Mayor Singh Allen says ‘state of our city is strong,’ highlights safety, housing and transit gains

Mayor Bobby Singh Allen delivered her sixth State of the City address on March 31, telling residents that “the state of our city is strong” and outlining investments in public safety, homelessness response, housing and transportation.

Singh Allen credited Measure E — the 1% local sales tax voters approved in 2022 — with providing “critical locally controlled resources” to support city priorities. She cited detailed public-safety outcomes: “License plate readers generated alerts on 274 vehicles of interest with nearly 30% resulting in arrests,” and described the city’s drone-as-first-responder program as assisting “nearly 2,000 calls last year” and reducing response times by 75% when used.

The mayor described the city’s homelessness strategy, noting that the temporary year-round shelter at the Cavalry Christian Center has served more than 100 adults with 18 moving on to more permanent housing, and said a permanent shelter on Survey Road is in development with a goal of opening in fall 2028. On affordable housing, she said, “In 2025, we opened 770 new affordable housing units, more than any year in our city's history,” and announced that phase 2 of a named project will add 139 units this year.

On mobility, Singh Allen highlighted a traffic-signal coordination program that she said yielded a 21% reduction in average travel time, a 46% reduction in signal delay and 41% fewer stops; she also said the council approved a new funding plan to fast-track a White Lock Parkway interchange to Highway 99 without the use of federal funds. The mayor announced a seniors-ride-free pilot with SacRT that will let Elk Grove seniors ride selected bus routes fare free within the city and on commuter routes to Sacramento.

The address included environmental and quality-of-life measures: more than $10 million invested in pavement maintenance last year, 125 upgraded ADA ramps, planting 2,600 trees, removal of more than 46,000 pounds of trash from encampment sites, and upcoming updates to the city’s climate action plan.

Singh Allen framed the speech around a theme of “progress with purpose,” thanked federal and regional partners (including Representative Doris Matsui) and closed by restating the city’s priorities of safety, stewardship of Measure E revenues, and continued investment in infrastructure and housing. The council recessed after the address for a public-comment period.