Sacramento’s Capital Public Radio approves $12M budget after financial crisis
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- Capital Public Radio board approved a $12M budget for fiscal year 2025-26.
- Station sheds KHSU, NSPR operations, projects $1.6M to $1.8M in annual savings.
- Financial crisis rooted in failed downtown move as fraud allegations target former GM.
Capital Public Radio’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a $12 million budget Wednesday as the station treads toward a stable future after suffering a financial crisis.
The NPR affiliate and a Sacramento State auxiliary wallowed in $10 million debt last year despite cutting staff, programming and other expenses. A funding shortfall struck in 2023 as the station sank millions of dollars into a failed relocation project to downtown. CapRadio accused its former general manager Jun Reina, who approved moving offices, of fraud and theft from the station to pay for luxury travel, fine dining and extensive home renovations.
On Wednesday, CapRadio leadership portrayed a steady climb to stabilization. Revenues and expenses are forecast to be about $12 million each for the fiscal year, which began Tuesday and runs until June 30, 2026. The budget projects a surplus of about $32,000.
“Management is focused on sustainability as we continue to make improvements that bolster our new community supported model,” said Frank Maranzino, CapRadio’s interim president and general manager.
Before the financial crisis became publicly known, the station projected in 2021 an approximate $21 million budget in revenue and about $17 million in expenses.
The radio station is 100% funded by community donations, drawing its dollars from 35,000 members, 250 business supporters, vehicle donations and planned gifts. A record $200,000 came this year from donors through Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving, a 24-hour period dedicated to collecting money for regional nonprofits, said Chris Bruno, CapRadio’s chief marketing and revenue officer.
A majority of funds are earmarked for news production at $3.2 million and administration at $2.7 million, according to the budget.
The budget also includes about $356,000 for rent and maintenance costs to operate CapRadio Live, a performing arts center at 1010 8th St. The location had once been planned for its new headquarters, until Reina signed a lease for a second, separate building in 2021 at 730 I St.
The CapRadio Live center is set to open this year, and will be either rented out or used as a “learning lab” for Sacramento State students, Maranzino said.
Sacramento State, which holds the licenses for CapRadio, co-signed the 730 I St. lease with the radio station in 2023. Both have stopped paying rent to its owners.
Attorneys for 730 I Street Investors LLC, an ownership group, filed a lawsuit on April 1 against CapRadio and accused tenants of breaching the lease by forging rent. The California State University, Sacramento State and CapRadio filed a countersuit alleging the lease is void because a former station board member personally benefited from the contract.
The financial crisis became publicly known when the station laid off about 15% of its staff in 2023. Reina’s alleged conduct was not revealed until last year when a forensic audit revealed a credit card under his name spent money at hotels in Fiji, Hawaii and Peru.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Reina and financial improprieties at the station. Reina has denied the allegations in a court filing.
Plans for other stations
CapRadio plans to end its management of NPR-affiliate stations KHSU and North State Public Radio, which operate under Cal Poly Humboldt and California State University, Chico, respectively.
The station signed agreements in 2020 and 2021 to take over the management of each station in hopes to strengthen its ties across the North State region. Transferring operational controls back to each university allows for “increased flexibility to develop business model that best works for them,” Maranzino said during Wednesday’s meeting.
CapRadio’s newsroom, separate from its business side, reported a transition plan after it was announced in a message to staff. The Sacramento NPR-affiliate could save about $1.6 to $1.8 million annually as both North State stations operate at a net loss, Bruno said. Those costs supported staffing, accounting and business administration at KHSU and NSPR.
CapRadio’s budget includes funds for a four-month transition plan to revert the North State news organizations back to their universities.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 12:14 PM.
