Stop Cutting. Start Building. Sacramento’s Future Depends on It.

Sacramento is at a crossroads: We can either cut deeper into our civic fabric or invest in a future that pays for itself. Across California, cities are feeling the strain of budget deficits, and Sacramento is no exception.

Facing a $62 million budget gap, the city council approved a budget that cuts 80 positions, including nearly two dozen police roles.

According to Capitol Radio, the council members voted 7 to 2 to approve the budget. Councilmember Lisa Kaplan voted against it because she said the city needed to implement deeper cuts to prevent a future deficit. “While I am glad we are 'balanced' this year, it really is, in my mind, when you look at budgets, it's fake,” Kaplan said. “Because, if I look at the documents, we have an estimated $60 million deficit.”

Sacramento has a choice: keep shrinking or start building. The smart path forward is to grow revenue, not by cutting police positions or squeezing more from residents through new parking fees or tax hikes, but by unlocking the economic potential that already surrounds us.

Look around the country. Cities like Nashville, Phoenix, Boston, Salt Lake City, Juneau, and Honolulu have invested in tourism as a revenue engine. Sacramento has joined them in a national initiative to power domestic travel and boost American tourism. That’s not just a marketing campaign. It’s a strategy to bring money into the city. Money that funds services, creates jobs, and revitalizes neighborhoods.

However, we’re currently limiting ourselves. Our firm worked on the Capitol Towers project, which brought 436 units to downtown Sacramento. In speaking with developers and investment firms, they estimate that Sacramento has lost an estimated 500,000 hotel room nights in the last two years because it lacks the space. That’s not a lack of interest. It’s a lack of infrastructure.

At a 12% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and a modest average rate of $150 per night, that’s almost $9 million in revenue the city is leaving on the table. And that’s just TOT. Imagine the additional revenue from restaurants, entertainment, retail, and transportation. Imagine the jobs that could be funded with this revenue.

We’ve hosted NCAA March Madness. We’ve thrown successful music festivals. But we still don’t meet the NBA’s requirement of 6,000 walkable hotel rooms to host All-Star Weekend. That’s a missed opportunity with national visibility, major economic impact, and job creation at every level, from hospitality to event production.

Instead of asking what we can cut next, we should be asking what we can build next.

This is a call to city and business leaders: let’s stop seeing budget gaps as reasons to retreat and start seeing them as reasons to invest. Downtown development, hotel expansion, new venues, and festivals; these aren’t vanity projects. They are revenue strategies. They are job creators. They are how we build a city that retains its talent, attracts new business, and funds the services residents rely on.

Sacramento doesn’t lack potential, and Sacramento sports fans do not lack the desire to attend sporting events. We shouldn’t lack the commitment to a growth mindset. The choice is clear: we can either keep shrinking into the problem or expand into the solution.

Reject the path of short-term cuts and instead pursue long-term gains. Let’s prioritize fast-tracking hotel development, streamlining permits for festivals, and building public-private partnerships that anchor new venues.

Deficits are real. But so is opportunity. Let’s choose growth.

Hector Barajas is the founder of Amplify360 Inc., a public affairs and strategic communications firm with offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles, advising companies and associations on legislative, regulatory, and political issues across California.

X: @HectorMBarajas

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormbarajas