Community centers in Sacramento got a boost Tuesday when the City Council approved more than $459,000 in funding to close the gap between what the centers have and what they need to stay open until next year’s budget is passed. Council members voted unanimously to take $459,188 from the city’s Economic Uncertainty Reserve – money that initially came from cell phone tower profits in each district – to pay for labor, supplies and services necessary for the remainder of the fiscal year. The total funding necessary to maintain operation of the city’s 15 community centers was $917,000 in the 2010-11 fiscal year, according to Dave Mitchell, division manager for the Dept. of Parks and Recreatio

Five months after a consultant released a scathing audit of the city’s Community Development Department, the department is making headway on correcting its practices, according to City Auditor Jorge Oseguera. However, it’s still unclear when or if the city can obtain $2.3 million in developer fees that the department did not collect. Oseguera presented a report on the department’s overhaul to the City Council on Tuesday. The council accepted Oseguera’s report and did not take any formal action on it. The October audit, conducted by Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc., faulted the department for not collecting more than $2.3 million in fees in recent years. The firm also accused city employ

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

The past year was a big one for resignations, promotions and elections of Sacramento city officials. Twelve personnel changes took place at City Hall involving elected and appointed leaders and city staffers in 2010. A major change was in the city manager position, which was replete with drama and press conferences. When former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in March, the city was wrestling with a host of issues. The Sacramento County Grand Jury had released a report in January saying the city may have broken state law Proposition 218. Utilities fees from ratepayers must correspond to the costs of delivering the utilities services, the law states.  At the same time, the city was dea

Scandals shook Sacramento City Hall throughout 2010. A review of the past year in local politics shows city leaders in turmoil over debacles at the Community Development and Utilities departments. The troubles in the development department prompted City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy to declare in January that council members should find out what has “gone wrong” at City Hall. Before we ring in a new year, let’s take a look at the scandals that shaped city politics over the past 12 months. Troubles with the feds A scandal that began in 2009 involving the city’s development department and a Natomas flood zone continued full-throttle until the end of 2010. City employee Dan Waters, son of rece

The Sacramento Bee is quoting anonymous sources to report that city officials are now taking steps to fire Dan Waters, a city employee who was embroiled in a scandal at the Community Development Department last year. City officials have said that Waters approved 35 building permits for a Natomas flood zone last year. When Waters granted the Natomas permits to K. Hovnanian Homes, he violated federal flood regulations, according to city officials. Waters’ action carried a high price tag: The city is paying up to $350,000 to correct its violations of federal flood rules and comply with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  Bee reporter Ryan Lillis cites anonymous sources to report that

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 Sacramento City Council agreed on Tuesday night to shell out as much as $350,000 in general fund dollars to correct past violations of federal flood management laws. City officials have acknowledged that Dan Waters, a Community Development Department staffer and the son of outgoing City Councilman Robbie Waters, broke Federal Emergency Management Agency rules when he provided 35 building permits to a developer in a Natomas flood zone last year. Councilman Waters recused himself from the vote on the “corrective action plan” Tuesday night, while the eight other members approved it. Fong said that it was important to support the action plan to send a message to FEMA to ensure that the

The Sacramento City Council’s Tuesday-night discussion made it clear that the investigations of the city’s development department are not over. Seven council members spoke at length about the Oct. 6 audit, which found that the Community Development Department broke city and state laws. Council members also indicated that they want to claim the money that the department failed to charge developers – a sum of more than $2.3 million, according to the audit.  Councilman Steve Cohn was absent from the meeting, and Councilman Robbie Waters recused himself from the discussion of the audit’s findings. Waters’ son, Dan, is a former employee of the department who was involved in an earlier investi

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

An audit of the city's Community Development Department released Wednesday reports that the department did not collect more than $2.3 million in fees. The audit was conducted by Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting Inc. Read the audit here. The Sacramento Press will provide further coverage of the audit. Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Policies. Procedures. Controls. Max Fernandez uses those three words frequently to describe the overhaul he’s leading at the city’s Community Development Department (CDD). Fernandez, the new director of the department, sat down with The Sacramento Press this week to discuss how he’s changing the culture and tightening rules at the department after it faced a host of recent crises with fees and building permits.  The CDD director job was a promotion for Fernandez, who was the former director of Code Enforcement. He started work at CDD in early July.  “A big change that we’ve had since I’ve been here is we’ve implemented all these policies and procedures,” Fernandez said. “That was a big

The Sacramento City Council agreed to fund a $150,000 study of downtown's infrastructure Tuesday night. The purpose is to collect up-to-date information about the core's aging and sometimes outdated infrastructure and identify improvements needed to eliminate obstacles to the kind of infill development outlined in the city's 2030 General Plan and the Downtown Activation Strategy. It was adopted by the council in January. The study is needed to make sure downtown is primed for the development and investment that's expected as the economy picks up. The data also will help the city apply for state and federal funding. An R Street infrastructure study done years ago has been used to get fund

The city of Sacramento's Preservation Commission on Wednesday got the first look at a draft of the new plan intended to guide redevelopment of the River District north of the central city. Commission members gave the first round of feedback Wednesday evening to the city's Community Development and Economic Development departments, which led the multi-department project encompassing about three years of work. The draft River District Specific Plan was unveiled online last week. Commissioners were concerned with proposals to allow 250-foot hotels along the Sacramento River, demolishing the state's printing plant building without exploring its historic landmark eligibility and the need to c

On Thursday, Sacramento planning department staff will recommend against requiring a special land use permit for water and beverage bottling companies. However, city officials and staff will continue to consider creating tiered water rates that could take effect in 2012 or sooner. Staff from the city's Community Development Department will report to the City Council's Law & Legislation Committee, in response to requests made by council members Kevin McCarty and Lauren Hammond involving Nestlé Waters North America last October. Bottling plants are permitted in zones approved for light industrial, heavy commercial and heavy industrial businesses in Sacramento. A staff survey found that co

Max Fernandez, former director of the city’s Code Enforcement Department, has been promoted to lead the Community Development Department. In one of several recent consolidations of city departments, Code Enforcement became a division of Community Development. Fernandez started his new post July 6. A third-party firm is auditing the department. Auditors from Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting Inc. of Sacramento are analyzing numerous issues at the department, including claims that it broke the city's planning rules and did not gather fees from developers. “Obviously, there have been issues” at the department, Fernandez said Friday. The department is working on a plan to retrain its employees,

Building in the inner city – the old Midtown athletic club racquetball court – is headed toward becoming another of Sacramento’s popular inner city entertainment areas.   April Fools’ Day – what a day for a permit or project to begin.   The business owner had already posted her liquor license application about 60 days prior and received several letters in protest for which she had started the stressful mitigation process*.Once the conditions imposed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control were met, based on a few neighbors concerns living in one multi-unit Victorian apartment building— six units maybe – located behind the business in the predominantly commercial corridor of downtown. ( 1300

An audit of the city's Community Development Department could be finished in September, said Kurt Sjoberg, one of the consultants working on the project. Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting Inc. of Sacramento is carrying out the audit of the department. Auditors from the firm are tackling numerous issues at the department, including claims that the department broke the city's planning rules and did not gather fees from developers. The City Council voted to hire Sjoberg in April. In a June 10 oral report to the city’s audit committee, Oseguera said the Sjoberg auditors are developing findings that they think will be “very useful to the city.” Oseguera declined to elaborate on that statement Monda

The city’s development department will face a culture change, according to Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina. Employees at the Community Development Department will go through a re-training process, Vina told residents Monday at a Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting in Midtown. The development department has been immersed in controversies in recent months. Employees will be informed about the results of a third-party audit when it is complete, Vina said. An outside firm is examining claims that the department let developers sidestep fee payments to the city. “All the employees need to be very aware of the audit findings” and the culture for the department that the city wants, Vi

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