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Measure U advisory group forms budget ad hoc after debate over department attendance and extends meeting
Summary
Facing a compressed calendar, the Measure U Community Advisory Committee formed a seven-member ad hoc to draft budget recommendations for the 2026-27 Measure U allocations, voted to extend the meeting by one hour and debated whether departments receiving Measure U funds should be required to present to the committee or face a default non-recommendation.
The Measure U Community Advisory Committee spent much of its March 16 meeting on the schedule and process for making budget recommendations for the 2026-27 Measure U allocations. Staff member Ash told the committee that the deadline to approve final recommendations is May 18 so the recommendations can go to the City Council's Budget & Audit Committee later in the month.
Commissioners said too many departments had been scheduled and that the committee would not be able to hear every department before the May deadline. Several members suggested prioritizing which departments to hear in April and accepting written reports for the others. Commissioner Novelo (Noveo) and others expressed frustration that some departments have not prioritized presenting to Measure U despite receiving city funds.
A contentious exchange followed over whether the committee should require departments that receive Measure U funding to present at least once per calendar year; one proposal would make a department's absence a basis for advising against continued funding. Some members supported stronger enforcement language; others preferred saying only that the committee "had no basis to make a recommendation" when departments failed to present.
To allow more time to complete work the committee voted to extend the meeting by one hour; the extension passed by a two-thirds roll call vote with six members voting yes and three voting no. The chair then solicited volunteers to form a budget recommendation ad hoc; members Cook, Smith, Sala, Miller, Rosa, Goris and the chair agreed to serve, forming a seven-member group charged with drafting the recommendations for committee review prior to the May 18 deadline.
Public commenters used the time to urge accountability and funding priorities: Lambert Davis repeated concerns about Measure U oversight and alleged the measure had been "co-opted," while Dan Tuskowski of Trees for Sacramento requested Measure U funding (he said $1,000,000) to jump-start urban forestry canopy work tied to the city's urban forest plan.
The committee directed the ad hoc to produce a draft recommendations document for review at the next meeting and to identify which departments the full committee should hear before May.
