City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – The City Council took the unusual step at its Aug. 19 meeting of pulling a number of items from its Consent Agenda for additional discussion — a decision that came after residents expressed frustration with a perceived lack of transparency and representation on the part of the council on community issues.

While it’s not unusual for council to pull items from the Consent Agenda for further discussion and at times separate votes, what was unusual was the number of items. A total of six of the 15 items were set aside for discussion, although none were voted on separately and none recommended for tabling to a later meeting.

Nine residents addressed council during the public comment period early in the meeting, with almost all vocalizing frustration about council actions affecting them in some way. Several had personal matters they were unhappy with but six took aim at what they claim are council members and city staff not listening to their concerns about city issues.

Several residents of the Broderick and Bryte area in District 1 in northern West Sacramento complained about a lack of access to council leadership and that their representative, Councilwoman Norma Alcala, has been bypassed several times for the opportunity to serve as Mayor Pro Tem. Alcala was elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024 and has yet to serve in that function.

The Mayor Pro Tem serves as the presiding officer at council meetings where the mayor cannot attend. According to the city’s Municipal Code, “the presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the city council by any member.”

During Alcala’s tenure on the council, former Councilman Christopher Ledesma served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2021, current Councilwoman Quirina Orozco, first elected in 2016, served in 2022 and 2023 with Councilwoman Danté Early, elected in 2021, serving from March 2024 – January 2025. Current Mayor Pro Tem Councilwoman Verna Sulpizio Hull, elected in 2022, has served since January 2025.

District 1 resident Rhonda Pope Flores said she has addressed council on the absence of Alcala serving in the Pro Tem role several times, saying it is a slight to the residents of District 1. Pope Flores said the district has “had to fight for a lot” from the city over the years but has often been bypassed.

“This is not acceptable anymore,” Pope Flores said. “This is not OK. It needs to stop.”

While residents have claimed at past council meetings that District 1 is often ignored for city upgrades, West Sacramento did break ground on Aug. 20 on a $64 million renovation of Bryte Park, the city’s oldest and most used public park. The District 1 project has been on the city’s drawing boards since inclusion in the area’s master plan in 2013, with newer parks in other parts of West Sacramento receiving upgrades the past 13 years.

Pope Flores said she was going to “force” the council to “work for us” through a petition she has launched on Change.org. She also pointed to negative comments the city receives about its transparency and relationship with residents on the city’s webpage comments section.

“That’s awful,” Pope Flores said. “It should matter to you.”

After public comments finished, Mayor Martha Guerrero pulled four items on the Consent Agenda for further discussion. Other council members requested two additional items pulled.

Guerrero said some of the items needed to be returned to various commissions at least for review rather than have staff advance them directly to council. She expressed frustration with the review process, noting that of 135 meetings between the city’s various commissions, committees and boards, 70 were cancelled for various reasons.

Guerrero acknowledged some bodies had vacancies, but pointed out their functions were not just voluntary but dealt with “real life situations” within the city and therefore carried a high degree of importance.

Guerrero asked that three of the items pulled be sent to the Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure (TMI) Commission at least for an informational review as they were slated to be approved during the Aug. 19 meeting. The fourth item, a $1 million contract with Schaaf & Wheeler for engineering services on the Bryte Sewer Pump Station Rehabilitation Project was forwarded to the Utilities Commission.

The project is one of several the city is funding through the water and sewer rate increases approved by council in March.

“The community needs to know where its money is going,” Guerrero said. “They need more transparency, not just a Consent Agenda item.”

One of the items forwarded to TMI is an $847,578 contract with WSP USA, Inc. for “technical transit planning services and preparation of the West Sacramento Forward Transit Priority Plan.” Councilwoman Early said transparency with this item was important because of the ongoing discussion and strategic planning on light rail and other modes of mass transit in the city.

“This is a huge step forward to be able to do that in which we have several forms of public transportation modes happening in West Sacramento being funded by public dollars,” she added.

A final item sent to TMI deals with the city’s grant applications for project funding through the Sacramento Area Council of Government’s (SACOG) 2026 federal funding cycle programs. Earlier during public comments, West Sacramento resident Raquel Andrade complained to council that nothing was being done to upgrade road conditions along a section of Jefferson Boulevard, a complaint Guerrero mentioned when noting the roadway was not among projects the city is seeking grant funding for.

Transportation Division Manager Jason McCoy said the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail project was already in design, with the next “logical” step for funding being for construction, something that would score well in a grant application. The other project, the Southport to Harbor Roadway Project, consists of multiple projects.

Both projects are listed in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan.

“Cobbled together, they actually make for a very competitive application,” he said of Southport to Harbor.

City Manager Aaron Laurel acknowledged the Jefferson Boulevard issues Andrade complained about and said it was in the design process with the intent to eventually move to construction.

“Rest assured there is significant work happening on the future of Jefferson Boulevard, at least that portion,” he added.

After the discussion, council unanimously approved all items on the Consent Agenda.