Sacramento residents and visitors looking to enjoy downtown on Sundays and holidays will soon need to keep an eye on the parking meter, as the city prepares to implement paid on-street parking in an effort to close a significant budget deficit. Starting July 1, the free ride is over, with the measures aimed at tackling a $66 million shortfall in the city's finances. "It's supposed to be Sunday Funday. I'm not supposed to worry about parking" Kaylissa Dunson of Saigon Alley Kitchen and Bar told CBS Sacramento in a sentiment that reflects the annoyance many local businesses and residents feel about the new charge.
The budget adjustments, as reported by CBS Sacramento and the Sacramento Bee, extend beyond just parking, with increases in fees for various community services including sports field rentals, community center events, and charges for previously complimentary programs such as the elder special events, these fees hikes are part of a broader strategy to increase revenues without resorting to more drastic cuts to city services or staff layoffs. In a move that somewhat mitigates the sting for some community members, the city has preserved the free transit program for kids, owing to a collaborative funding agreement between Regional Transit and local school districts, according to Mayor Darrell Steinberg who expressed confidence in the necessary board approvals.
The Sacramento City Council's recent decision comes as part of the city's larger $1.6 billion budget approval aimed at capturing additional revenue, with not just the inclusion of Sunday parking fees but also the imposition of new costs on currently gratis central city parking spaces and electric vehicle charging at city garages. However, the plan wasn’t unanimously welcomed, Councilwomen Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang opposed the measure, expressing particular concern about the implications of cutting vacant Internal Affairs positions critical to the oversight of police conduct, as The Sacramento Bee reported. "I was hoping this was the first time I got to vote yes on a budget" Valenzuela commented, underscoring the significance she places on maintaining those oversight roles.
Within the contentious budget are also included the preservation and increase of the police department’s budget, now ascending to an all-time high despite the reduction of 44 vacant positions, the department's budget will see a jump from the current $222 million to approximately $250 million even though the department has fewer officers than it did previously and often exhausts over $10 million in annual overtime, Police Chief Kathy Lester emphasized the critical need for these funds, stating that the need for patrol, especially for the understaffed traffic unit, should be prioritized over the new positions Mayor Steinberg suggested adding back into the budget during the discussions, real-time homeless response proposals also did not make the cut in this round with Valenzuela's request for additional funding to the Department of Community Response for faster non-violent homeless call response, left unfulfilled according to The Sacramento Bee. these decisions form part of a complex balancing act the council is performing amidst decreased revenues following the pandemic's impact on downtown economic activity and mounting obligations to pay for city services and infrastructure.
