(SAN RAMON) -- Big business approved in one swell swoop seems to be a pattern in local California government.
Between last night's City of Fremont and City of San Ramon Council meetings, serious matters got underscored when listed among other noteworthy items. In Fremont, high waste fees, only reviewed every two years, were tucked away in the Dec. 9 consent agenda. In San Ramon, millions of dollars were approved in minutes.
I know because I watched both meetings in full to report exactly what the OpGov.ai platform picked up.
This is what OpGov.ai has to say about last night's Fremont meeting.
"While critical administrative functions like approving past meeting minutes were addressed, significant policy decisions such as setting solid waste collection rates for 2026-2027 and authorizing over $150,000 for new community surveillance cameras were placed on this consolidated agenda, potentially limiting public debate," the platform reports.
This is what OpGov.ai has to say about last night's San Ramon meeting.
"The City Council meeting on December 9, 2025, appears to have been largely a perfunctory session, characterized by a substantial number of items, including significant financial commitments, being processed through the Consent Calendar," according to the platform, adding, "This approach, while efficient, inherently limits public debate and scrutiny over crucial decisions."
The San Ramon consent agenda reveals approvals for numerous high-value contracts for on-call consulting services in traffic engineering, geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering fields, collectively exceeding $2 million, alongside a nearly $1 million expenditure for animal control services, according to the platform.
San Ramon Consent Agenda, Dec. 9
"The lack of any public comments in the provided transcript or included in the agenda PDF suggests either minimal direct public engagement during the meeting or that public input, if submitted via email, was not openly discussed, diminishing transparency in a critical aspect of local governance," OpGov.ai reports.
What this reporter did see was that most of the meeting was spent on swearing in San Ramon's new police chief, who is officially on the clock. After administering the Oath of Office to Police Chief Becky Chestnut, assuring she would support and defend both the U.S. and California from all foreign and domestic enemies, Mayor Mark Armstrong gave the new law enforcement officials the stage.
"I have plenty of people to thank, as you can see," Chestnut said at last night's regularly scheduled city council meeting. "Lucky has been my phenomenal partner and two kids on top of that."
After thanking the extended family present, Chestnut acknowledged her new team, calling her law enforcement peers, staff, and volunteers "fantastic."
San Ramon's new police chief shares a touching moment with her partner, child after being sworn-in
With no deferred consent agenda or new or old business, City Manager Steven Spedowfski informed citizens about holiday updates, including police toy drives and recent earthquakes reported by OpGov.ai earlier this week. Councilmembers followed suit, noting their activities since the last meeting, all of which are far less important than the millions of dollars approved in the consent agenda.
OpGov.ai congratulates Chief Chestnut on the promotion.
If you would like to add to this report, please email me at reporterangelaunderwood@gmail.com.
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