Budget and Audit Committee Special Meeting – December 5, 2023
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Budget and Audit Committee Special Meeting – December 5, 2023
The Budget and Audit Committee of the Sacramento City Council held a special meeting on December 5, 2023, from 1:20 p.m. to 2:44 p.m. in the Council Chamber. The committee unanimously approved the consent calendar and discussed three major items: the Measure U Participatory Budgeting Pilot Program evaluation, the Measure U Community Advisory Committee’s FY2021/22 annual report, and the City Auditor’s baseline funding calculation for the Sacramento Children’s Fund (Measure L). Key outcomes included forwarding reports to the full City Council and requests for future budget outreach and oversight.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – Approved the Budget and Audit Committee meeting minutes from September 5, 2023.
- Item 2 – Accepted the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 1st Quarter of FY2023/24 and forwarded it to City Council for approval.
- Item 3 – Accepted the City Auditor’s Assessments of Revenues and Expenses Associated with the City’s COVID-19 Response – Report No. 5, and forwarded it to City Council.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Keon Bliss (public comment on Item 4) commended the Measure U committee and participants in the participatory budgeting (PB) pilot, noting that PB has been implemented in over 700 cities worldwide. He advocated for increased funding, reminding that the initial community demand was $15 million and that the pilot’s success with $1 million demonstrates potential for greater impact.
- Keon Bliss (public comment on Item 6) thanked the City Auditor for the baseline audit and suggested that funds like Measure L and Measure U could be used for participatory budgeting, citing examples from Boston. He asked about metrics for success within youth programs receiving baseline funding.
Discussion Items
- Item 4 – Measure U Participatory Budgeting Pilot Program Evaluation Report – Received and filed. The Measure U Community Advisory Committee presented findings from a consultant (Third Plateau) showing the pilot was successful: 1,000 residents participated, generating 555 ideas, with 52 applications and 17 projects funded. Projects highlighted included Universal Cafe (food dignity program in the North Area), a video game development STEM program in the South Area, and a one-day homeless services event. The committee recommended institutionalizing PB with $5 million annually. Discussion focused on infrastructure challenges, consultant costs ($250,000), and the need for robust budget outreach. Vice Chair Talamantes suggested a biennial approach to reduce consultant fees. Chair Steinberg proposed a January discussion on community engagement for the 2024‑25 budget.
- Item 5 – Measure U Community Advisory Committee FY2021/22 Annual Report – Accepted and forwarded to City Council. Chair Dickinson presented the report, noting legal compliance but insufficient performance measures. She highlighted the need for outcome-oriented metrics and better collaboration. Mayor Steinberg defended Measure U, noting its contribution of ~$60 million annually and the risk of a $95 million deficit without it. Discussion acknowledged the fungibility of Measure U and general fund dollars, with the committee suggesting a broader advisory role.
- Item 6 – City Auditor’s Baseline Funding Calculation for the Sacramento Children’s Fund – Accepted and forwarded to City Council. City Auditor Jorge Oseguera and Senior Analyst Nathan Lugo presented the baseline of $22.8 million for FY2022/23, derived from evaluating $50 million in expenditures and excluding $27.1 million (e.g., partial youth programs, ineligible funding sources, general operational support like library funding). Key challenges included lack of uniform youth expenditure tracking and potential post-publication adjustments. Councilmember Vang requested that any changes to the baseline be brought back to the committee and that the auditor present to the new Sacramento Children’s Fund Oversight Committee. Mayor Steinberg expressed concern about long‑term flexibility and possible manipulation of the baseline; Assistant City Attorney Ruyak clarified that the baseline is not a cap and that the auditor’s methodology sets a consistent standard. Vice Chair Talamantes opposed adjusting the baseline later, calling for a stable number.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar – Passed unanimously (4–0).
- Item 4 – Received and filed (no vote required).
- Item 5 – Motion to accept and forward passed unanimously (4–0).
- Item 6 – Motion to accept and forward passed unanimously (4–0).
- Directives – City staff to develop a robust community budget outreach plan for 2024‑25, with a report back in January 2024. City Auditor to notify the committee of any baseline adjustments before December 31, 2023, and present findings to the Sacramento Children’s Fund Oversight Committee.
Note: The meeting adjourned at 2:44 p.m. Mayor Steinberg left at 2:43 p.m. prior to adjournment.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. Uh, the city council's budget and audit committee will please come to order. Would the clerk please call the role to establish a quorum? Thank you, Councilmember Talamantes. Vice Mayor Gedda? Here. Mayor Pretemvang. And Mayor Steinberg. Here. Um do we do the land acknowledgement and the pledge for the okay? Yes, please. Would somebody want to lead us? Yes, please. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Patwin Wintoons peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous People's History, contributions, and lives. Thank you. Thank you. Salute Pledge. I played the U.S. allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Well, a very good afternoon to everyone. Welcome to the budget and audit committee. We've got a consent calendar, and then we're going to hear uh from uh some of our measure you leadership as well as uh the city staff, and then we're going to hear from the city auditor about a very important question, actually, and that is the baseline funding for uh the calculation for the Sacramento Children's Fund passed pursuant to the measure in 2022 by the city voters. Let us begin with the consent calendar. Are there questions or comments? Anyone on the consent calendar. If not, do you have consent, Mr. Mayor? Yes, please, thank you. Moved and seconded. Is there public testimony, Madam Clerk? There is not. All in favor of the consent calendar, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, abstain. That passes unanimously. Let's now move to uh item four, which are the findings and recommendations of the measure you committee advisory committee participatory budgeting pilot project. Very important uh measure that uh I know we've been uh you've been working on for quite some time. Chair Dickinson. Thank you. Um good afternoon. I'm Marge Dickinson, Chair of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee. I'm excited to be here to present the findings and recommendations from the evaluation of the Measure U participatory budget pilot program that was prepared by uh consultant third plateau. Before I speak to the substance of this report, I would like to acknowledge and thank my committee colleagues present here in the chamber, uh, Marcus Wolf and Marbeya Sala. They, along with Nikki Pascal from the committee, were instrumental in developing this presentation. And in addition, I would like to acknowledge former members of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee who comprised the committee's participatory budgeting ad hoc committee and who conceived and oversaw uh the implementation of the pilot project. They were Kathy Cresswell, Dana Kivill, Deborah Odo Kent, Gina Lujan, Kim Williams, Noel Mora, and Tracy Thomas. Today we will provide an overview of the uh I'm gonna call it PB, just for short, of the PB pilot, including goals, metrics, community engagement throughout the process, outcomes, and project highlights and recommendations, and next steps.
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