From Councilmember Rick Jennings


COUNCIL BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
The Council’s Budget and Audit Committee will meet at 11:00 am on Tuesday, December 6.  You can find the link to the meeting here. I am a member of this committee, which oversees the City’s Budget and the activities of the City Auditor. For those of you that do not know, the City of Sacramento has a City Auditor that is tasked with overseeing our Whistle Blower Hotline and providing oversight performance audits of the various City departments and activities. For more information on what the City Auditor does and the services that they provide please visit the Auditor’s web site.
One item that might be of interest is the City Auditor’s report on the City’s Cannabis Code Enforcement activities. This is an important oversight function that the city performs on all cannabis businesses that operate in the City of Sacramento. The City Auditor has some recommendations and findings that would improve the code enforcement oversight of cannabis businesses. You can read the link to the staff report on this item.


CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
The City Council will hold meetings at 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm today. The agenda and link to the 2:00pm meeting can be found here, and the agenda and link to the 5:00 pm meeting can be found here.
During the 2:00 pm meeting the Council will be discussing, and hopefully approving, the legally binding agreement between the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento regarding homelessness. Adoption of an agreement between the City and County was a condition of the recently-passed Measure O.
There are multiple aspects to this agreement, and I wanted to highlight a couple of important points. The first is that the agreement is legally binding and has a five-year term with the ability to extend the agreement for an additional five years. It also requires that the City and County present a joint report on progress to the City Council and County Board of Supervisors every six months. It clearly outlines roles and responsibilities, including the provision of additional shelter beds for those experiencing mental health issues. I believe that this agreement is a substantial step forward and am committed to its implementation and continuing to increase the services we provide. The link to the staff report which contains the entire agreement and an analysis can be found here.
The 5:00 pm City Council meeting will have one public hearing on the expansion of the Sacramento Services Community Facilities District in relationship to the development of the “Panhandle” area of Natomas. You can find that staff report here. The rest of the 5:00 pm meeting will be centered on saying goodbye to outgoing Councilmembers Angelique Ashby, Jeff Harris, and Jay Schenirer, who have served Sacramento with distinction for many years.
As always, it is my immense privilege to be your District 7 Councilmember. If you have any concerns or need assistance from my office, please send an email to rjennings@cityofsacramento.org or leave a voicemail at (916) 808-7007. Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope to see you around the neighborhood!