A group of 103 city employees including workers’ compensation claims representatives and administrative analysts will likely be represented by a new union, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams and labor organizer Dee Contreras. A majority of the group of workers, who had not previously been represented by a union, recently signed cards in favor of joining a new union, the Sacramento City Exempt Employees Association, Williams said last week. The signed cards were verified by California’s Mediation and Conciliation Service, according to Williams. By unionizing, the analysts and other workers in the group will be able to negotiate with management on policies that affect them, accord

The city’s current budget gap of $39 million is grim. But the city’s financial situation is even more dismal when examined in the context of its budget cuts in recent years. The city has laid off about 215 employees since February 2008, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams. In addition, the city has taken 900 positions off its books since the 2008/2009 fiscal year and cannot hire employees for those spots, according to the city budget document. The city currently has 4,576 employee positions, Williams said. Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka are recommending the City Council approve an $812 million budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Of

Sacramento city officials have scheduled 10 public meetings on the city budget over the next seven weeks. The City Council is wrestling with a $39 million budget gap and is considering recommendations from the city manager’s office to lay off hundreds of municipal employees.  The public is welcome at the budget hearings, which will be led by the City Council. “It’s important that the public’s voice is heard,” city spokeswoman Amy Williams said. “These are hard decisions that lie ahead.” During the next few weeks, Williams said she aims to keep as much budget information as possible on the city’s website. A link to city budget documents is on the front page of the website.  All of the

Sacramento’s city and county governments confronted grim budget situations throughout 2010. The city faced a $43 million budget gap, while the county struggled with a $181 million hole. Local government employees felt the pain of budget cuts: Sacramento County laid off about 380 employees during the summer. The county also slashed 29 positions in its engineering department in September. The county will no longer hire engineers for those spots. City officials laid off 12 workers represented by Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, city spokeswoman Amy Williams said in September. The layoffs occurred after talks between the city and the union failed. However, the city’s job loss situation

Outgoing Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters is giving the Sacramento Public Library Authority up to $150,000. Waters specified at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that he wants his donation to go toward materials at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library. He announced at the council meeting that he scrapped his earlier terms for the donation. Last week, Waters had planned to give the money to the Library Authority only if the City Council retains the name of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library. If the City Council changed the name of the library, Waters had planned to give the money to the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Waters said t

Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong said in an interview Thursday that further actions should be taken against city employees, including code division employee Dan Waters, who were involved in the recent scandals at the city’s Community Development Department. Waters approved 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone last year. Officials with the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency say that Waters’ action to give the permits to K. Hovnanian Homes broke federal regulations. The City Council agreed earlier this week to pay up to $350,000 to correct its violations and comply with FEMA. The violations related to 38 permits – Waters approved 35 of them, according to city spokesw

The city is changing the way it manages illegally dumped garbage after the city attorney’s office found that the city’s old program might have broken state law. The City Council agreed on Tuesday to make the city’s code division responsible for the city’s illegal dumping program, meaning the Utilities Department will no longer handle it. City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office found that the city’s funding system for the program may have violated Proposition 218. That state law says that utilities fees from ratepayers must correspond to the costs of delivering the utilities services. “The city attorney’s office has determined that under Prop. 218, garbage rate revenues may not be used to

At first glance, it appears that Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel is raking in the money this year. In just the last three months, he garnered an 8 percent salary increase and a new retirement perk. However, Braziel’s salary and benefit gains are not as simple as meets the eye. There’s a back story that involves the timing of Braziel’s raise. Police Department spokeswoman Laura Peck and city spokeswoman Amy Williams both emphasized that Braziel’s raise is not a new development, because the city has owed him the extra money for years. Peck said she could respond to questions without the need for the chief to comment directly to The Sacramento Press. To make sense of the information,

  Two local groups continue to protest the Sacramento City Council more than one month after the council decided to boycott Arizona companies. One of the groups, Boycott Sacramento, is intentionally avoiding local businesses in response to the council’s sanctions on Arizona businesses.  Another group, Recall Sacramento, is saying it will attempt to remove certain council members from office. However, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said the group has not yet officially started the recall process.  The groups formed after the City Council decided June 15 to dispute Arizona’s new immigration laws by boycotting that state’s companies.  The council passed the boycott in a 6-1 vote, wi

The city of Sacramento sent out pink slips to about 90 employees Wednesday because city management and two unions have not yet found common ground in their contract negotiations. However, Interim Assistant City Manager Patti Bisharat said city officials have not given up on efforts to resolve their differences with the unions. In June, the city closed a $43 million budget gap for the 2011 fiscal year. The two unions that have not made concessions are Stationary Engineers Local 39 and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447. Local 39 represents employees in numerous city departments, including Utilities, Transportation and Community Development. Bisharat said Tuesday that the city was still

Sacramento’s city government is in the midst of a major overhaul. The merging of seven city departments and offices was among many cuts city leaders made to close out a $43 million budget shortfall. Consolidations of several departments, including Neighborhood Services and Parks and Recreation, are now under way. Neighborhood Services is no longer its own department. It’s now a division of the Parks and Recreation Department. The Office of Youth Development also lost its unique status — it now falls under the umbrella of Parks and Recreation. The consolidations include cuts to a few top positions. Vincene Jones, who was the director of the Neighborhood Services Department, is now the ma

After resigning from the city of Sacramento in March, controversial former City Manager Ray Kerridge did not travel far for his next major assignment: He’s now the city manager of Roseville. The Roseville City Council chose Kerridge for the position Thursday in a 4-1 vote. Kerridge was the choice out of 63 candidates for the job. Roseville Mayor Gina Garbolino said in an interview Thursday that Kerridge is the “right person for Roseville at this time.” Various Sacramento officials offered differing reasons in February for why Kerridge decided to leave the city. Sacramento city spokeswoman Amy Williams said Kerridge resigned from his post because he had dedicated more than 35 years to pu

Sacramento city officials hope to release the draft city budget before 4 p.m. on Friday, said city spokeswoman Amy Williams. The city is facing a $40-$43 million budget gap, according to an estimate provided earlier this month from Interim City Manager Gus Vina. Williams said the city releases the draft budget on May 1 each year. This year the city will release it the day before May 1. She said the city’s charter dictates the timeline for the budget release. The charter calls for the city manager to issue budget recommendations at least 60 days ahead of July 1. City Councilman Steve Cohn said last month at a Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting that he expects major cuts to city parks. 

Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Robbie Waters praised City Manager Ray Kerridge, who announced yesterday that he was resigning on March 12, at a joint press conference Thursday. Without naming anyone in particular, Johnson and Waters both blamed other council members for the negative atmosphere at City Hall. The other council members did not attend the press conference. However, Joann Cummins, district director for Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, attended the event. “I think the divisiveness has certainly played a role (in Kerridge’s decision),” Johnson said. He said he was concerned that the work environment could cause “great talent” to leave. Johnson also faulted himself for his

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has not been deterred by two court rulings that prevent his strong mayor initiative from being placed on the June ballot. His latest strategy is to ask the City Council to place a new strong mayor proposal on the ballot. But Johnson’s new plan, which he announced on his blog Monday afternoon, cannot include the existing strong mayor initiative. That's because Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster struck down the initiative last month, saying it broke state law. Johnson's blog entry does not explain the components of his new proposal. He described his new plan as a "collaborative executive mayor reform package." Joaquin McPeek, Johnson's spokesman,

News Analysis City Manager Ray Kerridge oversees a city government that is struggling with major controversies in its Community Development and Utilities departments. Council members are reacting to claims in a Jan. 6 grand jury report that the city may be breaking Proposition 218, a state law that mandates how city funds are used. City officials are also confronting findings from an investigation into the department’s approval last year of 35 permits in a Natomas flood zone. The offices of the city attorney and city manager note in a recent report that the department broke federal rules by approving the permits. The report lists new issues, including possible violations of city planni

Despite Sacramento County’s financial crisis, the city and county intend to provide 151 more beds for the homeless this winter than last. That’s because city officials expect 419 winter shelter beds to be funded through a variety of entities, including the city, nonprofit organizations, the federal government, the county and private donors. Last year, there were 268 winter shelter beds for the homeless. “The strategy provides for a collaborative public and private solution to increasing winter shelter options for the region's most vulnerable population during the coldest months of the year,” according to an Oct. 27 report to the City Council from Cassandra Jennings, assistant city manage

 A $14 million retrofit of a proposed Nestlé water-bottling plant has ground to a halt after the city of Sacramento issued a stop-work order while investigating whether the work began before the company had legal authorization from the city. Late Friday afternoon, the city's Community Development Department issued a stop-work order for Phases II and III shortly before an interim or "urgency" ordinance request was added to the City Council's agenda for Tuesday night. The council is being asked to consider amending the city's zoning code to immediately require special permits for beverage bottling plants. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. On Monday, City Councilman Kevin McCarty and officials f