No City Council this week, so Gabe and Sky walk you through some upcoming opportunities for public engagement:

• Wednesday, April 22 (Earth Day), 1pm @ the Capitol West Steps - Rally at the Capitol for a CA State Public Bank Campaign Launch and Press Conference
• Thursday, April 23, 5pm via Zoom - Sacramento County Jail System Planning Update & Community Input Webinar

Then we point out a couple of things that may be worth noting on the County BoS agenda for tomorrow:

• Item 28: Authorization To Execute A Memorandum Of Understanding With The United States Capitol Police For Law Enforcement Services Support Within Sacramento County (Sheriff)
• Item 30: Authorization To Execute Memorandums Of Understanding Between The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office And Various Law Enforcement Agencies For Participation With The Central California Intelligence Center Embedded Analyst
• Item 40: Semi-Annual Homelessness Report
• Item 41: Homeless And Housing System Partnership Model Update And Select Two Members To The Sacramento Homeless And Housing Board (Homeless Services and Housing)

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento:

• Follow SJPC on FB & IG
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• Join the SJPC Signal Chat
• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
• Watch us on YouTube!

Today we’re joined by Ember Ward, to fill us in on the work they’re doing with the Sacramento Rise Hub. The Rise Hub is a network of various services and resources for immigrant communities. Their mission is to connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with essential community systems such as legal services, schools, labor unions, and local governments.

For more info, check them out at www.sacrisehub.org

There are no meetings this week! Enjoy the break!

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento:

• Follow SJPC on FB & IG
• Sign up for our newsletter
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• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
• Watch us on YouTube!

Today Gabe is joined by former D4 City Councilmember, Katie Valenzuela, to discuss public banking related to item 17 on Tuesday's 2pm City Council Meeting. The toolkit for those looking to make public comment can be found here.

Check our Running Agenda Tracker for all the details on the flagged items for this week.

Audio alert - this episode we experimented with an in-person version of the show, and something went wrong with Skyler’s mic. Please give us a little grace in the audio department on this ep.

This week Skyler is joined by Jeff Kessler, who works with Vacancy Fee Sacramento. Jeff’s org works towards pushing the CIty to use fees and potentially a vacancy tax to promote development & stabilize lease prices, addressing blight and economic justice in one fell swoop. Vacancy taxes & fees are both being discussed at tomorrow’s Law & Legislation meeting at 11am, so this is a great primer for that discussion, which is on our “attend and advocate” recommendations this week.

Follow Vacancy Fee Sacramento on Instagram!

Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow at City Hall:

Law & Legislation, Tuesday, March 17, 11am

• Item 5: Status Update on Prior Vacant Property Tax Exploration (LR25-004)
• Item 6: Discussion of an Enhanced Vacant Lot and Vacant Building Monitoring and Enforcement Program

City Council, Tuesday, March 17, 2pm

• Item 14: Early Budget Work Session - Budget Context and City Department Reports on Departmental Budgets, Reduction Strategies, and Potential Impacts (Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment, Community Development Department, Finance Department, Human Resources, Information Technology, Department of Utilities, and Public Works Department)

City Council, Tuesday, March 17, 5pm

• Item 2: Vision Zero Action Plan Update High Injury Network (HIN) Development

Other meetings happening this week at the County that are not addressed in the episode but worth watching nonetheless:

• Sheriff Community Review Commission
• Sacramento County Behavioral Health Commission General Meeting

Public comment from the budget item last Tuesday

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento!

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• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
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Today, Gabe and Keyan give us an overview of last week’s happenings at City Council, and then dive into a discussion about the Sacramento Police budget, why it’s so high, why they usually seem to get what they want, and what we can expect during the budget workshop on Tuesday.

Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow at City Hall:

City Council, Tuesday, March 10, 2pm

• Item 16: Early Budget Work Session - Budget Context and City Department Reports on Departmental Budgets, Reduction Strategies, and Potential Impacts (City Manager’s Office/Office of Innovation and Economic Development, Convention and Cultural Services, Department of Community Response, Fire Department, Police Department)

Other meetings happening this week that did not raise any flags for us include:

• Sacramento Community Police Review Commission, Monday, March 9, 5:30pm
• Budget & Audit Committee, Tuesday March 10, 11am
• Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, March 10, 9:30am

Some light reading, for context:

• Sacramento City Council Considers Cutting Police Positions
• Sacramento Politician Urges Citizens to Block Homeless Housing by Suing

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento!

• Follow SJPC on FB & IG
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Join the SJPC Signal Chat
• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
• Watch us on YouTube!

Today, we are joined by former City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who gives us the rundown on the upcoming weekly budget discussions coming up all throughout the month of March, what to look out for, and why these conversations or so important for the community to be keeping an eye on.

Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow at City Hall:

City Council, Tuesday, 3/3/26, 2pm

• Item 16: 2027 Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) One-Year Action Plan Federal Programs Allocation Process Workshop Number One

• Item 17: Early Budget Work Session - Budget Context and Balancing Scenarios

City Council, Tuesday, 3/2/26, 5pm

• Item 3: Resolution Establishing Business Operating Permit Fees for Cannabis Consumption Lounges (Continued from last week’s meeting)

• Item 4: Extension of the Opportunity to Apply for and Operate a Storefront Cannabis Dispensary for the Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity (CORE) Program

NO COUNTY BOS MEETINGS THIS WEEK!

Some light reading, for context:

• Sacramento city, county find ‘significant concerns’ at public housing agency
• Streamline Sacramento boosts housing and economic development processes in first year (from the City, in their words)

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento!

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• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
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Today Gabe is joined by Crystal Harding, Vice Chairperson of the Recreation & Park District Board in D3, the North Highlands area! After a rundown of Law & Legislation from two weeks ago (no meetings last week because of President's Day), they give the rundown on what's coming up tomorrow at the City and County!

Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow at City Hall:

City Council, Tuesday, February 24, 2pm:

• Item 18: Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2024, and Single Audit

City Council, Tuesday, February 24, 5pm:

• Item 3: Resolution Establishing Business Operating Permit Fees for Cannabis Consumption Lounges
• Item 4: Sacramento Police Department Violent Crime Reduction Strategy
• Item 6: Economic Development Workshop
• Item 7: Streamline Sacramento - An Overview of the City’s 2025 Development Process Improvements Program

County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, February 24, 9:30am

• Item 40: Homeless And Housing System Partnership Model Update (Homeless Services and Housing)

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento!

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• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
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Today Sky talks to Moiz Mir, one of Sacramento’s hardest working advocates who works the Asian American Liberation Network, as well as several different organizations around town tackling issues from climate justice, police accountability, housing reform, and everything in between. After we give a quick rundown on what happened at City Council last week and what’s coming up next week, Moiz gives us an inside look into what we can expect to see at tomorrow’s Law & Legislation Committee meeting.

Peep the toolkit here.

Stay up with what the Asian American Liberation Network is doing here.

Here’s what’s coming up tomorrow at City Hall:

Community Police Review Commission, Monday, 2/9/26, 5:30pm

• Item 4: Discuss a Draft Orientation and Ongoing Training Outline for the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission
• Item 5: City of Sacramento Community Police Review Commission 2026 Workplan
• Item 7: Selection of Chair and Vice Chair for Calendar Year 2026

Law & Legislation, Tuesday, 2/10/26, 9:30am

• Item 3: Councilmember Proposal Request for Committee Consideration - Prohibiting the Use of City Facilities and City Property, Related to Immigration-Related Enforcement Activities
• Supplemental Material

City Council, Tuesday, 2/10/26, 2pm

• Item 19: City Attorney Appointment and Contract

City Council, Tuesday, 2/10/26, 5pm

• Item 1: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26 Budget Update and Proposed Adjustments

Nothing flagged at the County Board of Supervisors meeting this week.

Stay up to date with what your local government is doing in Sacramento!

• Follow SJPC on FB & IG
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• Keep an eye on the running agenda tracker
• Watch us on YouTube!