Sacramento Ethics Commission Meeting - April 28, 2025
Sacramento Ethics Commission Meeting - April 28, 2025
The Sacramento Ethics Commission met on Monday, April 28, 2025, at 5:31 p.m. at City Hall Complex (915 I Street, Sacramento). The meeting covered the approval of previous minutes and complaint logs, community outreach strategies, and training for commissioners. The commission discussed ways to increase public awareness of its role and tabled training discussions pending an upcoming audit presentation.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Approval of meeting minutes from February 24, 2025 (File ID: 2025-00248).
- Item 2: Approval of the Ethics Commission Complaint Log (File ID: 2025-00311).
Both items were approved by a unanimous vote (Commissioners Adams, Emery, LoFaso, Velasquez, and Chair Ng all voted aye).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lambert spoke on Item 2, requesting the commission reinvestigate a recent Measure U Commission meeting, alleging staff left before adjournment. Chair Ng clarified that the commission cannot act without a formal complaint and directed him to file one via the city website.
- Kai On spoke on Item 2, stating the City Clerk dismissed his complaint against the Office of Public Ethics and Training (OPET) director and the Sacramento Police Department, claiming the commission has no jurisdiction. He questioned who has jurisdiction if the Ethics Commission does not.
- Lambert (again) spoke on Item 3, thanking Vice Chair LoFaso for clarifying the complaint process and expressing appreciation for City Clerk Mindy Cuppy's integrity.
- Lambert (final public comment on matters not on the agenda) introduced himself as founder of a Sacramento cheesecake business, noted his products were featured at a bridal expo, and left a business card with the clerk.
Discussion Items
Item 3: Sacramento Ethics Commission Community Outreach (File ID: 2025-00766)
- Chair Ng opened discussion, noting materials were approved in September 2024 and emphasizing the need to educate the public about the commission's role (it does not initiate investigations; citizens must file complaints).
- Commissioner Emery reported speaking to two community groups; fewer than 50% of attendees knew of the Ethics Commission. She stressed that the public must be empowered to file complaints.
- Vice Chair LoFaso proposed a marketing plan, recalling a 2023 presentation by a city marketing staffer (Lynette Hall). He suggested adding a request link on the city website and creating a task matrix for commissioners.
- Commissioner Velasquez noted community outreach is a workplan priority and suggested the commission attend City Connect events (monthly neighborhood association meetings). She asked for a list of neighborhood associations.
- City Clerk Mindy Cuppy confirmed a list is available and that Community Engagement Manager Lynette Hall had previously offered to facilitate presentations, which Commissioner Emery utilized.
- Commissioner Emery expressed doubt about a single mass outreach solution and suggested incremental, individual efforts.
- Commissioner Velasquez proposed making community outreach a standing agenda item for future meetings. The commission agreed without a formal vote.
Item 4: Report Back on Request for Information About What Training Other Agencies Provide to Their Commissioners (File ID: 2025-00767)
- Staff presented data from comparable agencies (San Jose, Long Beach, Orange County, and San Diego) and a draft hearing officer training plan with estimated costs of $4,000–$5,000 per session.
- Vice Chair LoFaso critiqued the Oakland training video as too specific to that city's process and not generic enough. He prioritized skills like handling evidence and distinguishing fact from law, and due process.
- He noted that an audit of the commission (with five findings, one on training) is expected to be presented by auditors in June, after city council adoption. He suggested the commission wait for that before setting direction on training.
- Commissioner Emery confirmed the audit presentation timeline.
- The commission agreed to table further discussion on training until the audit is presented (expected June 2025).
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved unanimously.
- Community outreach to remain a standing agenda item; commissioners to continue individual outreach using methods discussed.
- Training discussion deferred until after the upcoming audit presentation (likely June 2025).
- The meeting adjourned after public comments on matters not on the agenda.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Welcome to the 28th day of April 2025, Sacramento Ethics Commission meeting. The meeting is now called to order at 531 p.m. Will the clerk please call the row to establish a quorum? Yes, thank you, Chair. Commissioner Adams. Present. Commissioner Emery? Commissioner Lafonso? Here. Commissioner Vasquez. Here. We have a quorum. So uh Commissioner Velasquez is walking at uh five still 531. Thank you. Yeah. No, no, no. I would like to remind members of the public that if you would like to speak on an agenda item, please turn in a speaker's slip when the item begins. You will have two minutes to speak once you call on. After the first speaker, we will no longer accept speaker slips. We will now proceed with today's agenda. Well, everyone please rise for the opening acknowledgements and honor Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, Patwin Wintan peoples, and the people of the Wilton Ratcheria, Sacramento's only federal recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us day 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. Well, everyone please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Chair. We have no speakers for the item. Thank you. Are there any commissioners who wish to speak on this item? Hearing none. Is there a motion and a second for the consent calendar? I make a motion to approve the consent calendar. I apologize. We do actually have two speakers. My apologies. Can we please have Lambert come? And then after Lambert, it'll be Kai. First of all, I want to say that I am a tremendous uh supporter of the ethics committee. Uh commission. I've been coming here for a while. And that's why when I didn't hear my name called, I hope that I didn't interrupt the meeting, but I'm very busy. So for me to come down here, there's a purpose why I'm here. Speaking on number two, I would like to personally uh like for this commission to reinvestigate the last measure you commission meeting, which was last Monday. You need to go back and see how that how that meeting was handled. What I mean by that is there was uh an audience full of staff members here, but they didn't stay the entire time, so even the commission measure you commission was saying they should not have left the uh chamber. You shouldn't leave the chamber when there's people in the audience because that looks like you don't really care, and that was brought up not only by a member of Measure U Commission, but it was brought up by me because a lot of these commission meetings that I attend, there aren't very many people in the audience. So the least the staff could do is wait until the meeting is over. Plus, you don't get paid either, so they should have the decency to wait for you to adjourn.
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