City Hall Hiring Spree Proposed To Spur Economic Development
Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Felicia Alvarez
Photo: Sacramento’s proposed budget would see a hiring spree at City Hall for 162 new full-time employees.
(DENNIS MCCOY, SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL)
City leaders are hoping to spur economic development in Sacramento by bringing aboard at least 20 new full-time planners, building inspectors and project management staff.
Those new positions are among 162 new hires that are being considered as part of Sacramento’s proposed 2019-2020 budget, the majority of which are for parks and youth services, and the police and fire departments.
The budget also includes a $5.7 million increase in funding for the economic development and community development departments in new staff salaries alone. A portion of that would be funded by Measure U, the sales tax increase approved by Sacramento voters last November.
The majority of those positions are new “boots on the ground” community development staffers who would help put a spotlight on and streamline projects for individual neighborhoods, said assistant city manager Michael Jasso.
He said the city wants to apply the same concepts it did in 2017 with the Downtown Specific Plan — which made certain projects easier to have approved in the city’s core area — to neighborhoods such as Stockton Boulevard, Meadowview, Del Paso Boulevard and Northgate.
“Some (neighborhoods) are obvious ones that have lacked investment, but don’t lack opportunity,” Jasso said.
The city manager’s office is proposing to add 12 new positions, among which would be a new chief housing officer, new development project managers and a six-person community engagement team.
Among nine new positions proposed in the community development department, all but one are focused on development projects. The budget proposes the addition of two building inspectors to “keep pace with development and construction activities,” two more associate planners and a four-person neighborhood community economic development planning team.
Those new hires could make it easier to push small neighborhood projects through the process.
“The reality is, small neighborhood projects almost take as long as these big Golden 1 Center projects,” Jasso said.
The reason for that, he said, is that most smaller projects don’t have the lawyers or staff focus to quickly move them through the process. That’s despite the fact that the smaller projects can have a more direct impact in individual neighborhoods.
The city is also considering creating a new ombudsman position that would solely work with downtown businesses and infill opportunities in the core.
“We think its an exciting time in Sacramento,” Jasso said. “You need to have someone there that’s willing to pick up the phone and work with businesses.”
The proposed budget is currently undergoing hearings and is expected to be voted on in mid-June.