From the Mayor’s Desk: Lessons from the Cal Cities Conference

Recently, 2,300 city leaders from across California met in Long Beach for the League of California Cities Annual Conference and  Expo. Assistant City Administrator Brandon Swanson, HR Director Marisa Bermudez, and I split up to cover as many of the 100 sessions as we could. Topics ranged across HR, planning and development, wildfire readiness, IT, and legal issues. In addition, during coffee breaks and evening events, I compared notes with colleagues from cities like Livermore, Pleasanton, Arroyo Grande, Benicia, and Hillsborough—trading insights on library remodels, public meeting practices, and even pickleball while sharing our own beautification successes.

Big Ideas from Big Cities

Long Beach’s mayor described how being a 2028 Olympics venue has sharpened the city’s sense of purpose after years of downtown rejuvenation. The conference center and revitalized waterfront are already impressive. Moreno Valley’s city manager and economic development team showed how early planning and “reach for the stars” negotiations can secure new parks and major civic infrastructure within large private projects. Although Carmel operates on a different scale, with our police station coming up, it’s inspiring to see how a clear vision could create huge community value even in our small village.

The Power of Partnerships

Cities showed uscreative ways to partner with churches, schools, and nonprofits to improve community facilities without relying solely on public funds. These efforts work best when everyone shares both the vision and the responsibility. It was encouraging to see others validating our approach to what we’re taking with our Harrison Library project.

Wildfire Readiness—Always Learning

Leaders from Malibu shared highly emotional experiences from last year’s devastating fires. Even with strong plans, real emergencies like the Franklin Fire can blur roles, strain resources, and heighten stress. Their message was simple: practice matters. Drills, checklists, and clearly defined roles save lives and reduce stress when things get tough. Carmel has made wildfire readiness a priority, and their experience reinforced the importance of ongoing preparation for staff, council, and commissioners.

From Parking to Basics

Seal Beach presented their parking challenges with helpful, plain-spoken insights from both their common sense consultant and a parking officer. They have paid parking in beachfront lots, yet their crowded downtown has none, creating confusion. We’ll be following up with them. Other sessions offered ideas for running smoother public meetings. Seeing how mayors, city managers, and attorneys handle pacing, timing, and public input gave us practical ways to keep improving how we work together in Carmel.

Smart Tools for Small Teams

At the Expo, we met with the vendor behind Carmel’s new sidewalk survey and learned how a quick, streamlined approval process could execute a contract to repair about half of our issues in under 45 days. We also spoke with companies offering integrated systems that connect finance, HR, permitting, and public works—freeing staff to focus more on service and less on paperwork.

A Worthwhile Investment

All in, my trip cost about $2,200—money well spent. I returned with fresh ideas, new contacts, and a clearer picture of where we stand among our peers, along with stronger ties to nearby city leaders. I’m grateful to Cal Cities for putting on a top-notch conference and to our council, staff, commissioners, and residents who will turn those good ideas into real improvements.

A quick note: You can listen to the podcast version of this column at cli.re/conference. I think you’ll find these brief overviews with AI hosts add useful context and commentary. You can find past columns at daleforcarmelmayor.com/blog.

Dale Byrne, Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea

dbyrne@cbts.us