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Michael Harris Newsletter — August 17, 2026
📟 On Call with Mike Harris | District 3 | August 17, 2026
Hello, neighbors,
Welcome to the very first On Call, my weekly newsletter to you.
When I asked for your vote, I promised to truly listen and respond to every neighborhood in District 3, not just a select few. This is me keeping that promise. Every Monday, I will tell you what I am working on, why it matters, and how you can get involved. I believe you deserve to know exactly what your city government is doing, and you shouldn't have to sit through a five-hour council meeting to find out. The name is no accident, either. I spent my working life on call, ready when someone needed help, and that is exactly how I intend to serve you on this council.
Since this is our first one together, let me first share with you an interesting figure: Seventy percent. That is roughly the share of Merced Fire Department calls that are actually medical emergencies, not fires. I spent a good part of my career in EMS, so numbers like that shape how I look at almost everything that crosses the council dais. This week they sit behind two of our biggest stories: a measure heading to your November ballot and new federal dollars flowing into local primary care. We are also back in the chamber tonight at 6 p.m., and we lost a true Merced County original.
Here is where things stand.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 The Vital Services Protection Measure is headed to your November ballot. Earlier this month, we voted 6-1 to let Merced voters decide on a one-cent local sales tax, projected to generate about $18 million a year for services residents told us matter most: 911 response, police and fire staffing, street and pothole repair, addressing homelessness, and safe, clean parks. It appears on the Nov. 3 ballot and needs a simple majority to pass.
→ 💬 My take: You know I would rather grow city revenue by recruiting employers and winning grants than by taxing residents. But the federal SAFER grant that funds 24 firefighter positions expires in March 2027, and this choice belongs to you, not to seven people on a dais. Before the vote, I asked that youth services be written into the ballot language, and my colleagues agreed. Investing in young people is prevention, plain and simple.
→ 🚑 The EMS angle: That SAFER grant supports roughly 60 percent of our fire department's Advanced Life Support coverage and firefighter-paramedic staffing at three of our five stations. Staffing levels are response times. I will keep explaining exactly what is at stake so you are fully informed. LATE NOTE: Advanced Life Support (Paramedics) are now in all Merced City Fire stations 24/7! More on this in next week's issue.
👉 Read the City's announcement
👉 Read The Merced FOCUS coverage
🔹 New safety cameras are coming near Merced's hotels. Seventeen blue-light cameras will go up near our hotels and inns by the end of the year, feeding into the Police Department's Real Time Information Center. Here is the part I like: the $20,800 comes from the Tourism Business Improvement District's own board, funded by a tax on hotel guests, not by residents. Visitors who stay downtown in District 3 deserve to feel safe, and so do the businesses that host them. Footage is kept for two weeks and cameras capture public areas only.
👉 Read more about it
💼 Economic Development
🔹 High-Speed Rail: Merced deserves straight answers. This past week, city leaders were set to meet with Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, State Sen. Anna Caballero, and possibly Congressman Adam Gray about the future of High-Speed Rail here. The Authority has floated moving the planned downtown station to a site near Mission Avenue and Highway 99 in southeast Merced, and our city is pressing for the basics before anything is settled: a station location, a transportation plan, infrastructure costs, and a real funding strategy.
→ 💬 Where I stand: Expect a longer discussion from me on this important and highly controversial item in an upcoming issue!
👉 Read the Merced County Times report
🩺 Healthcare Access
🔹 A $650,000 boost for local primary care. On Thursday, Aug. 13, federal health officials came to Castle Family Health in Atwater to announce a $650,000 New Access Point grant and an upgrade to full Federally Qualified Health Center status, which unlocks funding that was previously out of reach. Plenty of Merced families rely on Castle clinics, and strong primary care is how small health problems get caught before they become 911 calls. Fewer preventable emergencies means less strain on the ambulances and ERs I have spent decades worrying about. This is also exactly the grants-first playbook I want our city running on every front.
🕊️ Remembering Roger Wood
Merced County lost a giant. Roger Wood, the Atwater businessman, civic leader, and longtime voice of "Community Conversations" on KYOS, passed away Aug. 5 at age 85. He helped lead the postcard campaign that convinced UC regents to build their tenth campus here, and he served this community in more ways than one page can hold. As a fellow veteran, I hold special respect for his service as an Army first lieutenant. A Celebration of Life is planned for Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. at the Atwater Community Center. My heart is with Chi Chi, his children, grandchildren, and everyone who loved that familiar voice.
📅 Meetings & Community Events
🔹 City Council meeting: tonight, Monday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. Council Chamber, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St., second floor. Come tell us what is on your mind, or watch from home.
👉 View agendas, minutes, and video
🔹 Planning Commission: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 6 p.m. Council Chambers, Merced Civic Center. I served on this commission before joining the council, and it is where much of Merced's housing and development work begins.
🔹 Merced Certified Farmers' Market: Saturday, Aug. 22, morning, downtown Merced. Running year-round since 1980. Local produce, local dollars, local farmers. That is economic development you can taste.
📣 Stay Connected with Merced
🔹 Get city alerts on your terms. Subscribe Merced lets you pick the topics you want, from emergency notifications to city news, delivered straight to you. If you sign up for nothing else, sign up for the emergency alerts.
👉 Sign up for Subscribe Merced
☎️ The Direct Line
That is the first On Call in the books, and I hope it is the start of a long conversation between us. If you found it useful, forward it to a neighbor. The more of us paying attention, the better this city runs. I will be back in your inbox every Monday.
This section is called The Direct Line because that is what it is. Talk to me. Between now and November, bring me your questions about the ballot measure, High-Speed Rail, or anything else on your street. My number is (209) 385-6203.. You can also reply to this email or reach me at HarrisM@cityofmerced.gov.
Stay safe out there, Merced.
