Sacramento Budget and Audit Committee Meeting Summary - May 5, 2026
Sacramento Budget and Audit Committee Meeting Summary - May 5, 2026
The Budget and Audit Committee met on May 5, 2026, to discuss the consent calendar, the Disabilities Advisory Commission's recommendation for a citywide ADA coordinator, the Measure U Advisory Commission's FY 2026-27 budget priorities, citywide fees and charges, and an audit of the Sacramento Police Department's evidence and property section. The meeting included public testimony and committee direction on several items.
Consent Calendar
- The committee unanimously adopted consent items 1 and 2, which included routine approvals. One speaker, Lambert Davis, addressed item 2, expressing concerns about checks issued without written agreements as noted in a city auditor's report.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lambert Davis (on consent calendar): Expressed concern that seven checks were issued without a written agreement, calling it a double standard compared to businesses like his that are audited.
- Karina Miller Pullen (Disabilities Advisory Commission member): Cited personal experience and data (one in four Sacramento residents have a disability) to urge funding for a citywide ADA coordinator, warning that the city faces compliance deadlines and lawsuit risks. She stated that a $200,000 position is cheaper than potential litigation.
- Keith Ellis (Vice Chair, Disabilities Advisory Commission): Supported the coordinator position as a matter of strategic leadership and living up to commitments, noting that budget priorities reflect values.
- Lambert Davis (on Measure U): Claimed that the Measure U Commission's vote to allow an economic development pitch with nine minutes left violated the Brown Act, because it prevented public comment and commission Q&A.
- Richard Falcone (on arts funding): Opposed recommendations to reduce arts funding, stating that artists already contribute to violence prevention and economic development, and that arts were essential during COVID.
- Dr. Steve Winlock (Arts Commissioner): Argued that the Creative Edge Plan has produced a strong return on investment, citing community involvement and progress on goals.
- Liz Awesome (artist): Opposed restructuring arts funding, describing how creative skills helped her survive homelessness and that experimentation is needed, not rigid goals.
- David Webb (founder of InvestorFi): Stated that arts and culture are economic infrastructure, not discretionary, and that cutting them signals weakness to outside capital.
- Roshan Davis (executive director of Culture): Emphasized that the creative economy is a $200 billion ecosystem and that cutting it harms talent retention, small businesses, and revenue generation.
- Justina Martino (artist and business owner): Opposed cuts, citing data from the 2022 Arts & Economic Prosperity study showing $241.7 million in economic activity and 4,343 jobs supported by the arts in Sacramento County.
- Marbella (Measure U Commissioner): Thanked staff for early engagement and urged continued funding for violence prevention and pool operations, noting that children in her district rely on city pools.
Discussion Items
- Item 3: Disabilities Advisory Commission Recommendation for Citywide ADA Coordinator
- Staff (Jesse Gotham) presented the recommendation, noting the position would cost ~$200,000/year and be classified as a program manager. Currently, ADA responsibilities are distributed across departments.
- Committee comments: Councilmember Maple asked about risk management benefits; Vice Mayor noted budget constraints but supported consideration; Assistant City Manager said coordination is being done effectively across departments. The committee directed that the position be added to the list for budget hearings and discussed further at the 2 p.m. council session.
- Item 4: Measure U Advisory Commission FY 2026-27 Budget Priorities and Recommendations
- Commissioner Tim Smith presented recommendations: continue most programs at current levels, adjust based on ROI, recast $8 million in spending as general fund for transparency, highlight grant leverage, stress accountability through performance metrics, implement a two-year review cycle, and break out the police hiring pipeline into three components.
- Committee discussion: Councilmember Maple supported keeping arts funding and requested analysis of the participatory budgeting pilot. Vice Mayor requested a pie chart of Measure U spending (city vs. CBO) before budget adoption. Chair supported the two-year review, emphasized need for alignment of funds with purpose, and noted that the arts community should engage with the Measure U Commission to demonstrate value. Chair also advocated for participatory budgeting and fare-free transit.
- Item 5: Citywide Fees and Charges for FY 2026-27
- Presented by Finance Director Pete Coletto and Brian Martin. They proposed adding 86 new fees, modifying 530 fees, and deleting 19, excluding previously proposed residential parking permit and meter rate increases. The changes would generate $7.4 million for the general fund and $652,000 for other funds. The item was forwarded to the full council for a public hearing on May 12.
- Chair requested that information on parking fee scenarios (e.g., first permit free) and comparable jurisdictions be provided to the council in advance. Councilmember Maple opposed charging residents to park in front of their own homes.
- Item 6: Audit of Sacramento Police Department Evidence and Property Section
- Presented by Assistant City Auditor Kevin Christensen. The audit found strong controls overall, with a 99.6% accuracy rate for high-risk items. Findings included: ammunition stored on open pallets (recommended fire-rated storage), firearms removed from secure areas during disposition (corrected, but not formalized), video monitoring workstation in open area (recommended restricted access), draft policies not finalized, high-value jewelry not consistently stored in safes, accumulation of property from homeless individuals (estimated 8,000 staff hours/year), and evidence disposition backlog (143,000 items booked vs. 122,000 disposed in 2022-2024). Also, badge access controls were effective but no annual audit required. Recommended: formalize policies, improve storage, track time saved via third-party contract, establish disposal targets, and conduct annual access reviews.
- Committee discussion: Vice Mayor asked about sexual assault kit audit (implemented) and requested an update. Chair inquired about chain of custody; auditor confirmed tracking via barcode system. The audit was accepted and forwarded to the council.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- ADA Coordinator Position: Directed to be added to the list for budget consideration and discussed at the 2 p.m. council meeting.
- Measure U Recommendations: Committee requested a summary of program spending (city vs. CBO) before budget adoption, and that the arts community engage with the Measure U Commission. Participatory budgeting outcomes to be brought back to the committee.
- Fees and Charges: Forwarded to the full council for public hearing on May 12, with additional information on parking fee scenarios to be provided.
- Police Evidence Audit: Accepted unanimously and forwarded to the council. Some recommendations already implemented (third-party contract for homeless property; sexual assault kit audit). Department to report on kit audit status.
Meeting Transcript
I'm not a big fan of the committee because everyone wants to be called. I mean, I'm sorry, I should tell them about it. I think I know. Okay. I'm gonna go ahead and like we have a fan, we have a chair of a committee. Well, I have to reconsider that. We will call to uh order the let's try this. We'll call it the uh budget committee meeting for May 5th 2026, and welcome to those of you who have joined us uh this morning. Appreciate you being here uh as always. Um if you wish to address the the committee, please uh fill out a speaker form and give that to the clerk at the front of the chambers, and then we'll make sure to call you on the item in which you're interested. If you are speaking, keep in mind that uh you're limited to two minutes, and the clock will tick down. You can watch that, so you make sure you keep your eye on that to get everything in that you want to be sure to say with that. I think we should uh call the roll to establish a quorum. Thank you, Chair. Vice Mayor Talamantes, Councilmember Maple, Mayor Pro Tem Gata. Here, and Chair Dickinson. Here, quorum. Thank you, and uh Councilmember Pro Tem. Gareth, you would lead us in acknowledgment and the pledge. Please stand. Thank you. Please rise for the opening and acknowledgement in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. See the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, the Valley and Plains Miwok, the Putnam and Wintune people, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples, history, contributions, and lives. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance, salute, pledge. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Okay. Yes, Chair, we have two items on the consent calendar, and I have one speaker, Lambert Davis, would like to speak on item two. Okay. Mr. Davis, come talk to us on item two. Lambert, would you like to speak on the consent calendar? Yes. Good morning. The consent calendar number two. I'm following the city auditor. The city auditors have done a wonderful job, I think. And I I hope that they uh are not cut their funding because it cripples them on what they have to do. And one thing that they did, I was at the last budget audit meeting, and I had to go back and study what I said to you. And I was trying to figure out where that came from, and I I said that they were on the payroll. They're not on the payroll, but they did receive, and then the millennials showed me they received seven uh checks, seven different checks, and it was it was City Councilman Jeff Harris who said, for the record, he said it was a black eye to Sacramento City Hall in terms of fiscal responsibility. Because as a business owner, I've never heard of a no written agreement to receive any kind of funding. I don't care if it was in college, I don't care if it's in anything. You have to sign an agreement to match where those funds went. And according to the uh auditors's report. Uh I still haven't found out who wrote those checks. See, I'm on a mission to find out what department wrote seven checks that can't be audited, uh, versus a company like mine, which has been audited by the IRS, and we're still better business bureau credited. We want to get an unwritten agreement for that amount of money.
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