Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors Meeting - May 11, 2026
Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors Meeting - May 11, 2026
The Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors (SACRT) held a regular meeting on the evening of May 11, 2026, with a quorum of eight votes. The meeting covered consent calendar items, a project labor agreement, the preliminary FY 2026-2027 budget, public comments on non-agenda matters, and adoption of hybrid meeting policies. The board also entered closed session for a performance evaluation.
Consent Calendar
- The board approved the consent calendar unanimously. Written public comment was received from Rick Hodgkins (supporting items 2.8, 2.6, 2.10, 2.12 with a question on 2.10), Lisa Coley (on the budget and item 4.1), Rick Hodgkins (supporting 6.1), and an unknown writer (on item 5). Oral public comments were provided by Helen O'Connell on items 2.3 (compatibility of prepaid fare media), 2.4 (transfer of funds for Ride Free RT), and 2.7–2.9 (capital project closeout, sole procurement for You Serve, and environmental update for the streetcar). Staff addressed no questions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michael Bevins (City District 2) suggested repurposing underutilized SACRT stations, specifically proposing a transit hotel/motel at the Swanson station for temporary housing for new employees or travelers, with free transit passes.
- Helen O'Connell reported on the SACRT Go open house (attended by ~75 people, 33 comments/questions) and criticized recent surveys for lacking ADA compliance (e.g., requiring drawing lines not accessible to visually impaired) and insufficient detail on shelter options.
- Daniel Smith Baringer (rider since 2018) raised safety concerns: absence of SAC Police on trains, camping/urinating/smoking at stations, route cancellations (e.g., Route 86 at Northgate/San Juan), need for more drivers, and insufficient space on new light rail vehicles for wheelchairs and bikes.
- Cindy Rich (daily rider) objected to a new policy requiring folding shopping carts, arguing it disproportionately affects elderly and disabled riders who rely on carts for groceries. She suggested allowing carts in single seats on doors that don't open, noting bikes are allowed.
Discussion Items
- Project Labor Agreement (PLA) (Item 3): Staff (Shelley Valentin and Olga Sanchez Achoa) presented Resolution 2026-05063 approving a Community Workforce and Training Agreement with the Sacramento Sierra's Building and Construction Trades Council. The PLA covers 16 major capital projects, excludes critical maintenance/repair and the Downtown Riverfront Streetcar project, allows any contractor to bid, and includes a five-year review cycle tied to the capital improvement plan. Benefits cited included access to skilled union workforce, on-time/on-budget delivery, local hiring, apprenticeship programs, and equitable bidding. Public comment: Rob Fong (Local 447) and Tom Enslow (Trades Council attorney) thanked staff for collaborative negotiations; both expressed strong support. Board members (Maple, Dickinson, Brewer, Jennings, Chair Singh Allen) praised the partnership, noting it would reduce project delays and support workforce development. The resolution passed with one abstention (Director Schaefer).
- Preliminary FY 2026-2027 Operating and Capital Budget (Item 4.1): CFO Jason Johnson presented a balanced budget totaling $278.7 million in operating expenses (up $11.4M from FY26). Key points: no service reductions or fare increases; federal funds and SB 125 used to close gaps; projected operating deficits beginning in FY28 but staff estimates fiscal cliff still 3–5 years out. Expenditure highlights: salaries/benefits up 4.3% (~$9M annual increase), security up $1.2M, insurance up $1M. Capital additions: $106 million for 49 new buses and up to 9 light rail vehicles. Public hearing was opened; Helen O'Connell asked about bus breakdown (49 big buses) and driver retention. Director Dickinson requested FY26 actuals for the June meeting and questioned the assumption of state workers returning July 1, 2026, and fare revenue projections. The board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing to June 8, 2026.
- Hybrid Meeting and ADA Remote Participation Policies (Items 6.1 & 6.2): Staff presented two policies required by SB 707 amendments to the Brown Act. Resolution 2026-05064 codifies hybrid meetings with two-way remote access, clear agenda instructions, and procedures if service is disrupted (pause meeting, attempt restoration within one hour, then either adjourn or continue by roll call vote finding). Resolution 2026-05065 establishes procedures for board members to request ADA reasonable accommodation to participate remotely, requiring written request to the chair, with the chair erring on the side of granting if eligibility is in doubt. Both policies take effect July 1, 2026. Public comment: Glenn Mandelkern supported the policies but noted differences in in-person vs. virtual participation logistics (e.g., card submission vs. hand raising) that should be documented. Both resolutions passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Project Labor Agreement (Resolution 2026-05063): Approved with one abstention (Director Schaefer). Effective 30 days from approval.
- Budget Public Hearing: Continued to June 8, 2026, by unanimous vote.
- Hybrid Meeting Policy (Resolution 2026-05064): Approved unanimously, effective July 1, 2026.
- ADA Remote Participation Policy (Resolution 2026-05065): Approved unanimously, effective July 1, 2026.
- Closed Session: The board held a closed session (Item 12.1) for performance evaluation of the General Manager/CEO; no report out. Next regular board meeting scheduled for June 8, 2026, at 4 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Yo. Hi, everyone. We're just waiting on a quorum, so thank you for your patience. It is I think this is the first time since I've been chair that this has been an issue. Excellent. I'm gonna clap when we got our quarrel. Oh, excellent. In case. Got it. All right. Well, thank you. We are good. All right. Well, welcome to the May 11th, 2026 meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors. Tabitha, will you please take roll? Director Burr. Yeah. Director Dickinson is absent. Director Kennedy. And Chair Sing Allen. Here. With that, we have a quorum of eight votes, and this meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District is recorded with closed captioning. The recording will be cable cast on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems.gov. Today's meeting replays Saturday, May 16th at 2 p.m. and Sunday, May 17th at 1130 AM 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. Members of the audience wishing to address the board should fill out a speaker card located at the rear of the room and provide it to myself or Adam. Once the item has been called, additional speaker cards will not be accepted. The time allowed for public comment is at the chair's discretion. The timer will chime when you have 20 seconds and then again when your time is up. Written public comment was received from Rick Hodgkins in supported consent items 2.8 2.6 2.10 2.12 with a question that staff will address on 2.10 two comments from Lisa Coley on the budget and 4.1 item 4.1 and Rick Hodgkins in support of 6.1 and a comment from an unknown writer on five all comments have been provided to the board. Alright thank you next up is our Pledge of Allegiance with director Jennings please lead us this evening you're able please then absolutely under the liberty all right thank you for that next up are our consent calendar items at this time um are there any questions on consent calendars from directors looking to the left looking to the right seeing none any public comments we do have public comment Helen O'Connell item 2.3 um to the best of my understanding 2.3 is about um the media discount purchase prepaid fares um and I wanted to make sure that the two media prepaid fare um companies are compatible so that we don't have it coming in you know and and some of them work and some of them don't some people get theirs and some of them don't that's it thank you thank you any other public comments yes and then we have Helen on 2.4 okay this one is about the um transference of funds um to get it to go to um ride free RT I'm not exactly sure how that um is because it's been restated so are we going to move money from one part to the other and I thought most of the time those things were um allocated to certain things and you can't move them around just a question. Any other public comments yes Helen again on 2.7 2.8 and 2.9 um the uh capital projects closeout list so we did a really good job apparently because we have lots of money left over from um projects that we've done um some of them I believe there was one or two that um they can't uh use the money because it it was wasn't used in a timely manner or something but um you know the it it it exceeded its time limit but I'm glad that RT is being very frugal with the finances that they've been given they've done a good job and then um the sole procurement for the fifth thing of you serve I just had a question um I'm not sure if if if we've got an I think it's called an RFP out to get a new company to do that type of service and we're just extending you serve so that we can have a um smooth transition or if the uh you serve is the only one that's applied for the RFP. Um that's just another question that I have. Um, because the original contract, to the best of my knowledge for you serve was up on December 31st, and then it was extended to the end of April, and now I believe it's extended to something else. So thank you. Any other public comments? Helen, did you comment on 2.9? How often do we have to do an environmental update? And I believe it's for um the light rail. Is that oh no, it was for um the streetcar. So did the did the environmental uh paperwork, was it like too long that we have to redo it, or what's the rule change on that? Um, I don't know how often they have to do that. So let's see. I think that's it for the two. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. That's all the comment on consent. Staff want to answer any of the what they've heard. Okay, any other director comments questions?
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