Thirty-five police jobs were saved from proposed layoffs after the Sacramento Police Department received a waiver on a federal grant that funds officer positions, spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong confirmed late Tuesday night. The number of proposed layoffs in the 2011/2012 budget for Sacramento police officers has dropped from 81 to 46. The City Council will vote next week on proposed budget cuts that include layoffs of cops and other Police Department staffers. Council members were weighing whether to lay off 81 police officers, but the grant waiver means they will decide whether to lay off 46 officers. The council will also choose whether to lay off 68 civilian police department staffers – th

Sacramento's firefighters’ union and city management have made a preliminary deal to maintain jobs that city officials hope will be approved by union members later this week. A union spokeswoman, meanwhile, is saying that no one is “thrilled” about the proposed agreement. The deal, which was arranged Friday and made public Monday, would maintain 50 positions in the city’s fire department and take $5 million off the city's deficit, said Gus Vina, an assistant city manager who is negotiating with the city’s unions. A key part of the agreement is that the firefighters would give up their 5 percent cost-of-living pay increases that had been scheduled for July, Vina said. Instead of the 5 per

The past week saw several major developments in Sacramento’s budget crisis, from the city’s forecasts of major deficits in 2010 to a campaign by residents against proposed budget cuts to local parks. Here’s a roundup of the past week’s budget news: Huge deficit predicted for 2010 The Sacramento City Council is studying a slew of proposed cuts to resolve its $50 million deficit. But once the city deals with the current $50 million deficit, it will face a projected $30 million deficit for the 2010/2011 fiscal year, according to Leyne Milstein, the city’s finance director. “Gap will grow to $30 million as revenues continue to decline and expenses increase in FY 2010/2011,” Milstein wrote i