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Record of Proceedings

Sacramento Budget and Audit Committee Meeting Summary – May 26, 2026

Budget and Audit Committee — Tuesday, May 26, 2026
BodySacramento, California
SessionBudget and Audit Committee
DateTuesday, May 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:58:51
Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

We will call to order the budget nodded committee meeting for May 26th 2026.

0:24

And welcome to those of you who have joined us.

0:31

Council Member Talamantes.

0:33

Council Member Maple.

0:34

I am here.

0:34

Councilmember Getta.

0:36

And Chair Dickinson.

0:37

Here.

0:37

We have a quorum.

0:38

Thank you.

0:39

And Councilmember Maple.

0:41

We can do this in the acknowledgement and the pledge.

0:47

Rice for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nissanan people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Potuan Wintoon peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe.

1:03

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 today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous Peoples' histories, contributions, and lives.

1:17

Remain standing.

1:18

Salute and pledge.

1:20

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

1:27

One nation under God and divisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:34

All right.

1:35

Thank you all for uh joining us this morning.

1:38

If you uh wish to speak on any item on our agenda, you're welcome to do that.

1:44

Uh you need to fill out a speaker form and deliver that to our clerk here at the front of the chambers, and then we'll make sure to call on you on the item in which you are interested.

1:55

Um please keep in mind that public comment is limited to two minutes, and you can see the clock ticking down as you stand at the podium.

2:03

So be sure to keep an eye on that so you time your remarks so you get everything said that you that you want to get in.

2:10

Uh and with that, uh, I think we can move to our consent calendar.

2:16

So do we have any items that members wish to address on the consent calendar?

2:24

All my present.

2:25

Okay, and we have a motion and a second on the consent calendar.

2:29

Do we have any members of the public who wish to address?

2:31

I have no committee.

2:32

No speakers on the consent calendar.

2:34

All right, if there's nothing further, then all in favor signify by saying aye.

2:38

Aye, opposed say no.

2:39

Any abstentions, hearing none, motion passes unanimously.

2:43

Move on to uh item six, which is the audit of emergency medical services.

2:49

And because it's an audit, here's our auditor.

2:53

Good morning.

2:54

Good morning, Chair Dickinson and members of the budget and audit committee.

2:58

I'm Farish Darari, your city auditor.

3:00

Uh with me today is Joe Fleming, who is primarily responsible for completing this audit.

3:06

And the recommendation that's before you is to accept the audit of uh the Sacramento Fire Department's emergency medical services and forward it to the full city council for approval.

3:20

So first, I'd like to provide some background information regarding EMS operations and trends in EMS uh in demand for EMS services.

3:29

Uh the EMS division within the Sacramento Fire Department provides basic life support, advanced life support, and ambulance transport services for the city.

3:39

Uh 911 calls first go to the Sacramento Police Department dispatch center, and then they're transferred to the four fire medical calls to the Sacramento Regional Fire EMS Communications Center, who then provides the alert to the stations for units to respond.

3:58

SFD does not always respond to incidents with ambulances, trucks, or engines.

4:03

More recently, for non-emergency or low acuity calls, um, there are other teams that may respond, such as cases for substance abuse or mental health crises.

4:16

And since fiscal year 2019, uh Sacramento Fire Department incidents for both fire and medical have risen about 15%, which is more than double the six percent growth that fire operations and EMS staffing have seen during that same period.

4:34

Uh the number of fire stations has also stayed uh the same at 24 since 2018.

4:40

And then to help address this, EMS has more recently also contracted with ambulance services to provide basic life support services.

4:50

And many EMS operational policies are set by the county EMS agency, though Sacramento Fire Department um does maintain its own policy manual.

5:01

And the state also provides guidance and coordination.

5:04

In addition, there are outside groups such as the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA that suggest performance standards that are widely accepted.

5:16

So our audit objective was to evaluate the quality of the fire department's emergency medical services delivery and identify opportunities for improvement.

5:26

To do this, we looked at EMS processes from all stages of the operations.

5:31

So from the point when the dispatch answers the 911 calls to when EMS personnel mobilize and respond to the incidents, and when patients are offloaded for care at the hospitals if applicable.

5:45

This provides the perspective of both the provider and the patient.

5:49

And to do so, we review data on call-answer times from the dispatch center, turnout time data for Sacramento Fire Department personnel, responses from patient surveys provided by the city's ambulance billing provider, and accreditation and licensure data maintained by the fire department.

6:10

Additionally, we reviewed the various policies maintained by the department, operational standards established by county EMS agency, state EMS guidelines and regulations, state codes and best practices that are suggested by third party organizations such as the NFPA.

6:31

So for our first finding, we addressed the impact of non-emergency calls, or as I mentioned, low acuity on SFD operations.

6:40

So we reviewed data on the disposition of all the different types of 911 calls that SFD responded to in calendar year 2024.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Workforce Development█████████████████████████25%
Public Safety██████████████████████22%
Miscellaneous█████████████████████21%
Homelessness█████████████13%
Emergency Management████████8%
Procedural███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Budget and Finance███3%
Performance Management██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Sacramento Budget and Audit Committee Meeting Summary – May 26, 2026

The Budget and Audit Committee met on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, from 11:06 AM to 1:04 PM in the Council Chamber. Chair Roger Dickinson presided, with Members Eric Guerra, Caity Maple, Karina Talamantes present. The committee considered consent items, audits of emergency medical services and workforce diversity, and an update on councilmember proposals. Several members of the public testified on agenda items and matters not on the agenda.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the May 5, 2026 meeting minutes (File ID: 2026-01050).
  • Accepted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25 Single Audit Report and forwarded it to City Council (File ID: 2026-00948).
  • Accepted the FY 2023/24 Transportation Development Act Fund Audited Financial Statements and Compliance Report and forwarded to City Council (File ID: 2026-00952).
  • Accepted the FY 2024/25 Sacramento City Employees’ Retirement System Annual Financial Report and forwarded to City Council (File ID: 2026-00955).
  • Accepted the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 3rd Quarter of FY 2025/26 and forwarded to City Council (File ID: 2026-00917).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Item 7 (Workforce Diversity and Salary Trends): Lambert criticized persistent racial salary disparities, stating that “blacks are always at the bottom of salaries” and alleging quotas for Asian employees. He questioned resistance to DEI efforts and noted staff implementing changes remain in place.
  • On Item 8 (Council Proposal Updates): Several speakers advocated for funding a public bank feasibility study. Douglas McPherson asked the committee to reinstate $250,000 for a viability study and business plan, noting the funds were approved in 2023 but placed on hold. Goli Saba requested a motion to place $250,000 in this year’s budget, citing community support and alternative funding sources that do not affect staffing. Ann Mato highlighted potential savings from reduced bond interest and kept public dollars local. Greg Chapman also spoke in favor. Councilmember Maple noted the concept is worth exploring but questioned if $250,000 is sufficient given cost increases since 2023 and suggested examining next budget cycle.
  • On Matters Not on the Agenda: Lambert raised concerns about Medi-Cal reimbursement for ambulance services, the fate of a $250,000 allocation for a race equity group, and alleged missing checks related to “wide open walls.” His time was limited.

Discussion Items

  • Item 6: Audit of Emergency Medical Services – City Auditor Farishta Ahrary presented findings from an audit of the Sacramento Fire Department’s EMS division. Key findings: of 98,000 incidents in 2024, 61,000 were medical, and 18,000 (30%) were low-acuity, costing an estimated $4.6 million in resources. About 20% of incidents were flagged as homeless-related, with homeless individuals receiving roughly four ambulance responses per person vs. 0.15 for non-homeless. The audit recommended expanding alternative response units (e.g., mobile integrated health team), improving dispatch triage (e.g., nurse triage line), reducing patient offload times at hospitals, adopting NFPA turnout time standards (60 seconds, 90% compliance), and strengthening quality improvement processes. Fire Chief thanked the auditors and noted offload time had dropped from several hours to 28 minutes in April 2025. Councilmember Guerra requested further coordination between EMS and other response teams (CWRT, HEART, DCR) and data sharing for frequent utilizers. The committee unanimously accepted the audit and forwarded it to Council.
  • Item 7: Audit of City Employees’ Workforce Diversity and Salary Trends – City Auditor presented the 2025 assessment. Key data: city workforce 64% male, 36% female; average female salary was 85.6% of male average in 2025 (up from 84.5% in 2016). Ethnic diversity trends show White employees declining, Hispanic/Latino increasing. New hires in FY2025 were 52% male, 48% female, closer to city demographics. HR Director Samantha Hardy highlighted initiatives including implicit bias training, online exams, and expanded outreach. Councilmember Maple noted the importance of data-driven policy and confirmed the gender pay gap analysis is high-level, not a detailed study. Lambert from the public criticized the pace of change. The committee unanimously accepted the audit and forwarded to Council.
  • Item 8: Updates on City Councilmember Proposals – Amy Williams, Chief of Staff to the City Manager, presented an update on three active council proposals: 1) Authorizing staff to create a mechanism to fund community infrastructure boosting tourism in North Natomas (in progress with hoteliers); 2) Request for an illegal dumping program citywide (data collection underway, expected fall 2026); 3) Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District for District 2 (fiscal analysis underway). The committee received and filed the report. Councilmember Talamantes requested quarterly updates. No action was taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Item 6 (EMS Audit): Motion by Guerra, second by Talamantes – passed unanimously to accept the audit and forward to City Council. Chair Dickinson noted possible further exploration of appropriate response levels in the upcoming homeless audit on interdepartmental coordination.
  • Item 7 (Diversity Audit): Motion by Maple, second by Guerra – passed unanimously to accept the audit and forward to City Council. Committee endorsed continued DEI efforts.
  • Item 8 (Council Proposals): Received and filed. No vote required. Committee agreed to quarterly updates.
  • Public Banking Request: No action taken; Councilmember Maple suggested exploring in the next budget cycle.
  • Meeting Adjourned: The regular meeting adjourned at 1:04 PM, followed by a closed session on labor negotiations and city attorney performance evaluation.

Meeting Transcript

We will call to order the budget nodded committee meeting for May 26th 2026. And welcome to those of you who have joined us. Council Member Talamantes. Council Member Maple. I am here. Councilmember Getta. And Chair Dickinson. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. And Councilmember Maple. We can do this in the acknowledgement and the pledge. Rice for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nissanan people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Potuan Wintoon 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 today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous Peoples' histories, contributions, and lives. Remain standing. Salute and pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God and divisible with liberty and justice for all. All right. Thank you all for uh joining us this morning. If you uh wish to speak on any item on our agenda, you're welcome to do that. Uh you need to fill out a speaker form and deliver that to our clerk here at the front of the chambers, and then we'll make sure to call on you on the item in which you are interested. Um please keep in mind that public comment is limited to two minutes, and you can see the clock ticking down as you stand at the podium. So be sure to keep an eye on that so you time your remarks so you get everything said that you that you want to get in. Uh and with that, uh, I think we can move to our consent calendar. So do we have any items that members wish to address on the consent calendar? All my present. Okay, and we have a motion and a second on the consent calendar. Do we have any members of the public who wish to address? I have no committee. No speakers on the consent calendar. All right, if there's nothing further, then all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye, opposed say no. Any abstentions, hearing none, motion passes unanimously. Move on to uh item six, which is the audit of emergency medical services. And because it's an audit, here's our auditor. Good morning. Good morning, Chair Dickinson and members of the budget and audit committee. I'm Farish Darari, your city auditor. Uh with me today is Joe Fleming, who is primarily responsible for completing this audit. And the recommendation that's before you is to accept the audit of uh the Sacramento Fire Department's emergency medical services and forward it to the full city council for approval. So first, I'd like to provide some background information regarding EMS operations and trends in EMS uh in demand for EMS services. Uh the EMS division within the Sacramento Fire Department provides basic life support, advanced life support, and ambulance transport services for the city. Uh 911 calls first go to the Sacramento Police Department dispatch center, and then they're transferred to the four fire medical calls to the Sacramento Regional Fire EMS Communications Center, who then provides the alert to the stations for units to respond. SFD does not always respond to incidents with ambulances, trucks, or engines. More recently, for non-emergency or low acuity calls, um, there are other teams that may respond, such as cases for substance abuse or mental health crises. And since fiscal year 2019, uh Sacramento Fire Department incidents for both fire and medical have risen about 15%, which is more than double the six percent growth that fire operations and EMS staffing have seen during that same period. Uh the number of fire stations has also stayed uh the same at 24 since 2018. And then to help address this, EMS has more recently also contracted with ambulance services to provide basic life support services. And many EMS operational policies are set by the county EMS agency, though Sacramento Fire Department um does maintain its own policy manual.

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