and all four council members regarding credit card charges attributed to Councilman Spicer; the mayor stated the investigation is ongoing and that the council has no control over its timeline.

Jul 1, 2025

city council

The council's only spending action was approval of $4,878 in in-kind expenditures from the General Fund for the 22nd Annual Compton Stand Down for Veterans (September 19–21, 2025), with no recipient vendors named in the agenda; the item also carried three identical $813.04 budget allocations split across Council District 1, Council District 4, and the Mayor's overtime expense accounts — three separate account lines for the same amount, a split-payment structure worth noting. The consent item passed 3-0-1, with Councilwoman Bowers abstaining and Councilmember Darden absent; Bowers stated on the record that she objected to approving in-kind support for this event while the council had denied comparable support to the Compton Kids Club, calling out what she described as inconsistent treatment of nonprofits. The council also designated Councilman Andre Spicer as Mayor Pro Tem for fiscal year 2025–2026, a rotation required by CMC Section 2.1.16 that the city attorney confirmed did not require a vote; the elected city attorney disputed the legal opinion cited by the mayor, stating that any valid opinion must come through his office, not from outside counsel. At least eight members of the public addressed the council, with several speakers contesting Spicer's eligibility to hold a council seat, and others raising concerns about ICE enforcement procedures at city parks, nonprofit grant oversight, and fireworks enforcement.

Jun 24, 2025

city council

The council approved the FY 2025-2026 budget totaling $262.32 million across all funds — including $89.71 million from the General Fund — 4-1 with Councilmember Darden dissenting, and authorized a right-of-way agreement for the Gateway Cities regional fiber optic network associated with a $103 million contract with the California Department of Technology and an incoming $46.1 million CPUC grant, approved 4-0 with Spicer absent. Angeles Contractor, Inc. — a repeat vendor appearing across three line items totaling approximately $1.97 million — received council chambers remodeling contracts under two separate agenda items (both 5-0); Alliant Insurance Services was authorized for a $4.5 million annual insurance portfolio renewal (5-0); and The Titan Group, also flagged as a repeat vendor in two line items on the same agenda totaling $335,716, received a $300,000-per-year Human Resources investigative services contract plus $35,716 for prior outstanding invoices (5-0). Further approvals included $199,790 to St. Nick's Christmas Lighting and Decor for holiday decorations (pulled for brief discussion then approved without changes, 5-0), $164,550 to Weaver and Tidwell LLP for ERP implementation project management (4-0, Spicer absent), $200,000 in CDBG funds for a senior Meals on Wheels program divided between Cuernavaca's Grill ($185,000) and Everytable ($15,000), a $202,456 subsequent-need payment to DUDIC for groundwater remediation (5-0), and $96,000 to Townsend Public Affairs — $4,000 below the $100,000 council approval threshold, passed through the consent agenda with no council discussion (5-0); the planned appointment of Councilman Spicer as Mayor Pro Tem was tabled after Councilmember Bowers requested legal advice before voting. Approximately nine members of the public spoke at the CDBG and HOME public hearing, raising concerns about the city's self-imposed matching funds requirement, a staff decision to redirect $15,000 originally recommended for Restoration Diversion into a council discretionary program, and whether CHIRLA should receive federal grant funding given public allegations of an ongoing federal investigation; the FY 2025-2026 Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan were approved with Spicer absent and Bowers' vote not recorded in the transcript.