The Sacramento City Council is open to the idea of consolidating some of the services offered by the city and county governments. Councilmembers unanimously decided Tuesday that city staff should analyze the issue over the next 90 days, and then bring their findings to the City Council. The discussion about consolidating services is moving forward as both the city and county struggle with severe budget problems. Councilman Rob Fong strongly supported the idea. If the city and county can have “virtually identical” regulatory processes for businesses, then organizations like the Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization and the city and county’s economic development departments could m

Sacramento’s city and county governments are considering consolidating some of their services to save money as they wrestle with tough budgets. The City Council and Board of Supervisors will discuss the idea at their public meetings Tuesday. Combining services could help local governments save money in the long term, said Gus Vina, assistant city manager. It also could cut redundancies, Vina said, noting that the city and county offer several similar services. For example, the county and city both provide animal control and code enforcement services, he said. The city and county have not yet selected which services to combine. At this point, city and county officials are asking elected r

"I see us potentially losing some of the volunteer base," said Supervisor Don Notolli at Tuesday's board meeting. "The human contact for the seniors is [currently] happening five times a week ... that day-to-day contact is important." Despite concerns, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved changes Tuesday designed to save the popular Meals on Wheels program. In 2010, hundreds of seniors will no longer receive daily hot meal visits. A plan drafted by the county's Department of Human Assistance will save the county $917,000. It will cut $680,000 from the program and shift $237,000 to the state's Medi-Cal program. The changes will become effective Dec. 31. The pl

Waiting to receive the county's free H1N1 flu vaccine, hundreds of Sacramentans queued outside of Loaves and Fishes on Wednesday. “I'm thankful that they have this,” said Beverly Hoeven, a resident at the Salvation Army's nearby shelter. “I just want to be protected, my daughter is pregnant.” Organizers expected roughly 1,000 people, but they were prepared to service any in need. “There is no shortage,” said Sacramento County Public Health employee Lorence Kuhlman. Residents from throughout the area began waiting more than an hour before the 10-a.m. opening of the clinic. “I've seen what this illness can do, and I can get the shot for free,” said community resident Jennifer Rose.

Communications sent to several Sacramento County supervisors during an Oct. 20 meeting reveal a significant disconnect between some union members and their leadership regarding furloughs.  More than 20 e-mails were sent to Supervisors Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee during the meeting, the vast majority of which supported furloughs over firings. "I was never asked by my union rep if I would prefer furloughs over layoff. I was never notified of any meetings," wrote one woman. "Of course I would rather be furloughed than laid off!"  "The meetings that I have gone to seem to be rallies with incomplete information and a slant toward the union's position," wrote one social worker. John Lewis, St

Despite Sacramento County’s financial crisis, the city and county intend to provide 151 more beds for the homeless this winter than last. That’s because city officials expect 419 winter shelter beds to be funded through a variety of entities, including the city, nonprofit organizations, the federal government, the county and private donors. Last year, there were 268 winter shelter beds for the homeless. “The strategy provides for a collaborative public and private solution to increasing winter shelter options for the region's most vulnerable population during the coldest months of the year,” according to an Oct. 27 report to the City Council from Cassandra Jennings, assistant city manage

A clean bill of health and an outpouring of customer support have prompted the reopening of a wildly popular downtown lunch spot, La Bonne Soupe Café. On Wednesday, owner Daniel Pont will resume serving the French onion soup Zagat rated as the best in the world only months ago, as well as the sandwiches and other food that earned his restaurant Zagat's top rating in Sacramento. The cafe passed a Sacramento County health reinspection Friday, nine days after a restaurant inspector closed it upon finding cockroaches. Pont, a renowned 70-year-old French chef, said Tuesday he's recovering from the stress and heartbreak that landed him in the hospital just before the first scheduled reinspect

The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau is promoting the city and county at fewer trade shows in part because of recent budget cuts from the county government, according to bureau spokesman Mike Testa. The county dedicated $244,000 to the bureau for the 2009 / 2010 fiscal year, down from $404,000 it allocated to the group last year. In 2007, the county gave $704,000 to the bureau, Testa said. The bureau’s main responsibility is to attract visitors to stay at hotels in the Sacramento area, Testa said. He pointed out that the county will receive less revenue as a result of its cuts to the bureau. Of its four funding sources, the bureau receives the lowest amount of funding from the c

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors began deliberations on proposed solutions to the county's $76-million deficit on Tuesday. At the meeting, county officials projected the collection of $59 million in sales tax revenue for the 2009-10 fiscal year.  In the 2007-08 fiscal year, the county collected $80 million. The projection was met with skepticism from board members that have repeatedly reviewed the deteriorating budget during the past 18 months.   "I don't want to be back here again [considering new cuts] because of an overly optimistic projection," said supervisor Roberta MacGlashan. The board failed to find solace in a subsequent report on property tax revenue, which stated 

As a response to a $72 million shortfall, Sacramento County officials proposed on September 16 an over $1 million funding reduction to In Home Support Services (IHSS), a program that provides home care for the disabled and elderly. According to the county proposal, the reduction, "will leave [IHSS] with 52 case-carrying social workers for over 21,000 cases." The $1 million cut would only save the county roughly $490,000. The remainder of the lost funds would come from the elimination of $515,000 in attached federal monies. According to Laura McCasland, Communications Officer at the Sacramento County Deptartment of Health and Human Services, a last-minute infusion of state resources has r

Sacramento County’s elected officials laid off 300 employees Tuesday, which brings the total number of layoffs to more than 700 since July, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst. Susan Peters, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said at the Tuesday board meeting that the layoffs were needed in response to the ailing economy. In her comments, she foreshadowed possible upcoming layoffs to address the county’s $76 million shortfall. “I honestly don’t think that this is the last time you’ll see us back here with position reductions,” Peters said. “And we may be able to tweak a few things next week, but it’s not going to be very much, if anything,” she added. “I’m sorry the economy is

On top of its current $68 million shortfall, Sacramento County has a new $8.1 million budget gap from falling sales tax revenues, Sacramento County officials told the Board of Supervisors Wednesday. The new budget gap means that layoffs — in addition to the 382 currently proposed — are a definite possibility, which is unfortunate, said County Executive Terry Schutten in response to a question from The Sacramento Press. The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to make final decisions today to balance its 2009/2010 budget. However, the situation changed in light of new information that the county’s sales tax revenues are plummeting again. The board now plans to make its final budget decision

The city expects that its police officers will face more mentally ill people in crisis as a result of budget cuts to Sacramento County's Department of Behavioral Health Services. The budget cuts that will ricochet back to the city are spurred by the state: The state is providing less money to the county for mental health, and the county’s resulting cuts will affect the city, according to a Sept. 1 report from city officials. Sacramento County expects to lose more than $10 million in state funding that would go toward its Behavioral Health Services, according to the city’s report. The state is dropping the funding because of its ongoing budget crisis. To address the lack of mental health

A union that represents Sacramento County clerical workers and social workers is alleging that the county government’s plans to cut 360 positions and reduce employee hours are illegal. In response, the county’s labor relations director said the county’s plans are “perfectly legal.”   The United Public Employees Local 1 is fighting county management’s planned cuts to positions and hours. County Executive Terry Schutten outlined county management’s proposal for the layoffs and cutbacks in an Aug. 24 memo that can be read here.   Schutten’s memo says the county now has a $54.5 million deficit. Plus, $7.8 million will need to be cut from the county’s budget because building activity is poo

The Sacramento Press is publishing a memo from County Executive Terry Schutten on hundreds of new planned layoffs for county employees. Read Schutten's Aug. 24 memo to county employees here. The county’s latest general fund deficit figure is $54.5 million. Plus, $7.8 million will need to be cut because building activity is poor, Schutten wrote. The county is planning to cut 360 positions Sept. 27. In addition, county officials are proposing to cut 16 hours per month from the workload of county employees who are represented by unions. The cuts in work hours are proposed to start Nov. 8. Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Cloned cannabis plants at Canna Care Munching on a herbal brownie at El Camino Wellness Center, AAMC state director Ryan Landers explained how tricky and self-conflicting medicinal cannabis laws are. "In Sacramento County, publicly smoking medicinal cannabis is considered ten 10 times worse than just smoking weed," he said. Landers has been a medicinal cannabis activist for over 15 years and has worked extensively in drafting legislation and law enforcement plans for the new dimension of legal medicine. He works with patients and patients' rights groups, lobbies and national advocacy groups. If weed was legal expertise, he'd be "the guy on the corner." Regarding the legal gap betwe

Sacramento County continues to be hammered by the failing local and state economy and now faces a $17.8 million hole in its budget because the county is receiving much less money from sales taxes, property taxes and vehicle license fees, according to a letter County Executive Terry Schutten prepared for the Board of Supervisors’ July 28 meeting. The $17.8 million gap is only part of the county’s budget mess and does not account for funds the state may take or borrow from the county. Taking and borrowing funds from local governments is part of the state’s budget package. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may sign the state budget Tuesday.  The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors also wants to

Mayor Kevin Johnson is worried that the state’s plans to take local revenues could lead to more layoffs of city workers and slow major development projects. County government officials are also alarmed about the state’s plan, which could be approved by the Legislature on Thursday. Legislative officials and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are planning to use local funds to help balance the state’s $26.3 billion budget gap. The Legislature may take $1 billion in gas tax funds and $1.7 billion in redevelopment funds from local governments throughout the state. The state plan also includes borrowing $2 billion in revenues from local property taxes. Earlier this month, the city laid off 135 worker

For about 180 city employees and roughly 790 county employees, Thursday was the last day of work. The city layoffs are part of the budget cuts the city approved when it passed its budget last month. When it passed its budget, city officials closed a $50 million deficit. County layoffs came with the Board of Supervisors’ approval of its proposed budget last month. The county government had faced a $180 million deficit. For its final budget in September, the Board must still close out a $19 million budget gap in the state-mandated programs the county administers, according to Linda Foster-Hall, the county budget officer. Some of the city’s unions made concessions to city managers in retur

I’ve learned a few lessons recently about how and why local government budgets don’t make sense. Over the past month, I’ve reported on the city budget and asked government officials and union representatives many questions about financial figures and numbers of layoffs. While the officials answered my questions, some budget figures remained nonsensical. I would like to share with The Sacramento Press' readers the following Guide to Local Government Budget Madness. Rule #1: The number of “positions” being removed is not the number of “people” being laid off. Back in May, city officials wrote that that they would cut 387 positions. The budget document said that cuts included the “unfunding