CITY COUNCIL
Darrell Steinberg, Mayor
Angelique Ashby, Vice Mayor, District 1
Sean Loloee, District 2
Jeff Harris, District 3
Katie Valenzuela, District 4
Jay Schenirer, District 5
Eric Guerra, Mayor Pro Tem, District 6
Rick Jennings, II, District 7
Mai Vang, District 8
CHARTER OFFICERS
Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk
Susana Alcala Wood, City Attorney
Jorge Oseguera, City Auditor
Howard Chan, City Manager
John Colville, City Treasurer
City Council
Financing Authority
Housing Authority
Public Financing Authority
Redevelopment Agency
Successor Agency
915 I Street, 1st Floor, Sacramento
Published by the Office of the City Clerk
(916) 808-5163
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
For the Meeting of: Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
Agenda Item: Discussion Item 21
21. Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/22 Midyear Review
File ID: 2022-00174
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution approving the FY2021/22 Midyear Budget Report.
Contact: Mirthala Santizo, Budget Manager, (916) 808-5078, [email protected]; Emily Combs, Director of Finance, (916) 808-7914, [email protected], Department of Finance
Description of Attached:
1) Letter from Councilmember Jeff Harris regarding the Midyear Review
915 I Street New City Hall 5th Floor
Sacramento, California 95814-2604
O: 916.808.7003 F: 916.264.7680
February 14, 2022
Midyear Spending Priorities:
Dear Council Colleagues,
As happens in some years, we have some excess funds to consider spending on council priorities. This is my response to the Mayor’s suggestions.
To set the stage, we must acknowledge that we have asked our constituents to accept increases in the Solid Waste fund and the Storm Drainage fund. Both increases were necessary to assure the City complies with new state mandates, as well as deteriorating infrastructure in a sustainable way. I have supported moving ahead with these increases.
It is also noted in the City Manager’s midyear report that we have red ink in the outyears if we spend all the $27 million excess at this time. I do not think it is fiscally prudent to allocate all of these funds at midyear, but rather think that we should delay some of the expenditures that the Mayor has suggested until end of budget deliberations in May. We have some difficult issues to navigate in the near term, such as a proposed ballot initiative regarding homelessness that could prove extremely costly, as well as the identification of funding for current shelter efforts and funding Council generated homeless facilities like the 102-acre opportunity site.
That being said, the following expenditures seem to me to be of urgent concern:
Climate Change: $10 million
As was noted at the last Council meeting, climate change is an existential issue that our constituents clearly want the Council to take immediate and robust action on. The amount indicated would go to the Public Works Department to serve as matching funds as required by Federal and State grants to begin work on the urgent transportation and mobility projects noted in their report.
Homelessness: $2 million over two years
915 I Street New City Hall 5th Floor
Sacramento, California 95814-2604
O: 916.808.7003 F: 916.264.7680
The most pressing and deficient aspect of our response to homelessness is the lack of coordination amongst community service providers and the City’s Department of Community Response and the County of Sacramento (County). After traveling to Haven for Hope, it became abundantly clear that coordinated access and reliable Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) data sharing is a vital component to making our investments in homeless shelters and services productive and sustainable. Without this component in place, our efforts lose the impact that our community needs. In my initial ask at Council, I stated c $3 million ask of the City. The project will cost approximately $6 million over three years to perfect. It is expected that the County will equally co-invest, but the project must begin immediately. Equal investment from Sacramento Steps Forward will also be requisite to get us to the goal.
Park Maintenance: $3 million
This Council chronically underinvests in our park system. With well over a $30 million backlog in basic park maintenance projects, this amount is simply a start. Our parks are youth facing and of immense importance to our neighborhoods. To ignore them continues to degrade the quality of life in Sacramento.
The remaining balance $12 million should be set aside to address difficult decisions ahead, and used to backfill future deficits.
Cordially,
Jeff Harris
Councilmember