Sacramento, California
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Portions of this article were taken from Wikipedia
Sacramento is the capital city of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census, it is the sixth-largest city in California. Sacramento is the core cultural and economic center of the Sacramento metropolitan area which includes seven counties; with an estimated population of 2,927,123. Its metropolitan area is the fourth largest in California after the Greater Los Angeles Area, San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego metropolitan area as well as the 25th largest in the United States.
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of California city websites
This website was most recently evaluated on 11 Feb 2012.
[edit] The good
- Budget information is available online.[1]
- Agendas and minutes are available for City Council Meetings. [2]
- The Mayor and city council officials contact information and detailed biographies are posted online.[3]
- Administrative departments and officials' names and contact information is provided.[4]
- Building permit forms information [5]and zoning information [6] are available on the website.
- Audit reports are available. [7]
- Information on bids and proposals are available. [8]
- Provides access to public records[9]
- Tax information and forms are available.[10]
[edit] The bad
- Lobbying information is not provided.
- There is no checkbook register available
[edit] Budget
The Proposed FY 2011-2012 budget totals $812.1 million. The General Fund budget amounts to $362.2 million. The city faces a $39 million general fund budget gap for the fiscal year, the result of both expenditure increases and tax revenue decreases. $20 million of the budget gap comes from labor costs. The proposed budget closes this gap. [11]
The city's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The city manager proposes a budget annually to the City Council, who must approve a balanced budget.[12]
[edit] Public Employees
[edit] Elected Officials
The city's current mayor is Kevin Johnson, who took office in December, 2008.
[edit] City Council
The city is governed by an 8 member city council, each representing a specific district.[13]
| Name | District |
|---|---|
| Angelique Ashby | District 1 |
| Sandy Sheedy | District 2 |
| Steve Cohn | District 3 |
| Robert King Fong | District 4 |
| Jay Schenirer | District 5 |
| Kevin McCarty | District 6 |
| Darrell Fong | District 7 |
| Bonnie Pannell | District 8 |
[edit] Administrative officials
A city organizational chart can be found here. A list of all city departments with contact information can be found here. The city auditor is appointed by the City Council and operates independent of all other departments and offices. The current city auditor is Jorge Oseguera.[14]
[edit] City manager
The city's administrative duties are handled by a city manager. The city manager is responsible for enforcing laws and ordinances, coordinating programs, making recommendations to the Mayor and Council, and producing an annual budget proposal. The city manager is appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The current interim city manager is Bill Edgar.[15]
The city underwent a nation-wide search for a permanent city manager after interim manager Gus Vina resigned in March, 2011. The position had remained empty since city manager Ray Kerridge resigned following the "permit-gate" scandal, in which homes were allowed to be constructed in a restricted flood zone in violation of FEMA regulations.[16] It was the second time in 13 months that a city manager had stepped down.[17] Six city managers had resigned the position over the last five years. In July, 2011, the city council voted to offer the permanent position to John Shirey.[18]
[edit] Salaries
The city provides salary information for all top officials here. Some key official salaries:[19]
| Name | Position | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Johnson | Mayor | $116,646 |
| City Council Members | $60,800 | |
| Eileen Teichert | City Attorney | $189,000 |
| Shirley Concolino | City Clerk | $128,100 |
| Russell Fehr | City Treasurer | $165,006 |
[edit] Pensions
City employees are required to participate in the California Public Employees' Retirement System. A summary of employee benefits can be found here.
Police and firefighters are currently exempt from paying into their CalPERS retirement accounts, something that Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council are looking to change. Firefighter and police contracts run through 2013, and any changes would have to be made by re-opening the contract or waiting for its expiration. As a result of rising emergency personell pension costs, the FY 2011-2012 budget laid off police and firefighters. The city estimates that a 4% contribution to the CalPERS system would save the city $4 million annually.[20]
[edit] Lobbying
- Main article: California taxpayer-funded lobbying
For 2007 and 2008, Sacramento spent $797,232 on lobbying. [21]
[edit] Transparency & public records
In July, 2011, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced the Streamline Sacramento Initiative, which will be moving the full building and permitting process online. The goal is for builders to be able to schedule appointments, submit plans, and monitor inspection statuses on the internet.[22]
In 2009, the city launched Sacramento City 311, a single point of contact for all city services. The phone number provides 24 hour access to operators capable of handling a range of requests, from building permit information to sanitation. The service recently expanded to include online access and concern reporting.[23]
[edit] Taxes
The city collects a business tax, with all necessary application forms available online. The city also provides a city fee database, allowing citizens to search either by keyword or department for all existing fees.[24]
[edit] External links
- City of Sacramento official site
- Convention Visitor’s Bureau
- Sacramento detailed profile
- Sacramento Community profile
- Sacramento city profile
- Sacramento information
[edit] References
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Agenda and Minutes
- ↑ Mayor and City Council officials
- ↑ Departments Guide
- ↑ Building Permits
- ↑ Zoning Information
- ↑ Audit reports
- ↑ Bids and Proposals
- ↑ Public records
- ↑ Revenue services
- ↑ Proposed budget
- ↑ Budget process
- ↑ City council
- ↑ City auditor
- ↑ City manager
- ↑ Flood Zone Violations To Cost Taxpayers, "CBS Sacramento," 16 Nov, 2010
- ↑ Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina Resigns, "The Sacramento Bee," 25 March, 2011.
- ↑ City Council Offers Job to City Manager Candidate, "CBS Sacramento," 20 July, 2011
- ↑ Admin salaries
- ↑ Mayor Johnson urges pension talks to save Sacramento police jobs, "The Sacramento Bee," 29 June, 2011.
- ↑ State-Level Lobbying and Taxpayers: How Much Do We Really Know?, Pacific Research Institute
- ↑ Sacramento streamlines permit process online, "Sacramento Business Journal," 27 July, 2011.
- ↑ 311
- ↑ Search for City Fees
