Sacramento Area Sewer District Board Meeting - July 24, 2026
Sacramento Area Sewer District Board Meeting - July 24, 2026
Note: The transcript of this meeting indicates it was held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, but the date provided for the summary is July 24, 2026. This discrepancy is noted.
The Sacramento Area Sewer District board met on July 24, 2026, to address consent items, public comments, a public hearing on delinquent sewer service charges, and the establishment of an ad hoc committee on quorum issues. The meeting was called to order at 17:18 UTC with a quorum present.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1 and 2 were approved unanimously without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Andrea Montano, founder of Rufa for My Heart, spoke in support of the board's new treatment and resource recovery ordinance. She praised the board for exempting accessory dwelling units (ADUs) from sewer impact fees, assigning fewer equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) to multifamily and age-restricted homes, and proportionally waiving fees for affordable housing. She also extended an invitation to the Tri-County Home and Garden Show in Roseville (October 14–16, 2026).
Discussion Items
- District Engineer Matters (Item 4): Christoph Dobson announced that the August 12, 2026 meeting is canceled; the next meeting will be August 26, 2026. Chair Cerna thanked staff for a recent tour of the Elk Grove facility.
- Public Hearing on Delinquent Sewer Service Charges (Item 5): Tepa Banda, Director of Finance, reported that as of June 2026, 17,701 accounts were delinquent, totaling $15.3 million. This represents a 13% decrease in the number of delinquent accounts compared to the previous year. The hearing was opened and closed with no public comment. The board approved the transfer of delinquent charges to the property tax roll unanimously.
- Establish an Ad Hoc Committee to Address Quorum Issues (Item 6): Mike Hewitt, Director of Policy and Planning, proposed a subcommittee to brainstorm solutions for improving board attendance. The recommended composition includes one supervisor from Sacramento County, one from Yolo County, one city council member from Sacramento, one from Elk Grove, and one from a smaller city (Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, or West Sacramento). Chair Cerna volunteered to serve, with Councilmember Phil Pluckybaum nominated. Some board members (Supervisor Rodriguez and Director Karpinski Costa) expressed opposition, arguing the issue could be addressed through better communication and alternate use. The motion passed with 9 in favor and 2 opposed.
- Miscellaneous Board Member Matters (Item 7): A board member requested that future legislative summaries include the status of each bill (e.g., pending, dead, in committee).
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar items 1 and 2 approved unanimously.
- Motion to approve transfer of delinquent sewer service charges to property tax roll passed unanimously.
- Motion to establish an ad hoc quorum subcommittee passed 9–0–2 (two no votes).
- The August 12, 2026 meeting was canceled.
- Staff will update legislative summaries to include bill status.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, I'd like to call to order this meeting of the Sacramento Area Sewer District for Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026. Madam Clerk, will you please call the rule and establish a quorum? Directors Desmond, Dickinson. Hume Caplin. Kennedy. Hull. Oh, Hull. Here. Plucky bomb. Yeah. Sorry. Is that me? No, plucky bomb. Oh, okay. A keynote. Here. Robles? Here. Rodriguez? Here. Sander. Here. Soon. Viegas. Yes. Karpinski Costa. I'm here. And Chair Cerna. Here. You have a quorum with the members that are present. We're here. Please read our statement. Yes. This meeting of the Sacramento Area Sewer District is live and recorded with closed captioning. It is cable cast on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems. It is also live streamed at Metro 14 Live.sackCounty.gov. Today's meeting replays Sunday, July 26th at 9 a.m. on Metro Cable Channel 14. Once posted, the recording of this meeting can be viewed on demand at YouTube.com forward slash Metro Cable 14. SAC Sewer board members are compensated 100 for their participation in board meetings. Compensation for Sacramento County Supervisors and City of Sacramento and Citrus Heights council members is paid to the county and cities respectively to partially offset the cost of the government of those governments. Compensation for other agencies is paid directly to the individual board members. Compensation for those these legislative body meetings is verbally disclosed at each board meeting in accordance with California government code section 54952.3. To make an in-public in-person public comment, please complete a speaker request form and hand it to the clerk to the clerk. The chairperson will call your name when it's your turn to make a comment. If you would like to make a public comment in the Zoom, please raise your digital hand and the clerk will unmute you when it is your turn to make a comment. You may send written public comments by email to board clerk at SACCounty.gov. Your comment will be routed to the board and filed in the record. This concludes your announcements, Chair. Thank you, Madam Clerk.
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