Opponents and supporters of a November ballot measure to cut utilities rates in the city released their fundraising statements Tuesday. The new campaign statements provide information about money raised in recent months up to Sept. 30. The statements showed that the Yes on Measure B campaign had raised more than six times the money of the opposing campaign in the past few months. The No on Measure B campaign raised $6,000 by Sept. 30. Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447 gave $5,000 to the campaign, while the Friends of Steve Cohn for City Council 2010 committee contributed the remaining $1,000. The Campaign for Common Sense Utilities Rates, which backs Measure B, had raised $39,822 from J

A controversial ballot measure to halt a 9.2 percent city utilities rate hike is causing tension between city staffers and backers of the measure. Two local groups, the Sacramento County Taxpayers League and the Campaign for Common Sense Utilities Rates, have gathered signatures to put an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot that would stop the rate hike. The Sacramento County Registrar has found that 5,420 signatures presented by the groups were credible, according to a June 22 report from the Utilities Department. The registrar required proof of 5,420 legitimate signatures to place the measure on the ballot. The City Council voted to increase rates on residents’ utilities bills last year, a