An audit report stating that the city’s development department failed to collect more than $2.3 million in fees from developers raises a host of questions. The audit’s finding that city employees broke state and city laws makes the situation even more complex. The audit, prepared by Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc., investigated the department’s work from fiscal years 2007 through 2010. “In summary, the weak system of internal controls allowed employees to disregard state and city building laws, codes, and regulations aimed at protecting the public’s health, safety, and general welfare,” the audit states. Read the full audit report here. The City Council is expected to

The developer of the downtown Railyards paid Sacramento County about $218,000 in current and back taxes and penalties Friday, said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Funds were sent from the company's Atlanta headquarters to the county's assessor office via overnight mail, Totah said. But Thomas Enterprises did not pay the property taxes in time to prevent city officials from publicly criticizing the company earlier Friday. The city had moved to cut off state grant payments to the company, according to an April 9 letter from city officials to the state’s housing and development department. A letter from Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said that as long as the taxe

The city attorney’s office is not providing information on how the city will respond to claims of potential quid pro quo in the development department. Allegations of possible quid pro quo at the Community Development Department were mentioned in a Jan. 26 report from the offices of the city attorney and the city manager. But it’s unknown when an investigation into the allegations may begin. In a Monday e-mail response to questions from The Sacramento Press, City Attorney Eileen Teichert referred to the claims of possible quid pro quo as a “personnel issue.” She indicated in her response that some information about the issue may eventually become public depending on whether the city tak

A series of issues at the city’s Community Development Department — including the noncollection, waiver, underassessment and deferral of fees charged to developers — are presented in a 2,529-page document the city attorney’s office released Thursday. The document is an offshoot from a separate investigation by City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office and the law firm Renee Sloan Holtzman Sakai. In that investigation, Teichert and Renee Sloan examined city building permits that were approved last year for a flood zone in Natomas. As they investigated that issue, they discovered other issues at the department. These issues are the subject of the lengthy document released Thursday. City offi

The Sacramento City Council soon may be asked to amend city code to legalize a longtime practice that helped bring about the suspension of the Facilities Permit Program. In the next few weeks, city staff want to ask the council to allow FPP construction projects to start before building permits are issued — as long as a business has a written start-work authorization from the building division, said David Kwong, the city's Planning Division director. Staff is working with the city attorney's office to learn if the practice and the building code amendment would be legal, Kwong said. "What I'd like to do is vet that form with the city attorney's office, make some tweaks and take that to t