Sacramento’s most prolific parking enforcement officer leads city in tickets issued — by a mile

 Sacramento’s most prolific parking enforcement officer leads city in tickets issued — by a mile

His name has been cursed on the streets of Sacramento, read off a loathsome strip of paper tucked under the windshield wiper: Grant Nakamura.

The parking enforcement officer is rumored to be the city’s most ruthless ticket-issuer. It’s believed that no bumper can kiss the red zone gently enough for Nakamura; that he can appear from a shadow the very instant a meter expires. Mere mortals may forget the designated street cleaning days. But Nakamura? Nakamura remembers.

Data reviewed by The Sacramento Bee reveals that Nakamura issued more parking citations than any of the other two dozen meter-readers in the city, most of whom work part time. Over the course of one year, Nakamura handed out 20,361 citations — exceeding the next highest officer by approximately 4,600 tickets, according to figures obtained through a Public Records Act request.

A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Public Works did not make him available for an interview; attempts to track down the officer in the field were unsuccessful.

The records span from Dec. 1, 2023, to Dec. 1, 2024. In July, the lowest standard fine was $35. If he issued only the lowest fines — for example, if 20,361 drivers had parked at a curb designated for taxis only — that would have netted the city at least $700,000 in the 12-month span.

The efforts of this humble officer account for an outsized portion of the city’s revenue amid its estimated $77 million deficit next fiscal year. Transparent California’s government salary database shows that in 2023, Nakamura’s total pay was about one-tenth the salary of recently departed City Manager Howard Chan’s — almost $600,000 — a modest salary for his flawless execution of what has to be a thankless job. By The Bee’s estimates, Nakamura earns the city at least $11 for every $1 he is paid.

This public servant has carried out his duties under the most extreme circumstances.

On July 6 — when temperatures in the city reached 113 degrees — he started his shift in the afternoon and worked his way through the city center during some of the hottest hours of the day. In the four minutes between 3:48 p.m. and 3:52 p.m., Nakamura caught four expired meters on Fifth Street.

He was relentless amid the heat: All told, Nakamura wrote 93 citations on July 6. He spent eight hours on the job, and the violation fee schedule for the 2024-25 fiscal year puts his total at $5,530 (not even counting the state surcharges).

An analysis of three months of parking citations in the city ending Dec. 1 shows Nakamura issued the most tickets on Wednesdays and Thursdays — records show his work schedule varies like other officers. The data also shows that he was a menace to scofflaws in the Ice Blocks corridor, issuing more than 550 tickets along the 1600 block of R Street and in the city-controlled Ice Blocks parking lots.

Without Nakamura, swaths of the capital’s parking landscape would melt into chaos. If parking downtown is a headache now, imagine a downtown where no one ever moves their car because they know Nakamura isn’t coming.

For a city climbing out of a deficit, Nakamura’s incredible grind should be saluted.