Sacramento council restores some youth violence prevention programs, pool funds
The Sacramento City Council restored funding to a youth violence prevention grant and vowed to keep pools open after residents denounced cutting services to plug a $66 million budget deficit.
A unanimous vote allocated $1.3 million for the gang prevention and intervention taskforce grant; $100,000 for four wading pools previously proposed to shutter; and $500,000 for 10 neighborhood pools to stay open five days a week.
The revived $1.3 million helps families and children at risk for gang violence by providing education, training and employment programs. But a separate $800,000 grant — providing around-the-clock response to “critical incidents” — remains in limbo.
Councilmember Lisa Kaplan noted the city has relied heavily on these services to help bring Sacramento’s violence to record lows.
Communities are not safe without the work done in the $800,000 grant, said Paris Dye, the executive director of youth organization Impact Sac.
“The city should be proud of the work that we’re doing instead of making us come back and beg for funds,” Dye said.
Nonprofits Brother to Brother Mentoring and Helping our People Eat, which directly intervene with incidents of youth gun violence on the street, each face a $225,000 loss of funding.
A dozen teenage members of Impact Sac waited nearly four hours Tuesday night to thank the council for listening to their advocacy and saving the program.
“There’s kids out there that do things because they don’t have a way to express themselves in a way that they need,” said Ayriana Saechao, 16. “So they end up fighting or doing drugs … And honestly I think that funding these programs is an amazing way to keep this generation from deteriorating.”
Job cuts loom
City Hall for three consecutive years cut vacant positions and hiked fees to help close budget shortfalls. The repeated cost-saving measures left little room this year for cuts, and the prospect of layoffs has loomed for many city employees.
City Manager Marakeshia Smith has proposed layoffs or demotions for park maintenance workers, who union officials say are among the lowest paid employees. Nearly 100 vacant job positions could be eliminated.
Twenty-six park maintenance workers could still be handed a pink slip or forced to move into another vacant role, though the council earlier intervened to reduce the number of layoffs.
“Some are new parents,” said Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who sought to save their jobs. “Some have been with the city for a very long time.”
Some council members implored city staff to find funding for a program called summer at City Hall. In the six-week program, 100 high school students learn about local government for school credit and a $500 stipend.
Sacramento’s budget woes stem from expenses outpacing revenues. Increased homelessness spending, higher labor costs, inflation and retirement liabilities have put pressure on the city’s bottom line, Finance Director Pete Coletto has said.
