| Mayor Kevin Johnson on Charter Reforms |
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Sacramento's city charter was established in 1849, revised in 1921 -- and hasn't been modernized since. Despite the vast progress we are making as a community, our city government still operates much like the Model T that was popular back in the '20's: unresponsive, slow moving, and unable to navigate difficult challenges. During my first months at City Hall, I am hearing residents that demand more action from their government. In these tough times, you want less red tape. A greater vision. More emphasis on public safety, economic development, and our schools. You rightly deserve a Mayor and Council that reflects your views, and will make the decisions to move Sacramento to the next level as the world-class city it deserves to be. Yet neither the Mayor nor Council are directly accountable to you. None of us can rightly place on our desks the same "The Buck Stops Here" sign that President Harry Truman had on his. Because in Sacramento, it's an unelected official -- the City Manager -- who is the CEO of city government, not the Mayor and Council. (In the public policy world, they call it the "weak mayor and council" style of government.) Less than 38 percent of America's top 100 cities still have this governmental structure. In California, only a handful of cities the size of Sacramento retain it. San Diego, Oakland, and Fresno -- with populations and city budgets about our size -- have recently moved away from this form of government. The reason is simple: this outdated style of government handcuffs elected officials from making tough decisions, leads to finger pointing, and prevents nimble response when challenges (such as our massive budget deficit) arise. Let me give you an example of how the system currently works. In mid-January, the City Manager made a money-saving decision to lay off eight employees in the Development Services department of city government. That decision was made without my input nor anyone else's on city council; we simply were given the news the next day. Although I ultimately agreed with that action, it's the process that deserves examining. No one on Council, including the Mayor, had input in the decision. It was a done deal, made by the City Manager. On a more practical level, if you called my office and asked to fix a pothole on your street, I couldn't make it happen. I would have to call the city manager, who would contact the department in charge, to take the action. That's because department heads are appointed by the city manager and report to him, not the Mayor and Council. Even on bigger picture issues, the Mayor and Council play second fiddle. Whether it's negotiating for a new arena or revitalizing K Street, the Mayor and Council do not have the ability to make commitments for the city. That often results in lost opportunities. Let me be clear: I am a huge fan of our city manager, Ray Kerridge. He's done amazing job. But he has nine bosses, many of whom change ever two years. Business doesn't run that way; our city government shouldn't either. A grassroots group, Sacramentans for Accountable Government, is hoping to change, through charter reform, our governmental structure. It has introduced two ballot measures that are evolutionary, not revolutionary. They are designed to make the city's elected officials directly accountable for the performance of our municipal government. The first proposal is a modernization of the charter that would make the mayor the city's chief executive officer, similar to the governor or the president. It would establish broad new powers for our City Council, which would function like the legislature and Congress and provide important checks and balances to executive authority. The Mayor would name department heads, the city manager, and be responsible for city government. The City Manager would report to the Mayor, and administer the day-to-day operations of city government. (Note: In 2002, Sacramento voters overwhelmingly approved a charter reform that made Sacramento's mayor a full-time position with a full-time salary. Yet the Mayor doesn't have full-time responsibilities that nearly all other mayors of cities our size in California have.) The reforms would strengthen the City Council too. They would give council members the power to elect a president who sets the council agenda -- authority that now resides with the mayor. Further, these proposals grant the council veto authority over any line item in the mayor's budget as well as over the mayor's appointments. This initiative is modeled on the best practices of some of the nation's best-run cities. They include Indianapolis, Portland, Ore., and San Diego. The second measure proposes the city establish an independent budget analyst. The analyst will be similar to the highly-respected Legislative Analyst's Office that reviews the state budget, providing an independent review and providing non-political advice. This reform is modeled on San Diego's successful legislative analysts office. That office has been widely credited -- along with the change in mayor/council powers -- for saving the city from a fiscal meltdown. Some critics of these proposals have said, "why now?." There are a few reasons. Because this is an initiative, it will be put on the next statewide special election ballot. State lawmakers and the Governor are negotiating when that will be, but it is quite possible that it will occur as early as June. Because of the timeline for that election, it was critical to begin the process in December. Had the Council reviewed the proposal directly, it likely would have missed this year's special election and forced a stand-alone election just for the city of Sacramento. Instead of piggybacking on the statewide polling, taxpayers could have been saddled with millions of dollars for the city to hold its own election. In addition, with our record budget shortfall, the citizens proposing the initiative believed we literally could not afford to wait. They believe, as do I, that elected officials should be responsive and be held accountable for the difficult decisions that will need to be made to balance our books. Having an independent analyst recommending actions also will be critical. In just a few weeks, these reforms by Sacramentans for Accountable Government have been endorsed by the city's leading civic organizations and leaders. They include: the Sacramento Police Officers Association, business leader Randy Paragary, and former Little Hoover Commission (government watchdog) Chair Jeannine English. These reforms are critical toward transforming Sacramento into a city that works for everyone. It's time for us to take this important step forward. The previous appears in Inside Publications this month. |
