Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "kevin mccarty"

Police union halts labor talks with City Hall

2012-02-08T15:27:42Z

In the the wake of the City Council’s 5-4 vote Tuesday blocking the strong mayor initiative from going to the November ballot, police union leaders halted labor contract discussions with City Hall.

Mark Tyndale, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association told City Manager John Shirey in an email just hours after the final council vote that he was “suspending all discussions between the city and the SPOA negotiations team.”

After voting down the strong mayor initiative, council members approved a ballot measure to create an elected 15-member charter reform commission.

Calling the cost of a charter commission “fiscally irresponsible,” Tyndale said in the email that he “can’t help but feel this was nothing but a tactic by some of them to once again publically (sic) display their contempt for the Mayor.”

Although the SPOA had engaged with city labor representatives in a series of “off the record” discussions, Tyndale said in the email, the council’s decision to create a charter commission caused him to reevaluate his position.

“I refuse to consider further concessions that will only be used to fund the Commission,” Tyndale said.

The cost of a charter commission is largely unknown, according to the City Clerk’s office. In a staff report to council Tuesday, a portion of the cost – the cost of putting the question to the voters of rather to create a commission – was estimated at more than $127,000.

Assistant City Attorney Matt Ruyak said Tuesday that the additional costs of staffing and maintaining a commission – beyond the cost of the election alone – were unknown at this early stage.

Tyndale asked Shirey and City Finance Director Leyne Milstein for a written estimate of the costs to the city for an elected charter review commission.

Neither Tyndale nor Shirey were available for comment at press time for this story. The Sacramento Press will give updates on the situation as they become available.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Charter reform goes to November ballot – but not as 'strong mayor'

2012-02-08T07:03:40Z

Charter reform will be an item on the November ballot, but not in the form of a strong mayor initiative. Instead, voters will be asked if they want to elect a 15-member commission to review the city charter.

After more than 20 people spoke on the topic during public comment, the City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday to reject putting the Checks and Balances Act of 2012 – the strong mayor initiative – to a public vote in November.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell were the majority votes.

Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Jay Schenirer and Mayor Kevin Johnson each voted in favor of the measure no .

Two governance-related considerations were on the agenda Tuesday night: a charter reform commission and the Checks and Balances Act, which had been revised from the last council discussion.

After the motion to put the strong mayor initiative on the ballot failed, the council voted in favor of a ballot measure to elect a 15-member charter commission.

McCarty suggested the charter reform commission as an option to the strong mayor initiative at the Jan. 17. council meeting.

The measure would be twofold: first asking voters if they want an elected charter commission, and second, asking voters to select whom they want to serve on that commission.

“I don’t like a charter commission because I don’t like how much it will cost,” Ashby said. “Between staffing and meetings and the elections – It’s too expensive.”

According to the City Clerk’s office, the county is currently unable to give a cost estimate for the “candidate” portion of the issue – the cost would depend largely on how many candidates were on the ballot.

The “question” portion of the issue, however, is estimated at $127,100 according to the City Clerk’s office.

Supporters of an elected charter commission told council members that it would be worth the time and expense.

“Democracy is messy, and a commission can be time-consuming,” Sacramento resident and former City Council candidate Henry Harry said, “but it will allow us to get it right.”

Many who opposed an elected commission, however, expressed concern that opening the city charter for review is akin to opening Pandora’s Box.

“(A charter commission) opens up doors to other issues that we’d rather not see open up,” said Mark Tyndale, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

Roger Niello, current CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber and former State Assemblyman, said he believes an elected charter commission would pit competing city interests against each if the city charter is reviewed in its entirety.

“You would be creating the political equivalent of a food fight,” Niello said.

After the final vote, Johnson voiced his disappointment, saying simply, “I think a charter commission is a bad idea.”

Ashby said of the charter commission, “This seems like déjà vu. It looks like redistricting, and we all know how that turned out. I promise you that a year from now we will get hammered on this.”

If a charter commission is elected in November, the members will have two years to submit any proposal for charter reform to voters.

The City Council also considered creating a ballot measure Tuesday asking voters to weigh in on a potential lease of the city's parking assets to help finance a new sports and entertainment complex. The Sacramento Press will have the update on that story Wednesday.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correction information added.

Bagatelos may take on McCarty for District 6 council seat

2012-02-03T05:20:22Z

When it comes to talking about how to run a city, local developer and City Council District 6 candidate Jon Bagatelos is all business.

Bagatelos, co-owner of Bagatelos Architectural Glass Systems and Bagatelos Development, LLC, was recruited to join the City Council race by business, community and public safety groups who are “tired of the way things are going with the city,” Bagatelos, 44, said Wednesday.

Bagatelos has not officially filed notice of his candidacy, but said he expects to select a campaign manager within the next couple of weeks. He will be running against incumbent Kevin McCarty for the City Council District 6 seat.

One of the main reasons he decided to consider the council seat, he said, is McCarty’s position on charter reform – more commonly referred to as “strong mayor.”

“I’m disappointed that he won’t vote to put it on the ballot,” Bagatelos said. “I would say he’s wrong on some of his positions, especially the strong mayor issue.”

Bagatelos said he supports a strong mayor system of government – not because of any loyalty to Mayor Kevin Johnson – but because he wants an accountable city council.

“I’m for (strong mayor) because the executive should have his authority, and the council – the legislative body – should have its authority,” Bagatelos said. “The city should not be run by an unelected city manager. That’s not accountability.”

Bagatelos has a self-described “one-track mind” about Sacramento that hinges on creating a business-friendly environment to create jobs and boost the local economy.

“We’ve dug a hole, and we have a lot of city services that we take for granted but we can’t afford,” Bagatelos said. “It’s going to take time to build the revenue to pay for those things. That’s just the truth of it.”

That’s not to say he’s against social services, Bagatelos was quick to point out – but he believes spending decisions need to be made carefully.

“The people on (the City) Council think money grows on trees and – they’re the government – they think they can spend what they don’t have,” Bagatelos said. “I don’t believe in that. If that makes me a radical, well, OK.”

The key to providing services such as transportation and utilities and homeless programs, Bagatelos said, is fostering an environment where companies want to come to Sacramento – and bring employment opportunities with them.

“That creates jobs for people who pay taxes, and taxes provide revenue for those needed services,” he said.

If the key to providing city services is tax-producing businesses, then the key to drawing them to the city, Bagatelos said, is the proposed entertainment and sports complex.

“The arena is a major opportunity. It will create jobs for the city,” Bagatelos said. “To have (the arena) happen would be instrumental to the growth of this city.”

Bagatelos has been criticized in the media and by some in McCarty’s camp for not living in the district – questioning both his eligibility for the race and his commitment to the district.

He and his family currently live in East Sacramento, but they also own a home in Campus Commons which was drawn into council District 6 through the recent redisticting process.

“I own a house in the district, my business is in the district, and over the years we’ve employed hundreds – if not thousands – of people,” Bagatelos said.

“If the biggest complaint against me is where I live, that’s not much of a complaint,” he added.

Mark Friedman, president of Fulcrum Group development company, worked alongside Bagatelos as co-chair of Johnson’s finance committee when Johnson ran for his mayoral seat in 2008.

“(Bagatelos) is deeply engaged in local politics and has been (politically) active for many years,” Friedman said Thursday.

“He’s focused on building the economy and creating jobs,” Friedman said. “If the economy doesn’t improve, then his district doesn’t improve – no district will.”

Friedman said he will be an “enthusiastic” supporter of Bagatelos’ campaign because he feels Bagatelos will bring a “fresh, business-friendly perspective” to the City Council.

The upcoming City Council election will not be Bagatelos’ first foray into the political arena: In 2002, he unsuccessfully ran for the 8th Assembly District seat shortly after starting Bagatelos Development, LLC, with his brothers, Chris and Nick Bagatelos.

When McCarty spoke with The Sacramento Press Sept. 26 about his intention to run for re-election, he said that he welcomes a challenge in the upcoming race.

“Elections are supposed to be about democracy,” McCarty said in the interview, “that means choosing the best candidate in a competitive race.”

McCarty’s campaign consultant, Andrew Acosta, said Wednesday that McCarty has been fighting for his district since he was first elected in 2004 and will continue his work for the people he represents – despite any challengers for his seat.

“If the mayor’s (political) machine intends to run someone against (McCarty),” Acosta said, “then we’ll have a campaign and we’ll discuss the issues.”

Bagatelos said his campaign will be based on asking people, “Do you think things are getting done right in the city? If not, vote for me.”

“It’s really that simple,” he said.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Mid-year city budget update

2012-02-01T06:12:16Z

The city is spending more than it is bringing in, and even though that’s normal for this time of the year, officials need to make changes to keep spending under control and keep the budget on target.

According to the mid-year budget report presented to the City Council Tuesday, expenditures are at 50 percent of projections, and revenues are at 36 percent – about 14 percent less than anticipated.

This is typical for this point in the fiscal year, Finance Director Leyne Milstein told council members Tuesday – but adjustment is still necessary.

“Without these recommendations, we will not be able to balance our budget,” Milstein said.

It’s not all bad news, though.

The 2010-11 fiscal year ended with an unexpected $5.1 million surplus – largely due to savings from cutting back on expenses in a variety of city departments during the year, according to a city staff report.

That $5.1 million will be used to address a variety of budget needs including:

* $1.2 million to backfill General Fund revenue shortfalls;
* $1 million to the Police Department to cover a holiday pay budget shortfall
* $715,000 for unbudgeted utilities in the Department of Parks & Recreation
* $285,000 for payouts related to contracting out golf maintenance operations
* $750,000 for deferred maintenance projects at city-owned facilities

Another $3 million – left over from capital improvement projects that have been funded and completed ahead of schedule – will go into the General Fund Economic Uncertainty Reserve, bringing that “rainy day fund” balance to $20.7 million.

“Putting money into the reserve is wise, I think,” City Councilman Jay Schenirer said.

Staff also recommended adjustments – both up and down – to citywide revenues to keep the city budget balanced through the end of the fiscal year, including:

* $3.6 million reduction in property tax revenues, due to a greater-than-expected decline in property tax values
* $2.8 million increase in sales and use tax budget, due to a fourth consecutive quarter of sales tax growth

One adjustment to projected revenues comes from the closure of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

With eight of 33 dispensaries in the city now closed, business operating tax revenue from the dispensaries – initially estimated in the city budget as $1 million – will be reduced by $250,000 to $750,000.

The actual reduction amount will depend on how many more dispensaries close before the end of the fiscal year, June 30.

The City Council began the budget process for the 2012/13 fiscal year with a workshop Jan. 24. The city manager will present his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year on May 1.

The Sacramento Press discussed the first quarter budget report HERE.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this story after it was published.

City Council begins 2012-13 budget process with workshop

2012-01-25T05:13:57Z

As Sacramento gears up to face a $16.5 million budget gap in the next fiscal year, consultants from Colorado met with City Council members to outline a new approach to budgeting that focuses less on dollar amounts and more on top city priorities.

The council budget workshop held Tuesday at the main branch of the Sacramento Public Library was designed to help council members refine fiscal priorities for the city and discuss ways to reshape the budget process.

Significant cuts to resolve a $39 million budget gap last year resulted in layoffs from the police force and rolling brownouts at city fire stations – actions that brought weeks of public outcry at City Council meetings.

The city charter requires the city manager to present a proposed budget to the City Council by May 1 for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The deadline for a finalized budget is June 30.

Budget consultants Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian were brought in by the city’s Finance Department to introduce details of “priority-based budgeting” – a method that focuses on matching funding decisions to predetermined city priorities, instead of on prior years’ spending patterns.

City Manager John Shirey said Sacramento, like many local governments throughout the nation, typically rely on such “spending-based budgeting” – that is, making spending and cutting decisions based on how much was spent last year with last year’s revenue levels.

The result, Shirey said, is recurring budget gaps and employee layoffs.

Fabian said the key to priority-based budgeting is having clearly defined priorities.

“Across the board reductions is egalitarian – there is a sense of fairness about it,” Fabian told council members, “but it doesn’t reflect priorities.”

In one budget exercise at the workshop, council members ranked providing a safe community, economic vitality and youth and education as top priorities.

In a detailed staff report presented to council members, 16 city departments – including Community Development, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Utilities and others – were reviewed to sort programs and services into “mandated,” “essential” and “existing” categories.

As council moves through the budget process, Shirey said, the reviews will be part of the criteria to determine how city resources should be distributed across city programs.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Shirey told council members. “You’ve given us some direction on the focus areas that are important to you. Now we need to go back and apply it.”

The workshop was designed as a starting point for discussion for City Council members as they approach the 2012/13 budget year.

“We definitely need more time to dig into this information,” City Councilman Darrell Fong said Tuesday. “I get it – now I want to look at it closer.”

City spokeswoman Amy Williams said the City Council generally holds one workshop prior to developing the budget, but more could be scheduled if the council feels it’s needed.

Although the council does not make final budget decisions at workshops, the meetings are an opportunity for council members to work with and give direction to staff and the city manager as he begins to prepare the annual budget.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Candidate statements must meet strict guidelines

2012-01-17T01:36:35Z

As one of the first steps of preparing for the June primary elections, the City Council will adopt requirements for candidate statements Tuesday that spell out what candidates can say – in 200 words or less – what they must avoid and how much it will cost them.

Candidates vying for the offices of mayor and City Council Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 in the June 5 primary will have the option of preparing a candidate statement to be included with the sample ballots voters receive prior to an election.

There is a fee for including the statements in the voter pamphlet. According to the staff report, the cost is an estimated prorated “share” of the total amount to cover the costs of translation, printing, handling and mailing the pamphlets.

Mayoral candidates’ cost for the statement will be $2,650. Each of the district candidates will pay between $350 and $500, depending largely on how many registered voters are in the district, according to the report.

The fees are deposited into the general fund and used to offset the overall costs incurred.

According to the requirements set by the City Council, here’s what the statements can include:
– candidate's name
– age
– occupation
– a brief description of the candidate's education and qualifications, expressed in his or her own words
– must be printed in type that is of uniform size and darkness, and with uniform spacing

And, the entire statement must be less than 200 words.

Any more than that and the statement will automatically be shortened by the registrar, the report stated, by removing words starting at the end of the statement until the word limit is reached. (For reference, the first six paragraphs of this article come to about 200 words.)

The City Council also outlines what cannot be in a candidate statement:
– party affiliation, or mention of membership or activity in partisan political organizations.
– no underlining
– no using ALL CAPITAL letters
– no italics
– no bold print
– no dashes (–); bullets, stars or other forms of emphasis
– no single-sentence paragraphs
– no multiple punctuation such as “....” or “------”, etc.

Those 200 words can mean a lot to a candidate, especially since no other materials can be included in the sample ballot package.

Once the statement is filed, it can be withdrawn – but not changed – any time during the nomination filing period up to one business day after the filing period closes.

Each candidate who chooses to file a statement must pay in advance his or her estimated prorated share cost as a condition of having his or her statement included in the voter pamphlet.

If the actual cost of translating, printing and mailing exceeds the estimated amount, the registrar of voters will bill the candidates who underpaid. If the estimate was too high, the registrar will reimburse candidates the difference.

The Federal Voting Rights Act requires the county to translate candidates’ statements into Spanish and Chinese as well as English, and voter pamphlets will include all three languages.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

2011: The year at City Hall

2011-12-30T06:20:29Z

Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall.

Here’s the city government year in review.

CITY MANAGER DRAMA
The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010.

Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas.

The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions before voting not to promote Vina and instead open a national search.

City Council members stalled the search for City Manager saying they wanted to define the qualities they were looking for in the next person to fill the job. Two weeks later, they announced the qualities and the search continued.

The door was open for a new city manager, and while the nationwide search was ongoing, what Sacramento ended up with was not one but two interim city managers: Bill Edgar and Betty Masuoka.

Edgar and Masuoka followed through with the budget plan and presented it to the City Council on time.

As the city got closer to finding its next city manager, Mayor Kevin Johnson expressed disappointment about the search process, saying he felt “the pool of candidates wasn’t as deep” as he would have liked.

By August, Sacramento had a new city manager – John Shirey, former head of the California Redevelopment Association.

Shirey’s three-year contract included a $258,000 base salary – a 16 percent increase in salary over the previous city manager – making him the highest-paid in city history and the first to receive a labor contract.

BUDGET BLOWUPS
The budget process was complete by the time Shirey took his seat at the dais alongside City Council members.

The 2011 budget brought more challenges to face, including a $39 million budget gap.

After months of discussions and negotiations with unions, advocacy groups, public comment and hours-long council meetings, a budget was finally passed.

The new budget included severe cuts to fire and police personnel and city employees – as well as the closure of community centers and public pools.

REDISTRICTING: MAPS AND MAYHEM
As if there wasn’t enough going on in City Hall with the annual budget process, 2011 brought redistricting – a redrawing of council districts that happens every 10 years.

This time, the mayor and City Council appointed a Citizens Advisory Redistricting Committee to do the heavy lifting of vetting a variety of proposed district maps.

After months of review and discussion, the committee presented a group of four maps for the council to consider. From there, the discussions and map revisions really took off.

One unexpected twist to the redistricting drama came when one map was revealed to have been anonymously submitted by advisory committee member Steve Hansen.

Discussions heated up further when two council members – Steve Cohn and Sandy Sheedy – submitted their own map for the council to consider.

A week later, Cohn submitted yet another map, a hybrid version of Cohn and Sheedy’s previous submissions, this time called “Neighborhoods 2.0.”

A boundary dispute between council districts 5 and 6 over which district would contain the UC Davis Medical Center and Sacramento High School created a huge outcry from residents.

In the end, after six months and a grand total of 45 map versions, a final map was selected and approved by City Council, and new district lines went into effect on Oct. 6.

REDEVELOPMENT
With the passing of the state budget in July came big changes for the way redevelopment agencies are allowed to work in California.

Cities throughout the state are given an option to “buy in” to a new redevelopment plan – which would require large annual payments to the state from local agencies. Sacramento decided to go along with the plan and keep the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency alive.

Other cities wouldn’t go down without a fight, and a lawsuit was filed against the state by the California Redevelopment Association. While the case was pending, the court issued a temporary reprieve so cities did not have to make the required “opt-in” payments until a decision was made.

Some redevelopment projects that were moved ahead in 2011 in Sacramento included a revamp of K Street, the La Valentina project and housing projects in the south area of the city.

OCCUPY SACRAMENTO: CITIZENS TAKE A STAND
What started on Wall Street in New York as a citizens’ uprising against corporate greed in America became a nationwide statement of discontent from coast to coast.

When the first Occupy Sacramento protesters stepped into Cesar Chavez Plaza on Oct. 6, it was unclear how long they would stay – or what their message was going to be.

Quickly, the calm protest of Sacramentans showing solidarity with other Occupy movements was stunted by a city park curfew ordinance that prevented protesters from remaining in the park overnight.

Protesters were arrested – more than 100 in October alone – and the uprising was strengthened by a common goal: get the city to make an exception to the rule.

Over the next 10 weeks, large numbers of Occupy protesters spoke at the public forum of City Council meetings to ask the city manager and City Council to allow the group to remain in the park to continue to exercise its First Amendment rights.

Protesters who had been arrested – including war veteran mom Cindy Sheehan – had their day in court, and charges were dropped against many.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the Occupy group filed suit in federal court against the city claiming First Amendment violations, and some Occupiers moved the protest to the lawns at City Hall.

As the year came to a close, the number of Occupiers dwindled at Cesar Chavez Plaza, but the movement was not disbanded completely. A lawsuit is still pending in federal court, according to attorney Mark Merin, one of the representing attorneys.

Despite the ups and downs at City Hall this year, more change and drama is expected in 2012. Between elections and yet another budget – and the ever-present discontent bubbling just under the surface from events in 2011 – the new year is bound to be worth watching.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Naughty or Nice: If you were Santa, how would City Council fare?

2011-12-15T07:24:48Z

As the song goes, Santa’s making his list, checking it twice and deciding who gets cool goodies and who gets lumps of coal.

Between the budget, redistricting and facing dissatisfied citizens who took over a city park in protest, the City Council has been busy this year, so The Sacramento Press made its own “naughty or nice” list.

If you were Santa, how would City Council fare? Here’s our list for 2011.

Mayor Kevin Johnson: NAUGHTY
Sure, he led the way to advancing green technology in the city and supported a citizens advisory committee’s effort to redistrict the city.

But being absent for 10 City Council meetings in a single year? Tsk, tsk, Mr. Mayor.

(And we’re not bitter about not being invited to the wedding – we just really love wedding cake.)

District 1 Councilwoman Angelique Ashby: NICE
Between town hall meetings to discuss arena options and pulling neighborhoods together to search for a lost teen, Ashby found time to save a local parks program from being cut – and take on Congress for funding approval of levee improvements.

Of course, bringing Santa to Natomas on a fire truck for the first time in city history didn’t hurt her “nice” standing, either.

District 2 Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy: NAUGHTY
Two words: Arena poll. Oh, and two more: Sheedy map. It’s commendable to put voters first, but Sheedy lacks consistency. Telling voters they know what’s best for an arena, but not how to draw their own district boundaries sends mixed messages.

Kudos for keeping a popular teen center going for a third year, though – Santa wants kids to have a safe place to gather and play – and for taking over the Del Paso certified farmers market in the district to keep people eating their veggies.

Still, Sheedy gets coal in her stocking this year.

District 3 Councilman Steve Cohn: NAUGHTY
His work to develop a plan for Sacramento’s rail and transit future is bringing the city closer to becoming a true “intermodal hub” of the north state and if Cohn had his way, sleighs would be allowed on K Street – which Santa would think was very nice, indeed.

But, weeks into heated debate on redistricting, Cohn surprised the city with a compromise map that both galvanized citizens’ opinions on a sensitive topic, and left a bad taste in their mouths. With that Grinch-like move, Cohn earns a spot on the "naughty" list.

District 4 Councilman Rob Fong: NICE
As the council member voted most likely to play a practical joke by his fellow council members, Rob Fong gets points for best one-liners during a council meeting.

Standing up for the LGBT community as a community of interest during the redistricting process weighed in Fong’s favor this year, as well as his support of charitable organizations like Jumpstart 21.

We think Santa would agree that a guy who isn’t afraid of a little three-on-three basketball against local civic leaders falls squarely on the “nice” side of the page.

District 5 Councilman Jay Schenirer: NICE
Although Schenirer found himself in the middle of some battles in 2011, including redistricting struggles and unpopular budget decisions, he bucked up and trudged on in his first year on the City Council.

Schenirer helped bring a new community garden to area residents and offered to subsidize the first year of rent on garden plots for people who couldn’t afford their share. He also spearheaded the five-part “Way Up” initiative that is primed to be a model for building communities throughout the city.

For all that Santa-like generosity, Schenirer gets his name on the “nice” list – and a big mug of eggnog.

District 6 Councilman Kevin McCarty: NAUGHTY
When does Oak Park stop being Oak Park and start being Elmhurst? Somewhere along Stockton Boulevard, McCarty said during the tumultuous redistricting debacle this summer.

Santa would give a cheer for McCarty’s efforts to keep city pools open during the summer despite huge budget cuts to the parks department, and being a proponent of solar energy and “greening” city buildings gets a big ho, ho ho!

But when a whole community spends five weeks protesting a four city-block line adjustment, all the candy canes in Colonial Heights won’t make a sour move any sweeter.

District 7 Councilman Darrell Fong: NICE
The budget cycle was tough this year, and when it came down to brass tacks, Darrell Fong risked the wrath of his police brethren and voted to make cuts to the Police Department – including the layoffs of nearly 80 sworn officers – in favor of balancing the city budget.

Call him Scrooge if you will, but Fong declined his City Council salary and recently voted against pursing a lessee for the city’s parking system because it doesn’t seem fiscally responsible.

For his concern for taxpayers’ pocketbooks, Fong’s name goes on the “nice” list (but parking enforcement may still ticket his sleigh.)

District 8 Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell: NAUGHTY
Budget debates and the quest for the perfect redistricting map is enough to fray anyone’s nerves, but Pannell’s, ahem, “spirited” debate with audience members – and at times, the mayor – at City Council meetings this year earns her a bit of coal.

Yes, Pannell helped her district get much-needed development – including a new pet hospital and long-awaited grocery store – and valuable infrastructure improvements are on the horizon for the area.

Still, Pannell will need a little sugar to go with her “spice” if she wants to make the “nice” list in 2012.

City Manager John Shirey: NAUGHTY
Shirey has been in the big chair for four months now, and the city still doesn’t have a tidy budget, a full police force or flying cars. We expected more from a man who took the state to task for shredding redevelopment agencies.

On the other hand, Shirey did start restructuring his office to streamline operations, and he led the way in city pension reform by being first in line for administrators to pay a portion of their own retirement.

Still, we think Shirey can do more for our fair city. We hope you pull that Superman cape out of the closet and get down to business in 2012 – but for this Christmas? Coal.

Tell us what you think: Have City Council members been naughty or nice this year?

Council members share their Thanksgiving traditions

2011-11-24T01:57:55Z

It’s Thanksgiving again – a day filled with food and family and, for some, football. Everyone has their own traditions and routines for Thanksgiving, even members of the City Council.

The Sacramento Press checked in with some council members to find out what their holiday will look like this year. Here’s what they had to say:

“I’m starting the day off by leading the Run to Feed the Hungry,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson at his press conference Tuesday.

Johnson said the race, which typically hosts more than 30,000 runners and walkers, is a “cool way to get families together.”

After the race, Johnson said he plans to spend the day at home with his family.

“I’m always here in Sacramento for Thanksgiving day and through the weekend,” Johnson said. “I have to watch all the football, you know?”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer and his wife, Bina, will be enjoying the day at their house in South Lake Tahoe with one of their sons.

“This year will be very quiet, just immediate family,” Schenirer said. “It will be turkey for three – and lots of soup afterward, I suppose.”

Schenirer said he wants to take the next few days to “just recharge a little bit” and reflect on the past year.

“We’re incredibly lucky for our health first and foremost,” Schenirer said when asked what he was most thankful for this year.

“We are at the age where we have so many friends that are dealing with health issues,” Shenirer said. “It’s the basics in life that people sometimes take for granted that I think we need to be most thankful for.”

Schenirer said he’s not a big football fan, so it won’t matter that there isn’t a television in the Tahoe house.

“I’m just a sad basketball fan now, instead,” Schenirer said.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he and his wife, Leticia, and their twin toddlers will be participating in the Run to Feed the Hungry along with the mayor and many other Sacramentans.

“Our usual Thanksgiving routine has been participating in (the race),” McCarty said in a text Wednesday. “Thanksgiving dinner at our Elmhurst neighborhood home is a tradition, too.”

McCarty said that when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, he is responsible for the turkey – and “Leticia is for everything else.”

Football will definitely be on the agenda Thanksgiving Day at the McCarty house, especially since the 49rs are playing.

“I’m very jazzed with this exciting team and the ‘Har-Bowl,’ ” McCarty said.

According to the Sporting News website, Thursday’s game between the 49rs and the Baltimore Ravens will be the first time brothers John and Jim Harbaugh face each other as NFL head coaches – hence, the name "Har-Bowl."

City Councilman Steve Cohn and his wife, Catherine, will be in Truckee with members of their extended family for this holiday weekend, Cohn said Wednesday.

“We spend the day traditionally with my wife’s side of the family,” Cohn said. “Most are from the Bay Area. The past few years we have Thanksgiving at our cabin in Truckee because we have more room there for everyone to stay than we do in Sacramento.”

The food at the Cohn table has a lot of variety, Cohn said, because his wife, who is half French, is always coming up with good recipes.

“We have a lot of the traditional foods – turkey and so on,” Cohn said, “but this year we are trying turkey breast instead of the whole turkey. We are always trying new things, though.”

Cohn said it has been his and his wife’s tradition for the past 13 years to join the Run to Feed the Hungry Thanksgiving morning, but travel plans made it impossible for the Cohns to attend this year’s race.

As for football – the television will definitely be on, Cohn said.

“Most of the male members of the family watch lots of football,” Cohn said. “My wife knows the 49rs are playing Thursday night, so she’s ready for it.”

City Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Darrell Fong, Angelique Ashby and Bonnie Pannell could not be reached before press time.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Dispensary permit process gets a 'time out' from City Council

2011-11-09T06:07:57Z

The permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries came to a screeching halt Tuesday after the City Council adopted an interim city marijuana ordinance that puts applications on hold for nine months.

The unanimous vote to approve the ordinance came as a reaction to recent changes in the federal government’s position on enforcing marijuana regulations.

Greg Bitter, principal planner with the city’s Community Development Department, told council members Tuesday that the city attorney became concerned with the current Sacramento medical marijuana ordinance after learning about two legal situations – a court case in Long Beach and a press release from the four state attorneys general.

The Second District Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 1 that an ordinance in Long Beach – very similar to the one in Sacramento – was preempted by federal law, Bitter said.

“As long as this court case is the published decision, it effectively puts our ordinance at risk,” Bitter said.

The public announcement by the attorneys general stating that they were increasing enforcement efforts in California against for-profit dispensaries also “put cities on notice,” Bitter said.

“We’re not on solid legal ground at this point,” Bitter added.

At the end of the Oct. 11 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy requested city staff to draft amendments to the city ordinance in an effort to “buy everyone some time” while the city took stock of the discrepancies between federal and local government enforcement of medical marijuana laws.

City staff took immediate action to freeze the processing of applications for medical marijuana dispensary permits, according to a city staff report, and the interim ordinance is the initial result.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist with California Capitol Solutions, which represents several dispensaries in the city, said Tuesday that all of his clients are committed to working with the city.

“We support the decision to create a time-out as the dust settles on the issue of where the federal government stands on the issue,” Del Real said Tuesday. “Sacramento is not retreating form medical cannabis, nor is it turning its back on a successful (city) ordinance.”

The interim ordinance required a two-thirds vote and was approved in a 9–0 vote.

The City Council also passed formal amendments to the city ordinance to address timing conflicts with permits created by the freeze.

The city zoning code requires applicants for a special permit to be in operation within 90 days from the date the permit is issued. Because of the freeze, however, special permits are not being issued – putting dispensary operators in jeopardy of having their permit applications revoked when the 90 days runs out.

The newly amended ordinance resolves these timing conflicts by extending the previous Oct. 11 deadline to apply for Phase 2 dispensary permits to May 14, 2012, and extending the final permit completion date from Jan. 9, 2012 to Aug. 13, 2012.

The amended ordinance states that any dispensary operator who has already filed a proper permit application – and the application has not been denied – may continue to operate that dispensary without a permit until Aug. 13, 2012 while the application approval or denial is pending.

The amended ordinance doesn’t mean that dispensaries are not subject to the law in the meantime, however.

The ordinance clarifies that continuing to operate a dispensary during the “time-out” period does not automatically entitle the operator to an approved permit or grant the dispensary “legal nonconforming use.”

“Law-abiding collectives and their dispensaries welcome regulation and welcome fee structures,” Del Real said, “because, at the end of the day, they are following the law.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn voted in support of the council’s action Tuesday.

“We could see this going back to the back alleys, and I’d hate to see that,” Cohn said. “Cannabis patients don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

Tuesday’s vote did not come without opposition. Sixteen public speakers commented on the proposed changes, and some asked council members to reconsider the action.

“I know that you see green in all the green of medical marijuana, but I’m asking you to put a stop allowing the dispensaries,” said Greg Foster, 52, a criminal defense attorney.

“I am the parent of a son who started smoking marijuana because of the dispensaries,” Foster said. “I believe the notion of medical marijuana and not-for-profit are a fraud.”

Councilman Darrell Fong said he took issue with how medical marijuana dispensaries are being handled in the city.

“I’m not saying medical marijuana doesn’t have its place,” Fong said, “but federal law does preempt state law, whether I like it or not, and that is my issue.”

Fong said he has received complaints from constituents in his district about the ease of getting marijuana, especially with dispensaries located close to schools and parks.

The current city ordinance sets a distance requirement for dispensary locations of 600 feet from schools and public parks. Federal drug violation guidelines specify a minimum distance of 1,000 feet.

According to Bitter, a majority – 18 out of 28 – registered dispensaries in Sacramento are located within that 1,000-foot boundary.

Del Real said that, despite opposition, the City Council’s decision to temporarily freeze the application process is the right thing to do.

“No one knows what the feds are trying to accomplish,” Del Real said. “The politics – and the practicality – of it is that the city has to extend the deadline to allow for all the permits to continue while they assess where things stand.”

“The city is not pushing the eject button,” Del Real added. “They’re just pushing pause.”

The interim ordinance takes effect immediately. The formal revised ordinance will be adopted by the City Council Nov. 15.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council discusses regional approach to addressing homelessness

2011-11-03T01:25:07Z

The City Council is considering whether the city of Sacramento will join in the creation of a public-private collaborative agency to address the problems of homelessness in the region – an issue that does not recognize political boundaries.

Representatives from the city Neighborhood Services Department and the county Department of Human Assistance presented a report to the City Council Tuesday outlining a plan for creating a joint powers authority to align city and county governments with a nonprofit entity.

“The JPA would be the overarching policymaking body,” Sacramento county spokeswoman Kerri Aiello said Tuesday. “Sacramento Steps Forward (a nonprofit corporation) will ultimately be the umbrella over program implementation.”

In any given month in Sacramento, there are more than 3,000 people without homes, according to Ben Burton, executive director for Sacramento Steps Forward. That number includes people in emergency or transitional housing.

Of that number, Burton said more than 1,000 are actually on the street each night.

At one time, the county administered all government-funded homeless programs for the city and county, Burton said, and recent budget cuts have left homeless programs for Sacramento severely lacking in funding.

“When the funding ended, we had to ask ‘what do we do now?’ “ Burton said. “We start looking for additional dollars now.”

SafeGround representative John Kraintz said Tuesday that the goal of the JPA/nonprofit collaboration would be to maximize the ability to secure funding grants from the greatest variety of sources.

“Some programs have to be administered through the government to get public grant funds,” Kraintz said. “And nonprofits have a better ability to get private dollars.”

A nonprofit can access private funding more quickly than government, and some government funding can only be accessed by a government entity like a JPA.

Aiello said that certain homeless dollars – primarily Housing and Urban Development funds – can only be applied for by a government agency, and that would be one role of the JPA part of the partnership.

Another benefit of a combined JPA/nonprofit effort is the ability for many jurisdictions to share data and work together to plan regionally, Derrick Lim, Neighborhood Services manager, said Tuesday.

“It’s still in the conceptual phase right now,” Lim said. “The whole point is to have everyone in every jurisdiction sharing the same information.”

Representatives from regional City Councils and the Board of Supervisors would comprise a JPA Board whose role would be to accept grants that are only available to public agencies.

The JPA Board would award those funds to the nonprofit agency to administer. The JPA Board would also advise on major policy goals and serve as the community’s voice on the issue of homelessness, according to the report.

According to the report to the City Council, the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance was the primary administrator of homeless programs in Sacramento since 1993. The city of Sacramento relied on the county to coordinate and administer programs on behalf of the city.

By the end of 2010, the DHA no longer had funding available to administer homeless programs as it had been doing, Aiello said.

“Everyone went broke, and the county pulled out of all their homeless projects,” local homeless advocate Tracie Rice-Bailey said Tuesday. “Now they are trying to put together this umbrella nonprofit to find how many ways they can keep roofs over people’s heads.”

In September 2010, the Sacramento City Council and county Board of Supervisors started discussing a conceptual plan to create a new public-private structure to end homelessness.

In March, the City Council approved transitioning the administration of homeless programs in the city away from the county DHA to Sacramento Steps Forward.

Sacramento county DHA staff have been presenting the JPA proposal to other city councils in the county and the Board of Supervisors to get feedback and ideas for the structure of the potential JPA.

“(County Department of Human Assistance director) Paul Lake has been out to Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, Folsom and other areas of the county,” Aiello said.

The response to the idea has been positive, according to Lake.

“Other cities are very enthusiastic and want to move forward,” Lake told council members Tuesday.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said he is in favor of the proposed JPA structure for dealing with homeless issues in Sacramento.

“Bottom line: Regional solutions are needed here,” McCarty said Wednesday. “The more local governments teaming up and partnering to tackle homelessness, the better.”

The initial target date for having a JPA in place was July, but Lake said the date had to be adjusted because they needed more time to allow Sacramento Steps Forward to assume responsibility for managing grants.

“Neither the county nor Sacramento Steps Forward want to transfer responsibility until it can be a wholly successful transfer,” Lake said Wednesday. “We are hopeful that Sacramento Steps Forward will begin assuming (grant responsibility) early in 2012.”

Ben Burton, the new executive director for Sacramento Steps Forward, said Wednesday that this as an opportunity for creating a more innovative approach to homelessness.

“Once the (JPA) program is implemented,” Burton said, “we will put an agenda together to begin regional planning. It will start with an assessment of where we are today.”

Burton said it is essential that the multitude of jurisdictions in the region – cities, counties and private community agencies – start sharing data and local plans to address homelessness issues.

“This type of planning will strengthen our competition for federal dollars to provide services,” Burton said. “It’s cheaper to prevent homelessness than to take someone through the whole system.”

The City Council didn’t take any action on the proposal report Tuesday.

DHA and city staff will take the proposal to the county Board of Supervisors for discussion and feedback in December, Aiello said. A draft JPA agreement is expected to follow soon after.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council gives go ahead for study of 'neighborhood friendly' river crossings

2011-10-20T00:58:26Z

The City Council unanimously gave the go-ahead for a feasibility study of seven potential river crossing locations Tuesday and accepted a definition for “neighborhood-friendly bridge” that will set the parameters for design of those bridges.

“This has been a long time coming for both communities,” West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon said at the Sacramento City Council meeting. “We obsess about the boundaries between the two cities, but the economic vitality, cultural vitality and the urban agenda for both of our communities will be enhanced by being better connected.”

Location details of potential river crossings can be found here.

There are currently three major bridges crossing the river between Sacramento and West Sacramento: Pioneer Bridge, Tower Bridge and I Street Bridge.

That’s not nearly enough to efficiently handle the amount of current traffic, say project planners – let alone any increases in traffic flow that may be the result of building a new entertainment and sports complex in the future.

“Sacramento is underserved by its current connections,” said Ryan Moore, senior engineer with the Sacramento Department of Transportation.

Moore said the limited connectivity across the river creates over-abundant traffic on all of the existing bridges. Also, the three current bridges don’t fully comply with current design standards making non-vehicle uses more difficult – and making the bridges vulnerable during natural disasters or earthquake.

Moore asked council members to allow staff to seek funding for a feasibility study of seven potential river crossing locations. Moore said a feasibility study would allow city staff to find the “greatest amount of benefit” for both Sacramento and West Sacramento.

“It doesn’t commit us to any particular location,” Moore said. “It’s just an evaluation of all the possible locations.”

According to a city of Sacramento staff report, the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento shared the cost of an initial “need and purpose” study for river crossings, and it is expected that the two cities will continue to work together on future aspects of the project.

The majority of costs involved in a feasibility study are fixed, regardless of the number of crossing locations evaluated, according to the staff report.

Jerry Way, Sacramento’s transportation director, said that “for the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento to do their due diligence,” the total cost for an evaluation of seven crossing locations is estimated to be between $600,000 and $850,000.

Funds have not been committed for future phases of work, Way said.

Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong, who represents District 4, where all of the potential river crossings are located, said Tuesday that he is exciting about the possibility of opening more connections with the city of West Sacramento.

“We can’t overstate the importance of connectivity,” Fong said. “It creates economic development opportunities.”

At the July 19 Sacramento City Council meeting, city staff presented council members with a “Need and Purpose Study” for potential river crossings to connect Sacramento to West Sacramento.

One point of contention with council members at that meeting was the term “neighborhood-friendly” bridge.

All of the council members agreed that this was the type of bridge everyone would want, but they disagreed on how to define that term in a way that satisfied each council member’s ideal.

The definition that city staff brought back to council Tuesday – and which was accepted by council members in their final vote – outlined a “neighborhood-friendly” bridge as:

* Primarily serving short local trips.
* Serves all users – including motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, low-energy vehicles and public transit riders.
* Architecturally pleasing and contextually appropriate aesthetics and dimensions for adjacent neighborhoods.
* Does not require widening of the approaching roadways just to accommodate bridge flows.
* Designed with a target traffic speed equal to or less than the roadways approaching the bridge.
* Does not connect directly to streets that are primarily residential.

Fong told council members that he was satisfied with the new definition and felt it would work well with both cities.

“One thing I was worried about (with a potential new bridge) was the scaling,” Fong said. “We don’t want a massive, overwhelming bridge. The good citizens of West Sacramento also want neighborhood-friendly bridges.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who – until the recent redrawing of district lines – represented one area where a new crossing is being considered, said that she also supports the idea of moving forward with a feasibility study.

“We need to get it right, and we need to get it done,” Ashby said. “This is a great time for us to study all of our options. (New river crossings) will help us with jobs, with public safety and with routes in and out of our communities.”

Some members of the public who commented at Tuesday’s council meeting were critical of the crossing locations selected for study. One speaker approached the podium with “an offer I hope (the council) cannot refuse.”

“You have before you a proposal to study seven bridges at a cost of almost $800,000,” said Jim Randlett of the Sacramento River Crossings Association.

“I propose that you limit the study to just three possible locations – the downtown section to connect Sacramento to West Sacramento – thereby cutting the cost in half and saving $400,000 for the two cities.”

Randlett said that the downtown locations make the most sense because they are in “a central place between the two cities” – an area that is the proposed site for a new entertainment and sports complex and a major transportation hub for Sacramento.

The other four locations, Randlett said, either already have a crossing or are not sufficient for “pushing thousands of (commuting) cars through.”

Calling Randlett’s offer “fetching,” Fong said the cost of a complete study on all seven potential locations would be money well-spent because it would allow the City Council to “make a well-informed decision” about any future river crossings.

“This literally is a go-ahead to spend the money and do the study,” Fong added.

To fund the feasibility study, Moore said he and his staff will look for opportunities for federal grants, Sacramento Area Council of Governments grants, funds from the Sacramento Transportation Authority and possibly Measure A tax revenues.

Measure A (2004) created a quarter-cent sales tax for transportation projects in Sacramento county.

Moore said the feasibility study may take between 12 and 18 months, including finding a consultant, competing traffic analyses, coordinating with regulating agencies – Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game and others – as well as public outreach to residents and business owners in the areas that would be affected most by the construction of a new river crossing.

Meilssa Corker is a Staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

'Occupy' protesters bring their message to City Hall once again

2011-10-19T06:04:15Z

Occupy Sacramento protesters told City Council members Tuesday in no uncertain terms – “Tyranny.” “Unconstitutional.” “Treason.” – that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly are being violated by an ordinance that prohibits overnight camping in city parks.)

“We should not be here to teach you about the Constitution,” said Sacramento resident David Witkin, 28. “We are here to tell you what your constituents want.”

Protesters who have taken over Cesar Chavez Plaza for nearly two weeks showed up in force at City Hall Tuesday to ask council members – again – to consider an exception to the law allowing them 24-hour access to the park.

“The Constitution wasn’t drafted only during business hours,” said Sacramento resident Christina Kay Plumb, 25. “We need to occupy this park day and night to get officials to think about the issues day and night.”

Eileen Teichert, city attorney, told council members that the rights to freedom of speech and assembly are protected by law and honored by the city – but it’s not an “unfettered right.”

Teichert said there is longstanding precedent allowing government to exercise its police power to set “reasonable time, place and manner restrictions” on the use of its parks and other public facilities.

Vacaville resident and mother of a soldier killed in Afganistan Cindy Sheehan urged council members to consider the protesters’ requests for action.

“This movement is growing, and it’s not going to go away – no matter how much it is suppressed,” Sheehan said, “so you might as well start supporting it.”

The current camping ordinance states that Cesar Chavez Plaza – like all parks in the city – is closed from “dusk to dawn.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday that he “wholeheartedly” supports the efforts of the Occupy Sacramento movement, but he feels the limits in the city ordinance are appropriate.

“I don’t think it is in our best interests to remove the existing ordinance,” Johnson said. “That’s my perspective, but I’m just one vote out of nine on the council.”

Johnson said the time limitations of the camping ordinance provide “ample time” for protesters to be speak and be heard.

According to a city staff report, an extension of park hours – or a temporary “exception” to the ordinance – would open the possibility of setting a precedent for exceptions to the rule.

Sacramento resident and Occupy Sacramento participant Anthony Gallardo, 27, said Tuesday that the group isn’t trying to “take over the park” to have a place to go camping.

“We are just trying to occupy it – to just be there, 24/7 and say our message,” Gallardo said.

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel told council members that, despite the posted “dusk to dawn” park closure, the police department has allowed protesters to remain in the park until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

But that’s not 24-hour access – and therein lies the problem for Occupy Sacramento organizers and protesters.

“It’s not about the five hours or six hours (that the park is closed). It’s much bigger than that,” Gallardo said. “The Constitution gives us the right to peaceably assemble. It doesn’t specify a time or a place. This is about our freedom of speech and freedom to assemble.”

Braziel said there has been average of 40 to 250 protesters each day at Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Between Oct. 6 and Monday, the police made 58 arrests for unlawful assembly while participating in the Occupy Sacramento protests. Thirteen people have been arrested more than once.

According to Braziel, all of those arrests were peaceful, and none of them resulted in injury.

Organizers of Occupy Sacramento initially said local protests would come to an end on Oct. 15. Three days later, protesters remain at Cesar Chavez Plaza, with no new target ending date in sight.

“This event is set for an indefinite period of time,” said Sara Beth Brooks, 26, one of the Occupy Sacramento organizers. “We believe that limiting the time we can protest is an affront to our First Amendment rights.”

The occupation of Cesar Chavez Plaza has so far been peaceful, and Gallardo and Brooks said that is how it will stay.

“No violence, no threats of violence, no drinking, no drugs and no sexual harassment – those are the core values of this group,” Gallardo said. “If we all lived by those rules, it’d be a perfect world.”

More than an hour into public comment, the City Council had not yet taken any action on the item.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sacramento leaders learn from New Orleans tour

2011-10-12T00:52:54Z

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections.

“New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.”

On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has used to rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

“(New Orleans) Mayor (Mitch) Landrieu is a vibrant, energetic mayor,” Johnson said, “and he is an excellent example of the focus it takes to turn things around after a disaster. We went (there) to learn from the work they have done in New Orleans.”

Johnson, Ashby, Cohn, McCarty and 85 other delegates joined Maggie Townsley, public policy vice chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, for the chamber‘s 13th annual study mission in Louisiana last week.

The study mission is a program the Metro Chamber develops every year to provide a learning experience for delegates about the challenges faced by other regions and how they successfully manage those challenges for long-term regional prosperity, according to the chamber website.

“We represent about 170,000 employees in the Sacramento region,” Townsley said. “One of the key things we do is partner with government and nonprofit organizations to further specific objectives for the region.”

Some of the objectives highlighted on this year’s study mission include improving city transportation, public housing and flood control.

Delegates on the tour had the opportunity to meet with Landrieu and other civic leaders and came away with ideas for improving Sacramento and the region.

“It’s been six years since New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Ashby said Tuesday, “but the devastation from that event was widespread, and you can still see it.”

Ashby said that one thing that struck her was that the flood waters during the hurricane reached nearly 20 feet in height.

“Should our levees break in Natomas,” Ashby said, “we could be as deep as 33 feet. We can’t let that happen.”

Ashby said it is necessary to improving flood protection for the region, including having the levees in her district certified by the federal government for improvement funding.

One thing McCarty said he found fascinating in New Orleans was how they are rebuilding their public housing.

“One in five kids lives in poverty,” McCarty said, “and many times those families are isolated in neighborhoods divided from economic development and grocery stores and other public investments that improve the neighborhood.”

McCarty said one thing that the city of New Orleans has done to “reinvent” the city’s public housing is taking down old units and rebuilding them as mixed-income units.

“They are making sure they have (an economic) blend to bring in development opportunities,” McCarty said. “That is something we are going to look at for some of our neighborhoods here in Sacramento.

McCarty said that neighborhood housing and development, especially for low-income populations, should be a priority for Sacramento.

Representatives from the Sacramento Metro Chamber are preparing a report about the study mission and said they expect it to be completed sometime next week.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Labor council starts 2012 campaign endorsement process early

2011-10-07T01:12:41Z

In an unusual move, the Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO began its endorsement process for upcoming Sacramento City Council races four months earlier than in previous election cycles – this time, eight months ahead of the June 2012 elections.

“The redistricting process stirred up a lot of interest in people, especially about who is running the city,” said Bill Camp, labor council executive secretary. “If people are interested, that makes this the best time to endorse (candidates).”

As part of the labor group’s stated goal of “promoting a voice for workers through active participation in the political process,” the labor council endorses candidates for office in every election year, according to labor council office manager Georgie de la Huerta.

The labor council represents 107,000 union members from 90 unions, de la Huerta said.

The labor council’s decision to start the process early is not common in Sacramento politics – particularly since the filing period for candidacy doesn’t open until Feb. 1.

Rich Schmiedt, president of Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, said his organization has not yet started its campaign endorsement process.

“We don’t see any benefit to starting as early as October,” Schmiedt said. “It’s too early for us – we don’t even know who all the candidates are at this point.”

Schmiedt said that Local 522 will begin discussing a timeline for considering candidates in late November.

For Camp and the labor council, however, people who are “serious” about running for a city council seat will not wait until the filing period to make their intentions known, Camp said.

“If you’re taking a lot of time fooling around about making a decision to run, then you’re not serious,” Camp said. “If you’re not serious, then (we) don’t want to interview you. We only want to talk to (candidates) who need and want support.”

The endorsement process begins with a 13-page candidate questionnaire sent to all incumbents and potential candidates that the labor council becomes aware of, according to Camp.

“We make it as public as possible,” Camp said. “We’ve done the best we can to reach out to everyone who has surfaced, but we can’t find people that hide.”

Labor council staff confirmed Thursday that, so far, invitations to participate in the endorsement interview process were sent out to City Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell – the incumbents for Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8, which are the four council seats open in 2012.

Questionnaires have also been sent to Kim Mack, a candidate for District 2, and Allen Warren, a potential candidate for District 2 who has not yet made a formal announcement of candidacy.

Once candidates submit a completed questionnaire, the labor council schedules an interview between the potential candidate and the labor council’s committee on political education.

The 20-member committee sits as a panel to interview one candidate at a time. With four City Council seats open in the 2012 election, Camp said interviewing potential candidates for four seats will be an all-day event for the reviewing committee.

After all interviews are finished, the committee sends recommendations for endorsements to labor council union delegates for consideration.

The number of delegates each union sends to Sacramento is determined by the size of the union membership. De la Huerta said the delegate group averages between 60 and 80 members.

For any candidate to receive labor council endorsement, a favorable vote of two thirds of the delegates at the meeting is required, de la Huerta said.

McCarty confirmed Thursday that he is running for re-election in 2012, and he will be participating in the labor council interview and endorsement process.

McCarty received labor council endorsement in previous races, however, there’s no guarantee that the group will support him again this year.

“In past elections, I have received their endorsement,” McCarty Said. “But also in a past election, I did not receive their endorsement.”

McCarty said that, although it’s still early in the game, he has several campaign endorsements – including State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, several District 6 neighborhood association presidents and several current City Council members.

Pannell, the current District 8 representative, said Thursday that she has received the labor council questionnaire and she also plans to participate in the endorsement interviews.

Pannell said she already has other endorsements for her 2012 re-election campaign, but will wait to announce them at a fundraiser she’s hosting in November.

Calls for comment from other incumbents and potential candidates were not returned by press time.

De la Heurta said that none of the candidate questionnaires the labor council sent out have been returned yet.

The labor council will conduct candidate interviews Oct. 17 in Sacramento. Union delegates will meet Oct. 18 to make their endorsement selections.

Endorsements will be announced at the labor council’s Annual Salute to Labor dinner Oct. 27. Camp said approximately 600 to 700 people are expected to attend the private event.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City vending machines to have healthier choices soon

2011-09-28T06:38:33Z

The City Council unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday to develop a vending machine nutrition policy that requires at least 50 percent of products sold in machines in city-owned facilities to meet an approved healthy requirement.

“I think it’s something that’s necessary,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday. “It would be nice to have better choices at community centers where our kids are. I think this is something our communities need.”

The new vending machine nutrition policy will set parameters for sodium, sugar and calorie content of food and beverages available in all vending machines. It would also require beverage choices to include ample variety of water, low-fat milk and soy milk, or other similar dairy or non-dairy milk.

The policy will allow soda, sports drinks and diet sodas to be sold from vending machines, but still “ensures the public and employees have access to healthy vending alternatives,” said Mark Prestwich, special projects manager for the city manager's office.

Approximately 50 city operated vending machines are located in city community centers, corporate yards/office facilities, the city marina and city parking lots or garages, according to the staff report.

Prestwich said that two-thirds of vending machines are in city-owned facilities that are not accessible to the public. Parking garages and community centers take up the remaining third.

In July, the City Council joined the California League of Cities in a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) cities campaign. One of the goals of the HEAL campaign is to support employees in evaluating food choices by providing healthy food alternatives in vending machines located in city-owned or leased facilities.

Prestwich told council members that developing a nutritional policy for vending machines would be a step toward reaching that goal.

“Cities and residents are facing increased health care costs and diminished quality of life due to the epidemic of obesity and being overweight,” Prestwich said. “A healthier nutritional policy (for vending machines) will help promote public health.”

City staff outlined out vending machine nutrition policy alternatives ranging from “no policy” to a “100 percent healthy content” policy for council members to consider.

A 100 percent policy would require that all products in vending machines meet the set healthy requirement. No soda or sports drinks could be included in the selection, however zero-calorie diet soda and diet sports drinks could be included.

“I think we’ll be moving in the direction of making sure our vending machines have healthier options, even if we aren’t going cold turkey and going with a 100 percent healthy policy,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

Council woman Bonnie Pannell said she supported a 50 percent policy because it is “a fair compromise” between “doing nothing and going all out.”

Councilman Steve Cohn said a 50 percent policy would “create real choices” where he feels none currently exist with vending machines.

“I don’t see ‘choices’ in those machines,” Cohn said. “Cookies and soda and sugar drinks – it’s a choice between a lot of sugar and way too much sugar. That’s not a choice.”

One opponent of the measure told council members that making food choices a policy issue would inhibit consumers’ freedom to make their own decisions.

“People should be able to choose whatever they want to drink or whatever fits their needs,” Sacramento resident John Swain said.

Another opponent said creating a nutritional policy for vending machines would limit the flexibility for vending operators to offer products of their choice.

“We believe that the ability to choose should rest with our consumers, not be mandated by policy,” said Gary Watson, a Coca-Cola Bottling Company representative.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby agreed.

“I think these things should be consumer-driven,” Ashby said. “It’s really about access. The decision lies with the person who is putting their money into the machine.”

Ashby said that Sacramento is “leading the way” to making sure people have healthy options, but she didn’t want to create a policy that would tell people what they could or coulnd’t spend their money on.

“We are looking for balance here,” Ashby said.

Prestwich said that pursuing a new vending agreement for city-operated facilities would also allow the city to reduce energy usage and incorporate technological advances such as the ability to pay with debit and credit cards.

The city pays the energy costs of machines placed in city-operated facilities, Prestwich said, and this would be an opportunity to reduce energy usage by implementing a requirement that any new machines have an Energy Star certification.

New vending machines with Energy Star certification are up to 50 percent more energy efficient than standard machines, according to the staff report.

State legislation passed in 2005 (SB12 and SB965) that raised food standards and mandated compliance to higher-standard nutritional policies for schools throughout the state.

Although only vending machines placed at schools fall under the mandate of those laws, many cities that have adopted nutrition policies for their vending machines voluntarily set SB12 and SB965 as the standard to meet in their policies – regardless of the machine location.

Sacramento’s new nutritional policy for vending machines in city-owned facilities will fully satisfy the requirements of SB12 and – because it allows sodas and sports drinks along with other healthier choices – will partially fulfill the requirements of SB965.

The City Council directed staff to write a nutritional policy as a standard for all vending machines at city-owned facilities and to issue a request for proposals for new city vending service contracts.

Staff will review proposals they receive and bring a recommendation to the City Council for approval.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacrameto Press. Follow her on twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sacramento gets $100 million private investment for 'green' retrofits

2011-09-28T05:35:36Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday that Sacramento has been selected as one of only two cities in the country to participate in a privately funded program for energy efficiency retrofits of commercial buildings.

English businessman and Virgin Records owner, Sir Richard Branson, and a consortium of businesses selected Sacramento and Miami for a private investment of $100 million for each city to retrofit city buildings with renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation improvements.

“This is a real game-changer for our city in terms of fulfilling out goal of reducing our environmental footprint,” Johnson said Tuesday.

The commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is a short-term private sector loan to provide up front cash for retrofits. Owners of commercial and industrial buildings who meet criteria established for he PACE program are eligible to apply for a PACE loan.

Johnson said the goal is to create a market for improving energy efficiency in existing buildings and creating more green jobs.

Retrofits are improvements to an existing property that bring the structure or energy use up to a higher or more current standard than what was in place at the time the building was originally constructed.

The benefit of the PACE program to property owners is no or very low upfront costs for building improvements and a savings in reduced energy and utility costs.

Additionally, unlike other types of loans that attach to the property owner, these loans attach to the property, so if the owner sells the property before the loan is paid off, the new owner – who will inherit the benefit of the retrofits when he purchases the property – will also inherit the remainder of the PACE loan.

The program is strictly voluntary and property owners would only pay for the cost of the improvements plus application fees. The 20-year PACE loans would be repaid through annual assessments on owners’ property-tax bills.

Ygrene Energy Fund, Inc., will fund PACE through a variety of sources including lending institutions such as Barclays Capital and Clean Fund.

“This is a five-year partnership with Ygrene,” Johnson said, “with $100 million in private investment and the opportunity to create 1,500 jobs over five years.”

Ygrene Energy’s role in the program will be ensuring that cost savings exceed the cost of improvements as well as marketing and outreach to property owners.

One of the city’s goals – as part of the mayor’s Greenwise initiative, which was started last year – is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions community-wide to 1990 levels by 2020, Johnson said.

“This (program) will kickstart our green economy,” Johnson said. “We want to be on the map both nationally and internationally for what we are doing in the green economy, and this is certainly a big step.”

Once the PACE program is approved and a PACE assessment district is established, Johnson said, program funding will be available for planning retrofits.

Councilman Kevin McCarty initiated a similar idea for a residential retrofit program in 2009. The program was stalled at the federal level because of conflicts with guidelines for federally backed home loans.

Now that a commercial PACE program is under way, however, McCarty said he wants to propose the residential program again – this time on a smaller scale.

“There are over 35,000 homes here that could sign on to this kind of opportunity,” McCarty said. “I want us to make a way for that to happen.”

McCarty said that one in four homes in Sacramento is not on a federally backed loan and is eligible for a similar residential PACE program.

“A year ago when we started this,” McCarty said, “we said we want to Go Green Sacramento. This is a great opportunity to do that and make a big difference for our city.”

The City Council will adopt a resolution Tuesday to establish a commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) district – this allows commercial property owners to have PACE loan payments collected as an assessment along with their property taxes.

An assessment "district" is not a geographical term in this case. It's a designation for accounting purposes – it groups certain assessments under one umbrella, as opposed to some other umbrella.

At the meeting, City Council members will also consider a five-year, $321,000 professional services agreement with Ygrene to administer and finance the city-sponsored commercial PACE program.

The agreement outlines the responsibilities of both Ygrene and the city of Sacramento including a minimum performance target for of $7.5 million – the amount of financing that Ygrene is expected to fund annually.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for the Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker

DWB: Redistricting and election 2012

2011-09-13T04:09:39Z

The long, sorry tale of redistricting 2011 is over. But certain local incumbents may find that the saga has legs well into next year. Say, into election season.

Councilmembers Bonnie Pannell, Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty may find that citizens of Sacramento, especially the relative few who vote, have long memories when the incumbents run for reelection next year.

The people of Oak Park – and not just them, but their sympathizers – will long remember the removal of the UC Davis Medical Center complex out of Jay Schenirer’s District 5 into McCarty’s District 6.

The redistricting process was not just long, it was fraught with conflicts of interest, surreptitious power plays, raw politics and a citizen’s committee that ended up seeming little more than a fig leaf to cover up all the rest. It was quite a show.

It culminated with Pannell, thinking her mic was off, calling a 61-year-old female citizen of another district an “asshole.” The recording, part of the public record, is on the city’s website. (link) Go to minute 4:33:13 if you want to hear it.

As you can see by that time stamp, it was a long, impassioned meeting. Which is, I suppose, an excuse for Pannell’s behavior. And the citizen in question, Margo Rose-Bunson, shouted at Pannell from the audience during a fairly contentious debate. Gloves were off.

But in any case, Pannell’s undignified schoolyard expletive wasn’t the insult most people who were offended by this process are focused on. Instead, they are focused on this: The council didn’t listen to the citizens of Sacramento. They heard hundreds of people protest, nodded politely, and then did what they wanted – in a way that would best serve themselves.

The council members in question don’t remember it that way. But a lot of citizens do.

McCarty’s dismissive off-the-cuff remark about “gutter discussions” rubbed a lot of residents of Oak Park the wrong way, and some even heard it as racist. I think that’s highly unlikely. Ditto Councilman Steve Cohn’s equally flip and even more ill-considered “separate but equal” crack, which surely wasn’t meant in the way it was heard.

But all of those comments are quickly becoming emblematic of the widespread public view of the council as mean-spirited, self-serving and arrogant.

And Pannell’s “apology,” issued late last week, didn’t help. Instead of apologizing directly to Rose-Bunson, whom she insulted, Pannell’s written apology was given “to my community.” Good work as far as it went – her behavior was unprofessional and beneath her office, and the community deserved the apology – but what would it have hurt her to apologize to Rose-Bunson? Her pride?

Of course, all of that is a sideshow. This is ultimately not even about the Med Center or what district it is in. According to those we have spoken to, it’s about something more crucial: It’s about this: Do our elected representatives care about their constituents, and about other people in the city, or is this all about their own political careers and perks?

That is the question for many of the pastors from across the city and beyond – including from such far-flung suburban megachurches as Capital Christian Center in Rancho Cordova and Bayside Church in Granite Bay – who showed up at the council meetings in support of Oak Park citizens attempting to keep the Med Center.

And that is the question for a multiracial group of pastors from different districts who quietly gathered last week to see what they can do to run a fresher face against Pannell, or against Sheedy, whom they see as arrogant, uninterested in their districts and their constituents, and as merely the puppets of large special interests who help them perpetuate their power.

When those pastors say that they plan to raise money, find candidates and run them against the incumbents, that matters.

Talk is cheap: Whether anything comes of this, or even should come of it, is another matter. But talk is also powerful: Enough citizens, tired of the same old cliques running things in their own best interests, can talk a lot. And talk creates energy around a subject.

So despite the fiasco of redistricting – and I have my own beefs, including that the council reduced the central city from its power position of being represented by a third of the counsel to being represented by only one representative – its legacy may be other than intended by incumbents.

It may be that the citizens of Sacramento, especially those who got burned by the politically motivated move of the Med Center from the district that also contains Oak Park, have longer memories than they are generally credited with having. In fact, those citizens may be tired of being taken for granted.

They are meeting already. And they are talking about specific political careers they’d like to see end.

Next June looms. This may have blown over by then. Or it may be that council members’ efforts to save their seats will have had exactly the opposite effect.

As the dust settles, City Council adjusts to new districts

2011-09-07T23:59:16Z

With one last vote Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council approved a map that seals council district boundaries for the next 10 years, but the work of redistricting isn’t finished just yet.

“The new map goes into effect Oct. 6, which is only 30 days after the final council vote,” said Scott Mende, principal planner with the Community Development Department. “After that, each council member has a different group of constituents.”

New district lines for the city and new constituents for council members will have a ripple effect throughout city administration, and Mende said city staff has a lot of work to do to be prepared for it.

The first step, Mende said, is a “massive outreach” to council members and all affected departments – such as the budget office, planning department and parks department – to help department staff know what impacts will come from the map changes.

“Council members usually take a strong interest in what goes on in their district,” Mende said. “They’ll want to know what they are going to be seeing, as far as projects that have been started or are still in planning stages (in each district).”

Staff from the city’s Neighborhood Services department will meet with neighborhood associations and community activists to discuss the new district maps, and the new map information will be posted in the newspaper and on the city website.

Although each of the city’s eight council districts will change in one way or another, the council member who will see the most dramatic changes to his district is Steve Cohn.

“I’m losing half of my (current) district and gaining a different half,” Cohn said Tuesday. “I clearly have the most significant changes happening to my District, so I’m starting (my transition) right away.”

With the new map boundaries, Cohn’s District 3 will now include a portion of what was Councilwoman Angelique Ashby’s District 1, including the railyards and the River District.

Cohn said he is planning to do a community event with Ashby sometime in the next 30 days and a district tour to meet new constituents and become more familiar with the projects under way in the areas new to his district.

“I’ll be doing something similar with (Councilwoman) Sandy Sheedy,” Cohn said, “but in reverse. Instead of gaining something from her district, I am giving up a portion of my district to her.”

Sheedy is already familiar with the Ben Ali and Hagginwood neighborhoods, which the new map puts in her district, Cohn said, however “Swanston Estates will be new to her,” so he’s planning to “show her around” and introduce her to the residents in that neighborhood.

Cohn is also organizing town hall-style meetings with Councilmen Kevin McCarty and Rob Fong to discuss district changes that affect them.

Ashby has the biggest changes to her district in terms of population adjustments – her district loses nearly 45,000 people – but the boundary line movement is not as drastic as Cohn’s or Rob Fong’s districts.

“The question for me,” Ashby said Tuesday, “is, ‘How do I let people in the new District 1 know they are still in District 1, and how do I let the people that were in District 1 know that they are now in District 3 or District 4?”

Ashby said she plans to use her strong social media presence – including platforms such as Facebook, Yahoo Groups, email lists and her personal website – to reach out to constituents.

Still, Ashby said, “there is no substitute“ for her and her staff to go out into the community, take the new council members around, make introductions, and get in touch with people who are in leadership roles in the community.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the last year,” Ashby said. “I want to very carefully hand that off.”

Ashby said she has “no doubt that my colleagues will see things through,” but she plans to stay engaged with all communities during the transition period because, “I would never just turn around and walk away.”

Mende said he and his staff are ready to assist council members during the transition period.

“If (council members) want us to send out information for them, we’ll do that. Or, if they ask for tools or access to tools to help them get the word out, we’ll do that,” Mende said. “We’re available to help them in whatever ways they deem appropriate.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

It's official: New map changes district boundaries until 2021

2011-09-07T09:13:23Z

The City Council voted 6-3 Tuesday night in its final redistricting vote, keeping a map that has been hotly protested over the past weeks, leaving hundreds of people sad and angry – and ready to cast ballots in June to prove it.

With a vote identical to the one on Aug. 23, the City Council approved a final redistricting map – a revised version of a map called “NeighborhoodsTogether 2.0”– that puts the the downtown railyards in the same district as East Sacramento, divides South Land Park at Fruitridge Road and makes the Central City one district.

And – against the vehement opposition of residents, business people, students and community leaders – it is a map that takes the UC Davis Medical Center out of Oak Park.

At each of three prior council meetings, members of the public showed up in force to loudly oppose proposed new district boundaries. The Aug. 23 meeting in particular saw a record 103 people signed up to comment on the subject.

Just before public comment began Tuesday, Mayor Kevin Johnson set the tone for the discussion, saying, “I hope we will let civility rule the day.”

Audience members held their applause between speakers and raised brightly colored signs to show their approval of some comments.

“All of the political deals have already been made,” said Oak Park resident Julie Mumma. “Set aside your politics. If you were judging this as unbiased jurors in a court of law, you’d look at the evidence, and you’d do the right thing.”

The 375 people in attendance was less than the 600 to 1,000 that City Hall staff and security had anticipated.

Although a few commenters spoke about the downtown railyards or South Land Park or Del Paso Heights during the five-hour council meeting, an overwhelming majority of speakers Tuesday voiced their opposition to the proposed shift of the Med Center out of Oak Park.

By the time public comment concluded, 76 people had spoken, all in opposition to the proposed map.

Things got heated between council members as they began deliberating on the map and responding to public comments and to each other.

“We can’t deny the economic impact on the region and the city as a whole, but (the Med Center) sits on 140 acres, embedded in my district,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said, in defense of the map. “It’s our neighbor first and foremost.”

Johnson focused on equalizing population as the “primary goal” of redistricting, and asked McCarty what putting the Med Center in McCarty’s district would do for balancing population.

“There are other things to consider besides equalizing population,” McCarty responded.

When Johnson pressed further, it was Councilman Steve Cohn who spoke up to say the district location of the Med Center might not affect population “much,” but other criteria for drawing district maps – such as communities of interest and natural, geographic boundaries – was “also very important” to the process and shouldn’t be ignored.

Although the most pronounced issue of the evening surrounded Oak Park and the Med Center, each council member took a few minutes to address the audience to talk about impacts of redistricting to their own districts.

“I honestly believe that everyone up here is doing what they truly think is the right thing to do,” Councilwoman Angelique Ashby told the audience.

Throughout public comment, council members were reminded that they are elected officials and there were many suggestions of recall or failure at the next election.

“I believe there will be a petition going around after this is all done,” Meadowview resident Ray Park told Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell, “and you’re not going to like it.”

In one brief exchange with audience members, Pannell quickly addressed any concerns about her political future.

“(Former City Councilman) Sam Pannell died in 1997,” Pannell said. “ I am Bonnie Pannell and I’ve made my own way with my district. If anyone doesn’t like how I’ve done things, I’ll be on the ballot in 2012.”

One audience member called out, “We’ll see you there!” to which Pannell responded, “I’ll see YOU there. Thank you.”

By the time all council members had an opportunity to express their opinions on the proposed map, it was clear that each was standing firm in his or her previous vote on Aug. 23.

“I think you can already read the tea leaves for how this vote is going to go,” Johnson said before the vote was taken Tuesday.

“To the faith community, I want to thank you for showing up,” Johnson said. “For the business people, the students and the community at large – this was a powerful act of democracy in action. You did your part.”

Johnson said the council couldn’t justify its vote and the result would be “a real loss” to communities.

As each council member answered to the roll call vote, audience members reacted with sighs and heads shaking in disappointment.

New district boundaries become official on Oct. 6, according to city staff.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

March of unity against Med Center district move

2011-09-02T07:28:40Z

About 150 people marched through Oak Park Thursday in a “unity march” to fight against the City Council’s proposed redistricting map that would move the UC Davis Med Center out of Oak Park’s council district.

“The purpose for tonight is to try to find a hero in this whole controversy, and by that I mean someone who will find a real compromise,” said Michael Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association.

The marchers Thursday night walked from the intersection of 34th Street and Second Avenue to the Med Center, chanting slogans and carrying signs along the way as police blocked the streets and kept a clear path.

Residents of Oak Park have repeatedly made their voices heard at City Council meetings in recent weeks, even setting a record for number of speakers, according to Mayor Kevin Johnson.

The OPNA organized the event, and Boyd said he wants to see the council set up a committee ideally involving the two council members – Kevin McCarty and Jay Schenirer – as well as representatives of Elmhurst and Oak Park, and possibly Tahoe Park. The committee would strive to find a compromise all could agree upon.

The redistricting map currently under consideration would move the UC Davis Med Center from Schenirer’s District 5 to McCarty’s District 6, a move Johnson’s special assistant, R.E. Graswich, has called “a power grab.”

McCarty has defended the move of the Med Center to his district, saying that the Elmhurst neighborhood in District 6 is more “attached” to the Med Center area than Oak Park, and that, logically, the Med Center area should be overseen by the same council member who represents Elmhurst.

Boyd said he hoped to draw residents from beyond Oak Park to the march, adding that the issue is broader than one neighborhood.

One marcher, 62-year-old South Sacramento resident Susiana Donaldson, said she came to support Oak Park, where she attends church.

“It’s important for me that the people in power listen to us,” she said. “We are the ones who put them there. We’re the reason they’re in office.”

Retired teacher and Oak Park resident Linda Brewer said she is upset at what she sees as council dealmaking without the public in mind.

“I’ve been to the City Council meetings twice, and I’m going to be going back,” she said. “We think this whole process has been decided behind closed doors, out of the public eye.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby made an appearance, saying she wanted to show that she is listening to the marchers.

“I support anything that brings the community together,” she said. “They’re really united.”

A spokesman for Johnson told The Sacramento Press Thursday that the mayor is supportive of the group’s efforts.

Schenirer, marching at the head of the column down Second Avenue, said he came out to support the neighborhood.

“The council has taken the wrong action here,” he said. “I hope to see it corrected.”

None of the six council members who voted for the proposed map – McCarty, Sandy Sheedy, Bonnie Pannell, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong and Steve Cohn – were present at the march.

Oak Park resident David Moen, 52, expressed a common feeling of frustration among the marchers.

“We have a group of people really trying to make (Oak Park) a neighborhood, and we feel like we’re being kicked to the dirt again,” he said. “It’s really depressing.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

A 'neighborhood' is more than skin deep

2011-09-01T01:34:59Z

Some people say a neighborhood is better defined by the residents who live, work and play there than by physical boundaries, lines on a map or the number of inhabitants.

Just ask the people who live in Oak Park – or Elmhurst, or Med Center or Tahoe Park.

Glenn Corngold, an Elmhurst resident who spoke at the Aug. 23 City Council meeting, told council members, “Med Center’s dirt is in our yard. It’s our neighborhood.”

As the once-a-decade redistricting process for Sacramento comes to a close, there has been a lot of emotion, protest – and, yes, drama – focused on the redrawing of district lines that would shift the UC Davis Medical Center from District 5, where it has been since it was built in 1978, to District 6.

As drawn on the official city of Sacramento map, the Med Center campus lies within the Med Center neighborhood, which is bordered to the north and east by Elmhurst and to the west and south by Oak Park.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said that because the Med Center is physically “attached” to the Elmhurst neighborhood to a much larger degree than it is to Oak Park, then the council member who represents the Med Center should be the one associated with the neighborhood that is most impacted by its proximity to the center.

“There’s no question the Med Center is part of this (Elmhurst) neighborhood,” McCarty said Monday. “Or, at least, it’s more closely associated to this side of Stockton Boulevard than to Oak Park.”

Stockton Boulevard is a heavily traveled, five-lane road that bisects the Med Center neighborhood – and physically separates the Med Center from Oak Park and homes and businesses on the west side of the street.

But seeing homes, parks and businesses through the car window at street level is strikingly different than what appears on a map on the wall – and Elmhurst residents say they need to be represented by someone who sees their neighborhood the same way they do.

In an Aug. 14 email to the City Council, Elmhurst resident Diane Cummins told council members that there are a number of issues that directly impact the Elmhurst neighborhood and affect the quality of life for the residents.

“It seems most logical to me,” Cummins said in the email, “that the Med Center and the Med Center Neighborhood remain in District 6, which would link those areas with Elmhurst.”

Elmhurst resident Jeff Simon described in a letter to council members that noise from ambulances, helicopters and other medical vehicles can be heard “at any hour of the day or night,” despite the double-pane windows installed in his home to diminish the noise.

Simon also described traffic congestion, limited parking, and hospital employees and emergency room visitors smoking and littering in his front yard.

“The impact that UCDMC has on us is – to say the least – extraordinary,” Simon added.

Simon agreed with Cummins and other Elmhurst residents who said they want “to have an arbiter of sorts,” and “a single source” to turn to.

“Where the line is drawn is no matter,” Simon said, “other than we wish to be in the same district as the Med Center campus so our common council representative can decisively and quickly address the issues that impact us.”

McCarty said that, by redistricting the Med Center into District 6 alongside Elmhurst, he is “focusing on practical issues.”

“We make our decisions on sound public policy, not on emotion,” McCarty said. “Certainly emotion is a factor, but what is the best public policy?”

McCarty said that if there was a “big economic dollar factor” that went with the district, it would be a consideration. Failing that, “neighborhood issues reign supreme.”

“I hear the emotion (of Oak Park residents),” McCarty said, “but I think we need to focus on the facts and public policy and what’s practical.”

“What we’re feeling in Elmhurst,” Corngold said at the Aug. 23 meeting, “is a need for representation.”

Corngold described the traffic and noise from construction at the Med Center and said, “We can’t just walk into the (Med Center) building and ask them to do something about it.

“We want to be in the same district as the Med Center so we can have someone to speak for us,” Corngold said. “Whatever (the Med Center district) is in, I’d like to be part of it.”

For the 2,000 residents in Elmhurst, according to McCarty, “it complicates things when the councilman for the hospital and their own councilman are two different people. It’s an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy.”

The real problem, according to R.E. Graswich, special assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, is not an “extra layer of bureaucracy,” rather a divided council.

“Unlike Sutter, Mercy and Kaiser hospitals, which require permits and entitlements from the city, UCDMC needs no city permits and entitlements,” Graswich said. “To be a successful neighbor with UCDMC, the city must rely upon relationships built between city officials and UCDMC officials. A divided council does not bode well for relationships.”

If UCDMC is returned to District 5, Graswich said a 9-0 council vote on the base map could be expected.

“Politically (and realistically) speaking, it’s indescribably better to have a 9-0 vote than a bitterly divided 6-3 vote,” Graswich said.

The Med Center has been referred to as an "economic engine" many times throughout the redistricting process – so, what economic advantage does the Med Center really bring to Oak Park or Elmhurst if it is drawn into either district?

According to McCarty, there is none.

“None. Zero,” McCarty said Wednesday. “It is an economic engine to the region, jobs and it has an impact on community health. But advantage to the district? No.”

Graswich said he disagreed.

“Economic benefits are obvious,” Graswich said in an email Wednesday. “The Med Center employs approximately 7,000 people, bringing jobs and support services to a neighborhood that has been steadily rebounding from challenging economic conditions for 50 years.”

Councilman Jay Schenirer, the current council representative of District 5 and one of the three council members who voted against the current base map, said the Med Center does have economic benefits to the neighborhood.

“The feeling of Oak Park and how it’s been developing is important,” Schenirer said. “(The neighborhood) is on a move upward, and (the Med Center) is one of the main assets that they can claim in their neighborhood.”

Despite McCarty’s argument that the practical matters from being adjacent to the Med Center are the most important, Graswich and others – including Mike Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association – have questioned what appears to be a “power grab” by McCarty.

“There is no impact (from shifting districts) on the redistricting map in terms of numbers,” Boyd said, “so it must be political.”

“(Oak Park) has for decades been treated as the poor part of the family,” Boyd said. “We’ve (been) the ones (everyone) can take advantage of.”

“No one reached out to Oak Park to ask what (residents) felt about it,” Boyd said.

“I have no comment on McCarty’s motives,” Schenirer said, “but the fact that neither (Elmhurst nor Oak Park) was consulted before the (Neighborhoods 2.0) plan was laid out is telling. No one who drew these maps talked to the community about how (residents) felt about it.”

“It has unnecessarily pitted one neighborhood against the other,” Schenirer said.

As far as the Med Center is concerned, the district it is located in makes no difference to the work the center does – or to the benefit it provides to the region.

Robert Waste, assistant director of government and community relations for the UC Davis Health System and the Med Center, said Wednesday that the issue of redistricting is “a determination for the City Council to make.”

“We work with all of the council districts,” Waste said. “Our buildings and our operations deal extensively with all of these council districts on a range of issues from schools to workforce development.”

“There has been a neighborhood task force which has ebbed and flowed over the years, and we use it and will continue to use it in the future to solve problems.”

Waste said the task force was initiated by the Med Center to work with “all neighborhoods in every direction of the compass.”

Waste declined to comment further on any opinion or preference for which district the Med Center should be located in.

“We’ve had a neutral position (on this issue) from day one,” Waste said. “Our business is patient care and health, and we’re going to stay out of the politics and stick to our mission.”

“Some people speaking at the last council meeting said they felt they were ‘losing’ the Med Center,” McCarty said, “but the center is not moving. It will still be right where it sits.”

McCarty noted that the district the Capitol building is in has changed, and so has the district that includes the Sac State campus.

“Boundaries change,” McCarty said. “Population changes. It happens.

“I stand by this map,” McCarty said, “and I stand by my constituents who think there is a crystal-clear link between the Elmhurst neighborhood and the Med Center.”

“I thought (having the Med Center in District 5) was a flaw in the 2001 redistricting,” McCarty said, “and I think it should be corrected now.”

Oak Park residents and community leaders will hold a Unity March at 6 p.m. on Thursday to protest the proposed new district lines. The march will start at the Sacramento Food Bank (3333 3rd Ave.) and end at the UC Davis Medical Center.

The final vote on the new redistricting map is set for Sept. 6.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Community centers get $459K to keep their doors open

2011-08-27T01:32:30Z

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 Recreation.

When the City Council passed the 2011-12 budget, there were more than $39 million in cuts, reducing or eliminating services throughout the city, including the funding needed to keep community centers open.

When department staff made their presentation to City Council in May, Mitchell said, they told council members that, by partnering with community organizations and re-assigning staff, they could come up with $457,812 of the $917,000 needed to keep the centers open.

“But we still needed $459,188 to keep the lights on,” Mitchell said.

Throughout the budget process, members of the public came to City Council meetings to express their concern for the fate of the community centers and public pools and to ask council members to minimize budget cuts that would affect those facilities.

“Our kids need safe havens, centers of collaboration and meccas of education,” said Mark Howard at the June 7 City Council meeting. Howard is the director of Target Resources, a youth and parent-focused nonprofit organization.

“If we close the centers, what is their alternative?” Howard said. “Closure is not an option.

Rick Jennings, a South Sacramento resident, told council members at a June council meeting that kids see the centers as “a place to play,” seniors see them as “places to socialize” and parents see them as “safe places” for their children after school.

“We’ve invested millions of dollars in these centers,” Jennings said. “As a community, we will find a way to keep the doors open.”

After much debate about center funding, the City Council ultimately directed Interim City Manager Bill Edgar to work with Jim Combs, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the city’s community centers, to find some way to keep all of the centers open – without the $459,000 of funding needed to fill the gap.

Edgar and Combs were faced with a dilemma.

“We were told to keep (the centers) open,” Edgar told council members Tuesday, “but you didn’t give us any money to do it.”

So, they had to get creative, Edgar said.

Combs and city staff from the Neighborhood Services Department began reaching out to private and nonprofit groups to create partnerships with the community that would keep the centers open.

Community partners such as charter schools, local charity organizations or nonprofits would pay rent on the facilities and provide services to the community such as classes and recreational activities, Combs said, and the city would pay the costs of operational needs such as electricity, maintenance and other basic services at each facility.

“It’s not reasonable to expect the nonprofits to pay for (that),” Combs told council members Tuesday. “So we’re going to need some money.”

Edgar and Combs recommended that the city augment the new community partner agreements with enough funds to pay for basic utilities and larger maintenance projects.

“We know you don’t like to spend money,” Edgar said, “but in order to comply with (your) request, we felt this was important at this time.”

Councilman Steve Cohn said the entire council is committed to keeping both pools and community centers open “as much as we can.”

Cohn said city staff is working on ideas to do that, so volunteers and community members who support and use the centers should “definitely not give up.”

The Parks Department is in negotiation on four leases and partnership agreements, Combs said, and with additional community outreach, staff will be able to find more businesses and groups interested in working with the city to keep the centers open.

“The Parks Department director has done a remarkable job in scrambling to line up lessees,” said Craig Powell, president of the local political watchdog agency Eye on Sacramento, at the council meeting Tuesday, “and several other (partnerships) that are in the incubation stage.”

As part of its mission to “look out for the public interest,” Eye on Sacramento monitors how City Council handles both revenue and spending, Powell said.

Powell congratulated council members for taking cell phone tower revenue out of council members’ discretionary funds and putting it into emergency fund for “just this sort of thing.”

The approved funding, along with the community partner support, will meet the minimum costs of keeping community centers operating for the remainder of the year – but not beyond that.

“It sets a baseline of operation until next year,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

Further funding will have to be approved in next year’s budget for the centers to continue operating beyond 2012.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follw her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City Council vs. the Brown Act

2011-08-19T05:21:22Z

As the current redistricting effort in Sacramento reaches critical mass, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room: Did City Council members break the law as they navigated their way from map to map to “2.0”?

If the council has done its work outside the public view or in some way impeded the public’s ability to participate fully in the process, the answer may be yes.

After the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Redistricting spent months vetting maps submitted by the public, council members took the project in a new direction – a direction that has created an atmosphere of mistrust and raises questions about how the council is deciding on new electoral boundaries.

When the City Council was suddenly presented with a new map at its Aug. 9 meeting, council members quickly passed it with a 6-3 vote.

Too quickly, some say.

If the council came to its consensus ahead of the public vote by way of behind-closed-doors discussions involving a majority of council members (four or more), that would be in violation of the Brown Act.

According to the Brown Act, legislative bodies exist for the purpose of conducting the people’s business, and that business must be done in open meetings where members of the public are allowed to participate.

That means that members of a governing body cannot privately make decisions on the public’s business – including redistricting.

The idea of “open meetings” may seem pretty simple, but sometimes it can get a little tricky.

“If a majority developed a meeting of minds on the subject through a sequence of meetings, each less than a majority but linked in an effort to develop consensus,” said Terry Francke, an attorney for the nonprofit group CalAware, “that would be a serial meeting violation of the Brown Act.”

A serial meeting, according to a summary of the Brown Act by the California Attorney General’s office, occurs as either a “daisy-chain” sequence (Member A contacts Member B, Member B contacts Member C, Member C contacts Member D and so on), or a “hub-and-spoke” sequence where a staff member (the hub) communicates with members of a legislative body (the spokes) one by one to come to a collective concurrence.

In either event, a violation of the Brown Act occurs because the serial meeting deprives the public of an opportunity to participate in decision making.

Councilmen Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty – two of the six council members who voted to approve the 2.0 map – have each denied that consensus came from serial meetings.

Cohn said in an interview this week that council members “know the rules of the Brown Act” and the council “acted well within its bounds.”

Cohn said that, although members of the council did have opportunity to discuss the Neighborhoods 2.0 map before it was presented at the Aug. 9 meeting, he only conferred with two other council members – Sandy Sheedy and McCarty – not a majority.

McCarty also denied any Brown Act violation in discussions about the map.

“Steve (Cohn) had shared some of the concepts of 2.0 with me,” McCarty said in an interview on Monday. “Under the Brown Act, we could only talk to a few council members and (Cohn) was one of the few that I decided to talk to.”

McCarty said he spoke to two other council members about the map, but declined to say which two.

Council members Sheedy, Bonnie Pannell, Rob Fong and Darrell Fong – the remaining votes in favor of the 2.0 map – did not return calls by Thursday for comment on the matter.

The Brown Act does more than require the public’s business to be conducted in open meetings; it also gives the public the right to participate in meetings.

Every agenda for any regular public meeting must allow the public to speak on any item of interest, and the public must be allowed to speak on that specific item of business before or during consideration of it.

When Cohn introduced his 2.0 map on Aug. 9, he did so after public comment had concluded, and there was no opportunity for the public to discuss the new map before a vote to approve was taken.

Cohn denies this was a violation of the Brown act because the map was not “new,” rather a “revision of maps presented at a meeting two weeks earlier.”

Even if it’s not a violation of the Brown Act, presenting the map after the public comment concluded and then voting without any further public comment “would add weight to the suspicion that the goal was to bypass public participation,” Francke said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke about the redistricting process in Sacramento at a press conference Tuesday and said that the best interests of the community weren’t held as “paramount” to the council.

“It wasn’t held as high as (the) self-interest of officials,” Johnson said. “When maps appear without any input at all – that’s just not the best of Sacramento, in my opinion.”

Sometimes, in the course of making public comment, members of the public may bring up an item that is not on the agenda, and this can create another sticky situation for council members.

The Brown Act states that if a member of the public brings up something not on the agenda, council can “briefly respond,” or refer to staff for more information or direct staff to place the issue on a future agenda. The council members cannot, however, engage in any discussion of the matter.

During public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting, one audience member asked council members a question about redistricting that went unanswered. When the audience demanded a response, Cohn said the council “is not allowed to discuss matters not on the agenda.”

This caused an uproar in the audience because, less than 30 minutes earlier, both Cohn and Rob Fong had responded to public comment made by County Supervisor Jimmy Yee on the very same item not on the agenda.

Were the council members’ prior responses with Yee a violation of the Brown Act?

If Cohn’s and Fong’s responses to Yee can be construed as “discussion” of the matter, the answer may arguably be yes.

When asked about the process that the council has gone through for redistricting, Cohn said the council has acted appropriately and legally.

“People like to scream about process,” Cohn said. “If (the Aug. 9 vote) had been the final vote, I’d understand, but people still have an opportunity to comment. It’s not being done in secret here.”

According to the Attorney General’s summary, certain violations of the Brown Act are misdemeanors.

Just about anyone can bring legal action against a legislative body for violations of the Brown Act, but the challenger must prove they are damaged or “prejudiced” as a result of the alleged violation.

Generally, governing bodies that violate the Brown Act will rescind the action that caused the violation and start over.

Read a summary of the Brown Act here.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City Council takes heat for an avoidable redistricting issue

2011-08-17T19:11:05Z

Last night, the Sacramento City Council spent nearly two and a half hours taking public comments regarding the proposed council district map that it approved last week. More than 50 residents of at least four city districts rose to voice their concerns, yet not one of them spoke in favor of the proposed baseline map, ironically but officially referred to as "Neighborhoods Together 2.0".

Most public comments came from two groups, referred to as "communities of interest" in the redistricting process. Oak Park advocates objected to the proposal to draw their neighborhood in a separate district from Sacramento Charter High School, the UC Davis Medical Center campus, and the northeast corner of North Oak Park. Representatives of the Hispanic community expressed concerns about diluting the group's votes in a way that might continue historical underrepresentation on the city council. The comments were passionate and, at times, contentious. Several times, the Councilmembers were accused of placing their political self-interests ahead of the public good, and on more than one occasion, they were reminded that the city's voters had the right to remove them from elected office.

Things never had to get to that point. Weeks earlier, the City Council chose to reject all four maps recommended by the Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee (SRCAC), a panel of Sacramentans assembled to review community suggestions, identify critical issues, assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives, and submit recommendations to the Council. Each of the four maps proposed by the SRCAC contained at least one district with a greater Hispanic representation than any of the districts in the Council's baseline map.

Furthermore, some of the rejected maps included a creative suggestion that would have kept Sac High and the Med Center in the same district as Oak Park. Two of the SRCAC's maps proposed drawing a district that joined Oak Park with its neighbors to the east. The rationale, as explained in the summary of user-submitted Map SR017, was to strengthen economic development opportunities by uniting the neighborhoods that are currently separated by two commercial corridors that double as district boundaries: Broadway and Stockton Boulevard. Additionally, the proposal sought out to consolidate four of the city's established redevelopment zones into a single district, thereby strengthening the district's position during revitalization efforts.

As creative as the consolidation proposal was, it is not difficult to understand why it was not embraced by the Council. A combined district would threaten the political futures of Councilmembers Jay Schenirer and Kevin McCarty. Each would face challenging re-election campaigns after working hard to establish their bases of support in Oak Park and Tahoe Park, respectively. Under the plan, McCarty, who ran as an uncontested incumbent in 2008, could find himself in a battle against any candidate with strong ties in Oak Park, West Tahoe Park, and Colonial Heights. Schenirer's dilemma would have been even more difficult. Before he could begin work introducing himself to nearly every voter east of Stockton Boulevard, he would need to move from his Curtis Park home to an address within the new district's boundaries. Again, it's easy to see why a combined Oak Park/Tahoe Park district would fail to receive support from either councilmember in Districts 5 or 6.

Putting re-election prospects aside, it's only fair to afford Councilmember McCarty the benefit of the doubt regarding his decision to promote the Council's baseline map. Consider the assets of the four districts that make up the mid-section of the city. District 3 can lay claim to Arden Fair, Sacramento State, and most of the booming Midtown area. District 4 is home to much of Broadway's commercial corridor, as well as what is arguably the city's greatest public space, William Land Park. District 5 includes the campuses of Sacramento City College and the UC Davis Medical Center, as well as the Western Pacific/Curtis Park railyard redevelopment area, Executive Airport, and Bing Maloney golf course. Meanwhile, District 6 can point to little more than a portion of SMUD's campus and a struggling business park created after the closure of the Sacramento Army Depot. Unlike other districts, the 6th is defined by its proximity to job creators and promising redevelopment projects, as opposed to being home to those types of resources. It's understandable that McCarty was looking out for the interests of his district; the area has historically been an afterthought in the city's revitalization priority list.

This is not to say that District 6 needs the Medical Center or Sac High within its borders; it does not. District 6 benefits from being located close to the Med Center and Sac State, institutions that provide the area with positive social and economic impact despite being located in other council districts. While some may argue that the same could be true of the proximity between Oak Park to a redistricted Sac High and Med Center, it is fair to say that Oak Park needs those facilities more than District 6 does. Stuart Eldridge, an Oak Park business owner, summarized it best during his comments at Tuesday's Council meeting when he said "those institutions are too vital to Oak Park's psyche...ripping out our inner core, even symbolically, is something Oak Park does not need."

Hopefully this issue is not used to create a wedge between the people living on opposite sides of Stockton Boulevard. The citizens of Oak Park are upset right now, and they have every right to be. However, it's important to point out that key citizens of Tahoe Park advocated--and continue to advocate--redistricting plans that seek to unite, not separate the two communities.

City Council chooses surprise new redistricting map

2011-08-10T07:35:37Z

The city of Sacramento will have new district boundaries by the end of the month, but the lines won’t be familiar to anyone who has followed the process so far.

In a 6-3 vote, the City Council passed a motion Tuesday to use a new map submitted by Councilman Steve Cohn as the ‘base map’ for new district boundaries – much to the surprise of advisory committee members, meeting attendees and Mayor Kevin Johnson.

“I am extremely disappointed and sad,” Johnson said. “This is the worst-case scenario. It’s the council putting self-interest above all else, and that is disappointing.”

The map – which Cohn named “Neighborhoods Together 2.0” – was submitted just minutes before the council meeting was set to begin Tuesday.

Cohn said he felt the new map was necessary because it addressed concerns that the previous maps did not, including keeping districts more compact and cohesive and allowing for better representation of communities of interest.

Although the agenda item on redistricting included opportunity for public comment, the new map wasn’t introduced until after public comment had concluded.

The goal of the new map, as described by Cohn, is to “keep neighborhoods together,” and it is intended to address concerns expressed about the previous maps submitted by he and Sheedy at the July 26 council meeting.

One of those concerns was that the population deviation in the merged Cohn/Sheedy map released Friday was 11.9 percent, exceeding the city-mandated maximum of 10 percent. The total population deviation of the new map is 9.92 percent.

Another concern expressed to the council was the division of Latino communities across multiple districts thereby “diluting their voting power,” according to Eric Guerra, a representative of the Latino Redistricting Working Group and the president of the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association.

“What this map does that no other map does,” Cohn said, “is provide Latino representation greater than 30 percent in four council districts.”

“I think it’d be undershooting (for the Latino community) to look at only one (council) seat when you could be looking at four seats,” Cohn added.

Discussion of the merits of the new map became heated as council members argued about what district the UC Davis Medical Center and the surrounding neighborhood, including Sacramento High School, belongs in.

Councilman Jay Schenirer noted that, although the Med Center neighborhood has historically been part of District 5, the 2.0 map assigns it to District 6.

“For the past 40 years they’ve been in District 5,” Schenirer said. “I’d like to know what is the rationale for moving it?”

Cohn said the primary effort of the new map is to keep neighborhoods together, but added that moving the neighborhood into District 6 compensates for the addition of the railyards to District 3.

“District 3, with the railyards in it, has potential for growth,” Cohn said, “but District 6 doesn’t have that same potential.”

Schenirer stood his ground, saying “we could argue how long that growth would take,” and told Cohn that the council should “put the Med Center neighborhood back with Oak Park, where it’s been for 40 years.”

The council passed a motion to accept the new map without the adjustment of shifting the Med Center neighborhood back to Oak Park and District 5.

Although Councilwoman Angelique Ashby ultimately voted against it, she initially expressed her support of the new base map, saying that a new map being added by the council – even at this late date – does not contradict the work of the advisory committee.

“I’m offended by the notion that if we don’t take one of the four maps submitted by the advisory committee, that we are somehow being less than transparent,” Ashby said. “This is a process: the community submitted maps, the committee vetted them, and now (the council) looks at them.”

Ashby said it has always been the prerogative of the council to make refinements to any map as part of the redistricting process and in addition to the work of the advisory committee.

Councilman Rob Fong agreed, saying, “I don’t think there’s any disrespect to the advisory committee here.”

Fong said everything the council has done is a “derivative” of the advisory committee’s work, and having refinements done by the council was something the council had always considered.

“I don’t know that there are any perfect solutions for any district,” Fong said. “This process is like having a lot of Jell-O in a big sack. Wherever you push or pull, it’s going to affect all the other districts.”

Johnson was visibly upset by the submission of yet another new map.

“It’s clear that politics took over the process,” Johnson said. “I do not think elected officials should choose their voters. We throw the word transparency around a lot, but I don’t think anything we’ve done here has been transparent. There’s no way the public is fooled by it.”

“We get a map at 5:55 p.m. today, and we’re supposed to vote on it today without the public weighing in on it at all?”Johnson said. “I think it’s ridiculous, and I think our priorities are upside-down.”

Johnson and Schenirer voted against the proposed new map, along with councilwoman Ashby who disagreed with the way the new map shifted large portions of neighborhoods from her district into a new district.

City staff will prepare an ordinance based on the new map for the council to adopt at the earliest opportunity, according to city clerk, Shirley Concolino.

The new map is expected to be passed for publication on Aug. 23 and adopted by the end of the month.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this article after it was published.

Junior Giants Back in Season

2011-07-11T22:38:34Z

Riding high on a World Series Championship spirit, the Southeast Sacramento Junior Giants launched their annual summer youth baseball program on July 9th with 225 smiling faces. The Junior Giants, the flagship program of the Giants Community Fund, is a free, non-competitive and innovative baseball program for boys and girls ages 5-18 years old. Councilmember Kevin McCarty and the City of Sacramento founded a local chapter of the program in 2005 in the Avondale/Glen Elder neighborhood. It has now served over 1,000 boys and girls over the past seven years at George Sim Park.

“I couldn’t be more excited about this season and the continued success of our Jr. Giants league”. Councilmember McCarty stated, “Especially when City/School sports programs are being cut and families are struggling with sports registration fees -- this free program serves a vital need in an undeserved neighborhood”.

Neighborhood president and League Commissioner Jermain Gill also brimmed with pride over the programs’ past seven successful years. “Last year, with the help of the SF Giants Community Fund, we christened a brand new field -- Matt Cain Field -- and added a Tee Ball field to help accommodate our strong community demand. This year’s 225 kids is a record for us. We are thrilled”, stated Gill. (To see the new Matt Cain field go to: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100615&content_id=11222000&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf)

In 1994, the SF Giants Community Fund founded a program that would give at-risk kids a meaningful partnership with community-based organizations and provide an alternative to drugs, gangs and crime. The Junior Giants Program was therefore established and now serves 17,000 children in 85 leagues across California and into Nevada and Oregon. The Community Fund provides all of the uniforms, equipment, and training necessary to run a league as well as tickets to select Giants games so the youth can experience a Major League Baseball game. But more important than the fundamentals of baseball, the Junior Giants Program focuses on the four bases of character development - Confidence, Integrity, Leadership and Teamwork - and offers programs in Education, Health and Violence Prevention
To learn more about the program, find local Jr. Giants leagues or to learn how to support the program, go to: http://mlb.mlb.com/sf/community/gcf/juniorgiants.jsp

Disclosure: Juanita Martinez is the Southeast Sacramento Junior Giants Coach Coordinator

K Street redevelopment project a 'great investment for the city'

2011-06-25T03:02:16Z

The approval of the redevelopment project for the 700 block of K Street brings more than just the prospect of a revitalized block of the J-K-L corridor, it also includes financial incentives that supporters say will spur the local economy and bolster revenues for the city.

Originally, developers Bay Miry, D & S Development, and Ali Youssefi, CFY Development, proposed that the city put in $16 million of funding assistance – one half of that amount in the form of a grant, and the other half in repayable loans from a variety of redevelopment agency sources.

Since the initial proposal, however, Miry and Youssefi were able to tap into new funding sources for the project, including a federal program called New Market Tax Credits (NMTC).

With more outside funding, the amount of private investment increased and the level of public investment decreased.

The approved project now includes only $14.7 million in public funds – nearly $2 million less than originally proposed.

“From a financing standpoint, we’re pleased that the developers have made such an effort to increase their equity input,” Councilman Rob Fong said Friday. “It’s a great investment for the city.”

In addition to a decreased level of public funding for the project, the city will profit from the redevelopment project at 40 percent of whatever the cash-flow is.

This translates to a return for the city of approximately $17.4 million on a $14.7 million investment.

“That is unheard of in a private-public partnership project,” Miry said. “It’s a really good thing for the city.”

That’s not all, though, according to Miry.

The financing terms of the project include yet another added incentive to the city.

In the event the development is ever sold to new investors, the city will receive 20 percent of the profit from the sale, over and above full repayment of all loans on the original project.

“Neither of those two aspects (a high return on reduced investment and profit on future sale) were part of the initial proposal,” Miry said.

City Council members gave the green light to the K Street project on Tuesday, saying the project would be “transformative” and “invigorating” for the downtown sector.

“This long awaited project will certainly change the face of K Street,” said Maurice Chaney, communications specialist for the city’s Economic Development Department. “It will generate millions in tax revenue and support 500 permanent jobs once operational.”

“This is a win, win, win situation,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty Friday.

“It’s a win for revitalizing K Street. It’s a win for housing downtown. It’s a win for development and jobs,” McCarty said.

Read more about the 700 block project here.

McCarty reflects on tough budget choices

2011-06-09T01:13:18Z

In an unparalleled move, the Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday night to move forward with cuts that will drastically change the scope of its public safety departments. Eighty sworn officers are on the chopping block, and there is a plan to brownout four fire stations on a rotating basis.

“I said in January there would be a day of reckoning,” Councilmember Kevin McCarty told the packed council chambers. “Today is that day.”

After the council meeting, I spoke briefly with McCarty to get his thoughts on the night’s historic events.

Isaac Gonzalez: You didn’t agree with Councilmember Cohn’s idea to add ask for concessions from the Police and Fire Departments and to match those amounts with one-time funding. (1)

Kevin McCarty: I agree we should try to put more money in, but taking it from our reserve just put us in a precarious financial situation, and it wasn’t the most prudent thing to do. But I do hope that we can use the fire and police’s concessions to buy down some of their effects.

Fire, I said earlier, they have a lot of stuff on the table. (A) measure by (State Assemblyman) Dr. Pan could bring in $1 or $2 million by mid-year. Right now they have two brownouts. We’re proposing to go to four. For fire, for example, each brownout is 1.4 million, so 3 and a half (million) would cover two brownouts. So if they do a concession, let’s say, of $1.5 million, and we get a million and half from this measure, we could go back to two within a year. So there’s a path to get there, with those revenues. But the answer to the question, I just didn’t think it’s the prudent thing to do.

IG: With the $4 million reserve currently, that would only cover two weeks of payroll. That’s a very slim margin.

KM: That’s a 4 percent reserve. It’s dangerously low.

IG: And with the city’s practice of borrowing money and lending it every night…(2)

KM: You can go back and ask our treasurer. He did a report three or four weeks ago how it just puts us in a difficult, very tough position.

IG: Tonight you talked about keeping the city swimming pools open this year but maybe not for next year.

KM: I think that we decided that we would have a commitment to do it. We don’t have to deal with that problem today. Bottom line, I think the council is committed to keeping the keeping the pools open, but the decision was [not?] necessary to make, not today. The pools are tricky in the summer, the middle of the budget year. We have enough money from last year’s budget to keep the pools open this year.

IG: A lot of passionate people here tonight, a very passionate debate. It must be hard to see people whose responsibility it is to protect the city to ask for council not to cut to the bone.

KM: Well, the math really speaks for itself. There’s only so much you can do. When you spend, for example, on public safety — as much as it pains me to make these tough cuts, public safety makes up as much as 85 percent of our general fund. You can’t bridge a $39 million gap by not taking a look at that 85 percent. It’s very difficult and painful, but I think the math speaks for itself.

IG: I think in past years council has dipped into the one-time funds and also eliminated vacant positions, and now that we’re past that…

KM: We’ve essentially cut to the bone and now all there was is amputations. That’s what we had to do. Some people say that we need to make sure public safety is our top priority. I would argue that they are. They’ve become even more of a priority. In 2008 public safety received 73 percent of the budget. Now they receive 85 percent of the budget, so they’ve actually gone up in that direction.

IG: Thank you, Councilmember.

KM: OK, thank you.

(1) Cohn proposed enticing the Police and Fire Departments to make labor concessions by offering additional budget funding in match amounts, up to $2.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively. The motion was rejected by the council.

(2) An example of how the city invests and borrows money on the long and short term can be found here: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/treasurer/Investment/Monthly%20Investment%20Report_April2011.pdf

Council intends to make major public safety cuts

2011-06-08T07:44:49Z

The Sacramento City Council’s tentative decision Tuesday night to make severe budget cuts to public safety is not final, but it made a big statement.

Council members voted 6-3 to say they intend to make budget cuts later this month that include layoffs of 82 sworn cops and increases in brownouts or alternating closures for fire services.

A big caveat to the tentative decision is the council’s statement that it is still open to further negotiations with the city’s public safety unions.

Tuesday’s hearing drew intense public interest. Many people arrived more than an hour early to the 6 p.m. meeting. Shortly before 5 p.m., about 70 people waited in line for the doors at City Hall to open.

About 340 people were at City Hall around 6:15 p.m. The 230 seats inside the City Council’s chambers were filled, and another 110 people were outside, in the lobby and in a second-floor overflow area.

A City Hall police security officer estimated at 7 p.m. there were 400-450 people at City Hall.

City leaders are facing a $39 million deficit for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The City Council is expected to approve a budget June 21.

Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to say they intend to make public safety cuts, among other reductions, though they may still negotiate with unions for changes to the cuts.

Council members Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson voted against the tentative decision.

Schenirer proposed the tentative decision, stating that cuts to public safety were necessary in order for the city to get on a fiscally responsible track.

“The right thing happens to be the more difficult thing this year, unfortunately,” he said.

The proposal includes $12.2 million in cuts to the Police Department and $9 million in cuts to the Fire Department.

The suggested cuts include layoffs of 82 sworn cops in the Police Department and 68 civilian personnel, according to updated statistics provided Tuesday night by Sgt. Norm Leong, police department spokesman.

The department could restore 35 staff if it obtains a waiver on a federal grant, according to city officials.

“I just can’t, in good conscience, support a budget where we’re going to cut $12 million from police,” Johnson said.

In addition to its tentative decision, the council made a final decision Tuesday night to approve a federal grant for the Sacramento Fire Department. The funding from the federal government comes from the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.

The six council members also said they intend to make fire cuts that would raise the number of alternating closures, or “brownouts,” of fire services from two to four. Without the grant, the city would be weighing whether to make six brownouts.

The city manager’s office is not proposing layoffs for the Fire Department.

As part of the 6-3 vote, the council also said it intends to keep 11 community centers open without setting aside any money for them through the Department of Parks and Recreation. It’s unclear how that can be accomplished. Schenirer suggested that neighborhoods could help keep the centers open.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council explores long-term budget issues

2011-06-03T05:19:26Z

The Sacramento City Council discussed Thursday how to make major changes to city operations in the next few years to resolve the city’s long-term imbalance where costs outpace revenues.

The city’s $39 million gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year is part of an ongoing trend of budget shortfalls. Multi-million budget gaps will remain until fiscal year 2015/2016 as a result of the city’s imbalanced finances, according to predictions by city officials.

“We need to set the expectation of what the City Council wants to provide for the residents and the businesses of this city,” Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka said.

Seven council members were at the budget meeting – Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty were absent. Some of the council members said they wanted to explore the long-term budget problems on a regular basis after the budget is approved June 21.

The topic of city services was discussed during the meeting.

“We don’t even really have to be a full-service city,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said, “but we have to maintain core services.”

Councilman Rob Fong said the City Council should examine the ways the city administers services.

“We need to look at how we deliver the services that our citizens have come to expect,” Fong said. “So, what I would ask is that we take a strong look with our best thinkers ... and say, ‘Shake the Etch A Sketch up ... erase the white board.’ ”

Councilman Steve Cohn said that discussions about how to change the city and its budget should involve the rank-and-file workers. He questioned the format of Thursday’s meeting, saying that the council should consider meeting with workers in a format that is less formal than a City Council meeting in which council members sit on a dais or stage.

Councilman Jay Schenirer asked Masuoka to draft a schedule for council members to work on the long-term budget problems.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City budget crisis: Past, present and future

2011-05-07T00:51:25Z

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 that amount, $362 million would be the general fund.

The city defines the general fund, consisting of taxes and fees, as its main fund for operations.

The City Council is now weighing whether to lay off hundreds of city employees in the next few weeks.

Mayor Kevin Johnson was visibly distressed Tuesday night after Masuoka briefed the City Council on the budget cuts and layoffs suggested by the city manager’s office.

“Those brutal facts gave me a headache,” Johnson said. “We’re talking about laying off a lot of people. And that just doesn’t feel good for any of us.”

Edgar explains in the budget document why the city has a $39 million gap. Because the city is still in a recession, sales tax revenues are likely to stay flat, and property tax revenues are down, the budget document says.

Labor costs have risen due to union contracts, new Fire Department staff in Natomas and mandatory retirement payments for employees, according to the document.

And, the city must keep its vehicles in working condition and replace old public safety machinery such as ambulances and defibrillators, all of which costs money, the document states.

City employees from various departments could be laid off, including 80 cops.

Police officers have been shielded from layoffs for decades: No officers were laid off during Sacramento City Councilman Darrell Fong’s 30-year career with the Police Department, Fong said last week. He retired from the department in 2009.

Even though the department has not faced layoffs of cops, the number of positions has shrunk in recent years.

“We had 804 officers in 2007 and 704 in 2010,” police spokeswoman Laura Peck said.

The city currently has 701 sworn police officers.

Johnson said Tuesday that he wants to learn more about the context of the cuts in recent years. He asked staff to present information soon on the following questions:

“How much have we cut from our general fund over the last four years?” Johnson asked city staff. “And then, secondly, how has that impacted job reduction over that period of time? I’m just interested because that time period has been brutal for our community.”

The Sacramento Press will report on city staff’s answers to Johnson’s questions when the information becomes available.

On top of its past and current woes, the immediate future for Sacramento’s city government does not look bright.

City officials project in the budget document that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016. The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014.

In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

“Given the lack of any significant revenue growth in the forecast, the current level of annual expenditure is not sustainable,” according to the budget document.

Still, the discussion of the current $39 million gap is continuing, and it’s possible that council members could find ways to prevent some cuts.

For example, Council members Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Angelique Ashby all said they like the idea of seeing whether the city could move the public safety headquarters from Freeport Boulevard to the city’s Richards Boulevard location. The city has extra space at its Richards Boulevard building, Fong said.

Moving public safety workers to Richards Boulevard could save the city an estimated $800,000 - $900,000 per year in energy savings and maintenance costs, Fong said, referring to an estimate from the Police Department.

The Freeport building is not energy-efficient, he said.

City leaders need to look for “creative options to save a few bucks,” McCarty said.

Read a list of all the upcoming city budget hearings here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Intense city budget talks begin

2011-05-04T06:09:21Z

Sacramento City Council members began discussions Tuesday on the city manager’s recommendation to cut as many as 366 jobs in the budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

One city union protested the proposed layoffs at City Hall before the City Council meeting, and representatives from two other unions expressed their opposition to the cuts during the meeting.

City officials presented the budget recommendations from the city manager’s office at Tuesday’s meeting and summarized the budget document.

As part of the meeting, Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka explained a chart on the job cuts recommended by the city manager’s office.

The city would need to slice 250 full-time positions to gain the $39 million in savings. But Masuoka and Interim City Manager Bill Edgar are making recommendations for cuts on top of the $39 million in light of the city’s ongoing financial woes.

City officials project that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016.

The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014. In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

If the City Council decides to cut all the positions that Masuoka and Edgar have suggested, 366 positions would be lost, according to page 28 of the chart Masuoka referenced.

It’s unclear at this point how many actual layoffs would result if the City Council decided to cut the 366 jobs. The numbers may change during the budget process. Plus, the city uses a process of demoting some employees while laying off others that can change the numbers.

Regardless, the City Council could decide to make hundreds of layoffs in the next few weeks.

“This budget is very painful,” Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby indicated she would make efforts to avoid layoffs to police and fire employees. As many as 80 sworn officers could be laid off in the proposed budget, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

Ashby said the citizens she represents are concerned about police and fire staffing and levee improvements.

“I’ve got to find ways to make those my top priority,” she said.

Councilman Kevin McCarty asked city staff to prepare an alternate budget that would show the city’s financial situation if the City Council made no public safety cuts.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he was concerned about the layoffs.

Marcia Mooney, business representative for Local 39, said there could be about 150 layoffs of members of her union, who work in city services including parks maintenance, utilities and solid waste, she said. Local 39 is pressing the City Council to not put the brunt of layoffs on rank-and-file workers.

Representatives of the Sacramento Police Officers Association and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 addressed the City Council during the meeting.

“You’re making life-and-death decisions,” said Detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the police union.

The police department, he said, has already been “cut to the bone.”

Jaymes Butler of the firefighters’ union said Fire Department cuts could hurt communities. The proposed budget would ramp up the number of Fire Department “brownouts” from two to six.

The city fire department has two rolling brownouts in effect, which means that certain fire trucks and engines are out of service at various times, according to former Fire Department spokesman Jim Doucette.

The next public budget meeting will be held Thursday, May 12. The Sacramento Press will publish the time and place of the meeting as soon as it can obtain that information.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council weighs in on safe ground

2011-04-27T05:49:46Z

Should a group of homeless people be allowed to camp together in Sacramento without outside monitoring?

Safe Ground Sacramento, a group of mostly homeless people, says it should have the right to be “self-governing” and to operate an overnight camp independently.

But a few Sacramento City Council members said they disagreed with that idea Tuesday.

The City Council held a workshop on the safe ground issue as part of its weekly meeting. Over the past two years, Safe Ground Sacramento has asked the city to dedicate land for a site where the homeless could camp legally overnight. The city has an ordinance that bans overnight camping.

One of the group’s key principles is that its members are “self-governing” and that operations are led by elected members, according to a presentation by Safe Ground Sacramento Executive Director Stephen Watters.

The group is a community of people with “common needs,” Watters said.

“People watch out for each other and provide mutual support,” he told the City Council. “The community spirit that develops has turned people’s lives around.”

The Safe Ground Sacramento group asks its members to be drug- and alcohol-free and to not engage in violence. Members of the group camp overnight together, despite the camping ban.

But Councilman Rob Fong disagreed with the self-governance principle.

“I am not comfortable with a self-governing population,” Fong said. “I know that everyone I’ve talked to suggests that there needs to be a programmatic aspect to transitioning people out of homelessness.”

Homeless people need to be matched up with social services to help them find permanent housing, Fong said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he supported the safe ground idea but wanted the group to link to a social services program.

Councilman Kevin McCarty mentioned the model at Quinn Cottages, which combines housing with social services.

While Safe Ground Sacramento regularly lobbies the City Council to set aside land for homeless people to stay overnight, a spot has still not been selected.

Watters discussed the thorny issue of finding a location in an April 12 statement sent to City Council members.

“Members of the Safe Ground Sacramento Site Development Team, after concluding a series of meetings, have been unable to select an appropriate location that could be developed as a long-term housing site from the list of more than 1,900 city-owned properties provided by city staff,” Watters wrote.

“Parcels deemed appropriate based on size, proximity to public transit (i.e. Regional Transit bus and light rail stops), and other locational factors were found unacceptable due to various ecological, political and existing city planning factors when investigated in depth by the joint city / Safe Ground team.”

The group is now searching for two kinds of locations – an 18-month site as well as a permanent spot – and working on building relationships with the city and county governments and local business sector, Watters wrote.

No specific date for deciding a location was set Tuesday.

Read Watters’ statement here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

South Stockton Business Walk

2011-04-15T07:38:15Z

The City of Sacramento along with the Greater Sacramento Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and Stockton Boulevard Partnership hosted a business walk Thursday.

The walk focused on businesses located in the “Little Saigon” area of South Stockton, which runs from Florin Road to Fruitridge Road.

The city’s Economic Development Business Visit Program serves to check on the needs of businesses and to connect them with the proper resources so they can flourish.

Terrence Johnson, the executive director of the Stockton Boulevard Partnership said the focus is to address the issues affecting businesses.

The Little Saigon district is home to many small businesses, particularly Southeast Asian businesses, Mai Nguyen, president of the Greater Sacramento Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce (GSVACC), said.

Organizations such as SMUD, BERC, Stockton Boulevard Partnership, Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce, city and county employees all helped in canvassing the various business in the area.

There are two barriers that the Asian business owners are dealing with: language and culture, these two make it challenging to network, Nguyen said.

“We want to reach out to them and listen to their concerns and needs,” Nguyen said. “We want to break barriers. We don’t want them to feel afraid or to feel like they did something wrong. They are used to inspectors, and/or audits coming in, but this is a refreshing visit. We want to put them at ease and inform them of the resources available.”

The new Pho Saigon Bay restaurant at 6458 Stockton Blvd. was the starting and finishing place for the walk, which went from 10 a.m. - noon.

It is symbolic to have a new business host the event because it is all about promoting business economic growth and retention of businesses, Nguyen said.

Participants dispersed into teams of two with one member being a Vietnamese speaker and another being an English speaker. In total, there were 20 teams, according to Lorrie Lowry, project manager for the city’s Economic Development Department.

Many times the assigned businesses were congregated, it made it simple to walk to the surrounding businesses but at times people drove.

The City sent a letter informing them of the visit in advance.

As each team visited the various businesses, they asked them three questions: How is business? What do you like about doing business in this area? What can city, partner and the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce do to improve business?

They also left each business with a bag filled with various resources. These resources ranged from SMUD rebate programs to California capital (small business loans) information and Sacramento Works, which is an organization that assists with hiring.

About 230 businesses were visited in total, and each team was assigned an average of 14 businesses in the two hours , Lowry said.

Tim Nguyen, owner of Xtreme Tint, Alarm and Sound, said he started his business in 2000.

“I didn’t know of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, but I think this is very informative, and it is nice of them to come out and reach out to local business.”

He told the city visitors that business is tough, the roads in front of the store needs to be fixed and more lights are needed in the streets.

Norm Gentry, owns Norm’s Electric and said he was excited to speak with the representatives.

“It is neat that they got out here,” he said.

“As long as they care and it is not just for show,” Don Gentry, Norm’s son, added.

Stephanie Brians, manager at Security Public Storage was equally pleased.

“It is nice to see someone come in and ask and want to hear from us. Usually, if I have a problem, I have to find a way to contact them or write to them,” Brians said.

She expressed concern for safety, crime reduction, gangs and drugs.

Next month, there will be a seminar coordinated by the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce.

The date, time and location is yet to be discussed, Lowry said.

The information collected after such walks are used to create specific plans that can further aid in enhancing the success of these businesses.

Overall, it is important to get an idea of what is going on so there is direct response, Lowry said.

“The long-term vision is we establish relationships and the businesses now have direct contacts,” Mai Nguyen said.

Last year, the economic development department of the city organized various business walks in the northern and central City.

This is the first business walk of the year and there will be three more. They are scheduled to take place in Florin, Natomas and the third location is still being decided.

For more information, visit www.CityofSacramento.Org website.

Councilman wants written assurance from team

2011-04-12T00:11:38Z

Sacramento officials anticipate that if the Kings move, the $77 million in bonds issued by the city will be paid off, but City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he is concerned about when.

He said they could do one of three things: “They could move and pay back their loan, or they could move and make minimum payments for the next 15 years, or, No. 3, they could move and default” He added that he is pushing for a single lump sum payoff if the Kings do move.

He said his reading of the 1997 contract for the loan with former Kings owner Jim Thomas is that the loan must be paid in full if the Kings move, but he has his doubts.

“How are they going to pay off the city’s (loan) if they don’t have the cash right now?” he asked. “We don’t have an equal amount of collateral if it goes south. That puts us in a very precarious financial situation.”

McCarty said the collateral amounts to a $25 million stake in the Kings and ownership of Power Balance Pavilion, which was recently assessed at a value of $30 million.

“The collateral is 60 cents on the dollar,” he said.

City Treasurer Russ Fehr said Monday the contract clearly states in four different places that the loan must be paid off in full if the Kings do relocate.

“The precise timing is unclear – it ranges on when the league approves (the move) to when they play their first game elsewhere, but that’s only a couple of months. It’s not a big deal,” he said.

McCarty said the 1997 contract wasn’t enough and that he wants a written agreement from the Maloofs that the loan will be paid in full if the team does leave.

“I don’t think (the 1997 contract) has the rock-solid, 100 percent protection that we’d like,” he said.

If the loan isn’t paid in full, McCarty said he would support litigation to get the loan paid up-front.

He added that a number of problems could arise if the payments were spread out.

“We don’t want them making monthly payments for the next 15 years,” he said. “What if something goes wrong (or the NBA) has a work stoppage?”

The City Council revisited the loan agreement in September, and voted not to overturn a 2003 amendment executed by then-City Treasurer Tom Friery, which subordinated the loan behind another loan from the NBA.

In the event of the Kings going bankrupt, Sacramento would be in line after an NBA loan when it comes to repayment.

Fehr brought the matter to the council in 2010 because he said he didn’t think it was within Friery’s authority to amend the contract as he had without council approval.

“I voted no, because I thought it was a bad deal,” McCarty said. “We could be in serious trouble, and the city is much more at risk because of the action in further subordinating the loan.”

Fehr added that it only becomes an issue in the event of a bankruptcy or league downsizing.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said he voted to keep the 2003 amendment in effect because he feared the city would have been sued otherwise.

“I don’t think at the time we really had much choice,” Cohn said. “We would have gotten in litigation because the treasurer had already approved that, and it had been in place for seven years. Had I been asked to enter into that in 2003, that’s a different question.”

Both Cohn and Fehr said they want the loan to be paid back in one lump sum.

“That’s what they’re required to do,” Cohn said, adding that under any other scenario, the city would need something in return.

“I think we are entitled to be paid back a lump sum, so for us to agree to something less than that, we would need something in return,” he said, though he declined to speculate on what that “something in return” would be, but said it would be a subject for negotiations.

Fehr said the Maloofs have never missed a payment and have always provided confidential financial information required in the contract – though that information cannot be released under the terms of the contract.

“They’ve said they would pay the loan,” he said. “The league said it expects teams to fulfill their obligations, but there’s always some uncertainty. Until it’s done, it will be of great concern to the city.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Create an online redistricting map

2011-04-09T01:21:09Z

Anyone in the city can use the city’s online tools to carve up the eight City Council districts and present their redistricting ideas to city leaders.

The mapmaking tool for the 2011 redistricting process is free to use, and the city welcomes maps from residents.

Maps developed and submitted by citizens will be shared with the City Council, the council’s redistricting advisory committee and the general public, said Maria MacGunigal, the city’s Geographic Information Systems manager.

Every decade, the city rearranges its council districts by applying U.S. Census data.The reordered districts should all have the same population, according to city staff.

“The primary objective of redistricting is to balance population,” MacGunigal said.

Another concern is the makeup of the districts: The balanced districts must not disenfranchise various groups of people, MacGunigal said. Issues related to disenfranchisement of racial groups were discussed at a Feb. 28 Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting.

The deadline to turn in maps to the city is May 16. All maps must be designed using the online tools – the city is not using paper maps, MacGunigal said. The City Council will make final decisions on redistricting in September.

The city worked with a consultant, Environmental Systems Research Institute, to set up the redistricting tool. ESRI created redistricting software, MacGunigal said, and city staff helped set up its design, function and delivery to citizens.

The online tools are sophisticated and give users the ability to share their maps with others.

“You can share your plan, you can create a group and invite users of the tool to participate with you,” MacGunigal said.

Users can work on the maps in sessions by saving their online work and returning to it – they do not have to create the map in one sitting.

The Census data shows that the city’s population rose from 407,018 in 2000 to 466,488 in 2010. With the city’s population at 466,488, each district must have 58,311 people.

District 1 is the largest, with 106,729 people. Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are relatively close in size, ranging in population from about 46,000 people to about 53,000 people. District 4, represented by Councilman Rob Fong, has 45,703 people, making it the least-populated district in the city.

The Sacramento Press tried out the online tools Friday for illustration purposes and to help citizens understand the process of making your own map.

First, a free account must be created.

Next, read the city’s instructions on how to use the online tools to cut up the districts.

The “create” tab is where the redistricting action takes place. Using the tools here, you can move pieces of one district to another district. Remember, the districts will need to each have 58,311 people.

Divvying up the population in the city is like playing with a Rubik’s Cube. It’s not quick or easy to bring all the districts to the same population numbers. When a user moves a piece of one district into another, the population may bring one district to the 58,311 goal but make another district much larger than 58,000.

Here is the existing map of District 1 before The Sacramento Press took a stab at it.

And here is the map of District 1 after The Sacramento Press brought it down to 58,313 people. (It was too tricky to bring it down to 58,311 on a journalism deadline.)

The Sacramento Press test map shows that it is a time-consuming process. Once a user lowers or raises a population to 58,311, the other districts may fall out of balance. While Ashby’s district was reduced to 58,313, District 2 now has too many people, with 80,119 people.

In addition, The Sacramento Press did not account for any of the crucial demographic data and how the map would affect neighborhoods. The online tool allows users to see the racial breakdown of how their maps affect communities.

City staff will hold training sessions next week that will demonstrate how to use the redistricting software. Three one-hour training sessions will be held at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Monday, April 11, at La Familia Center Computer Lab, 5523 34th St.

Training sessions will also be held at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 13, at North Natomas Library Computer Lab, 4660 Via Ingoglia.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Green waste on-the-street pickup rates could rise

2011-04-07T00:45:48Z

Loose-in-the-street green waste pickup may become more expensive for residents, according to comments made by City Council members Tuesday night.

During a discussion of green waste at Tuesday’s council meeting, the council asked city staff to prepare detailed plans for raising the rates on loose-in-the-street pickup and reducing the level of pickup service from weekly to biweekly. Council members did not make any final decisions on the issue.

Gerald Celestine, a founding member of Friends of Fremont Park, said Wednesday that he thinks loose-in-the-street pickup works better than container pickup for Central City residents.

“We have more trees,” he said. “We have much more green waste.”

The idea of using multiple containers also doesn’t work, he said, because there is not adequate room in the street to place the containers. “Where would people park?” he asked.

The Central City’s situation may be addressed by city staff in the future: The City Council asked staff to provide more information about ways to deal with geographic areas that are particularly leafy.

The city’s systems of green waste pickup – containers and loose-in-the-street – are linked to a 1977 law. Voters passed Measure A that year, which says City Hall cannot force residents to use green waste containers.

While the city says that only 12,121 properties now use loose-in-the-street pickup, it must offer loose-in-the-street pickup because of Measure A.

By contrast, 103,787 properties in the city are using containers now, according to the Utilities Department.

The rate cannot remain at $13.71 per month because there are so few people now sharing the cost burden, according to city staff.

City staff argue that keeping the rates at $13.71 breaks state law Proposition 218, which says utilities rates must correspond to the costs of providing utilities services.

The rates should be higher, according to city staff, because so few people are still using loose-in-the-street pickup that their service is being subsidized by other solid waste rates.

Councilman Kevin McCarty noted Tuesday that city staff would work with the city’s Utilities Rate Advisory Commission on plans to raise rates for loose-in-the-street pickup.

Utilities Department staff has suggested raising rates for weekly loose-in-the-street pickup from $13.71 to $40 per month to match the costs of the service.

Alternately, staff suggested that the City Council could raise rates from $13.71 to $25, but scale down the service from weekly to every other week to align with the cost of service.

Staff also pointed out that the city still provides eight loose-in-the-street pickups each year to customers who use containers.

While council members said they want to explore the ideas of raising rates for pickup, McCarty and Cohn expressed hesitancy about the dollar amounts that staff proposed and noted that they weren’t agreeing to those amounts Tuesday night.

“Let’s not be on the record saying we approve either one,” Cohn said.

Council members also said they want to ask the public to vote in 2012 on whether to repeal Measure A.

“I’d like to go to the voters as soon as possible to take a look at repealing Measure A from 1977,” McCarty said Wednesday. “Clearly, times have changed, and I think we ought to look at reversing course on this 35-year-old policy.”

McCarty said there are a number of benefits to containers, including improved air quality resulting from fewer trucks picking up leaves and cleaner bike lanes.

Utilities Department spokeswoman Jessica Hess said the department has not yet set a date for when the green waste issue will be addressed at City Council again.

“We have a desire to correct the issue,” Hess said. “We are going to work on getting that expedited.”

Read the staff report here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council's closed meetings on Vina examined

2011-03-29T00:43:59Z

A number of recent City Council meetings relating to Interim City Manager Gus Vina, including the council’s January vote against his promotion, have been closed to the public. An attorney and open government advocate commented on the Brown Act Friday, saying he opposes “closed session” meetings on hiring and firing matters affecting the city manager.

Terry Francke, an attorney for the nonprofit open government group Californians Aware said city manager hiring and firing decisions should be made public.

Central to the issue of closed meetings is the way city officials interpret the Brown Act, a state law intended to make government meetings open to the public at the local level.

The City Council met in a closed session on Jan. 25, when it decided in a 5-4 vote not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. City Attorney Eileen Teichert said the closed session complied with the Brown Act.

“The closed session was duly noticed for the purpose of considering appointment or employment of the city manager, consistent with the Brown Act,” Teichert wrote in a Feb. 3 email. “The council’s decision in that closed session to proceed with a nationwide search was a byproduct of their discussions whether or not to appoint Mr. Vina as city manager.”

But Francke noted that the City Council made a choice to hold the meeting in closed session, saying that the Brown Act allows city councils to hold personnel discussions in closed sessions, but does not require it. In Francke’s view, the public should be welcome at discussions on city manager hiring and firing.

"People have a right to know about his or her qualifications and performance for two reasons,” he said.

“First of all, because they have a great interest in knowing the job is being done well, or, if not, what needs to be improved. Secondly, since this person is the most influential individual in the city structure, the council itself needs to be held accountable for choosing the right person and providing direction in a way that's appropriate to their responsibilities,” he added.

The council’s vote and decision to hold a national search for city manager was announced in the public City Council meeting held later in the evening on Jan. 25. But the discussion leading to the vote was held behind closed doors.

As a result, the public has no on-the-record information for why five of the members of the City Council voted against promoting Vina.

Vina told the City Council Friday that he was resigning with two weeks notice. His last day on the job will be April 8.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell were the five who voted against promoting Vina in January. They are not speaking publicly about why they voted for a national search and did not promote Vina.

They did not return phone calls from The Sacramento Press Friday.

In early February, McCarty said he declined to comment on his vote because it was a “personnel” and “closed session” matter.

Teichert said in her Feb. 3 email that the council members cannot talk about the closed session meeting.

“The Brown Act, the privacy rights of the candidate, and the City Council’s confidentiality policy preclude disclosure of any confidential discussions during closed session,” she wrote.

But Francke said closed sessions on city manager hiring and firing signal that city officials are hiding from the public.

“If their decision, on this person, is shrouded from public accountability, their single most important decision is also shrouded,” he said. “And, if that's the case, then they're ducking accountability and public scrutiny, as well.”

Read the full text of the Brown Act here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Vina transfers pressures with budget, unions to council

2011-03-28T02:09:57Z

The clock is ticking for the Sacramento City Council.

Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation on Friday morning means that the City Council must take immediate actions that will impact the city budget and labor negotiations with municipal unions.

Council members must find a new top city official one month before the city’s proposed budget is due. Vina’s resignation also means that the city’s labor unions will take up budget negotiations with a new city leader.

“We don’t have time to grieve,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said in an interview Friday.

Cohn was one of four council members who supported Vina’s earlier effort to become Sacramento’s next permanent city manager. In a split 5-4 vote on Jan. 25, the City Council decided not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. The five council members who voted to hold a national search for a new city manager were Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell.

Though the council did not promote him on Jan. 25, Vina said in February that he planned to compete in the national search.

But that plan came to a halt Friday, when Vina gave his resignation letter to the City Council and Mayor Kevin Johnson. He gave two weeks’ notice and will leave his post April 8.

“I need to move on and pursue other opportunities because I feel that for a city manager to be effective, you really have to have the confidence of the entire council,” Vina told The Sacramento Press on Friday. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now.”

Like Cohn, Councilwoman Angelique Ashby also commented on the need for the City Council to move rapidly.

“For me, he was the front-runner to be the next city manager for the city of Sacramento,” Ashby said. “Now, I think we have a pretty big challenge on our hands. We need to make some quick decisions. We need to come together as a council and really look at the future of our city.”

“And (we need to) find ways to be successful coming out of this situation,” she added.

Johnson’s office had not released a statement on Vina’s resignation by press time, even though spokesman Joaquin McPeek said a statement would be issued on Friday. Johnson supported Vina’s bid to become permanent city manager, saying in January that he hoped Vina would apply for the job in the national search.

The five council members who voted against promoting Vina in January did not return phone calls seeking comment on Friday. The Sacramento Press left phone messages with McCarty, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong, Sheedy’s office, Sheedy’s District Director Joann Cummins and Pannell’s office.

Turnover for the city manager position has been high lately. The City Council selected Vina for the interim post one year ago. Former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in February 2010.

New leader must grapple with city budget, union negotiations

The city’s government structure empowers the city manager to develop the city budget. While the City Council makes all final decisions on the budget, the city manager is responsible for preparing the proposed budget document.

Budget preparation at Sacramento City Hall is a weighty responsibility, especially in light of the city’s $35-40 million budget gap.

While the city is in the midst of a major budget shortfall, Cohn and Vina both expressed confidence that Vina’s departure would not delay the budget.

Cohn said Vina told him that the draft budget is on track and should be available to the public by the May 1 deadline. Cohn also said the city has experienced staffers working on the budget.

Vina said Friday that he is carrying out his budget responsibilities.

“We are very close to finishing the proposed budget,” Vina said. “It will be ready to meet the May 1 deadline.... I committed to council that I would get the budget done, and I will.”

But Councilman Jay Schenirer indicated that Vina’s departure will make the budget process more challenging.

“I think it’s a difficult time for the city right now,” Schenirer said. The budget process “was certainly a place where Gus was very strong,” he added.

While Cohn said he was confident that the budget work will get done on time, he expressed concern about labor negotiations, which are often a key part of balancing the budget.

The city manager’s responsibility as leader of labor negotiations for the city is critical, he said, especially when the city is asking the unions to make concessions.

“The bigger problem I see down the line is labor negotiations,” Cohn said.

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said his union was already talking to Vina about issues that would affect the city’s budget. Vina’s resignation interrupts that process, Tyndale said.

“These relationships are really important for us,” Tyndale said, noting that SPOA was able to communicate well with Vina, even when the union disagreed with him.

“With Gus departing ... it takes us back to square one,” Tyndale said.

However, another major city union may prefer Vina’s replacement over Vina.

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Stationary Engineers Local 39, said on Friday that she strongly opposed Vina’s recent decision to award raises to Finance Director Leyne Milstein, Human Resources Director Geri Hamby, Community Development Director Max Fernandez and Police Chief Rick Braziel.

Local 39 represents city workers in the areas of solid waste, code enforcement and animal care, Bryant said. The union represented 1,600 full-time city employees, according to statistics provided by Bryant last September.

“I think he was rewarding his loyalists,” Bryant said.

The amount of money in raises that went to top officials could have paid the salary of a parks worker, she said.

Vina raised Hamby’s salary from $151,402 to $162,000. Fernandez’ salary jumped from $164,445 to $172,667. Milstein’s salary rose from $131,270 to $150,304.

Braziel received an 8 percent raise in June, four days before he told the public he would not leave the city of Sacramento for a potential police chief position in Seattle.

Maurice Chaney, acting city spokesman for the city, responded to questions about the raises on Vina’s behalf in February.

“Two of the three salary changes (Community Development director and the HR director) were envisioned as the next planned step of last fiscal year's consolidation process, which occurred last July and resulted in a cost savings of more than $4 million,” Chaney wrote in an e-mail to The Sacramento Press. “Salary adjustments specific to these positions were considered because of the associated increases in departmental duties that resulted with these mergers.”

Chaney also commented on the raise for Milstein.

“The finance director has played a crucial role during the last four years in assisting with a budget deficit that has affected all city employees,” he wrote.

On the topic of Braziel’s raise, city spokeswoman Amy Williams said in September that he deserved the money because he had voluntarily taken a pay cut in 2008 with the understanding that it would be restored later.

Is Sacramento an unstable city?

In the view of city employee Cindy Bates, Vina’s resignation will not destabilize the city government.

“He’s left competent leaders behind to take care of the ship,” said Bates, a program analyst in the transportation department.

But Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood said Vina’s resignation is bad for business.

The business community must work with the city government, he said, giving the example of the requirement for businesses to receive city permits. An unstable city government discourages businesses within the region and those looking to bring business to the city, he said.

“There’s a lot of instability in the city of Sacramento, and that does not help foster a positive business environment,” he said Friday.

Mahood said the council members should change the way they interact if the city manager feels like he has to resign because he doesn’t have their support.

The council members need to align more with each other, he said, “and figure out a way to work together.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Vina resigns weeks before budget due date

2011-03-26T00:45:09Z

Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation comes just weeks before the city must propose a budget for the next fiscal year.

In Sacramento’s city government, the city manager prepares a proposed budget and the City Council makes final budget decisions. Vina told the Sacramento Press on Friday afternoon that the proposed budget will be on time even though he is leaving April 8.

“We are very close to finishing the proposed budget,” Vina said. “It will be ready to meet the May 1 deadline … I committed to council that I would get the budget done and I will.”

He said he was leaving because he was not supported by the full City Council. “I need to move on and pursue other opportunities because I feel that for a city manager to be effective, you really have to have the confidence of the entire council,” he said. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now.”

The City Council voted 5-4 on Jan. 25 against promoting Vina to the permanent city manager position.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to conduct a national search for a new city manager.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said then that the council felt that Vina did a “great job” as interim city manager.

Vina said in February that he planned to compete in the national search.

It’s unclear at this point who will replace Vina as interim city manager, said city spokesoman Maurice Chaney. The City Council will decide the next steps, Chaney said.

“In terms of identifying who will fill that void, (that) has yet to be determined,” Chaney said.

The City Council selected Vina for the interim post one year ago. Former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in February 2010.

Read in-depth coverage of the impact of Vina’s resignation Sunday.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Editorial Note: This is an updated version of an earlier story.

Volunteers Reign At Tahoe Park

2011-03-21T02:56:45Z

Nearly 50 volunteers descended on Tahoe Park this past Saturday morning for the first “Clean-Up Day” of the year. The stormy weather and gray clouds were no deterrent to the men, women, and children who participated in the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association’s event.

Friends and family members broke up into about a dozen teams and were given a wide berth to attend to whatever section of the park they wanted. Some teams patched the worn-out sections in the jogging path. Other teams weeded the tree trunks and spread fresh mulch around their bases. Even more teams cut suckers and low lying branches on the pine trees.

Eleven year resident Ray Duke found the event to be well organized and also a lot of fun. “I lived in Roseville before moving to Tahoe Park. This area feels better, it feels more neighborly.” Duke said. He is looking forward to attending future events, but hopes for better weather. “You can’t help the rain, you just deal with it. Next time, if we don’t have the rain, we’ll get even more done!”

For the first time, volunteers used tools that were purchased with money from a grant by “Gifts-To-Share Inc.” Brand new rakes, brooms, pruners, hedge trimmers, and wheelbarrows were thoroughly broken in on the park grounds. TPNA plans to put to them to good use again during future events.

Past events had been considered successful when they had attracted two dozen volunteers. Surprisingly, after the rolls had been tallied, organizers were humbled to learn that the attendance was at least 44 people at Saturdays event. Some people, who started participating later in the morning, didn‘t get a chance to sign in. For that reason, the true number of how many attended is estimated to have even been higher.

Bill Motmans, President of the TPNA, believes that this event was reflective of the giving nature of the residents of Tahoe Park. “Even with the rain, what a turnout! These people really prove the fact that this is a great place to live.” Motmans personally hauled several wheelbarrow loads of mulch and trimmed overgrown bushes that hid a long neglected flagpole. “This park is really going to shine now. These are the finishing touches that make our park a great place for neighbors to enjoy.”

Many representatives from the city were also in attendance. Julie Mier, volunteer coordinator for the parks department, made sure that workers had access to plenty of tools and a steady supply of hot chocolate. City park maintenance worker Tom Magarrell, who is responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of Tahoe Park, advised organizers of places in the park that could use extra attention. Vincene Jones, director of Neighborhood Services, came out and cheered on the enthusiastic crowd. Neighborhood Resources coordinator Khallid Muttaui even grabbed a pitchfork and loaded mulch into waiting wheelbarrows.

Councilmember Kevin McCarty arranged for Teichert Construction’s donation of two hundrend and fifty dollars worth of decomposed granite. As the volunteers work came to an end, McCarty addressed the crowd. “This is the model for what we need in our community, right here in Tahoe Park” he told the volunteers. “Neighbors coming out, in this time where our park budget has experienced huge cuts, that’s how we’re going to keep our park safe and beautiful.”

The Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association is planning another Clean-Up Day for late May. For more information please visit tahoe-park.org or email isaacTPNA@gmail.com.

Isaac Gonzalez is a board member of the TPNA.

Councilman McCarty pitches soda tax

2011-02-10T02:03:59Z

Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty is working on a proposal to tax soda and use the revenue on programs to combat childhood obesity. McCarty outlined his plan in an interview with The Sacramento Press on Wednesday.

McCarty said he is examining a soda tax of one cent per ounce of soda, with a cap of 10 cents per soda can or bottle. The tax would be confined to the city of Sacramento.

McCarty is considering having the revenue go to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for recreation programs.

“You could use the money for recreation – to keep kids fit – but also keep them out of trouble,” McCarty said.

McCarty’s proposal is in its early stages. He said he is talking to City Attorney Eileen Teichert about the public process for his proposal. A soda tax may need a two-thirds vote from Sacramento voters, according to state law Proposition 26.

A soda tax bill authored by former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) did not advance through the Legislature last year.

The California Retailers Association, which opposed Florez’s bill, said it would also oppose McCarty’s proposal.

Bill Dombrowski, the group’s president, argued that the tax would be “inappropriate” because it could be used to help balance the city’s budget.

But McCarty argued that the money would go toward recreation programs. He said a tax makes sense because soda is connected to childhood obesity. “This is a tax on soda, which is one of the major drivers of childhood obesity,” McCarty said. “There’s an actual link.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sacramentans can apply for redistricting panel

2011-02-09T07:12:31Z

Sacramentans can soon apply to serve on the City Council’s redistricting advisory panel. Four of the 13 panel positions will be available to the general public.

The eight council members and Mayor Kevin Johnson will each appoint a member of the panel. The remaining four spots are “at-large,” which means they will not be filled by appointees, said Scot Mende, the city’s new growth manager.

Applications for the four positions will be screened by the City Council’s Personnel and Public Employees Committee, Mende said. Then, the City Council will vote to select the four members, Mende said.

The city uses U.S. Census figures to restructure City Council districts every decade.

Read a schedule of February neighborhood meetings on redistricting here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City manager search could cost $35,000

2011-02-05T00:45:53Z

The city will conduct a national search for a new city manager in response to the City Council’s Jan. 25 decision against promoting Interim City Manager Gus Vina.

Recruiting fees could cost the city as much as $35,400, according to Sacramento’s Human Resources Department. An executive recruiting firm will be hired to conduct the search. The range in fees is estimated between $27,650 and $35,400.

One of two recruiting firms may be chosen by the City Council on Tuesday night. The two Sacramento-based recruiting firms are Wilcox Miller Nelson and CPS Human Resource Services.

The Human Resources Department’s report on the city manager search, which will be presented at the Feb. 8 City Council meeting, is now available online.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said Jan. 25 that he hopes Vina will apply for the city manager job during the national search. Asked earlier this week if he would apply for the job, Vina said, “I don’t know. I’m keeping all my options open.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn said Friday that the national search is likely to take a few months. He said a new city manager will likely not start work before July 1.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Citizens' group will study redistricting plans

2011-02-02T06:58:50Z

The Sacramento City Council decided Tuesday night that it will create a citizens' group to assist with this year’s redistricting process.

Council members voted 8-1 to form a citizens' advisory committee that would scrutinize redistricting plans suggested by the public. Councilwoman Angelique Ashby opposed the idea of a citizens' group, saying that the public should bring its redistricting plans directly to the council, instead of to a committee.

“I think the citizens should have direct access to us on this issue,” Ashby said.

But some of her colleagues on the City Council said that forming a citizens' committee would make the process more inclusive to the public. “Erring on the side of more citizen participation is what we should be doing,” Councilman Jay Schenirer said.

The council members decided the committee should have 13 members. Each council member and the mayor will appoint one person to the committee. The other four members will be at-large members.

Every 10 years, the city uses U.S. Census data to redesign its districts. City officials expect the relevant 2010 Census data to be released in April.

The city’s charter says the redistricting process should be completed six months after the Census data is released. To comply with the charter’s rule, the city’s deadline for the 2011 redistricting process will be Sept. 27, according to city staff.

City staffers wrote in a Jan. 18 report that city leaders will weigh the following elements in the redistricting process: topography, geography, cohesiveness, continuity, “integrity and compactness of territory,” community of interests, existing neighborhoods and community boundaries.

The city will also aim for each district to have the same number of people, according to city staff.

A series of neighborhood meetings on the redistricting process will be held this month. More information about the meetings can be found here.

Read the city’s redistricting website here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Editorial: Council shoots foot; visitors wounded

2011-01-29T00:29:53Z

The first few decisions made by Sacramento's new City Council aren't promising.

Putting off a decision – again – on the arena is irritating, but after as much delay as we've seen in this process, we're used to it. It will just slow things down. Presumably, it won't do much harm.

And there may be insider reasons for why Gus Vina was passed over after a year as interim city manager, a job he seemed to be widely admired for.

But HOW does one explain why the "crash tax" passed Tuesday? This is sheer foolishness. That it was a 5-4 split isn’t reassuring.

It's understandable that the council wants to find ways to raise some cash in tight times, but this is a foot-shootingly dumb way to do it. And it might not even raise much cash, if other cities' experiences are any indication. But the message it sends to visitors, to businesses and to the public at large is horrible.

That message is: We don't really want you coming to the city center. And if you do, you're on your own. Because we don't think you're worth protecting without additional cash.

A couple of the members who voted for the tax (Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Jay Schenirer, Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson) expressed reservations about it, but went ahead and voted for it anyway – which feels even worse.

Surely, they mean well, big picture. But let's look at how this is going to work in the little picture. Which means, not on a budget ledger, but in ordinary peoples' lives.

You live in Folsom, or Roseville (which has a similar tax) or Elk Grove. Or Los Angeles. Or Toronto. Or Reno. Anywhere but Sacramento. You want to come down to, say, the new businesses on K Street. You know, those businesses the city just spent several million redevelopment dollars on – to encourage people to come downtown.

You round a corner and someone in a hurry rounds it at the same time. BAM! You've just been in an accident. You're not hurt, but there goes your evening. You're looking at towing and auto repairs, and you still have to pay the babysitter. And your insurance may go up.

Worse than that, a woman was hurt. Not badly, but she's going to have to be taken to the hospital. There's some blood. It's horrible. Unnerving. Life sucks right now.

Oh, and there's this: You're told you now owe the City of Sacramento $495. While you're absorbing this bit of information, the fireman at the scene tells you you're lucky; if someone had been helicoptered out, it would have cost you $2,275.

And here's the rub: It wasn't your fault. And you're not even sure it was the other person's. It may have been, you know, an accident.

But you think it was probably the other gal's fault. But guess what? She lives in Sacramento, so she doesn't have to pay the $495. (At least not yet. But that's another column.)

Welcome to visitor-friendly Sacramento.

This reminds me of the tips about driving a car in some foreign countries I read in an old guidebook. If you're renting a car in some countries, and you're in an accident in a remote village, it is automatically assumed to be your fault. After all, you don't live there, and thus, if you didn't come to visit, the accident never would have happened.

You must admit, it has a certain weird logic. That said, it's stupid.

Our city council – or five members – voted like villagers Tuesday night. Not like big-city dwellers.

Beyond that, this is barely civilized. What kind of a city do we want? What about equal protection? What happens when this doesn't raise the money they expect? Will they next vote to make each Sacramentan pay for services on top of the taxes we already pay? What about cops? If you get mugged, will the police come, take your report, and give you a bill for $500?

And even if you’re found not at fault, and you get back your $495 (minus service and processing charges), was it worth coming to Sacramento in the first place?

Perhaps the council members are just so desperate that they're willing to adopt superstitious beliefs. Perhaps there's more to the story. Or perhaps, as some observers at Tuesday's meeting remarked, they simply didn't understand what they were voting on.

Whatever combination of reasons led to this insanity, it is the single most discouraging, counterproductive vote I've seen from our City Council – or should I say "village wise men"? – in a long time.

And given the council's recent history, that's really saying something.

Council to consider arena team qualifications

2011-01-26T06:48:01Z

The Sacramento City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with all four teams vying to develop a new arena for the Sacramento Kings – for at least a little longer.

Following a motion by City Councilman Steve Cohn, all nine members of the council voted unanimously to schedule a hearing in two weeks for the teams to provide their qualifications and financing approaches directly to the council.

In doing so, they decided not to follow a recommendation made Friday by Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force that the city start working with just one team, led by Sacramento developer David Taylor and ICON Venue Group, a prominent Colorado sports facility developer.

Several council members said they had more questions that have to be addressed before they could make such a decision. Some initially expressed an interest in giving city staff a 90-day period to evaluate all four teams.

Assistant City Manager John Dangberg suggested a two-week time frame as an alternative and Cohn made the motion. They did so after the ICON-Taylor team and the CORE team indicated they wouldn't continue with the process if all four teams were kept in the game three more months. The Natomas Entertainment Sports Center Partners and the Convergence Team said they would.

"At some point, we really want to have our staff that we hired to work for us" evaluate the teams, City Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

City Councilman Rob Fong urged city staff to engage the Maloofs, who own the Kings, soon to determine what approach they'd support for building a sports and entertainment facility to replace Arco Arena, the Kings' current home.

Johnson led the meeting but remained silent during a public hearing and council discussion lasting more than two hours. He brought the ICON-Taylor team together after the Convergence Team, which then included Taylor, failed to produce a viable project on schedule last year.

ICON President and CEO Tim Romani asked the council to give his team 90 days to study the project's feasibility and to develop a proposal and financing plan.

Romani warned that the Kings are not "locked into" Sacramento, and representing team owners who decide to relocate is "a messy ordeal." He said he'd rather help find a solution so the Kings can stay in Sacramento. Right now, the team is playing in an arena that "pales in comparison to every other arena in the NBA," Romani said.

"It's a critical time for Sacramento if (you) want to keep the Kings," he said. "I can tell you this: I think the time for process is behind you. I think the time for results is right now."

In the second half of March, the Maloofs will have an option to get out of their lease at Arco, task force co-chair Chris Lehane said.

The task force gave the ICON-Taylor team a first-place ranking based on its experience. ICON has built more than 50 sports complexes throughout the world and is especially experienced in building NBA arenas, task force member Tom Friery told the council.

Natomas Chamber of Commerce President Ed Koop and several others from Natomas asked Johnson and the Council to reject the recommendation of the ICON-Taylor team.

About 400 people signed petitions in support of keeping the arena in Natomas. Koop countered comments that no economic development had sprung up around the arena. At least two dozen restaurants, hotels and other businesses have been opened near the arena, Koop said.

"We want the arena. We deserve the arena. And we've got a good plan," he said. "We're pretty confident you're going to (see) that Natomas makes the most sense."

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who represents Natomas and downtown, said the Arco site must be redeveloped in a way that would be as beneficial as having a new arena if the project is built downtown. The area's 80,000 residents can't just lose a facility that benefits the local economy so heavily, she said.

In 2006, Sacramento County residents voted against funding a new Kings arena in the downtown railyards. Three of the teams have proposed that site as a possible location.

Fong asked if the city and development teams will consider a new model to finance a new arena, given the state of economy. In most if not all current cases, an entity other than NBA teams build new arenas, however, the teams become the tenants and then benefit from all the revenue that comes in from operating the facility. That income could be used by developers to offset the cost of building the arena, he said later.

Sacramento will have to look at something other than a "classic" funding plan – and the task force recommended the ICON-Taylor team because its members were confident the team would "look outside the box," Lehane said.

The task force and all four teams have acknowledged there must be some public funding for a new arena, but what form that might take isn't agreed on or clear. The task force believes building a new arena downtown makes "the most sense," he said.

"This is ultimately a decision for this body," Lehane said.

Council does not promote Vina

2011-01-26T02:40:50Z

The City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday night against promoting Interim City Manager Gus Vina to the permanent city manager position.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to conduct a national search for a new city manager.

Mayor Kevin Johnson briefed reporters after he and the members of the City Council held a private meeting about Vina’s job status.

Johnson said the council feels that Vina did a “great job” as interim city manager. However, he said the City Council voted to conduct a national search for a city manager candidate.

Johnson said he hopes that Vina will apply for the job as part of the national search.

Vina was not immediately available for comment.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Utilities Department faces audits

2011-01-20T02:06:59Z

Three months after Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Kevin McCarty publicly called for an audit of the Sacramento Utilities Department, the department will be audited extensively. The city’s internal auditor and an outside firm will conduct audits, the City Council decided Tuesday night.

The council’s decision comes a year after the Sacramento County Grand Jury claimed in a report that the department may have broken state law Proposition 218. The law says that utilities fees from ratepayers must correspond to the costs of delivering the utilities services.

Partly in response to the Prop. 218 issue, a citizens’ group placed a measure on the November ballot to roll back city utilities rates. It failed.

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the City Council began the process of hiring a third-party auditing firm. Under the city’s proposed timeline, the council would decide on a contract with an outside firm next month. The selected firm would present findings to the City Council in May or June, according to the city’s initial timeline, which was prepared by city staff.

The third-party auditor will “seek to identify best opportunities for immediate cost saving and operational efficiencies for the department as a whole,” according to a Jan. 18 report from the city manager’s office. “The study will include a review of levels of service, administrative and operational procedures, staffing levels, organizational structure and consideration of industry best practices.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson commented on the audit earlier on Tuesday, during his weekly press conference. He said the audit could revive the public’s trust. “I think it also gives us a chance to demonstrate fiscal responsibility,” he said.

City Auditor Jorge Oseguera will hone in on one or more specific issues at the department. After he pinpoints particular issues, he is expected to examine them in the 2011 / 2012 fiscal year, according to the report.

Assistant City Manager Patti Bisharat noted at the council meeting that the auditing process will also take into account studies that are currently under way in the department.

City staffers estimated in a Jan. 18 report that the cost range for the outside audit would be $80,000 to $120,000.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council talks priorities, budget

2011-01-07T03:03:11Z

As part of a Thursday workshop led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento City Council discussed its current priorities as well as ideas for the upcoming “State of the City” address.

Johnson described the workshop as a “mini-retreat” for the City Council. The city leaders kept the budget in mind when discussing their priorities, but exact budget numbers were not discussed.

City Finance Director Leyne Milstein said after the meeting that she was still working on the budget figures and would present concrete budget information at a Jan. 25 public meeting.

Johnson will speak at the State of the City event, which will be held Jan. 20 at the Sacramento Convention Center. His City Council colleagues gave him advice on points to include in the speech.

Councilman Rob Fong suggested that Johnson mention some of the positive developments in the city, such as the city’s work on streetscape improvements.

“I think there are lots of little things that are happening that we don’t necessarily focus on that make a big difference to a lot of people.”

Councilman Jay Schenirer said that gangs and public safety should be addressed in the speech.

The council members also discussed their priorities. Councilman Kevin McCarty said he wanted the council to consider city services. “How do we maintain a full-service city?” he asked.

Council members Steve Cohn and Bonnie Pannell mentioned the importance of jobs. “To me, everything has to be focused right now on jobs, jobs, jobs and our budget,” Cohn said.

The soundness of the city’s budget should be a priority, said Councilman Rob Fong. “I think we have to start focusing on sustainable budgets.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson responded to Rob Fong’s comment. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” he said.

Councilman Darrell Fong mentioned water rights and flooding as key issues. Meanwhile, both Johnson and Schenirer talked about focusing on youth. Johnson also said education is a priority.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy noted that the city’s budget should be presented in a transparent way “so that people out there understand it.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby urged the council members to tour each other’s districts to learn about the districts’ various issues.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina said after the meeting that he would revisit the council’s ideas during a discussion of economic recovery in the city. “My goal is to tie this conversation with the Jan. 25 date, where we’re going to do a workshop on our recovery plan,” he said.

File photo of a Sacramento City Council meeting held last July. Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Angelique Ashby sworn into office

2010-11-24T05:38:59Z

Angelique Ashby was officially sworn in on Tuesday as the new city councilwoman representing the areas of Alkali Flat, Gardenland/Northgate, and North and South Natomas.

The District 1 council seat was vacated by nine-year City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who lost his race against Ashby in June. Ashby, 35, is a first-time council member.

Her father, Patric Ashby, gained permission from City Clerk Shirley Concolino to read the new councilwoman her oath.

Ashby repeated the oath’s phrases after her father, which include a pledge to “well and faithfully discharge the duties” of her new office. She then took her seat at the City Council’s dais, or stage, and made remarks to the packed room at City Hall.

“I’m hopeful that I can help,” Ashby said. “That’s why I ran.”

Ashby also praised the council members for welcoming her to her new job.

“I just want to say that all the members of the council have been really generous to me – very nice,” she said. “Each one has spent some of their time with me – time on the weekend to show me their district. They’ve all come out and seen Natomas. They’re trying very hard to welcome me and I really appreciate that.”

Ashby said before the swearing in event that she still owns a consulting firm that contracts with public agencies, but added that she plans on spending the majority of her time working on city issues as a City Council member. The Sacramento County Office of Education was a former client of her consulting firm, and her current client is in Alpine County, she said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 supported Ashby’s run for City Council.

“We are very excited to have Council member Angelique Ashby at the dais,” Johnson said at the swearing-in.

Councilman Steve Cohn was originally scheduled to be sworn in at the City Council meeting, but he said he would make his comments next week. Cohn has been a councilman since 1994, but Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno explained that council members are sworn in each time they are reelected.

Councilman Kevin McCarty gave Ashby a propeller-head cap as a welcoming gift, saying that he and Fong received the same gift when they were sworn in.

Ashby wore the cap for a few seconds, and then said she would give it to council newcomers Jay Schenirer and Darrell Fong when they are sworn in later this month. “Jay, Darrell: It’ll be waiting,” she said.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council: Homeless need shelter for winter

2010-10-27T01:00:33Z

Finding a way to shelter the homeless during the winter months is job one for city staff tasked with addressing the homeless following a City Council workshop Tuesday.

“Winter waits for no one,” said Councilman Rob Fong. “We need to collectively figure out what we can do to make sure no one is exposed to the elements.”

The council uniformly applauded the faith community in its work to shelter the homeless over the winter, but all agreed more has to be done both in terms of a more permanent solution to emergency winter shelters and eventual year-round permanent housing options.

But not everyone agrees that opening the churches to the homeless is a solution.

“It is not shelter. There are no beds,” said Tamie Dramer, executive director of Safe Ground Sacramento. She added that people in the churches will sleep on concrete and hardwood floors, and suggested the term “sanctuary” is a more accurate description.

“It doesn’t look as though there’s a complete solution around the corner,” she said.

Safe Ground’s goal is to get the city to designate a spot for the homeless to camp and has been working toward that for more than a year.

“I’m really tired of just talking about this thing in concept,” said Councilman Steve Cohn. “If people are serious about this, come back with a concrete proposal.”

Cohn said he has heard a lot over the past few months about Safe Ground, but that that can’t be the focus right now.

“Our top priority at the moment has to be what we’re doing with winter shelters,” he said, reiterating Fong’s point.

“Sanctioning camping out there is just not a policy that’s right for the city,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty.

Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell agreed, arguing against revoking the no-camping ordinance.

“I just don’t see a safe ground opportunity here,” Sheedy said. “We need to start thinking outside the box on where to put people.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson said that any form of a proposal by Safe Ground would only be one piece of a larger solution of transitional housing as the region’s governments work toward the ultimate goal of finding permanent housing for the area’s 2,800 homeless.

“There’s a long-term strategy,” Johnson said. “And that long-term strategy is what we’ve been working toward, which is permanent housing.”

Johnson said the city is able, with the help of the county and nonprofit, private and faith-based groups, to shelter the same amount of homeless this year as last year despite reduced funding.

According to Johnson, progress has been made with helping the homeless over the past year, and one person who exemplifies that progress spoke during public comment.

“I am one of the statistics you are talking about,” said Robert Harris, a plumber. “This time last year, I was homeless.”

Harris said he had received a hotel voucher from the city in addition to clothing, food and medical attention from Loaves & Fishes.

“I am now employed,” Harris said, adding that it is just part-time, but he is hoping to be employed full-time soon.

“I want you to know your tax dollars did go to work for me.”

For others who remain homeless, however, the approach of winter highlights the council’s urgency to find a quick solution.

“Winter is on us, and we don’t have any money,” said John Krantz, a homeless man. “We need to find a solution and we need to find a solution quick.”

Krantz said the churches opening their doors helps, but he advocated for decriminalizing homelessness and allowing camping.

“This is not our last discussion,” Fong said. “It’s a big issue, and it really deserves a lot of attention.”

Johnson characterized the two-hour workshop as having covered a lot of complex issues. He said Sacramento Steps Forward – established about a year ago – is key to helping the city develop a system of using transitional housing options – possibly including something like Safe Ground – into permanent housing.

“Sacramento Steps Forward will strengthen our ability to go forward,” he said. “That’s the future. We have an opportunity here to really be cutting-edge.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Wholesale Attack on "Yes on Measure B" Signs in Natomas

2010-10-19T23:03:33Z

In a rather blatant effort to suppress a campaign message, opponents of Sacramento’s "Yes on Measure B" campaign" - also known as the Utilities Rate Rollback Initiative - have been engaging in wholesale theft and obscuring of campaign signs of the "Yes on Measure B" campaign in North and South Natomas, the same area as an infamous sign theft incident this past June involving campaign operatives of Natomas Councilmember Ray Tretheway.

At an 11:00 a.m. press conference today at the intersection of Del Paso Rd. and Natomas Blvd covered by local TV stations, "Yes on Measure B" campaign chair Craig Powell detailed the theft and/or cover-up of nearly 60 yard signs displayed in the Natomas area, as well as other recent attacks on "Yes on Measure B" campaign signs.

"Of the 80 "Yes on Measure B" signs installed in the Natomas area by our campaign in the past nine days, 30 have been stolen outright, and 27 of the remainder have been obscured by the opposing campaign placing their signs directly in front of "Yes on Measure B" signs in an illegal effort to suppress our campaign to rollback city utilities rates and reform Sacramento's city utilities," Powell said.

The "Yes on Measure B" campaign released photos of six different sites in Natomas at which "No on Measure B" signs had been placed just one or two inches directly in front of "Yes" on B signs, completely obscuring 'Yes on B" signs from public view.

The "No on Measure B" campaign is chaired by city councilman Kevin McCarty. At today's press conference, Powell called upon McCarty "to condemn his own campaign's illegal and illegitimate effort to suppress free speech."

According to its most recent campaign finance filing, the "No on B" campaign is financed almost entirely by a single municipal employees union, the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447, headed up by the shadowy Harry Rotz, who refuses all media interviews. Rotz's union is the largest financier of local political campaigns, donating more in the past three years to local campaigns (over $750,000) than the next four largest local donors combined, according to a June 2010 article in the Sacramento Bee. In the same article, SDUD Director Nancy Bui, the recipient of $40,000 from Rotz's union in her last race, characterized Rotz as the "wizard behind the curtain" of Sacramento politics. Rotz is renowned for his practice of financing highly negative last-minute mail hit pieces against his political opponents.

Powell said "Rotz and his union are strongly opposing Measure B because it will finally place the city utilities department on a budget and end Rotz's power to pressure his allies on the City Council to approve huge utility rates hikes that finance overly generous pay hikes and benefit spikes for his union, such as the 50% hike in fringe benefits that the plumbers received under its recently expired labor contract with the city."

The "Yes on Measure" campaign complained of other abusive campaign actions by the "No on B" campaign in recent days including:

- removal of "Yes on B" signs from lawns and replacement of them by "No on B" signs against the wishes of homeowners

- the placement of "No on B" signs in parks throughout the city, including several in William Land Park

- outright theft of "Yes on B" signs in other parts of the city

Measure B, if approved, will cancel the most recent 9.2% hike in city utility rates, freeze rates for one year and shift power to approve major rate hikes from the city council to city voters.

Disclosure: James Felton is a volunteer for the "Yes on Measure B" campaign

McCarty, Johnson urge utilities audit

2010-10-14T00:51:27Z

Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson both said Tuesday that the city’s Utilities Department should be audited. While the Utilities Department is not currently on City Auditor Jorge Oseguera’s audit schedule, it appears there is growing interest in the idea.

McCarty said at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that he wanted to explore how the city could start an audit of the Utilities Department.

Oseguera said he is now working on audits of the city’s health benefits program and the city’s vehicle fleet management division.

“I think that (the Utilities Department) warrants getting on the list, (and) maybe even jumping in front of the other ones,” McCarty said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Johnson discussed the department at his weekly press conference.

“I’ve been calling for an audit of every department for at least 20 months,” Johnson said, responding to a reporter’s question if he will seek a Utilities Department audit.

He mentioned his concerns about the department while talking to reporters about Measure B, which would end a utilities rate increase and change the department’s management system for utilities rates.

“I don’t think we still, as a city, have gotten to the bottom of what’s wrong with the Utilities Department,” Johnson said.

Johnson has not yet taken a position on Measure B, while McCarty is leading a campaign to oppose it.

Supporters of Measure B say the city’s utilities rates are too costly, while opponents have said they fear the measure would harm city utility services and cause layoffs.

A heated issue involving the Utilities Department is a Jan. 6 Sacramento County Grand Jury report that claimed the department broke state law Proposition 218. Utilities fees paid by residents can only fund utilities services, according to the law. But the Grand Jury claimed that other programs at City Hall may have used the money.

Oseguera explained Wednesday that his audit schedule for the current fiscal year was signed off by the City Council and does not include a Utilities Department audit.

Oseguera noted that he will discuss options relating to a Utilities Department audit with the audit committee and the City Council.

However, Oseguera also pointed out that his office is currently understaffed. Two of his three staffers resigned in recent months. One of the former staffers, Gerald Silva, resigned in July after The Sacramento Press asked him questions about sexual harassment accusations in his previous job for the city of San Jose.

Oseguera said he has filled one of two open positions, and a new employee will join his office Nov. 8.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Development department investigations continue

2010-10-13T05:53:37Z

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 investigation of the department.

The subject of the audit was the department’s work from fiscal years 2007 through 2010. Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc. conducted the audit.

“I’m most concerned with making sure this won’t happen again,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said.

The City Council’s auditor, Jorge Oseguera, told the council members that the city attorney’s office will explore whether some of the $2.3 million can be collected. He said he would follow up with the council on that issue.

Councilman Rob Fong said collecting the money is “my No. 1 priority.”

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said city rules need to apply to all developers equally. The department should not have a culture that allows a “good ol’ boy network,” she also said.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina indicated that disciplinary measures for department employees may be on the table. “As I look at the audit in great detail, I will take whatever disciplinary actions are necessary,” he told the council.

The City Council and city staff also discussed investigations of the department that are still under way.

Sandra Talbott, an attorney with City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office, said the investigation into allegations of quid pro quo in the department is ongoing. The quid pro quo investigation is distinct from the audit, Talbott said. “It has not been concluded at this point.”

In response to a question from Councilman Ray Tretheway about continuing investigations, Vina said that the California Fair Political Practices Commission has concerns about the department.

In addition, Fong said the City Council should lead its own investigation into the department. He said he considered the audit to be “an important piece” of a City Council investigation.

Fong also said he wanted to explore the role of top managers in the past problems at the department. He did not specify names of current or former city officials in his comment.

“I’d certainly like to know what recourse we have against them, if any,” he said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor releases Nov. 2 endorsements

2010-10-12T00:56:32Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson released his endorsements for several Nov. 2 political races on Friday. He named his candidates in local, state and federal elections in a post on his blog.

In the Sacramento City Council runoff in District 5, Johnson endorsed education policy consultant Jay Schenirer. He had endorsed Schenirer for the first time in May, when the City Council candidate was running against four other candidates. Schenirer is competing against attorney Patrick Kennedy in the November runoff.

The winning candidate will replace current City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond.

Johnson decided not to endorse a candidate in the District 7 runoff. Ryan Chin, a communications director at Sacramento State is running against retired Sacramento police captain Darrell Fong for the seat. Outgoing City Councilman Robbie Waters lost the seat in the June election.

“Either candidate will serve the best interests of Greenhaven, the Pocket and Valley Hi,” Johnson wrote about the District 7 race.

By contrast, the mayor did not take a position on Measure B, one of the most controversial measures on the ballot. Measure B would halt a 9.2 percent utilities rate increase and restructure how the Utilities Department manages utilities rates.

“I voted against the last rate hike, have concerns about utilities operations, and am still gathering information,” Johnson wrote on his blog.

Johnson did not respond to a request for further comment Monday.

Councilman Kevin McCarty, a leader in the No on Measure B campaign, said the good news is that Johnson is still studying the issues relating to the measure. The position of the No on B campaign is that it would harm the city’s budget.

McCarty noted that every other member of the City Council opposes the measure.

Craig Powell, chairman of the campaign supporting Measure B, said he respects Johnson for “taking the time” to learn about the facts. The text of Measure B claims that utilities rates in Sacramento are unaffordable.

While Johnson has released endorsements for many races, he wrote that he will endorse education races in a separate announcement. Here is the list of endorsements Johnson released Friday:

U.S. Senate: Barbara Boxer
U.S. House of Representatives: Doris Matsui

Governor: Jerry Brown
Lt. Governor: Gavin Newsom
Attorney General: Kamala Harris
Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
Controller: John Chiang
Treasurer: Bill Lockyer

State Senate District 1: Roger Niello
State Senate District 6: Darrell Steinberg
Assembly District 5: Dr. Richard Pan

Sacramento County

Sheriff: Jim Cooper

City of Sacramento

District 5: Jay Schenirer
District 7: No preference.

Roseville City Council

Dr. Tim Herman

State Propositions

Prop. 22: Yes
Prop. 23: No
Prop. 25: Yes

City Measures

Measure B: “Still gathering information.”

Measure C: “Yes, but only if statewide initiative Prop. 19 passes.”

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

McCarty, Cohn lead campaign against utilities rollback measure

2010-09-29T05:53:55Z

Two Sacramento City Councilmen are leading a campaign against a November ballot measure that would overturn a 9.2 percent utilities rate increase.

Councilmen Kevin McCarty and Steve Cohn are heading the recently formed campaign to oppose Measure B, the Utilities Rate Rollback Act of 2010. Opponents also created the No on Measure B committee to raise funds for its efforts.

“We don’t think (Measure B) is a good idea for the city of Sacramento,” McCarty said Tuesday. “The bottom line is, it’s going to blow a big hole in our budget.”

The 9.2 percent utilities rate hike began July 1. Council members approved the increase last year.

Measure B would eliminate that rate hike and also link city utilities rates with the Consumer Price Index. The measure states that if the Consumer Price Index increases, then utilities rates could be increased.

However, the measure would also require the public to vote on utilities rate increases that are higher than the inflation rate.

Craig Powell, chairman of the campaign supporting Measure B, said he was “not surprised” that two incumbent City Councilmen “want to protect their power” to control utilities rates paid by Sacramento citizens.

Meanwhile, the Utilities Department has said the measure could harm the department and the public in numerous ways.

Department spokeswoman Jessica Hess said in July that the passage of Measure B would mean the loss of about $15 million in revenue. The city's website also said 80 full-time positions could disappear.

On top of the $15 million, the department expects to face a $7 million rise in expenses including labor, electricity, fuel and chemicals, Hess said in July. If the measure passes, the department anticipates that it would need to immediately make cuts and changes to its levels of service, Hess said. That’s because the department must prepare a balanced budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1, she said.

But Powell claimed that city officials are using scare tactics in their communications about the measure.

The Sacramento city clerk’s office confirmed with The Sacramento Press that the No on Measure B committee had formed. The committee’s first fundraising statement is due Oct. 5, according to the clerk’s office.

Powell said the measure’s supporters will also file a fundraising statement with the city clerk’s office on Oct. 5. The Sacramento Press will post that information when it is available.

Both Powell and McCarty declined to disclose recent fundraising information before the statements are due.

The Campaign for Common Sense Utilities, which backs Measure B, has pointed out that the Sacramento County Grand Jury claimed in a Jan. 6 report that the Utilities Department broke Proposition 218, a state law.

The law states that money from residents’ utilities bills cannot pay for anything other than the cost of utilities services.

Residents’ utility payments may have been applied to additional programs in the city government, the Grand Jury claimed.

McCarty acknowledged that the city has faced problems with Prop. 218, but said the city is continuing to address those issues. The Prop. 218 problems and Measure B are separate issues, he said.

Read the text of Measure B here.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Should city set up a whistle-blower hotline?

2010-09-16T00:56:03Z

Sacramento’s city auditor is exploring the idea of creating a whistle-blower hotline for City Hall.

City Auditor Jorge Oseguera told the city’s audit committee on Tuesday that he was talking to City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office about the idea. The audit committee is composed of City Council members Lauren Hammond, Robbie Waters, Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn.

Whistle-blower hotlines are “a common topic right now in the auditing community,” Oseguera said on Wednesday.

The plan is in its early stages, Oseguera said, and no details have been established yet on how the hotline would work or when it would start operating.

In a Tuesday e-mail, Teichert said she could say only that the plan is “in the early discussion stage.”

Oseguera is not the first to suggest a whistle-blower hotline for the city of Sacramento: Councilman Kevin McCarty mentioned the idea on Jan. 26, when the City Council was discussing an investigation that involved the city’s Community Development Department.

However, Oseguera said his work on a whistle-blower hotline was not directed by McCarty.

Other California cities that use whistle-blower hotlines include San Diego, San Jose and Oakland, according to their websites.

Photo of Oseguera by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council revisits 2003 contracts with Sacramento Kings

2010-09-08T05:51:53Z

The City Council on Tuesday revisited the city’s 2003 loan agreements with the Sacramento Kings and decided to keep them in effect.

City Treasurer Russ Fehr said he discovered the possible issue with the old loan agreement a few months ago. He said he discussed the matter with City Attorney Eileen Teichert, and she suggested that the current City Council examine the contract because it didn’t go before council members in 2003.

The Kings’ remaining debt to the city is $68 million, according to Fehr.

In 1997, the Kings and the city signed a contract that permitted the Kings to pay back its loans to the city after reimbursing $30 million in debt to another party, Fehr said.

Then, in 2003, the Kings worked with former City Treasurer Tom Friery to alter its contract with the city. The Kings decided to borrow an undisclosed amount from the National Basketball Association, and wanted to be able to reimburse the NBA before it paid back the city, according to Fehr.

The amount of debt specified in the contract changed, too. The new language permitted the Kings to pay up to $75 million in loans to the NBA before reimbursing the city’s loans.

Friery made that change without City Council approval, according to Fehr.

The changes to the contract contained minimal risk, Fehr said.

Councilman Kevin McCarty voted against authorizing the old loan agreement, saying that he felt uncomfortable with the way it had been handled in 2003.

Five other council members voted to greenlight the old loan contract. Council members Robbie Waters, Rob Fong and Sandy Sheedy were absent from the meeting.

Janelle Gray, a debt officer for the city, wrote in a Sept. 7 report that the Kings have been paying their debts to the city.

Read the city staff report on the issue here.

Photo of Kevin McCarty by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Local leaders discuss regional sustainability

2010-08-28T01:06:35Z

Local leaders in the fields of politics, business and environmentalism gathered in Sacramento on Friday to brainstorm how the region could advance its efforts to become more economically and environmentally sustainable.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber’s “State of the Region” event focused on sustainability in the area’s communities.

Chamber spokesman Hal Silliman said more than 300 people attended the event, which was held at the Hyatt hotel downtown and included a panel of local leaders and a presentation from an Environmental Protection Agency analyst. Elected officials from around the region — including Davis, Sacramento, Folsom and Citrus Heights — listened to the panel.

Matthew Dalbey, a senior policy analyst with the EPA, told the audience the Sacramento area is renowned for its “Blueprint,” which serves as a guide on sustainable regional planning.

The “blueprint” was approved in 2004 by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

“You all know that the ‘blueprint’ is looked on as a model for communities across the country,” Dalbey said.

Still, Dalbey urged regional leaders to ramp up their efforts.

“In order to keep on keeping on, you’re going to have to do things better,” he said.

Specifically, Dalbey asked the region to consider how its sustainable planning process can improve the economic, environmental and public health situation of rural communities and small towns.

In the discussion that followed Dalbey’s comments, panelist and West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon countered Dalbey’s statement that the region should do a better job.

Cabaldon said he becomes frustrated with the federal government agencies working on sustainability efforts “because it seems like they’re so slow.”

He said the area’s leaders should press the federal government to move more quickly to fund the region’s sustainable projects.

Scott Syphax, another speaker on the five-member panel, said the banking industry needs to lend money to sustainable projects.

“The banking spigot is still fairly closed,” he said. To put Sacramento and the region back to work, "we’ve got to turn that back on.”

Syphax is the chief executive of the Nehemiah Corporation of America, a community group based in Sacramento. The group launched in 1994 “for the purpose of promoting homeownership and economic development for under-served populations and communities,” according to its website.

Meanwhile, City Councilman Kevin McCarty noted that the city of Sacramento earlier this month joined an effort with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the county and Valley Vision to apply for $1.85 million in grant money through the federal Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Photo of Syphax and Cabaldon by Tia Gemmell

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Fashion by Fong

2010-08-27T00:59:00Z

A green tie with white polka dots atop a pink dress shirt. White nubuck leather shoes, green pants and an orange leather belt. A purple tie with orange stripes paired with a mint-green shirt.

These combinations represent three wardrobe choices in three days for Rob Fong.

The Sacramento city councilman and legislative consultant doesn’t get dressed in the dark — the bright colors and jazzy details are all intentional.

Fong, 51, shared his fashion philosophy with The Sacramento Press this week.

“The way I started to express my sort of ‘Inner Rob,’ was I decided that my shirts and my ties can be my signature,” he said.

He said his 16-year-old daughter, Rebecca, has noticed that he tends to favor greens and oranges.

His style has not gone unnoticed at City Hall.

“He’s a very fashionable gentleman,” Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said one of Fong’s coats reminds him of Ron Burgundy, the 1970s television newscaster character played by Will Ferrell in the 2004 movie “Anchorman.”

McCarty observed that Fong has “calmed down a lot” in his fashion. But, like Hammond, McCarty had kind words for his council colleague. Even though his wardrobe is constantly changing, “he never really looks bad,” McCarty said.

Councilman Steve Cohn was less tolerant. “He looks like he’s always ready to be out on the golf course,” Cohn said. And his style is more in line with “country club” golf courses, not the municipal ones, Cohn added.

That may be the last time Cohn burns Fong. In response to Cohn’s criticism, Fong alleged that Cohn wears bike pants and owns a mesh tank top.

The Sacramento Press asked Fong if he’s actually seen Cohn wear the bike pants. “Oh, everyone has,” Fong said. “Unfortunately, yeah, I still have a vivid memory of that.”

R.E. Graswich, the former Sacramento Bee journalist who is now Mayor Kevin Johnson’s special assistant, said Fong needs to go all-out with his style. “He’s like a guy who’s trying to get somewhere, but he just can’t quite break through,” Graswich said. “I think he should just give it up with the pink and the green, and just go ‘the full Cleveland,’ as we call it.”

Graswich defined “the full Cleveland” as a style consisting of white shoes, white belt, white pants and Hawaiian shirt.

Now that he’s working for the mayor, Graswich wears a suit to work. But the suit is not “Graswich’s style.”

“I’m the man with 243 Hawaiian shirts, give or take,” Graswich said.

Fong hates Hawaiian shirts.

“I think Hawaiian shirts are like a sign that says: I know I’m way past middle age, and I give up,” Fong said. “I think that Hawaiian shirts are this millennium's leisure suit.”

Fong does, however, give kudos to R.E. for creating a style. “On the other hand, I have nothing but love and respect for any man who has some idea about what he’s doing. Even if I don’t like the idea.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Safe Ground opposes City Council vote on public comments

2010-08-25T05:39:44Z

A group that presses for a designated camping space for homeless people in Sacramento opposed on Tuesday the City Council’s decision to move the open public comment section of council meetings to the end of the meeting.

About 18 supporters of Safe Ground Sacramento stayed until the end of Tuesday’s City Council meeting to oppose the controversial decision the body made last week.

Before last week’s decision, open public comment was heard by the City Council at the beginning of weekly council meetings.

During the open public comment part of council meetings, Safe Ground Sacramento supporters regularly urge the city to reserve a space in which homeless residents can camp. The city enforces its anti-camping ban.

“You guys feel like our comments don’t mean nothing,” Safe Ground supporter Shane Eck told the City Council Tuesday.

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said last week that she hoped moving the public comment session to the end of meetings would quicken the meetings. She also said that “special interests” dominate the open public comment time period.

Judging from comments from council members Tuesday night, it appears that the City Council may take another look its decision.

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said Tuesday that she now likes the idea of holding it at the beginning of the meeting as long as there is a half-hour time limit on the public comment session.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Bonnie Pannell, Robbie Waters and Lauren Hammond last week voted in favor of moving the open public comment session to the end of council meetings.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members Kevin McCarty and Ray Tretheway voted against the move and wanted to keep the session at the beginning of meetings.

Councilman Steve Cohn was absent from last week’s meeting. He said Tuesday that he missed last week’s vote because he was attending a family reunion. Cohn expressed support for moving open public comment back to the beginning of meetings, and putting a time limit on that segment of the meeting.

Photo: Safe Ground leader John Kraintz speaks at a July rally in Sacramento.

Photo by Dunia Hamza.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council to hear public comment later at night

2010-08-18T04:54:06Z

Residents will need to attend Sacramento City Council meetings later in the evening if they want to speak about issues that are not on the weekly council agenda.

The City Council changed its meeting rules Tuesday night to move the open public comment section to the end of the weekly meeting. Currently, the public can speak at the beginning of the meeting on any issue that is not related to the City Council agenda.

Council members were split on the issue and voted 5-3 to alter the time of the open public comment section. Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members Kevin McCarty and Ray Tretheway opposed the change. Councilman Steve Cohn was absent from the meeting.

Johnson and Tretheway said it benefits the public to keep the open public comment period earlier in the evening. Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, meanwhile, strongly supported the move.

“I think moving public comment to the end hurts transparency and council access, and I think it’s disrespectful to the public,” Johnson said.

City Council meetings start at 6 p.m., and citizens often participate in open public comment period before 7 p.m. Now, citizens who want to speak on off-topic issues will need to wait until the end of the meeting. City Council meetings vary in length; some meetings have run for several hours.

Tretheway said public access to the open comment section of the council meetings would be limited because of Regional Transit’s cuts to light rail night routes.

Tracie Rice-Bailey, an advocate for the homeless population, said moving the comment period would be “so very inconvenient for our people.”

Rice-Bailey is an activist with Safe Ground Sacramento, a group that lobbies city leaders to designate a public space in which homeless people could legally camp.

Safe Ground supporters regularly advocate for their cause during the open public comment period of City Council meetings.

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, meanwhile, said that moving the section to the end of meeting could make the meetings quicker. “My hope is that our meetings won’t be as long,” she said.

Hammond also said that “special interests” dominate the current open public comment time period. She did not identify the groups.

“It might be one group this month; it might be a neighborhood group another month,” Hammond said.

***
Council leaders also decided Tuesday to hold a monthly afternoon City Council meeting.

The council voted 7-1 to meet monthly at 2 p.m. Johnson opposed the idea of an afternoon meeting, saying that adding a meeting to the council’s plate would be inefficient.

Councilman Rob Fong said the afternoon meeting would enable to council to hold workshops and better manage its agenda. The council did not choose a day of the week for the monthly meeting.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Eleven city workers laid off Friday, 80 jobs saved

2010-08-07T00:43:08Z

While the city and Stationary Engineers Local 39 saved 80 jobs with an agreement Friday, the city laid off 11 workers represented by the local plumbers’ union.

The city did not find common ground with Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447 by Friday, the city’s deadline for layoffs.

Harry Rotz, business manager for Local 447, did not return phone messages earlier this week. No one answered the phone at 4:45 p.m. Friday at the union’s office.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina said the city would continue to negotiate with Local 447.

“There’s 80 people in the city of Sacramento that were packing up and were planning on going home to tell their son or daughter — their family members — that they’re no longer going to be working,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a Friday press conference. “And that is not the case. They’ll be coming back to work on Monday.”

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Kevin McCarty and Lauren Hammond also made remarks praising the agreement with Local 39. The union includes 1,600 full-time city employees.

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Stationary Engineers Local 39, also spoke at the press conference.

“We are pleased that we were able to avert the layoffs that were scheduled for today,” Bryant said. “And we are looking forward to ratification with our members.”

Local 39 and the city worked out a tentative two-year agreement, according to Vina and Bryant. The agreement would include no pay cuts, Bryant said. The contract also includes 11 furlough days for the 2010/2011 fiscal year, she said. In the 2011/2012 fiscal year, there would be 12 furlough days.

Local 39 is guaranteed no layoffs for 2010/2011, she said, with one exception. If the City Council determines there is a fiscal emergency in the Utilities Department, the guarantee is off.

The tentative contract also would give each employee 40 hours of personal leave time each year of the two-year period, Bryant said.

Under the tentative contract, the city would freeze employees’ salaries for two years, Vina said.

The union’s members will need to vote on the tentative agreement before it can go into effect.

Photo: City Manager Gus Vina.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City considers large water user permits

2010-08-06T05:17:36Z

Sacramento officials should consider requiring special use permits for large water users, including water and beverage bottling companies such as Nestlé, a City Council committee decided Thursday.

The council's Law & Legislation Committee passed a recommendation that the City Council approve a working group to explore whether the city's biggest water users should be subject to conditional use permits that would help give the city more ability to monitor and regulate their water use.

The recommendation was approved unanimously Thursday afternoon by the committee's three present members, Chair Sandy Sheedy and councilmen Steve Cohn and Robbie Waters.

"We have a scarce resource that we don't seem to have any regulation on, other than you pay for the amount you use," Cohn said. "It almost sounds like we need to think about if you use above a certain amount of water...there ought to be a permit. The city ought to have some way to review that, rather than just be forced to sell it at whatever our rate is."

The committee also heard about the city's plans to consider creating tiered water rates that could take effect in 2012 or sooner. The city "may actually be subsidizing" water consumption by the biggest users, Cohn said, adding that water use should also be regulated to encourage conservation and sustainability.

The committee's decision was made despite a recommendation by the city's Community Development Department against requiring special use permits for water and beverage bottling companies. Bottling plants are permitted industrial land uses in zones approved for light industrial, heavy commercial and heavy industrial businesses in Sacramento.

However, the committee's proposal would not be limited to such companies.

The fourth committee member, Lauren Hammond, was absent. Last fall, Councilman Kevin McCarty, who is not a committee member, proposed an emergency ordinance to amend the city's zoning code to immediately require a special permit, and thus, environmental review and City Council oversight, for bottling companies to operate in the city. He made the proposal after city staff approved Nestlé Waters North America opening a water-bottling plant in his South Sacramento district.

Nestlé bottles and sells the most bottled water in this country. Globally, the Swiss multinational company used 10.82 billion gallons of water in 2006 and sold $10 billion of water under different brand names in 2007, according to a report from Food and Water Watch in Washington, D.C.

Nestlé told the city about 250 acre feet — or nearly 82 million gallons — of city-treated American River water would be bottled each year. Nestlé Project Manager Chris Kemp also said the company expected to bottle 30 million gallons of Sacramento tap water in 2010, while future use would be determined by sales. Existing water pipes could bring 250 acre feet of water to the warehouse if operations were run 24 hours a day all year, but that was only expected during peak months, he said.

The city did not seek public input or perform an environmental analysis of the plant's expected impact before it began operation last winter after a failed, six-year battle to bottle spring water in McCloud near Mt. Shasta.

The city does not regulate how much water industrial water customers use except to impose drought restrictions at times. There are no current drought restrictions on industrial users, although there are drought restrictions for outdoor irrigation use by residential users.

On Thursday, Sheedy agreed with Cohn's proposal, including the need to look at all of the biggest water consumers, regardless of whether the water is bottled and sold, used to make soup or to crush cement. Nestlé shouldn't be "singled out," she said.

"I think we have to look at what else is coming here," Sheedy said. "We are going to be losing that commodity if we don't start looking at it."

No more than 20 people turned out for the meeting. Some said they only found out about the meeting this week.

Representatives from Nestlé, Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and the Sacramento Metro Chamber spoke out against requiring a special permit for bottling companies. After the meeting, Dave Palais, Nestlé Water's natural resource manager for Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, said the company wouldn't oppose an "overall evaluation" of water use by all users.

Sacramento Coca-Cola, which has been operating since 1927, "would be very disappointed if there would be new hurdles that were put in our way" for opening a big, new plant in North Natomas, the company's executive vice president, Bob Brown, said.

Several people spoke out in support of a special permit, including members of grassroots group Save Our Water Sacramento, which brought Nestlé's plans to open a Sacramento plant to light.

"I'm wondering what our children will do for water — and our grandchildren — once it's all contractually committed to others?" said Maxine Clark, a member of the Save the American River Association. "The word is out now: Nestlé got their way. When will we say no? Will we say no, ever?"

Bill Allayud, California Director of Government Affairs for the Environmental Working Group, said other cities held public forums so people could weigh in before water bottling plants were opened. Large water consumption by such plants can have "multiple impacts," he said.

"Water is not scarce in the city right now," he said. "But in the future, it could well become scarce."

McCarty later applauded the committee's decision.

"This is an important step toward going where we're trying to go," he said. "This issue isn't going away."

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Government infighting stops local energy savings program

2010-08-06T05:04:29Z

A local energy efficiency program led by Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty is caught in the middle of a giant bureaucratic tug-of-war.

McCarty’s program would give residents and businesses a lengthy period of time to pay for energy-efficient upgrades at their homes and workplaces. Assessments on residents’ property taxes would fund the upgrades. The local program garnered $740,000 in federal stimulus funds in November.

But McCarty’s planned program — one of many similar energy-saving programs throughout the country — was squashed in July by the federal agency in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Sacramento City Council passed a resolution Thursday that backs a bill in Congress to overturn the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision on the programs.

The federal agency argued that the financing system for the energy efficiency programs created problems for lenders. McCarty’s program and similar efforts elsewhere are formally called property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs.

“First liens established by PACE loans are unlike routine tax assessments and pose unusual and difficult risk management challenges for lenders, servicers and mortgage securities investors,” according to a July 6 statement from the agency.

The local program was halted before it had begun, city Sustainability Manager Yvette Rincon Rincon said. In July, the federal agency “stopped almost all the PACE programs in the nation,” Rincon told the City Council Thursday night.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, is the author of a bill aiming to reverse the federal agency’s decision. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, is co-sponsoring the bill along with several other Congress members.

The state has also joined the fray. California Attorney General Jerry Brown challenged the federal agency on the PACE issue in a lawsuit last month.

McCarty said after Thursday’s City Council meeting that the local program would help lower energy costs for residents, create new jobs and confront climate change.

“We’re right on track to make this work,” McCarty said. “And there’s one hiccup all of a sudden with this federal government action.”

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Arizona: Groups continue to protest Sac City Council

2010-08-03T03:05:01Z

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, with council members Steve Cohn and Lauren Hammond absent, and Robbie Waters voting in opposition.

The City Council stepped outside the court system when it decided to boycott Arizona, said Gerald Klaas, organizer of Boycott Sacramento.

“It’s a step toward mob rule,” Klaas said.

Arizona’s new law states that police officers must investigate a person’s immigration status if they think he or she is an undocumented immigrant. Officers must examine immigration status during “enforcement of any law or ordinance of a county, city or town” in Arizona, the law also states.

But a new federal court ruling on Arizona’s law could complicate the Sacramento City Council’s protest. Parts of Arizona’s law were stalled last week by a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton, who deemed them to be unconstitutional, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The implications of the ruling on Sacramento’s boycott of Arizona are unclear at this point. Matt Ruyak, a supervising deputy city attorney in Sacramento, said the city attorney’s office is now analyzing Bolton’s ruling.

At the same time, city staff is still assessing the dollar amount of the business it does with Arizona companies, said city spokeswoman Amy Williams.

Meanwhile, Klaas, a Sacramento County resident, said he estimates that Boycott Sacramento has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business to companies within the city limits. He said he based his estimate on e-mails from people who said they did not buy large-ticket items in Sacramento because of the city’s boycott of Arizona.

The Boycott Sacramento Facebook page has 3,474 fans, but groups of three and four people showed up at July protests at City Hall, according to the Meetup.com website.

Klaas said he and his wife estimate they are not spending about $400 per month at Sacramento businesses.

Boycott Sacramento is not related to Recall Sacramento, a group organized by Republican congressional candidate Paul Smith.

The Sacramento City Council is not “pro-business, pro-jobs in any stretch of the imagination,” Smith said. “When they elected to sanction another state, it was none of their business to do that considering the mess the city’s in.”

Asked if his effort was a self-serving move for his congressional campaign, Smith said it is “imperative” that he show the community in his district that he is concerned about Sacramento businesses.

“I don’t want to take over a district in December that’s all boarded-up downtown because all the business was driven out,” he said.

Smith said the group aims to recall council members Rob Fong and Steve Cohn first, but that his group may also try to kick out Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members Bonnie Pannell, Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty. Supporters of an effort to recall the Sacramento City Council are upset with Fong and Cohn more than the other members, Smith said. Fong is ignoring voters, Smith claimed, and Cohn did not vote on the Arizona issue.

The group will not try to recall council members Ray Tretheway, Lauren Hammond or Robbie Waters because they are leaving office, he said.

Mark Williams, the Tea Party Express’ former controversial spokesman, made remarks at a recent Recall Sacramento protest, Smith said, but Williams has “baggage,” and the group does not consider him to be a member. Williams’ statements on a July blog drew widespread media attention.

Smith said about 2,000 people have signed up on the Recall Sacramento website.

Cohn said Smith’s Recall Sacramento group was a publicity campaign. “In my case, he can’t do it legally until next June,” Cohn said. “It’s a waste of time to even talk about it.”

RE Graswich, Johnson’s spokesman, said there is nothing to comment on until the group provides documentation of its recall.

Councilman Rob Fong did not return phone calls Monday afternoon.

Mizuno said Recall Sacramento’s campaign has not begun the recall process. “Right now, there’s a lot of talk, but no one seems to be doing anything,” Mizuno said.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce opposed the boycott of Arizona companies. In a June 1 letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson, Chamber President Matt Mahood raised concerns that a boycott on Sacramento businesses could take place if the City Council boycotts Arizona. Read the Chamber’s letter here.

Photo of Paul Smith by Kathleen Haley. Photos of Sacramento City Council members by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Bottling water: City report Thursday

2010-08-03T00:39:36Z

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 conditional use permits, which are subject to approval from planning commissions and city councils, aren't required by 28 other California cities with at least one bottling operation. Nestlé operates in only one other city on the list.

"Planning staff finds that a beverage bottling facility is not unique in its water consumption when compared to other commercial and industrial uses and the land use impacts of the use in an industrial zone do not warrant the need for a special permit," staff wrote in a report to the committee.

Officials with the city's Department of Utilities have indicated they'd like to collect water-use data and hire a water rate consultant to help develop a tiered water rate fee structure.

Such data could be available by 2012 as 45,000 residential water customers — about 36 percent of residential clients — transition to metered water rates, according to the report.

McCarty said he will press to implement a tiered structure before 2012 when he soon meets with the city manager's office and utilities department.

"The real issue is what do we charge for our water?" McCarty said Monday. "Water is an increasingly valuable and diminishing commodity, and we ought to be making smart decisions on what we do with our municipal water."

The City Council was not involved in the decision to approve Nestlé opening a plant in McCarty's district in South Sacramento.

The council discussed the plant for the first time Oct. 27 after McCarty and Hammond proposed an emergency ordinance to consider amending the city's zoning code to immediately require a special permit and thus, environmental review, for bottling companies to operate in the city. McCarty also recommended the council consider tiered water rates for such companies.

City Attorney Eileen Teichert told the council that night Nestlé's plant was legal under the city's zoning codes and that a special permit requirement wouldn't apply. At the same time, the Community Development Department's Facilities Permit Program was suspended after the council and city officials learned work had started on the Nestlé plant without a formal building permit or a start-work authorization.

Save Our Water Sacramento, a group formed to oppose the plant, had sought a temporary City Council moratorium on beverage bottling plants in Sacramento at that time.

Hammond, who is on the committee, could not be reached for comment Monday.

The City Council's Law & Legislation Committee meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 915 I St.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor, three council members say they were unaware of Silva's past

2010-07-28T01:14:58Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson and three City Council members said Tuesday they were not aware that Sacramento’s new deputy city auditor had been fired from his previous auditor job.

Gerald Silva, a deputy city auditor in Sacramento, resigned from his position Monday after The Sacramento Press asked him to comment on a case that ended his career in San Jose.

Silva worked as the city auditor for San Jose for 22 years. The San Jose City Council unanimously fired him in 2007 in the wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Asked about the past allegations Monday, Silva said he didn’t want to be a source of embarrassment to Jorge Oseguera, the city auditor.

Oseguera hired Silva in March; the two had worked together in San Jose.

“This is an unfortunate situation,” Johnson said at his Tuesday press conference, adding that he was not aware of all the details in the San Jose case.

Johnson also noted that the City Council voted last year to change the city auditor’s boss. The council decided last year that the council and mayor should supervise the auditor. That was a change from the former system, in which the city auditor reported to the city manager.

As he commented on Silva’s resignation, Johnson mentioned that he voted against the idea of moving authority over the auditor to the council and mayor. The auditor would be more accountable to one city manager, than to a larger group of council members, he said.

“That was not something I voted in favor of,” Johnson said. “I believe that the internal auditor should report to the city manager.”

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond also said she did not know about Silva’s past. “I didn’t have any information on Silva,” she said.

Hammond added that she asked Oseguera about hiring a diverse staff, in terms of race and gender. Oseguera hired three males to work as auditors.

“There are a lot of women who know how to audit,” Hammond said. “I don’t know why he couldn’t find one.”

Meanwhile, Councilman Steve Cohn, the chair of the City Council’s audit committee, said he did not know about allegations in Silva’s former career. The city auditor hires people independently, Cohn said.

“I think the only thing I regret at this point, is frankly that (Silva) decided to leave at this point,”
Cohn said. “But I guess he didn’t want to go through a public hearing of this again.”

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy was not aware of Silva’s background in San Jose, said Joann Cummins, district director for the councilwoman.

Sheedy and Councilman Kevin McCarty declined to comment.

Three years ago, an auditor for the city of San Jose made sexual harassment allegations in a lawsuit against Deputy City Auditor David Moreno and the city of San Jose, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The city of San Jose contracted a consultant who examined the case and “found evidence Silva and others had acted inappropriately in the workplace,” the Mercury News reported in a Jan. 30, 2008, story.

The San Jose Business Journal reported in September 2007 that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said Silva’s work for the city resulted in $300 million in savings from “wasteful or unnecessary spending.”

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Editorial: Mayor Johnson's star-spangled double standard reaches fever pitch in his latest blog

2010-07-03T23:28:44Z

I'm not a political analyst by trade [shocker, I know], but given the orotund "we shall overcome" flavor of Mayor Johnson's latest blog on his collaboratively-named TEAMKJ.ORG web site, his opposition will be glad to know he has officially abandoned his fiery "Pot Roast of Public Anger" and retreated to the less flammable (and more familiar) "Passive Aggressive Soup." Only now, papa Johnson got a brand new bag : defender of voter rights.

Hypocritically titled "your voice still matters," Mayor J's latest blog (which has attracted a whopping 66 views to date) attempts to paint the city council as a change-resistant band of oppressors, the voters as victims of some great miscarriage of justice, and Johnson as their fearless liberator leading the oppressed in "Oh Freedom." It makes for fodder worthy of the Comedy Channel, but doesn't offer much in the way of leadership integrity.

From Johnson's blog: "All of you, from all walks of life, have asked the same question: 'Why won’t they let us vote?' I understand and share your disappointment. Last week’s council meeting could have made history. Instead, politics won the day.'

Dear Mayor,

Your sudden opposition to voter disenfranchisement, let alone "politics-as-usual" obstructionism, is laughable considering your shameless disrespect of the people's "voice" when YOU voted to level ECONOMIC SANCTIONS against the diverse people and businesses of the state of Arizona--despite the boisterous and plentiful number of "voices" that begged you not to.

Sorry Mayor Johnson, but I can't bring myself to download your new protest song "They Don't Want You To Be Heard" when your actions have proven you don't respect the process any more than the political hacks you claim are "obstructing" it.

Granted, there was a time when I thought you represented a true threat to "status quo" thinking at city hall. When you were stumping you talked a really good game about how your lack of political experience was an asset because yours represented a "fresh" new perspective, and you had no political loyalties to appease. But it turns you were all hot air. With your AZ Boycott vote you proved you are cut from the same cloth as council deadwood Rob "I-support-any-cause-that-gets-me-applause" Fong and Kevin "I-brake-for-special-interest" McCarty.

Sorry Mayor, but your AZ vote proved--at least to me--that you're just another lemming who doesn't have the spine to stand up to political pressure. So despite your incessant special pleading to the contrary, your actions have proven you would not bring any badly needed leadership skills to city council chambers if you were promoted to CEO. You have been interviewing for the job for almost two years now and you have proven (with your actions and statements) that making you strong mayor would not signal an end to status quo; it would only signal its formal ratification.

DON'T GET ME WRONG. I disagree with AZ's law. In fact I abhor any legislation that give "authorities" more power than they already have (including all Bush's privacy-bashing legislation). But there were other ways to go about protesting the AZ law. Enacting boycott legislation was the least creative, and least honorable of all the options, yet you offered ZERO alternatives and just caved to political pressure. Where was all that great leadership you have been promising? Where were all those creative solutions? Where was all that "public discussion" you have been waxing about ad nauseam? Where was your spine? I'm not attacking you here. Far from it. I'm just saying maybe you should get a spine before you accuse others of not having one? Just a thought.

From Johnson's blog: "Yes, the issues are challenging, particularly for those who see our fight for reform in simplistic terms. A “power grab” by an “ego-driven” Mayor. A “classic battle” between business and labor. But while those catch phrases make good headlines, they ignore the truth.."

I'll give you this: you're efficient. That's a very convenient way to spin the story to achieve your desired outcome. Reminds me of a movie my family and I watched last night called "Dear John." A beleaguered soldier comes back from Afghanistan to find the love of his life has married someone else. Much to his surprise though, she is still in love with him (the soldier). This presents a hefty challenge for the writer... how to deal with that quandary so the soldier can still get the girl and the audience can still have their happy ending.

Hmmm.......... oh I know---give the new husband cancer! With the new husband out of the way, the soldier gets the girl and they live happily ever after. Problem solved. That's an efficient solution, but it cheapens the story and makes it a little less believable.. just like you have done by summarily dismissing all your critics (and all of their many legit beefs with your SMI) as mere gadfly labelmaking.

I won't mince my words mayor; your careless dismissal of legit criticism doesn't inspire confidence that you can be an objective, well-rounded executive who LISTENS more than he talks. You used to say you don't take anything personally. I think you do. Your blogs and public tantrum certainly tend to indicate you do. Again, actions speak louder than words. Were you ever taught that? Do you think all that old wisdom is mythical? Doesn't apply to you? What? Do tell.

OK listen [I know it's hard, but try, ok?], forget about all the politicial posturing, inappropriate profane attacks on you, and grandstanding for a moment. What about the big, neon, Vegas-like sign in the room blinking: "Johnson is not qualified to be the executive mayor of Sacramento" ? Myself and many others have stated we don't approve of you in an executive mayor capacity because we simply don't think you are qualified for that job. No labels. No vendettas. No union influence. No politics. What is your response to that criticism? I'd love to know because you have never addressed this criticism to my knowledge.

[On a side note Mayor, I have to say again: It's actually quite remarkable that you continue to shoot yourself in the foot with every errant statement you make. Do you not have PR advisers? Perhaps you do but you simply don't listen to them--which would be yet another reason to vote against promoting you to CEO].

Despite all your dismisiveness, I do agree with you on a few points, Mayor.

1. I agree it should NOT be about politics.

2. I also agree that the city council should not be obstructing the people's right to vote---albeit for a COMPLETELY different reason than you maintain (and let's not forget you are on shaky ground with that one, considering you went above your pay grade and supported economic sanctions against Arizona, thus doing the same exact thing you accuse the council of doing: Supressing the people's "voice").

Thanks for listening Mayor Johnson.

Regardless of the court's position that SMI need pass muster with the council first, I believe the council should do the right thing and pass SMI on to their constituents to decide. But not because I want to see Johnson promoted to CEO of Sacramento. I happen to agree with those who also believe in the democratic process and think the people should be allowed to decide this issue for themselves.

Some Johnson detractors opine voters are "too stupid" or "uninformed" to vote on SMI so therefore it should not go to the ballot (which begs the question: do the city council members--save for Waters--feel the same way??). They say people don't read. Don't understand. Gosh. Shall we disqualify the gubernatorial vote for the same reason? How about the presidency? Yikes. How is that way of thinking any different than the old south Jim Crow culture that disenfranchised voters simply because of their skin color?

One could apply that same logic to ANY lousy politician whom ever charmed or manipulated his or her way into office only to be despised (or recalled) by the masses later. God knows we have a long and storied history of electing terrible politicians in this country.. yet the vote goes on... thankfully. Protecting status quo by denying the democratic process in the name of "patriotism" is so nonsensical it's hard to process.

Anyway, even if it is true that people are not informed enough about SMI, that's hardly good enough reason to skirt the voting process, matter of fact it's an even better reason to put it up for vote! If people need to be informed, then SMI opponents can use the process to inform them (and how about doing it with a little more class this time? It's safe to say the character assasination approach has been a dismal failure twice now. Don't make it a 3-PEAT!).

As we celebrate another Independence Day, let's not forget what being independent is all about. Isn't it about thinking for yourself? Forming your own opinions? Taking a stand for what you believe in? Punching a ballot to be a part of the decision making process? Politicial loyalties are great, and I love the debate as much as anyone, but I don't think we should ever get so passionate and obssesed with them that we feel compelled to deny each other the very right that has made our country so great.. and independent.

Happy INDEPENDENCE day, everyone.

Stay INDEPENDENT! :)

Mark Johnston
Www.JoeSacramento.Com

McCarty concedes District 9 race

2010-06-25T01:53:35Z

At approximately 5:30 p.m. today Kevin McCarty called Roger Dickinson and conceded the District 9 race for the State Assembly.

In a statement released this evening, McCarty announced his gratitude to his campaign and his congratulations to Dickinson.

"I know he’ll serve the City of Sacramento well in the State Assembly," McCarty wrote. "To my family, friends and supporters…Thank you! I’m really proud of our positive, energetic, grassroots campaign…and couldn’t have done it without you!"

The Dickinson camp is looking forward to getting involved with the business of District 9, according to Dickinson's campaign manager, Gabriel Medina.

"All the candidates ran a very strong race, and we look forward to Roger being in the Assembly," Medina said.

The county Registrar of Voters Jill Lavine said that of the remaining 4,000 provisional ballots, only 700 pertain to this race, and added it is possible not all of them will be valid.

Dickinson holds 35.3 percent of the vote. McCarty holds 34.8 percent of the votes.

A candidate needs to simply have the most votes to be declared the winner.

You can view the updated election results here.

Strong mayor: Mayor doesn't have council votes to draft language

2010-06-23T06:19:50Z

The Sacramento City Council has rejected Mayor Kevin Johnson’s effort to ask the city attorney to write official language for his new strong mayor measure.

Shortly after 11 p.m. at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, five council members said they would vote against the drafting of the measure. With five council members in opposition, Johnson’s request to the attorney to draft the language did not have the required number of votes.

The five council members saying they opposed the drafting of the language around 11 p.m. were Kevin McCarty, Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Ray Tretheway and Bonnie Pannell.

The council meeting was still in session at 11:15 p.m.

Check The Sacramento Press for further coverage of this issue.

District 9 results update

2010-06-23T04:05:21Z

As of 3:32 p.m. Roger Dickinson held 228 more votes than Kevin McCarty, his main competitor in the District 9 race for the State Assembly, according to the state elections website.

A candidate only needs to have more votes than all other candidates to claim victory in State Assembly races.

Sacramento County still has mail-in and provisional ballots to count in this race, but the official count of how many exactly was not available at 9 p.m.

The election is still a very tight race with Dickinson claiming 35.4 percent of the vote. McCarty holds 34.8 percent.

McCarty is waiting until more is known from the county registrar.

"I am going to respect them and wait until they finish their job of counting all the ballots," McCarty said.

Roger Dickinson was not available for comment.

Another election update will be made public on Thursday afternoon.

City leaders approve Arizona boycott

2010-06-16T04:55:10Z

Sacramento’s elected leaders agreed to boycott Arizona companies in protest of the state’s new immigration laws.

The City Council passed the boycott Tuesday with a 6-1 vote. Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members Rob Fong, Bonnie Pannell, Ray Tretheway, Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty voted to approve the boycott.

Councilman Robbie Waters opposed the move.

Council members Steve Cohn and Lauren Hammond were absent.

Hammond was absent from the entire City Council meeting, but Cohn appeared at City Hall to discuss a separate issue after the hearing on the Arizona law.

Arizona’s new law says that an individual’s immigration status should be addressed by police officers in certain circumstances. If police officers think an individual is an illegal immigrant, then they must review the individual’s immigration status, the law states. The police must account for immigration status during “enforcement of any law or ordinance of a county, city or town” in Arizona, the law also states.

Read the details of the resolution approved by the City Council here.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Waiting game: Dickinson, McCarty divided by 33 votes in Assembly race

2010-06-10T02:34:34Z

Thirty-three votes divide the two local politicians fighting for a state Assembly seat in the Democratic primary.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson currently has a tiny lead of 33 votes over City Councilman Kevin McCarty in the race for the District 9 Assembly seat.

Dickinson has 35.05 percent of the vote, while McCarty has 34.93 percent. With all precincts reporting, McCarty had 9,634 votes to Dickinson’s 9,667.

Jill LaVine, Sacramento County’s top election official, estimated that more than 86,000 remaining ballots still need to be counted. That total is comprised of unprocessed ballots that came to the elections office before Tuesday night, vote-by-mail ballots delivered to polls, and ballots that need to be studied further, according to a news release from the elections office.

The competitor who will run in the general election will be the one with the most votes.

“It can come down to one vote,” said Shannan Velayas, spokeswoman for the California Secretary of State’s office.

Gabriel Medina, campaign manager for Dickinson, said that the supervisor’s supporters were “cautiously optimistic.” Dickinson’s campaign was pleased with the vote tally, Medina said, and supporters celebrated late into the night on Wednesday.

McCarty also has an upbeat attitude about the contest.

“I’m feeling good,” McCarty said Wednesday afternoon. “I think we ran a very strong campaign. We ran a really positive campaign.”

After the precincts were reported, City Councilwoman and Assembly candidate Lauren Hammond was in third place with 18.8 percent of the District 9 vote.

The district includes most of the city of Sacramento.

Hammond’s City Council seat was up for grabs in this election cycle. She did not run in the City Council election. There will likely be a runoff between candidates Jay Schenirer and Patrick Kennedy for Hammond’s seat, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said Wednesday morning.

The city staggers the years of its City Council races: McCarty’s City Council seat was not part of the June election.

Wendy Klock-Johnson of the Sacramento City Clerk’s office said Tuesday that if McCarty wins the Assembly seat in both the primary election and the November general election, the city will need to hold a special election for his City Council seat.

Photos by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Getting real with Antwone Fisher and Ricky Ross

2010-05-29T07:36:34Z

Overcoming the life and lure of crime was one of multiple topics discussed by Antwone Fisher and Ricky ‘Freeway’ Ross at the “Sacramento Youth Gets Up Close & Personal with the ‘Real’ Antwone Fisher” event at the George Sim Community Center.

“I had to find protection,” said Fisher as he described his days of being emancipated and entering a men’s shelter. “Butch, this guy who was my protector, gave me a job and my job was to collect money from the prostitutes who worked for him.”

“He was the first person, that I felt, who really cared about me.”

Fisher discussed his time with Butch, and how it came to an end.

“He also had these cards that had addresses on them, and people he would send to me to get these cards from me, they would give me $200, $300, whatever they had written on the back, that’s how much they would give me for the card,” said Fisher.

“So I had this regular customer that would always hold the card for him, and this particular day he didn’t show up. So when I gave Butch all the money, whatever I had that card was with it, and when he saw it he just started beating me up.”

“Everybody who had been my friend, or I thought were my friends up to that time, was just standing around watching. And I couldn’t understand why he got so upset about it. And when I ask when it was all over, it was explained to me that drug addicts were exchanging their children for heroin. Those addresses were where the children were.”

“After that, I left and went back to the shelter and got some of my things out of the trunk in the storeroom and I left.”

Ross’ desire to leave the life of crime and channel his energy elsewhere occurred as he served time in prison for drug trafficking.

“I started off on the wrong path,” said Ross. “The only opportunities that I saw was in my neighborhood. The things I thought I was going to be able to survive on was hemp, dope dealing, hustling, gang banging; none of the other things that I see now were even an option for me at that time.”

Ross, who garnered the nickname “Freeway” due to the numerous properties he owned along the Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles, is otherwise known for the drug ring he presided over in Los Angeles during the early 1980s.

“It took me getting incarcerated, facing a life sentence, to really find out who I was,” said Ross. “Even though I made over a million dollars a day, maybe more, a still had a low self esteem about myself.”

Ross recalled how he was too embarrassed to tell his lawyer he couldn’t read or write. He took a legal document from his lawyer back to his cell and gained a desire to read it.

“When that desire came, I learned how to read,” said Ross. “In two weeks, I could remember every word on the page, I could remember what they meant, and I understood what they were saying.”

“What that taught me is I could do anything if I really put my mind and heart to it and if I have a reason.”

While in prison, Ross wrote two books, three movie scripts, and came up with ideas for two reality shows.

Fisher served in the United States Navy for eleven years, followed by work as a Federal Correctional Officer and a security officer at Sony Pictures. Fisher has worked in Hollywood for sixteen years as a writer and producer, with fourteen writing projects with the major studios to his credit. This includes work on Rush Hour, Antwone Fisher, and Training Day.

The event was organized by the City of Sacramento’s Neighborhood Services Department, in partnership with Black Men Who Mean Business (BMWMB).

Councilmember Kevin McCarty was also in attendance.

Kevin McCarty Campaign Allegedly Violates Campaign Laws

2010-05-28T01:40:51Z

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, the Rick Redding for state assembly campaign filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against the Kevin McCarty for state assembly (district 9) campaign. The complaint alleges McCarty’s campaign of lobbying and campaign violations of the California Political Reform Act (PRA).

The three page complaint, supported by over 100 pages of evidence and documentation, accuses McCarty of three principle violations: Kevin McCarty, a registered lobbyist, failed to report his lobbying efforts on AB 962 in the quarterly reports in 2009 and 2010; The McCarty campaign utilized campaign funds and campaign literature from his 2012 Sacramento City Council fund raising coffers for his 2010 state assembly bid; and McCarty received the maximum allowance in campaign contributions for his city council and assembly campaigns from a singular donor and utilized the funds specifically for his state assembly bid.

Paul Silva, campaign manager for the Rick Redding campaign, commented that “it is incomprehensible that Mr. McCarty, given his public position, is neither aware of his actions nor of the impact that they have on the district 9 constituency.” Silva further lamented that these violations appear to be indicative to how Mr. McCarty fails to exercise sound judgment as a public servant. He pointed out a non-city council related trip in which the councilman and his wife traveled to Iowa to campaign for Barack Obama on the city council campaign’s dime.

The McCarty campaign has not responded to the allegations and could not be reached for comment.

The FPPC has 14 days to respond and investigate. The public concern is that FPPC will drag its feet and not complete the investigation before the primary election on June 8. District 9 voters are encouraged to communicate directly with the FPPC as a means of expediting the investigation. The FPPC can be reached toll free at 1-866-275-3772.

*Photographs were taken from the Kevin McCarty campaign website and illustrate Mr. and Mrs. McCarty marching in Iowa for Obama*

Disclosure: The author of this story is a volunteer and freelance correspondent for several local Republican Candidates.

Battle brewing between Johnson and two council members

2010-05-27T03:30:38Z

The strong mayor battles at City Hall are brewing again.

After wrapping up a lengthy and contentious hearing on Sacramento’s opposition to Arizona’s immigration law Tuesday, Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty talked to City Attorney Eileen Teichert about the latest strong mayor plan.

McCarty and Sheedy made remarks that indicate they are highly skeptical about the new plan.

Johnson asked Teichert to complete a report on his strong mayor plan for the June 15 City Council meeting. All of the council members, including the mayor, can give direction to the city attorney.

Johnson asked Teichert to include in her report information on how the new strong mayor plan can be presented with proper language. He also asked her to examine comparable cities with strong mayor form of governments in her report.

Then, McCarty asked Teichert for information that could be at odds with Johnson’s new strong mayor plan. He asked for information on how the City Council could place a proposal on the ballot to set up a new charter review commission.

“I am interested in having a debate — having a discussion — on your proposal, Mayor, as far as the mayoral structure and options," McCarty said to Johnson.

Sheedy asked Teichert for information that could be used by opponents of Johnson’s new measure.

“I want to know how many California cities have changed their system of governance during the term of an incumbent mayor,” she said.

McCarty and Sheedy were strong opponents of the previous strong mayor initiative.

The new strong mayor plan has not yet been written. Right now, it’s an outline.

Johnson wants the City Council to decide in mid-July whether to place the new strong mayor proposal on the November ballot.

Read about the contents of the new strong mayor outline here.

The public can listen to the comments from Johnson, McCarty and Sheedy at the city’s website.

After opening the link to the city’s website, click on the phrase “Watch Now,” next to the meeting date of May 25, 2010.

Once the video of the City Council meeting begins, click on the “Jump To” pull-down menu. The bottom of the menu includes the phrase: Council comments -- Ideas, Questions, Meeting/Conference Reports. Under that phrase, Sheedy, McCarty and Johnson’s names are listed, among others. Click on a council member’s name to hear his or her comments.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Hall at War: Tretheway, Johnson’s office accuse each other of lying

2010-05-20T00:24:46Z

The accusations are flying at City Hall.

Councilman Ray Tretheway is accusing Mayor Kevin Johnson of quid pro quo in his endorsement process, while Johnson’s Special Assistant R.E. Graswich said that Tretheway’s allegations are lies.

Tretheway held a press conference Wednesday to announce that some of Johnson’s most influential supporters told him that if he voted to place a strong mayor proposal on the November ballot, then Johnson would endorse him.

Johnson has endorsed Tretheway’s opponent Angelique Ashby.

“Threats and quid pro quo offers may be commonplace these days,” Tretheway said, “but I want no part of it.”

Tretheway named names at the press conference. He said the following people representing Johnson pressured him to vote for a strong mayor proposal: developer Mark Friedman, developer Mike Heller, steel businessman Steve Ayers, developer Steve Goodwin, developer Jon Bagatelos and attorney Jeffrey Dorso.

Tretheway said that he was pressured when he recently met with some of the city’s key business leaders. “I was specifically told that if I put the strong mayor initiative on the ballot in November, the mayor would be ready to give me his endorsement and make certain I am reelected,” Tretheway said. “I don’t trade votes regardless of political consequences,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if the business leaders said they were acting on behalf of the mayor, Tretheway responded: “Yes, sir.”

Tretheway said he was not planning on making complaints about the matter, noting that Johnson was not directly involved. "I don't think there's anything illegal for somebody to speak on (Johnson's) behalf," Tretheway said.

After the press conference, Graswich said that Tretheway was lying. Graswich referred to a group of key Sacramento business leaders as “the group of 60.”

“He’s lying if he thinks the Sacramento 60 are somehow being directed by the mayor,” Graswich said. “It’s absolutely not true.”

Graswich said that Tretheway has lost the endorsement of the city’s public safety unions and the business community. Faced with the possibility of “losing his political career,” Tretheway is making up a story.

Graswich also pointed out that if Ashby wins office, she won’t begin until November. That would mean that she couldn’t vote to put a strong mayor decision on the ballot.

“If you think about it, why in the world would the mayor endorse Angelique, who, when, if ... she wins, won’t be taking office until the end of November?" Graswich said. "Why would he do that, unless his motives were to simply move the city forward?”

The fight isn’t limited to Tretheway and the mayor’s office: local politicians and powerful groups are taking sides. Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty, the Sacramento County Democratic Party and Bill Camp, the executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, are supporting Tretheway’s claims and stood behind him at the press conference.

Sheedy said before the press conference that she believed Tretheway’s claims.

“Ray Tretheway is one of the most honorable men I know,” Sheedy said. “If he says it happened, it happened.”

Representatives from the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 — two public safety unions that support Ashby — turned out for the press conference. SPOA Vice President Mark Tyndale rebutted Tretheway’s claims in comments to reporters.

In a phone interview Wednesday, developer Mark Friedman said Tretheway’s claims were false.

Friedman said he met with Tretheway and four others Tuesday morning. At the meeting, Friedman said he and the others discussed the strong mayor proposal and its merits, and talked about why they thought it should be placed on the ballot in November.

“We didn’t offer any promises and we didn’t make any threats,” Friedman said.

Friedman said the discussion did not include any mention of Tretheway’s City Council race or an endorsement by the mayor.

“It smells to me like some last-ditch act of political desperation,” Friedman said.

Jon Bagatelos also said Tretheway’s comments were lies. If Tretheway claims there was quid pro quo or that the group of business leaders said they would give him the mayor's endorsement that's a "total unequivocal lie,” Bagatelos said.

Bagatelos said that if Tretheway is referring to the meeting at which Bagatelos attended yesterday, then Tretheway is making defamatory comments.

Steve Ayers and Steve Goodwin also said they did not tell Tretheway that backing the strong mayor proposal could lead to an endorsement from Johnson.

Both Ayers and Goodwin described themselves as supporters of Tretheway. "I'm amazed and shocked," Ayers said.

Goodwin spoke positively about Tretheway, saying he was the best candidate for the District 1 City Council seat. "I have not heard what Ray said," Goodwin said. "But as far as any tit-for-tat — I wouldn't do that to Ray. I would hope he would know that."

Attempts made to contact Mike Heller and Jeffrey Dorso were unsuccessful.

Managing Editor Colleen Belcher contributed to this report.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sac State College Democrats receive contributions from PG&E

2010-05-14T05:20:26Z

A student Democratic group at California State University, Sacramento, is more than just a club of like-minded young people — it’s a major political player that attracts thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

The College Democrats group at Sacramento State both receives financial contributions from various interests and contributes to political candidates.

A few months ago, the student club received a hefty sum: Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation contributed $10,000 to the group Dec. 22, according to campaign records.

The student group is also a political player in advance of the upcoming June 8 primary: Just a few days after receiving the $10,000, the College Democrats contributed $7,800 to Chris Garland’s Assembly District 9 campaign on Dec. 28, according to campaign reports.

Garland is running against fellow Democrats Adam Sartain, Lauren Hammond, Kevin McCarty and Roger Dickinson. McCarty and Hammond are members of the Sacramento City Council; Dickinson is a county supervisor. The sole Republican candidate is Rick Redding.

PG&E spokeswoman Cynthia Pollard responded to the question of why the company donated $10,000 to the student group.

“PG&E’s contribution to the College Democrats of Sacramento State was for general support of the organization’s goals,” Pollard wrote in an e-mail Thursday. “It was not earmarked for any specific initiative or candidate. It is ultimately the recipient organization’s decision as to how to spend the funds.”

PG&E made the contribution to the College Democrats after the student group endorsed Garland Dec. 10. The student group's endorsement is online.

Pollard responded to a question asking if the company contributed to the College Democrats with the expectation that the College Democrats would give to Garland’s campaign.

“No,” Pollard said. “PG&E contributes to hundreds of committees and organizations throughout the state based on their programs and goals. Like many individuals and businesses, PG&E participates in the political process.”

Phil Giarrizzo, a political consultant for Garland’s campaign, said questions about PG&E contributions to the College Democrats after the students endorsed Garland assumes a “ridiculous nexus.”

There is no relevancy to the question, Giarrizzo said.

PG&E’s Pollard said that PG&E’s political contributions do not come from utility bills paid by the public.

“As an additional note, I would like to point out that PG&E holds itself to the highest standards of public disclosure and compliance with applicable laws and regulations and that our political contributions are paid for with shareholder funds, not utility customer dollars,” she said.

PG&E has put millions toward Proposition 16, which would establish that two-thirds of a local body's voting public must sign off on certain electricity service decisions made by a local government.

PG&E contributed money to numerous groups last year, including the California Democratic Party, the California Republican Party and an array of political candidates, according to campaign records filed with the California Secretary of State’s Office. Many of the contributions dwarf the size of the $10,000 contribution to the College Democrats.

However, the $10,000 contribution is a big one for the College Democrats at Sacramento State.

By contrast, Senate President Darrell Steinberg contributed $250 to the student group in February 2009. The next month, a sheet metal workers union gave $1,000 to the student club.

John Ryan, president of the College Democrats at Sacramento State, said the group endorsed Garland because he focused on higher education issues. “And that really resonated with us,” Ryan said.

In response to a question about PG&E’s $10,000 contribution, Ryan said: “We wouldn’t begin to have a kind of quid pro quo with anyone that donates to the campaign. There’s isn’t any kind of implied strings attached.”

See PG&E’s campaign contributions for last year here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Roseville mayor on city's decision to hire Ray Kerridge

2010-05-07T01:55:33Z

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 public service and felt it was a good time to transition to a private sector position.

Meanwhile, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Kerridge’s resignation was in part due to a negative atmosphere at City Hall. At a Feb. 18 press conference, Johnson and City Councilman Robbie Waters blamed other council members for creating a hostile work environment and complimented Kerridge on his work for the city of Sacramento.

Johnson admitted to being partly to blame for the negative atmosphere among City Council members.

The city was also facing significant controversies with its Community Development and Utilities departments at the time of Kerridge’s resignation. When Kerridge was leading the city, Sacramento was in trouble with both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Sacramento County Grand Jury. The city acknowledged it broke FEMA rules by allowing building permits in a flood zone in Natomas.

The Grand Jury has claimed that actions by the city’s Utilities Department violated state law Proposition 218.

And, the Sacramento City Council recently hired a third-party auditing firm to examine whether the city has been allowing developers to bypass fee payments in recent years.

Attempts to contact Kerridge through the city of Roseville Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

Reacting to Kerridge’s new move, Mayor Kevin Johnson said in an e-mail through his spokesman that the city of Sacramento is operating in a “broken system.” While Johnson did not specifically mention a “strong mayor” form of government would be the cure, he is leading an effort to give the mayor more power in Sacramento.

"Unfortunately, this news is the latest example of why we need to reform City Hall,” Johnson said. “Ray's resignation was a major loss to Sacramento, and I remain troubled by the atmosphere at City Hall that likely played a role in his decision. We can't afford to keep losing our best people because of a broken system.

“Our loss is Roseville's gain. Ray will further the city's already impressive work to create jobs and foster a positive business climate. I congratulate Ray on his new role and wish him well," Johnson said.

Roseville’s Garbolino acknowledged that Kerridge had faced controversies in Sacramento.

“We knew what was in the paper,” Garbolino said, noting that there are “other sides of stories.”

Garbolino said the Roseville City Council conducted an extensive search that included input from 150 city employees. City employees and community members said they wanted their new city manager to have vision, leadership skills and an attitude of quality customer service, Garbolino said.

Kerridge was the best candidate, Garbolino said. “Obviously, he has a reputation for customer service.”

Garbolino noted that her city adheres to laws. “Roseville has always followed the book,” she said. “We don’t veer from that. That’s non-negotiable.”

Councilman Waters said in an interview Thursday that Kerridge made major improvements to the city of Sacramento’s development department when he oversaw it. Kerridge’s move to Roseville is “a great loss to the city of Sacramento,” Waters said.

At its May 19 meeting, the Roseville City Council will decide Kerridge’s salary and determine his first day of work, according to Roseville's website. Kerridge earned $215,000 as Sacramento's city manager.

Photo courtesy of the city of Roseville.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Redding and Dickinson Trade Jabs in AD 9 Candidate Forum

2010-04-26T02:00:11Z

In what will more than likely be a glimpse of the general election season this coming fall, County Supervisor Roger Dickinson (D) and public school teacher Rick Redding (R) wasted no time in hurling critcisms at one another's respective positions on the issues. The candidate forum, sponsored by the River Park Neighborhood Association and the American Women Federated, highlighted seven candidates all vying for the Assembly District 9 seat being vacated by Dave Jones.

Aside from Dickinson and Redding, Democratic candidates Lauren Hammond, Kevin McCarty, Adam Sartain and Chris Garland as well as Peace and Freedom candidate Daniel Acosta all partipated in the forum.

Dickinson wasted no time in going on the offensive. In his opening statement he made an indirect reference to Redding's position on AB 32. Dickinson claimed that "anyone in support of suspending or repealing AB 32 is a neanderthal." When it came time for his opening statement, Redding, seemingly bemused by Dickinson's comment claimed, " I guess I'm one of those darned neanderthals!" This exchange seemed to enliven a quiet crowd. On the very next question which pertained to education, Dickinson opened with "I didn't mean neaderthal, Rick, I meant Luddite." Redding did not address the slight until his closing argument.

The questions posed to the candidates included: education, Proposition 14, funding for Child Protective Services and what they would do to assist in balancing the state budget. The forum lasted for approximately one hour. Due to the short length of the forum, all of the candidates encouraged the audience members to visit their websites to become more acquainted with their campaigns.

Redding, in his closing statement, quoted Albert Einstein and said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." Redding was surely referencing that fact that the Assembly District 9 seat has never been held by anyone other than a Democrat and that the current condition of the district can only be attributed to poor Democratic leadership. Redding further stated that "the folks are tired of career politicians like Roger [Dickinson] talking out of both sides of their mouth and I find it odd that Roger claims that his top priority is creating jobs, yet he supports legislation like AB 32 that has eliminated 1.1 million jobs in California."

The AD 9 campaign just woke up.

Railyards developer pays back taxes

2010-04-10T04:50:55Z

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 taxes were unpaid, Sacramento would not sign off on funds to Thomas Enterprises from a $17 million state grant.

The company owed as much as $114,000 in back taxes that were not paid in December, according to the letter.

Now, Senior Deputy City Attorney Sheryl Patterson said Sacramento will be "back in business" with Thomas Enterprises after the city verifies Monday that the company has paid its taxes.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty held a press conference Friday morning to announce that if the company did not pay its taxes, the city should try to block as much as $47 million in state funding to the Railyards.

But Patterson said the city did not have the authority to block payments on amounts other than the $17 million from the grant.

The city could have written a letter asking the state’s Housing and Community Development Department to stop payments on additional state funds for the Railyards, she added.

Photo by Sacramento Press Staff Reporter Suzanne Hurt.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sheedy, McCarty ask if city can collect unpaid developer fees

2010-03-31T04:55:31Z

At least two Sacramento City Council members don’t want to let bygones be bygones when it comes to fees that the city’s community development department may not have collected from developers in recent years.

Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty said Tuesday that they want the city to see if it can retrieve unpaid fees from development projects that took place in the past few years.

Sacramento City Attorney Eileen Teichert released a 2,529-page document last week containing claims about the department’s noncollection, waiver, underassessment and deferral of development fees.

The discussion of fees takes place as the city faces a $35 million-$40 million budget gap.

McCarty said in an interview that waivers on fees should be decided by the City Council. “We shouldn’t have staff somewhat arbitrarily doing these fee waivers.”

The city should find out if it can retroactively collect the fees, he said.

Sheedy made a similar comment, saying that the the city should wait on results from an upcoming third-party audit and then examine if it can gather the fees.

The issues presented in the document will be investigated by an outside auditor. City Auditor Jorge Oseguera said he is holding interviews later this week with prospective third-party auditors.

The City Council will be involved in the process of hiring the outside auditor, according to Oseguera. He said he hopes to have an outside auditor starting in May.

The document released last week also includes other concerns aside from fee-related issues. Among other issues, the concerns involve the culture of the department, a possible violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, claims that development projects began before completion of city procedures and possible violations of planning rules.

Teichert noted in a media statement last week that her office has not investigated the information presented in the document.

The information in the lengthy document comes from witnesses in a separate but related investigation, according to Teichert. That investigation was concerned with building permits approved for a Natomas flood area.

Developers mentioned in the document include:
John Saca, Towers on Capitol Mall, LLC
Bob Leach and Captain’s Table Hotel LLC
Kobra Properties, Abe Alizadeh
500 Capitol Mall LLC and George Tsakopoulos
Ose Properties, Inc. and Doug Ose
Tarik Taeha, S360 Development Services
Nathan and Erica Cunningham

Photo by Anthony Bento

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

I can has cheezburger? Squeeze Inn holds grand reopening

2010-03-12T03:28:28Z

Loosen your belts. Sacramento's most famous burger place, The Squeeze Inn, held its grand reopening celebration Thursday morning.

The celebration featured guest appearances by Mayor Kevin Johnson, City Councilman Kevin McCarty and County Supervisor Don Nottoli as well as music, speeches, a raffle and a burger-eating contest. Several hundred people shuffled into The Squeeze Inn throughout the lunch hour for special prices on the burger known for its famous "cheese skirt," which extends an inch beyond the bun.

The burger is constructed by cooking a one-third-pound beef patty and putting "a giant handful of cheese" on top of, and around, the burger, said Squeeze Inn employee Keith Lenhart. Then an ice cube is placed on the grill while the cheesy patties are topped with a lid, creating a steam chamber for the cheese to melt quickly.

"We go through about 200 to 300 pounds of cheese per day," said employee Charles Rogers.

"And about 270 pounds of potatoes," added Lenhart.

Lenhart, who said he has been eating at the Squeeze Inn for 15 years, only recently started working there a few months ago. Now, he and Rogers are in the process of opening a new Squeeze Inn on the corner of Sunrise Avenue and Douglas Boulevard in Roseville next month.

With locations in Sacramento, Galt and Napa, a Roseville location would be the fourth for the Squeeze Inn, which originally opened in Sacramento 34 years ago.

"This is the perfect location," Lenhart said of the burger joint's new digs on Power Inn Road in Sacramento. "I love it. It helps serve the people better, and (soon) we will get this great product out there in Roseville."

After being featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," hosted by Guy Fieri, the restaurant gained national fame. It was later mentioned on "Good Morning America" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

It also gained notoriety for not being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. After several lawsuits, the Squeeze Inn moved to its new location.

"We (would have) had to make changes to the restaurant that would destroy the character, so we decided to move to another location," said owner Travis Hausauer. "The great people of Sacramento gave us wonderful support, and it was amazing what everybody did for us. We're really happy with the location, and we hope to have another 34 years here."

Now larger and wheelchair-accessible, the new location still retains the feel of the old restaurant. It incorporates the entire front entrance, all the bar stools and many of the decorations from the old location.

Michael Whipple, a Certified Access specialist for ADA Resource Associates and wheelchair user, said the old Squeeze Inn location had some wheelchair accessible seating. Although he doesn't eat burgers for health reasons, he helped plan the new location to make sure everything from the entrance to tables to the bathroom, were completely accessible.

He presented Hausauer with a plaque to put in the window. It certified that the restaurant is now fully accessible.

Sacramento Celebrates Little Saigon at Tet Festival

2010-02-15T05:36:10Z

The annual Tet Festival was packed with more meaning than usual this year.

This year's festival, which celebrates the Vietnamese new year with food, dance and carnival rides, among other festivities, also featured the official designation of Little Saigon. The two-mile stretch of Stockton Boulevard between Fruitridge and Florin roads is home to a large Vietnamese community.

The official designation of the area came Saturday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Stockton Boulevard and Fowler Avenue. The title is the result of a recently passed City Council resolution.

More than 200 people attended the ceremony, including the Little Saigon Committee, City Councilman Kevin McCarty, and state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, who represents the area.

"Eighteen years ago, I started on the City Council in this area," Steinberg said. "I know I represent a rich community, a community rich in tradition, rich in culture and rich in pride."

A parade with dancers in costume, dragons and drums moved toward the Tet Festival on Florin Road.

The festival included a traditional Vietnamese New Year's ceremony, which featured dancers in dragon costumes moving to the rhythm of the drummers while firecrackers exploded all around them. There also was a carnival adjacent to the festival area, and even Mexican dancing horses.

There were many booths selling food, drink, gifts, toys and karaoke machines. Others represented businesses and community organizations, including the Sacramento Chinese Community Center and the Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church of Sacramento.

Thamh Nguyen, who helped plan the festival and emceed from the main stage, deemed the festival a success.

"We do the festival every year to remind our community to celebrate the freedom in this country," he said. "This year is special. The approval of Little Saigon adds a lot to it."

The Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church, which has participated in the festival for 10 years, sold food and drinks to help pay for the construction of a new church building. Pastor Tuan Phan, a native of Vietnam who has lived in Sacramento for 17 years, said he was excited about Little Saigon.

"I hear the words 'Little Saigon' and it reminds me of my country," he said.

Some of the younger generation wasn't as enthusiastic. Ousio Saeteurn and Alex Lee said it didn't mean much to them.

"They need to open up more stores and fill it out," said Lee, indicating a field nearby. "It's a little empty."

"It's okay," said Saeteurn. "It gives us kids something to do and a place to interact with people."

To those who came from Vietnam to the United States, however, Little Saigon has far more meaning.

Son Nguyen, a member of the Association of Former Vietnamese Political Prisoners, has lived in Sacramento 19 years. He is excited about Little Saigon, he said, because it represents what Vietnam was before 1975, when the country became a communist government. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City at that time.

"I'm very proud to be Vietnamese and to have this here in Sacramento," he said, through a translator.

Little Saigon is meaningful because many in the Sacramento Vietnamese community escaped from the communist government to freedom in America, said Thamh Nguyen.

"Saigon has a connection to this community, and that connection is freedom. It means a lot to a lot of people," he said. "Using the name 'Little Saigon' reminds them why we're here."

This year's Tet Festival coinciding with the designation of Little Saigon not only lent extra meaning to the festival, it increased awareness of this vibrant and diverse community.

"Having Little Saigon now brings a lot of understanding to the people outside of the Vietnamese community," Nguyen said. "It's great to have the community of Sacramento celebrate with us."

All photos taken by Jonathan Mendick

Stockton Boulevard: A Little Saigon in Sacramento

2010-02-04T02:57:20Z

Tuesday night's City Council meeting featured dancing, cheering and even crying. The excitement anticipated the City Council's unanimous vote for the area on Stockton Boulevard between between Riza Avenue and Fruitridge Road to be named Little Saigon.

Councilman Kevin McCarty, whose district includes the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Little Saigon, proposed the vote to the City Council in January after months of public input from South Sacramento business owners and community members. It's now the city's inaugural cultural district.

Starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, hundreds of Vietnamese and supporters of the campaign for Little Saigon began filling the city council chamber for a pre-council-meeting reception. The group included, among others, a Korean pastor, Vietnam War veterans, monks, several busloads of Vietnamese from South Sacramento, a nine-member Little Saigon committee, councilmen McCarty and Rob Fong as well as Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Many were holding American flags, waving South Vietnamese flags and wearing pins which read "I ♥ Little Saigon."

"This is an important recognition that is long overdue," McCarty said in a conversation before the council meeting. "In the last decade you've seen this stream of revitalization and it's a large part because of these Vietnamese businesses, so calling it Little Saigon is an important thing to do. Having a certain spotlight on this one ethnic group helps bring positive attention."

He also explained that 100 years ago, Stockton Boulevard was a thriving transportation corridor and the main connecting road between Sacramento and Stockton — hence the name.

Rob Fong joined McCarty to speak at the reception. He said before addressing the crowd that this is a completely different deal than an unofficial designation like the "historic Chinatown" between Third and Fifth and along I and J streets.

"Little Saigon is heavily populated with Southeast Asian businesses," he said. "A lot of our Southeast Asian community lives out in that area, and it's a natural positive move for the city of Sacramento."

California State Assemblyman Van Tran from Orange County — the site of the oldest and largest Little Saigon in the U.S. — and SMUD board director Nancy Bui were among the Vietnamese community leaders who spoke to the gatherers in Vietnamese.

Bryan Ngo, a 39-year-old office worker, said he often travels to Stockton Boulevard to get a bite to eat or go shopping, and feels the recognition of Little Saigon is long overdue.

"It's very good for the people around there, and it's time for us to be united," he said. "As soon as I heard about (the campaign) a couple months ago, I volunteered a few hours to help."

Nhon "Neo" Trinh, who has owned Design Copy Print Center on Stockton Boulevard for the last nine years, has seen the growth of the area firsthand.

"It changed a lot," he said. "New buildings and businesses have helped the area grow. Years ago, there was a lot of prostitution, but it's been better since the Vietnamese dominated the area."

But will new signage and the name Little Saigon continue to improve business in the area?

"Yes, it helps and everybody needs it," said Trinh, who is also the fundraising and sponsorship chair on the Little Saigon Committee. "It's branding, so when people think to get Vietnamese or Chinese food, they'll go there. People love the name, and tourists on the highway can see signs for it, too."

Before the City Council's unanimous decision, teary-eyed councilman and Vietnam Veteran Ray Tretheway described what the name meant to him.

"Tonight, you've truly empowered me, and now I know why I was there," he said. "You really captured for me that you're willing to build a legacy with us in America. Thank you."

His statements drew applause from the audience.

An adjacent half mile of Stockton Boulevard is expected to be approved as part of Little Saigon Feb. 9 by Sacramento County supervisors. A Feb. 13 ribbon-cutting ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. on the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Riza Avenue to coincide with the Vietnamese New Year (Tết) celebration, said a representative from McCarty's office.

Kathleen Haley contributed to this article.

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell explains 2010 goals

2010-01-30T21:46:40Z

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said she plans to concentrate on key issues facing her South Sacramento district this year, including flood protection, a beautification effort on Meadowview Road and youth services.

Pannell’s goals are explained as part of a series of articles on council members’ plans for 2010. Links to the articles are at the end of this story.

The Sacramento Press made repeated request for interviews with two council members, Rob Fong and Ray Tretheway, but they were unavailable.

Pannell represents District 8, which includes the Meadowview, North Laguna Creek and 63rd Street/Cromwell neighborhoods.
Her primary focus this year is on 100-year flood protection for areas in her district affected by South Sacramento streams. Pannell said Rep. Doris Matsui, (D-Sacramento), “has been working hard to get federal funds not only for North Natomas, but for South Sacramento stream levees."

Progress on the South Sacramento stream levees will depend on Matsui obtaining federal dollars, she said. Funding for the project also would come from local taxes, Pannell added.

Her second goal for the year is to complete a beautification effort involving a fence on Meadowview Road. Pannell said she expects a new fence along that road to be set up by mid- to late spring. The project, which costs about $670,000, involves removing the existing wooden fence and installing a fence made of masonry wall.

“I think it will change the look, the appearance of the community,” Pannell said.

The councilwoman’s third priority will be to work with youth. She noted that she is backs an initiative to fund jobs and other services for young people in Sacramento. Programs offered through the initiative, the Youth Jobs and Opportunity Act, would be paid for by a $29 annual tax on parcels of property.

Pannell also wants new services for youth who live in apartment complexes on Mack Road, citing problems with some young people in the area. She said she wants youth in the the apartment complexes to be involved in sports and after-school programs. Youth programs keep kids in school, off the streets and away from trouble, Pannell said.

The services would be funded by property fees from homes financed through the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

Pannell has set many other goals for the period of 2010 to 2012. The goals are listed on her website under the heading of "council district information." Read about them here.

Learn about Councilman Steve Cohn's goals here. Councilwoman Lauren Hammond's priorities are outlined here. Read about Councilman Kevin McCarty's plans here. Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's objectives are explained here. Read about Councilman Robbie Waters' goals here. Mayor Kevin Johnson's announces his goal for a green initiative here. Johnson discusses a goal relating to the building moratorium in Natomas.

Photos by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. 

A road map to the strong mayor debate

2010-01-22T05:38:44Z

Developments affecting Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong mayor initiative have been highly controversial and complex.

Several entities have weighed in on the initiative, including the Sacramento City Council, the Sacramento County Superior Court and the Sacramento Charter Review Committee. Government officials, attorneys and citizens have interpreted the initiative in a variety of ways.

Here’s a road map to make sense of some of the key events in the strong mayor debate:

Johnson’s Day One Plan: Before taking office, Johnson promotes a strong mayor form of government in his “Day One” plan. An executive mayor system would mean that one leader would be accountable, Johnson says.

“Explore a change to the city charter moving to a strong mayor structure,” the plan states. “We need a single point of accountability in our city and to know where the buck stops. We should engage in a dialogue to determine if we can improve our city government through a different governance structure.”

February 2009: The City Council unanimously forms the charter review committee. Johnson votes in favor of the committee. Council members direct the committee to examine the strong mayor format.

May 18, 2009: The Charter Review Committee talks to academics about strong mayor government systems.

June 26, 2009: Sacramentans for Accountable Government (SAG), the group running the strong mayor campaign, brings to City Hall signatures from residents who favor the initiative. Acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson says the papers with the signatures filled 13 boxes.

Aug. 6, 2009: The City Council decides in a 5-4 vote to put the strong mayor initiative on the June 2010 ballot. Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell vote against placing it on the June 8 ballot. Before the City Council made this decision, the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters had declared that SAG received the required number of signatures (32,433) to place the initiative on the ballot.

Sept. 3, 2009: The Charter Review Committee favors the idea to allow the Sacramento mayor to appoint the city manager.

Oct. 19, 2009: The Charter Review Committee recommends that the City Council maintain its existing council/manager system. The committee opposes the idea of a strong mayor government for Sacramento. However, the committee recommends altering the current system to give the mayor the power to appoint the city manager. In the city’s council/manager system, the city manager is appointed by the City Council.

Dec. 1, 2009: Bill Camp files a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court challenging the strong mayor initiative. Defendants in the case are the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council and Thomas Hiltachk, the attorney who wrote the strong mayor initiative. Camp contends in his lawsuit that the initiative breaks state law because it would create major changes to the city’s charter. He argues that that an initiative can amend, but not change, a city charter.

Jan. 14, 2010: Mayor Kevin Johnson reacts to Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster’s initial decision that the initiative should not go on the June ballot. “Voters deserve and have a right to vote on this initiative,” Johnson says.

Jan. 21, 2010: McMaster issues a final ruling saying the initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. He writes that the initiative would not align with state law. He determines that the initiative is a revision of the city charter, not an amendment.

Jan. 21, 2010: Thomas Hiltachk says SAG will appeal McMaster’s ruling to the 3rd District Court of Appeal.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council supports idea of ethics commission

2010-01-20T06:29:20Z

The Sacramento City Council likes the idea of an ethics commission.

Councilmembers decided Tuesday to examine possibilities for a future ethics committee. The proposal to research ideas for an ethics commission came from the city’s Charter Review Committee.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said in a message after the meeting that he had suggested that the Charter Review Committee analyze ideas for an ethics commission.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy spoke in favor of the idea, saying that an ethics committee would be a way to ensure “sunshine and bright light.”

***

Underground tours in Old Sacramento are likely on the horizon.

The City Council unanimously decided Tuesday to loan the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation $185,000 to launch public guided tours of Old Sacramento’s underground sidewalks. The foundation expects to hold the tours on summer weekends.

Councilman Ray Tretheway called the underground sidewalks “a fantastic attraction.”

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Labor, religious groups back youth jobs measure

2010-01-20T03:51:37Z

A proposed measure to fund jobs and other services for young people in Sacramento is being supported by a coalition of labor and religious groups and some local elected officials.

A $29 annual tax on parcels of property in the city would be set up to pay for programs provided through Youth Jobs and Opportunity Act. Property owners would be charged the tax.

The proposed initiative could appear on the November ballot. Supporters say they intend to collect 30,000 signatures from residents. Proponents say several kinds of programs could be funded through the program, including after-school programs, apprenticeships and street outreach services.

Groups supporting the proposal include the Yes to Youth Coalition, Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Urban League of Sacramento.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson and City Councilman Kevin McCarty, who are running against each other for Assemblyman Dave Jones’ seat, both spoke in favor of the initiative at a Tuesday press conference.

Addressing reporters at the Asian Resources One-Stop Career Center on Broadway, Dickinson said the initiative could help cut youth violence.

“As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I understand just how expensive it is — over $90,000 a year — to keep a young person in juvenile hall,” Dickinson said.

McCarty said it was “imperative” to invest in youth through the initiative.

Councilman Ray Tretheway also backs the proposed initiative, said Alicia Ross, executive director of Sacramento Area Congregations Together.

Amanda Ramos, who graduated from Kennedy High School last year, told reporters that she gained job skills while participating in a local summer program at a Boys and Girls Club branch.

“I want other young people to have the same opportunities that I got,” Ramos said.

Young people ages 11 to 25 would participate in the programs. Funding would be doled out in three ways. Youth jobs and job training would receive at least 40 percent of the dollars. Programs for at-risk youth would receive at least 20 percent of the funding. At least 20 percent of the money would pay for programs to help students with their academic skills.

Read the full text of the proposal here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Councilman Robbie Waters' plans for 2010

2010-01-14T04:36:27Z

Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters wants to advance public safety in his district by bolstering neighborhood associations and watch groups. Waters, a former Sacramento County sheriff, said that public safety is his top priority for the year.

The Sacramento Press is publishing a series on the 2010 goals of members of the City Council. Links to stories on other councilmembers’ goals can be found at the end of this story.

Waters represents District 7, which includes the Greenhaven, Pocket and Valley Hi neighborhoods. He is running for re-election in June. His opponents in the race are Darrell Fong, who had a longtime career as a Sacramento police officer, and Ryan Chin, the strategic communications director at California State University, Sacramento.

Patricia Clark, Waters’ district director, spoke on behalf of the councilman in a phone interview Wednesday. Clark said Waters has been working hard to build up neighborhood associations and watch groups. He wants to help make the groups stronger and expand their numbers, she said.

While the district already has many neighborhood groups, there are still parts of the district that are not covered by an association and do not have a neighborhood watch, she said.

Building up neighborhood associations and watch groups “can contribute to making our district a strong community so that criminals will know they will not succeed in our neighborhoods,” according to Clark, who said she was quoting Waters.

Waters’ second highest priority will be the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, Clark said. The councilman’s office plans to open the library’s doors in September, according to Clark. The 15,000-square-foot library will be part of the Sacramento Public Library system.

Pocket-Greenhaven Library will be located at Sacramento City Unified School District’s School of Engineering and Sciences. It will serve the school as well as the community, Clark said.

She added that efforts are underway to pursue “silver certification” for the library under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

Waters’ third focus of the year will be communicating with residents about programs, resources and events, according to Clark. The councilman’s office frequently updates Waters’ website and communicates with residents through an e-mail list, Clark said. Waters wants to continue those efforts and increase the level of communication with residents, she added.

“We really want all residents to be well-informed of all the resources that are available to them,” Clark said.

Read Councilman Kevin McCarty’s priorities here. Learn about Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s plans for the year here. Councilman Steve Cohn’s plans for 2010 can be read here.

Photo of Waters by Anthony Bento.
Drawing of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library courtesy of the city of Sacramento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Councilman Kevin McCarty's 2010 priorities

2010-01-13T05:21:07Z

Councilman Kevin McCarty wants the city government to make it easier for residents to be environmentally conscious. Environmental programs — one program focused on energy efficiency measures and another on water conservation — are among his top three priorities for the year.

At the same time, McCarty is emphasizing the importance of the city’s looming budget gap. He said the city budget will be his first priority for 2010. City leaders made major cuts to local services when they closed out last year’s $50 million budget deficit.

“The budget is probably the single most important act that we do every year that affects ... the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” McCarty said.

The city should examine possible ways to increase revenues and set up efficiencies and consolidations in order to save money, he said.

While the city should keep public safety as its top budget priority, “we also can’t eviscerate other programs,” he said.

McCarty represents neighborhoods that include Fruitridge Manor, Tahoe Park and Colonial Village. He is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones’ seat against his colleague, Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson.

McCarty’s second priority for the year will be to advance two of his environmental programs. One of his programs, which received $740,000 in federal stimulus funds in November, would let homeowners and businesses fund energy efficiency improvements at their properties over a period of years. The cost of the upgrades would be charged to participants through their property taxes. McCarty plans to start the program this spring.

In addition, he said he is starting work on a plan to provide residents with incentives to lessen the amount of water they use for landscaping.

“I think that we as a city ought to be helping people do their part,” McCarty said. He noted that he believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s sentiment that people can “be the change” they hope will occur.

McCarty’s third priority will be programs at parks. The San Francisco Giants selected a park in his district, the George Sim Community Center, to receive grant funding, he said. The baseball team is providing money to upgrade the park’s baseball fields, according to McCarty. Sacramento’s Junior Giants play at the baseball fields at the park.

“We’re going to really have these top-notch, brand new baseball fields for a league that I created out there about five years ago,” he said.

McCarty is also working to set up a community garden at Tahoe Elementary School. The community garden could be used by the public when school is not in session, he said. He plans to put funds from cell towers toward the community garden project.

McCarty mentioned that he’s also working to set up parks at the Fruitridge Manor and East Tahoe Park neighborhoods.

The Sacramento Press is publishing a series on the 2010 goals of City Council members. Read about Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s goals for the year here. Steve Cohn’s 2010 goals can be read here.

Photos by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

McCarty's proposal for homeless patients fails to advance

2010-01-08T05:28:11Z

A proposal to crack down on hospitals if they leave homeless and unstable patients at various sites failed to advance to the City Council Thursday.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty proposed an ordinance that would have required health care facilities to get written permission from patients before transporting them to sites other than their homes.

If the proposal was passed into law by the City Council, health care facilities that did not comply with the ordinance would face a misdemeanor charge.

But the city’s law and legislation committee, which studies proposed ordinances, decided not to move the proposal to the City Council. Councilmembers Sandy Sheedy, Steve Cohn, Lauren Hammond and Robbie Waters sit on the committee.

Sheedy and Hammond said the proposal was not based on facts.

“There are no facts,” Sheedy said. “There are no substantiations. There’s nothing.”

Joan Burke, advocacy director of Loaves & Fishes, acknowledged that no facts had been gathered about hospitals that transport fragile patients to Sacramento sites and leave them.

“There is no data on this,” she said.

However, Burke, who supported the proposal, said there was anecdotal evidence that hospitals arrange for patients to be left at Loaves & Fishes. The group’s night watchman says that this occurs about once per month, she said.

Instead of delivering the proposal to the City Council, the committee decided to send the issue to a group that addresses homelessness issues. The committee to examine the issue will likely be the Sacramento Policy Board to End Homelessness, according to assistant city manager Cassandra Jennings and Cohn.

Three cases of hospitals arranging to transport fragile patients to various sites last year have been reported by The Sacramento Bee.

A suicidal and brain-damaged man arrived at Loaves and Fishes May 23 after leaving a hospital in South Sacramento, according to the Bee. The man, Jason Adams, was taken to the non-profit’s center in a taxi cab ride that was arranged by Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, South Sacramento, according to the Bee’s May 30 and June 6 articles. Loaves & Fishes was closed when Adams arrived, the Bee reported.

The hospital admitted it was at fault, according to the Bee.

The Bee reported two other cases last year in which hospitals from outside the city left patients at Loaves and Fishes.

McCarty, who refers to the practice as “patient dumping,” said he still thinks it’s an important issue.

“I think it’s happened here enough that we should stand up and have a rule in place that says we will not accept this type of behavior,” he said.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

8th and K hotel plan dropped

2009-12-09T06:53:53Z

Developer Bob Leach withdrew his proposal Tuesday to build a hotel on K Street Mall after financing — including public bond financing from the city — fell through.

The city of Sacramento's Redevelopment Agency now must go back to the drawing board by requesting other proposals for the property at 8th and K streets, as well as adjacent property in the 800 block of L Street.

"He pulled the plug," Sacramento City Councilmember Kevin McCarty said following Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The developers were asking the city to contribute more than $18 million in land and nearly $15 million in tax rebates toward the project.

"The city is not in a position to bond to provide permanent financing for the hotel," according to a city staff report. The item was withdrawn from the council agenda without discussion.

In 2008, the Redevelopment Agency had entered into exclusive right-to-negotiate agreements with USA Hospitality Inc., as part of a settlement with developer Moe Mohanna and other primary owners of the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.

Development partners Bob Leach of USA Hospitality Inc. and Parkcrest Development, along with equity partner Mohanna, initially proposed building a 400-room Marriott Renaissance hotel at the southeast corner of 8th and K streets and a mixed-use project dominated by a 372-space garage on the adjacent northwest corner of 8th and L streets. The historic Bel-Vue Apartments, a city landmark built in 1910, is one of the buildings occupying that corner.

On Nov. 20, USA Hospitality submitted a new proposal to build a 300-room hotel, an adjacent 350-space garage and 100 condos above the garage in a second phase.

The developers had until Nov. 23 to get "stronger" financial commitments from lenders and investors; determine the cost to preserve the facade of the Bel-Vue; and complete business negotiations so those can be included in the development agreement. Those requirements were not met, according to the city staff report.

The South Korean company Consus Asset Management recently indicated it was willing to make a $91 million investment commitment as long as the developers got a loan from a bank that met Consus' requirements or the city agreed to provide the financing through municipal bonds. However, the developers weren't able to arrange such financing.

Leach, who built Le Rivage Hotel on the Sacramento River waterfront, submitted a letter withdrawing the project shortly before the City Council was to consider the agency's request to move forward and consider other proposals, confirmed City Councilmember Sandy Sheedy.

The city will be seeking qualified potential developers by Feb. 12.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Energy efficiency program for homes advances

2009-12-06T20:47:36Z

Residents may be able to schedule a household energy efficiency makeover in the coming months. Sacramento officials are making headway on a voluntary program to provide residents and businesses a way to make energy efficiency upgrades to their properties.

The program received a $740,000 infusion of federal stimulus dollars in November. It would allow property owners to choose from a variety of energy efficiency improvements. Participants would pay for their upgrades over five, 10 or 20 years, said Councilman Kevin McCarty, who directed city staff last year to create the program in Sacramento.
“I just think the upside is tremendous in this [program],” he said.

The charges for the upgrades would be placed on a homeowner's property taxes and participation in the citywide program would be voluntary. The list of options for upgrades is not final but some draft options include installing insulation, sealing leaks and window replacement, according to a document provided by Yvette Rincon, the city’s sustainability program manager. Other upgrades that may be available to property owners through the program are whole house fans, solar heating and lighting efficiencies.

If the City Council approves the program in early 2010, it could go into effect in the spring, McCarty said. The program will lower energy bills and cut carbon dioxide emissions, among other benefits, he noted.

And it may create as many as 710 jobs, according to figures from the Center for Strategic Economic Research, a Sacramento-based research organization. “Nearly every industry sector in the Sacramento region could benefit in some way from the indirect and induced impacts associated with the construction and installation work and additional household consumption,” its report states.

Rincon said the organization derived its figures from a potential 1 percent participation rate of property owners in the city and county of Sacramento.

The $740,000 in federal stimulus money that was approved by the City Council last month will go toward the program’s marketing and outreach effort and staff time, according to Rincon’s Nov. 24 report. She noted that the program will not use money from the city’s general fund.

Residents who sign up will receive an “energy audit” to show how much power they are using, Rincon said. The audit will include a list of recommendations for energy efficiency upgrades, she said, adding that some of the most cost-effective energy improvements are installing insulation and sealing leaks.

The city is working on the program with numerous local entities, including the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, Sacramento and Yolo counties, and the cities of Davis, Galt, Rancho Cordova, Folsom and Citrus Heights. These bodies are working to establish the program in their jurisdictions, Rincon said.

Those entities also plan to apply for more federal stimulus funding, she said.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Unique elementary school in South Sacramento to celebrate the winter season

2009-12-01T11:55:48Z

One of the best kept secrets of the South Sacramento area is a small, private school tucked away in the Lanai Shopping Center on Freeport Boulevard, neighboring the Sacramento Executive Airport, where it has existed in rented space for 21 years.

Over the years, most of the shopping center tenants have moved away. Meanwhile, countless hours of parent, teacher and student work have gone into transforming a run-down property into a school with colorful classrooms and playgrounds.

It has an understated entrance, but Camellia Waldorf School is an oasis for children.

The kindergarten yard is home to Mr. Mountain, a big pile of dirt, and Ms. Sandy, a big pile of sand. There are climbing structures in trees, hay bales, a water pump, chickens and a garden of oak and fruit trees, flowers and vegetables.

Young children run, jump, play and are close to the elements. Walking down the central corridor, a visitor may hear music, singing or poetry being recited. Watercolor paintings line office windows.

The community at Camellia Waldorf School is a diverse group, including families from Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Carmichael and Rancho Cordova. Parents are engineers, pastors, attorneys, health practitioners and public school teachers.

Many parents work for the government (federal, state and local), and in a variety of occupations. Families are from a wide range of social, economic, cultural and spiritual backgrounds.

With regard to racial/ethnic diversity, 8 percent of students are African American, 8 percent are Asian American, 17 percent are Hispanic American, 10 percent are from other racial/minority groups and 57 percent are Caucasian.

Families are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim. Camellia is one of the most diverse Waldorf schools in Northern California. Diversity is important, but what bring families together are deeply shared values regarding how children should be raised and educated.

The school and its values, in many ways, resist the tide of mainstream society. Public schools emphasize academics at younger ages; preschool children are being taught phonics. Camellia remains steadfast to its protection of childhood – encouraging preschool children to play outside, rain or shine.

Rooted in the tenet that a child learns through movement in his or her first seven years, the early child curriculum encourages movement through creative free play and in structured activities. Woodworking and finger knitting, learned in kindergarten, develop fine motor skills for writing in later years.

Storytelling and song stimulate creativity and nonlinear thought, vital to the development of critical thinking skills and problem-solving. Gardening teaches children about the life cycle and our environment, while keeping in tune with the seasons and harvesting healthy foods to be eaten at snack time.

In this digital age, media and technology are central to our lives. Camellia encourages keeping both from young children until they are developmentally able to handle the intense sensory input.

The interdisciplinary curriculum for the grades balances the sciences, humanities, and the arts. Subjects include math, science and history, as well as music, art and woodworking.

According to a standardized test used at Camellia, 8th graders' average scores over the past 3 years were higher than the expected Grade Equivalent for all 9 academic subjects tested. Scores for 8 of 9 such subjects were at 10th grade level and higher.

Some Camellia graduates continue their education at the Sacramento Waldorf School in Fair Oaks, while others transition to public schools or private schools such as Christian Brothers and St. Francis High School.

According to a study of Waldorf graduates in North America, 94 percent attend college and nearly 80 percent intend to attend graduate school.

The same study reported that 47 percent of undergraduates majored in arts and humanities, 43 percent in math and science, and the remaining 10 percent in a variety of other fields.

Camellia Waldorf School’s annual tuition is $8,675. Considered low for a Waldorf school, it is expensive for the average family.

What most people do not know is that, perhaps unlike other local private schools, Camellia provides more than $170,000 in tuition assistance to an unprecedented 42 percent of its student population.

Contrary to public perception, 10 percent of Camellia students would qualify for free or reduced lunch in a public school. This Waldorf School is committed to providing its integrated curriculum to a socio-economically diverse population. Parents of all backgrounds make sacrifices to send their children to this school.

The school's mission is to educate by “honoring childhood, appreciating the individuality of each student and nurturing a sense of moral and ethical responsibility while building capacities for learning and encouraging clear and creative thinking.”

Camellia Waldorf School is more than a school. It is an educational community of committed staff, faculty and parents that strives to achieve and live a shared mission.

On Dec. 12, the school will host its 21st Annual Winter Faire, open to the public. This event offers a variety of activities for children such as puppet shows, storytelling, craft activities, and a store just for children to select gifts for family and friends.

Over 40 local artisans and craft vendors will be selling handcrafted items and unique gifts for holiday shopping.

This year the Faire will offer free demonstrations on beekeeping, hand-blown glass ornaments, and blacksmithing.

Festive and culturally diverse music and dance performances will also be free and include Kalpulli Xihuacoatl - Danza Azteka, the Southern Brothers Drum Group, Val Shadowhawk, the Nada Brahma Music Ensemble, Agua de Beber Capoeira, The Benny’s and the Ntshiab Li Nag Hmong dancers.

A “Gingerbread Creations” exhibit will feature the "work" of local architects and housing developers. The public, too, will be invited to build gingerbread structures.

The “Golden Ladle Soup Competition” will serve gourmet soups from local restaurants including Ella Dining Room and Bar and Magpie Café to be judged by local celebrities, such as Mai Pham from Lemongrass Restaurant, Sonney Chong from CAPITAL, Paulette Bruce of The Dining Divas, and Councilmembers Rob Fong and Kevin McCarty.

This event is open to the public and free. Some activities require nominal fees. Celebrate the winter season at this exciting event! CWS, 5701 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, (916) 427-5022. See www.camelliawaldorf.org for more information.

This article was submitted by Marisa Cheung, Camellia Waldorf School Parent, and Meredith Johanson, Camellia Waldorf School Administrator.

City Council divided on $21 million contract, small businesses opposed

2009-11-19T05:02:35Z

A divided City Council decided Tuesday to approve a $21-million parts and services contract to an international auto parts corporation in the midst of opposition from local auto parts businesses.

Staff with the General Services Department said the new five-year contract with the National Auto Parts Association (NAPA) will yield $2 million in savings for the city.

After hearing from representatives from several local auto parts companies, the City Council voted 6-3 to approve the contract. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmembers Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty voted against the deal.

“Small business is the backbone of our economy and we have to do everything we can to make sure that we support small business,” Johnson said. “And for me, in this case, if small businesses lose, there’s an impact on their families and the neighborhoods.”

On one hand, the city aims to save money in light of the poor economy. But local companies view the contract as a debate between small local businesses and large firms — they said they would lose contracts with the city to a large non-local corporation.

“We’ve been doing business for the city since 1961,” said Scott White, who spoke on behalf of Norm’s Electric in Sacramento. “We never had a problem keeping up with anything the city needed as far as the electrical end of things.” NAPA will “run us out,” he said.

City staff responded by saying the small businesses would not lose business with the NAPA deal. The contract would merely change the business relationship, staff said. Instead of working with the city government, the local companies would work with NAPA, according to city staff.

The city’s fleet manager, Keith Leech, said Monday the city plans to continue to work with local businesses under the NAPA contract.

“I think another important point is that we’re currently doing in excess of 30 percent small business participation here on our fleet parts,” Leech said. “We expect that to pretty much remain constant because NAPA’s agreed to commit to a 10-percent small business participation goal as part of their overall contract.”

Councilman Steve Cohn asked for a mid-year progress report on the contract.

“I want to be sure that this is really working the way we think it is, and that it is, in fact, saving money,” he said, adding that the city needs to ensure that small businesses can still compete for business with the city’s fleet.

The council approved the contract with the request that city staff provide an update at six months and one year.

At the meeting, Ted Loranza, director of NAPA’s Integrated Business Solutions program, addressed the issue of working with local businesses. He said NAPA would provide inventory management, noting that 20 percent of the products that the company sells to a government agency are NAPA products. The remaining products are purchased from local vendors, he said.

“It’s our job to use existing vendors within that local community and offer the best possible service that we can to a city or county government where we have an IBS location,” Loranza said. He also said his company has paid more than $8 million in salaries in the Sacramento area.

Johnson told General Services Director Reina Schwartz that he would have preferred for city staff to have brought NAPA and local businesses together to form relationships before bringing the issue to the City Council.

Photos by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

McCarty: Questions must be answered

2009-11-13T05:15:33Z

Sacramento officials need to know a lot more about the Community Development Department's construction approval process and a suspended commercial building program before any action should be considered, Sacramento City Councilmember Kevin McCarty said Thursday.

Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, a law firm hired by the city to investigate the Community Development Department, must investigate how construction on a Nestlé water-bottling plant began in McCarty's district without building permits, how home-building permits were issued for a Natomas flood zone, when these practices began and how pervasive they are, he said.

Two weeks ago, the department's Facilities Permit Program was suspended after questions about the approval process for the plant revealed that Nestlé and contractors began construction work with verbal approval only. McCarty called the problems with the FPP and the practice of allowing construction without building permits the "second strike" against the department.

"We're investigating the department for wrongdoing in the Natomas Permit Program. We've asked that they look at this FPP process as well to see what was going on there as far as any wrongdoing," McCarty said. "By looking at Nestlé, we were able to bring to light some illegal activity that's been done maybe for a very long time."

The FPP is intended to speed approval for tenant improvements or renovation of commercial and industrial buildings involving businesses that do a lot of business in Sacramento and have established relationships with the city. The program may have "improved the city's relationships with developers," McCarty said, "but at what cost? At what expense to taxpayers? To residents?"

David Kwong, acting head of the Community Development Department, said last week that staff will ask the council to amend city code 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. The longtime practice, which predates the program, helped bring about the suspension of the FPP two weeks ago.

Any proposal involving the FPP is premature before the conclusion of the investigation, McCarty said.

"We owe it to our residents to make sure that our development department follows the law," he said. "We need to evaluate what's been going on with this FPP process and how long it's been going on. Then, and only then, should we talk about Mr. Kwong's proposal going forward."

Department staff want to "pull the program back, take a temporary pause" and bring to the City Council a "retooled FPP," department spokesperson Maurice Chaney said Thursday.

Retooling would happen "in concert with council just to make sure that the program is vetted thoroughly through the City Council and that they understand what the program is about," he said. "So, not only getting the appropriate info out to them, but just making sure that we’re transparent and open during that whole thing.”

The main question is whether the program is legal, said McCarty, who is proposing to change city code to require Planning Commission and City Council oversight of proposals for new water-bottling plants or any industrial facilities that use water for resale purposes.

Other cities allow construction with a start-work authorization only and the practice was incorporated into the FPP when that program was brought here from Portland several years ago, Kwong said. Sacramento City Manager Ray Kerridge developed the FPP for Portland 10 years ago when he managed that city's commercial inspections. Phoenix was the only other city in the country known to have a similar program at that time.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said the FPP's role has expanded over time. When the program started, it provided businesses a way to make tenant improvements quickly, she said. Now, it’s not being used in the way it was designed, she added.

“It morphed into something else that was completely different,” Sheedy said.

The city doesn’t want to be “unfriendly” to businesses, she said, but needs to be “cognizant” of how it works with them. Sheedy noted that she hopes the program can be made workable.

McCarty said he would like water-bottling facilities to require conditional use permits. Environmental reviews and public hearings are required for proposed development projects only if there's a request for a land-use change or a conditional use permit, he said. Neither were required for the renovation of the warehouse Nestlé is leasing.

The council was supposed to consider McCarty's proposal as an urgency ordinance on Oct. 27. But City Attorney Eileen Teichert said Nestlé hadn't done anything illegal. However, she determined that the department's practice of allowing construction to start without a building permit violates city and state codes.

"We screwed up so bad handing out building permits through this crazy FPP program, no court of law would find they (Nestle) did anything illegal," McCarty said.

Plenty of million-dollar projects never go before the council if there are no requests for zoning changes or conditional uses. Developer John Saca's failed 53-story Towers at Capitol Mall project never went before the council, he said.

McCarty and other councilmembers have said they knew nothing about the plant until a grassroots organization, Save Our Water Sacramento, contacted them in September. Councilmembers Rob Fong, Steve Cohn and Lauren Hammond said Wednesday they did not know about the program until after a stop-work order was posted on the door of the Nestlé plant Oct. 23.

On Thursday, Sheedy said she was unaware of the program until it was debated during the Nestlé controversy. Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell also said she had been in the dark.

“I knew nothing about the Facilities Permit Program before the Nestlé company’s move to Sacramento,” she said in an e-mail Thursday. “I’m looking forward to learning about how the program works. I will keep an open mind.”

There's much more the council needs to learn about the program, McCarty said, adding, "I'm proud that by bringing this Nestlé issue forward, we uncovered this very inappropriate activity in the city of Sacramento."

Staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Photo by Anthony Bento. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.