Sacramento, CA | When a fire truck crew arrived on scene of a house ablaze Thursday afternoon, they had to wait for an engine with water to arrive from a distance. Thursday afternoon, Sacramento firefighters were called out to a blaze in the Oak Park area. When Truck 6 arrived in three minutes (trucks carry no water) the structure was fully involved with fire. The first engine, Engine 10 (carrying water), arrived in 6-8 minutes; Engine 6 (who likely would have arrived with Truck 6) was browned out due to budget cuts. Fortunately this was an unoccupied home which had burned a couple of years ago but had not been torn down. Chief Chris Ortiz explained that fire grows exponentially and lite

The next time you go to a city park, bring your pruning shears and garden gloves: Park maintenance in the city is about to be dealt a $119,000 budget blow – leaving the department with one-man maintenance crews and increasing the burden on volunteers to pick up the slack. “I’m not happy to say this, but we have inadequate resources and inadequate staffing,” Director Jim Combs told the City Council Tuesday. Even with a department budget reduced by more than 60 percent and staffing reduced by 50 percent over the past five years, Combs said everyone in the department has done their best to keep city services afloat. But it’s a losing battle, Combs said. The city’s park services maintains

When Brittany Willeford and more than 30 others appeared at City Hall last week to protest budget cuts to programs for disabled teens, they got the attention of Mayor Kevin Johnson and council members who hope the programs can be saved. “We have to find a way and be creative,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “If there’s a way we can resurrect it, that’d be awesome for everybody.” At stake are recreation and social programs that serve approximately 3,000 disabled teens and young adults each year through Access Leisure. The current program budget is $146,000, and that’s being cut from the 2012-13 budget, Program Director Annie Desalerno said Wednesday. “I didn’t know a whole l

College internships are the Oak Park Neighborhood Association’s new tactic to keeping the Oak Park Community Center open in the face of continued budget cuts. A year ago the Oak Park Community Center, which offers the community space for classes, recreation, conferences, meetings, weddings, banquets, and performances became one of many community centers in Sacramento facing closure. Its governing body, the Department of Parks and Recreation, blamed budget cuts and lack of funding. Hours were reduced and programming was cut by almost half. The center now only operates Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. That’s when the Oak Park Neighborhood Association (OPNA) stepped in and offered to take ov

The city is spending more than it is bringing in, and even though that’s normal for this time of the year, officials need to make changes to keep spending under control and keep the budget on target. According to the mid-year budget report presented to the City Council Tuesday, expenditures are at 50 percent of projections, and revenues are at 36 percent – about 14 percent less than anticipated. This is typical for this point in the fiscal year, Finance Director Leyne Milstein told council members Tuesday – but adjustment is still necessary. “Without these recommendations, we will not be able to balance our budget,” Milstein said. It’s not all bad news, though. The 2010-11 fiscal year

Disappointment and frustration were the only feelings that came to mind when registering for classes this year. December 1, the first day I could begin enrolling, remained the chaotic race and hunt for available classes it has been every year. As fourth-year students, we generally (and understandably) have high expectations that we can get into the classes we need to graduate. In prior semesters, those classes seemed to fill up days before we ever had the chance to enroll. This semester, we won’t even have the “opportunity” to be waitlisted for many of these classes – as they are not being offered this semester (and likely the next.) I realize Sacramento State University is not the on

Governor Jerry Brown c/o State Capital, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814 Mr. Matthew James Fitzgerald Alameda, CA 94501 August 26, 2011 Dear Governor Brown, My name is Mr. Matthew James Fitzgerald. I had a job on the janitorial crew at Stepping Stones Center. The executive director at Stepping Stones is Mr. Jerry Joseph and the deputy director is Mr. Vic Entrikin. I found out from deputy director Entrikin that this janitorial work program was cut because of the budget crisis in California. I have Downs Syndrome, and it is very hard to compete for jobs. The work I did at Stepping Stones was a good opportunity to earn money and contribute to my family or even friends. I need to work an

Like schools around the state, Sacramento public schools continue to suffer from the impact of budget cuts and must get more funding to provide our students with the quality education they deserve, local Education Coalition stakeholders stressed in a news conference here today. Speakers explained how California’s K-12 schools have been decimated by more than $18 billion in cuts in the last three years alone, and how this affects a generation of students. They discussed the new California Budget Project report ranking the state 46th in both per-pupil spending and the number of students per administrator (301), and worst in the U.S., in the number of students per teacher (20.5) and per scho

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 18, 2011 Contact: Dina Martin, CTA 650-552-5491 415-710-6794 (cell) dmartin@cta.org Sacramento Teachers, Parents, School Leaders to Highlight Continuing Impact of Budget Cuts on Education Wednesday, 10 a.m. at Washington School SACRAMENTO – Along with the enthusiasm and promise of a new school year, California continues to faces serious challenges to delivering a quality public education after year upon year of budget cuts to our schools – and it is true for schools in Sacramento as well. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, teachers, school and district officials and parents from the Sacramento area will call attention to the impact of these cuts and the need to prevent t

In light of the most recent cuts to its operating budget, the Sacramento Public Library system is conducting an online community feedback survey to receive input on what programs and services the community values most. The goal is to make the “best possible decision we can with the least amount of impact,” said Denise Davis, deputy library director of the Sacramento Public Library. The Sacramento Public Library system held three community forums in mid-July to address the 10 percent cut in its general fund, which came out to about $800,000. Sixty-five people in total attended the three meetings, most attending the McKinley Library forum. In order to receive the input from those who were

When City Council members approved the 2011-12 budget in June, they said that the city’s community centers would not be closed – but the centers won’t receive any city funding to keep them open, either. Now, a team of people at the city’s Neighborhood Services Department, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation, are trying to keep the 15 community centers in Sacramento open by partnering with nonprofit and community-based organizations. Late last year, Neighborhood Services had already begun looking for ways to make the idea work when it sent out “requests for proposals” seeking groups interested in overseeing the centers and providing the financial backing needed to operate th

The Sacramento City Council is likely to make major cuts to local library services, according to a preliminary vote by council members Tuesday night. Seven of the nine City Council members voted that they intend to cut the Sacramento Public Library Authority by nearly $800,000 when they approve the city’s budget in June. The authority runs 28 libraries in Sacramento County and its proposed budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year is $35.7 million. Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Angelique Ashby voted against the plan to make $792,121 in cuts to libraries next month. The City Council is expected to make widespread cuts to services to resolve a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal ye

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 Fight

Around 20 supporters of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission attended the City Council budget hearing Tuesday afternoon wearing buttons emblazoned with the SMAC slogan: “Arts Open Daily” in response to a proposal to cut arts funding. Barbara Bonebrake, director of the Sacramento Convention, Culture and Leisure Department, presented a proposal to reduce the city’s general fund contribution to SMAC by $152,855 for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. As a result of these cuts, funding for SMAC’s Cultural Arts Awards, a program that provides grants ranging from $1,000-$25,000 to nonprofit arts organizations, would be reduced by $64,000. During the public comment section of the Convention, Cul

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

Sacramento City Council and hundreds of residents Tuesday night listened to details of a $1.8 million general fund cut to parks and recreation that would leave only three of the city’s 13 swimming pools open by Summer 2012 and area parks in a state of decline amid reductions in park maintenance, trash pick up and general repairs. Pools and green spaces are two potential casualties of a $39 million city deficit that could impact residents in large and small ways, including a swim on hot day or a drink of water from a park faucet. Parks and recreation director Jim Combs said six area pools would remain open this summer including George Sim, Clunie, Pannell Meadowview, McClatchy, Johnston a

A Sacramento County commission that provides funding for local children’s services suffered severe cuts earlier this month. The First 5 Sacramento Commission cut $43.7 million from its budget May 2. The cuts were ordered by the state, which is using funding from First 5 programs to pay for Medi-Cal children’s services. The local First 5 cuts reduced funding for a county program that assists women with breast-feeding and for a program at nine school districts that helps young children transition into school, according to Toni Moore, executive director of the First 5 Sacramento Commission. Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Glennah Trochet said the cuts were painful. “We are a v

Four Sacramento State University students are facing disciplinary actions from the college for their participation in the three-day sit-in sy Sacramento Hall, which ended April 16 at 3:30 a.m. with police in riot gear. Last Thursday, the students – Nora Walker, Yeimi Lopez, Amanda Mooers and Mildred Garcia – had their first hearing inside Lassen Hall with a disciplinary officer, as many of their supporters stood in front of the building wearing tape across their mouths and carried signs with messages like “Defending education is not a crime” and “Silence is the quest before the storm.” In recent weeks, the protesters ignited a proverbial flame on campus that spread across an estimated 1,

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