By admin 
A group of area business associations have formed a new group to lobby City Hall in Sacramento, with plans to push for fiscal reforms, a renewed commitment to major development projects such as the Railyards, and for leaders to establish public safety as their top budgetary priority.
Read more It’s the first week of summer. How much heat will Sacramento, Central Valley see?
The “Alliance for a Better Sacramento” announced its existence this month, and released a slate of policy platforms, born part out of concern for the city’s structural budget deficits. The City Council approved its latest budget earlier this month, overcoming a $66 million deficit with fee hikes, eliminations of vacant positions and other spending cuts. It marked the third consecutive year the city began its budget process with an expected shortfall.
The alliance’s members include the Sacramento Metro Chamber, a handful of neighborhood improvement organizations and several homebuilding-industry associations.
“People were concerned,” said Tim Murphy, president and CEO of the North State Building Industry Association, which is a member. “Concerned that taxes were going to be raised, that there were going to be fees raised, and business would — as too often happens — business would be called upon to be the fiscal backbone, or the piggy bank.”
The alliance was also born in part out of a desire, among area business groups, for a more unified voice at Sacramento City Hall, leaders of the member organizations said in interviews. Those who joined the coalition have, generally, asked the council to respond to a slate of fragmented concerns from individual groups, rather than advocating for policies with broad support from the business community.
“Many times we would have individual agendas,” said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which is also a member. “We would go meet with council members or (the) Board of Supervisors or state legislators on issues, and they would say, ‘Alright, what do other groups think about that?’”
The group has been meeting weekly for almost a year, said Caleigh Olgeirson, senior policy analyst for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.
The group’s initial policy document warns of “escalating fees, deferred improvements, and service deficiencies,” should the city’s structural deficit continue to grow. To avoid those eventualities, it argues for a slate of recommendations including an expansion of the city’s economic development services, public safety reforms and fiscal restraint.
It calls for local leaders to establish public safety as “the highest budgetary priority as well as the primary governing value.” It calls for a modernization of the police department, with drones, AI monitoring and additional cameras. It recommends the city establish cross-departmental teams for high-priority parts of the city, with weekly reviews. It argues that the city’s existing codes are enforced inconsistently.
The group also calls for fiscal accountability measures, and argues that “well-intended programs and services” have expanded beyond the city’s means. It asks the city to revisit an “efficiency audit” completed in 2020, determine which of its findings have and have not been achieved, and commission a new audit. And it calls for the establishment of a committee to identify near-term savings.
Read more A’s call up Triple-A slugger, left-hander in roster shakeup. What does it mean?
“The approach should be: ‘There are no sacred cows; everything needs to be on the table,’” the document says.
And finally, the alliance calls for a renewed commitment to economic development — particularly for large projects, like improvements to the downtown core and the waterfront, the Railyards, the proposed MLB stadium and Blue Diamond’s sprawling almond-processing campus, slated for partial closure and conversion into housing. The group recommends charging higher fees for major projects in exchange for a guaranteed up-or-down vote by the council within a year, and committing a dedicated project manager to each of the city’s largest projects, to expedite planning, environmental review and permitting.
The group argues that such “large-scale, catalytic projects” would grow the city’s tax base and create jobs, and that slow approvals, regulations and departmental silos slow those efforts.
Sacramento has made good strides toward easing development, said Josh Oken, government affairs manager for the Sacramento Association of Realtors. He cited the council’s efforts to cut red tape for building permits, and allow builders to use pre-approved, off-the-shelf plans for accessory dwelling units.
But he said more could be done. He recently learned that Moorpark, in Ventura County, has a program wherein builders can apply for expedited permitting, and are promised to receive feedback and approvals by the end of a single, one-hour appointment with city staff.
“You hear those kinds of stories, and you’re like, ‘Wow, why isn’t our city doing things like that?’” Oken said.
The alliance’s members will attend council meetings, and work with the members behind the scenes, Murphy said. He said most of the member organizations already have good relationships with the council, based on a shared desire for practical government, responsible growth and safe neighborhoods.
“We were just starting off with the catalyst of the Golden 1 Center downtown, and COVID knocked us back,” Murphy said. “We need to get up and to take control, and get back to that pre-COVID potential — and help the city realize it.”
Read more Man guilty for firing over 20 gunshots at Sacramento sheriff’s deputies, DA says