The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors announced Wednesday that Brad Hudson has been selected to serve as the new county executive. Hudson will be leaving his position as city manager for Riverside to accept a five-year contract in Sacramento County. “We’re very pleased to have a candidate with such extensive experience and a hands-on attitude like Brad’s,” said County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan in a press release on Wednesday. According to the county board staff, Hudson was one of five candidates under consideration for the position in a process that began in early February. “We wanted someone who was a leader and had a track record of stimulating economic growth, successfully

Sacramento County elected officials approved a budget Thursday that could result in more than 200 employee layoffs, according to county budget officer Tom Burkart. These layoffs for the 2011/2012 fiscal year are in addition to the 1,299 layoffs the county has made since the 2008/2009 fiscal year, said county spokeswoman Chris Andis. She added that 1,299 people were actually laid off as opposed to job positions being cut. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors balanced its budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year on Thursday afternoon, closing out a $90 million shortfall. The county has a general fund of $1.9 billion and a total budget of roughly $3.5 billion. The approved budget is a f

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told county leaders Monday that he has reduced his department’s budget gap but a $9.5 million shortfall remains that could result in department cuts. The sheriff’s department was among other county departments that addressed the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors during its first day of budget hearings for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The county is facing a $90 million shortfall for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The supervisors are expected to meet for additional hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The county has a two-budget process – the supervisors approve a first version of its budget in June and a final budget in the fall. Sacramento County Exec

The proposed budget Sacramento County released Friday calls for major cuts to close a $90 million gap. At least 320 employee positions are proposed for cuts. It’s unclear how many of these position cuts may translate to layoffs. Interim County Executive Officer Steven Szalay’s proposed budget serves as a series of suggestions to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold votes and make decisions on the budget. “Approval of this recommended budget, with unavoidable reductions, is an important step to continue recovery from our fiscal crisis and will improve the budget picture for next year and beyond,” Szalay wrote in a document dated for the Board of Supervisors’ June 6 budget hearing.

Sacramento County’s budget situation for the 2011/2012 fiscal year could be described by the grammatically incorrect but accurate phrase “less bad.” In other words, the county’s budget gap of $90 million is less severe than the $181 million shortfall it faced last year. But the current gap, which is likely to result in a wave of layoffs, is still grim. County Interim Executive Officer Steven Szalay laid out budget details in a Friday morning press conference at the downtown county building on H Street. The county plans to cut 321 employee positions in its budget process, Szalay said. “I’m very sad to have to have these service-level reductions,” he said. “They’re definitely going to hur

The message from officials at Wednesday’s third annual State of Sacramento County forum was that things might be tough now, but hard work today is laying the groundwork for prosperity in the future. “We should always question our assumptions that things tomorrow will be as they are today,” said Roger Dickinson, chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and State Assemblyman-elect. The Metro Chamber event was held at Sacramento International Airport, and 260 people attended, according to Communications Director Hal Silliman. Dickinson said the $1.08 billion airport expansion – also known as “The Big Build” – is iconic of what is in store for the county and will “inspire us to f

Sacramento County has made about 340 fewer layoffs than it had predicted it would make as a result of June budget cuts. County officials in June estimated that at least 725 employees could be laid off. The county resolved a $181 million budget gap in June when it passed a first draft of its budget. But County Budget Officer Tom Burkart said in an interview Wednesday that the county ended up laying off about 380 people, instead of 725. “The 725 actually was an estimate,” Burkart said. “And we did cut 700-plus positions, but they weren’t laid off.” Retirements, demotions and vacant positions kept the number of out-the-door layoffs down, according to Burkart. The county’s layoff process

A United Airlines passenger jet makes a landing yesterday just to the west of the new expansion project, The Big Build,  at Sacramento International Airport. According to a press release, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded an $8.6 million Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant to Sacramento International Airport the first week of April. It is the second installment in the seven year $59 million FAA Letter of Intent (LOI) funding program for the Big Build at Sacramento. AIP funds support construction of terminal aprons, taxiways and overnight aircraft parking for the Big Build project. “On a project as large as the Big Build, funding is a critical piece of the overall

Sacramento County officials are predicting the county could face a $9 million gap in addition to its current budget hole of $166.5 million. A big chunk of the estimated $9 million consists of costs from laying off hundreds of employees during the 2009/2010 budget process. The extra $9 million was news to county officials — a county budget document presented to reporters Thursday states the $9 million was “recently identified.”     Of the $9 million, $6 million are costs to the county’s general fund for unemployment insurance and pension obligation bond payments, according to the document. “That’s primarily (because) as the county has layoffs and folks have gone out the door — there’s le