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A questionable security company, a lack of adequate staff accommodations, and the absence of a clear budget are among the issues that hampered the 2025 Hollister Independence Rally, the San Benito County Civil Grand Jury found in its annual report.
According to the grand jury’s 2025-26 report, and previously reported by BenitoLink, the Hollister City Council pursued the rally despite a “short planning window.”
The report notes the city approved the rally in January 2025 and identified a security firm in February, about five months before the historic event. However, the original security company’s bid was withdrawn in May after the firm “adjusted the costs after a complete understanding of the requirements.”
The grand jury report says the original security firm asked for $118,000 per day because it needed adequate hire rates to attract guards with police experience, given that the celebration had “potential dangers involved” and because it takes place during a holiday weekend.
The civil grand jury is convened annually and composed of 19 citizens who are sworn to serve as grand jurors and investigate the operations of various government departments and agencies.
The report notes the city first sanctioned a rally in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the movie “The Wild One,” which was inspired by the Hollister Riot of 1947.
The grand jury goes on to say the city contracted with American Global Security in May 2025 for $264,497. The contract was approved less than two months before the rally.
According to the report, the city lacked accommodations during the rally for security guards. Some of them had to sleep in their personal vehicles which, the civil grand jury noted, violates the city’s laws.
The grand jury report also noted that members of the public raised concerns about the security guards’ qualifications, questioning their professional experience and ability to speak English.
The grand jury agreed with American Global Security’s after-action report that Hollister should hire a security firm at least six months ahead of the rally.
Regarding the rally’s budget, the grand jury notes the city used funds from Amazon to “help close the gap” between revenue and costs. BenitoLink has previously reported on the $250,000 Amazon donation which the city had earmarked to remodel the bathrooms at the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center.
While the city claimed a cost overrun of just $200,000 for the rally, according to its own accounting report, the shortfall would have been nearly half a million dollars had the Amazon donation not been counted as “savings.”
The grand jury report said the city failed to provide a true accounting of the costs associated with the rally.
“When pressed for detailed information on the budget vs. actual revenue, final revenue and expenditure figures were not made available, indicating a lack of transparency,” the report said. “Records were requested but not included in documents provided.”
The grand jury recommended the city disclose actual expenditures within three months of the 2026 rally and to disclose all city-incurred costs for events with more than 1,000 people. It also recommended the City Council adopt a realistic budget, including revenue projections, at least nine months before the rally.
Overall, the civil grand jury report said it found a lack of continuity in information between city officials and staff members. It noted that the city’s rally ad hoc committee, consisting of Mayor Roxanne Stephens and Councilmember Rolan Resendiz, made the majority of the decisions for the rally.
It recommended the City Council adopt rules and responsibilities for all ad hoc committees to ensure continuity of information.
Neither Stephens nor City Manager Ana Cortez immediately responded to BenitoLink’s request for comment.
Hollister is required to respond to the findings within 90 days of the report, which was released on June 10. The city’s two-day rally for this year begins July 3.
The civil grand jury report also investigated the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department’s staffing and jail operations, and Sunnyslope County Water District’s process for adopting a new water rate.
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