OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sacramento City Council Meeting - February 24, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodySacramento, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:17:11
Transcript — Verbatim
0:21

I hear things like that is a key word.

0:23

So the time frame for the day collection is not ideal.

0:36

All right, we're good.

0:41

Anytime I don't have it.

0:45

That's always different something.

0:47

Ready whenever you are.

0:48

Yeah, okay.

0:50

Please call the meeting to order the Sacramento City Council.

0:58

Please call the roll.

1:03

Councilmember Kaplan?

1:04

Here.

1:06

Councilmember Dickinson?

1:08

Here.

1:08

Vice Mayor Salamantes.

1:11

Councilmember Pluckybaugh.

1:15

Councilmember Maple?

1:16

Here.

1:17

Mayor Proton Gera.

1:22

Councilmember Jennings?

1:23

Here.

1:24

Councilmember Vang?

1:25

Here.

1:26

Mayor McCurdy?

1:27

Here.

1:27

You have a quorum.

1:29

Thank you.

1:29

Councilmember Maple, please lead us in the pledge and land acknowledgement.

1:33

Certainly.

1:34

Please rise if you are able.

1:36

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

1:52

May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on this ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contributions, and lives.

2:06

Remain standing, salute and pledge.

2:10

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

2:18

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

2:37

Next we have the consent calendar.

2:39

We have 17 items on the consent calendar, and I have one speaker for item number 11.

2:52

Yes.

2:55

Lambert?

3:25

Number 11, it talks about suspension of competitive bidding.

3:38

This is a very slippery slope.

3:40

You've been doing that for a while.

3:42

And when you are a business owner, you want to be able to bid on it.

3:46

Whatever it is, you know, and I'll give you an example of why.

3:52

Now, can we use this today?

3:54

The overhead.

3:56

Because last night I was at Measure U commission and they were using it.

4:01

So this is gonna become a freedom of speech violation of the First Amendment.

4:07

Because there's no excuse to not let us show what we're gonna show.

4:11

So since I can't show it to you, then I have the right to show it to the public.

4:17

This is the Sacramento B, and it talks about an example of why you shouldn't have competitive bidding.

4:27

A guy at Cap Radio, he was able to get contracts for his family without competitive bidding, and I'm glad they called him because it's a whole web of people that are connected to it.

4:41

Shout out to the Sacramento B.

4:43

That's what happens when you don't have competitive bidding.

4:46

It can get in the hands of the wrong person, and they can give the contracts to family and friends.

4:52

This is just an example.

4:55

I own a cheesecake business.

4:56

You have to bid on different contracts, and we never know who was the one that selected it.

5:03

We were we found out right here that he had relatives that helped him get the contract.

5:10

He wasn't qualified.

5:12

That's a terrible thing to do is no competitive bidding.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget and Finance█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Homelessness█████████11%
Affordable Housing███████8%
Community Engagement███████8%
Immigration Policy██████7%
Procedural███4%
Transportation Safety███4%
Land Use Planning██2%
Personnel Matters█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Sacramento City Council Meeting - February 24, 2026

The Sacramento City Council met on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:03 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Kevin McCarty with a quorum present. Councilmembers Kaplan, Dickinson, Talamantes (until 3:03 PM), Pluckebaum (arrived at 2:06 PM), Maple, Guerra (arrived at 2:06 PM), Jennings, Vang, and Mayor McCarty were in attendance. The meeting adjourned at 3:19 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • All 17 items on the Consent Calendar were approved in one motion, with two no votes recorded for Item 17. Key approvals include:
    • Item 1: Approval of meeting minutes from January 13 and 27, 2026.
    • Item 2: Emergency repairs on I Street Bridge railing (not-to-exceed $341,824) with D N B Infrastructure, Inc.
    • Item 4: Connecting Howe Avenue Safety and Mobility Plan adopted.
    • Item 5: The Norwood Mobility Plan adopted.
    • Item 6: Pass for publication of ordinance listing 2240 Northgate Boulevard (Orbit Station) as a landmark.
    • Item 7: Del Rio Trail Sewer Force Main Rehabilitation Project – contracts and reimbursement agreement totaling $22,392,209.
    • Item 11: Suspension of competitive bidding (two-thirds vote) for Old Sacramento Wooden Boardwalk Replacement Project.
    • Item 16: Contract with Antech Laboratories for veterinary lab testing (two-thirds vote, not-to-exceed $550,000).
    • Item 17: Contract with Harder & Company Community Research for five-year evaluation of Sacramento Children’s Fund (not-to-exceed $749,929) – passed 7-2 (Councilmembers Kaplan and Talamantes voted no).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Consent Calendar (Item 11): Lambert expressed concerns about suspending competitive bidding, citing potential for favoritism and referencing a previous scandal.
  • Discussion Item 18 (SHRA Report): Michael Melton stated that homelessness has increased despite $45 million from Kaiser and Blue Cross, and that he has been waiting over a year for housing keys after being accepted into a program.
  • Discussion Items 19 & 20 (Children’s Fund): Lambert criticized the use of acronyms (CBOT) and argued that high taxes disincentivize cannabis business revenue. He also questioned why funds for youth programs (e.g., Grant High School drum line) are delayed.
  • Public Comments – Matters Not on Agenda: Eight speakers addressed various issues:
    • Peter: Criticized the Council for honoring the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), stating HAF lobbied to kill SB 509, a bill that would train police on transnational repression. He claimed HAF is a Hindu nationalist group and that police lack training.
    • Lambert: Raised a personal issue about erroneous parking tickets and asked for help from the city.
    • Graham: Accused the city of targeting protesters, referencing the arrest of a speaker by DHS, and criticized Mayor McCarty for not returning calls.
    • Liana: Accused Sacramento police of violating the American Indian Freedom of Religious Act by desecrating a teepee used for prayers, and demanded return of sacred artifacts.
    • Sierra: Similarly alleged police violated federal religious protections and stole Native American artifacts (a teepee), calling for its return.
    • Michael: Asked for help with his RV being towed without notice, and pleaded for housing assistance, noting he has been homeless for over a year.
    • LRR Roberts: Criticized police for helping ICE violate law, and for using excessive force against homeless individuals.

Discussion Items

  • Item 18: Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for 2024 – Received and filed.
    • Mandy Merchant (auditor) presented: unmodified opinion on financial statements; qualified opinion on two federal programs (Public and Indian Housing and Housing Choice Voucher) due to material weaknesses. Key findings:
      • Financial close process required significant adjustments.
      • Housing Choice Voucher: 23 of 60 eligibility inspections not done timely; 1 of 40 failed inspections not re-inspected timely; one annual inspection not completed since 2022.
      • Public Housing: 16 of 40 files with exceptions (8 city, 7 county for late annual certifications; one county certification missing since 2022).
      • Emergency Solutions Grant: 10 of 29 payments to sub-recipients not made within 30 days.
    • Councilmember Kaplan asked about corrective actions. SHRA staff (Mary Liz Paulson) stated new reports and monthly monitoring are being implemented. The auditor noted findings have decreased from 10 in 2023 to 5 in 2024.
    • Chris Warren was introduced as interim CEO of SHRA, expressing commitment to improvement.
  • Item 19: City Auditor’s FY2024/2025 Audited Cannabis Business Operations Tax (CBOT) Amount for Sacramento Children’s Fund – Approved 8-0 (Pluckebaum absent).
    • Joe Fleming (City Auditor’s office) reported audited CBOT revenue of $22,609,932. The estimated revenue was $23.3 million, so a true-up reduced the Children’s Fund contribution by $280,000 to $9.04 million.
    • Councilmember Kaplan asked about timing and impact on grants. Finance Director P. Cletter stated that no material impact on first round grants is expected, and options for future funding policies will be brought to Council.
  • Item 20: City Auditor’s FY2024/2025 Baseline Funding Verification for Sacramento Children’s Fund – Approved 8-0 (Pluckebaum absent).
    • Joe Fleming presented: verified that the baseline funding amount of $22.9 million was expended in FY2024/2025. The audit relied on management estimates for some allocations. In odd years, only expenditures up to baseline are published; even years will include all youth programs.
    • Councilmember Vang thanked advocates and noted that baseline will likely be met each year due to rising labor costs.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved with 2 no votes on Item 17 (Contract with Harder & Company).
  • Item 18: Received and filed SHRA Financial Report.
  • Item 19: Motion passed (8-0-1) approving audited CBOT revenue amount.
  • Item 20: Motion passed (8-0-1) approving baseline funding verification.
  • Council Comments: Councilmember Kaplan and Maple reported attending California League of Cities board meeting in Berkeley; discussions included Bradley Burns tax allocation on distribution centers.
  • City Manager’s Report: None.

Meeting Transcript

I hear things like that is a key word. So the time frame for the day collection is not ideal. All right, we're good. Anytime I don't have it. That's always different something. Ready whenever you are. Yeah, okay. Please call the meeting to order the Sacramento City Council. Please call the roll. Councilmember Kaplan? Here. Councilmember Dickinson? Here. Vice Mayor Salamantes. Councilmember Pluckybaugh. Councilmember Maple? Here. Mayor Proton Gera. Councilmember Jennings? Here. Councilmember Vang? Here. Mayor McCurdy? Here. You have a quorum. Thank you. Councilmember Maple, please lead us in the pledge and land acknowledgement. Certainly. Please rise if you are able. For the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nissanan people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Putwin Winchan peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on this ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contributions, and lives. Remain standing, salute and pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Next we have the consent calendar. We have 17 items on the consent calendar, and I have one speaker for item number 11. Yes. Lambert? Number 11, it talks about suspension of competitive bidding. This is a very slippery slope. You've been doing that for a while. And when you are a business owner, you want to be able to bid on it. Whatever it is, you know, and I'll give you an example of why. Now, can we use this today? The overhead. Because last night I was at Measure U commission and they were using it. So this is gonna become a freedom of speech violation of the First Amendment. Because there's no excuse to not let us show what we're gonna show. So since I can't show it to you, then I have the right to show it to the public. This is the Sacramento B, and it talks about an example of why you shouldn't have competitive bidding.

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