Supervisor Frost February Newsletter Rio Linda/Elverta Edition

High Speed Rail is Slowing you Down

I get it because I am upset myself.  I see the deterioration of the streets that have needed repaving for years, and just last month I had to pay $500 for new tires that my mechanic directly attributed to poor road conditions (tires I bought only 2 years ago).  Because of this frustration, the question I get more than any other lately from residents in Rio Linda/Elverta is, “why can’t you prioritize road repairs in our community?”  I wish it were that simple, because if it were I would have done it many months ago.  So I wanted to take this opportunity in my monthly article to explain to you why it’s not so simple, and what we can do to change things.

What many people do not understand is that the vast majority of funds that are spent on local roads are from the state and federal government.  Not only that, but many of these funds are competitive dollars, meaning we are only going to win those funds for major projects that have nothing to do with resurfacing, like the road widening happening right now on Hazel Avenue.  So even if I wanted to prioritize local road resurfacings, the money Sacramento County could divert towards roads would be insignificantly small compared to what the state and federal government have the ability to do.  And this completely ignores the fact that Sacramento County has virtually zero reserves in our budget (if we had to rely solely on reserves, we would only have enough money to last us eight days).

The problem Sacramento County is experiencing with our roads is not localized to just our county or even region.  This is a problem afflicting the entire State of California, as of last count our state had over $57 billion in road maintenance that has been postponed due to not having enough money for our roads, highways, and bridges (also called deferred maintenance).  This enormous deferred maintenance bill would feel more understandable if California was broke, but at the same time we have this bill we are spending outrageous amounts of money on California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR), which in my opinion is only a fraction as important as having reliable roads. CAHSR has the potential to benefit a small fraction of the population, specifically those that would use it to commute. Meanwhile, roads are used by everyone, including passengers, freight, fire service, police service, etc.  To top it off, the train doesn’t even come close to Rio Linda/Elverta, as the furthest north it goes is San Francisco.

When voters approved CAHSR, it was supposed to cost $40 billion.  As of today, the current estimate has risen to $79 billion, and experts are now expecting that by the time the project is completed it will cost nearly $100 billion.  The first segment of CAHSR is currently being constructed – it is 118 miles through the Central Valley from Merced to Shafter and is supposed to be the easiest part of the construction.  Just how easy is the “easy” part?  It was expected to be done this year and cost $6.4 billion, but is now expected to be finished in 2024 and will cost $10 billion.

Even if we let CAHSR continue to build the central valley line and we abandoned CAHSR after that, we would save enough money to pay for every cent of deferred maintenance for all roads, highways, and bridges in California.  Not only that, but we would also save enough to pay for all deferred maintenance in every department across the State, including things like water systems, courts, parks, colleges, fairs, etc.  The California Legislature and the Governor have the capacity to fix our roads, they just need to change their priorities and focus on what California needs the most.

County Approves New Contracts for Homeless Outreach

The goal of FSRP is to engage and support people who frequently use County systems, including County jail and Behavioral Health Services, but who have not been able to resolve their chronic or long-term homelessness.  A preliminary study showed an average annual cost of more than $42,000 for the top 250 individual most frequent recipients in Sacramento County.  Success of this program will be measured by the number of enrolled individuals who are housed and retain housing within one year of housing placement.

FSRP is modeled after Los Angeles County’s Housing for Health Program, which permanently housed 890 individuals over two and half years. A recently concluded Rand Corporation study reported 96 percent retained housing for at least one year with a nearly 60 percent drop in the use of public services within that first year.  LA County has pointed to the flexibility within service contr acts to provide whatever it takes to engage and support re-housing participants as critical to replicating this success in Sacramento County.

Visit the website for more information on the programs and services offered by the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance.

For more information on the state of homelessness in Sacramento County, visit the Responding to Homelessness website.

In This Issue

• High Speed Rail is Slowing you Down
• Rio Linda/Elverta Father Daughter Dance
• Meet Author of “20th Century Fox Studios” at Rio Linda/Elverta Library
• New Veteran’s Commission Approved
• Will you Serve on a Board or Commission?
• County Approves New Contracts for Homeless Outreach

Rio Linda/Elverta Father Daughter Dance

Meet Author of “20th Century Fox Studios”
at Rio Linda/Elverta Library

A reception and book sale will follow this memorable presentation. This program is sponsored by the Friends of Rio Linda Library.

Date: February 6th

Time: 6:00pm to 7:15pm

Location: Rio Linda/Elverta Library

Cost: Free!

New Veteran’s Commission Approved

We needed this Commission because at the County we have lacked a centralized body that advises the Board of Supervisors on veterans issues. This new Commission will be comprised of 5 Commissioners appointed by the County Supervisors, and will represent all veterans in Sacramento County by not only advising the Supervisors and County staff on matters pertaining to veterans, but also by holding public meetings.

You can read more about it by clicking here.

Will you Serve on a Board or Commission?

To see the list of vacancies, please click this link.

After you find one that interests you, apply here.