Title
Update on CityStart Initiative and Next Steps
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FileID
File ID: 2026-00612
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: 1) Review CityStart Blueprint; and 2) pass a Motion forwarding the CityStart Blueprint to the City Council as an update on the status of this work.
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Contact
Contact: Lynette Hall, Community Engagement Manager, (916) 808-1955, lhall@cityofsacramento.org, City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development
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Presenter
Presenter: Lynette Hall, Community Engagement Manager, (916) 808-1955, lhall@cityofsacramento.org; Amy Williamson, Financial Empowerment Manager, (916) 808-1046, awilliamson@cityofsacramento.org; Ari Green, Community Engagement Analyst, (916) 808-5097, agreen1@cityofsacramento.org; City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description Analysis
2-REC Presentation March 2026
3-CityStart Blueprint
4-Boosts and Blocks
5-Sac LIFT Framework
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The City of Sacramento was awarded a $75,000 grant to participate in the CityStart initiative with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund). Sacramento was one of eight local governments selected nationwide through a competitive process, joining 32 other municipalities that have already completed the CityStart blueprint process. Sacramento and the 7 other cities were the first in the nation to create blueprints solely focused on the wealth gap for local Black residents, as CFE Fund set that new focus for the initiative.
Through this initiative, the City received planning support and technical assistance to design a blueprint that identifies actionable strategies to strengthen residents’ economic well-being, with a focus on addressing wealth disparities experienced by Black residents. Members of the City’s Office of Innovation & Economic Development partnered with staff from then-Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s office to implement this work.
The City engaged decision makers in three key areas: housing, workforce development, and access to capital, through a series of careholder conversations to identify challenges and opportunities to bridge the financial wealth gap with Black residents. This process helped shape strategies to advance homeownership, improve housing stability, expand access to financial coaching and capital, and support workforce development and entrepreneurship as key pathways to economic mobility.
The CityStart Blueprint is a strategic planning tool that was developed in partnership with key industry leaders to create a roadmap for collaboratively developing tangible programs, services, policies, and processes to improve economic mobility and close the wealth gap for Black residents. Across the nation, white households hold roughly $200,000 more wealth than Black households and in Sacramento those inequities are mirrored. Compared to local White residents, local Black residents earn $25,000 less annually, own homes at half the rate, and are denied mortgage loans at twice the rate, Local Black residents also only own 3% of the local small businesses despite representing 13% of the local population. A wage analysis showed that Black residents in Sacramento hold the lowest wage jobs in Sacramento, followed by Hispanic residents. The wage gap continues to exacerbate the racial wealth gap and underscores the urgent need for targeted strategies to increase economic mobility. History and data have shown repeatedly that these disparities are not accidental and are a direct result of systemic barriers rooted in racism and discriminatory policies and laws. To ensure prosperity for all Sacramentans, we must eliminate barriers and create new pathways and targeted opportunities.
The CityStart blueprint builds upon existing City efforts, including: the Financial Empowerment Center, which provides free financial coaching; the Fine and Fee Justice program, which reduces financial barriers for low-income residents; and the Racial Equity initiative, which addresses the need for advancement of racial equity in City decision-making regarding impacts that result from City policy, budget, and service delivery decisions. Other aligned initiatives support this endeavor as well, such as the City’s African American Experience Project (AAEP). For too long, African American contributions and lived experiences in Sacramento were not fully reflected in historical records so this project acknowledges the gap by documenting, elevating, and preserving the stories, landmarks, and cultural assets that define the African American experience in Sacramento.
Key Strategies for Wealth Creation
The City’s proposed strategies include elements designed to systemically close the wealth gap, particularly for Black residents, by both the City and its industry partners.
1. Sector-Specific Strategy
• Focus on high-growth industries (e.g., life sciences, clean economy, mobility, advanced manufacturing).
• Expand skills-based training and workforce pipelines for Black residents.
• Support Black entrepreneurs through accelerators and mentorship programs.
2. Neighborhood-Specific Strategy
• Target redevelopment investments in historically disinvested neighborhoods (e.g., Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, Meadowview).
• Promote homeownership for renters.
• Support and mentor Black developers through co-developer models.
• Create community ownership models that allow residents to co-invest in revitalization projects.
• Provide wraparound supports such as affordable housing, workforce development, and local business investments.
3. Financial Stability Strategy
• Expand Guaranteed Income and asset-building programs.
• Encourage inclusive lending products for homes and businesses.
• Continue supporting the Financial Empowerment Center for 1 on 1 coaching
• Strengthen socially responsible banking practices and establish a Responsible Banking Ordinance to ensure financial institutions prioritize equity, community investment, and fair access to credit.
The City has already taken significant steps to implement several recommendations outlined in the Blueprint. Notably, we secured grant funding to establish a Small Developer Bootcamp, which is designed to strengthen the pipeline of local developers and increase participation from people of color and women in the development sector. We have also made strategic investments in a Small Business Resource Center that provides technical assistance, fee credits, and microgrants to support the growth and sustainability of small and micro enterprises. Furthermore, in collaboration with the City Treasurer’s Office, we are advancing socially responsible banking practices to ensure that municipal financial strategies align with equity and community impact goals.
CityStart is also aligned with and will be carried forward in part through another CFE Fund initiative called Financial Empowerment Cities (FE Cities), which is focused on community collaboration to grow financial opportunity, access, and well-being for all local residents. As an outgrowth of the CityStart and FE Cities planning processes, the City has also begun to form an effort called Sac LIFT (Local Impact Funders Table), comprised of leaders from financial institutions, philanthropic organizations, the City, and other public and private institutions. Sac LIFT will be an informal yet intentional and consistent engagement space for these leaders to come together around shared goals and to develop collaborations leading to greater community impact.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: Council adopted a resolution on Dec 3, 2024, to operationalize racial equity in the City government by beginning an institutional transformation process that aims to produce material outcomes for all residents to thrive and will foster a culture of shared partnership and accountability between community and government. The resolution states that persistent inequities exist in Sacramento and are disproportionately experienced by communities of color and marginalized groups, who are not a part of the process of offering solutions to the racial inequities they experience. The City defines racism as a social construction that has been used (historically and presently) to unjustly determine power and to distribute resources based upon a person's skin color, heritage, ethnicity, and/or national origin. The City also acknowledges that racism operates in various forms and levels that include internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural. And Sacramento acknowledges that the foundation of the United States is inextricably linked with racist ideologies, policies, practices and culture, often compounded by government; and that foundation has resulted in social violence, informed by racist narratives and tropes to oppress and dehumanize communities of color, making communities more vulnerable to cycles of racial inequity still today.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: The CityStart Blueprint is designed to generate long-term economic impact by strengthening wealth-building pathways, expanding workforce development, increasing entrepreneurship, and stabilizing neighborhoods historically impacted by disinvestment. While adopting the Blueprint does not require any immediate General Fund expenditures, it provides a coordinated framework to guide future investments, leverage external funding opportunities and align public-private partnerships to achieve measurable outcomes. Closing the wealth gap of Black residents is an economic growth strategy that will positively impact all residents and the City by increasing homeownership, expanding access to capital for potential homeowners and small businesses, and strengthening the workforce pipeline, which will lead to higher household incomes, higher property values, more businesses and increased revenue for the City. Research has shown that when historically excluded populations such as African Americans gain access to assets and do well the broader regional economy tends to do even better.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: This action is not a project that is subject to CEQA because it is an administrative activity and relates to government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to any specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (CEQA Guidelines § 15378(b)(2) and (b)(4).)
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: Forwarding the CityStart Blueprint to the Council formalizes the City’s commitment to racial equity by advancing targeted, data-driven strategies that can assist in addressing Sacramento’s racial wealth gap by implementing short, medium and long-term economic mobility goals for Black residents. This Blueprint is not a standalone document but a strategic planning framework developed and designed with technical assistance from national industry experts, industry-specific leaders (workforce, housing and banking) and community careholders. It builds upon existing City efforts and investments, such as the Financial Empowerment Center, Fine and Fee Justice Initiatives, African American Experience Project, and Inclusive Economic Development programs. This Blueprint will provide direction for continued cross-departmental collaboration and implementation in alignment with the City’s Racial Equity Resolution. Additionally, this will position the City to leverage future public, private and philanthropic investment, while affirming Sacramento’s leadership role nationally as one of seven cities to develop a wealth-gap plan centered on Black residents. Advancing this Blueprint aligns directly with the City’s stated goal of operationalizing racial equity in government decision-making and implementing tangible outcomes that allow all residents to thrive. Recognition from the Council affirms that closing the wealth gap is not just aspirational but a real, measurable economic-development priority that is essential to long-term prosperity for all.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: No funding is being requested or recommended.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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