Okay. We'll call this meeting to order. The Sacramento City Council, please call the roll.

Thank you. Council Member Kaplan.

Council Member Dickinson. Vice Mayor Talamantes.

Council Member Pluckybaum will be absent this afternoon. Council Member Maple.

Mayor Pro Tem Gada. Council Member Jennings. Council Member Vang.

Mayor McCarty. Mayor McCarty.

You have a quorum.

Okay. Council Member Garrett, can you do the pledge and the land acknowledgement?

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Mayor McCarty.

Now, Mr. Chairman is presenting safe voting week.

Thank you.

We have our recipients, Tim.

I want to come forward.

We're getting the joy this afternoon to start the day recognizing Safe Boating Week.

And before I say anything more about that, I want to note that they have come prepared with life jackets.

And this is very important to the mayor and to me because as a county supervisor,

I was the author of the county ordinance that requires life jackets to be used by children 12 and under on any of our rivers, streams, lakes.

And as a council member, the mayor was the author of the same ordinance for the city.

So this is very meaningful to hopefully everybody, but especially I think to the two of us.

And we want to recognize we're getting into obviously beautiful weather.

People want to be outdoors.

They like to be on the water, on the rivers, in the lakes.

And so we want to take a moment just to underscore the importance of and the necessity of safe boating practices.

This is notable because about 12 percent of U.S. households own or co-own a recreational vessel of some type.

We know that literally thousands of people will be out there for recreational and other purposes, fishing and all kinds of good stuff on the waterways.

And we want to take a moment to make sure that they're thinking about how to be safe when they're doing that.

So we know that about 75 percent of boating deaths occur on boats where the boat operator had never received boating education or instruction.

So that's what makes this moment, I think, especially important.

And so on behalf of the council, I'll just read that there now, therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and the council of the city of Sacramento that we hereby recognize May 17 to 23, 2025, a safe boating week.

The start of a year round effort to promote safe boating in the city of Sacramento and strongly encourage all who engage in recreational boating to learn and follow safe boating practices.

So with that, I'm going to turn it over to the two of you to go a little, if you'll excuse the expression, a little deeper dive into boating safety.

Okay.

Okay.

Fantastic.

Mr. Mayor, members of the city council, thank you very much for having us in today and for recognizing May 17th.

Hi everyone.

Thank you vision.

Thank you井 Anderson.

Thank you.

carry a lot of safe boating information instead of pistols a good thing most of

our members are also older and retired so we probably wouldn't be very good

with firearms but we are very good at public outreach public education and

promoting recreational boating safety thank you again we're honored and that's

all we have for you right now and you have the life jackets with you we have

life jackets we have one for everyone where will we do this mr. Dickinson just

really quickly well while everyone heads down for their photo I just want to say

first of all thank you so much for both of you this is obviously very important

we know that that life jackets save lives but also want to give a shout out to my

chief of staff Ryan Brown who's also a member of the auxiliary yes so he's

actually on his way down now but great fantastic we take a picture yep let's do

it okay

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document and is the city's way of planning to maintain our assets and

identify our deferred maintenance and capital needs. So I want to introduce

Nora Howard from our small but mighty budget team who's going to give you an

update on the CIP. Good afternoon Mayor and Councilmembers. Nora Howard senior

budget analyst with the finance department. The item before you is a 2025

through 2030 proposed capital improvement program also known as the CIP. The

capital improvement program is a five-year financing plan for city

infrastructure and facility needs and the CIP reflects Council adopted policies and

plans and incorporates policies identified in various master plans and deferred

maintenance assessments. The five-year proposed CIP totals 522.6 million which

funds a hundred and thirty-three projects over the five-year plan to

maintain and upgrade city facilities and capital equipment. Seventy three point four

million is funded by the general fund over the five-year plan and fifteen point one

million is funded by the general fund for fiscal year 2526. This table identifies

the 2025 through 2030 capital funding summary. The five-year CIP identifies

approximately two point three billion in capital deferred maintenance needs and

approximately five hundred million in identified funding leaving a funding gap of

one point eight billion over the five-year plan. This chart identifies funded projects in the five-year CIP

by fund totaling five hundred and twenty two point six million. And this chart

identifies funded projects for the fiscal year 2526 CIP by fund totaling a hundred and

thirty-seven point three million which supports a hundred and twenty-seven existing

projects or programs. Funded projects and programs in the fiscal year 2526 CIP include the water plus

program which will design plans and specifications for the development of

water supply expansions needed due to growth. The Crate Myrtle Park project which

will provide a community park in the new Panhandle development area. This traffic

safety response program which will implement safety improvements in high

collision areas quickly to reduce traffic and pedestrian hazards citywide. The city

facility reinvestment program which will fund improvements such as roof repairs, lighting

upgrades and other deferred maintenance needs at various city buildings. The

advanced life support equipment program which will provide funding for ambulances and

equipment such as gurneys. And the performing arts center improvements program which funds

improvements and repairs for the safe credit union performing arts center to

maintain a competitive and attractive venue. A full full list of projects can be found in

the proposed CIP document which is available on the city's website.

This chart identifies unfunded capital needs in the five-year CIP by program area totaling approximately

1.8 billion. The city is not alone as most metropolitan areas nationwide are also facing significant unfunded

deferred maintenance and capital needs. The city can address the unfunded capital needs and strive to reduce the

deferred maintenance backlog by the following strategies. Utilize the CIP as a tool to prioritize capital

investments, develop a funding plan for capital projects and deferred maintenance, adopt financial

policies that facilitate infrastructure investments, and pursue additional revenue and grant opportunities.

The next steps for the proposed CIP include a review by the Planning and Design Commission on May 22nd for consistency with the city's

2040 general plan. The Commission's determination will be shared with the budget and audit committee and the CIP will be reviewed by the full city council on June 10th for adoption.

Lastly, I would like to thank department staff citywide for their support in helping the finance department put together this proposed CIP.

This concludes my presentation and department staff and I are available to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Mayor, I have two speakers on this item. Shall we take those first?

Yes, please. Thank you. First is Lambert, then Jeffrey Tardeguia.

Sorry, I missed one.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Some family members and also some millennials that are big supporters of ours gave me something. I wasn't coming today, but they gave me this to put on the record.

It actually has a copy of the report, and it says City of Sacramento Capital Improvement Program 2025 to 2030.

I'm going to leave this with the clerk.

It has everything on here to me correctly except one thing.

In the city manager's office, it has Laney Milstein twice, and it may have been a typing error,

but I believe that should be Howard Chan because he's the assistant to her,

and I catch everything because I submitted a lot of paperwork to City Hall.

Also, they gave me this, and it was called, shout out to the millennials.

Some of them are in here today.

They really begged me to come, so I didn't want to let them down.

Now, they gave me this award that City of Sacramento received.

It's called Capital Budgeting Excellence Award, and it says California Society of Municipal Finance Officers,

and it says Capital Budget Excellence Award.

For the life of me, I don't know how they can get an award, and they're in a deficit.

I run a business that has just been endorsed and re-received a certificate from the Better Business Bureau,

and it wasn't because we weren't excellent.

You have to meet the criteria to become better certified by the Better Business Bureau.

So this is kind of like a contradiction here.

I actually don't respect the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers.

Thank you for your comments.

Jeffrey Tardeguia?

Mr. Tardeguia, would you like the microphone?

Oh, sorry.

Well, I look at all the heads that are bowed.

But anyway, for the capital project through here, are you going, this one seems to have adopted a five-year program,

but the last discussion last week was talking about that your budget is only right now with a deficit of the single year.

I hope that somewhere, I didn't see it in the other part through here in adopting the budget,

is that you are embarking on a longer time schedule for your budget financing.

It seems to me like that's a step that's very necessary and has not been done by this body.

Other than that, I will say I have another hearing to go with Senate budget,

so I have to go over to the state, so we'll go from there.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Mayor, I have no more speakers on this item.

Okay.

Councilor Maple.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the presentation.

Obviously, we have a lot in deferred maintenance.

This is not the first time we've heard this.

We know that this is one of the biggest challenges.

I just had a question about this because I don't know the answer.

How do we stack up comparative to other similar cities,

so maybe cities our size in terms of deferred maintenance?

Because I know people might look at this number on the paper and say,

oh, my God, that's quite a lot, and it is.

Is this an endemic problem that other cities are having?

Are we special?

Yeah, we are not special.

This is something that is common not just across the state but across the country,

especially for cities that have been here for a while and have older infrastructure.

So just as kind of context, when I worked at Alameda County,

we had a similar-sized unfunded capital and deferred maintenance need.

So it's unfortunately common, but best practice is really first is to identify what that gap is,

and then that allows council to start to plan and prioritize and develop a financing plan.

Okay, wonderful.

That's great.

Thank you for that answer.

And then I'll just say, you know, I'm excited about some of the things I do see in here.

I'm excited especially about seeing the Stockton Boulevard BRT project, bus rapid transit.

I think while we can't – we could put all the money that we have into the deferred maintenance,

we still wouldn't have enough to cover it, but we still have expectations to meet from the public.

And so I think that it's always – we're always trying to strike a balance here,

so I appreciate seeing some of the projects that are being funded and the way that we're moving them forward,

and that's one of them.

And then I'll just take this moment to talk really quickly about a proposal that is going to be coming forth to Lawton Ledge around,

you know, around parks specifically.

We know it's really hard for us to also maintain – build and maintain parks throughout the city.

It's one of the challenges.

And yet it's one of the things that we get the most requests for.

People want to see green spaces in their neighborhoods.

They want to have an ability to recreate.

And so I just wanted to call out that if, you know, having some kind of pilot project in the future,

we can create – use financing districts to create parks and maintain them over time in existing neighborhoods

could be a really creative way for the city to do that in the future.

And so I look forward to having that discussion with this body and beyond, you know,

because we all want to see more parks, but we need to figure out how to fund them long term.

Thank you.

Council Member Kaplan?

Oh, don't go yet.

I actually want to thank Council Member Maple because I'm going to pivot a little bit on parks

because I've had a couple of community members have asked me,

so how can – I know in my area, how are we approving building new parks when we have a budget deficit?

Can you just briefly explain how that happens?

Well, you know, there are some projects where you could have a, you know,

a development impact fee for a park that could build a park.

There are areas where you have Melrose districts that are there to, you know,

fund the maintenance and ongoing operations of a park.

You know, I think one of the issues that we've gotten into as a city just over the decades is everyone loves parks,

and I do too, and we may buy land and create a park,

but then if we don't have a financing mechanism in there for the maintenance and upkeep,

and we don't allocate the funding to do that on an annual basis,

then we have this deferred maintenance gap.

And, you know, I think our parks director has shown that chart before, right,

with the number of our parks and kind of the needs and costs associated with it with the funding,

and there's an imbalance there.

Absolutely.

And I think that's really important because, you know,

where we've got areas in the city that are growing,

there might be developer impact fees that help construct it.

Now, remind me, when we get developer impact fees,

can those fees go into the general fund to help with our deficit or only the park?

Yeah, so they cannot go to the general fund,

and they also can't go to another part.

They can't go outside of the benefit area.

So if they're paying a development impact fee for a certain benefit area,

it needs to go to benefit that area.

Thank you.

That's all I got for you guys.

That's really helpful.

So I just want to build on that a little bit because, I mean,

we all have heard IHARP about where our deferred maintenance that comes into.

We hear about our pipes.

Some of our water pipes are 100 years old.

Some of our sewer pipes are 100 years old.

One of the things that I think is really important that is part of the report,

but I think that we also need to identify, is what is our funding plan?

Because our city has done an amazing job, and our staff, you guys do it every year,

with knowing we have outwardsly total right now $9 billion in long-term, unmet,

deferred maintenance needs.

But our five-year funding is about $500 million.

And we all know that this is going to grow every year,

and especially when we have, we don't want to wait until a catastrophe happens.

But right now, how we're doing our capital improvement plan is waiting for a catastrophe to happen,

which will then blow up this entire plan, and we'll have to figure out and cut under things,

especially if we have some pipes that burst.

Gas, sewer could be a major incident that requires upgrading of billions.

Jeffrey?

Yes, my name is.

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So I would really like, as we talk about our capital improvement plan,

what mechanisms are we looking at for funding?

Where you talk about, we should do this, we should do this,

but maybe it requires, Mayor, a workshop that we sit down and we really dive deep as to,

what is our plan?

How are we going to fund this?

How are we going to address a lot of our capital needs?

I mean, Department of Utilities has over $2 billion, and that should scare everybody that our utilities has, you know, $2 billion in infrastructure deferred maintenance that's not being addressed.

So I don't know if that's possible.

Well, I think, you know, the first step was last year actually identifying the problem in kind of a comprehensive way.

So I think before that, you would hear from departments kind of one-off of here are deferred maintenance needs and things like that.

But I think the first step was to really incorporate the unfunded needs into our capital improvement program.

And then the next step, and, you know, maybe this is something we'll discuss at Budget and Audit,

is really what are some policies that we want to address, adopt around prioritization.

We can't do everything all at once.

And then there are different tools in the toolkit.

So, you know, one tool might be, you know, bonding to pay for infrastructure investments.

You know, another tool is your council passed policy earlier this year for when our budget is balanced and we have one-time savings.

Some of it will go into deferred maintenance.

And so that's a really good policy that council passed that will really give dividends over time.

You know, I think we didn't get into a $1.8 billion unfunded need in a year or even 10 years.

It's been over a really long period of time and we're going to have to address it over a period of time and look at what do we want to do.

You know, what's our priorities, life safety, things like that.

And then what are the various tools and use this as a planning document to guide that.

I am very supportive of that, of what is our strategic plan for addressing.

Just as we as a budget have to address our structural deficit, I think we have to have a strategic funding plan for how do we address deferred maintenance and our unmet needs.

One of the other things I want to bring up and hope we can start looking at and maybe Council Member Maple, I'd love to help you with your discussion.

Because one of the things that I'm noticing and Council Member Vang, you might start noticing is when development agreements have been made and we have new construction.

Generally, there is a big lag between when the agreement was made and the fees come in and we develop parks.

I am now getting feedback that the fees basically that come in from impact fees are about $375,000 an acre to go towards a park, where in reality the actual cost is $600,000 an acre.

And how do we address that funding gap?

Because people move into a community and they get a picture of a park.

And then the fees come in and they only build one third of that park.

And then the community is mad at all of us because they say we moved in expecting this, but now we only got this.

And one of the things is we don't have an automatic cost escalator fee to address it, even a CPI adjustment to help cover those costs.

Because those park fees and the impact fees really haven't been looked at since 2019.

Which again, this goes on to, I am proud of this Council for considering and updating fees.

But we got to make sure we're addressing all of them because we have to have a mechanism to modernize our fees with developments.

Because all of us with new developments are going to have community members that are greatly disappointed of,

I thought I was getting a tennis court or a pickleball court or Robla.

Like both Roger and I have, Robla Community Park has been around for 20 years plus.

And it's just now getting a restroom.

I mean, and I can tell you, I worked on some of my impact fees and Burberry, thankfully this time around,

has been a community park for 20 years, is just now getting a restroom.

So I do want to clarify in the report, it does say it's replacing.

No, this is actually a brand new restroom.

There is no restroom currently in a community park that is in the middle of several neighborhoods that is a hub.

I mean, those basic needs, when we look at it, when communities move into a neighborhood, they have expectations.

And there's that gap.

So however we look at that, whether it's through that mechanisms or going through law and ledge of figuring out how we have a mechanism that addresses that funding gap,

from the initial agreement with development to when actuality of the cost getting built,

because that is a big issue that I don't think any of us want to have to address.

But thank you.

You know, I really have to say I appreciate all you do,

but we as a council have to figure out a way to dig a little deeper to address these structural deficits and needs along with our budget.

But I know how much work you guys do, and thank you for presenting that.

And if you didn't know, the CIP is 428 pages, has a lot of information if you're looking for that.

So I'm good with that and be happy to, we just need to move this along.

Yeah, there's no vote here, so no need for a motion nor a second.

This is review, comment, provide direction.

And you've certainly provided quite a bit of direction, or commentary, I believe so.

Thank you for their presentation.

And, you know, this is an important but often neglected topic, capital issues.

So thank you for their time.

Thank you.

Can we move on to agenda item number two, update on application of budget equity tool, BET,

on the Department of Utilities, DOU, and Sacramento Police Department's budget reductions?

All right.

Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the Council, careholders that are online and careholders that are in the chambers.

My name is Amiz Enzalai Barnes.

I serve as the Diversity and Equity Manager.

Pronouns are she and they.

And I'm here to give a quick update on the refinement of the budget equity tool

and how it's been applied in this fiscal year.

Thank you, Mayor.

Budget instructions and criteria, in addition to affirm and align with the priorities that were identified by the Council.

There were about approximately, I think, nine priorities identified by the Council in 2024, late 2023.

Also, the intention was to provide guidance to staff and City Council and City Council staff

in decision-making around budget reductions.

And I really want to emphasize that.

This was not designed to be applied to the entire budget.

It was to be applied to reductions, focusing on, through an equity lens, service impacts, location impacts.

So keep that in mind as we go through.

I also want to note that I'll probably be referencing some of the pages of our 325-page supplemental report for you all

so that you can reference that as well.

We work hard, and all the City staff work hard, to provide that material, to be transparent, and also to reference it for you all as City Council.

But I really want to reference that this guide here was developed by the City of Toledo with the Government Finance Officers Association during COVID as a way to infuse an equity lens during fiscal crisis.

So that's where we adapted our budget equity tool from.

So here are the next couple of slides.

We'll not go into detail, but we really wanted to highlight a couple of things here,

and that is to highlight the varied, intersecting, dynamic, simultaneous work efforts in order to do this exploration.

And so you can take a look there.

The narrative is also on the first three pages of the supplemental information as well.

But this is an important effort in itself to capture some of the nuanced work and efforts that are needed to apply an equity lens

so that we can do it for future application.

And that leads us to today.

So what is the budget equity tool?

The budget equity tool, referencing pages 5 and 9, 5 through 9 on your 325-page supplement,

is primarily made up of four components.

But first, before we go into the components, we thought it was very important to say what it is and what it is not.

The budget equity tool is, I would like you to think of it as a set of instructions for thoughtful, inclusive analysis of budget reduction decisions

that impact vulnerable communities, communities of different race backgrounds, income, and other identities.

It's a framework that encourages us as decision makers to employ an impact evaluation tool as we look at reductions,

to prompt reflection and thoughtfulness and intention.

It is to highlight understanding by focusing on the clarity and the nuance of impact.

Impact happens in a variety of ways.

So this tool is meant to help us explore that in an inclusive manner.

And so it asks, and so this involves prompts considering who benefits and who's burdened by the decision or the reduction,

and to identify those reductions early.

And if we can't do anything about it now, we have it documented so that we can take future action.

It helps to detect if decisions might worsen existing racial disparities or any other inequities or create new ones.

Consider different perspectives.

Encourages engaging with people of diverse racial backgrounds and all kinds of lived experiences and centers that lived experience.

So we're meeting the needs of sacramentans.

Facilitates the creation of strategies, exploring different ways to advance fairness and inclusion in our decision making process.

And promoting transparency and accountability.

And that was part of the reasons why the departments who volunteered, they may have been voluntold,

but they primarily volunteered and leaned into applying this tool,

have the budget equity tool that they filled out as part of their leaning in for public transparency and for you all to see as well.

What it is not, it is not a magic bullet.

It is a support mechanism.

It is not a fix-all.

It is, requires us to have sustained effort and accountability.

It is not a scoring tool.

It does not provide a numerical equity rating.

It is not about, so it is more about process and reflection.

There are no exact steps for every scenario or every reduction scenario that you will see,

and you will highlight just a couple in the next few minutes.

So judgment and creativity and collaboration and discussion is involved.

It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all as well.

So the tool was designed to, you know, help with different contexts, different roles and functions of all of our departments,

and yet we're finding and learning those nuances now.

So it still requires, and I'm probably going to say this a couple of times during this very quick presentation,

but it does require us to have engagement, deliberation, consultation, critical thinking, and a genuine commitment to equity.

Understanding some of the concepts or the major, just to give an overview of the BET,

the BET has primarily four components, goal setting and project outcomes.

This is to help focus on clearly identifying what are the intended goals and project outcomes of said delivery,

of said program, or said reduction.

The service impacts and available data always have to have data.

So this is a critical component in understanding how budget reductions would affect the quality of life of Sacramento's

and the service delivery, and also the impact to careholders who are staffed and the other careholders as well.

So it emphasizes the need to analyze available data and to understand the demographic makeup

and geographic makeup of our city holistically.

Also, as data, we encourage or instruct in the tool to use GIS tools,

such as our Sacramento Equity Explorer design tool,

other GIS tools that are a plethora in the city, 311,

the open data portal of the city of Sacramento,

and also the Sacramento County Social Vulnerability Index as well,

to bring in health outcomes as well.

The third major component is location impacts,

recognizing that geography plays a significant role in equity.

The section guides in understanding the potential impacts of budget changes

on specific neighborhoods, communities,

and particularly those that are vulnerable or historically underserved.

So that's a way to look at census tracts in a very precise and precision-type manner.

Understanding the impacts is the fourth.

That underscores the importance of ongoing evaluation.

While you may fill out the tool, it doesn't mean it stops there.

We want people to continue to use it and to ensure sustained and long-term implications

are not repeating or inequities are coming into future decision-making.

So experience teaches, and that is part of the pilot and the exploration of this.

For this year, we had an expansion of departments who submitted BETs.

We had in the narrative, SACPT Police Department submitted 44.

Fire Department submitted 14.

DOU submitted 1.

OIED, Office of Innovation and Economic Development, submitted 10.

And Convention and Cultural Services submitted 1.

So we wanted to see that expansion from the previous year, from fiscal year 24-25.

So I really want to thank those departments because they are helping inform how this work moves forward.

The first department that we wanted to highlight is DOU.

Beginning on page 210 of that 325 pay supplemental information,

you can see much more detail of the analysis and the work and effort the DOU used to evaluate the SERA program,

Sacramento Utility Rate Assistance Program, which was established in 2012

to provide our low-income customers a utility bill savings to offset utility rate increases.

So after applying the tool and applying and looking at the C-Tool, consulting with the GIS team,

Department of Utilities observed and was able to illustrate the impacts to districts 2, 5, 6, and 8

would essentially carry a heavy burden if the program was eliminated.

And so that ultimately had an impact on how they moved forward in eliminating the impact,

but how they considered it in their decision-making around reductions.

The next is that we want to highlight just for experience.

It's not as clear-cut.

It's the, excuse me, I think I went way too.

Oh, I skipped a slide.

My apologies.

Trying to move fast.

So let me back up to how we are and are not.

This was actually a question that was raised at our racial equity committee.

Like, when do we, when is it appropriate to apply the tool?

So this is what we've gathered so far.

Is how it's best applied is with the reductions that you see on the left on the slide.

Want to highlight where it's been not applicable,

and I really want to thank the Department of Finance, Pete,

lifting this particular first bullet up,

which is updating or purchasing operating system

or infrastructure maintenance for departments.

If you have to do that, you can't deliver your services.

That's not quite an applicable way to apply a budget equity lens

because it will impact vital operations.

The second one is regulatory or compliance requirements

that are a direct service.

Or it may be a legal mandate.

It may be a regulatory mandate.

So that's where we're really finding the nuance and the challenges

in applying the budget equity tool.

And then with legacy and contractual obligations,

there is, if there is obligations that the city has

or has entered into contractually that may be decades long,

years long, multi-year long,

it's really difficult to apply a budget equity tool.

However, what I would say in summary and a big takeaway

as we evolve in this work is that even when services have to be cut

or reduced for whatever reason,

we could still use the tool to know how the impact to communities

and careholders is happening on a nuonic level

as we strive to do that,

and it could better help us respond and anticipate for the future.

Spoke on DOU, police department.

So the DOU had a very clear,

it was a very clear-cut path around how they applied the budget equity tool.

With police, it's a little bit different and given

when you think about role and function and size, right?

That makes sense.

So the department that, in terms of highlighting this,

that work begins on pages 224,

but a couple of things I want to highlight here

is that many of the BETs, as we learn about the process,

many of the budget equity tool were written by captains,

lieutenants, and supervisors,

because they had the most knowledge of what those reductions would be.

And so in our office, capacity-wise,

we needed to evaluate all of those budget equity tools

to give that necessarily feedback.

So while the clear-cut decision to propose or not propose

is still probably in the process and in your deliberations,

understanding the impact is important

and it's important to the leadership of the police department as well.

So they are working with our office

and striving to detail and understand the reduction impacts

within the intersection of service, geography,

systemic impacts, and vulnerable communities.

So that's a lot to unpack.

So we continue to work

and work with Chief Lester and Lieutenant Sergeant Sabrina,

I hope I got that title right, my apologies if I didn't,

police department to continue to consult with our office

in organizing the relevant categories.

They're already seeing how we should organize

those 44 BETs for readability and understandability

in relevant categories such as violence prevention,

traffic, training and personnel, operations,

support services, and investigations

to better understand and communicate impact.

Within those themes, it is being written in one voice.

So there's consistency in that writing

and with a focus on providing nuonic and detailed data

on those impacts of those reductions.

So ongoing consultation, data collection,

and documentation of these intersectional impacts

is still ongoing.

So we appreciate their leadership as well.

So lastly, what we're learning so far

is data often does not give the definite answers

that our staff need.

We have to unpack it sometimes and unpack it more.

And I'm sure you as council members understand that, right?

So we have to try to find those mechanisms

to provide context and understanding

of what those impacts look like.

And we do feel that an equity lens

can really help advance that

and especially addressing disparities.

One-on-one consultations, our office,

our mighty team loves to do that.

It is time intensive, but honestly,

that is the way that we're able to build capacity,

develop understanding, and really ensure

that the staff and departments have the support

they need to apply such a tool.

Constant reiteration of data filters, indicators,

what are meaningful measures?

There's a lot of data we have,

but what are the most meaningful measures

in order to understand the impact

that is centering the lived experiences of people?

So that is something that we're learning right now

and want to put some strategies into.

We are continuing to,

at the direction of the Racial Equity Committee,

continue to do a phased approach

over the next two, six, ten years,

how long that takes to continue to build capacity

and apply an equity lens to our work.

And so lastly, just want to say that

while equity tools are powerful,

it's crucial to understand what they are not.

These frameworks are not miracle solutions.

And I think one of the most powerful ways

that the council can help us do this work, too,

is offering clear guidance, clear priorities,

and clear direction on what you see from your lens

to this work so that staff are aligned in that work,

that would really help advance us do

and apply and operationalize equity.

There's no algorithm that can't quantify equity or justice.

These tools don't output a score or a clear answer.

And we're having to say that to staff, too.

So instead, they guide thinking

and prompt necessary conversations,

deepen collaborations and relationships,

help us think outside the box,

help us think beyond the systems that we have.

They don't eliminate the need for our engagement,

and they certainly cannot take the place

of our lived experiences of our Sacramento careholders.

Recognizing these tool limitations

is an important way to use it correctly

and how we adapt tools for the future

in the context that we need it

and broadening our equity strategy

that requires our judgment, inclusion, and adaptability.

And that concludes my report,

and happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much, Dr. Barnes,

for such a wonderful presentation.

I always say doctor because you're in that.

Thank you.

Okay.

So we're going to do public comment right now,

and then we have a few council members in the queue.

But first, we'll do public comment.

Thank you.

I have two speakers.

Here's Jeffrey Tardigia, who has left.

But I have Rickney, Seamus,

is it on this agenda item,

the budget equity tool?

And then you're speaking on the budget equity tool, correct?

Yeah.

So I got two minutes.

You have two minutes.

Please proceed.

Hey, Rick K. and Seamus.

We are the watch,

formerly known as Anti-Narcotics Watch.

We have over 3,000 videos in our queue on YouTube.

A good portion of those videos have happened in this city.

It's law enforcement, security, businesses.

I must be trespassed from every business.

It's certified tech roofing USA.

What I noticed is that we want to be confidential informants with officers.

That's the primary feature of the videos.

And, phew, they like to put their hands on their guns.

You know, I figured out it's a threatening pose,

but, you know, maybe they're just resting their hands on their guns.

The footage is clear.

There's a lot of strange footage, for sure.

I had a court date.

Didn't get UVs or IDs in Roseville.

Got half my prescription and didn't get the other half.

I actually developed my own medication through resources in the community,

like different items at the stores.

It's actually working.

So, I don't think doctors develop medications.

Do you think that?

No?

No.

I'm pretty good.

I have this boat.

It's going to be headquarters for the watch,

formerly known as Anti-Narcotics Watch.

But there's some ID issues.

Can't really do registration,

but we don't need registration because we're a public agency.

You guys can seize the boat due to the engine emissions,

but the motors are disconnected to the shaft and there ain't no propeller.

We're going to be sticking it.

That's where you take a pole and put it down the river.

Under executive order of Donald Trump,

in regards to the Aliens Enemies Act,

which we are subject to,

because this is Australia and I'm Canada,

I guess we're...

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Oh, thank you.

Vice Mayor, I have no more speakers on this item.

Thank you.

Please take your seats.

Your time is complete.

Thank you, clerk.

No, your two minutes are done.

We'll get one of the city clerks, please.

Okay, your two minutes are done.

Okay, Council Member Banks?

It only takes six months to become an officer.

I think 22 weeks, so...

Let's go, Seamus.

Check out the...

You want to wait a second?

Okay.

Council Member Banks?

Thank you, Vice Chair.

Dr. Barnes, can you come up real quick?

First, I just wanted to say...

I just wanted to say thank you to you, Larissa, former staff, Robert, as well, and all the city staff and departments that volunteered, actually, to dive deeper into this work.

And I really appreciate, actually, today's presentation in particular during this time because we're in the middle of a budget discussion.

And so I really appreciate the timing on this.

And I don't really have, you know, because I feel like we've...

I've asked a lot of questions during the racial equity committee already.

This is really an opportunity for my colleagues to kind of see the work that we're undergoing citywide in terms of implementing this tool in particular.

But I'd like to ask you, you know, as you know, we passed the racial equity resolution in December.

And if you can share a little bit how perhaps that resolution and this work is tied together and the ways in which you see it being operationalized.

Great question.

And I will say before that, as well, that thank you all, council members, as well.

I know we have several briefings scheduled.

So hopefully there's an opportunity to do some more conversation and would love your feedback and your ideas as well.

In terms of the score resolution 2024-0354, we write it a lot in the office.

It is the operationalizing racial equity, so it is known as our score resolution.

There is a couple of sections, particularly I think it might be in three and four, that call for equity impact assessments, the use of equity tools.

And so this ongoing work fits right into that and positions us to continue to improve, expand, build our capacity.

So I think there's a direct correlation to the resolution that's calling for that.

I think where the opportunity lies is how we work with our members of the Racial Equity Alliance and other careholders externally as to how do we infuse those voices into such a tool or such a lens or such an impact tool.

And, of course, consulting with city staff as careholders as to how this fits into their work in the various departments and the various workflows.

So I think we're really well positioned to move on it since we've started it.

And I think that our careholders can see that direct operationalizing it as well.

So I hope that kind of answers your question.

And I think that as we continue to do this and work with departments in the next fiscal year, we will continue to work with our finance department as to what worked for them.

This is an opportunity as we move into the next budget season is to see what worked, what didn't work.

And, again, would love that input from you all as well and from your staff.

This tool is to help you as well to answer and be a reflective tool as you think about how you're making decisions.

So I think all of those ways it will help us operationalize the things that we're asked for in the score resolution.

Thanks.

I appreciate that, Dr. Barnes.

I think for me in particular, what would be helpful as we're – I know that right now we're building capacity internally because in order to even do this work, we have to do the training and the capacity building of city staff.

And I know that, for example, the CERA program went through the exercise, the Office of Economic Development Office went through the exercise, DOU.

And police is also taking this on, which is really great.

And I know fire did last year as well.

I think what would be really beneficial, because I know that we are going to be in the red for a few more years, is that there are budget reductions that is proposed usually around March, right?

And we put it in level one, level two, level three, and level four.

And if city staff in the departments are already beginning to use the budget equity tool to analyze potential impacts of spending cuts on identifying demographics of community members, I like that information included.

For me, that's very helpful.

That if city staff is already doing that analysis, in addition to the saying it's level one, level two, level three, level four, I want to see staff using the budget equity to provide a rationale.

I think that's really important for us to see.

And so I wanted to make that request.

That might be additional work.

But if we are serious about a budget equity tool, I think it's important for the policymakers to understand why there are specific budget reductions that's up for consideration.

And for us to see it from a racial equity lens.

So that's perhaps my offering, since you're here, to ask for direction from mayor and council.

The other piece I would like to request, and perhaps this is also, this is larger, you know, for mayor and council.

I know that we have made diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging training mandatory for mayor and council, which is really great.

But something that I like to propose, which I appreciate our city clerk has already added this item to council proposal.

So when a council, when mayor and council has an idea, they bring forth a policy proposal, there is now a section in that proposal that asks the policymaker how this is related to diversity, equity, inclusion.

And I will share with you that I've seen some of these proposals from my colleagues.

And sometimes that section is not completed.

And perhaps then, and I'm saying that because I think that's important for any policymakers, if that is part of our format, when we submit a proposal, that that piece should be completed out.

And if there's support that's needed, Ami, that you be point of contact for supporting that.

That's really key.

And I think something I want to share is that ultimately, you know, all of us are not going to be here.

I mean, depending if we want to serve 20 plus years, but mayor and council members come and go.

Ideally, what I would love to see is that when a budget item comes to council, you all see all the agenda items that come to council.

There's usually like a financial consideration, an environmental consideration.

I think it's really important in that council packet for those items that there's a racial equity analysis on that item as well.

And if it doesn't apply, they can explain why it doesn't apply.

For me, that's important for the policymakers, for the public as well.

And that is how I could see the city moving towards racial equity and racial justice.

And so just wanted to name that.

I know that that's not going to happen overnight.

And we're building the capacity internally for city staff.

We're building capacity on the fifth floor for mayor and council office.

But ultimately, I believe that's really important as policymakers as well.

So just wanted to share that.

And hopefully the racial equity committee, which I chair, which I chair in Councilmember Jennings as vice chair, that will begin to roll out that work.

And so those are just some of my offerings for the direction for this work.

And just really want to say thank you for all your hard work as well.

I do have one more question.

You had mentioned in your PowerPoint presentation that to roll out this work effectively, right, we have to build capacity of staff.

Is it just you and the others?

There's two staff right now.

You are both kind of like the two-go on building capacity.

Is that correct?

As of yes.

Yes.

But we also lean to other staff to help do that with communication within human resources.

And we've also included, you know, city staff who have an expertise and a skill.

And we've involved them in our equity convenings and in our trainings.

But that is determined by us to make sure that we're not, we're being mindful of their time and impact on their schedule.

But we're primarily the points of contact for training.

Yes.

Okay.

I'm going to ask you a question.

Do you believe there is more capacity needed in the Office of Diversity and Equity in order to continue implementing this work?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

That is all my questions.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate all your hard work.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Council Member Maple.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I'll be brief because I know we have a long day.

But I really wanted to appreciate you, Dr. Barnes, for all of your work on this and your team.

I know it's been many years in the making, you know, before I was here as well.

And I also want to thank Council Member Bang for being a leader in this space on many issues.

And Council Member Jennings as well.

And I think just having an opportunity to have this discussion puts us light years ahead of a lot of other jurisdictions in the state and beyond.

And I think that a lot of people will say that they care and they would like to see things change and they'd like to see an equity lens being applied.

But really taking those next five, ten steps to actually make it a reality is huge.

And I know it's taken a lot of work.

So I really want to appreciate you for that.

But I heard you say that it's going to take a while.

We can't do it.

We can't bite.

What's the saying about the elephant one bite at a time?

We can't do everything all at once.

And we probably can't do everything even in the near term.

So in terms of my priorities, I thought it would be helpful to say that I think focusing on public facing and especially public facing either departmental or programs that are interacting with the most votable residents, whether that be by using RC tool, whether that be by geography or the populations, would be a really great place to start.

Because I think there's a lot of different ways we could come at this as a city.

But I think it seems obvious to me that those departments that are interacting the most with the public and those parts of the budget that are interacting the most with the public is where we should start.

Because I think that that's where also things can go awry.

And so I'm really interested in that.

And I'm just, you know, I know that obviously this is a difficult budget time for us, budget season, I would say.

Obviously, it's not just this year.

We know that we have a few hard years ahead of us.

And hopefully we can right the ship and we'll be in a better place.

But I hope that, you know, as the years go on that we can find the resources to prioritize this program, in particular this tool.

And I'd like to see it used as far as reaching as possible because we know that the decisions that we're making every day do have impacts.

And we don't always know all the information that we need to know when we make those decisions.

And I know that using technology and using tools like this, we can get there.

And so I hope in the not-so-distant future when there's maybe one of the young people in the crowd is sitting in these seats, that they'll have those tools available to them.

So just thank you for your time and work that's gone into it so far.

Thank you.

City Manager.

Thank you.

I just want to reflect on the work that we've done so far and the work that's coming and the departments that stepped up and in and to take this on this year.

And I think that as we train our staff and we become practitioners, we have the capacity to begin to train the next, I'll say, generation.

And I will tell you because I feel for everyone sitting in the audience who was here last week and who will be here tonight, if you asked every department standing up here if they had enough resources and would require more, they would absolutely say yes.

So appreciative, but I also feel the pain that's out in the audience now and I want to acknowledge that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This was an informational item looking for feedback, which we certainly got.

No vote on this item.

Thank you very much for your presentation.

Next item, please.

Item number three is Sacramento Children's Fund Grant Awards.

Okay.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

My name is Renee Koston, Program Manager for the Sacramento Children's Fund, and I'll be speaking to the Sacramento Children's Fund, our Measure L Grant Awards today.

First, I'd just like to thank all of our applicants, some of which are here today, some of who may have not been able to make it for their patients throughout this process.

We know it's been long, but it's been thoughtful.

I also want to give a shout-out to our commission, the Sacramento Children's Fund Planning and Oversight Commission, some of which are also here today for the work that they did in the development of the strategic investment plan.

Last but not least, our staff that have worked tirelessly to get us to this point, as everyone has anticipated funding going out hopefully very soon.

I'm the city clerk and the city attorney's office that have supported us throughout this effort as well.

I have a few items I need to read into record before we get the presentation started.

We have a few corrections.

In scenario one, the city of Sacramento Granite Regional Park, last sentence of this description should read,

the field is expected to last over 12 years.

A correction to scenario one, the Department of Public Facilities and Real Property Project.

The primary fund goal is zero to five, and mental health, which is currently listed, is the secondary fund goal.

Additionally, we have a correction in scenario one and two for the SCOE amount.

The request should read as $724,338.52.

This is an adjustment from the $1.5 million that was listed.

This adjustment would almost fully fund the Sutter's Landing and Granite Regional Parks at the bottom of the list in scenario one.

It would also almost fully fund the Granite Regional Park Project listed in scenario two.

So just a brief overview on what we're going to cover today.

It's going to be a Measure L overview, the request for proposals, our grant advisory review panel,

the funding scenarios we'll be presenting for consideration, our application list,

and then an update on our timeline and where we'll be with our next steps.

So as you may remember, the local cannabis business tax revenue from the general fund is utilized to determine the allocation for the Sacramento Children's Fund.

This opportunity supports the youth development and violence prevention programs within the City of Sacramento.

The funds are restricted to qualified nonprofits, city and non-city public entities.

Qualified organizations per the charter must receive funds through an open, transparent and competitive process.

It's guided by the Strategic Investment Plan developed by the Commission but adopted by City Council in September of 2024.

We do have administrative costs that were included in the charter, capped at 20%, and then reduced down to 10% for the last three years of funding.

A very brief overview of our fund goals, supporting mental health and emotional wellness of children and youth,

preventing and reducing homelessness among children and youth, including youth transitioning out of foster care,

prevent and reduce youth substance use, prevent and reduce youth violence,

and supporting the healthy development of children ages 0 to 5.

Here are some key points that we included in the request for proposals.

That was directly based off the Strategic Investment Plan.

We intend to fund a multi-year funding, three-and-a-half-year contracts for stability through quarterly and annual reviews.

The funding breakdown, which was approved in the Strategic Investment Plan,

was a 50% allocation to community-based organizations and a 50% allocation to city and non-city public entities.

The grant cap minimum and maximums were $25,000 to $500,000 grants per year.

So that would be a total of $1.5 million if an awardee was granted the full amount at $500,000 per year.

We also have our guaranteed basic income, which pulled out 20% of the programmatic funding,

which will be released in a separate RFP.

Some other highlights is that they must have had an organizational budget at or above $50,000.

They had to be a public agency or a 501c3 community-based organization.

And there were some other supporting documents that were required.

For example, insurance, good standing with the city, our Secretary of State good standing, and a few others.

It was also important that these programs reach children, youth, and families in the city of Sacramento

who are most impacted by poverty, trauma, and violence.

This is a brief overview of the request for proposals that we received.

The funding available for the first three and a half years was approximately $17.9 million

with three and a half year contracts.

We received a total of 121 applications, which amounted to $125 million,

which was seven times the demand of what was available.

Our applications by primary fund goal, although we had applicants identify what their primary fund goal was,

they were also able to identify secondary and tertiary fund goals as well.

As you can see, mental health had about 77, followed by violence prevention ages 0 to 5,

reducing homelessness, and reducing substance abuse.

By application type, we did have 117 of 121 applications scored.

102 were community-based organizations, including our grassroots or small and emerging community-based organizations.

12 were city and three were non-city public entities.

Additionally, we have our district breakdown.

I just want to make a clarification.

The district breakdown is related to their physical location.

As you'll see, we have quite a few outside the limits of the city of Sacramento,

but we ensured that we assessed how they were serving our youth and families within the city,

which you'll see listed in scenarios one and two.

The funding amount requested per fund goal, once again, mental health was the leading fund goal in that area.

Just to overview our proposal rating criteria,

so this is the detailed scoring rubric and evaluation criteria that our panelists utilized

and was included in the request for proposals for applicants to look to as they were putting in their applications.

So their program summary was not scored,

but their agent history, capacity, and staffing received a maximum of 15 points.

Program and project design received a maximum of 50.

Outcomes and impact a maximum of 15 points.

Budget and budget justification a maximum of 20,

which gave us a total of 100.

If applicants also utilized the opportunity to include an overlay of the SEED and COI tool,

they received a preference point of 10.

I will say about 90% of applicants did receive that 10 preference points

for a maximum score of 110.

I'm not going to go through every single bullet point,

but I am going to briefly review the organization history, capacity,

and staffing qualifications that our panelists looked at

when they were scoring these applications.

For example, demonstrating experience with working with diverse communities,

including identified priority populations,

most impacted by poverty, trauma, and violence.

You're going to hear that come up a lot

because it's included in the charter

and also included in the strategic investment plan.

Professional background and qualifications of team members,

proposing to deliver direct services,

cultural humility, and or lived experience of staff that reflect communities proposed to be served.

This and other pieces that I'll be sharing can be found in the staff report,

attachment four, request for proposals, pages 24 to 25.

The program and project design,

the biggest thing they were looking at is if applicants check multiple fund goals

as cross-cutting strategies were an important component of the strategic investment plan,

and they were required to answer the fund goal-specific narrative questions

for their program and projects.

Applications that address multiple fund goals should only receive the highest score

if they also meet the high score eligibility criteria under the rating Very Good.

For outcomes and impacts, we reviewed any memorandums of understandings

or letters of recommendation included as additional evidence for this rating factor.

It was important for applicants to describe how programs will serve Sacramento's most impacted

by poverty, trauma, and violence.

If you would like to see more information on that piece,

you can refer to our staff report attachment four.

Lastly, we had our panelists review the budget and budget narratives.

There was a few things that we were looking at to ensure that the budgets

and the amount requested aligned.

Expenses that were reasonable and commensurate with the scale of services proposed.

Programs that align, leverage, and or coordinate with other public and private resources.

A total program budget, funding, and additional matching,

specifically for our non-city public entities,

as there was a matching requirement for those agencies that applied.

And that funding request should be reasonable and not exceed the organizational budget.

So through our application review and award process,

city staff did an eligibility review where we first looked at supporting documentation.

Applicants were notified if they had incomplete or missing documentation

and were given 60 days to respond and submit updated documentation to move forward to our merit review.

Four proposals were disqualified through the eligibility review process.

All eligible applicants are passed on to merit review.

Proposals were then scored by a grant advisory review panel

using the scoring rubric and evaluation criteria published in our request for proposals.

Through our grant advisory review panel,

it was composed of five panels.

The application review was conducted during the months of February, March, and April of 2025.

Our panelists reviewed between 20 and 25 applications.

And our city attorney's office conducted a thorough conflict of interest review.

That included a requirement for potential panelists to submit a grant review panel conflict of interest form.

So now to our funding scenarios.

We're just going to give a brief overview of how this funding scenarios align with the strategic investment plan.

So scenario one, which is attached, attachment number six to the staff report,

titled Sacramento Children's Fund Awards Scenario One,

proposes funding programs and projects that spread across the five fund goals.

It includes small and emerging community-based organizations funding set aside for $375,000.

As you'll see in the recommendation, they each receive $75,000.

That's going to be over the course of the three and a half year grant period.

Funds community-based organizations at 80% of the funding award request

or the maximum funding threshold of $1.5 million.

This was to ensure we could spread the funds across all districts and all fund goals.

We included the 50-50 funding split for CBOs and city non-city public entity applicants.

So as you'll see, the split comes out to approximately $8.9 million.

Both for the CBO split and the city split.

This scenario also funds a total of 24 applications,

and it serves every district and every fund goal, as we had said.

So with scenario one, every fund goal is represented at 70% or 17 out of 24 of the awards that we were proposing.

Partnering with existing programs, especially small, local-based, community-based organizations,

was a key point in the strategic investment plan.

21% or five awards were allocated to small emerging CBOs.

Primarily serving youth in neighborhoods with the lowest levels of equity

and or the lowest levels of opportunity for children.

Identified using the SEED, COI, or welfare tax exemption tools.

91% of our potential grantees, or 22 out of 24, serve the identified opportunity neighborhoods.

This can be called back to our strategic investment plan, pages 25 to 28.

We also released scenario two, which was included in the staff report,

to see the impacts of the changes described.

Scenario two removes eight additional community-based organizations,

including the removal of the grassroots slash emerging CBO category.

There was also no adjustment calculated into the total grant award.

There is still an $8.9 million split between the two categories.

Just to answer a few anticipated questions,

if we were to drop down to 70%, for example,

we wouldn't be able to fund an additional grantee.

We would simply be able to allocate the additional funds to those three who scored 102 in the CBO area,

since the remaining amount was below 80%.

And why 80 for community-based organizations only?

We are only adjusting funds relative to the 50-50 split.

The adjustments do not affect the CBO or city funding.

So we did want to go through our grant monitoring process

as we move on to the next phase of this implementation.

City staff would conduct quarterly reporting, both programmatically and fiscally.

We will require an annual performance review before we intend to fund the next year,

although they will be three-and-a-half-year contracts that will be dependent on performance reviews that are conducted.

We will conduct site visits annually, if not biannually, given staff capacity.

And the Sacramento Trends Fund Planning and Oversight Commission receives an annual report,

as well as a three- and five-year review on the strategic investment plan that will drive the implementation of this fund.

So what's next?

As I said, we have our guaranteed basic income released for proposals that will be going out later this summer.

We're also bringing on a third-party evaluation consultant,

which is another piece of the strategic investment plan,

to help us with our evaluation and reporting metrics.

And for those not funded or recommended this round,

we anticipate this grant to go out for the next cycle in fall of 2027.

Here's a tentative Sacramento Children's Fund timeline update.

As we are here today, our award recommendations are presented to City Council,

and we hope to get into our contract negotiations and executions by June or July.

And that concludes my presentation, and I'm here for any questions you might have.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We certainly have plenty of questions and comments from the Council up here.

This was a big, big deal many years in the making,

so implementing it right out of the gate is key.

We do have quite a few members of the public.

We have 45-ish members tying up to speak, so that would be an hour and a half.

We have our closed session in 35 minutes, which we're not going to make.

Then we have our 5 o'clock budget meeting,

so we have a lot to do before that budget meeting at 5 o'clock.

So we're going to set aside one hour for public comment,

and so if you do the math, there's 45 of you.

You won't all get to speak, but if you cut your time a little bit,

if you shaved off, let's say, 45 seconds from your two-minute presentation,

all of you could get to speak.

So this is a grand experiment up here,

so we'll see if we can get one hour's worth of commentary

and 43-ish of you to have the chance to engage in this important topic.

So let's begin.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'm going to call off a few names.

Jeanette Carpenter, Lambert.

And if you would please line up in the aisle.

Jeanette Lambert, Alexis Sanchez.

Please proceed.

Good afternoon, Mayor.

Is this on?

Sorry.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Jeanette Carpenter.

I'm here on behalf of Child Action.

We are strongly supporting our Child Action's proposal for Measure L funding.

It's one of the only proposals centered specifically on child care access

and workforce support,

as well as our proposal targets for Sacramento's highest needs zip codes,

95815, 95823, 95825, 95838,

all identified in the seed COI opportunity zones in the strategic investment plan.

Child Action is deeply embedded in this work,

supporting over 17,000 children and families annually,

including nearly 2,000 families in these zip codes alone last year.

This proposal aligns directly with Measure L goals,

one in five, promoting emotional wellness,

healthy early childhood development,

while helping stabilize a child care system that working families can rely on to stay employed.

By investing in this proposal,

we're investing not only in school readiness and community health,

but also in the local child care infrastructure that fuels our economy.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge your support.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Lambert, then Alexis Sanchez, then Jamie Garrick, Navajo Trigo.

Great.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Alexis Sanchez.

I'm representing myself today as a resident of District 4.

I'm here to speak in favor of scenario one.

I think funding more organizations is better.

It gives us a chance to meet youth where they are in the community,

in your various districts.

Additionally, I wanted to speak to the need for additional funds

to be allocated for LGBTQ plus mental health in my professional life

and in my volunteer work outside of my job.

I work with LGBTQ plus youth,

and during a time when a federal administration

is constantly attacking LGBTQ plus youth,

their need for access to low or no-cost therapy

can be literally life-saving for these youth.

So those are my asks today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Lambert and Jamie.

Yes, I will cut down on my time.

I wanted to send a couple of shouts out

because this pertains to the Children's Fund.

That's almost $18 million.

I'd like to send a shout-out to a lady named Dr. Lauren at Grant High School,

another guy at Twin Rivers,

and also I saw Jackie Beecham back there.

Why am I bringing them up?

Because I was just notified that Grant's pool will be open to the community.

I'm not sure if Roger had something to do with it,

but I know I did,

and that's great news.

And they should put a lot of money into Del Paso Heights.

They're winning championships,

and they should get jobs,

not just photo ops.

And by the way,

the city has never had a parade for them.

It was only a celebration at the stadium.

They deserve better than that.

Jamie?

Jamie?

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Jamie Garrick,

pronouns she, her,

and I'm the Chief Program Officer

at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.

Our mission is to create a region

where all LGBTQ people can thrive.

We do this by supporting health and wellness,

advocating for equity and justice,

and uplifting our diverse, culturally rich community.

But today, that work is harder than ever.

The existence of trans people is being politicized.

Equity-driven organizations are under attack.

And federal mental health dollars

that once supported vulnerable LGBTQ plus youth

have disappeared.

LGBTQ plus youth are in crisis,

and they need your help.

They are more likely to face trauma,

homelessness, and mental health challenges,

yet have fewer affirming services available.

Nearly half of LGBTQ plus youth

seriously considered suicide last year.

For transgender and non-binary youth,

it was more than half.

At the center, we're seeing this firsthand.

33% of our recent mental health clients

needed emergency intervention

for suicidal ideation or attempts.

84% of them were youth.

This is about survival.

The center supports LGBTQ plus youth

through our drop-in space,

youth enrichment, housing, employment,

and mental health services,

all of which align with the goals

of the Sacramento Children's Fund.

We see unhoused youth walk through our doors

every day in crisis

and leave with shelter, safety,

mental health stability,

and a sense of belonging.

I am proud to live in a city

that has prioritized its youth

by creating the Sacramento Children's Fund.

This funding is urgently needed

to support LGBTQ plus youth.

We've been working with a coalition

for many years to secure these resources

for the city's youth.

It's time to put this vision into action,

not just improve the lives of youth,

and in many cases, it will save them.

I know you have all been strong advocates

for the LGBTQ plus community in the past.

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Navaja, then John Garcia.

Your time is Navaja, then John Garcia.

Oh, okay.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Navay Trigo,

and I reside in District 6,

and I'll be representing myself today.

I want to bring up to attention, excuse me,

that we need to support

the Sacramento LGBT Community Center's

mental health program

through the Children's Fund.

I know a lot of queer youth

who would benefit from the center's time and support.

We need our youth to know

that they're more than just a number or statistic.

They're real, their experience is real,

and they matter.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

John Garcia, then Denny Mangers.

Good afternoon.

My name is John Garcia.

I'm the Director of Youth and Family Programs

at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.

I oversee our youth rescue program, QSpot.

The Sacramento LGBT Community Center

serves roughly 400 young people,

ages 13 to 24 annually,

who preside or primarily reside in the city of Sacramento.

Of the youth we served last year,

88% identify as LGBTQIA+,

20% are African American,

12% Latinx,

42% homeless or at risk of being homeless,

and 17% had foster care experience.

Various studies show that due to financial barriers

as well as cultural stigmas regarding mental illness,

these marginalized groups are much less likely

to receive mental health services.

Staff at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center

are in a unique position as service providers

to be able to establish rapport with clients

over the course of days, weeks, and months,

allowing clients to feel safe enough

to request essential services

they may not otherwise have sought from other providers.

I joined the center almost exactly a year ago,

and in that time, I have seen so many instances

of clients struggling with their mental health

and at their breaking point.

The ability for us to direct them to mental health support

that is immediately available and in-house

has been crucial in creating better mental health outcomes

for our clients.

In recent months, and even within the last week,

we have an increased number of conversations with clients

who have expressed a feeling that it, quote,

would just be easier if I did not exist.

Funding for mental health supports for youth

is more important than ever for our clients

and is absolutely vital for our ability

to save young lives at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Denny, then Karen Karosky.

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of City Council,

and Manager.

My name is Denny Mangers.

Representing the leadership of the LGBTQ community,

I come today with great respect

for the process you're involved in.

I've been engaged in budget cutting for about 50 years

at various levels of the government,

so I know the decisions have to be made.

The request up front, quickly,

is I hope you will fund to the absolute fullest extent possible

the grant applications of the LGBTQ community center

in which our community has great confidence.

We're in the midst of a major mental health crisis

in our community right now,

thanks to the insane federal leadership

that seeks to expunge us from the culture,

taking away our books,

demonizing drag queens,

trying to affect the curricula,

refusing all attempts for DEI to include us.

You can imagine a 10-, 11-, 12-year-old

facing such a future.

Sometimes it comes to the center stating,

why does it make any sense

that I should continue living?

And in many cases, they don't.

As a former school principal,

before I got involved in politics,

I had the experience over six or seven years

to experience the loss of several kids

who just could not see a future.

It breaks my heart

to see the people coming to the LGBT community center

that in many cases have been estranged from families,

kicked out of their churches, bullied at schools.

It's really, very difficult.

But we have trained professionals who welcome them,

give them hope, provide services.

I hope, as I said earlier,

to the fullest extent possible,

you'll grant the LGBT center's application

for mental health services.

In conclusion, I highly endorse

Council Member Mai Vang's observation,

which I saw in the media the last couple of days.

A city really is gauged

in terms of the value it places on its youth.

Thank you for your comments.

Karen, then Andy Cha.

Good afternoon, Dr. Karen Kurosaki,

Sacramento LGBT Community Center.

I'm here today to request your vote

for scenario one that would fund

mental health services for LGBTQ youth.

We serve young people

who represent the diversity of Sacramento,

including many high-risk populations.

And I say that because sometimes people

in their minds compartmentalize LGBTQ plus youth,

but we really do serve the diversity

as John Garcia's attested to earlier.

Your vote would fund culturally competent

and LGBTQ plus affirming mental health treatment

for these young people,

and it will play a crucial role

in alleviating homelessness.

By stabilizing their mental health,

these young people can better manage their symptoms

and navigate the challenges

that come with living their lives authentically

in a community that does not always embrace

their intersectional identities.

And these are crucial steps

towards improving their ability

to be able to get back on track

with their educational goals,

overall make safer choices,

maintain employment,

build their support networks,

and by doing so will increase their likelihood

of maintaining stable housing.

How does this look?

How is this intertwining between mental illness,

mental health and homelessness work?

Recently, we helped a young person

who escaped an abusive family,

foster family situation

and had been living in a park for many months.

We offer this young person mental health services,

enabling them to focus on their goals,

leading to a successful program exit

with a steady job and stable housing.

Another homeless young person

who we connected with mental health services

was able to reconcile with their family

and returned home.

So thank you for your time

and for your vote to fund mental health treatment

to help LGBTQ plus young people

to retain control over their lives

and improve their ability to attain their goals

and to work,

which is essential for their achieving

economic stability and housing security.

Next speaker is Andy,

then Maximilian Rosa.

Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Andy,

and I'm the mental program manager

for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.

I have been with the center for over three years

and have interacted with over hundreds

of LGBTQ plus individuals,

some as young as 13 years old.

They all have fled unsafe homes

and are facing homelessness,

substance use,

mental health,

and financial challenges.

For many,

our center is the first place

they felt truly seen,

heard,

and accepted,

and that is an experience

that can often be life-changing

and life-saving.

These individuals

are also having difficulties

fighting LGBTQ-affirming services

and mental health professionals,

which is why the work

that we do at the center

is important.

This funding will allow us

to expand services

by hiring an LGBTQ plus

mental health clinician

who will offer

one-on-one individual counseling

and ensure that our clients

receive safe,

trauma-informed,

and culturally competent care.

With your support,

we can continue

showing up for our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Maximilian and Richard Barton.

Good afternoon,

Mr. Mayor and Council.

In an effort to give

everybody else some time,

I'm going to talk really fast

and I'm going to skip

a lot of what I plan to say.

So Sierra Service Project

proposed a three-year

workforce development program

to build tiny homes

to provide transitional housing

to 48 families

and 96 to 144 youth

in under 18

transitioning from homelessness

to stable housing.

Participants will receive training

in leadership construction,

financial literacy,

career development

to become community leaders

in addressing youth homelessness.

Not only will the youth

in our program

learn how to construct homes,

but we will train them

on how to design them,

get them permitted,

and make them zero net energy.

This funding represents

how the city is supporting

innovative and critical

opportunities for youth

in the city

to become industry leaders.

By engaging youth

as critical stakeholders

in addressing homelessness,

we can create a lasting impact

and prove the business case

for locally manufactured structures

when the city and county

establish additional

housing sites in the city.

We ask that you approve

the Sacramento Children Fund

Scenario 1 funding

and empower these organizations

to serve the needs

of youth in our community.

I also invite you all

to come meet the youth

that we hire for our program

and help us build

the community of care model

to advocate for them

and prove to them

that we are here to support them

in their journeys through life.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Richard and Caleb Merrill.

Good afternoon, Mayor.

Good afternoon, Council members.

I'll be very brief.

In addition to what my colleagues

and community members

have said about why

this funding is needed,

I'm the Director of Housing

for the Sacramento LGBT Center.

In the short five months

that I've been working

in this position,

we have actively stopped

three of our residents

from killing themselves

and 33% of our mental health services

have addressed suicidal ideation

and suicidal actions.

LGBT youth need the funds

for mental health work.

Their lives are depending on it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Gomez.

Caleb, then Grace Loescher.

Hey, everyone.

My name is Caleb Merrill

and I'm a community advocate

here in Sacramento.

I'm also a young person

who's walked through housing security,

addiction,

and other mental health challenges.

Over the past few years,

I've been able to use

these experiences

to create lasting change

within our community

through helping build new programs

and shaping policies

that affect youth.

With the funding opportunities

created by Measure 11,

sorry, L,

I want to emphasize

the importance of investing

in organizations

that are already deeply rooted

in our community

and groups that show up

for young people consistently

and have built trust

and work alongside youth

to co-create meaningful solutions.

As someone who has been

on both sides of the system,

receiving services

and now working to improve them,

I've seen how powerful it is

when programs consistently show up

for youth

and play an active role

in change-making spaces.

Young people notice

when care is genuine,

they gravitate towards spaces

that make them feel safe,

respected, and truly seen.

That kind of trust

doesn't happen overnight.

It's built through

a longstanding presence

in our community

by people who have kept

their boots and ears

to the ground.

In a time of uncertainty

with funding and policies,

we need to protect

the programs that have shown

they can create

lasting relationships

with youth

and the people that serve them.

It's not only important

for quality of care,

but program sustainability.

I urge you to ensure

that Measure L investments

are grounded in connection,

collaboration,

and a long-term vision.

I also highly recommend

you to include

youth and lived experiences

in the scoring

and program monitoring

process going forward.

Having our voices

at the table

ensures that our community's

resources reflect

the evolving needs of youth.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Grace, then Scott Coatsworth.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Grace Locher,

and I've worked

in youth homelessness

in Sacramento

for the past decade.

I know this work,

I know the organizations

that have carried it forward,

and I know the people

have committed their lives to it.

I would never suggest

that one program

or one organization

is more important than another.

We are all doing impactful work,

and we all deserve adequate funding.

But when a funding stream

claims to prioritize

youth experiencing homelessness,

then it is only right

to invest in the agencies

who have demonstrated

a real commitment,

experience,

and results in this area.

Sacramento has a long history

of launching promising

new programs,

only to defund them

a few years later

and start over.

I am beyond grateful

for the funding

Sacramento City and State

have invested

to launch

Waking the Village's

Creation District program.

Because of this initial support,

we now have a vibrant haven

that serves 400 unique

Sacramento youth

experiencing homelessness

each year.

Sacramento should be

incredibly proud

to have the Creation District

as a pillar in its community.

To cut off support

at this stage

means the dream ends here.

My dream,

and the dream of many of us

in this work,

is to see our city

build something powerful

and sustain it.

How can we get there

if we don't support

the organizations

that have already

been doing the work?

Waking the Village,

the Sac LGBT Center,

LSS, Wind,

Capstar, SCOE,

and others have not only

served thousands of youth,

we've worked in deep collaboration

for years

to improve systems

and fill gaps

for this city.

Together,

we've expanded youth housing

six-fold in Sacramento,

secured YHDP funding

and housing vouchers

for Tay,

built and led

the Youth Action Board,

met bi-weekly

for years and years

to drive coordinated

system changes

like the pick count improvements,

case conferencing,

and intervention strategies.

While I deeply respect

the work of all local

organizations fighting

for a better community,

many of the agencies

currently recommended

for funding under Measure L

have not been a part

of this collective work.

They are not even specifically

focused on youth

experiencing homelessness,

a distinct and high needs

population.

Prioritizing these agencies

over those with deep

local roots in this exact area

is not only confusing,

it's a bit damaging.

Additionally,

Waking the Village's

application like others

was penalized for being

based in the downtown core,

but this is where

youth experiencing

homelessness are.

This location is literally

best practice for serving

youth experiencing homelessness.

We are located where

the need exists

and we show up there daily.

Thank you for your comments.

Scott Coatsworth,

then Jazlyn Mosley.

Hi there.

My husband tells me

I talk too fast.

Maybe that's actually

an asset today.

So I'm going to cut this way back.

I basically just want to say

we heard that the center

had lost about $500,000

in federal funding

for mental health awareness

and mental health services.

Mark and I jumped into action.

We started a GoFundMe.

We were very proud of it.

We were able to pull together

about $7,000 through it

through small donations

of $5, $20, $50.

Then we looked at that

and realized that was about

1.5% of what the center has lost.

We can't do this alone.

We really need your support.

I'm hoping there will be funding

for the center here.

As many people before have said,

these kids need it.

When I was a gay kid,

I could have really used

a place like the center

and they just didn't exist.

It does now.

And so please support those services.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for your comments.

Jazlyn, then Albert Tittman.

Hello.

My name is Jazlyn Mosley.

I am a youth and advocate

who has experienced

homeless insecurity

and mental health

and mental illness.

Today I have the privilege

working with some of the very resources

that have supported me today.

In the time of rapid change

and unrest in our country,

it is more important now

than ever to preserve

the trusted and reliable resources

available to the youth

in our community.

Disruptions caused

by inadequate funding

and to really weaken

these vital organizations

leaving Sacramento's youth

overwhelmed and drowning

in confusion, fear,

and hopelessness.

I urge you to remember

that youth are the future

and when we suffer,

that future grows dimmer.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Albert Tittman, Jr.,

Sr., and then Savon.

Hello, Mayor,

City Council members.

My name is Albert Tittman, Sr.

I am the Deputy Director

for the Native Dads Network.

I'm also a local tribal person,

so I want to just acknowledge you

for acknowledging my nieces,

and my relatives.

Our organization has been in existence.

This is our 10th year.

We feel like we've grown

a little bit beyond grassroots,

but understand that the history

of our people in this nation

nation is 500 years in advance,

so we've got a lot of catching up to do.

We've been working diligently

in the Sacramento region,

across the state of California,

to bring back this core value

of family, Native Dads Network,

calling back Native fathers

in the community,

which means we're working with mamas

and we're working with children,

core family.

A lot of the work we're doing here recently

is in school districts,

meeting families where they're at,

community-based movement building,

addressing the sentinel crisis,

working in Indian education programs,

Title 600 programs,

and what I noticed about this funding

is while I appreciate the efforts

and understand that this funding cycle

has already been determined,

that I want to encourage you

to take a closer look

at our Native organizations

like the Native Dads Network,

Native Sister Circle, SNAC,

all of the organizations

that are here to represent

the reason why we haven't been funded

this round

and encourage you wholeheartedly

to take a look at

the next round of funding

and assist us.

We've got a pretty decent score

at Native Dads Network.

However, we are not in

either one or two.

And so, again,

I ask you to take a look

for the future round of funding

and help us to continue

to do this work

to address all the issues,

mental health, suicide,

Thank you for your comment.

Your time is complete.

Our next speaker is Savon,

then Albert Tittman, Jr.

Kisari and Ingera.

I'm going to miss Savo.

That translates in Masai

to and how are the children?

In the Masai culture,

the children are central.

I don't feel like we value

our children in the same way

in our culture.

And I'm asking us

to step up on that front.

I'm the recording director

at Creation District

with Waking the Village.

I record unhoused youth

for free every day.

And I know personally

what they go through

all the time.

These recording sessions

end up turning

into therapy sessions.

Many of our youth

are sleeping in the streets.

And if they're not

in the streets,

they're in their cars

or they're in their shelters

that are very unhealthy

and socially disruptive.

We cannot operate

with a lack of clear funding

for our programs.

Creation District alone

is a hub

for not just LGBTQ youth

but also black youth

which are 60%

of our unhoused youth population.

And when we're talking

about unhoused youth,

we're also talking about

women and men

who are escaping

domestic violence

and have to stay

in these situations

because of that housing.

women 18 to 24

are the most vulnerable

for domestic violence

by the way

which is exactly

who we serve

over here at Creation District.

So we really urge you

to reconsider

how you're funding

these programs

and do not leave out

LGBTQ organizations

and organizations

that serve black

and brown youth as well

the most vulnerable

in our society.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Albert Titman Jr.

then Apollo Moon

and Hurricane Jones.

Honored members

of the council,

first thank you

for giving me

this time and space today.

I'm Ajuxis Kuchihima

and Niske

Connie Asis Albert

Timmer Jr.

and I'm Thumula Anisun

I'm Miwak Madu

Medesiband

of the Perville Nation

and even deeper than that

I come from

a pulmonary people

and that means people

from right here

from earth.

I'm a proud advocate

and mentor

for urban native youth.

I serve as youth coordinator

for impact

and indigenous mentors

protecting ancestral

cultural tribal traditions.

A native youth group

here in Sacramento

grounded in cultural

and traditional values.

Before I begin

I want to acknowledge

the land we stand on.

We stand on stolen land.

This is and always has been

the land of the Nisun

New York and Perville people.

We've been taught

where the four rivers flow,

the Sacramento American

consumers of McCollumee.

Our ancestors have been

the caretakers of this land

since time of memorial.

I come before you

not just as a member

of this community

but as someone

who has seen firsthand

what programs like

impact

and other native programs

can do.

This isn't just service

it's a safe haven.

It's healing,

it's hope

and it's a lifeline

for our youth.

Many of our young people

are navigating trauma

that has been passed down

through generations.

They're dealing with systems

that weren't built for them

and too often built against them.

They're experiencing

cultural erasure,

loss of language

and a loss of identity.

Programs like Impact

give them the path

to take back who they are.

It helps them reclaim

their stories

and let me be clear

this isn't a luxury

for our youth.

This is survival.

When programs like this

go unfunded

we silence voices

that have already been

silenced for far too long.

We cut the chance

for youth to connect

with mentors

that understand

that not just struggles

but the sacredness

of who they are.

Impact addresses

mental health

and substance abuse

yes but it also

goes deeper.

It teaches our youth

how to rise,

how to lead,

how to navigate

legal and social hurdles

that are unique

to native communities

and most importantly

how to heal.

But here's the hard truth.

Time and again

native communities

are overlooked.

Let me give you

a few facts.

Native programs

remain chronically underfunded

in nearly every area.

Health care,

education, housing,

public safety,

native youth

also have the highest

suicide and overdose rate

over any racial group

in the country.

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Our next speakers

are Apollo and Hurricane

that love Duncan.

Sir, your time is complete.

Please take your seat.

Sir, your time is complete.

Please take your seat.

Thank you.

Hurricane and Apollo

that love Duncan.

I don't see hurricane.

Love Duncan.

Following love

is Josh Mize,

La Familia,

maybe Johannes,

and Amira Codd.

Hello.

My name is Love Duncan.

I am a proud

Round Valley Tribal member

of Covalo Indians.

I am a youth peer intern

at Native Dads Network.

I am here to speak to you

about the addressing

of the funding.

I was a young person

who relied on programs

just like these ones.

I went through foster care

as my parents were going

through addiction.

My dad completed his journey

and started his recovery.

It wasn't until my father

began attending

Native-based recovery programs,

programs rooted in culture,

community, and healing

that our lives started to change

that these programs

helped him get sober.

As I went through

youth-focused programming,

I found the tools

I needed to understand myself,

heal, and grow.

I found purpose.

I'm standing here today

because of the programs

that existed

when I needed them the most.

They showed me

a different path,

one rooted in identity,

culture, and resilience.

I am not a statistic

because of the support,

mentorship, and cultural grounding

I received

through Native-led programming.

But the truth is,

without continued funding

for youth programs like ours,

we risk doing more harm

than good,

especially in an unrepresented

and marginalized community.

Native youth already face

significant systematic barriers,

high rates of foster care involvement,

substance abuse,

mental health challenges,

suicide,

and disconnection

from our cultural roots.

Native Dads Network

isn't just another non-profit.

It's community-driven.

It's focused on our healing,

accountability,

and cultural revitalization.

We serve families

holistically supporting parents

on their recovery journeys

while empowering youth

to reclaim their identities,

build resilience,

and lead with strength.

When you invest

in Native-led youth programming,

you're investing in prevention,

in healing,

and in our future leaders

who will get back

to their communities,

just like I am today.

So I ask you,

when you consider

where your funding goes,

think about the young Native kids

who deserve a chance to thrive.

Think about the families

working hard to heal.

Think about the lives

that can be changed.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Josh Mize,

then La Familia.

Admiral members of the City Council,

thank you for allowing me

the time to speak today.

My name is Josh,

and I'm a youth coordinator

for Native Dads Network.

I wanted to speak today

on the importance of this funding

and how it's directed

to communities.

I wanted to point out

that I have seen no direction

of funding towards tribal populations.

I highly encourage this institution

on the next round

to consider Native Dads Network

for funding

as we provide value services

towards mental health,

youth leadership,

substance use prevention,

suicide prevention,

and harm reduction approaches

that serve the Native population

in the Sacramento area.

Every family

in the Native population

has experienced

a drug overdose,

suicide,

and or lived with some trauma

passed down

from the boarding schools.

Many have lost

their self-identity and worth.

Cutting this funding

means cutting ties

to a future

where indigenous

youth thrive.

Our community benefits

from the growth

of Native youth

and their sense of identity.

When funding is stripped,

we value the lives

of our young people

who depend on safe space.

Our organization creates

a safe space

for the lives

of Native young people.

Our program,

Indigenous Mentors

Protecting Ancestral

Cultural Travel Traditions,

Impact,

is a program

that does far more

than provide services.

It provides hope.

It provides healing

and provides a future

for Native youth.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

La Familia,

then Amira.

Great.

I'm going to try

and make this quick.

So hello,

Mayor and City Council members.

My name is Brenda Scioli.

I am the Youth Wellness Manager

at La Familia Counseling Center.

With me,

I have Yvonne Smith-Collins,

who is our program manager

for our Birth and Beyond program.

I want to thank you all

for recommending us

for funding

for our AIM High program.

We understand

how critical

early childhood services are,

especially in the first

five years

of a child's life.

The early years

of a child's life

are more than just

the beginning.

They are the foundation.

Investing in early childhood

isn't optional.

It's essential

for healthy kids,

strong families,

and a better future

for all.

La Familia wants

to continue to serve

the children and families

of Sacramento

with full funding.

Along with this,

we acknowledge

the importance

of emerging organizations

having the opportunity

for funding as well.

Again,

on behalf of La Familia,

thank you for recommending

us for funding.

We sincerely appreciate

your belief in our mission.

Your support means

a great deal to us

and strengthens our commitment

to serving our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All you do.

Thank you.

Amira,

then Kau Yee Tao.

Hi.

My name is Dr. Amira Kopp.

I'm here as both

the co-executive director

of a grassroots nonprofit

serving refugee youth

that applied

for the Sacramento Children Fund

and as an equity consultant.

I want to thank

the Sacramento Children Fund team

for their strong equity lens,

first by structuring

the RFP to split funds

50-50 between public entities

and community-based organization,

and second,

through their genuine attempt

to prioritize

grassroots organization

in scenario number one.

However,

both scenarios

have significant gaps

as some CBOs

or community-based organization

scoring higher

than grassroots nonprofits

and public entities

received nothing,

while others

face disproportionate cuts.

Grassroot organizations

that scored higher

than public entities

also

were either capped

at 75,000

or excluded entirely

for not being

a public entity.

As a result,

I developed scenario number three,

which I brought

to the attention

of the team

and they suggested

that I present it today.

In this scenario,

all applicants

who scored

more than 90,

including many

of the organizations

that spoke today,

get the same percentage

of their requested amount.

All applicants

with the same score

are treated equally,

and all CBOs

that overscored

grassroots organizations

and public entities

are not eliminated.

This same cut,

this same percentage

of cuts to all

aligns with how

the city currently

manages its budget

across all departments,

even those

like law enforcement

with large shares.

If that's fair

for departments,

why not

for nonprofits

as well?

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Cao Yi,

then Leticia Aguilar.

Thank you.

Hello, Mayor and Council.

My name is

Cao Yi Tao.

I am the Director

of Policy and Partnerships

with Long Innovating Politics,

also a member

of the Racial Equity Alliance.

First and foremost,

Mayor, respectfully,

I would like to request

you reconsider

setting a limit

on the public comments.

Public comment

is not a checklist

on the agenda,

and we as the people

had no control

of the agenda.

I hope that we will

let everyone speak

here today.

Many of the folks

in the audience

are young people,

and they had to coordinate

travel to get here,

so I think it's really

important to hear

from everybody.

In regards to

the Children's Fund,

I just want to thank

the SAC Kids First Coalition

and thank all the youth,

all the advocates

that made this fund

a reality.

I also want to thank

the city staff

who worked tirelessly

on this process,

and also the commissioners

of the Sacramento

Children's Fund

for their service,

making sure that

the people's voice

was elevated

in this process.

As we move forward

in this process,

I ask that we honor

the vision of the people

and our process.

This work was born

out of years

of organizing

and community advocacy,

and so I ask

that the council

honor the framework

that was set

by the commission

and approved

through the strategic

investment plan.

I also think

it's really important

to center accountability

and transparency.

This was a competitive

process for a reason,

right,

to make sure

we're good stewards

of these public funds,

and so I urge

that city staff,

you all follow up

with those that

weren't funded

and make sure

we let them know

how to improve

for the next funding cycle

so that we really uplift

the community organizations

that are closest

to the ground.

And with that,

I do want to commit

a strong support

for option one

so that we ensure

that all of our

emerging grassroots

orgs get funded.

Thank you for your comments.

Leticia Aguilar,

then Angelina Herojosa.

City Council members,

Mayor,

my name is Leticia Aguilar,

and I'm the founder

and CEO

of Native Sisters Circle,

the only program

in Sacramento

dedicated to serving

tribal girls.

I'm a tribal woman,

a mother,

and a descendant

of people who survived

California's brutal history.

In 1846 to 1873,

the state issued bounties

on Native scalps,

paying millions

to exterminate us.

Then, 1879,

the first boarding school

was created.

The school's purpose

was to assimilate

Native children

by stripping them

of their language,

culture, and identity.

Kill the Indian,

save the man.

And it wasn't until

June 2, 1924,

where we were allowed

our American citizenship

on our own land,

still being denied

the right to vote

until 1962.

Born and raised

just three hours

from my ancestral home

on Miwok territory,

and yet I am still

made invisible.

The invisibility

is the reality

for many youth

in Sacramento,

especially girls.

Their struggles

are unique,

fueled by historical trauma,

and the solutions

must come

from within

our communities.

That is why

I created

the Native Sisters Circle

after seeing my own

teenage daughter

face these challenges.

We are at full capacity

in our most vulnerable

communities

that are underserved

with generations

of false hope.

Cultural-based prevention,

intervention,

and leadership development

that Native youth

need,

not just to survive,

but to thrive,

is what is best.

Our youth deserve

summer internships.

Our youth deserve

to be seen,

supported,

and empowered.

We must undo

the wrongs of the past,

creating a new,

innovative path forward.

Thank you for your time

in recognizing

the importance

of investing

in tribal communities.

If you invest

in orgs like ours,

we can help reduce

burdens of the...

Thank you for your comments.

Your time is complete.

Angelina Hirojosa.

Yeah, and just real quick,

Angelina, just...

We have 20 minutes left

in our public comment.

We're just doing one hour.

So that's what we decided.

And we have 18 of you

to speak,

so I encourage you

to try to cut it in half

so all of you can speak.

Thank you.

Angelina, then Ed Kazmieric.

Good evening,

City Council members, Mayor.

My name is Angelina Hirojosa.

I'm a proud member

of Pinolivo Pomo Nation,

and I stand here

not just as myself,

but as a representation

of a whole community

that deserves to be seen,

heard, and invested in.

I've been a part

of many Native

and non-Native organization

grassroots growing up.

Native sister circles,

self-awareness and recovery,

Native youth ambassadors

live beyond you name it

that do boots-on-the-ground work,

building safe spaces

for our youth

to grow, heal, and lead.

Just last week,

my story on mental health

was featured

in the Sacramento News

and Recovery.

I've had the honor

of meeting

former President Biden

and Vice President

Kamala Harris

at the annual tribal youth forum,

but none of that

would have happened

just by chance,

especially not have happened

coming from the family ties

of gangs, drugs,

and alcoholism

I come from.

It happened because

my community lifted me,

because someone saw potential

in me when the systems didn't.

And yet, despite all this,

we continue to be overlooked.

We are people

who have endured

broken treaties,

broken promises,

and generations

of being made invisible.

And today,

when Native youth programs

are left out of funding

and support,

that invisibility continues.

It tells our youth

that no matter

how hard we work,

how much we build,

and how deeply we care,

it's not enough to be seen.

But I'm here to say

we are still here.

We are still rising.

And we are still fighting

for the next generation

to thrive,

not just survive.

We don't want handouts.

We want to be included

in the vision

for a better future,

inclusivity.

We want to change

to youth.

We want to change the youth.

We want to make sure

that we give them

good homes,

spaces,

that they can thrive in.

We deserve visibility,

support,

and the opportunity

to walk in their full power.

Don't let us remain invisible.

See us.