At the beginning of each year, I host a Neighborhood Leaders meeting where we bring together folks from the 20 or so neighborhoods that I represent. It’s a great way to provide updates on city issues and for leaders to meet with city staff. I also ask each neighborhood to provide me with two or three priority issues that my office can support through the year. Given limited time and resources, this is generally the most effective and efficient way of connecting with the communities that I represent.
I additionally carve out time to meet one on one with as many residents as possible. While tiring, I view this as a critically important aspect of my job. It allows me to see first-hand what is happening in our neighborhoods and better understand the challenges we face.
As you can imagine, homelessness is the No. 1 issue in every neighborhood. Unfortunately, many do not know how active the city has been on this important issue. Homelessness impacts everything we are trying to do, and for both moral and economic reasons, it’s a challenge we simply must meet. Please visit the city’s webpage at http://www. cityofsacramento.org/homeless for a rundown of the steps we have taken so far.
Second and third on the list are traffic and crime. Traffic issues are mostly about how to slow folks down, installing speed bumps, and improving street crossings. In addition, we continue to work with our police and traffic folks around enforcement and safety features on specific intersections and roads. I look forward to the implementation of the City’s Vision Zero initiative, which highlights safe engineering, enforcement and education to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2027. More details at www.VisionZeroSac.org.
For most of District 5, crime issues focus on car break-ins and packages being stolen from front porches. I have had many discussions with our police, who have committed to increased patrols in the neighborhoods, using bait packages and bait cars, and providing training for neighborhood watch initiatives. In reality, crime is down significantly over the past seven years, but we can always do more.
As always, please feel free to contact our office at 916 808-7005 with specific issues. My staff is always ready to assist. For more ways to connect, go to www.jayschenirer.com or email me at [email protected]