City Realist
Safety in Numbers
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.”
Learning Curve
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.
Better Safe
Better Safe Flood risk is too great to delay levee repairs By Jeff Harris May 2025 In the winters of 1986 and 1997, the American River levee system sustained so much erosion damage that catastrophic flooding was imminent. Thankfully, through good management of the...
Double Crossed
Sacramento is defined by its rivers. For the city to function, it needs bridges over those rivers. Bridges stimulate economic development.
Look at Portland, another city with two great rivers. Twelve bridges cross the Willamette, with two more over the Columbia. Many are multimodal, with room for cars, trains, cyclists and pedestrians. Their connectivity brings growth and prosperity.
By comparison, Sacramento has only six bridges, including the Tower and I Street spans. The I Street crossing was built in 1911, when communication was by telegraph. By all accounts it needs replacement.
Dollars and Sense
Leyne Milstein has her work cut out for her. Appointed interim city manager after Howard Chan’s dismissal, Milstein is guiding Mayor Kevin McCarty and the City Council through a difficult budget cycle.
A $77 million deficit looms, less if state funds for homelessness materialize.
Milstein is the most dedicated city employee I know. She’s been on the job for more than 20 years. We talked about the budget, her interim role and the future.
“I love this city,” she says. “I have stayed because I love the mission of following the money and making Sacramento a better place.”
Milstein became interim manager thanks to her budget experience. She became the city’s finance director in 2008 and has been running budget preparations since 2017. She knows where the skeletons are buried, unlike an external candidate.
Full Agenda
From immigration policy to human trafficking legislation, Maggy Krell has a long list of goals as the city’s new state Assembly representative.
Housing comes first. Throughout the campaign and since her election last November, Krell listened to constituents. She found clarity in the public’s priorities.
“What I’m hearing is the cost of living and specifically the cost of housing is too high in California,” she says.
Krell’s approach to housing solutions involves collaboration with city and county leaders. One possibility is to repurpose unused state properties for housing and educational uses.
