Sacramento council to restore funding for youth events, parking permits for residents
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- Sacramento City Council voted to restore funding for youth events and immigrant legal aid.
- Vacancies in some city departments will fund restored programs.
- One official warned funding is temporary and budget deficit may exceed $100M by 2030.
Sacramento’s City Council emerged from a lengthy Tuesday night debate with plans to restore funding to city programs — including residential parking permits, youth events and immigrant legal aid — though some may be in jeopardy again next year.
The meeting, which lasted past 11 p.m., featured a wide range of opinions on the city’s proposed $1.65 billion spending plan that includes a combination of fee increases and reduction strategies. As of last week, seven city employees were expected to lose their positions as well in the upcoming fiscal budget which begins July 1.
Council members eventually landed on a general consensus, promising to explore reinstated funding for organizations to hold youth pop-up events on the weekends and not to establish fees for the permits currently free for residential parking. A position in Sacramento’s Office of Diversity and Equity will also likely be restored.
“I see a Venn diagram with lots of commonality,” said Mayor Kevin McCarty at 11:16 p.m., following a round of council discussion.
The proposed budget had called for instituting fees for the city’s Residential Permit Parking program, which allows residents to park up to three days at the same space on the street. The decision was estimated to generate nearly $1 million in revenue, at a cost of up to $120 per permit.
“The fact of the matter is, the only places that have residential parking programs are places that are impacted by people from outside the area coming and parking on the streets,” said Councilmember Roger Dickinson, who urged the council to restore funding for the program.
Another cost saving move would have been to cut $1.3 million to the city’s Youth & Family Investments program. This funds “#SacTownYouthNights,” a program designed to engage youth on the weekends with sports, skill-building, arts and dances. The city is expected to keep this funding along with providing money to the Family Unity, Education and Legal Network for Immigrants, or FUEL Network.
To fund these programs and one position, the city will look to eliminate vacancies from the City Attorney’s Office and shift one-time funding. Vacant positions, most notably in the police department, are often used to fund a variety of city costs.
These budget decisions, however, did not come without debate from residents and elected leaders. The discussion included 47 registered public speakers, all of who were limited to one minute of speaking time by McCarty due to the late hour.
Among the main points of contention were public safety, funding for the FUEL Network and continued support of the free regional transportation program for students. The program, which was a proposed reduction last year, is funded under this year’s spending plan.
As in years past, Councilmember Mai Vang focused her comments on reducing vacancies in the Police Department. As of January, the department had 194 vacant full-time positions. Vang proposed cutting five vacancies and eliminating the department’s ShotSpotter program — an acoustic gunshot detection system.
“I encourage my colleagues to make budget decisions driven by real people who need our help in this critical moment, and not based on fear,” Vang said.
Her suggestions are not expected to move forward given that she was the sole councilmember in favor of eliminating such items. Other elected leaders, including Councilmember Rick Jennings, expressed support for continued funding of the police department, which is the largest in the city.
“I believe a city that’s not safe is not a city that people want to live in,” Jennings said.
Councilmember Lisa Kaplan voiced hesitation against reinstating funding to nearly all the programs discussed Tuesday night given the city’s ongoing structural deficit. Recent city staff reports estimate the structural deficit could increase to $130 million by the 2028-29 fiscal year.
Kaplan noted that many of the decisions are only temporary fixes and the programs will require additional funding by next year.
“I can’t find myself to reconcile and be OK, because we’re now not balancing the budget,” Kaplan said. “We’re actually going backwards and creating a larger budget deficit.”
Council members are expected to continue deliberating on the details of the budget before adopting a finalized version on June 10. The next budget discussion is planned for 11 a.m. at the Budget and Audit Committee.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
