Sacramento City Council Meeting - May 19, 2026: Public Works Week, Consent Calendar, and Police Evidence Audit
Sacramento City Council Meeting - May 19, 2026: Public Works Week, Consent Calendar, and Police Evidence Audit
The Sacramento City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, called to order at 2:05 PM and adjourned at 3:17 PM. The meeting included a special presentation for National Public Works Week, adoption of the Consent Calendar (with a discrepancy on item count), and an audit of the Police Department's Evidence and Property Section. All council members were present with Vice Mayor Talamantes presiding; Mayor McCarty and Councilmembers Guerra and Pluckebaum arrived at 2:14 PM.
Special Presentation: National Public Works Week
Councilmember Kaplan led a presentation recognizing National Public Works Week. Public Works Director Matt Irman highlighted that the department employs 780 staff who maintain billions in infrastructure. Key statistics: maintenance crews filled over 700,700 potholes in less than 50 days; crews responded to wind gusts exceeding 50 mph over the prior weekend. Two employees were honored: Jose Sanchez (Manager of Public Right-of-Way) and Ria Salvador (Support Services Manager) for awards from the American Public Works Association.
Consent Calendar
- The Consent Calendar contained 11 items according to the minutes, but the City Clerk initially stated there were ten items. This discrepancy is noted. All items were adopted by a 9-0 vote (motion by Councilmember Maple, second by Councilmember Kaplan).
- Public speakers addressed items 5 (Youth Service Corps), 8 (Scotty Station Apartments), and 10 (Sutter’s Landing Park ADA River Access Trail).
- Councilmember Maple expressed support for item 2 (Florin Road Vision Zero Safety Project, a $450,000 budget adjustment) and Councilmember Guerra highlighted item 8 as a 66-unit affordable housing project with 15 units for individuals with developmental disabilities.
- On item 10, Councilmember Dickinson requested direction for better ADA community outreach and preservation of two old oak trees; the motion included these conditions.
Public Comments & Testimony
Consent Calendar (Items 5, 8, 10):
- Cameron Nicholson, Kobe Cannon, Atlas Jackman, Maximilian Rosa, and Lucas Shearson (Sierra Service Project/Youth Service Corps) spoke in strong support of funding for urban agriculture, job training, and community food orchards. They described personal benefits such as escaping incarceration, finding community, and developing leadership skills.
- Isaac Babatsunde, Cyril Williams, Jalen Joyce, Michelle Galford, and Tac Allen (Improve Your Tomorrow, CRE Pathways) supported youth internship and workforce programs, citing 14,000+ training hours, 95% permanent job placement, and 100% higher education enrollment.
- Alexander Hampton (North Coast State Carpenters Union) expressed support for affordable housing but urged fiscal responsibility regarding Scotty Station Apartments, citing a lawsuit against the developer’s affiliate for alleged wage violations.
- Jeff and Regina (disability community members) opposed removing item 10 from the Consent Calendar, criticizing the trail’s route past a concrete recycling plant and insufficient prior consultation with the Disability Advisory Commission. They requested more stakeholder input and accessible outreach.
Discussion Calendar (Item 12 - Police Evidence Audit):
- Sierra criticized the police department for mishandling a seized Native American tipi, claiming it was mislabeled as “tarp and sticks” and held without proper tribal consultation.
- Joshua praised the audit’s positive findings but urged better training on Native American religious freedoms.
- L.R. Roberts recounted past difficulties retrieving property (e.g., blankets) from police custody, highlighting systemic issues for homeless individuals.
Public Comments - Matters Not on the Agenda:
- Annette Emory (Gardenland Northgate Neighborhood Association, Women Democrats of Sacramento County) spoke in favor of ranked-choice voting for city council elections.
- Cynthia Shallett (Indivisible Sacramento) and Paula Lee (Better Ballot Sacramento Coalition) also urged the council to place ranked-choice voting on the November ballot, citing a grassroots petition drive and poll showing majority support.
- Michelle Collins (Sacramento Women Democrats) supported the coalition.
- L.R. Roberts requested a task force phone number and raised concerns about ICE activity and the Sacramento City School District’s financial issues.
Discussion Items
Item 12: Audit of the Sacramento Police Department Evidence and Property Section Assistant City Auditor Kevin Christensen presented the audit, covering warehouse operations from 2020 to 2024. Key statistics: over 143,000 items booked between 2022-2024, with 122,000 disposed (net increase of 20,000 items); firearms located with 99.6% accuracy; booking error rate below 1%; annual staff time of 8,000 hours ($588,000) spent on homeless property management. Six findings:
- Evidence location and retrieval generally effective, but improvements needed in ammunition storage (currently on open pallets), firearm security (corrective actions not yet formalized), and video monitoring workstation access.
- Draft policy manuals not formally adopted, limiting enforceability; need clearer procedures for high-value items.
- Homeless enforcement property handling is inefficient; recommend third-party providers.
- Disposition backlog: intake outpaces disposal despite improved processing; 75% of items require external authorization; recommend time-bound disposal targets.
- Strong security access controls currently, but no routine periodic access reviews.
- High booking accuracy and error correction meets best practices. Council approved the audit with a 9-0 vote, motion by Councilmember Guerra, second by Councilmember Maple.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Adopted all items (Resolution Nos. 2026-0122 through 2026-0129; Motion Nos. 2026-0114 and 2026-0115) with a 9-0 vote, including the budget transfer for Florin Road Vision Zero, approval of $4.1 million loan for Scotty Station Apartments, Youth Service Corps grant amendments totaling over $2.47 million, and concept plan approval for Sutter’s Landing ADA trail (with direction for ADA outreach and oak tree preservation).
- Police Evidence Audit: Motion No. 2026-0116 passed 9-0, approving the audit and recommendations.
- No council comments or city manager report.
- Meeting adjourned at 3:17 PM.
Meeting Transcript
We are ready whenever you are. Okay, give me one second. All right. Clerk, I'd like to call this meeting order at 205. Please call the roll. Councilmember Kaplan. Councilmember Dickinson. Councilmember Plucky Bomb. Councilmember Maple? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Gera. Councilmember Jennings? Here. Councilmember Bang? Here. Mayor uh Vice Mayor Telemontes. All right. We have a quorum. Please rise for the OPA acknowledgements in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanau people, the Southern Maidu, Bally and Plains Mewalk, Patwin Winton peoples, and the people of the Wiltern Rancheria. Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples, histories, contributions, and lives. Thank you. Salute pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and invisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Is there any report out from close session? Thank you so much. And today we have a really special presentation led by Councilmember Kaplan for National Public Works Week. It is a special day, and I really want to thank all of our public works individuals who are here in the audience. This is National Public Works Week, which it's a time for us to honor public works professionals, not only here in our state, but in the country from uh the amazing work of fixing our potholes to our trash to our fleet to code enforcement to our signs to our lights. Um, you know, uh yes, it's maybe a little cliche, but public works, you guys are kind of the glue of the city. You keep things together, you keep things running. Um, and you know, it's it's not that sometimes people see public works and they're going, huh? What? But you really are the essential, and you look at knowing that we as the city don't always have the money that we need. How can you be creative? How can you look at things in a different way? And how can you make things more efficient so it's easier for everyday citizens here in the city of Sacramento? A highlight just to thank all the work you do. Uh we love Sacramento. We are the city of trees, and the last two days have really shown whether our trees can stand the test of time or not. I will tell you yesterday, driving around my community, it looked a little apocalyptic, which I'm sure it did downtown and everywhere else, and I was mindful as I was walking. I kind of sometimes walked in the street and not under the tree branches because I'd been hit a time or two when a gust of wind uh came through, but you guys are on top of it 24-7, helping our community from the thousands of 311 reports that you guys get. Um, to also reminding I will call it out parents behaving badly and parking where they should not be parking during drop-off and pickup, which makes it dangerous for those who are walking and biking and cars who are on the road. Um you guys help keep people in line and and keep people safe and the ingenuity of the quick build safety team of something we talked about of how do we make it safer and how do we do something with less. Um, thank you for your creativity, but really it is a time to thank each and every one of you because public works really is what makes our city. It's the little things that people forget about, but they expect, they just know it's gonna be there. So thank you for all that you do from the ground up and helping in every way that we can.
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