The Santa Rosa City Council, enjoying slightly improved revenues from a modest economic recovery, this week will consider a budget representing the largest boost in city spending since the recession-era slashing began.

A section of Santa Rosa’s Prince Memorial Greenway, closed at night since May 28, has reopened after completion of work to clean up contaminated soils.

Santa Rosa is hiring a consultant to help it decide whether to join the launch of the Sonoma Clean Power Authority, virtually assuring a down-to-the-wire decision on the controversial issue.

Santa Rosa has hired a new parks and recreation director from El Paso, Texas, to replace Marc Richardson, who resigned in December. Nanette Smejkal was selected following a nationwide search because of the experience she gained over a 25-year career managing parks and recreations departments with a diverse array of programs and facilities, City Manager Kathy Millison said.

Santa Rosa plans to refinance about $35 million in pension bonds in an effort to control costs and prevent the city credit rating from slipping further.

Santa Rosa is rolling out a web page and mobile phone application called MySantaRosa that make it easier for residents to point out a problem, get answers to common questions or simply make helpful suggestions to City Hall.

Santa Rosa’s City Council is planning to tackle some thorny issues in the next two years, including the annexation of Roseland, requiring labor agreements on public projects and relaxing the city’s medicinal marijuana ordinance.

The mayor of Santa Rosa has called for a financial audit of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in the wake of what he called ‘disquieting’ revelations about the department’s budget.

Two former top officials in the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department face fines for failing to report thousands of dollars in free gifts from the operator of the Bennett Valley Golf Course.

Marc Richardson, director of the department until his retirement in December, and Rich Hovden, parks development manager until his retirement in February, are set to be fined next week by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. Both men’s retirements were unexpected.

Santa Rosa’s City Council begins the first of two in-depth budget sessions Tuesday to decide how to spend about 9 percent more in the coming year.