Sacramento City Council meeting ends abruptly due to disruptions

WILL EXPECT PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THEM. THE NEXT MAYOR OF SACRAMENTO HAS A HUGE CHALLENGE BECAUSE THE CITY FACES A $50 MILLION BUDGET SHORTFALL, WHICH YOU ALL KNOW. THE CITY MANAGER HAS SAID THIS IS NOT DUE TO AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. IT’S CAUSED BY AN EXPANSION OF CITY SERVICES AND OVERALL COSTS THAT CANNOT BE SUSTAINED. SO THE QUESTION IS REALLY BECAUSE PART OF THAT WAS SPENT ON SHELTERS, HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET WHILE SUSTAINING OR EVEN EXPANDING THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO OUR HOMELESS COMMUNITY? AND RIGHT. SO WE START WITH STEVE HANSEN ON THIS ONE. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. TODAY WE LEARNED THE CITY BUDGET DEFICIT $66 MILLION. AND IT IS AN EXPENDITURE PROBLEM. REVENUES HAVE NOT DROPPED. I KNOW THE CITY HAS RESORTED TO TRYING TO RAISE TAXES THROUGH MEASURE C, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THROWN TOGETHER LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF SAUSAGE, BUT NOBODY’S REALLY HAPPY. I THINK WE HAVE TO STEP BACK AND GET BACK TO THE CORE REASONS WHY CITIES EXIST. WE HAVE TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE. WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR PARKS AND OUR STREETS, AND THAT HAS TO COME FIRST. THE CITY AND THE ROLES OF GOVERNMENT ISN’T TRADITIONALLY A HOMELESSNESS PROVIDER. WE’VE RECEIVED STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS TO DO THOSE THINGS, AND SO USING THOSE FUNDS, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HELP HOWEVER WE CAN, BUT INCREASE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COUNTY THROUGH EVEN NEW PROGRAMS LIKE CAL AIM, WHICH IS A MEDI-CAL PROGRAM THAT IS EXPERIMENTING AND EXPANDING SERVICES TO HOMELESS PEOPLE THROUGH HOUSING AND OTHER STUFF. BUT WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE CORE SERVICES IN THE CITY. WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR NEIGHBORHOODS SAFE, AND THAT’S THE CHIEF PRIORITY OF THE MAYOR. KEVIN MCCARTY. YEAH. SO I WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER DURING THE LAST RECESSION. IT WAS BRUTAL WHEN WE HAD TO SHUTTER SWIMMING POOLS AND PARKS AND LAY OFF PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL AND FIRE STATIONS. SO I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO GO BACK THERE AGAIN. BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS HOW WE’RE HERE, BECAUSE IT’S DEEPLY TROUBLING THAT WE’RE NOT LIKE WE WERE TEN YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD AN UNEMPLOYMENT OVER 10%, A DROP IN PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX. OUR ECONOMY IS GOING ON A DECENT CLIP, AND WE’RE FACING, YOU KNOW, 50, 60 OR POTENTIALLY $70 MILLION DEFICIT. SO WE NEED TO ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS AS FAR AS HOW IS THIS SPENDING GETTING US HERE. SO WE NEED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. AND WE NEED TO PROTECT CORE CITY SERVICES LIKE POLICE, FIRE AND PARKS. OUR CORE GENERAL FUND PROGRAMS. THAT MEANS TAKING A LOOK AT PROGRAMS THAT WE MAY HAVE EXPANDED WITH ONE TIME MONIES DURING THE COVID KIND OF REBUILD AND, YOU KNOW, SCALING SOME OF THOSE BACK AND FOCUSING ON THE CORE CITY SERVICES AS PEOPLE WATCHING MAY WONDER WHAT SPECIFICALLY YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THERE, WHICH OF THE SERVICES WOULD YOU SCALE BACK THAT WERE PAID FOR WITH ONE TIME MONEY? WELL, THERE WERE PROGRAMS THAT WERE STARTED OUTSIDE OF THE CORE. I THINK OF THE CORE AS POLICE, FIRE AND PARKS. ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT. THE GENERAL FUND. IS THAT OUR TOP PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO TO EVALUATE A SPECIFIC PROGRAM YOU WOULD CUT? I’M NOT GOING TO RECOMMEND ONE TODAY, BUT I THINK THAT YOU LOOK BACK, THERE ARE SOME THAT PROBABLY WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT SCALING BACK. OKAY. CANDIDATE PAN YEAH. THE PEOPLE OF SACRAMENTO WANT RESULTS. AND I BRING A RECORD OF RESULTS. SO WHEN I FIRST CAME TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE, WE HAD A $28 BILLION DEFICIT IN THE STATE BUDGET. JUST LIKE AS WE’RE FACING THE $50 MILLION DEFICIT IN THE CITY. WHEN I LEFT THE LEGISLATURE, WE HAD A $30 BILLION RESERVE TO HELP BUFFER AGAINST FUTURE ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. THAT’S THE KIND OF RESULTS PEOPLE WANT DURING THAT GREAT RECESSION, AS THE CITY WAS DESPERATE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO HOW TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET, THEY WERE PROPOSING TO CUT FIRE STATIONS. WELL, I STEPPED UP AND GOT FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS THAT BROUGHT IN $2 MILLION A YEAR TO HELP SUPPORT FIRE. SERVICES. IN FACT, THOSE DOLLARS ARE STILL COMING EVEN NOW, UH, DECADES LATER, OVER A DECADE LATER. AND I APPRECIATE THAT PEOPLE BROUGHT UP CAL AIM AND, UH, AND CARE COURT BECAUSE AFTER ALL, I WAS THE ONE WHO WORKED ON THAT LEGISLATION. UH, CAL AIM WAS SOMETHING THAT I WORKED ON THAT ACTUALLY ALLOWS US TO BRING DOWN FEDERAL FUNDS TO HELP PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND HOUSING NAVIGATION TO ADDRESS OUR HOMELESS ISSUES. SO THAT’S NOT REQUIRING CITY TAX DOLLARS. THAT’S US BEING ABLE TO DRAW DOWN FEDERAL MONEY IN ORDER TO DO THAT, EVEN AS OUR STATE’S STRUGGLING WITH ITS OWN BUDGET DEFICIT. ALL RIGHT, CANDIDATE COFFER, I’M FRUSTRATED THAT WE’RE IN THIS POSITION BECAUSE I SERVED AS A MEASURE U. COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR FOR FOUR TERMS, AND THAT WAS THE THE COMMITTEE THAT WAS OVERSEEING OUR TAX INCREASE THAT LED TO AN ADDITIONAL $70 MILLION A YEAR COMING INTO THE CITY’S BUDGET. AND WE PUSHED AS A COMMITTEE FOR THOSE. DOLLARS TO BE SPENT WELL, AND ALSO FOR THE PROCESS AND EFFICIENCY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT OUR CITY COUNCIL SPENT SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS PAYING MANAGEMENT PARTNERS TO RECEIVE TO BE IMPLEMENTED. AND WITHIN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS IS AT LEAST $50 MILLION PER YEAR IN SAVINGS. SO NOT ONLY WAS IT ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE FOR US TO BE IN A DEFICIT, WE ACTUALLY COULD HAVE A SURPLUS. AND THAT’S THE KIND OF FAILED LEADERSHIP THAT WE DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO IS IGNORING THE VERY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE PAID FOR TO ASK US HOW TO CUT OUT WASTE. WE SHOULD NOT BE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT HAVING TO CUT SERVICES BECAUSE. WE SHOULD NOT BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAVE A DEFICIT. AND SO THAT’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME AS YOUR MAYOR IS SOMEONE WHO’S GOING TO SPEND YOUR MONEY WISELY, BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE TO WASTE MY

Sacramento City Council meeting ends abruptly due to disruptions

Updated: 11:53 PM PST Feb 27, 2024

Tuesday’s Sacramento City Council meeting was halted for several hours after multiple disruptions by the same woman. KCRA 3’s Carolina Estrada was at Sacramento City Hall, where Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked for a woman to be removed from the meeting after she repeatedly interrupted by yelling. It is not clear what they shouted. The woman along with a group of people refused to leave. One of the most important topics on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is the city’s budget deficit of more than $50 million. The budget discussion has been postponed to March 12.

Tuesday’s Sacramento City Council meeting was halted for several hours after multiple disruptions by the same woman.

KCRA 3’s Carolina Estrada was at Sacramento City Hall, where Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked for a woman to be removed from the meeting after she repeatedly interrupted by yelling.

It is not clear what they shouted.

The woman along with a group of people refused to leave.

One of the most important topics on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is the city’s budget deficit of more than $50 million.

The budget discussion has been postponed to March 12.