Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "2011 2012 fiscal year"

Layoffs of 35 city cops avoided

2011-06-15T05:37:18Z

Thirty-five police jobs were saved from proposed layoffs after the Sacramento Police Department received a waiver on a federal grant that funds officer positions, spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong confirmed late Tuesday night.

The number of proposed layoffs in the 2011/2012 budget for Sacramento police officers has dropped from 81 to 46.

The City Council will vote next week on proposed budget cuts that include layoffs of cops and other Police Department staffers. Council members were weighing whether to lay off 81 police officers, but the grant waiver means they will decide whether to lay off 46 officers. The council will also choose whether to lay off 68 civilian police department staffers – those proposed cuts were not affected by the federal grant waiver.

The city is facing a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

"This grant exemption is a positive in an otherwise difficult budget year,” Police Chief Rick Braziel wrote in a Tuesday night press statement. “We are thankful for the quick approval of this grant exemption, which would not have been possible without the efforts of Bernard Melekian from the Department of Justice, the support of Congresswoman Doris Matsui and the hard work of our police staff.”

Meanwhile, Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka told the City Council at a Tuesday night budget hearing that she had no update on any labor concessions from city unions. Despite the standstill, “staff continues to have an open door” to negotiations with city unions, she said.

In addition, the city could still negotiate with the unions for possible concessions after the budget is approved, Masuoka said.

While Councilman Darrell Fong, a retired police captain, has said he intends to vote for the police cuts, he announced at Tuesday’s council meeting that he would redirect his City Council salary for the 2011/2012 fiscal year to the Police Department’s budget.

The base pay for Sacramento City Council members is $60,800 annually.

“I’m hopeful as we continue between now and next week to keep having discussions and hope to get to a better place,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said at the meeting.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City cuts not limited to police, fire, parks

2011-05-27T01:59:26Z

While proposed budget cuts to public safety departments have attracted a lot of public attention, the Sacramento City Council also discussed millions of dollars in proposed budget cuts to many other offices and departments earlier this week.

At a Tuesday afternoon meeting, council members examined cuts to departments and offices that include the mayor and City Council, Economic Development, Finance, Human Resources and Transportation. The city is in the throes of a budget crisis with a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

The City Council members decided on Tuesday to give a large chunk of its budget to the city’s general fund.

Council members’ budgets include revenues from cell phone towers and billboards. They moved $417,567 of $665,067 of these revenues to the general fund.

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell was visibly frustrated by the council’s choice to move that money to the general fund, even though she voted to do so at the end of a discussion.

She said she utilizes her funds from cell phone and billboards on programs that help children in South Sacramento.

“What’s going to happen to the kids?” she asked.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said the council members receive hundreds of funding requests from community groups each week. She said that community groups that support the arts, sports and festivals will need to understand that the council members will no longer be able to help fund them.

“We simply won’t have the money,” she said. “We won’t be able to do that.”

While they took $417,567 out of their collective budgets, each council member will still have a pot of $55,000 in discretionary account funds in the next fiscal year. The $247,500 remaining from the pot of $665,067 in cell phone and billboard revenues will be moved into the discretionary accounts to help each council member reach the $55,000 figure, according to Dawn Holm, a city staffer in the budget, policy and strategic planning division.

The $55,000 for each council member is not a new amount, Holm explained. Council members had that amount of discretionary funding in their budgets in the 2010/2011 fiscal year, Holm wrote in an email.

The discretionary accounts are available for the City Council to help fund community projects.

The council also listened to Finance Director Leyne Milstein explain proposed cuts to various departments. Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka are proposing a $707,406 cut to the Economic Development department, including four full-time employee positions.

The Human Resources Department could lose two full-time employee positions as part of a proposed $240,000 cut.

A recommendation to chop $480,884 from Transportation’s budget is also included in the city manager’s proposed budget.

Breaking the trend of cuts, the proposed budget recommends two new hires to the Finance Department. The new employees would be hired as revenue collectors, Milstein said.

It’s unclear at this point how many people will actually be laid off as a result of the proposed cuts to positions.

Also on Tuesday, Councilman Darrell Fong said he wants to explore the idea of making more cuts to Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology. He did not explain at the meeting why he wanted to make those cuts. The council did not act on Fong’s idea Tuesday.

Read a report on proposed cuts to many city departments here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Firefighters protest proposed budget cuts

2011-05-25T03:49:35Z

About 150 firefighters and their families protested the city’s budget proposal Tuesday night to cut $9.1 million from the Sacramento Fire Department. As part of press conference held to protest the cuts, the fire department staffers stood in a large group outside City Hall to show their opposition.

The city is facing a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The idea to make cuts to the Fire Department is included in the budget plan proposed by Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka. Final decisions on the budget will be made by the Sacramento City Council next month.

A group called Protect Sacramento, led by Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and the Sacramento Police Officers Association, held a press conference Tuesday evening to protest the proposed cuts. The press conference was held shortly before the start of a City Council budget hearing on the Fire Department.

The proposed cuts “will put neighborhoods at risk, lengthen response times, and stand in the way of our ability to deal with real life-and-death emergencies,” said Jaymes Butler, vice president of Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522.

The proposed budget cuts to the department could increase the number of alternating closures of fire equipment and staffers. The number of these proposed closures was unclear at press time because the City Council on Tuesday night may approve a $5.6 million federal grant for the department. The grant may lessen the Fire Department cuts. The money comes from the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.

The Sacramento Press will provide an overview of the Fire Department budget hearing Wednesday morning.

Read the budget schedule here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Guide to city budget hearings

2011-05-05T00:25:51Z

Sacramento city officials have scheduled 10 public meetings on the city budget over the next seven weeks.

The City Council is wrestling with a $39 million budget gap and is considering recommendations from the city manager’s office to lay off hundreds of municipal employees.

The public is welcome at the budget hearings, which will be led by the City Council.

“It’s important that the public’s voice is heard,” city spokeswoman Amy Williams said. “These are hard decisions that lie ahead.”

During the next few weeks, Williams said she aims to keep as much budget information as possible on the city’s website.

A link to city budget documents is on the front page of the website.

All of the budget meetings will be held at Sacramento City Hall at 915 I St. The budget schedule may change, Williams said. Citizens can check the city’s website for updated information throughout the budget process, she said.

Here is the list of hearings on the 2011/2012 fiscal year budget:

When: Thursday, May 12, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Parks and Recreation Department, budget assumptions, planned budget cuts

When: Tuesday, May 17, 2 p.m.
On the agenda: Convention, Culture and Leisure Department; Community Development Department

When: Tuesday, May 17, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Police Department

When: Tuesday, May 24, 2 p.m.
On the agenda: Economic Development, General Services, Support, Transportation, Utilities, Charter Offices (City Attorney, City Clerk, City Treasurer)

When: Tuesday, May 24, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Fire Department

When: Tuesday, May 31, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Library, agencies that partner with the city

When: Thursday, June 2, 6 p.m. (Tentative meeting)
On the agenda: Budget options

When: Tuesday, June 7, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Facilities and infrastructure budget (known formally as the capital improvement program), discussion of budget cuts

When: Tuesday, June 14, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: Update on city labor unions, finish plans for budget cuts

When: Tuesday, June 21, 6 p.m.
On the agenda: The City Council will approve the budget.

Source: city of Sacramento

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Police chief plans to reopen top positions

2011-03-09T06:06:54Z

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel received support from the City Council Tuesday on a plan to bring back three or four job openings that have been eliminated in the department as part of budget cuts.

Braziel told the council and Interim City Manager Gus Vina that he must reopen some key positions because nine of the department’s top 11 officials, ranked captain and higher, will be eligible to retire within three years.

The city is facing a $35 million - 40 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Braziel said he would be able to open the positions without asking the city for additional money.

“It’s not the right time, but we have to do it,” Braziel said. “We don’t have a choice.”

Braziel said he would pay for the top positions by moving over money currently saved for refilling other positions in the department. By moving the funding in this manner, he would be able to open the positions within his existing budget and not lay off anyone, he said.

The department could promote from within if it opens up top management positions, he said. The newly promoted staffers would gain executive experience, which is necessary because many executives serving in the department could soon retire, he said.

“I am shocked that nine of the command staff are basically aging out in the next three years,” Councilman Rob Fong said in response to Braziel’s comments.

Braziel asked the council and Vina for the authority to revive three or four executive openings during a presentation on succession planning at the department. The City Council did not make a formal decision on Braziel’s request, but voiced support for his plan.

“On behalf of all of us, I think we are very excited about you being proactive so we are aware of what’s going on,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said. “We do not want to be caught flat-footed.”

Vina also indicated that he supported Braziel’s plan.

“We can certainly work with the chief on that,” Vina said.

The Police Department has sliced its executive positions in recent years in response to budget cuts. Braziel said that before he became police chief in 2008, the department had 19 executive positions. The number has since dropped to 11, he said.

Vina said Braziel's plan should be part of the city budget, indicating that the positions could be reopened before the next fiscal year begins on July 1.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.