The City Council is Sacramento’s main law-making body that votes on the budget and creates policies. The council makes decisions on services varying from public safety to garbage collection.
Residents elect representatives to the council in even-numbered years. The last election was in November 2022, when three seats were up for grabs.
After elections, new members take the oath of office in December. Three new members swore in on Dec. 13.
But what does the council do, exactly, and how can residents get involved in its decision-making processes?
Residents have more opportunities to weigh in on council issues than presidential decisions, said Kim Nalder, a Sacramento State political science professor and director of Project for an Informed Electorate.
“City Council is kind of the closest body of government to the people,” Nalder said. “The things that we deal with every day in terms of our roads … our parks, our policing are all handled by the city. And yet so many citizens who could participate often don't because they don't understand how the system works or what they would even do.”
Organizer Kula Koenig said residents don’t have to know everything to be involved and civically engaged in local government. Koenig is the founder of Social Justice PolitiCorps for Sacramento County, which crowdsources political information and serves people whom governments have historically excluded from decision-making processes.
Here are answers to questions about the Sacramento City Council, including its duties, members and how to connect with representatives.
What are the council’s decision-making powers?
The Sacramento City Council votes on policies, ordinances and land uses. Ordinances are city laws and land use includes rules on what kind of development projects can go where.
The council approves the city’s annual budget, which is $1.4 billion in this current 2022-23 fiscal year. Budgets cover city services, including police, fire, parks, water and garbage collection. The council also green-lights contracts and agreements, such as the Homeless Services Partnership Agreement with the county.
When people challenge decisions made by city staff or citizen advisory groups, the council hears appeals and can overturn or support the initial calls. For example, the council heard an appeal over a Natomas Costco warehouse approved by the city’s Planning and Design Commission.
The council also appoints certain officers including a city manager, city attorney, city treasurer, city clerk and city auditor. The council has several standing committees, including the budget and audit committee and the law and legislation committee. The mayor appoints council members to the committees, which votes on certain issues before the entire council does.
While the council makes decisions related to the Sacramento Police Department, it does not vote on issues related to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors oversees the sheriff’s office because it is a county service.
Other county departments the council doesn’t control include county public health and behavioral health services, the agricultural commissioner and the child support services. The city may collaborate with these county departments, but the council doesn’t have authority over them.
Who serves on the council?
The council consists of a mayor and eight council members. The mayor represents and is elected by all city residents.
Each council member represents a district or geographical area of the city. Council members are elected by residents of their respective districts.
Elections are staggered, so Sacramento doesn’t have an entirely new council every two years. Both the mayor and council members serve four-year terms. Sacramento’s city charter currently has no term limits for the mayor or council members.
What are council districts?
Sacramento is divided into eight City Council districts, each with around 65,000 residents. A council member represents and lives in each district.
This system is different from cities where council members represent the city at large. Sacramento started holding by-district elections, where voters elect their area representative, in 1971.
Boundaries for council districts and a new district map are drawn every 10 years after the decennial U.S. Census. The last redistricting process was completed in December 2021, when the council adopted the latest map.
Council district maps must comply with several laws, including the Federal Voting Rights Act and the California FAIR MAPS Act, which requires cities to prioritize keeping a community with common interests in a single district for fair and effective representation.
Sacramento voters in November approved a measure clarifying when the city uses a new district map after redistricting. The measure makes it clear that new district boundaries will be used in the next regular elections when current council members’ terms expire. That’s why council member representation is deferred for 11% of the city’s population, or 58,000 residents, until 2024. Residents living in even-numbered districts will elect council members according to the new boundaries then.
What are the requirements to be a council member or mayor?
Council member candidates must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and a resident and registered voter in the district they want to represent. Mayoral candidates must meet the same requirements, but can be a resident and registered voter anywhere within city limits.
All candidates must be a resident and registered voter in the district they look to represent for at least 30 days before filing papers to run for office. The mayor and council members must continue to meet residency requirements while they are in office, according to city and California laws.
A California Government Code defines what counts as a domicile, or primary residence for voting purposes. Domiciles are defined as the places where habitation is fixed, where people intend to remain and where they intend to return whenever they leave the home.
How much money do council officials get paid?
The mayor’s annual salary is $158,652 while council members’ get paid $99,317. The city’s Compensation Commission last approved a raise for them in March 2022.
Council officials also get transportation and technology allowances, health care benefits, life insurance and may be eligible for retirement benefits.
Koenig, the organizer who founded Social Justice PolitiCorps for Sacramento County, said it’s important for residents to remember the council’s job is to represent the public.
“They work for you and I know people say that a lot,” Koenig said. “You may not think about it, but they actually work for you.”
How do I connect with my representatives?
Chinua Rhodes, the mayor’s director of community engagement, says one step is to get to know the council’s staff members. Staff and their contact info are listed on the city website and most council member offices have a community liaison or constituent services person. Those staff can get residents directly connected to their council members, Rhodes said.
Rhodes shared recommendations for residents contacting both the mayor and council members’ offices. In general, residents are encouraged to email the council member who represents their district because that elected official is supposed to advocate for the community. Sending a detailed email referencing specific issues, places, dates and a callback number can help more than a generalized message such as “I don’t like that there’s homelessness in Sacramento,” Rhodes said.
He also recommended people follow up on an email with a phone call. The civic engagement office gives monthly reports to the mayor on how many calls they receive, cases they complete and top issues, Rhodes said.
“People that answer these phones here, we're not electeds, but we are civil servants,” Rhodes said. We want to do well for our communities and the constituency of the city. We want to resolve issues and problems and that and that is our role.”
Many council officials also hold town halls in-person and virtually. Koenig said when talking to elected officials, remember they are another person. She recommends introducing yourself, saying where you live, and sharing what you see and what you think can be improved.
Emails for the mayor and council members are listed on the city website. They are also included below for convenience:
Who are my representatives?
Residents can enter their address on the city website to find their representatives. (Note: Because of redistricting, council member representation is deferred for 11% of the city’s population, or 58,000 residents, until 2024. The mayor still represents those residents.)
Below are the elected officials of the 2022-24 Sacramento City Council. Descriptions for council members of even-numbered districts describe the areas they were elected to represent in 2020. They will not represent newly-drawn districts until after the 2024 election, if they run for reelection and win.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.Andrew Nixon / CapRadioSteinberg represents the entire city and has been mayor since 2016. Steinberg previously served as president of the state senate and was elected to the state legislature for 14 years. His first stint on the Sacramento council was from 1992 to 1998 as a council member.
District 1 Council member Lisa Kaplan
Sacramento City Council member Lisa Kaplan.Courtesy of Lisa KaplanKaplan represents the district including North Natomas, Sundance Lake and Glenwood Meadows. Kaplan was elected to the council in 2022 and previously served on the Natomas Unified School District Board for 20 years. She is an attorney and runs Kaplan Law Group, which deals with school construction.
District 2 Council member Sean Loloee
Sacramento City Councilor Sean LoloeeCourtesy city of SacramentoLoloee represents the district including Hagginwood, Del Paso Heights and Old North Sacramento. Loloee was elected to the council in 2020 and is a businessman who owns a few Viva Supermarket grocery stores. He faced an investigation into his residency and eligibility to represent the district.
District 3 Council member Karina Talamantes
Sacramento City Council member Karina Talamantes.Karina TalamantesTalamantes represents the district including South Natomas, Gardenland and Northgate. Talamantes was elected to the council in 2022 and served on the Sacramento County Board of Education from 2018 to 2022. She also worked as the Chief of Staff for former Council member Angelique Ashby.
District 4 Council member Katie Valenzuela
Sacramento City Council member Katie Valenzuela.Courtesy of Katie Valenzuela Valenzuela represents the district including downtown and Midtown. Valenzuela was elected to the council in 2020 and is a consultant on environmental issues. She was previously appointed to the state’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and worked for the California Environmental Justice Alliance.
District 5 Council member Caity Maple
Sacramento City Council member Caity Maple.Caity MapleMaple represents the district including Oak Park, Hollywood Park and Parkway. Maple was elected to the council in 2022 and co-founded Sacramento Solidarity of Unhoused People (SOUP), a homeless mutual aid nonprofit. She spent years working as a legislative analyst for progressive nonprofits and later the cannabis industry.
District 6 Council member Eric Guerra
Sacramento City Council member Eric Guerra.Courtesy of Eric GuerraGuerra represents the district including the areas of Tahoe Park, Little Saigon and Campus Commons. Guerra has served on the council since he was first elected in 2015. He previously served on the Sacramento County Planning Commission and on the California State University Board of Trustees.
District 7 Council member Rick Jennings
Sacramento City Councilor Rick Jennings.Courtesy of Rick JenningsJennings represents the district including the Land Park and Pocket communities. Jennings has served on the council since he was first elected in 2014. He is CEO of the Center for Fathers and Families, a Sacramento non-profit organization, and previously played for the Oakland Raiders.
District 8 Council member Mai Vang
Sacramento City Councilor Mai Vang.Courtesy of Mai VangVang represents the district including Meadowview and South Sacramento. Vang was elected to the council in 2020 and served on the Sacramento City Unified School Board from 2016 to 2020. She previously worked for former Council member Larry Carr and co-founded Hmong Innovating Politics.
How do I make public comments?
Public comment is input members of the public give to the council. Comments can be written or spoken verbally. There are designated times for people to give public comments during meetings and deadlines for people to send comments online.
People can submit comments for agenda items, which are issues the council is scheduled to discuss, and matters that aren’t on the agenda. Public comments become part of the public record, meaning anyone can request them under the California Public Records Act.
Anyone can submit comments for City Council meetings online. There’s also an option to indicate whether the comment is in support of, against or neutral on an agenda item, which could deal with issues like considering contracts with construction companies. Anyone can see comments sent through e-comments by looking at meeting agendas online.
People can also make comments in person or over Zoom. Verbal public comments generally have a two minute time limit. Those attending in person fill out speaker slips available in the council chambers, while over Zoom people use the “raise hand” feature.
The city posts recordings of council meetings online, so anyone can go back and listen to what people say in public comments.
Political science professor Kim Nalder recommends people make sure their comments are relevant to the agenda item or the council’s jurisdiction. Doing research to share ideas or specific recommendations can also make public comments more effective than general complaints, Nalder added.
“Sometimes it's helpful if you have a personal anecdote just to make it clear why it's important or something that you've maybe observed happening,” Nalder said. “But you don't want to spend a lot of time on that and you want to get to the action points.”
Koenig said she sometimes prepares bullet points with key points she wants to make. While listening to others give public comments and waiting for her turn, Koenig says she sometimes modifies what she will say.
How do I find out what the City Council is doing?
One step residents can take to get informed about the council is signing up for email newsletters. Political science professor Kim Nalder recommends signing up for email updates from the mayor’s office, which also sends text alerts. Council member offices also send email newsletters to district residents who sign up.
For those who don’t have time to watch hours-long council meetings, Koenig recommends subscribing to Social Justice Politcorps’ monthly newsletter. People can also pick a topic they really care about, such as housing or criminal justice, and reach out to organizations that closely follow that issue for updates on when the council might be discussing something related.
The council has regular meetings scheduled almost every Tuesday, with the exception of holidays and a few breaks. Those meeting agendas are posted on the city website on Thursday afternoons before the Tuesday meetings.
Agenda packets include what the council will vote on and discuss, as well as staff reports, contracts and other documents. But residents can get a sense of what’s coming up on agendas by connecting with their council members and following boards and commissions, experts said. Koenig said being proactive is more effective than being reactive to council decisions.
What are city boards and commissions?
Sacramento has more than 20 boards and commissions whose members are residents appointed by the mayor. Many boards and commissions give recommendations to the council on overall plans, said Rhodes, the mayor’s director of community engagement.
“These are all parts that you can get your voice heard and have some say before it even gets to council,” Rhodes said. “So going to councils is not always the straight line through, but some of these other things that are set up in the system to help our residents to further liaise the conversation will be very helpful.”
The Parks and Community Enrichment Commission, for example, sometimes discusses renaming parks and removing trees. Other boards and commissions include the Active Transportation Commission, Measure U Community Advisory Committee, Planning and Design Commission and Sacramento Youth Commission.
A list of boards, when they meet and vacancies residents can apply for can be found online.
