Community, labor and business groups call for reforms to Sacramento City charter

A diverse coalition of community, labor and business leaders Thursday joined to call for a broad range of reforms to Sacramento’s City Charter that will improve accountability, equality and transparency in the city.

Appearing together in a Zoom press conference, the coalition proposed a broad array of progressive reforms, which include:

• Strengthening and making permanent the City’s Sunshine Ordinance and Ethics Commission to promote transparency and oversight of public officials.

• Establishing a participatory budgeting process for citizens to provide direct input on the projects and proposals funded by the City;

• Giving the Mayor and City Council the ability to act quickly to meet the needs of the city and hold them accountable for doing so;

• Reforming the Mayor’s role to become the City’s chief executive officer; and making the City Manager the City’s chief administrative officer;

• Strengthening the City Council by giving it exclusive authority over the City’s Housing Authority and land use decisions not involving ordinances;

• Requiring the city to evaluate the impacts that city ordinances and investments have on promoting racial, ethnic and gender equity;

• Requiring $40 million of the City’s General Fund to be invested in inclusive economic development promised during the Measure U campaign;

• Requiring the City to evaluate the impacts that ordinances and budget actions have on helping small businesses thrive;

“Recent events make clear the need to work to create a more equitable city,” said Chet P. Hewitt, President and CEO of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation. “It’s time we make the structural reforms necessary to guarantee permanent change and hold our public officials accountable for keeping their promises.”

The coalition plans to advocate for the City Council to move quickly over the next weeks to incorporate these proposals into a local ballot measure, which will be placed before voters in the General Election.

Change to the Sacramento Charter would need to be placed on the November ballot by majority vote of the City Council by August 4. The measure is scheduled to go before the Council for discussion on Tuesday, July 28, and is anticipated to come back for a vote by Aug. 4.

The measure would make the Mayor the chief executive of the City, with the ability to appoint the City Manager, subject to confirmation by the City Council. The Mayor also would be able to propose a budget, which would still need to be approved by the Council.

The proposal also would create a ninth Council District, whose boundaries would be determined by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Mayor would no longer serve on the City Council. The Council — not the mayor — would have control over land use and housing authority decisions.

Mayor Steinberg supports the community proposal. He noted that the public holds the Mayor accountable for making progress on key issues such as homelessness and public safety reform, but the Mayor’s office currently lacks the tools to accomplish change quickly.

“What’s most important to me is that every decision we make as a city going forward asks the question: Is this helping or hurting the communities that have been left behind?'“ Mayor Steinberg said after the community leaders unveiled the reform proposal. “ What’s most important to me is that we engage the community more in budget decisions. What’s most important to me is that we uphold our commitments.

“The structural changes proposed for city government are consistent with those reforms. They strengthen the the City Council. They give the Mayor, the one who is held most accountable by the public, more tools to assertively implement participatory budgeting, push for racial and gender equity, and invest more in our neighborhoods,” Mayor Steinberg said.

“It is a response to the issues of our time, and it all fits together.”

The coalition recommending these charter reforms includes the Greater Sacramento Urban League; The Center at Sierra Health Foundation; La Familia Counseling Center; SEIU 1000, Sacramento’s largest public employee union; Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council; Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce; Latino Economic Council of Sacramento; Mohanna Development Company; Genesis Church & National Action Network; and small businesses.

Coalition member quotes:

“We are at a time in modern history like none other,” said Rachel Rios, Executive Director of La Familia Counseling Center. “This global pandemic is not only a healthcare crisis, it is an economic crisis that has hit our disadvantaged and communities of color the hardest. Of all the lessons we are learning, we have come to clearly understand that we need our city’s leader, the mayor, to be able to respond quickly and effectively, set our budget priorities and have the tools to lead us back to economic recovery.”

“It’s time that every decision in Sacramento be put through the lens of racial and gender equality,” said Jim Gonzalez, Chair of the Latino Economic Council of Sacramento. “Budget is policy and it’s time the Mayor and City Council always apply the highest standards of equity to public policy decisions.”

“Cities across the country and around the world have successfully implemented participatory budgeting cycles in a way that lifts the voices of the people and gives them direct influence over how tax dollars are spent,” said Pat Fong Kushida, President and CEO of the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. “We must bring government closer to the people, involving our communities in the decisions that impact their daily lives. This is not just a hallmark of better governance, but the path to building a truly inclusive economy for all.”

“When Sacramento voters passed Measure U in 2018, they were promised investments that would create good paying jobs in communities that for too long have been forgotten, revitalizing struggling business corridors and creating housing that is affordable for everyone,” said Yvonne Walker, President of Sacramento’s largest public employee union, SEIU 1000. “However, we have seen how difficult it has been to ensure those investments are made. This measure is more than just a promise. It will dedicate a portion of the city’s general fund to invest in our communities.”

“Many in our community have called for fundamental change in the city’s approach to public safety, including increasing transparency and accountability in the police department and shifting resources away from police to better mental health and community counseling services,” said Dr. Tecoy Porter Sr., Senior Pastor of the Genesis Church in South Sacramento. “These changes will give the Mayor the ability to deliver what is being demanded of him and allow voters to hold him accountable if he does not.”

“The Metro Chamber stands in strong support of moving Sacramento to an Executive Mayor governance structure,” said Amanda Blackwood, President and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber. “During this time of disruption, we have an urgent and timely opportunity to lean into the challenges before us and build back better. Just as we are the voice of business in the region and held accountable for our decisions and actions as we advocate on behalf of the business community, our city leadership – the mayor in particular – must be responsible and accountable for making efficient and effective decisions that pave the path to economic prosperity. Now is the time to revamp the outdated way of doing business and step into the new normal.”

“The Building Trades are supporting this measure because we know what it takes to develop lasting pipelines to good paying jobs that are the bedrock of our community,” said Kevin Ferreira, Executive Director of the Sacramento Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council. “This will cement the city’s commitment to inclusive economic development and give our city the tools it needs to continue our growth.”