Budget and Audit Committee Regular Meeting – August 11, 2026
Budget and Audit Committee Regular Meeting – August 11, 2026
The Sacramento Budget and Audit Committee met on August 11, 2026, at 11:00 AM to consider routine consent items, discuss an audit of the Department of Utilities' energy use and power purchase agreements, and receive an update on councilmember proposals. All votes were unanimous.
Consent Calendar
- The committee approved three consent items: 1) Budget and Audit Committee meeting minutes of June 16, 2026; 2) City Auditor's Activity Report for the 4th Quarter of FY 2025/26; and 3) Whistleblower Hotline Activity Report for January–June 2026. The motion carried unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lambert Davis (public speaker) thanked the City Auditor and her department for their work on the activity and whistleblower reports. He urged continued funding for the whistleblower hotline and referenced a previously uncovered issue involving a no-written agreement at the Sacramento Kings arena. He also praised the millennials who traced spending in North Sacramento.
- Later in the meeting, Mr. Davis spoke on agenda item 5 (council proposals), criticizing Councilmember Pluckebaum's attendance record and urging the committee not to honor him. He also commented on matters not on the agenda, praising the City Manager and Finance Director Pete Coletto as highlighted in Inside Magazine, and endorsing the Auditor's report.
Discussion Items
Item 4 – Audit of the Department of Utilities Energy Use: Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
- Charles Meadows (Performance Audit Manager) presented findings from Phase 1 of the audit. The audit covered two PPAs at the Sacramento River and E.A. Fairbairn water treatment plants. Key points:
- Combined net PPA savings of $63,000 over five calendar years (2019–2023) despite a three-year non-production period at the Sacramento River plant.
- The city’s solar panels provided only 3–10% of each site’s total energy demand.
- Contract terms lacked strong maintenance and performance remedies compared to five other California municipalities.
- The SMUD Solar Shares program, covering 38 of 96 city facilities (including DOU sites), cost the city an additional $622,000 over seven years but avoided 32,213 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (equal to 3.6 million gallons of gasoline or 82 million miles driven).
- Options at contract end (2032/2033) include panel upgrades costing $1.6–$5.3 million (standard) or $2.8–$9.2 million (higher capacity), which could increase production by up to 22%.
- Chair Dickinson asked whether contracts could be renegotiated before expiration. DOU Director Dalif Huddle responded that the audit would inform early discussions with SMUD and that an energy management plan is being developed.
- Vice Mayor Talamantes asked if the city would adopt better contract terms from other municipalities; Huddle affirmed they would reference best practices.
- Mayor Pro Tem Guerra suggested exploring battery storage technology (e.g., with local manufacturer Peak Energy) to maximize existing solar output and extending contracts to let technology mature.
- The committee accepted the audit and forwarded it to the full City Council (motion by Guerra, second by Talamantes; passed unanimously).
Item 5 – Update on Councilmember Proposals Heard by the Budget and Audit Committee
- Amy Williams (Chief of Staff to the City Manager) provided an oral report. Three proposals before the committee were discussed:
- Tourism Infrastructure BID (Dist. 1, co-sponsored by Kaplan & Pluckebaum): Outreach to hoteliers continues; if 50% interest is achieved, a resolution of intention would come to council. Finance Director Pete Coletto noted a framework for a business improvement district (BID) with Visit SAC administering funds.
- Illegal Dumping Program (sponsored by Dickinson, Vang, Maple): A draft report was expected in early August; staff are on track for a council proposal in fall 2026.
- District 2 EIFD (sponsored by Dickinson, Talamantes, Maple, Guerra): Study boundaries finalized; consultant EPS has started fiscal impact analysis. Timeline remains approximately three months.
- Council members expressed appreciation for the tracking process. The report was received and filed.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously (motion by Maple, second by Talamantes).
- Item 4 (Audit): Motion to accept and forward to City Council passed unanimously. Direction was given to DOU to develop an energy management plan, consider early renegotiation of PPAs, and evaluate battery storage integration. The committee expects a future staff report before any contract renewal.
- Item 5 (Council Proposals): Received and filed; further updates expected at the next committee meeting.
- Committee Comments: Vice Mayor Talamantes raised the issue of state properties not paying taxes while receiving city services. Chair Dickinson agreed to discuss with the City Manager.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned without further business.
Meeting Transcript
And welcome those of you who who have joined us uh this morning. Uh just uh a note if if we have any members of the public who wish to address the the committee on items on our agenda, be sure to fill out a speaker form and deliver that to the clerk down front, and then we'll call on you at the appropriate time uh to speak. Remember that uh public comment is limited to two minutes and keep an eye on the clock so you can make sure that uh you get to say everything that you you uh have in mind. Uh with that, I think we can call the role to establish a quorum. Thank you. Vice Mayor Talamantes here, Councilmember Maple. Here we expect Mayor Pro Temgata momentarily, and Chair Dickinson. Here. You have a quorum. All right, we have a quorum, and if um you would join me in the land acknowledgement and uh the pledge. Please rise as 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, the Pat and Wen Winton 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 these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history, contributions, and lives. And now please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 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 divisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you all. And we'll move. I think we can go to our consent calendar, can't we? Can we do that? Yes, Chair. Our first item is the consent calendar, items one, two, and three. I have one speaker, Lambert Davis. Okay. Mr. Davis. Good morning. Morning. Uh first of all. Uh I was encouraged to come here because I was uh on the road, but uh first of all, I wanted to say that on number two and three, I'm gonna get it covered in two minutes. Uh I wanted to first of all thank the city auditor and her department, outstanding work. I've studied the report here, and the whistleblowing hotline should not be uh hamstrung. They should receive funding. Why? And this is why. During uh, and we're we're very active on it. You know, I wish the whole rostrum would pay attention. I just got here. Uh, but you'll see this. This is the millennials and my family and everybody, they found it. They found a copy of what I've been pursuing. And it's about a no-written agreement to wide open walls and Davis Sabonis events. And it was that audit and also the whistleblower department that found it. So thank you to the auditor and the former auditor. I'm gonna leave this with you. It also says the millennials, they've they're very thorough. They found out where the money was spent in North Sacramento. Now that's incredible. They actually know where every penny went in North Sacramento. And we don't see one penny to the Bamback Cheese case. Now, last Friday was the ending of the voting for the best dessert and best customer service.
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