The last two and a half years have been tough in Sacramento. Not just in the capitol, but in the city’s government, too.
Budget deficits have remained a pervasive issue. Quarreling over the size and scope of the Mayor’s powers has left relationships strained. Needless to say, something had to be done to restore City cohesiveness.
That’s why Mayor Johnson called for an hour-long Council retreat. His goal was to help everyone spend at least some time together as colleagues and friends, where agendas didn’t dominate the day, but discussion could start a building process for the future.
It was the first time in five years that such a meeting took place, but with three new members on the Council, it was a good opportunity to try to start anew.
From the Sacramento Bee:
After two years of tensions, the nine members of the Sacramento City Council did something this month that was both simple and extraordinary: They sat down together for an hour, played nice and talked about the future of the city.
If the workshop aimed to bring the council together, it couldn’t have come at a more pivotal time.
One important issue after another is facing the council, ranging from the hiring of a city manager to starting the politically sensitive process of drawing new boundaries for the city’s eight council districts.
Read the full article here.