City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2026-00356 1/13/2026
Declaration of Critical Need to Hire an Extra Help Program Specialist Position and Authorization to Hire a Retired Annuitant to that Position File ID: 2026-00356
Location: District 4
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) certifying the critical need to hire an extra help classification of Program Specialist on or after January 20, 2026, as extra help; 2) waiving the 180- day waiting period for initiating post-retirement employment; and 3) authorizing the City Manager or designee to appoint Lucinda Willcox as a retired annuitant into the Program Specialist classification.
Contact: Matt Eierman, Director, (916) 808-5849, [email protected], Department of Public Works
Presenter: Matt Eierman, Director, (916) 808-5849, [email protected], Department of Public Works
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-City Resolution
3-CalPERS Resolution
4-Appointment Letter
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Assembly Bill 340, the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2013 also known as PEPRA, was signed into law on September 12, 2012, and went into effect on January 1, 2013.
PEPRA created Government Code Section 7522.56 which requires public agency retirees to wait 180 days after retirement before returning to work for a public agency. This waiting period can be waived should the City Council certify the critical need to fill a specific position. The Government Code allows a retired annuitant to fill such a position where the employee has specific experience and skills necessary to perform the functions of the position for a limited time.
With nearly 29 years of experience, Lucinda Willcox provides critical leadership, continuity, and institutional expertise at a pivotal moment for the once-in-a-generation I Street Bridge Replacement Project, particularly as the City has recently transitioned to a revised and more complex financing
File ID: 2026-00356 1/13/2026
model to ensure the project is fully funded and construction can begin in May 2026.
This recent shift in financing approach, driven by funding timing, cash-flow constraints, and risk mitigation, requires immediate and sustained technical oversight to finalize interagency agreements, secure loan terms, and align local, state, and federal funding sources. Ms. Willcox’s deep and unique institutional knowledge and long-standing involvement since the project’s inception will be instrumental in navigating these changes and maintaining project momentum across multiple funding cycles, agency partners, and evolving financial requirements.
Ms. Willcox led the coordination, negotiation, and execution of the complex funding and financing framework necessary to deliver the $300+ million I Street Bridge Replacement Project, a highly technical, multi-agency effort involving the City, Caltrans, regional partners, and federal funding programs. Her responsibilities included oversight of funding eligibility and compliance, reimbursement structures, cash-flow sequencing, and the precise alignment of construction expenditures with approved and available funding sources. These functions have become even more critical as the City advances a revised financing strategy designed to lock in funding certainty and protect the May 2026 construction start.
The City now faces an immediate and time-sensitive need to finalize these updated funding and financing agreements. Any delay in completing this work would directly jeopardize the project schedule, expose the City to cost escalation, disrupt cash-flow assumptions, and increase fiscal risk, potentially threatening the project’s overall feasibility and the ability to begin construction as planned in Spring 2026.
In parallel with finalizing the financing structure, Ms. Willcox established and maintained the project’s financial management framework, including internal controls, reporting protocols, reimbursement tracking, interagency payment coordination, and audit readiness throughout construction. These fiscal oversight functions are essential to safeguarding the City’s financial interests and ensuring compliance with state and federal funding requirements, particularly under the revised financing model now being implemented.
Ms. Willcox’s continued involvement is therefore critical to stabilizing the new financing approach, mitigating financial risk, and ensuring the City can successfully transition from funding strategy to construction execution. Retaining her services preserves institutional knowledge at a moment when the project is most financially vulnerable and schedule-sensitive. Without this continuity, the City would face heightened risk of funding disruptions, schedule delays, and cost escalation that could undermine the ability to commence construction in May 2026.
It is important to clearly distinguish Ms. Willcox’s former role from the proposed assignment. In her prior position as Assistant Director, Ms. Willcox held executive-level responsibility for Public Works operations, including department-wide management, staff supervision, budget authority, and operational decision-making across eight divisions.
File ID: 2026-00356 1/13/2026
The proposed retired annuitant assignment is materially different and narrowly scoped. It is limited to providing technical and strategic expertise related solely to bridge financing and associated funding mechanisms within a defined project context. The role does not include departmental management, supervision of employees, or authority to make policy or operational decisions. Instead, it focuses on discrete, time-bound deliverables necessary to finalize and stabilize the I Street Bridge financing framework.
This distinction confirms that the retired annuitant role is not a continuation of prior employment, but a temporary and limited engagement to address a highly specialized expertise gap tied to an urgent and defined infrastructure financing need. Staff expects Ms. Willcox’s tenure to be limited to approximately six (6) to twelve (12) months, concluding once bridge financing is secured, executed, and stabilized.
Ms. Willcox’s extensive knowledge of state and federal transportation funding eligibility, particularly Caltrans and FHWA requirements, uniquely positions her to work with Caltrans, the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA), and regional partners to complete the remaining interagency agreements. She has served for years as the City’s primary liaison with STA and SACOG, relationships that are central to the revised financing strategy now underway.
While the City is actively recruiting a new Assistant Director to assume these responsibilities in the future, Ms. Willcox’s retirement coincided with a critical inflection point for the I Street Bridge project.
At the time of her retirement, she was actively advancing several essential financing actions that must now be brought to completion:
• Negotiating the loan agreement with STA under the revised financing model • Developing a strategy to manage and sequence local funds to match federal funding without compromising other City CIP commitments
• Structuring agreements between the City of Sacramento and the City of West Sacramento to allocate local match contributions and debt-service obligations associated with the STA loan
• Developing contingency financing plans to address potential high bids and ensure the project can be awarded without delay
At more than $300 million, the I Street Bridge Replacement Project is by far the largest transportation capital project the City has ever undertaken. The recent shift in financing strategy makes continuity of expertise not just beneficial, but essential to ensuring funding certainty and achieving the planned May 2026 construction start.
Policy Considerations: The City Council may waive the 180-day waiting period for retired annuitants. per California Government Code 7522.56.
File ID: 2026-00356 1/13/2026
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): This action is not a project that is subject to CEQA because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines §15378(b)(5)).
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: The City Council may waive the 180-day waiting period for retired annuitants when there is a critical need.
Ms. Willcox’s long background on the I Street Bridge Replacement Project, along with her extensive background and experience in coordination and understanding of federal, state, regional, and local transportation funds, knowledge of processes and connections with related state, regional and local agencies, and understanding of City budgeting and financial processes and agreements, make it necessary to retain her services.
Financial Considerations: Most of the costs for the position will be covered directly through the I Street Bridge Replacement Project (T15136000). There is sufficient funding available to support the costs of this position. Any non-project related costs, which are anticipated to be limited, can be absorbed within Public Works Department’s operating budget. Sufficient funding is available in the services and supplies budget of the Department of Public Works’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26 Approved Operating Budget to cover the approximate $20,000 expense. Funding in future fiscal years for non- project related costs is subject to availability of funding in the adopted budgets for the respective fiscal years.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-xxxx
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
RESOLUTION FOR EXCEPTION TO THE 180-DAY WAIT PERIOD FOR
APPOINTMENT OF A RETIRED ANNUITANT TO THE PROGRAM SPECIALIST
CLASSIFICATION
California Government Code Sections 7522.56 and 21224
BACKGROUND
A. In compliance with Government Code section 7522.56 the City Council must provide CalPERS this certification resolution when hiring a retiree before 180 days has passed since their retirement date.
B. Lucinda Willcox retired from the City of Sacramento in the position of Assistant Director, Public Works effective December 27, 2025.
C. Section 7522.56 requires that post-retirement employment commence no earlier than 180 days after the retirement date, which is June 25, 2026, without this certification resolution.
D. Section 7522.56 provides that this exception to the 180-day wait period shall not apply if the retiree accepts any retirement-related incentive.
E. The City Council, the City of Sacramento, and Lucinda Willcox certify that Lucinda Willcox has not and will not receive a Golden Handshake or any other retirement- related incentive.
F. The City Council hereby authorizes the mayor to appoint Lucinda Willcox to serve for a limited duration as a retired annuitant in the vacant position of Program Specialist for the City of Sacramento pursuant to Government Code sections 7522.56 and 21224, effective on or after January 20, 2025.
G. No matters, issues, terms or conditions related to this employment and appointment have been or will be placed on a consent calendar.
H. The employment shall be limited to 960 hours per fiscal year.
I. The compensation paid to retirees cannot be less than the minimum nor exceed the maximum monthly base salary paid to other employees performing comparable duties, divided by 173.333 to equal the hourly rate.
J. The maximum monthly base salary for this position is $10,551.12 and the hourly equivalent is $60.871829, and the minimum monthly base salary for this position is $7,498.48 and the hourly equivalent is $43.260471.
K. The hourly rate paid to Lucinda Willcox will be $60.871829.
L. Lucinda Willcox has not and will not receive any other benefit, incentive, compensation in lieu of benefit or other form of compensation in addition to this hourly pay rate.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council hereby certifies the nature of the appointment of Lucinda Willcox as described in the staff report herein and that this appointment is necessary to fill the critically needed position of Program Specialist for the Public Works Department for a period of limited duration on or after January 20, 2026. This position is critical to the daily operations of the Public Works Department.
Section 2. The City Manager is authorized to appoint Lucinda Willcox to the position of Program Specialist on or after January 20, 2026.
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-xxxx
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
RESOLUTION FOR EXCEPTION TO THE 180-DAY WAIT PERIOD EXCEPTION California Government Code Sections 7522.56 and 21224
WHEREAS, in compliance with Government Code section 7522.56 the City Council must provide CalPERS this certification resolution when hiring a retiree before 180 days has passed since his or her retirement date; and
WHEREAS, Lucinda Willcox CalPERS ID_______ retired from the City of Sacramento in the position of Assistant Director, Public Works, effective December 27, 2025; and WHEREAS, section 7522.56 requires that post-retirement employment commence no earlier than 180 days after the retirement date, which is June 25, 2026, without this certification resolution; and
WHEREAS, section 7522.56 provides that this exception to the 180 day wait period shall not apply if the retiree accepts any retirement-related incentive; and WHEREAS, the Sacramento City Council, the City of Sacramento and Lucinda Willcox certify that Lucinda Willcox has not and will not receive a Golden Handshake or any other retirement-related incentive; and
WHEREAS, the Sacramento City Council hereby appoints Lucinda Willcox as an extra help retired annuitant to perform duties of the of Program Specialist for the City of Sacramento under Government Code sections 7522.56 and 21224 effective January 20, 2026; and
WHEREAS, the entire employment agreement, contract or appointment document between Lucinda Willcox and the City of Sacramento has been reviewed by this body and is attached herein; and
WHEREAS, no matters, issues, terms or conditions related to this employment and appointment have been or will be placed on a consent calendar; and WHEREAS, the employment shall be limited to 960 hours per fiscal year; and WHEREAS, the compensation paid to retirees cannot be less than the minimum nor exceed the maximum monthly base salary paid to other employees performing comparable duties, divided by 173.333 to equal the hourly rate; and WHEREAS, the maximum monthly base salary for this position is $10,551.12 and the hourly equivalent is $60.871829, and the minimum monthly base salary for this position is $7,498.48 and the hourly equivalent is $43.260471; and WHEREAS, the hourly rate paid to Lucinda Willcox will be $60.871829; and WHEREAS, Lucinda Willcox has not and will not receive any other benefit, incentive, compensation in lieu of benefit or other form of compensation in addition to this hourly pay rate; and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Sacramento City Council hereby certifies the nature of the appointment of Lucinda Willcox as described in the staff herein and detailed in the attached employment agreement/contract/appointment document that this appointment is necessary to fill the critically needed position of Program Specialist for the City of Sacramento for a period of limited duration on or after January 20, 2026.
This position is critical to daily operations of the Public Works’ Department.
ATTACHMENT-Appointment Letter
(Signatures and other notations as per usual for resolution by governing body name including vote count)
City Manager’s Office
Main: (916) 808-5704
915 I Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
January 20, 2026
Lucinda Willcox
1924 40th Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
Dear Lucinda:
Congratulations on your appointment as an extra help retired annuitant in the at-will exempt position of Program Specialist, serving at the pleasure of the City Manager.
Your appointment is effective January 20, 2026, and your rate of pay will be $60.871829 per hour. Your extra help appointment to provide technical oversight for the financing of the I Street Bridge project will end at the conclusion of special project work , but no later than January 20, 2027 . Pursuant to the Government Code governing retired annuitants:
1. Employment shall be limited to 960 hours per fiscal year for all CalPERS covered employers.
2. You are not eligible to receive any other benefit, incentive, compensation in lieu of benefit s, or other form of compensation in addition to the hourly pay rate.
3. You will be required to follow all other conditions related to the appointment of CalPERS retired annuitants.
You may be required to file a conflict -of-interest statement, which is a determination made by the City Clerk. Your department will provide the appropriate forms if required.
You have my best wishes for success and my support in this important position. I know you will do well!
Sincerely,
Maraskeshia Smith
City Manager