Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is the county’s governing body, with five elected members representing five supervisorial districts. This article explains how to identify your supervisor, contact a district office, review meeting agendas, watch proceedings, and submit public comments. It also covers speaker time limits, requests to place a matter on the agenda, meeting accommodations, and the different roles of district offices and the Clerk of the Board.
Board Members and District Representation
Board members work with county staff to support the delivery of services and programs throughout the Sacramento County region. Each supervisor represents one district. For a concern involving your neighborhood or a request for assistance from your representative, identifying that district is a useful first step.
The official Board of Supervisors website identifies the members and provides access to district pages, meeting information, agendas, and the supervisor lookup tool. The members identified in the county’s reference information are:
District 1: Phil Serna.
District 2: Patrick Kennedy.
District 3: Rich Desmond.
District 4: Rosario Rodriguez, Board Chair.
District 5: Pat Hume, Vice Chair.
Which Supervisor Represents Your Address?
The county’s Find Your County Supervisor tool asks for your street number and street name. Enter those details to be directed to your supervisor’s website. The lookup page also offers access to Sacramento County supervisorial district maps.
Use the address lookup before choosing a district office based on a supervisor’s name or a familiar neighborhood. The county also provides district boundary maps and maps showing boundaries with ZIP codes through its information and maps site. These are useful when you want to see the district’s geographic boundaries in addition to identifying the representative for an address.
District Offices and the Board Clerk
A supervisor’s district office and the Clerk of the Board provide different points of contact. District pages offer ways to report an issue, request information, or share suggestions and concerns with a supervisor. The Clerk handles meeting assistance, agenda preparation and publication, written meeting comments, access to meeting documents, and accommodation requests.
For a neighborhood concern or a request for information from your representative, go to the appropriate district page. Districts 1, 2, 3, and 5 provide online request options. Their pages also identify direct email contacts. District 3 specifically invites suggestions, issues, and concerns, while the other district pages similarly provide constituent contact or request options.
The District 4 constituent services page includes contact options, appointment access, community and district event calendars, and county government assistance options. Choose the function that matches your purpose. For example, a request for an appointment serves a different purpose from submitting a comment for a scheduled Board meeting.
Preparing a Constituent Request
Before contacting your district office, write a brief description of the concern and the assistance or information you are seeking. For a location-specific issue, include the relevant address or location so the office can understand the request. These details help explain the matter clearly; follow any additional prompts presented by the district’s online request system.
If your purpose is to have a written comment distributed to Board members and filed in a meeting record, use the Clerk’s written-comment procedure described below. A constituent request through a district page and a meeting comment have different purposes. Choosing the appropriate route helps keep your request aligned with the action you want to take.
Meeting Dates, Location, and Attendance
The Board meets on various Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. each month. It takes summer and winter recesses. These general meeting patterns do not establish a meeting on every Tuesday or Wednesday, so consult the Board meeting calendar for scheduled dates and times.
The agenda identifies the date, time, and location for the particular meeting. Review that agenda before making attendance plans. Board meetings take place at the County Administration Center’s Board Chambers, Room 1450. The street address appears in the office list at the end of this article.
Meetings are open to public attendance and are streamed live. Seating in the meeting room is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you plan to speak in person, allow time to complete and submit the required speaker request form to Clerk staff.
The Board of Supervisors offices are open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Office hours and meeting times serve different purposes: use office hours when planning contact with staff, and use the meeting calendar and agenda when planning to attend proceedings.
Agendas, Supporting Documents, and Hearing Times
The Clerk’s Board of Supervisors public meetings page provides access to meeting agendas, action summaries, meeting procedures, and viewing and participation information. Select the Board of Supervisors agenda and action summary materials when looking for this Board’s business. The page also provides access to materials for other legislative bodies, including the County Planning Commission and Sacramento Area Sewer District.
Read the agenda for the meeting you intend to attend or address. Identify the item number, its description, and the section in which it appears. The online agenda includes associated materials, which can provide context for the matter before the Board. Reviewing these documents helps you prepare comments that address the item under consideration.
Agenda Order and Scheduled Hearings
Items generally follow the order shown on the agenda, but the Board may occasionally take them out of order. An item’s position in the agenda therefore does not establish an exact discussion time.
Items under “Hearing Matters” have separately identified start times. Those matters cannot be discussed before their stated times. When preparing to attend a particular hearing, distinguish its scheduled start time from the overall meeting’s start time.
The Board discusses and considers agenda items during the meeting. Subjects outside the posted agenda can be raised during the designated “Matters Not Posted On The Posted Agenda” portion. The “Presentations” and “Miscellaneous Matters” sections are not listed for consideration, so do not assume every agenda heading follows the same public-comment process.
Documents Beyond the Online Materials
Some supporting documents may not appear online because of size or format limitations. Contact the Clerk’s Office to arrange copies of those documents. Identify the meeting date and agenda item when asking about materials so staff can understand which records you need.
The Board website also provides access to agenda archives. When reviewing an earlier matter, keep the meeting date and item number together in your notes. An item number identifies a matter within a particular meeting’s agenda, so the date provides essential context when you return to the materials or contact the Clerk.
Public Comment and Speaker Time Limits
The Chair or Clerk calls for public comment on each agenda item listed for consideration. Consent matters are acted on as one unit, while public hearings and separate matters are acted on individually. Those distinctions affect how much speaking time is available.
The published speaker limits are:
Consent items: two minutes total for one or multiple consent items.
Hearing items: two minutes for each hearing item.
Separate items: two minutes for each separate item.
Matters outside the posted agenda: two minutes total.
The Chair may increase or decrease these time allocations. Prepare comments around the published limit, while remaining ready to follow the Chair’s instructions. If you want to discuss several consent items, organize your remarks to fit within the combined two-minute allowance.
Speakers should not expect Board members to respond directly during the meeting. The Board may ask county staff to follow up with a speaker or provide information after the meeting or at a later date. Public comment is therefore an opportunity to place your views before the Board, rather than a scheduled question-and-answer exchange.
The Board encourages public participation, civility, and courteous language. Its procedures state that it does not condone profanity, vulgar language, inappropriate gestures, personal attacks, or threats directed toward meeting participants. Keep your remarks focused on the issue and the action or concern you want the Board to consider.
Speaking in Person
To speak at the meeting, complete a speaker request form and submit it to Clerk staff. The Chair will invite each individual to the podium to make a verbal comment. Listen for the call associated with your item, especially if the Board changes the agenda order.
A short outline can help you stay within the allotted time. Identify the agenda item, state your position or concern, and explain the specific point you want Board members to consider. For a subject outside the agenda, prepare to speak during the designated off-agenda portion.
Remote Participation
The county provides an opportunity to watch the meeting and give public comment remotely by registering through the Zoom option on its public meetings page. During the meeting, the Clerk asks participants to raise their digital hands if they want to comment on the item under consideration.
Follow the participation instructions for the meeting you plan to attend remotely. Watching a webcast and registering to give remote public comment are different activities. If you intend to speak, use the remote-comment registration option and listen for the Clerk’s invitation to raise your digital hand.
Written Comments for the Meeting Record
Written comments may be emailed to BoardClerk@saccounty.gov or mailed to the Clerk at the address in the final office list. Include the meeting date and agenda item number. For a subject outside the agenda, identify it as an off-agenda item. Contact information is optional.
Written comments are distributed to Board members and filed in the record. A clear subject line and opening sentence can help identify the meeting and matter you are addressing. Keep the comment connected to that item, and explain your concern or requested action in the body of the message.
Submitting a written comment and asking to add an item to the agenda are separate procedures. A written comment gives the Board your views for the meeting record. A request for a new agenda item follows the advance coordination and Chair review process described next.
Requests for a New Agenda Item
Matters presented at Board meetings are coordinated three weeks in advance and published on the agenda. To request placement of an item, send the request to the Clerk’s email address no later than three weeks before the proposed meeting date.
Agenda requests are forwarded to the Chair for consideration and review. The Clerk compiles and publishes the agenda. Submitting a request does not itself establish that the matter has been placed on a particular meeting’s agenda; consult the published agenda to see the business scheduled for that meeting.
When preparing your request, identify the subject and the meeting date you have in mind. Keep this advance request separate from a comment about an existing agenda item. The three-week requirement applies to requests for agenda placement, so plan around it when seeking Board consideration of a new matter.
Live Viewing and Meeting Rebroadcasts
You can watch proceedings through the county’s Metro Cable live meeting webcast. Meetings are also shown on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel. Each meeting is rebroadcast, with the rebroadcast day and time identified in the agenda.
Have the agenda available while watching so you can follow item numbers and recognize when the Board moves to a different matter. If you want to participate remotely as a speaker, use the registration procedure described above; the viewing stream provides access to the proceedings.
Accommodations and Meeting Assistance
Contact the Clerk before the meeting if you need an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, for medical reasons, or for another need. Requests may be made by telephone or through the Clerk’s email address. California Relay Services at 711 is also identified for people with hearing impairments.
Describe the accommodation you need and identify the meeting you plan to attend. The Clerk is also the contact for questions about meeting procedures and arrangements to obtain documents affected by online size or format limitations. District offices remain the appropriate contact for requests directed to an individual supervisor.
Board and District Office Contacts
Board of Supervisors
700 H Street, Suite 1450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
700 H Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 874-5411
District 1 — Supervisor Phil Serna
700 H Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 874-5485
District 2 — Supervisor Patrick Kennedy
700 H Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 874-5481
District 3 — Supervisor Rich Desmond
700 H Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 874-5471
District 4 — Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez
District 5 — Supervisor Pat Hume
700 H Street, Suite 2450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 874-5465