The Sacramento City Council had tough words for the Sacramento Sports Commission Tuesday night, taking the organization to task after an audit cited poor management and lack of financial controls as factors in the organization's failure to pay back $400,000 it borrowed from city. The city loaned the money to the commission to organize for the World Masters Athletics Championships, a track and field competition for athletes over 35 that was held in Sacramento last year. Steve Cohn was one of the more critical council members. He said that the issue for him was not that the commission couldn't pay the money back, but that they had directly violated the loan agreement by failing to keep

The City Council passed its final budget Tuesday night by a vote of 8-1 on the heels of an unexpected announcement by City Manager John Shirey that tentative agreements had been reached with three city unions. The agreements with Stationary Engineers International Union Local 39, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and Sacramento City Exempt Employee’s Association could reduce the city’s budget gap by nearly $8 million and prevent more than 100 layoffs. The details of the agreements have not been released, but the main issue in contention between the city and the unions is the amount of money employees contribute toward their retirement funds, and it's likely the agreement has increas

The candidates from all of the City Council district races, the mayoral race and two Board of Supervisors races will face off Saturday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. One notable exception: Mayor Kevin Johnson is not scheduled to appear. According to Johnson’s campaign manager, Steve Maviglio, Johnson has “no need” to attend. “Given the large number of events the mayor has attended over the past year, and since none of his opponents are waging a real campaign against him, he chose not to participate in this event,” Maviglio said Friday. The news of Johnson’s planned absence came as no surprise to mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers. “He’s not even campaigning,” Rewers s

With the introduction of the city budget to the City Council Tuesday, the specter of layoffs and the city’s negotiations with unions over pension plans will take center stage for the next few months – but some important fiscal nuggets could get overlooked. For example, of the 286 city employees expected to be laid off with the proposed budget, 11 of those are in the Community Development Department – which is responsible for building permits and inspections, code compliance, and long-range planning for development projects. Additional layoffs are slated for the Public Works department (which includes transportation and parking services) and the Parks and Recreation department. What will

When residents in District 2 met with City Council candidates Wednesday night, they had more on their minds than an arena – they wanted to know which of the candidates could “walk the walk” for clean streets, healthy kids and safe neighborhoods. “We need a City Council person who is going to stand up and fight for (District) 2,” said Robla School District School Board Member Velma Strong. “We need new development. We need grocery stores. We need restaurants. When we build something in our area, it should put our people to work. What are you going to do?” Strong asked the candidates. Strong was one of nearly 50 people who attended the forum hosted by the Robla Community Association – one

Local officials are currently in the nation’s capital to lobby for federal support – and funding – for regional projects, pushing the City Council meeting to Thursday. “For me, it’s all about our levees,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. “I’m doing all I can to keep the conversation going (about funding) here in Washington.” Ashby represents an area of the city where levee work is needed to improve flood control, but projects have stalled due to lack of federal funding. City Council members Jay Schenirer, Steve Cohn, Bonnie Pannell and Ashby and City Manager John Shirey left Sacramento Friday with the Cap-to-Cap program, organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. Whi

What does a 12-year City Council veteran do when she decides it’s time to step away from the dais and not run for a fourth term? That was the question Sandy Sheedy asked herself in December – and the answer might come as a surprise to some. “I plan to retire,” Sheedy said Monday. “I’m going to enjoy doing things with my family and – if I feel like it – doing nothing at all.” During her years on the City Council, Sheedy has been involved in a number of projects that she is proud of – but faced some challenges, too. Sondra Betancourt, one of the candidates for the District 2 council seat, said Monday that Sheedy has worked on a number of public improvement projects – but, whether they hav

Misty Yaj said she is tired of District 2 being ignored by City Hall, so she joined the race to fill the City Council seat that incumbent Sandy Sheedy will be vacating after 12 years in office. “There are a lot of vandalized homes and vacant properties (in the district), and businesses here are few,” Yaj said. “I want to change that.” Yaj said the city has spent too much time on the proposed entertainment and sports complex project and not enough time finding ways to invest in the areas outside the downtown core. “When I talk to people (in the district), no one asks me about the arena. Not here – that’s for the downtown, not for (DIstrict 2),” Yaj said. Yaj, 42, owns a small business i

The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Sacramento will have to wait two weeks longer to launch key literacy and gang-prevention programs after a surprise move by City Council Tuesday halting the acceptance of a $250,000 grant to fund the programs. Sheedy asked for the agenda item on the grant to be pushed back until she could get more information from City Manager John Shirey about details of the grant. “I haven’t been briefed on it, and I have a lot of questions,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I have questions about how it was done and the method of a private individual doing it instead of the city.” The item was initially on the City Council’s consent calendar, which typically contains non-contro

There are more than 100 tobacco retailers located less than 1,000 feet from local K-12 schools in Sacramento, and City Council members say that’s too close for comfort – so they are proposing tighter restrictions for retailers to keep kids safe. “Tobacco sales so close to kids in school? It doesn’t seem like its a good match,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. The new ordinance was initiated by McCarty and Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy in 2010, and it reached the full council for consideration after first being reviewed by both the Law and Legislation committee and the city Planning commission earlier this year. The City Council unanimously passed the ordinance for publication Tue

Don’t be surprised if it feels like everyone from Mayor Kevin Johnson to the head of the Parks Department is on Twitter or Facebook – it’s one of the reasons Sacramento was recently ranked one of the top 10 social media-savvy city governments in the nation. The University of Illinois study released March 22 ranked Sacramento ninth among 75 major U.S. cities based on the level of civic engagement the city government has to offer. Criteria for the study included how accessible city officials are to residents and how easily residents can get information about services and neighborhoods, the study states. “Huge growth in the use of social media has been seen in the past two years,” said Kim

As the overhaul of the McKinley Park Rose garden nears its May completion date, a neighborhood group is preparing to take control of the garden and events in the park – along with the profit and benefits that go with it. To date, the city has spent nearly $300,000 on refurbishing and upgrading the popular East Sacramento rose garden, including irrigation system improvements, new walkways and benches and a new entry sign. The City Council unanimously voted in favor of a five-year license agreement Tuesday between the city of Sacramento and local nonprofit organization Friends of East Sacramento for maintenance and control of the McKinley Park Rose Garden. The group will also assume respo

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 Sacramento City Clerk’s Office released the final ballot list of candidates for the June City Council elections Thursday, showing crowded fields for the District 2 and 4 races – and some expected candidates not appearing on the final ballot. Mayor Kevin Johnson will face three contenders in the race for his seat: bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, insurance broker Richard Jones, and Parks and Recreation Commission member Jonathan Rewers. Padilla has run for mayor four times before, most recently in the 2008 race against then-Mayor Heather Fargo and Johnson. Two candidates who filed for candidacy in the mayoral race – Edgar Hilbert-Garcia and Andrew Lewis – did not qualify for the ballot

With a triumphant shout, Mayor Kevin Johnson cast the final vote in a 7-2 decision in favor of a financing plan to build a new entertainment and sports complex and keep the Sacramento Kings in town for another 30 years. Cheers, applause and chants of “SAC-RA-MEN-TO” broke out among the more than 250 people in council chambers Tuesday at the end of a four-hour-long City Council meeting that culminated in what Johnson called “a historic vote.” “Every one of you in the community did not give up,” Johnson said. “People far and wide all played a role and came together. I think we met every milestone along the way, and we made every minute count.” Johnson and City Council members Angelique As

Community activist and local pastor Jason Sample announced his candidacy Feb. 24 for the City Council District 2 seat, and he received the endorsement of incumbent Sandy Sheedy at his announcement event. "I take my endorsement very seriously, and what better person to give it to than Jason Sample who cares and has done so much for our community?” Sheedy said in a press release. Sheedy announced in January that she will not seek re-election to the council seat she has held for 12 years Sample, 35, is a senior pastor of True Life Ministries Worship Center in Del Paso Heights, and his wife, Yanette, is a social worker. “We have a lot of interesting conversations at home about the conditio

Former Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth is running for City Council District 2 – a position he held from 1992-2000 – and, for him, enthusiasm is the key to getting things done. Kerth, 53, is a third-generation Sacramentan – his family has lived in Sacramento for more than 90 years – and his record of community involvement includes eight years as a representative on the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and being the current president of the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. Kerth and his family have owned Iceland, an ice skating rink in North Sacramento, for more than 50 years. When arsonists destroyed the rink in 2010, more than 700 volunteers came toge

The June election is more than three months away, but one City Council candidate is already being accused of breaking election rules. According to the city elections code, campaign signs cannot be put up until 90 days before the election – which for the upcoming June election would be March 9. City Council District 2 candidate Allen Wayne Warren’s signs were on display in the windows of a building on the 2300 block of Del Paso Boulevard Friday afternoon. Sources say the campaign signs have been in the windows of the building since at least Jan. 20 – shortly after he officially announced his candidacy. The building is home to his campaign headquarters office. According to city spokesma

The City Council unanimously voted to keep conversations going with bidders interested in taking over the city’s parking operations – and set the stage for a Feb. 28 vote finalizing plans for a new entertainment and sports complex. “Today is about narrowing 13 (bidders) down to 10, and it’s an intermediary step to a more significant vote,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said. Council chambers were full Tuesday night, and members of the public who signed up to speak included eight opposed to the prospect of a long-term lease of the city’s parking and 30 people in favor of it. Project Manager Fran Halbakken described the bidding for control of city parking operations as a competitive process, where

The push to put a city parking lease to a vote fell flat Tuesday as the City Council rejected a motion to put the question on the June ballot. It was City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy who first suggested in November that the voters should have a say in whether the city leases its parking inventory to an outside company. She conducted a city-wide poll on her website in October, which indicated that 70 percent of respondents favored a public vote on a potential 50-year lease, according to Sheedy. “The (arena) plan hinges on leasing the city’s parking for 50 years,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I think such a massive public investment warrants a public vote.” Still, after almost an hour of public d