Monday evening, a group of business owners, politicians and concerned citizens gathered at the Hart Senior Center for the March meeting of the Sacramento Neighborhood Advisory Group.

The Neighborhood Advisory Group is a monthly meeting for residents of Sacramento's Area 1 to discuss issues pertinent to residents and business owners in the area. It is a partnership between neighborhood leaders and the city's Neighborhood Services Department.

Monday’s meeting began with a brief speech from Mayor Kevin Johnson, followed by a question-and-answer period. Light on specifics, Johnson's speech focused on the idea of Sacramento as a city of neighborhoods, Johnson's commitment to making Sacramento a "world-class destination city," and his assertion that his administration would be responsive, transparent and accessible to citizens. Johnson committed himself to maintaining each neighborhood's distinct and unique character, saying that Sacramento's diversity was "a strength."

In the Q&A session following his speech, Johnson was asked about the centralization of homeless services in the Alkalai Flats neighborhoods, and the problems that it causes. He admitted that "there's a general consensus that there is an overconcentration of our homeless population in one area," and called for a regional approach to tackle the problem. Johnson also discussed the need to develop Sacramento's riverfront areas, mentioning the Railyards and Cal Expo as well, calling them "two of the biggest in-fill projects that could be developed anywhere in the country," and a tremendous opportunity for sustainable growth. He concluded the Q&A by calling for increased volunteerism among Sacramento citizens, encouraging them to use handsonsacto.org to coordinate their work.

Following Mayor Johnson, Lt. Mike Bray of the Sacramento Police Department presented the Area 1 Police Department activity report. He reported that the incidence of robberies had fallen by 10%. Bray announced "some great arrests" of several minors who had stolen cell phones, backpacks and laptops in the Downtown area, as well as the identification of a suspect in five burglaries also in the Downtown area. Bray urged residents to lock their doors and windows to "harden the target" against potential criminality.

After the police report, the meeting was opened to announcements from attendees. Residents were urged to attend a City Council meeting on the subject of a proposed streetcar system to connect West Sacramento and Downtown taking place next week. City Councilman Steve Cohn weighed in on the subject, saying the current plans would serve West Sacramento far more than Sacramento, and that they should be changed to be more useful for residents of the Midtown and Downtown neighborhoods.

The staff of the Finance Department spent much of the meeting presenting an update of the budget. They projected a 50 million dollar deficit, but Councilman Cohn said that half of the deficit could be managed by obtaining labor concessions, citing the decision by the Police Officer's Association to defer a five percent raise, which Cohn said allowed the Police Department to abstain from firing any officers. He went on to say that similar measures should be applied to other departments.

Director of Finance Leyne Milstein stated that "we are in the middle of a multi-year economic downturn," and that the city's capacity to generate revenue was limited by circumstances, with sales and property taxes both in decline. She proposed a "reduction-only budget," saying that Sacramento needed to "plan for the worst," hoping for concessions from unions to alleviate budget problems. She did note that city management was taking a one-day-a-month furlough.

Concerns were raised over the city's lack of adequate reserve funds to cope with crises, to which Milstein replied, "hindsight is 20/20," and "two years ago, no one saw [the housing crisis] coming." Sacramento had set up a reserve fund of 50 million, of which 10.5 million remains. Councilman Cohn commented that Sacramento was "prepared for a stormy day, even for a stormy year... but what we were not prepared for was a stormy decade." Despite the comments of Director Milstein and Councilman Cohn, one woman present said that "we were like a bunch of drunken sailors, spending every dime we had, and we overspent."

One suggestion Cohn had to ease budget troubles was the institution of a tax on parking in garages and pay-to park lots to generate revenue from visitors to the city, including those who work downtown but live elsewhere. Councilman Cohn said a tax of 10 percent would generate 15 to 20 million dollars, and suggested that it be presented to voters as a way to offset other taxes on city residents. Response to this suggestion was generally positive from those in attendance.

The March Neighborhood Advisory Group adjourned following the suggestion of the parking tax. Meetings are held on the third Monday of every month, with the next taking place on April 20 from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. Meetings take place at the Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street.