Now that a new city manager has taken the helm, Interim City Manager Bill Edgar is ready for new things. But “greener pastures” is not necessarily where Edgar says he’s headed. “Plans for me aren’t really set,” Edgar said in an interview last week. “I have plenty to do, so retirement isn’t exactly in my future.” Edgar took over as interim city manager after the previous interim city manager, Gus Vina, resigned in April. When the City Council appointed Edgar to the position, he was joined by Betty Masuoka as assistant interim city manager. Together, Edgar and Masuoka took on the responsibilities of preparing a difficult city budget and navigating some tough union contracts. Edgar’s role

City staff members want to fix Sacramento’s budget problems by revamping the city’s current organizational structure – and they want to do it by February. Northern California still struggles to recover from one of the worst recessions in more than 75 years, and the city of Sacramento has been hit especially hard. Interim City Manager Bill Edgar reminded council members Tuesday of the reality of the city’s fiscal situation: A budget that is $39 million less than it was the prior year; 141 city employee layoffs, including 41 sworn police officers, and a $26 million structural imbalance expected to extend into 2016. “The impacts (of the current budget structure) have been noticeable and si

The search for a new city manager – which began nearly five months ago when Gus Vina resigned as interim city manager – may be coming to an end this week. John Shirey, current executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, was recently named as a front-runner for the position, and now it appears that a finalized contract between Shirey and the city is in the works. The City Council will be discussing the city manager position in a closed session Tuesday afternoon, however, city spokeswoman Amy Williams said that they do not anticipate any sort of announcement after that session. “The city is currently negotiating with the preferred candidate,” Williams said. However, “n

More than 300 city positions will be eliminated in the coming year after the City Council passed a finalized city budget Tuesday night. Despite impassioned pleas from members of the Sacramento City Crime Scene Investigation unit and local union representatives, the 14-member CSI unit and 45 sworn police officers are on the chopping block. The budget passed on a 6-3 vote, with Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson each voting against the measure. The new budget incorporates $4.6 million in one-time resources to close the gap for fiscal year 2011-12. It also funnels $3.36 million into the city’s economic uncertainty reserve fund. Betty Masuoka, assistant int

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.

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

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

The Sacramento City Council members made it clear Tuesday night that they do not want to make the $12 million in cuts to the Police Department recommended in the proposed budget. But it’s unclear at this point how the council will lessen the cuts to the department. A crowd of police staffers and supporters, which swelled to about 400 at its high point early Tuesday evening, turned out for the City Council’s budget hearing. The city is grappling with a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. A total of 149 department staffers, including 80 sworn cops, would be laid off in the proposed budget, according to police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. The city currently has 701 sworn co

The city’s Neighborhood Services Division is on the chopping block again this year after it lost its status as a department in last year’s budget cuts. In June, the City Council is expected to make major cuts to close out the city’s $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The Neighborhood Services Division, which links neighborhoods to city issues and events and works with residents on local concerns, could lose two full-time employee positions to budget cuts. While two positions may seem like a low number, the division has only seven employees, according to Vincene Jones, Neighborhood Services manager. In last year’s budget process, the Neighborhood Services Department be

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

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

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

Layoffs of about 100 police officers and nearly 50 Fire Department staffers are listed as possible budget cuts in the city’s proposed 2011/2012 budget, scheduled to be released Friday. The city released a summary of the budget recommendations from Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka late Thursday afternoon. The budget was largely put together by previous Interim City Manager Gus Vina, who resigned last month.  The city manager’s office recommends that police officer cuts should be made in the department’s special units. The summary said that 167 full-time employees would be cut in the police department. Of the 167 employees, 98 are sworn police o

The Sacramento City Council is expected to approve a contract Tuesday to pay new Interim City Manager Bill Edgar $46,800 for a three-month period. If the City Council extends the contract, Edgar will earn $15,600 per month for his work for the city. Edgar and Betty Masuoka started work as temporary city leaders on April 9. The City Council chose Edgar to be interim city manager and Masuoka to be interim deputy city manager on April 7. The pair will manage the city while the City Council searches for a permanent city manager.  The contract relates to Edgar’s employment and does not specify Masuoka’s pay. However, Edgar said Monday that Masuoka will earn $100 per hour. The city is not pa

The Sacramento City Council announced Thursday that it hired two interim city managers in the wake of interim city manager Gus Vina’s resignation. Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that the council had selected William H. Edgar as interim city manager, and Betty Masuoka as interim deputy city manager. Edgar will take the lead in the interim city manager duties and Masouka will assist him. Masuoka is a former Sacramento assistant city manager and Edgar is a former city manager. “We were asked to consider the idea of coming on as a team,” said Edgar, “and we thought it was a great idea. We are pleased and honored to accept this appointment.” The closed session meeting began at 3:30 p.m., an

A few more details have emerged as part of an arena and land-swap plan currently being considered by city and state fair officials. A plan laid out by developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor calls for mixed-use private development of city-owned railyards land and the current state fairgrounds site. That development would help finance a $400 million sports and entertainment complex downtown and new fairgrounds in North Natomas, according to documents the city released late last week. The "Sacramento Convergence" development team, which includes Macquarie Capital, would invest $600 to $700 million in private equity and debt in the project. The developers also propose other funding mechan