The city will be responsible for the majority of the cost of a new entertainment and sports complex, according to the much-anticipated financial term sheet released Thursday – a total of nearly $256 million. The contribution from Anschutz Entertainment Group, the new arena operator, will be $58.75 million, according to the terms of the agreement, and the Sacramento Kings owners, the Maloof family, is bringing in $73.25 million. The term sheet outlines the specifics of who pays for what to get a new arena built downtown and provides a framework for negotiations with potential parking operators – the linchpin in the city’s ability to meet its part of the deal. Representatives of the Think

The City Council will be discussing the latest version of an executive mayor initiative Tuesday, opening the door to putting charter reform on the June ballot. A strong mayor initiative has been an on-and-off topic of discussion in Sacramento political circles since it was first brought up by Mayor Kevin Johnson shortly after his election in 2008. The executive mayor version was introduced at a press conference Dec. 21 by the mayor’s chief of staff and a group of supporters ranging from faith community leaders to the head of the local police union. How is an “executive mayor” different from a “strong mayor”? Strong Mayor Initially – in a 2008/09 version of the strong mayor initiative

On January 7, 2012, Sacramento city staff held a public meeting about the newest proposal to change the city charter, the “Checks and Balances Act of 2012.” However, this public meeting was not announced to the general public—instead it was directed at a small group of neighborhood leaders. I found out about the meeting via the chair of the Midtown Neighborhood Association, who received an email on December 27: From: Raihane Dalvi Date: December 27, 2011 2:19:11 PM PST To: Raihane Dalvi Subject: Checks and Balances Act of 2012 Dear Neighborhood Leader, I'm writing to request your participation in an important discussion before the city of Sacramento. As you may know, a broad coaliti

An executive mayor, an independent redistricting commission and new ethics and transparency guidelines were the highlights of a new plan to reform city government introduced by representatives from the mayor’s office Wednesday. “This (proposal) represents how to fundamentally restructure how City Hall works,” Kunal Merchant, chief of staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson said Wednesday. Merchant said the new charter reform proposal is based on previous reform ideas and represents three years of discussion with members of the public and city and community leaders throughout Sacramento. The proposed legal language was prepared by Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni – a local law firm that sp

Mayor Kevin Johnson unveiled the future leaders of Sacramento at Tuesday's press conference, introducing 13 of the nation's brightest young people, who will spend the summer working on city issues like homelessness, childhood literacy, downtown revitalization and green development as part of the Mayor's Fellowship and Internship Program. Johnson said that the program, which builds upon the Volunteer Sacramento Initiative, has been the “brainchild” of his chief of staff, Kunal Merchant. The mayor's office has partnered with "the best universities in the country and the region," recruiting students from schools like Harvard, Stanford, UC Davis and Sacramento State, Merchant said. Stressin

Sacramento officials believe a new arena can be integrated with a future regional transit center in the historic downtown railyards – making this one of the country's most eco-friendly sports and entertainment facilities, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Tuesday. At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Dangberg gave council members a status report nearly halfway into a 100-day technical review of a proposed arena. The $387 million project is on an expedited schedule to be in operation by May 2015. One of the most critical issues being reviewed is the need to coordinate construction of an arena with the previously planned transit center. Both structures would be built on a site

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s office released an older draft of the strong mayor proposal one month after The Sacramento Press requested a copy of it. Kunal Merchant, Johnson’s chief of staff, wrote in a note accompanying the old draft that the strong mayor campaign is no longer using it. Johnson used the old draft months ago when he tried to convince the City Council to put a strong mayor measure on the June ballot, Merchant said. The mayor gave up on the idea of the June ballot in February, saying at the time that council members were not backing a June timeline. Read the old draft and Merchant’s note here. Johnson’s campaign referred to the old draft as the “Collaborative Reform Package,” a

A new "strong mayor" discussion at Sacramento City Hall may be just around the corner. Mayor Kevin Johnson’s office wants to present the draft of a new strong mayor proposal to the City Council in early June, Johnson staffer Kunal Merchant said Monday night. Johnson’s office is aiming for a City Council vote on the proposal in mid-July, Merchant said at a town hall meeting on the proposal. The proposal’s backers hope to gain City Council approval in mid-July in order to place the plan on the November ballot. A draft of the proposal has not been completed. At this point, the plan is an outline which can be read at the campaign’s new website.  In the proposal, the mayor would be the cit