Water and sewer rates will head skyward for Sacramento residents after July 1 – and will continue rising for three years – as the city tries to raise revenue needed to pay for infrastructure improvements. City Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Rob Fong, Jay Schenirer, Kevin McCarty and Darrell Fong voted in favor of the rate increases, which were recommended by the Utilities Rate Commission and the city Department of Utilities. City Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell were opposed. “Our current water rates are among the lowest in the region, in the state and in the nation,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday, “and they will remain that way with the proposed rate i

The first of a series of informational workshops about proposed utilities rate hikes took place in the lobby of City Hall Wednesday where attendees walked away with a personalized report on what the new rates will look like on their own utility bills. “It’s an opportunity for people to come in, ask all the questions they want and really become informed about the proposal,” Jessica Hess, communications specialist with the city Utilities Department, said Tuesday. The workshops are set up in an open house forum with information booths staffed by Utilities Department engineers, regulatory compliance specialists and field crews that respond to customers. The Utilities Department’s proposed t

The utilities department will be able to save more than $40 million over the next four years, according to an audit presented to the City Council Thursday, but some debate the accuracy of those numbers. According tho the audit, which can be read here, six main areas of the utilities department can be run more efficiently. The savings in the 2012 fiscal year would amount to approximately $8.6 million. The audit was requested by Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty last October, partially in response to a ballot measure that dealt with utilities rates, with McCarty saying it should be on the audit schedule ahead of other audits. City Auditor Jorge Oseguera said that when talki

As much as $8.6 million could be saved in the city’s budget for fiscal year 2011/2012 if the City Council makes certain changes to the Utilities Department, according to a new audit released Thursday. Because ratepayers pay for Utilities Department services, savings would not relieve the general fund gap but could lessen the burden on property owners and businesses. Among other suggestions, the audit says the city could save money by not replacing backyard water mains that are still functional and cutting workers’ hours at water treatment plants. However, it’s unclear at this point whether the city could garner the $8.6 million in savings, because the City Council must review the sugges

A city staff proposal to eventually stop loose-in-the-street green waste pickup and move to container pickup will not work for all city residents, Interim City Manager Gus Vina said in an interview Thursday. In tree-laden areas such as Midtown, a container is not adequate to hold all of the fallen leaves, Vina said, explaining why he pulled the green waste issue from the City Council’s agenda on Tuesday. “I want to make sure I’ve challenged staff enough on creativity and the solutions that are possible,” Vina said. The plan that Vina delayed would have encouraged moving away from loose-in-the street pickup and raised rates for residents who continue that method of pickup. Assistant City

The Sacramento City Council hired a Philadelphia-based firm earlier this week to audit the city’s Utilities Department. Public Financial Management, Inc., will receive up to $116,902 for its audit of the department, the council decided on Tuesday. In a Feb. 22 staff report, City Auditor Jorge Oseguera wrote that he and his staff judged the seven firms that applied for the job on “proposed scope of work, timeliness of work product, each firm’s expertise and qualifications, project cost and references.” The city’s audit team also interviewed three of the firms. The outcome of the process was Oseguera’s recommendation that the City Council hire Public Financial Management for the audit. L

About 65 Pocket and Greenhaven residents gathered Thursday night to learn about current city issues. City staffers briefed the citizens on the city budget, green waste pick-up services and other topics during the community meeting, which was organized by City Councilman Darrell Fong. Attendees were fully engaged throughout the meeting, asking plenty of questions. It began at 6:30 p.m. and by 8:30 p.m. few had left John F. Kennedy High School on Gloria Drive. City Finance Director Leyne Milstein presented information to the group about the city’s $35-$40 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. She noted that the $35-$40 million represents about 20 percent of the net general fun

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 utilitie

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

A fight over campaign signs broke out Tuesday between supporters and opponents of a measure to cut city utilities rates. The group that backs Measure B sent out a news release that claimed campaign signs have been stolen and hidden in Natomas. Measure B would cancel a 9.2 percent utilities hike that started in July, and connect the Consumer Price Index to utilities rates. Craig Powell, chair of the group that supports Measure B, accused the measure’s opponents of stealing 30 signs and hiding 27 others behind other signs. Powell claimed that his group’s signs are hidden from view because “No on B” signs have been installed in front of them. He further claimed that the problems with the

   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

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 sai

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 cit

 With the city budget and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s updated strong mayor proposal on the City Council’s agenda, the public is likely to see political fireworks at two meetings Tuesday. During the first meeting, at 915 I St. at 2 p.m. the City Council will discuss key issues related to the city’s budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The city must settle a $43 million budget gap. Council members will consider whether to scale back proposed cuts to the city’s fire, parks and police departments. Read the report on some of the planned budget cuts here.  Another issue on the council’s afternoon agenda is the Utilities Department budget. Find information on that budget here.  The City Council wi

After resigning from the city of Sacramento in March, controversial former City Manager Ray Kerridge did not travel far for his next major assignment: He’s now the city manager of Roseville. The Roseville City Council chose Kerridge for the position Thursday in a 4-1 vote. Kerridge was the choice out of 63 candidates for the job. Roseville Mayor Gina Garbolino said in an interview Thursday that Kerridge is the “right person for Roseville at this time.” Various Sacramento officials offered differing reasons in February for why Kerridge decided to leave the city. Sacramento city spokeswoman Amy Williams said Kerridge resigned from his post because he had dedicated more than 35 years to pu

When the Utilities Department recently explored changes to Sacramento’s green waste pickup system, some residents expressed intense opposition to scrapping on-the-street pickup. They said they prefer that method to the use of bins. The city's current methods of green waste pickup are on-the-street pickup and a voluntary bin system. Councilman Steve Cohn and a staffer for Councilman Rob Fong said recently that they support giving all residents the choice of bins over on-the-street pickup. Residents can continue on-the-street pickup and the following information will help. How to opt-out A city employee may leave a green waste bin at your house if your neighborhood has been selected for

The Sacramento Utilities Department has delayed for one week its presentation to the City Council on potential changes to green-waste pickup. At its Nov. 17 meeting, the council will decide whether to put a measure before voters to establish the use of bins for green waste.  Bin use would mark a change from the city’s current system of removing piles of green waste from the street with the ‘claw’ and a second vehicle. The City Council was scheduled to consider the department’s proposal Tuesday but staffers are adding more information to their report, said Support Services Manager David Levine. He said changes to the report will include new information on the cost to the city of placing t