City Realist

Have you visited the River District? You may not want to return.

The River District runs off Richards Boulevard, north of the Downtown Railyards. Loaves & Fishes, renowned for charitable work with unhoused people, calls the district home.

But for many, the River District is another kind of home. One square mile hosts 26% of the county’s homeless population and 60% of its homeless service providers. Not surprisingly, this concentration leaves the neighborhood a mess.

Last year more than 200 homeless people died on Sacramento streets. Many had terminal illnesses and died alone, destitute, unsafe, no comfort or care.

Joshua’s House, a homeless hospice, opened in June. It’s the first of its kind in the west, a place for terminal patients, discharged from local hospitals, to live out their days. People with no home. People who would die on the streets.

Ten years ago, Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater came to my then-City Council office and said, “I want to start a homeless hospice in your district.”

The city of Sacramento budget is a hot, unsustainable mess.

Although the City Council adopted a balanced budget for the fiscal year, there’s a structural deficit that can’t be ignored.

Budget staff, led by a competent finance director, Pete Coletto, gave the council options on how to close a $66 million deficit. Unfortunately, projections show the deficit will increase over the next four years.

What does this mean for you?

How safe do you feel in Sacramento?

Speaking with citizens and elected officials, the consensus is city government doesn’t adequately address public safety. This isn’t the city it used to be.

While few people are victims of major felonies, many are harmed by thefts, burglaries, verbal and physical confrontations, and auto accidents. Often police don’t respond because the department is short staffed.

“Budget decreases and vacant position eliminations in the police department, combined with union negotiations that have increased wages and benefits means that the number of sworn officers is decreasing,” Police Chief Kathy Lester says. “This leads to an increased workload for officers, slower response times and an increase in overtime hours.”

Six months into his new job, Phil Pluckebaum confirmed two facts.

“People do not perceive Sacramento as clean and safe,” he says. “Until we address this fundamental issue, the Downtown core, which is our economic engine, will not revitalize.”

The new City Council representative for Downtown, Midtown and East Sacramento continues, “We have failed in terms of addressing the deteriorating conditions of our roads and infrastructure generally. Can we just please start by fixing the (expletive) potholes?”

Pluckebaum already knows it takes money to make improvements. He knows it takes at least five council votes to address even basic needs. In recent years before Pluckebaum’s 2024 election, the City Council ignored many basic improvements.